Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Clan Aromatic (Original)

Okay, I'm gonna get caned for this but I kinda like this stuff. Every now and again it's nice to smoke an aromatic. I usually don't but what the heck. I get fruity kind of soft boozy flavours from this and a kinda coconutty finish. Plenty of smoke and smokes all the way down, very little dottle. I don't get any tongue burn even if I lean on it a little, if you really puff it'll probably bite but most stuff does. All in all, something I like now and again.

It may be unfashionable to like mild, light, wife friendly blends but I am really enjoying Clan. It smells like sherry or whisky in the pouch, more accurately like sherry casked whisky.

It is very dry, and smokes like a furnace, but has wonderful floral notes with a hint of alcohol and spice. Steady nicotine hit and a pleasant room note. It is a nice accompaniment to food, booze or coffe/tea because it doesn't drown everything else out like stronger tobaccos.

A nice, all - round everyday smoke with enough to please the expert or the novice. A pleasant surprise and well worth the money!

This tobacco get's a particularly negative wrap and it's a shame since it's far from a poor tobacco, it just does a great many things which are antithetical to pipe smoking which, in isolation, aren't bad.

Unpopular thing #1: It's a aromatic. It's not overpowering and it really doesn't evoke any single ingredient. You might pick up rum, vanilla, and liquorice, but I prefer not to try and explain the tobacco with respect to it's elements vs the sum of it's parts. It's a blend of tons of tobaccos and it's using a ton of flavors, but the result is somethething very pleasant. The tobacco isn't sticky, sickly nor is there any trace of the casing other than in the top note of the flavor. It's has a certain chemical taste but not a nasty or acrid, but interesting like an old medicine cupboard or apothecaries. It reminds me of Diet Coke. I have no idea why because I'm not sure it tastes like Diet Coke, it just does the same things. It's light, refreshing, has a narcotic in it, tastes a little like a medicine cabinet and burns abit.

Unpopular thing #2: Individual tobacco notes are entirely absent. But let me be clear, this blend isn't bland or tasteless, it's just impossible to isolate any individual note in the tobacco. Much like a cigarette, everything cancels everything else out into a neutral tobacco'y balance. If you dislike the earthiness and full body of pipe tobaccos such as St Bruno and others, Clan is probably the cleanest smoke I've encountered. It doesn't leave much of a scent on the smoker, the room or the pipe.

Unpopular thing #3: It burns fast. Many accuse Clan of burning 'hot'. I've not had this experience. The taste profile of the tobacco lends itself to a certain spiceyness but this is neither from the heat of the tobacco or the tobacco leaf, I believe it to be part of the airy flavor profile of the aromatics. It's extremely difficult to explain but it's heat feels more like a light menthol / chemically type of burn, minus any overpowering or menthol taste. I've gone heavy at a bowl of clan and despite feeling a party of heat in my mouth, I've not risked a single bite.

In conclusion, Clans instantly become the first thing I smoke everyday. It's antithetical to pipe smoking, it's clean and dry. It leaves no moisture in the bowl and crumbles to dust. The smoke is fresh and light despite it's volume. It is never going to give me tongue bite. It's the most reliable tobacco I've ever encountered and takes no coaxing or effort to smoke. The flavor is impossible to explain, you just have to try it.

Don't buy the negative hype. Enjoying the hobby of pipe smoking entails an excitement towards discovering and enjoying tobaccos. The criteria we tend to apply to how we rate these tobaccos are typically criteria which Clan just fails at. It is not artisinal, vintage or cool by any measure of how pipe tobaccos are marketed. It has no depth of flavor. It is not a slow burning relaxed smoke. It's an extremely enjoyable, very tasty and very refreshing tobacco.

Don't worry, you can still smoke flakes, ropes and plugs too.

Recently (6 months) returned to pipe smoking. My Grandad smoked this until his death last year at 95. He religiously put rum in his clan pouches. Swore by it. I tried this. It works. Clan becomes a nice cheap all day smoke. Nice vanilla tones. Mild nicotine hit. Yes it burns fast whole bowl gone in half hour but sometimes you just want a fast " wife friendly " smoke. Suitable for lunch time at work. Nothing challenging. It is what it is but it's not as bad as people are making out. It's not St Bruno but it's a serviceable basic all day smoke. I don't always want the big nicotine hit of a condor or a Royal Yacht!!

This one you either love or hate. Taste sweet, creamy, slightly musty and grainy from whiskey topping and a touch of floral. Tobacco taste comes through and leaves a bit of oil on the tounge. It does not bite if properly dried. Burns rather fast which is the only fault I have with this one. All in all, its defenatly an acquired taste, I happen to love. One of the better cheap aromatics And thats coming from an english smoker.

I wet a couple of pipe cleaners and seal them in the pouch for 12 hours (and whenever it gets too dry) because it´s usually too dry and biting otherwise. It improves the characteristics (coolness, burning) and overall taste considerably. I find no big difference to more expensive brands and its availability is a plus.

This has been the first acceptable pipe tobacco i have bought since i got back to smoking pipe last month.

Since i'm new here and this is my very first review, and yes i have a rather short experience with pipe smoking. Nevertheless i shall share with everyone my experience, so you can take it in consideration if you are a starter, just like me.

I must confess that my first contact with Clan was at a local convenience store where i went looking for some tobacco to get back to pipe smoking. The owner told me Clan aromatic was one of his best selling brands - I must say it's package really got me for it's good looks.

I've been smoking Clan frequently now. At first it felt very strong and i got some tong bite, because of my lack of experience. It burns hot in my opinion, but as you smoke it regularly you start to understand how to best do it.

I've smoked it indoor and outdoor and feel quite pleased with it, making a good companion for reading.

I was hopping it would taste just like it smells, but it doesn't. Nevertheless today i can start to distinguish some of its flavors in the taste and aroma it releases.

Note: 23/02/2013 - Smoked after cleaning the pipe with some portuguese liquor called "Licor Beirão", tasted really sweet, and proved to be very tasty smoked that way.

I had this recommended to me by a special needs guy I work with who used to smoke it by the bucketload and loved the sweet flavour. I had never heard it before but decided to take my life into my hands and give it a go when I saw it in my local supermarket a couple of days later.

I was actually quite excited when I got the well packed, tartan strewn packet home, and the hints of caramel, with perhaps a subtle tint of mint, wafted up from the tobacco as I opened it up. The packing was, and has been since, very easy as has the lighting. The caramel flavour continued on into the smoke providing a pleasant, relaxing experience. Also, the general lack of tongue bite is a plus point.

I have to say, fair play to the guy I look after, he's been onto a decent tobacco. It's not a classic by any means, but for a good afternoon smoke it really hits the spot.

I've been on another forum, and many people don't like Clan, but I find it very pleasurable if you smoke it right. I smoke it with my Mr Brog no47. This pipe has great, smooth air flow through the pipe (with it's 9mm filter), and as long as you lightly sip @ the pipe, the Clan tobacco burns slowly enough to release the flavours & taste to the bottom of the bowl. Just allow the smoke slowly roll over your tongue & into the olfactory senses in the nasal cavity to appreciate the delicate but cool flavours. As Clan is a fine cut tobacco, it needs a slow flow of air to burn, otherwise if you draw on the pipe too strongly it will burn too quickly and turn to ash straight away and give that harsh, bitter back bite. You know when the smoke is over as you taste the ash.

Packet smell: aromatic heathery, herby with touch of pine forest.

Taste & flavour: similar to it's fragrance, aromatic, heathery, herby, touch of resinous pine trees with a hint of liquorice at the end. Can be a bit sickly, so smoke in moderation. Mr Brog no47 has a small bowl size, so no problem there.

Room note: Pleasurable and fragrant.

A dessert smoke as opposed to something like St Bruno, which is more meaty and savoury in nature.