Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Erinmore Plug

The deeply bold Virginias offer some citrus, a few blades of grass, a touch of stewed fruit, a fair amount of fermented dark fruit and lots of earth. The nutty, earthy, woody burley is a strong supporting player. The sugary black cavendish is a condiment. The rich toppings include several kinds of fruit (orange, lemon, pineapple and apricot come to mind) as well as a noticeable floral essence. The toppings do tone down the tobaccos, but not enough to disguise their intrinsic power, and provide a synergistic quality to the taste. The strength, toppings and taste levels are just shy of medium. The nic-hit is a couple steps closer to medium than it is to mild. No chance of bite, and it has no dull spots or harshness. The plug is moist, but really doesn’t need any dry time. Burns cool, clean and slow as plugs tend to do with a smoothly consistent flavor from start to finish. Needs a fair amount of relights, and leaves a little moisture in the bowl. Will ghost a briar. Has a very pleasant, lingering after taste and pleasing room note. An experienced smoker may consider this is be nearly an all day smoke.

-JimInks

If you are going to savour the legendary Erinmore, a favourite since c. 1920, try the plug (or, second best, the flake): that way, you will get the most undiluted and categorical impression of the exceptionally fine Virginia leaf used in this famous tobacco. Your opinion of the notorious topping will depend on your feeling for the tobacco itself. In the ready-rubbed formats, the flavouring overwhelms everything; not so in the plug (or flake), where the inside of the cake is comparatively shielded from topping.

In general, Erinmore is too strong, tobacco-wise, for the usual aromatic fancier; and the topping is too much?especially in ready-rubbed versions?for the echt-Tabak puritans. Unquestionably, the notorious fruity bouquet is a specialised taste: I find it floral, herbaceous and refreshing, when juxtaposed to the strong?and delicious?flavour of the plug tobacco. But I smoke it outdoors, in a small-bowled clay, and not often.

If you can keep it from cloying, this tobacco is CHANGE OF PACE writ large! At any rate, like near-death experiences and certain forms of asphyxiation, you can't conceive of it until you've experienced it.

Another polarizing tobacco with the name Erinmore attached to it, although when I think Erinmore I always thing Murray's. In any event, the STG plug is recent production and my little brick had not really had time to age and settle, and perhaps that's why it seemed just a tad harsh. Not really difficult to shave, pack and light and the moisture level was not over the top. All kinds of fruit essence is tasted along with the Cavendish and Virginia. Not a powerful smoke as one might expect from seeing the tobacco and smelling it, but certainly full of flavor enhancement. It's not fruit in a can and tastes like tobacco, but just a little too much casing for me to personally enjoy.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Erinmore Plug. I have smoked Erinmore Flake for more than 30 years now. My last experience with the Mixture was somewhere in the early 2000s. I do not have fond memories of the latter.

As can be the case, descriptions of pipe tobacco can be highly divergent. One vendor describes it as a plug version of the Mixture. At time of writing the description here on TR says it is Velvan plug with the Erinmore casing. I was hoping I wasn't going to get an expensive baccy that I would hate.

I needn't have worried. EP is a lovely tobacco. I don't think it is EITHER a plug version of the Mixture or the Flake. It is a separate beast.

The plug is extremely dark and dense. Rather like a giant OXO cube. I no longer bother to rub out dense ropes and plugs; my preferred method being to slice against the grain and then cube cut. It is often difficult to get started this way, but once underway it seems to produce for me a nice slow cool burn.

The notorious Erinmore casing (dried apricot and licorice is my take) is less pronounced with the plug than with the flake. It also seems to me slightly different; perhaps as a result of different constituent tobaccos. As other reviewers have ventured, there is possibly some dark fired leaf in this, which would make this plug a relative of some of the other STG made dark flakes.

Overall this is a mild to medium, but very flavoursome, and by that I mean tobacco flavours, blend. For me it is the pipe equivalent of comfort food: reassuring and welcome. Good for anytime, altho the price might make that a modified proposition, but works particularly well in an outdoor setting.

Full marks from me.

KABOOM! Oh My! This has got it all. Well, not quite all. It does not possess that inimitable straight Virginia essence of Best Brown Flake or Full Virginia Flake. Instead, it engulfs your palate, nose and psyche with thick, sweet volumes of smoke that transport you to another plane. It is as if your equilibrium has been altered by a Sophia Loren lip lock. At first, I experience the distinctive flavor of Erinmore Flake raised to the sublime power. The smoke is warm and smooth, and you can draw clouds of it with ease and no bite. In the nose it tingles like a Monte Cristo #3. I smoked this in a Stanwell Royal Danish poker which I dedicate to Erinmore Flake, a luscious, long-time favorite. So the pipe was possessed with the Erinmore spirit, a wise choice in which to smoke this Irish Delight. I prepared the tobacco by paring the plug with my trusty Swiss Army Knife. It came away in bits and flakes about the size of small tea leaves. It packed easily. Right at the match the flavor soared beyond Erinmore Flake, and after six or seven puffs receded to a mellow, warm Virginia glow. This tobacco has entered into my regular rotation like Ingrid Bergman walking into my bedroom in a negligee. I am in love. Paddy.

Tobacco. Sharp objects. Fire.

What's not to like?

Slices and rubs easily. Plenty of airtime diminishes the flavoring to a tolerable level. Lights easily.

Flavor is fruity, but I don't feel compelled to put a pink paper umbrella in my pipe bowl. If there's any pineapple in here, it's MIA. Juicy Fruit? Maybe. Hawaiian Punch with Viagra side effects, if you get my drift.

Hard to believe that the Erinmore Mixture is related.

Good stuff.

Murray?s Erinmore range provokes some strong opinions. On the one hand it is internationally popular and must have many thousands of devotees, and on the other hand it seems to provoke the great disdain of many in the on-line pipe-smoking community. The reasons for this are not hard to understand. It is very strongly flavoured, and it is infamous in its desire to remain in a pipe long after it has been smoked. It should be treated with caution then when first smoked, preferably being ?test smoked? in a cob or a pipe of little value to its owner.

Erinmore Plug could be considered to be the ?grandfather? of the Erinmore range. Plugs are a very traditional form of tobacco manufacture in which the leaf is pressed and cut to produce a hard block, which is then cut and rubbed to suit the preference of the smoker. Erinmore, like other Murray?s plugs, come in a sinister looking bar of approx 3x2x1 inches. It is wrapped in a sealed foil pack. Examination of the plug reveals a dark brown, shiny bar with small flecks of lighter leaf and stem. One assumes that a predominance of dark fired African leaf is used as the base.

Preparation involves slicing the plug across the grain, and rubbing to the desired thickness. For indoor smoking I usually rub fairly well, but for outdoor use the cut flakes can be packed directly into the bowl, if sliced reasonably finely.

Lighting is very easy, particularly if rubbed out, and then comes the famous taste, which is the subject of so much controversy! The flavouring is strong and very fruity. It is well known that pineapple is one of the main ingredients used, although I do not find it as pronounced as some others have commented. ?Juicy Fruit? flavour has been suggested by some, but again I feel this is a little bit over the top. It is possible to taste some pretty good quality tobacco under the favouring.

The aroma seems to be one of ?baking cookies?, and should be agreeable to many bystanders. The flavour and aroma last to the end of the bowl (even long after it!) and the nicotine content is relatively high. Erinmore Plug does not bite the tongue, although I suspect it might heat up if rubbed too finely. It burns dryly throughout. If you prefer natural Va flakes, you will no doubt hate this tobacco. I would however recommend it for those who prefer aromatic tobaccos and want to move away from more ?gloopy? drug store varieties. Whist providing lots of taste, it is not wet and the flavourings are not chemically derived. It will continue to have a place on my shelf as a happy break from the Lake District twists and flakes which are my staples, unlike Erinmore Mixture which is a very different beast altogether! Paul Campbell.

I should preface this review by saying I'm a lover of Erinmore Flake. It's an itch I scratch every summer with a tin or two of the stuff. Scented Flake and plug in general is my cup of tea.

So, two years ago, visiting the Peterson shop in Dublin, I picked up a piece of this, and lost it in my stash, to find it this summer after finishing a tin of the Flake and having a hankering for more. Having discovered that it has been discontinued, I wish I'd tried it sooner and invested in some more...

It's a nugget of pure gold... Dense, oily, you can cut shavings off with a penknife or put it on a chopping block and cut flakes off any thickness you like. Rub out a little, don't pack too tight, and put some fine crumbs on top as kindling. I didn't need to let this dry or after rubbing as I do the flakes, it takes the flame and stays lit with minimal input.

Flavour is rich and hearty, with the Erinmore Taste more integrated than the Flake. For me, it's more like smoking aged Flake (I've had a few tins of the Murrays stuff that were about a decade old). The flavouring stays throughout the bowl, and lasts a good while after it too... Lovely!

I'm just sad that I'll probably never see this stuff again, I have a pipe on now and maybe another bowls worth left... If you have it, savor it, and if you don't like Erinmore, give it to someone who does.

I have never understood the extremely negative reactions to Erinmore Flake, much less Erinmore Plug. The tobacco seems to be of very good quality and once the flakes or shavings from the plug are dried sufficiently the fruity top note is quite pleasant. Granted the flavor may not be for everybody, but the extreme reactions...? (See Bear's funny review of the flake.)

An earlier reviewer said he couldn't keep the plug lit. I shaved some slices from the plug and dried them in front of the space heater on this cold Christmas afternoon. Next I rubbed the flake out and loaded my Cavicchi flake pipe. The burn is perfect: slow and even. The flavoring is in the background of a moderately strong Virginia tobacco. The smoke is so smooth and rich with absolutely no tongue bite. I think the flavoring of the plug is less than the flake, but I have heard others disagree claiming the opposite.

If this were available in the US I would smoke this regularly. I prefer it to the flake. Keep in mind I love British scented flakes with Ennerdale Flake probably being my favorite. I'm even awaiting a friend to bring some Condor back from his Christmas holiday in England, so YMMV.

Tobacco sweetness with a sublime light floral fruity top note. I'd give it 5 stars if I could because it hits all the high notes I look for in a full-flavored sweet floral smoke. Burns beautifully when shaved thin, gravity fed, and packed lightly.