Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Half & Half

This is a wonderful cut of tobacco, period! It must be packed loosely in order to fully enjoy the flavor of this tobacco. It has a liquer casing to it and that is evident upon opening a canister. I was always told the canister has a better flavor so I went with that suggestion. I can see why this has been around for so long. I like the cigarette-like taste as have millions of others who've come before me. This is not a "sit down and concentrate on my bowl" but a mild tobacco blend made for the everyday smoker who has an addiction to nicotine. This is one of those old everyman, everyday tobaccos that smokers buy habitually and smoke the same. For all the negative reviews, I can understand why they gave it a bad review. You almost have to "learn" how to smoke this blend to fully enjoy it. Otherwise, this is a great go-to blend and will always be in my rotation along with SWR.

Beautiful Soft, nutty Smoke. Notes of raisin in the pouch- very slight on the palate. The Virginia sweetens the nuttiness of the Burley.This is NOT a complex blend. It is for slowing down and simple enjoyment. Plus it's AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE! 5 Stars for me. *****

Upon opening this pouch for the first time, I had a flood of scent memories from when I was a young boy: green vinyl waiting-room chairs, push button handles on car doors, my grandpa's cabin in Northern Michigan.

I became interesting in pipe smoking because of the fond memories of my dad occasionally smoking one, but the smell of Half & Half is really like nothing I've ever experienced. It's taken me a long time to hammer down what it even smells like since I associate it so strongly with visions of my grandfather rather than scents. I can now confidently say there's a boozy nuttiness to it, like anise and almond. My wife said it smells strongly of licorice, where one of my friends said it smells exactly like Mallo Cups. As you can tell, the tin note is a bit of an enigma but I find it to be exquisite.

The cut is that rough, spongy "granola" people of speak of similar to other OTC STG brands. Though it says it right in the name, I don't see any "bright" (Virginia) tobacco - it looks identical to Sir Walter Raleigh which is all Burley. It has a nice moisture content, packs very easily and it lights with no fuss giving a smooth, velvety smoke that's easy on the nose and tastes faintly of the tin note. I can finish a bowl with no relights, but there's usually a decent amount of moisture at the base of the bowl. I love the taste and smell of the smoke, however my wife says it smells of cigarettes. There's little complexity here: it tastes of Burley with occasional hints of anise.

An all day smoke. One of my favorites - it's no wonder this brand has been around for so long.

Having smoked a great many custom blends through the years I feel I finally have enough experience to evaluate and appreciate the old OTC brands. In my final evaluation I'd say that Half and Half is THE FINEST "Over The Counter" blend ever produced and still sold! That would be followed closely by Prince Albert, but H&H wins for me hands down. It has everything I was looking for in an everyday, anytime pipe tobacco. It's flavorful and the taste reminds me of a little bit of Ocean Spray Cranberry at times regardless of the companies actual listed toppings. It burns well and doesn't bite if it's not pushed by smoking to strong or fast. Though not PC today it's even mild enough to inhale coming from the time period long ago of a "crossover" blend (think lucky strike) tobacco for pipes and roll your own cigs. I frankly find myself reaching for it most always even though I have a wide variety of tobacco cellared away. I am well aware of how subjective taste among people, but I'm very pleased that a great many obviously agree with me since it's still being produced. Don't let older reviews keep you from trying and potentially enjoying this historical and familiar favorite of mine. If for some reason you happen to not enjoy it, you can send any left over my way! It's seriously that good to me. Some may call me common, but I've learned there's nothing wrong with that. I'm an "earthy" man, that comes from simple folks that worked the land by the sweat of their brow with calloused hands. Half and Half goes well after good honest work, wearing blue jeans and of course is best smoked from the venerable Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe.

My first impression of Half & Half was moderate, nothing exceptional. But over the years it grew on me the more that I’ve smoked it. It is somewhat mysterious albeit not complex. Easy to pack, tasty, consistent flavor throughout the bowl. Sometimes it needs no relights and burns clean. It performs better in a cob pipe. A satisfying, highly recommended tobacco.

Fresh off the pouch, this nicely cut mixture advertises its aromatic nature with a sweet and minty candy-like aroma. Moisture is "just right", and it packs easy.

The burley is unsurprisingly nutty. The virginia sits coyly on top and seems to struggle to come through most of the flavoring, which I can only imagine bonded strongly with it. The retrohale reveals some spicy mint, similar to the kick one gets with Wrigley’s spearmint chewing gum. The rest of the smoke is adorned with very pleasant anisette.

There is a very nice and copious smoke coming out of this blend, and it leaves with with a slightly pleasant aftertaste and a bit of a dry mouth, but no bite at all. This mixture is easy on the relights, leaves a little bit of messy ash, and above average moisture. Hard to go wrong with this aromatic mixture.

This is a perfectly fine tobacco. It is a definite 3 star tobacco I am giving 4 stars to in order to offset it's low rating, as a couple others (at least) have noted, whom I have quoted below. The Burley is a bit more present than the Va, and it behaves very well in the bowl throughout the smoke. The flavoring is not overpowering, nor chemically. If you think this is a cherry and anisette blend, as noted here, that is not correct (I actually just changed the 'tin description' and flavoring to make it accurate, as it incorrectly stated cherry and anisette as the flavors). STG defines the flavoring as follows: 'A timeless mix of loose cut Burley and Virginia tobaccos with flavorful notes of Cardamom [spicy/herbal/citrus], Coriander [lemony/citrus] and Maze [Mace - part of the nutmeg nut and a bit lighter in flavor than nutmeg]'.

And they have done a nice job in the application of those interestingly flavorful notes to a VaBur base without drowning out the tobacco. Though an aro, the topping is not overpowering, nor chemically. It isn't cherry (there is a similar type flavor invovled), though, so don't go looking for that flavor. Don't let the lower price/OTC classification or aro status deter you from exploring. This is no more flavored than some other VaBurs well liked and not considered true aros.

A couple quotes from others:

"I am setting the record straight. This tobacco is a very good smoker, it has a great taste, and is does not bite like people say, there is a little bite at the end of the bowl, but that is common with a lot of tobaccos. I say try it. You see the problem with most reviews are that 1. These people are newer to pipe( I'm 18 years running) 2. Haven't explored the range of tobaccos( I'm 830 blends stong 3. ( the big one) their palate isn't for this kind of tobacco ex:aromatic, english ect. This is a good blend, just give it a try before these bad reviews make it disapear forever."

&

"Keep telling yourself that you need to spend $5 an ounce on pipe tobacco before its any good. If Pease had his label on this blend, and a $50 per/lb price tag. The internet tobacco experts would all sing its praise."

I just came back to this brand today. About 10 years ago in DC I bought enough to fill a large quart jar. It had been infused with honey. It was a shop special and seemed to sell. I just opened up the jar today and it has to be the sweetest thing I have smoked. I put it in a Dr. Grabow bulldog and fired it up. It smoked very fast but it was a small bowl. Wow. I am not a big fan of half and half but this tasted great. If I had known I would have bought more. Now if anyone knows how this shop did this please tell me!!! I might just burn up my pipe on this but the taste is Awesome.

The Lane LTD. rendition is really superb. Mild, good flavor. Nothing to fear here, if semi-aromatic burley blends are your thing. It's not the horror that it's made out to be.