Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Half & Half

Half and Half is actually a very nice blend in the realm of American Burleys but it would be fair to say this is a medium bodied smoke not designed for someone new to burley by any means.Half and Half has a rum raisin topping which goes nicely with the burley and adds a touch of flavor to the blend.It is slightly moist in the pouch so airing out the tobacco would be necessary.Beyond that it's a tastey smoke and i would recommend this blend as a progression once you've progressed from a plain burley.

I smoke this stuff by the tub. It does indeed have a wonderful boozy, cranberry, clove fragrance, and while it does have somewhat of an odd industrial taste, I just love it. I like the nice nicotine level, the one match ignition, the old school aura, and the fact that it's readily available. I smoke this in my old collection of drugstore pipes, and find it is wonderful in any shape or size. To me, at midbowl and beyond it tastes rather like a butterscotch milkshake. It has a noticeable tobacco flavor, even through all the condiments. This tobacco will build a cake faster than any other tobacco I have ever tried. After much deliberation, I must award this 4 stars, even though it is not a boutique blend, and many people don't like it. Yum. I hope they never quit making this. ****update**** I have been smoking this blend for years now, and I have recently come close to perfecting the "Frank" method of pipe loading. This brings out the very best from Half & Half. A properly charged pipe using this method will give well over an hour of gentle puffing. I now love this blend even more! I humbly invite my fellow pipe smokers to give it a whirl.

Half and Half is my favorite tobacco. I have smoked it for the last 15 years since I went back to pipe smoking after a 15 year absence. I also smoke English mixtures such as 965, but I get a real thrill out of Half and Half. It is a simple straight forward tobacco, it smolders wonderfully in a pipe, but you have to have just the right technique to really get the most from it. I hope this tobacco will continue to be around for a long time to come.

This is my absolute favorite tobacco. There is no other smoke I have ever tried that tastes or smells like Half & Half! While Rattray's Terry Red, Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe and Brigg's are my top favorites, Half and Half is the crown jewel in my rotation. Even my wife thinks this is the best smelling tobacco I smoke and makes a point to tell me when I light up. This being said, I am forever surprised by the number of people who do not like this tobacco. It is full of flavor (and nicotine!) and is simply WONDERFUL! To put it frankly, a world without H&H just might not be a world worth living in.

Update 12/09/10: H&H was the first tobacco I ever smoked at the tender age of 14. (45 years ago). H&H stuck by me through my US Army years, college years, accountant years and into retirement. It definitely tastes different to me now than in the 1960's; however, I think that a person loses his senses of taste and smell as he ages. Being a burley guy, I never strayed too far from Half and Half. When I was a boy, my uncle smoked H&H and the aroma was wonderful. He looked so content smoking that soon I followed in his footsteps. (My father did not smoke.)

I venture to say that if we could go back into time and get a package from 1968, it would taste much the same as 2010 stuff, just different due to personal limitations. The younger fellows of today have a much greater selection of fine tobaccos to choose from, but nowhere to smoke. (That's another story.) I always have personally preferred the OTC stuff to the fancy tobacco, primarily due to what I began smoking. When I was young, pipe tobacco was sold everywhere, but all of it was H&H or Prince Albert genre.

It's natural to assume that a person who starts his smoking hobby with high end tobaccos is not going to like H&H and his lowly burley brothers.

All in all, Half and Half is an American classic that has stood the test of time. Very highly recommended.

Original review:I've been a pipe smoker for over 40 years, and Half and Half is the first tobacco I smoked. I think the pocket pouch was under 20 cents at that time. I feel that the quality of the blend has lessened over the years, however, today's Half and Half tastes much the same as it did 40 years ago.

The room note of this tobacco is unmistakable for any other brand. The slogan cool smoking, improved cut has been on the package as long as I have been smoking. This tobacco will always be in my rotation.

All in all, still an excellent smoke, however, not for everyone. Best in a thick wall corncob, smoked slowly to minimize bite.

In the quest for my perfect old school codger blend, I was pleasantly surprised when I came across Half & Half. The pouch I have been smoking I acquired back in 2019. Bag note is nice and sweet cinnamon/cardamom type of spice. A little hint of alcohol is lurking behind the spice note in the bag. Once you light the pipe, you can tell there are both Burleys and Virginias in the blend but neither take the front seat. The spice note remains consistent in the smoke, and alcohol doesn’t come a whole lot. Kind of sweet, earthy, a little nutty tasting blend. Hay like Virginia comes every now and then. Very cool burning smoke. No tongue bite even when pushed. I give it no drying time although it looks a little wet. Only requires very few relights. Leaves little to no dump at the bottom of the bowl. I personally won’t call this an aromatic blend. This has way less top note than Velvet, Carter Hall, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Somehow the toppings used here go really well with the Virginia/Burley combination. I like it quite a lot. I will be buying more pouches of this and enjoy in the morning. Definitely a winner among the codger blends. Three and half star blend for me.

So far this is the best OTC tobacco I have tried. Lights very easily and stays lit. No tongue bite and doesn't get overly ashy near the bottom of the bowl. Can definitely taste hints of citrus, couldn't detect any plastic chemical flavoring like a lot of others have noted. Overall a really smooth smoke, will definitely be adding it to the rotation.

This is great stuff. Really. It's been around for decades for a reason. Just because it's wicked cheap by comparison to all the foofoo candy junk, don't let that fool you. It's beautifully simple with a spice. 4 stars.

Good smoke. Like the nic content. Taste is great by itself and mixes well with aromatics.