Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Half & Half
(2.24)
Burley based pipe tobacco. Made in the USA. Pouch description: "Burley and Bright" Pipe Tobacco.
Notes: Originally from an American Tobacco 19th century formula. Originally, it was a local Virginia favorite for both cigarettes and pipe tobacco.
From https://halfandhalfpipe.com/hhp-home/ :
Half and Half is a timeless mix of loose cut burley and Virginia tobaccos with flavorful notes of cardamom, coriander and maze. Enjoy this smooth, easy-going smoke again and again.
Details
| Brand | Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) |
| Blended By | |
| Manufactured By | St-Group |
| Blend Type | Aromatic |
| Contents | Burley, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Anisette, Other / Misc, Spices |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams pouch, 14 ounce tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild to Medium
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.24 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 61 - 70 of 368 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 04, 2013 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Update 6/17/2020 I’ve gone back and forth on this a couple of times. The first was unfortunately the Pinkerton version. In any case, I recently saw a pouch in a local shop and bought it. I got back in my car and lit up a bowl and after a few minutes wondered how I had missed what I was now experiencing. This is remarkably good stuff. I’ve been smoking pipes for 52 years but ignored Half and Half smoking only “fine” blends. The more I smoked it the more I enjoyed the lightly topped blend and now I smoke it a couple of times a day - sometimes more. I’m 71 years old now and my days of experimenting and trying every blend I come across or hear about are over. All I want is a quality simple blend to smoke and enjoy without analyzing it. I only have two “go to” blends now, H & H and Sutliff Victoria. Both are smooth, lightly topped, creamy (to my taste) and most importantly non distracting. I still have a number of higher end tins and a few ounces of Lane remakes of OTC’s when I want a quick change up. In the end, I am very satisfied with my two “go to’s”. I’m upping my rating of H & H to four stars because it is a four star tobacco for me even after having been around the tobacco block many many years. Update: I'm dropping my recommendation to two stars. I'm finding it burns to quickly and is too cigarette like.
First, the pouch aroma was offensive to me, however, it did not carry over to the smoke and as I continued through the pouch the pouch aroma became somewhat pleasing. I enjoy OTC blends - American classics actually - and often prefer them to tinned tobacco and continue to search for those I can stick with. I had tried H&H on previous occasions but this is the first time that I found myself liking it. It is a good simple one dimensional smoke and that is what I look for. I smoke a pipe to relax and forget life's complexities and the last thing I want is a complex smoke.
My father smoked H&H exclusively and it always smelled like home to me. He gave up the pipe for cigars in the 60's and I really missed the pipe tobacco aroma. I started smoking a pipe in the late 60's and having a tobacconist locally, I just bypassed drug store tobacco and it has only been the last couple of years I've starting smoking them. They are worthy tobacco blends and I now prefer them to tobacco shop "jar" tobacco. In all these years I've not found a bulk tobacco in a tobacco shop that is one I wanted to stick with. I'm actually finding more satisfying smoke in these classic American blends. As many reviewers have pointed out, they have been around for a hundred years for a reason. I will always have some tins of tobaccos around for an occasional treat but I have to tell you, I'm really stuck on the drug store stuff - simple, satisfying and reasonable price.
I find H&H to be a very pleasant smoke with decent nicotine and very little bite and my only problem with it is that it burns too quickly. I'm just getting into it and it is gone already. I recently purchased a tub of Granger which scratches the same itch as H&H but burns slower and I think has the edge on flavor as well. It does have more tongue bite though. Were it not for Granger, H&H would be a "go to" blend for me but I believe I will stick with Granger and enjoy a pouch of H&H on occasion. Like many others I enjoy it in a cob but I enjoy it more in a large bowl brier.
I have to give this tobacco a "recommended". This is definitely worthy of a try. I'm sure there are many people out there that would love this tobacco but they will never consider trying it. If I get bored with Granger and want a change of pace, I'll come back to this to fill the gap for sure.
As of now, I find Granger, Sugar Barrel and Walnut adequate to fill my mood and taste swings. I just wish there was greater availability of pouches of these classic blends. There are many others I would like to try that I can't find. I don't understand why stores no longer stock them. One day they were there, then they were gone.
I should mention that the pouch I bought last week was Pinkerton production. The shop only had Lane in the tub. I'll continue to look for a pouch of the Lane production as I want to sample that also.
First, the pouch aroma was offensive to me, however, it did not carry over to the smoke and as I continued through the pouch the pouch aroma became somewhat pleasing. I enjoy OTC blends - American classics actually - and often prefer them to tinned tobacco and continue to search for those I can stick with. I had tried H&H on previous occasions but this is the first time that I found myself liking it. It is a good simple one dimensional smoke and that is what I look for. I smoke a pipe to relax and forget life's complexities and the last thing I want is a complex smoke.
My father smoked H&H exclusively and it always smelled like home to me. He gave up the pipe for cigars in the 60's and I really missed the pipe tobacco aroma. I started smoking a pipe in the late 60's and having a tobacconist locally, I just bypassed drug store tobacco and it has only been the last couple of years I've starting smoking them. They are worthy tobacco blends and I now prefer them to tobacco shop "jar" tobacco. In all these years I've not found a bulk tobacco in a tobacco shop that is one I wanted to stick with. I'm actually finding more satisfying smoke in these classic American blends. As many reviewers have pointed out, they have been around for a hundred years for a reason. I will always have some tins of tobaccos around for an occasional treat but I have to tell you, I'm really stuck on the drug store stuff - simple, satisfying and reasonable price.
I find H&H to be a very pleasant smoke with decent nicotine and very little bite and my only problem with it is that it burns too quickly. I'm just getting into it and it is gone already. I recently purchased a tub of Granger which scratches the same itch as H&H but burns slower and I think has the edge on flavor as well. It does have more tongue bite though. Were it not for Granger, H&H would be a "go to" blend for me but I believe I will stick with Granger and enjoy a pouch of H&H on occasion. Like many others I enjoy it in a cob but I enjoy it more in a large bowl brier.
I have to give this tobacco a "recommended". This is definitely worthy of a try. I'm sure there are many people out there that would love this tobacco but they will never consider trying it. If I get bored with Granger and want a change of pace, I'll come back to this to fill the gap for sure.
As of now, I find Granger, Sugar Barrel and Walnut adequate to fill my mood and taste swings. I just wish there was greater availability of pouches of these classic blends. There are many others I would like to try that I can't find. I don't understand why stores no longer stock them. One day they were there, then they were gone.
I should mention that the pouch I bought last week was Pinkerton production. The shop only had Lane in the tub. I'll continue to look for a pouch of the Lane production as I want to sample that also.
Pipe Used:
Various cons and briars
PurchasedFrom:
Local shop
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 23, 2006 | Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
This was boring. I bought the 50g pouch because I remembered the name and it felt like a better buy than the rest of the bags in the convenience store, but no. I should have bought the Borkum Riff or the Greve Hamilton standards 'cause this one was just plain boring. A dark, dull Burley taste, makes it possible to use it as a blending base for some interesting Latakia home made mixes though. On its own, don't bother.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 2006 | Mild to Medium | Medium to Strong | Medium | Tolerable |
Searching through the Orlik website I came across this perennial favorite. Count me as uninformed, I didn't know it was possible that Orlik could have acquired such a horrible tobacco. And, according to their description, it is indeed a half burley and half virginia mix--another surprise. I've heard the claim before, though I always discounted the idea. I just naturally assumed that the Pinkerton people went about collecting cigarette butts off of parking lots and threw it all in a cement mixer with a fair portion of potpourri.
Amazing how anybody could screw up perfectly good tobacco this bad.
Amazing how anybody could screw up perfectly good tobacco this bad.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 09, 2005 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
There were two very distinctive aromas I associated pipe smoking with when I was a kid: maple/vanilla, and what ever you chose to define Half &Half's (cider? apples? citrus?). An uncle used to smoke the former, and the father of one of my best friends the latter. I loved both, but always thought Half &Half's had a manlier note to it, as it was more discreet and tobacco-like. As teenagers I remember stealing some H&H from the canister in order to roll up cigarettes, and the aroma-compared to cigarettes-was absolutely out of this world.
Nowadays, many years later (and I mean many) I find H&H more of a trip down memory lane than a smoking experience proper. Together with Prince Albert, Carter Hall and some other Middleton concoctions, this is one of the ?classic? American tobaccos readily available in Mexico City. I don't smoke it that often, but every now and then, especially when in public or family reunions, this tobacco and the Prince do come in handy.
I don't know if the H&H version I used to smoke as rolled up cigarettes was the American Tobacco Cº version or if it was the Pinkerton rendering. Today I find this tobacco has an ?industrial? note to it: both in its presentation and in flavor. It is obviously machine processed and blended. More than cut, this tobacco is chopped and even if it isn't shag, I assume it can still be smoked in cigarette form.
As far as heavily industrialized drug store blends go, H&H is a pretty good smoke. It has a subtle and piquant aroma (not entirely sweet, not entirely sour, but somewhere in between), it packs and burns easily, it isn't prone to tongue bite (except if you puff too often and heavily), and it's cheap. In spite of the strange aroma/topping, what you actually get is an unmistakable burly taste (I don't detect any Virginias here). If you do smoke it too often, I find it dries up the palate. It won't age gracefully (like a good Virginia), but it will simply turn to dust. Like memories sometimes do.
Nowadays, many years later (and I mean many) I find H&H more of a trip down memory lane than a smoking experience proper. Together with Prince Albert, Carter Hall and some other Middleton concoctions, this is one of the ?classic? American tobaccos readily available in Mexico City. I don't smoke it that often, but every now and then, especially when in public or family reunions, this tobacco and the Prince do come in handy.
I don't know if the H&H version I used to smoke as rolled up cigarettes was the American Tobacco Cº version or if it was the Pinkerton rendering. Today I find this tobacco has an ?industrial? note to it: both in its presentation and in flavor. It is obviously machine processed and blended. More than cut, this tobacco is chopped and even if it isn't shag, I assume it can still be smoked in cigarette form.
As far as heavily industrialized drug store blends go, H&H is a pretty good smoke. It has a subtle and piquant aroma (not entirely sweet, not entirely sour, but somewhere in between), it packs and burns easily, it isn't prone to tongue bite (except if you puff too often and heavily), and it's cheap. In spite of the strange aroma/topping, what you actually get is an unmistakable burly taste (I don't detect any Virginias here). If you do smoke it too often, I find it dries up the palate. It won't age gracefully (like a good Virginia), but it will simply turn to dust. Like memories sometimes do.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 04, 2024 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild | Pleasant |
Been smoking pipes for 20+ years and always looking for that classic pipe aroma that exuded from my grand father's pipe as a young child. I have found exactly what I was looking for in Half & Half! I purchased my first pouch of this about 7 or so years ago, and ever since then I have absolutely loved it. In fact, this may sound weird, but another gentleman on here had the same experience, I had my absolute BEST experience smoking a pipe with H&H, hands down. Don't know how it happened, but the aroma, smoothness and smoke that was coming out of my pipe that evening, has never happened to me before. It was euphoric! I've had some pretty good experiences in all my years of piping, but nothing as profound as this was. In fact, I still often think about it. So in summary, this is a great tobacco (my personal favorite), it's not the cheapest anymore, crazy as that sounds, but something I always have on hand and always enjoy. Would be perfectly fine if this was the only tobacco I could smoke for the rest if my life.
Pipe Used:
MMC cob, multiple briars
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and cigars
Age When Smoked:
1-5
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 22, 2023 | Mild | Medium | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
I don’t really understand all the negative reviews. I think this is a fantastic blend. It has a very full nutty mildly sweet flavour which is consistent throughout the bowl.
I wouldn’t refer to it as an aromatic, I don’t notice much else other than the delicious sweet nuttiness.
It’s a blend you can load up and light without too much worry, burns easily, no bite at all, perhaps a few harsh notes if puffed very quickly.
One thing I do find is that it coats my mouth in a dry feeling, difficult to describe.
Nicotine is mild, flavour is quite full, burns fairly quickly, and can be an all day smoke. It’s a 4/4 from me.
I wouldn’t refer to it as an aromatic, I don’t notice much else other than the delicious sweet nuttiness.
It’s a blend you can load up and light without too much worry, burns easily, no bite at all, perhaps a few harsh notes if puffed very quickly.
One thing I do find is that it coats my mouth in a dry feeling, difficult to describe.
Nicotine is mild, flavour is quite full, burns fairly quickly, and can be an all day smoke. It’s a 4/4 from me.
Pipe Used:
Peterson
PurchasedFrom:
4noggins
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 19, 2023 | Mild | Mild | Very Mild | Tolerable |
This is instantly, noticeably harsher on the throat and nostrils than Sir Walter Raleigh, and burns a bit hotter than most American OTC's I've tried. The flavor lacks the depth and rich nuttiness of more refined codger blends. With so many better American-style OTC"s readily available for the same price, I simply cannot recommend this blend
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 09, 2023 | Mild | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
Another popular codger blend, H&H sets itself apart by being topped with an anise flavoring.
Mild, no tongue bite, forgiving of your pack, and readily available. Easily an all-day smoke with a pleasant enough room note.
Mild, no tongue bite, forgiving of your pack, and readily available. Easily an all-day smoke with a pleasant enough room note.
Pipe Used:
Missouri Meerschaum Ozark
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
Fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 26, 2022 | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
This disaster grew on me. It smells like cough syrup in the bag. It has a strong cigarette scent when smoked - you will have to wash if you don't like the smell lingering on you.
The first draw, I got cough syrup and bad ciggy taste....I tried to finish the bowl nd the more I smoked it, I found myself actually getting used to the cherry cough syrup nightmare.
I can see someone who enjoys cigarettes taking a liking to this, so I would recommend this to them.
I won't buy this again but it has encouraged me to try Cult.
The first draw, I got cough syrup and bad ciggy taste....I tried to finish the bowl nd the more I smoked it, I found myself actually getting used to the cherry cough syrup nightmare.
I can see someone who enjoys cigarettes taking a liking to this, so I would recommend this to them.
I won't buy this again but it has encouraged me to try Cult.
Pipe Used:
Clay pipe
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and cigars
Age When Smoked:
3 months old
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 12, 2022 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED! Have been smoking pipes regularly for 6 years. Started with Capt Black and moved to bulk aromatics from a pipe shop, Lane 1-Q , BCA, RLP-6, some light burlys, and various fruit flavors, predominantly black raspberry. I am still experimenting with my mixture preferences. I recently ran out of tobacco and purchased a pouch of Half & Half to tide me over until I can get to the pipe shop & because the price was right $4.50. It was the first thing I ever smoked 46 years ago as a teenager and found it harsh with much bite. (In all fairness, as I remember the tobacco was dry & stale and I smoked too fast: no wonder harsh & biting!) Upon opening the pouch, I found it moist with only a slight aroma. When I lit it, I found it to be much more mild and pleasant than that first experience. I have to agree with the many other reviewers that rated it as a good "go-to", working man's smoke: by no means a " top-shelf" smoke, but a solid and frequently underrated value for the price. I give it 3 of 4 stars for what it is. Just for the record, it is now made in Denmark by Scandinavian Tobacco Group and imported by Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd according to the package.
Pipe Used:
Carolina Briar
PurchasedFrom:
Mohican Discount Tobacco
Age When Smoked:
Right from store
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