Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Kentucky Bird

Pouch note: All that I detect is natural tobacco, no toppings, flavorings or casings. According to the packaging, there are petals of white roses included in this tobacco, but there is no rose scent detectable. The Kentucky adds a faintly pungent spiciness to this tobacco.

Moisture content: perfect, can be smoked right out of the pouch.

Room note: pleasant, slightly sweet, not at all overpowering.

Smoke: This tobacco packs well and burns cool and evenly, provided you take your time with it, as with any mixture heavily based on Virginia. The flavor is Virginia sweet, and it is while smoking that the rose petals do their job, adding a complex, exotic nuance, while the Kentucky adds a bit of zest.

I would recommend Kentucky Bird as a good, every-day, all-day smoke. It is a light smoke which offers the experienced smoker an interesting smoking experience. I would not recommend it to novices, as the tastes are really subtle nuances which, I think, only an experienced palate can really detect and enjoy. A novice might be tempted to smoke this too quickly in an attempt to "get to the flavor", which will only get him tongue bite.

Give Kentucky Bird a try. It's definitely a departure from Stanwell's usual offerings.

I have to get out of the chorus of Kentucky Bird?s detractors. I?ve been smoking this blend for about 12 years for my aromatic side smoke; I always appreciate it?s balance between measured strength and aroma. If it lets dry in open air for a while, moderates that some harshness coming from heavy top-flavouring, burns easier and tastes better. I used to smoke it as an all-day tobacco, if puffed gently gives no bite, its aroma gets gentle between mouth and nose, sidesmoke is also delicious. The flower petals, you can see clearly in the mass of tobacco, give a slide flourish freshness to taste, but at half bowl disappears at all. Vanilla, thus, is its main aroma, makes it a quite classic danish blend.

It?s worse fault, however, is that leaves a wet dottle in the end of the bowl, means that I rarely managed to burn the fourth quarter of the pack and many times is needed to whip away moisture left in the bottom of the bowl after emptying.

The room note is great with a note of bitterness, characteristic of burning Kentucky.

IMHO, it?s a 3 out of 4 stars aromatic tobacco, for quality and price --I only had the pouch version here.

T

I bought this tobacco out of curiosity after reading some quite negative reviews, and a quest to try some of the classic supermarket blends, and I'll say straight away I was positively surprised! The cut is a relatively coarse ribbon style, with quite a large proportion of different flowers (I think I identified rose petals, chamomile and lavender, orange blossoms, and... tobacco?). The tobacco itself seems to be mainly blonde Virginia. The pouch note is bready with a distinct pot-pourri (lavender and rose mainly) note (surprise surprise), but not in an unpleasant way. The tobacco packs and burns easily and cleanly. This has got to be one of the most inoffensive tobaccos around; the smoke is very mild (but pleasant) from start to finish. Starts off with bready and floral notes, again mainly lavender and rose, to develop into a clean sugar syrupy flavour, developing a slightly sour lemonade flavour with more and more licorice notes towards the heel (used as sweetener no doubt). Room note is very pleasant, bready, slightly floral, not very persistent. One of these tobaccos that could probably be passed off as incense. All in all a surprisingly enjoyable smoke. Definitely worth a go if you're into lighter blends. Could be a good first pipe tobacco since it's very straight forward, mild and surprisingly clean burning and tasting.

I largely agree with Jim Inks' review. Unlike him, I do get some bite, but that's true for most of the OTCs I've tried. Unlike some of those OTCs, the bite was on the light side, if still noticeable. Yes, you can see bits of white rose petals in the blend, but this is a moderate and not an overwhelming aro, just with a very different topping than most botanically flavored blends (unless you smoke GH Grasmere Flake). The rose flavor is present throughout the bowl, but it's rather mellow once you get going. It burns a little on the quick side, but not overly so. If you are looking for a solid but different OTC aro and somehow run across this (I believe it's only available in Europe? certainly not in the US), it's worth trying.

That´s a nice easy going blend! Leaves a sweet floral room note! The taste is sweet and mild. What makes this tobacco unique is the added Kentucky which gives it it´s distinct character and a little smokyness here and there. Good for smokers that are tired of tongue burning, chemical aromatics but like mild and tasty blends. Recomended!

Very gentle and mild tobacco, I remembered it as smell of spring and flowering fields. Good for weekends, sunny days and for smoking while free walking.

Almost everyone agrees: "This is a bad tobacco". Well I don´t. It´s not the best tobacco I´ve smoked but neither the worst. It´s an unexpensive aromatic flavored virgina with a traditional aromatic taste. I´ve always have an open pouch of this blend. Just one recommendation to smoke it: Remember you are NOT a locomotive.

For many years I've avoided OTC blends, most likely because I grew so accustomed to smoking premium blends. However, I never forgot my origins, and this particular blend got under my radar mostly due to its flavor profile, as I enjoy floral notes quite a lot. And so, it was worth giving a shot.

Came pretty moist, but pipe ready. The cut is pretty loose and quite choppy, but still easy to work with. Mechanically, it's very straightforward: easy to pack, light, stays lit well, doesn't smoke hot, nor does it bite.

Flavor-wise, the floral notes are the star of the show, but it doesn't feel like smoking flowers. The petals definitely contribute to the floral taste, but I'm pretty certain that it's augmented in the form of a topping, especially since I also pick up a pretty noticeable taste of vanilla. Most importantly, the flavoring doesn't feel artificial. The component tobaccos have a token say and they are definitely of high-quality, beyond your average OTC. Both the flavoring and the taste remain consistent throughout, whether smoked in a large or a small bowl.

This was a very impressive blend and it convinced me to start giving OTCs another chance every now and then. They serve their purpose and this is no exception. Perfect blend to start the day with a cup of coffee and with enough sweetness to satisfy your aromatic tastes. It's no Lakeland, but it doesn't try to be. As it is, it's a good, high-quality aromatic and I will certainly buy it again in the future.

Well, a good friend in Switzerland was kind enough to send me a goodly sized tin of Kentucky Bird. Ive been wanting to try this blend for a long while but it’s just not available here in the States. I’ve heard many great things about this blend and also read some reviews that were not good, however, the bad reviews always seemed to be tied to impatient smokers that were not smoking it a proper pipe (Churchwarden or a calabash). Well, I’ve smoked my second bowl now. My first was in a Churchwarden and my second in my gourd calabash! I must say it’s truly a remarkable and singular blend. I actually hydrated the Baccy some to increase its moisture content a little to help slow it down and cool it a bit. Of course in doing so I knew the steam would be greater and more likely to cause tongue bite.....so I smoked it in my Gourd calabash with a meerschaum bowl....and it was PERFECT!!! The tin note and room note were awash with that glorious floral (dried rose and geranium flower petals) on top and a nice undercurrent of nuttiness and zest from the Kentucky leaf and the burley .....and also some nice sweet tang from the Virginias. Even after hydrating I only ever have to do my initial False light, tamp a little, and then my True light and this blend burns right through to a fine white ash and no Dottle at all. So, slow down your cadence, moisten the Baccy a little, and grab your calabash and this is an all day enjoyable smoke!