Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Mick McQuaid Plug

Smells like a Christmas kitchen in the pouch, all plum pudding and brandy and almond with traces of chocolate and vanilla, and the smoke, for once, fulfills the aroma's promise. The topping is perfectly done: the nut and brandy harmonise but can be separately distinguished, the sweetness is restrained enough to make room for the earthy tones of the base tobaccos, and the flavour holds its integrity as the bowl burns, smoothly and coolly, to the heel. It's not complex, but it's very well executed all the same. A wonderful dessert blend.

First, a note of thanks to fellow reviewer DrDna for gifting me a sample of this and other no longer produced blends that he thought I might enjoy.... He sure thought right with this Mick McQuaid Cut Plug, which was a precursor to McQuaid Square Cut.

This tobacco, quite simply, is a little slice of Heaven. My sample arrived from a not long ago opened tin, so the moisture level was perfect. The broken flake was deeply dark and had a smell similar to that of some of the currently produced Gawith & Hogarth Lakeland Flakes.

The tobacco loaded easily in a Ruthenberg medium sized bowl pipe that I enjoy smoking more powerful Virginia tobacco in. And folks, this is a powerful Virginia blend. It was easy to light and keep going and the smoke was rich, full and creamy with a "to die for" room note. The nicotine level was at 8 on a scale of 10, and there was no bite at all in the ever so slightly sweet leaf. Comperable, perhaps, to the very old and fragrant St. Bruno Flake that is no longer made either.

It has been a long time since I've received so much enjoyment from a bowl of tobacco.... I have enough of my sample remaining for another 2-3 bowls and I will not ration slowly. Bowl number two comes later this evening and I'll finish off the sample in the morning.

Man, this is good stuff!

I bought a pack of this amazing tobacco with the intention of taking something on a long hike that wasn't going to dry out in a pouch, and it was my first foray into the world of plug tobacco.

First point; if you're of a lazy disposition, don't bother, it's wasted on you. If like me, however, you treat the preparation of the tobacco as a part of the overall smoking experience, it is truly wonderful.

The plug itself is hard as a brick and you need a very sharp knife to cut it, but if you're an outdoorsman, or indeed a gentleman worth any salt, you'll have one of those anyway, so it is no chore. The beauty is that you can shave thin slices off, as if you were finely carving wood, and rub it out in the usual manner, or you can cut a thick slice and cube-cut it. It lends itself to any occasion, and you can play with it as it suits.

Many people talk of the smell of christmas pudding with this, and although there is something quite sweet and spicy about the nose, it is very subtle. To me, this tobacco has the sweet, nutty smell of a bygone age, and everything about it, from the preparation to the last stirring of the dottle, transports me to the middle of the last century. Probably sitting on a five-bar gate and chewing a piece of hay as I survey a landscape several decades away from yet being turned into a Tesco car park...

In all seriousness, I have had my best experiences smoking this while outside in country. I never get quite the same satisfaction smoking it indoors, but outdoors, on a sunny afternoon with a pint of mild ale, nothing has yet come close to the kind of satisfaction I have had from it.

The first charring light gives you a sweet nuttiness, and as long as you sip it this flavour remains delicately throughout. It gives for fine plumes of thick, rich and nutty smoke and, provided that you have prepared it correctly, generally takes little or no relighting.

I generally never smoke a pipe if I have anything to do other than smoke a pipe, so it goes without saying that it is a tobacco to be savoured and honoured. After all, with the prep involved it would be a travesty to not give the smoke the attention that it deserves, so if you're in a hurry, don't bother. That said, if you leave it to go out and come back to it a few hours later, you are still greeted with a distinct nutty sweetness. It also burns down to a fine ash, and I have found myself at the bottom of my bowl having lost 45 minutes in a halcyon haze of sheer pensive pleasure.

In summary, if you re-read this review, you will see the words "sweet" and "nutty" repeated often. This is not because I have the vocabulary of a diabetic squirrel, but because they are the two adjectives that best describe the sensation of this wonderful tobacco.

I will be including this in my summer rotation, and reserving it only for moments of solitude when I am out and about in wood or hollow, and I can relax with a bowl without fear of interruption by some idiot remarking about how cool it is to smoke a corn-cob pipe..

If you want to feel like your granddad when he was a virile young farm labourer, cutting hay by hand in the summer meadow where granny first let him get his hand under her petticoats, buy this stuff.

It is awesome.

Mick McQuaid Plug.

Like most plugs it's intimidating at first sight, albeit after a little preparation it made a wonderful and satisfying smoke! Once the bowl is filled it takes to the flame with ease and also does not necessitate many re-lights. It burns very steady and gives a white/cigar like ash. It contains a good nicotine level for me (about that of Gawith Hoggarth Bosun Cut Plug). For me it gives no bite but we all vary for that ! Its flavour is prominently Virginia but you get the almonds and brandy as a subtle background hit.

This will be very pleasing for the more meticulous among us who are willing to allow a little time to prepare and reap the rewards of this sublime plug!

A cute little chunk of rock hard goodness, with a cute graphic on the foil wrapper. Heavy machinery will come in handy when preparing this nicely flavored and scented tobacco for the pipe. If you use a coffee grinder, be sure to clean thoroughly in the off chance it is used for its intended purpose. McQuaid flavored coffee is not suitable as a beverage. According to my wife.

Some drying time after processing lessens the scent and helps with the lighting and smoking.

I prefer tobacco flavored tobacco in all its glories, but make a rare exception for this little gem. Burns slowly and consistently even when pulverized. By mid-bowl the flavor and scent are mere background players and a rich, sweet and relaxing experience is just around the corner. The finish is wonderful but DGT may have to come into play to keep the fire burning. Perfect for after dinner.

If you have a knife (or maybe a chainsaw) capable of cutting through this plug you will be rewarded with a very cool smoke with just enough flavouring to make it different from other similar offerings. This is a very typical UK/Irish plug type tobacco that your grandfather and his before him would have relished. A real olde worlde plug for the very experienced pipe smoker who appreciates the amount of preparation required to get this ready for the pipe. I've tried various methods of preparation including just stripping it off the plug by hand, and all of them result in the same pleasurable smoke, after several minutes of breaking it up. I can tell you that my present Swiss Army knife will simply not slice through it, and that is my only complaint about this tobacco. If you can get it into small enough bits to fit into the bowl of your pipe it's still worth trying, but make sure you have a lot of big matches and/or gas for your lighter.

This is a tough one to review, sometimes you like a tobacco so much you end up just shouting off about great it is without actually giving any details about it.

When you open the foil wrapper the first thing you notice is the slight aroma of almonds/marzipan, which is very yummy. Like all plugs this tobacco takes some effort to prepare, I slice off a 1-2mm thick slice of the end of the plug, going across the plug. I then rub it out until it all the lumpy bits are gone. I have noticed that it does not take well to not being prepared properly, if it is too coarse (lumpy bits) or too fine (like thread) then tongue bite will result.

If prepared properly it ligths easily. The first 1/3 of the bowl has the flavour of a good smooth virginia, nothing too exciting, but very pleasant non the less. The 2/3 of the bowl, brings in a slight sweetness too the proceedings, nothing too strong just a pleasant background sweetness, not unlike the sweetness that comes through in Dunhill 965. The last 3rd of the bowl is amazing, the almond starts to come through, but it is complementary to the virginia and it does not come to the fore. Its hard to describe, but the level of sweetness and flavour is just perfect, its like marzipan flavoured smoke, hmmmmmm! It is also one of the smoothest tobaccos I have ever tried.

The strength is somewhere in the middle regions, in a small to medium sized bowl, this tobaccos is perfect. In a large bowl I find it can be a bit too much. Tongue bit is non existant if puffed slowly. The resulting ash is quite coarse and it takes more than a few relights, but thats par for the course as far as plugs go.

This is a very big favourite of mine and I would reccomend to everyone as a "try it at least once" type of tobacco.

Wow! This was a pleasure to smoke. I bought a pouch of this shortly after it was announced that they were stopping production on it. I was actually shopping for snuff on Mr. Snuff and noticed this and a few other items no longer produced. So I snatched up one of each.

To start with, I despise plugs. They are a PITA IMO. This plug was not easy to slice, but like I do with all plugs, I just went to town on it and sliced the entire block into flakes immediately. I then cube up the end that is to thin to slice. I found this plug to be just as difficult to slice as any other that I have had.

The good part about this is that it tasted so wonderful that it actually made the work worthwhile. This is sweet. Sweet Virginia and a sweet topping that accentuates the Virginia flavor. I find it very citrus sweet, slightly fruity, but not very nutty. I find the burley is more felt than tasted as the blend has a substantial amount of body and will not leave you lacking for nicotine. It is not easy to light up, but once you get it there, it stays lit pretty well.

I wish I had picked up more of this one as the pouch was smoked up very quickly. If you can find any of this still out there, I highly recommend it.

Another excellent example of rich plug cut maturd virginia tobacco. This tobacco ages well and offers a very rich, somewhat complex taste and aroma.

Preparing this and all plug tobaccos is a part of the wonderful art and science of pipe smoking and gives the smoker the control necessary to enhance the experience of this tobacco.

I do not dry this before smoking other than a few minutes after loading the bowl. Cut and crumble as you like, depending on what characteristics you desire.

I smoke this in a group 4/5 straight billiard.

...a pipe is to be savored...