Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Sail Cavendish (Sail Aromatic)

I don't know if Theodorus Niemeyer Co., the blenders of Sail, issued this line as a direct competition with D&E (the original blenders of the Amphora range), but I was under the impression that Sail was a mirror of some Amphora blends (i.e.: Sail yellow being almost an exact replica of Amphora's Regular, in the brown pouch).

To me, Sail Green was a market response to Amphora's green pouch: a concoction of Burleys, Virginias and Orientals, heavily doused or infused with a chocolate/vanilla sauce. Maybe it was the other way around. In any case, Sail Green while not as strong and aromatic as its Amphora counterpart, was a good, steady and reliable aromatic smoke, very well prepared, with a nice nose. It is also definitley better than Sail's Black Cavendish (which, by the way, has not yet been included under the brand's listings).

There is a certain chocolate undertone to it, that made it palatable, but, at least for me and unlike Sail Yellow, not a regular smoke. The aftertaste was for me somewhat stale and dry. I always found I needed to drink a glass of water after a pipeful of Sail Green.

A good aromatic choice if you find it. Simple, mild to medium, on the dry side, and not too sweet, but sweet enough to remind you this is a full sail aromatic.

As aromatics go, this one is rather inoffensive. That is, the aroma will not get you thrown out of the house and the taste will not blow you away. I think that someone looking to try Virginia or Oriental tobacco should give this one a try. For myself, though not an expert, I became very bored with this blend. For the price, it could have been a lot better. And, the traditional tongue-bite associated with aromatics is here, as well. The nicotine level is low and I found myself wishing to have a smoke while still puffing on this stuff. The moisture level in the pouch was perfect and the cut made it easy to fill a medium pipe. I guess I like a little more bang for the buck!

This is a pleasant, quite lightly cased tobacco. I never found the latakia or the orientals others have mentioned, but it was rather tasty for a pouch blend. It reminded me of Kentucky Club, but with an added casing of light vanilla and a fresh, almost grassy flavor similar to fresh cut clover.

Sail Green is a easy going blend for those times when you need a plain simple smoke.

I picked this up based on the many positive reviews. I didn't really care for it. Not sure why. For a drug store tobacco it's made with quality leaf. I've tried other Danish blends and didn't like them either. It's probably me. That's why I still somewhat recommend it. It's not bad tobacco and a lot of people seem to like it. It's just not my cup of tea.

The tin of Sail that I tried was 15+ years old, so I am not sure if the recipe has been changed since then or not. The tobacco packs well and smells like a drugstore tobacco with a very small amount of Latakia. There is not much in regards to oriental tang but it does impart a coolness to the blend. I did not notice any tongue bite or other "cheap tobacco" tricks. The blend is not going to be confused with a high quality English blend, but overall is not bad, even if it is a bit one dimensional.

Regrettably, I have to downgrade this to two stars. While I still feel that it is a three star in the category-it really pales in compairson to the more natural tobaccos I have been smoking.

Origial Review:

Sail is the finest tobacco that you will ever buy at a gas station or convenience store. It exhibits many qualities of very fine quality tobaccos while having the availability of much letter tobaccos (i.e. Captain Black or Borkum Riff).

Though it isn't a standout in any category, with its slow burning broken flakes, a topping that doesn't interfere with the tobacco and a great smell-Sail seems to do everything more than adequately. It isn't wet or goopy, nor does it bite. It stays lit, doesn't burn hot so its good to smoke indoors or out. It isn't overpowering with nicotine, which is a plus in my books.

I taste mostly Virginia tobacco with some Orientals. I cannot detect Latakia or Burley, their presence must be either very small and/or masked by the casing, which smells of anise but does not impart more than a mild flavour on the tobacco.

If you are ever in the market for tobacco and it happens that there is no good tobacconist around, you can always count on Sail to provide a good, cool, reliable smoke!