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

According to the pouch this is made in Denmark by Orlik. Its a coarse cut tobacco with what I perceive is a very mild vanilla scent in the pouch. In the pouch it is quite damp and its easy to clump the tobacco in your hand. In fact when I opened the pouch I had to literally separate the 50g chunk into its coarse shreds just so I could pack my pipe. The majority of the tobacco is Burley with a few bits of dark Virginia. I don't see any orientals nor Latakia. But what I do see is quality.

My first mistake was not allowing the tobacco time to air out and dry up a bit. In my haste to try this blend I went straight from pouch to pipe......it lit easily enough but the last quarter of a bowl would not burn...it was just too wet and I knew it from how smooth it was to smoke to upon reaching the quarter bowl the smoke became a harsh steamy draw.

My second mistake was using a Brylon straight Yello-Bole. This tobacco burns hot, though the smoke drawn was mellow and relatively cool, and surprise, surprise, fairly dry. But burning such a moist bakkie in a straight pipe is just a no-no....all that gurgle and moisture end up in the mouth really fast near that quarter full mark.

I let it breathe and dry out for 6 hours and loaded my favorite full bent Briar. Lit easily and stayed lit with occasional light tamping. The draw fills the mouth with a very mild and dry smoke which I find tastes of nothing, but I don't usually taste anything with just about everything.

This, in my opinion is not an aromatic at all compared to a black Cavendish C.B. Royal. But as I understand it, Europeans view the term aromatic somewhat differently than North Americans.

The room note is not offensive but don't expect sweet odors...to me it simply smells like mild tobacco note with perhaps just a mild wisp of vanilla. My wife thinks it smells great.....its one of her top ten favorite smokes as well....yeah she also smokes pipe.

What I like the most about this blend is how smooth and mild it is. I found no tongue bite and I'm a fairly heavy puffer. I could smoke this stuff all day....and I do except for when I want nice odors where I reach for my C.B. Royal, and at the end of my day when I always reach for my Blatter & Blatter Mild English.

If you like a really mild smooth smoke like I do, you have to give this one a go. Just don't expect much and you'll be rewarded with nice smooth ride. Just be sure to let it dry out first or you'll be very unhappy.

I guess I love this tobacco for what it doesn't have...tongue bite and a rancid room note. Beginners especially should give this a try.