Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Sail Regular

This was such a nice surprise, much less scented than I was expecting. Easily available, it will be a regular burley va in my cellar.

Hard to taste the Orientals in this Burley mixture, but it is indeed well balanced with sweet Virginias. This is half-way in quality between Sail Natural and Sail Green, lacking the horrid tongue bite of the former and the mellow and sweet taste of the latter.

Not the best, but not a bad drugstore tobacco at all.

An old patient of mine smoked nothing but Sail Regular. I made house calls to him on a regular basis as he was an invalid. His den always smelled of this wonderful blend. The anise was very noticeable in the room note (and always in the pouch) and added to the "old world" pipey smell. This fellow always gave me a pouch whenever I came to visit him. I thoroughly enjoyed Sail Regular each and every time I smoked it. It had a tendency to smoke hot, but once tamed, was always pleasurable. I haven't smoked it in a while and am told that Orlik is the new producer of this. It is sad to read the many reviews of the newer concoction that are so negative. I will have to revisit this and conclude for myself. As for the original Sail Regular - 3 solid stars for a good, honest, and basic pipe tobacco.

UPDATE 1-8-18: Finally got around to purchasing some of the STG made Sail Regular. In a nutshell, the only similarity to what I've been familiar with over the years is the yellow pouch and cut of the tobacco! Pouch note minus the presence of Anise/licorice and replaced with a fruity smell typical of Danish Virgina fare (think Troost Regular). Unlike the original, this one doesn't bite - at all. No taste of any topping, just a mild Va/Burley taste. Does have an agreeable room note - perhaps a tiny bit on the cigarette side upon re-entering the room. Not a bad smoke, but not one that I would revisit on a regular basis. IF the original Sail Regular was still being produced, it would be a regular for me. In a blind taste test I would say this is a totally different tobacco from the original. 3 stars for the original, but only 2 stars for STG's take on what once was a terrific tobacco. If you want a Dutch cavendish, Amphora Original Blend smokes rings around Sail Regular.

Now made by Orlik in Denmark. I find no orientals in this. Mostly coarse cut Burley. This tobacco has no aroma other than natural tobacco. Very coarse cut in long shreds. fairly moist...let it air out a bit and it packs nicely. Lights easily and with a bit of tamping at the start will keep it lit all the way down.

This is a smooth but boring smoke. No taste I can detect and the aroma is that of burning tobacco. It is hard to make it bite, though until near the end of the bowl where it gets steamy and harsh. Some gurgle at this point as well.

I love to use this tobacco for smoothing out the rough edges in my CB Royal. Mixed 50/50 with CB Royal, it makes a beautiful aroma and a pleasant smoking experience.

For the beginner I recommend this straight out of the pouch after some air time. But if you love the aroma of Lane aromatics but hate the bite, try this as a mix. Great!

I have been away from the pipe for a spell and this spring decided to take my old friend back up again. Stopped by a small tobacco shop a friend told me about and picked up a couple of cobs and a tin of Sail. It seemed to be the highest quality pipe tobacco on the shelf (I had hopped for some finer brands)and was very pleased when I opened the tin and found what looked like rubbed virgina tobacco strands. The tin mentioned Latakia however I could not decect it. Packed in my new cob I found the tobacco very easy to light and smoke and found it very enjoyable. Very much on the burley and virgina side of things, very good summer time smoke. Now that I am back on the pipe I will have to give Craig Tarler a call though.........

Upon opening the pouch one is greeted with a partly rubbed-out tobacco exuding a sweet, hay-like aroma, slightly grassy accompanied by hints of black tea as well. Although my packet describes the contents as a 'mild cavendish' I would have thought it was more of a burley blend as there is no black cavendish to be found. I must say that if the exotic tobaccos mentioned above are present, they must be so in small doses.

I gently rubbed out the tobacco (it comes rather dry) a little more to pack the pipe (a cob) and topped the bowl with some smaller crumbs for an easy light. I used two matches but potentially could have settled with only one.

I found that the pouch aroma translated itself into the smoke, which was thin and white. Mid bowl the flavour develops more body, it is not acrid with no gurgle. A nutty undertone comes to the fore as the bowl progresses without any of the nasty bitterness/ammonia than can develop with burley tobaccos and there was no bite present.

The bowl did heat up somewhat as the tobacco burns easily and only required one relight. Near the end a bitter taste does make itself known but it is not overwhelming at all, the taste also becomes slightly ashy. The smoke is slightly monochromatic but that does not make it any less enjoyable. After finishing a pleasant aftertaste is left. I did end up with a small amount of juice in the stem after awhile, but this was nothing a pipe cleaner could not deal with. As far as roomnote goes I found it to be pleasant and inoffensive, others about should not find it too objectionable and may even enjoy the gentle, sweet smell.

To conclude I think this would make a good tobacco for a hot summer day when something lighter is in order, or while in the garden/hobby room as no hard concentration is needed to smoke this. I would like to buy some more pouches, with age it should improve nicely and become a bit 'rounder' over time. Not too bad at all, 3 stars out of 5.

I started pipe smoking when I was 17, and the so-called drug store blends were all that I could afford (beer money being a priority). Happily, theis blend seems to have survived pretty much intact over the years if my memory does not mislead me. Anyway, Sail Regular (Yellow) still comes a little too dry in the pouch, but that's easily remedied. It smokes cool (and dry), having a fairly pleasant (i.e., the wife approves) aroma. A good, no-frills blend that, while a tad pricey, makes for a pleasant, albeit unremarkable, smoke.

This smelled heavily of anise to me. I enjoy licorice, so I had high hopes for this dutch blend. When first lit, a cloud of licorice scented smoke filled the air, I guess all the flavor went up there and then. After about two good puffs this tasted plain and boring. I expected the flavor to last until at least halfway down the bowl. I agree with SopwithCamel, in that this is very much in the same league as Skandanavik, I would not buy this again.

You'd think after 30 years of (mostly on) pipesmoking I would've tried this blend, but I didn't until recently. I had a very fresh sample of this and the green pouch.

After 8 bowls I decided I can't smoke this or its green pouched variant without getting bitten. And this from a person who smokes Symphony regularly, though infrequently. And it would seem Symphony is a somewhat similar blend.

I love the anise and honey taste of Sail and also the Burley kick, but I have a feeling a burning accelerent is added. Sail invariably leaves its skid marks all over my palate, no matter how careful I am. I wish someone would tell me how to smoke this stuff because I do enjoy what flavor is there.