Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Sir Walter Raleigh

My first review, here is my uneducated take. I think the light topping on this one is extremely well integrated with the tobacco. I found SWR to be everything I first liked about aromatics, which is a little sweetness to take the edge off, without tasting like I was smoking paper soaked in sugar and vanilla extract. I found it also has some of what I like about standard englishes, which is a good tobacco flavor, albeit not a smoky one. It also has some of what I like about Balkans and VaPers, a little spicyness but mostly only on the retrohale for me. I've tried several other VaBurs, burleys, and OTCs looking for the same balance, but while most are good, none of them do it all for me. I still have ERR and Granger to try though, and they are on order.

I learned the concept of "desert island" tobacco from other reviewers on here, and this one is it for me. I still haven't found an aro that I feel the same about, and for English/Balkan there is a short list, but not only one. This is how I will scale my four-star rating(s).

This is a mild blend that is good by its self but will clog a pipe in no time it does have a strange after taste but is good over all if your looking for a light smoke however the smoke from it is anything but light it is super thick so you may want to go outside to smoke this

Love the cube cut, loads and burns very well. From a meer, came across as mostly an unflavored burley, a nice change of pace. From a cob, i get some mustiness and a little bit of sweetness and aromatics; kind of reminiscent of old books. From a briar, i get a lot more must and aromatic character. A very strange set of sensations in the vein of leather/old book/grandparents house.

If not for its terrible bite, I'd smoke a lot of this.

I am a firm believer that all the old drugstore blends have their place, and no one should write them off prematurely. The smell and taste are just as all the other reviews describe: nutty, hint of chocolate, earthy. A very cool smoke. If this was the end of the review, I'd say: "Eh, give it a go, but you won't write home about it."

Unfortunately, that is not the end of my review.

I had issues with this blend. Firstly, the 1.5oz pouch that I got was ridiculously dry - so dry that it literally turned to dust ( not an exaggeration - actual tobacco dust ) as I tried packing it into my pipe. Further, it seemed to be disintegrating into dust even as it sat in the mason jar. Additionally, there is an aftertaste that does not sit right with me. It reminds me of the chemical aftertaste that you have after smoking a cigarette. This is not to be confused with the comparison that burley pipe smokers make to cigarettes - I mean a true chemical aftertaste that is unrelated to the burley.

I tried convincing myself that this was a an oldie-but a-goodie, but after 3 or 4 bowls, I had to dump the rest of it. However, I do not consider it money misspent. For a fiver, I learned an important lesson: Do not buy Sir Walter Raleigh.

If you’re looking for an OTC blend that can be had almost anywhere, you’d be much better off with Captain Black or Half & Half. Sir Walter Raleigh is boring by comparison. I also bought a pouch of the blue “aromatic” and am hoping I like it better. Oh, and it required two relights in a pipe that never needs relights.

Agree with the review fron J.G. The scent of Anisette is strong, and the soapy note is apparent throughout the bowl. it's so strong that it over poweres the nutty burley or even any tobacco taste i was hoping to savor.

The tin when opened has a STRONG waft of whiskey, cheap perfume, & ammonia. Possibly it will fade in a couple months?

Shame as the tobacco looks like a decent quality, though a bit too moist. Prince Albert or Carter Hall has it beat in my opinion. giving this an optimistic 1-star at very best.

This may be the worst tobacco I have ever tried to smoke. The tobacco was bone-dry in the pouch, and crackled like a bonfire when I lit it. It bit so bad that it felt like someone had scraped my tongue with sandpaper. All I could taste was chemicals (battery acid), and a cigarette-ish tobacco after-taste. The aroma was of stale baked goods.

I was not even able to finish the bowl. Do yourself a favor. Buy something else.....

I enjoyed this blend off and on for some twenty years. It always provided a nice nutty, earthy, and in some cases a slightly musty taste (depending on the package or tin). At times there were coffee undertones; others times presented hints of molasses. There was always a rich burley taste. It even responded well when I would mix a tad of perique into the blend. This is, sadly, no longer the case.

For the past two or three years I have had more disappointment than pleasure from my purchases. On occasion I would run into some old packages that (mostly) provided past expectations, and I had a couple of tins that were still the old cut (some cube cut among the other shreds) and flavors. Now they are gone and all I can find is what is, I suppose, currently being produced.

My ratings above reflect the current production. The stuff I can get now resembles what I used to get only in the packaging. Perhaps I have been extremely unlucky, but now it is bland, tasteless, and no longer responds to the addition of perique--very disappointing.

I used to look forward to a bowl of this every morning with a cup of coffee, but no longer. I will try a pouch on occasion to see if the new producer can find the wherewithal to return to a semblance of what was produced for the twenty some years I have been familiar with Sir Walter Raleigh Regular, but I'm not going to leave my pipe cold expecting it. Then again, I have been surprised before.

One star for the new production; three for the old (if you can find it).

A cheap smoke which borders on cigarette tobacco. A good amount of nicotine but not much else to offer. A bit of tongue bite to boot...