Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Sir Walter Raleigh

Burley goodness, classic American. Very nice, an awesome choice for burley lovers. I can't believe it took me so long to try this little jewel, it's so delicious.

The pouch note is of nice pungent classic tobacco. First light doesn't show much, but it quickly develops a nuttiness and sweetness that I have not found in any other blend. I've been smoking this non stop since I discovered it and intend to do so for a while.

Don't listen to the negative reviews; they either don't like burley or were expecting the complexity of the tinned blends that cost an arm and a leg. If you are a tobacco snob then don't bother telling us what you think of it, we already know. If you want a nice, straight forward and enjoyable smoke and are a burley fan then give it an honest shot, it won't disappoint.

Well when I got this tobacco I wasn't expecting much. I was expecting to bring a smile to a lady-friend's face because her grandfather smoked it. I did do that but I also found a good friend.

Maybe I'm just an easy dude to please but I can honestly say that I love this tobacco. Nice and mild, tasty, easy to pack, and a pleasure to smoke. A perfect thing for the morning, noon, or night and just the sort of thing I like to have while I sit and ruminate, read, or work.

Like a good dog this one will never bite you and will gladly keep you company. I would recommend this to everyone.

I’ll say it up front. I love codger blends and burley tobacco! I love the rest of em too, of course, but I can love a straight burley as well as anything. SWR is at least as good as any of them and we’ll worth having in your rotation for when you just want a pleasant and unobtrusive companion for a half hour or so of relaxing contemplation. The burley is clearly the main thing. Nutty. Cocoa. I enjoy the top note. I don’t get the molasses so much, but occasionally taste it. I definitely get the anisette which comes through as a pleasant herbal flavor to me. SWR is by no means a mind-blowing symphony of boutique tobaccos playing off each other, but for what it is, it is a masterpiece.

When I opened the Humidor I could smell a earthy, rich tobacco with a slight cocoa aroma. The tobacco which is uniquely cut was drier so I did not air it on a paper towel for any length of time which is my standard practice. It filled the bowl nicely and I very lightly tampered. It burned very evenly at a moderate pace but seemed to burn hot easily, with no bite, although I sip slowly and I had to re-light 6 times for I am a slow smoker. It burned down to a nice darker gray ash. There was a slight bit of moisture when finished.

It lit very easily and I was met by a pleasant earthy, woody flavor with a touch of cocoa. However that soon changed and it turned into a wonderful light milk chocolate flavor that left a nice pleasant chocolate flavor in my mouth between puffs. There was s light bitter wood flavor that appeared but it complimented the chocolate while I had smoke in my mouth a left as the smoke left. The smoke was abundant even for my sips and it had a very, very pleasant room note.

This continued until about half way through the bowl when the chocolate was replaced by a lite cocoa flavor. A little past halfway the cocoa really began to recede and a lightly salted nut flavor came in with a touch of molasses. A light soapy flavor appeared but like like all the flavors except the milk chocolate they remained in the background. The last quarter of the bowl the light bitter wood taste came to the forefront of the flavors and I have to admit I wasn't to sure about how I felt about it. It wasnt unpleasant, but I wasn't very fond of it but the tobacco flavor after several puffs pushed it back and it was a strong, earthy finish that was a bit strong.

All in all this was a very nice smoke. The flavors mostly danced in the background as the tobacco starred with two exceptions, when the mild chocolate came in it was dominant for several puffs but began to recede and the same with the bitter wood taste towards the end. I really enjoyed the taste this left in my mouth between puffs and this was on the whole a very pleasant smoke.

Overall, I would give it 4 stars here. A true favorite in my rotation with the Field and Stream Match, Carter Hall, Barking Dog,Maltese Falcon, Pirate Kake and Sir Walter Aromatic.. A huge thumbs up to Sir Walter Raleigh. For those trying it my advice is to sip it and relish the flavors and the after taste left in your mouth for 3/4 of the bowl. There was a very light and pleasant aftertaste when done smoking that lasted about a half hour. Bought in the pouch.

This is one of the few surprises of my pipesmoking life. Not being a burley fan, this is a major event. I ordered a pouch of Sir Walter Raleigh on my last order from Smokingpipes for blending purposes. I decided to try a bowl solo and was pleasantly surprised. I found this to be delicious on it's own and could taste the molasses casing and the tobacco also. The anisette is hardly noticeable. I think that STG has improved the quality of this blend. They're to be congratulated. I have smoked hundreds of blends over the past 55 years, so I consider myself a knowledgeable participant in this wonderful pleasure we all enjoy. It burns cool and dry from start to finish. There is lovely sweetness all the way down the bowl, with absolutely no harshness. If you happen to buy a pouch that is bone dry, simply spray it with a little distilled water to bring it back to life. SWR needs a reasonable amount of moisture to bring out the wonderful flavor. I tried this blend years ago and found it bitter and tasteless. Who knew this would be so good. No wonder so many enjoy this blend. I am now a fan. I would rate this wonderful blend 4 stars, because of the quality and it's available to everyone at a reasonable price. If you havn't tried this blend in years, try it again.

I recently purchased a 14 ounce tin of SWR regular and have to say I am quite pleased with this all Burley blend. Upon opening the tin, it was very fresh and springy, but not with excessive moisture. It was identical in appearance to ERR - both not exactly cube cut, but more like a cut plug with some short, broad leaf. The 14 ounce tin of ERR is nearly full and when placed side by side with SWR, you can't tell them apart by appearance alone. It is in the tin note where you start discerning the difference. Where ERR is chocolate-like in aroma, with perhaps a touch of the rum that is added, upon opening SWR you get the smell of slightly fermented apples. However, the taste of SWR is more chocolate and fruity-like, and stronger than ERR in taste. When you put your nose into the tin and take a deep smell, SWR smelled just like an Italian spiced rum/chocolate cake, laced with apples - very delicious. This wonderful aroma translates into the taste and remains throughout the entire smoke.

SWR was smoke-able right out of the tin. Filling and lighting were a breeze and few re-lights were required. There was a mild chemical taste after first light, but unlike ERR, this chemical taste never really interfered with the overall smoking experience (my several year-old tin of ERR still has a pronounced chemical presence). In spite of the casing's prominent flavor, I did taste good, honest, Burley leaf throughout the smoke. I personally didn't detect any bitterness with SWR. perhaps the bitterness many have described, in my opinion, is nothing more than the natural bitterness of Burley - and I mean it in a good way. Very much like the bitterness in a fine cigar, but certainly not as pronounced. It probably has to do with the addition of some Kentucky Burley. Some like it and others do not. It produced a beautiful side stream sweetness - always translating to the taste. The room note is good, old-fashioned Burley sweetness. It burned slow and even, always cool, left no dottle, and never produced a bit of moisture. It was a nicely sweet smoke and never harsh.

I can see where some have noticed its smoking similarities to ERR as it tastes similar. One of the best of the codger Burleys. SWR is a bit more fuller-bodied than ERR which gives it a slightly spicier taste. According to my family, the room note of the two are not exactly the same but very similar. It is interesting in I read somewhere that Lane Ltd. (who took over the blending of ERR from Larus up until its discontinuance) was licensed to blend this tobacco for Brown & Williamson, perhaps the key to their being so similar. If you are looking for an affordable, every day good, solid smoke, SWR regular should satisfy. The roomnote is very "old school" sweet smelling pipe tobacco and will get you comments like, "reminds me of what my grandfather used to smoke..." Very comforting all around. As stated, one of the best of the codger Burleys still available.

UPDATE 12-5-11: Buy a tub, open the seal and let it sit with the plastic lid on and age some. For me, after a year and a half, no chemical taste or bitterness whatsoever, and never a bite. If you like Burley, don't pass this up. A very underrated tobacco.

If you smoke burley then you've been here. You've smoked it when you started out and I keep going back. I prefer burley's and I've done the Rattray's, Dunhill's, the Frogs...and I keep going back to SWR. Doesn't deserve platitudes, it is just what it is..Its burley and it is Sir Walter Raleigh and that's it.....

A good tobacco for a corncob. I have found it smokes best in a small corn cob with a small bowl. If you move up to bigger pipes, the smoke turns sour half way down the bowl. Great to smoke as an occasional "nostalgic" smoke. Lot's of "blue smoke" as you puff away!

***UPDATE 1-2-07*** I must update and upgrade my previous review. Upon hearing of the Death of former President Gerald Ford, I also heard Sir Walter Raleigh was his everyday smoke. So, I pulled the pouch out of my humidor and thought I would have a smoke in his honor. This time I loaded up a vintage Kaywoodie "Fine Line" Bulldog, and lit up. I must say this tobacco is quite simple, yet good in a way I did not previously appreciate. In a briar, I now find this tobacco to be extremely flavorful, with true burley flavor shining through all the way down the bowl. It also no longer turns sour for me towards the bottom of the bowl. My partner, who grew up in "Tobacco Country" says the smell reminds him of the old days, and this is the way a tobacco should smell while being smoked. I can now see why President Ford enjoyed it. I must now upgrade this blend to 4 stars! A true classic!

P.S- I wonder if the few months of aging in my humidor made a difference? You never know how long these blends sit on the shelf at your local drugstore, so who knows? Mybe a little aging made The Great Sir better?

I reviewed this years ago, but decided to give it a new look.

Cube cut, very dry in the tin, almost bone dry, it looks of a dark/molasses brown color. Smells raisiny, earthy, chocolatly, sweet and if it makes sense, warm and inviting.

I packed using the frank method and used no filter.

First light and we are off and running. Taste nothing like it smells. Occasionally you might get a subtle hint of those, but it is toasty, nutty and slightly sweet burley all through to the bottom. Kinda one dimensional to me, but would make a great morning smoke.

Now, grabow used to be presmoked pipes from my understanding. Apparently, not anymore, but I didn’t know that until after I smoked a whole bowl, but my pipe would get pretty hot as I smoked, but never did I get any tounge bite from SWR at all. I have a test I do after I smoke a pipe, sometimes, to check for bite or tar burn, which is I drink a soda and if you get above average burn from the carbonation, you probably got bit slightly. No such thing with this stuff, stayed consistent and cool burning through the whole bowl.

One thing I really like about this, that other burley’s do not have, even my beloved Granger sometimes, is the relight sulphuric taste or sometimes it comes in at the end of the bowl and nearly ruins the whole bowl. Not with SWR. Relights well and no bad taste and if it does, it dissipates quite quickly and back to the burly taste.

Only used 4 matches throughout the session. Very good there.

Overall, old Sir Walter here, is gentleman and a scholar, one whom any smoker would be wise to spend time with.