Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Velvet

Purchased the 1.5 Oz variety. The tobacco is course cut, moist but not wet. The aroma immediately reminds me of Carter Hall. Burns and stays lit decent straight from the pouch. The taste at first light is pleasant, sweet, aromatic and cool. After a few minutes, things change. The pipe heats up. Flavors are a very light brown sugar, and a side note of a wet paper bag. Smoke is nice and plentiful, but starts to irritate the inside of my mouth slightly. Doesn’t quite bite my tongue, but I feel it could if I’m not careful. The pipe finishes up with the same wet cardboard or paper bag flavor... which actually isn’t THAT offensive, (believe it or not). But now I also detect a hint of cherry flavor in the background. Nic hit at medium. Conclusion: Recently I believe Velvet has gained some traction on social media. There is really no reason to smoke this nowadays. If your a burley guy on a budget, who just wants a good smoke, look to C&D’s bulk offerings instead. Much better quality at the same price point.

Man I am very disappointed. This was one of the first tobaccos I bought when I first started smoking a pipe in 1996. I used to buy it by the tub. It had an absolutely mouth-watering aroma that was like cinnamon raisin English muffins. I couldn't get enough of it. But I bought some recently and something changed drastically. The aroma is no longer there. The taste isn't there, either. This doesn't seem to even be the same tobacco. What the heck happened? I know blends change over time, but this is ridiculous. I'm saddened because it used to stir up great memories for me whenever I'd catch a whiff of it. Reminded me of fishing and smoking out on our deck with my father. Not anymore. This sucks.

I am going to be kinder to this little tobacco than others have been. When you open the pouch there is a smell of something sweet added to the Burley. I don't know what it is, but it is not too strong and doesn't last long in the bowl. When lit, the first few puffs give off this same aroma. Again, the word is sweet. Not, mind you, like candy, but more like the sweetness from chewing tobacco or something like that. As you smoke, the flavoring disappears and the mild Burleys shine through. Now, the word is mild. Although the contents of the pouch seem overly moist when opened, the smoke is dry and cool. The taste does not change throughout the bowl. Even down to the last puff, the taste doesn't change. There is no bite. It burns cool to the end. The nicotine level is a little low for my taste, but that can be a real selling point to some smokers. And, speaking of selling points, this is the only Burley that I've found so far that the wife will tolerate. Most Burlies get tossed out with me in tow. Velvet is tolerated in small doses. The same cannot be said for Prince Albert, Granger, Half & Half, Sir Walter Raleigh, Carter Hall, or any Burley from the tobacco shop. Velvet does what none of these could do!

I feel there isn't much to talk about with this one. It is REALLY light & pretty bland. If you are in a pinch and need a quick smoke I suppose it would get you through. Just buy 1 pouch though......

I realy wanted to like this tobacco. I tried hard to, but, in the end I just had to give up. I needed my tounge. The bite from this tobacco, is overwhelming. No matter how I paked it, or how slow I sipped my pipe, I was rewarded with tounge bite. What made me try to like this stuff? The taste. I loved the flavor of this tobacco! Almost ginger in flavor, and a good tobacco flavor to boot! The aroma is fantastic, and the room note did not chase people away. However, the @&*#! bite, could not be tolerated. After about half a pouch, over a weeks time, I just had to give up. At one point, I thought I permanently cooked my toung. Velvet: smooth, rich, luxurious. NOT!

If you are looking for a cheap burley you can certainly do worse than Velvet. Although I usually don't care for burley blends, I bought a pouch of this because my friend said his father smoked it and he said he missed the smell. Be fore I gave him the pouch to take with him, curiosity got the better of me and I tried a few bowls. I have to say I was surprised! Although nothing spectacular it was certainly passable. It reminded me of cigarrettes and I could barely notice any flavoring. I have to say though- this stuff truly lives up to its name. It is perhaps the smoothest smoke I have ever tried. It smokes effortlessly. Unfortunately there is nothing to keep me buying more. Try it out though before you try any nasty "burley light-without a bite" in the jar stuff!

To me, Velvet is Half/Half poured into a tin that recently had Capt.Black Cherry flavor in it, and allowed to rest a week. These two are so close to my senses, it's hard to differentiate. We actually put some Velvet in a long time H/H smokers pouch and he just puffed right along. Not scientific perhaps, but notable. The tins opened side by side were visually identical in color, cut and surprisingly almost the same odor. To be just burley, this was strikingly different colors like H/H. I am really starting to think, based off of some older reviews, that this has now changed to containing some Virginia or light Cavendish in addition to just Burley. The Velvet also had just a hint of cherry odor, compared to H/H. That's with several sniffers sniffing, and really trying to find a difference. Smoke is fine, typical of these offerings. It does nothing that H/H or SWR can't do for me, and I have tons of them, so I imagine this tin will last me till the trumpet sounds. It surprises me at so many 1 star reviews. It isn't that bad at all. I suppose if you judge everything off of an faded old dusty pouch you found at Elmer's BBQ and front-end alignment. I do like to add a bit of cherry to this as a Ziploc bag blend, about 80% Velvet 20% cherry.

Edit: I recently had the pleasure to smoke a good sized, 20min bowl of some 40+year old Velvet from a collectors stash. I can tell you what I smoked, is NOT what is in the new tub I personally own. The vintage Velvet is darker (in flavor and color-which may be expected-) with more coffee and chocolate tones. The newer is much more airy flavor and a hint on the cherry side. Two radically different tastes, but both good on their own. The older Velvet was a finer grind of leaf as well. I wonder how much is age, or change of blend by manufacturer.

Velvet is an interesting blend. A codger blend, to be sure, but its not what i would think of when i think of codger blends. To me, they are best represented by carter hall, half and half, Prince Albert, SWR and the like. And Velvet shares they're basic profile of primarily otc burleys flavor, easy cut for packing and burning, mildly cigarette-like notes, etc. But Velvet seems to my taste a bit more flavored and chemically. Don't get me wrong; i enjoy it, ive smoked a lot of it, and will smoke a lot more. It just has an extra flavoring that os initially off putting, but one may come to desire. Its a sort of fruity topping that would typically not jive with my palate. But im able to enjoy something in most blends i try, and this one is no exception. Try it if you like otcs. Not the best of the bunch, but certainly not the worst.

Not much more to add. Basic and simple Burley. I like Burleys, and think there are better OTCs out there, but its worth a try. Packs, lights and smokes easy enough. Will not be rushing out to get more, but not unhappy that I bought some.