Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Velvet

I think the long and short of this is that if you appreciate Burley, you will find this smoke enjoyable, and if you don't like Burley, you won't like this smoke. All in all, I found it to be smooth, well behaved, and fairly well tasting if somewhat too mild.

Don't be put off my it's relatively low rating...the way most people purchase anything will tend to create a bias giving relatively low rates to the cheaper, and most available blends such as this.

One of my favorite tobaccos, Marlin Flake, has a total of 26 very favorable ratings. Deservably so. However, it is fairly expensive, and not available at the corner market everywhere. In other words, practically everyone who has bought it has some experience with Virginia tobacco before, and knows they like the genre, before they go through the effort to find, and shell out the money to buy, a can of Marlin Flake.

Not so with Velvet and other cheap and available tobaccos. It is very easy to purchase a pouch "on a whim" without knowing whether or not you even appreciate the general type of tobacco. Therefore, you are going to get a lot of people buying it who don't like the type, and therefore aren't going to like that particular blend.

If Marlin Flake was available in every drugstore for $2 a pouch (heaven!), I guarantee you there would be a much lower rating, simply because you would have people buying it who don't appreciate the genre. And I think much of the negative rating of Velvet is due to the same sort of thing.

This is a smooth tobacco, little or no topping, with a pleasant, if not full, burley taste. You can certainly do worse.

This is the closest thing to Carter hall that I have found although it is stronger it is still not as strong as half and half but it is a once a day smoke (any more and your tongue will hurt) buy other then that it is pretty good you could mix it with super value if you want to tone it down but that's about it

Very pleasant to me. No frills, just smooth and.enjoyable. Didn't bite. And I'm a freight train when it comes to smoking. Would recommend as an everyday smoke.

Solid reliable blend with a pleasant room note. Bites me if smoked too quickly. Lacks a little nicotine strength for me but still it is a regular in my rotation. Room note is maple sugar and a little anise. Packs and lights easily. Buy the big tub - better than pouches and more cost effective.

This tobacco shines with age. Nothing complex and very mild, but a slow, gentle smoke reveals a nice dried raspberry sweetness with a hint of dark chocolate on the edge. When I opened a jar that has been sealed for 5 years the fruity, nutty, tin note was astounding. Ten years ago when I put this back it was my apocalypse reserve and I wasn’t high on it, but today it is a decent smoke. For an inexpensive otc tobacco it’s well worth having on hand in the cellar, and in 10 years you’ll have a pleasant surprise.

I remember buying a pouch of this back in 2000ish when I started smoking pipe. I seem to remember it being a thin ribbon cut much like Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic. And I recall it burning hot. However I picked up a pouch today, and the cut was more of a crimped or cubed. Smell in the pouch smelled kinda like Half & Half, but the taste was much simpler. This is a straight up burley with a very light topping. Very mild. I loaded up a Dr. Grabow Royal Duke , and for the next 30 minutes or so, I was in heaven. Didn't bite one bit and burned cool.

Velvet is a classic drug store brand. Burley based like the other classics. In the jar/pouch it smells like raisins (that could be the alcohol topping). Requires more relights than PA or SWR. A good everyday smoke, but I like the other classics better. Recommended.

Someone sent me some 23-year old Velvet and I was taken by surprise at how good it is! Aging really improves this Burley-based tobacco just like it does Virginias. This is a simple tobacco made of quality leaf with a very subtle flavoring that is hard to identify. There is the nutty, slightly chocolate flavor that is associated with Burley but there is something else, something like sweet rum. The flavoring is so subtle as to be almost subliminal. This tobacco is a real and simple treat.

Not bad. I like it. Yes, it does kinda smell like Play Do but that doesnt bother me. I do think its far better than Half & Half, about on par with Carter Hall and not quite as good as Prince Albert.