Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Velvet

Back in the golden days of over-the-counter (OTC) tobaccos, blenders sought the perfect mix of toppings to leave a pleasant room note. These mixtures probably resembled those exotic punch recipes from your college days: a little amaretto, some cherry, anise, cinnamon, and vanilla. Velvet seems to have one of these mixtures lightly applied to a basic Burley blend which burns easily if smoked how we can now infer our grandfathers smoked: slowly, using the breath-smoking method.

Inevitably, this blend will be compared to Lane "BL/WB" and John Middleton "Prince Albert." Like "Velvet," both are semi-aromatics, meaning that the leaf is topped but those flavorings take a back seat to the taste of natural tobacco flavor. The same is true here. A basic mixture of white and dark Burley like this takes on a nutty oatmeal flavor that alternates between sweetness and a warm, gentle taste.

It is easy to see why "Velvet" still sells today. Unlike the Danish-style aromatics which quickly became candy-like soda pop flavors in the hands of the big companies, "Velvet" smokes like natural tobacco with a dash of flavoring added. If smoked the way our grandfathers did, namely breath-smoking, it will not bite and provides a mellow, flavorful smoke that burns down cleanly. There is not much Nicotine but if you were to smoke it all day fairly constantly that would not be a problem, and the room would smell vaguely like a tobacco-infused incense had been burned there.

Others have mentioned that this blend benefits from some drying. I suggest that we do as our grandfathers did: open the pouch the night before, then shut it with the little perpetual tape thing they have. The extra moisture and some of the flavoring will dissipate, and by the time you reach the end of the pouch, will be mostly gone. The first quarter of the bowl seems to require some relights and exudes more of the topping, but after that, it is nothing but faintly flavored Burley all the way to the bottom.

I bought this because I remembered the picture on the front of the pouch from the stash a favorite professor kept in a fake potted plant next to the window in his lecture hall. I would buy this again, much as I buy "Prince Albert," for its comforting gentle smoke which is especially useful on road trips or for long conversations about the meaning of life with your favorite students.

I am a big fan of this tobacco. It has a very pleasant natural flavor that doesn't overwhelm. All of the Velvet I have smoked has been produced by Pinkerton. Contrary to some reviewers" comments regarding other Pinkerton blends this tobacco has been consistently good. I like to smoke Velvet in the company of non-smokers or in the few restaurants that still permit pipe smoking. I regularly get compliments on the aroma. Recently I have gifted pipes to friends (note to other puffers: this is a great way to add new members to the pipe fraternity!) with pouches of different tobaccos to sample. Velvet has been the favorite on several occasions. Although it is not the easiest blend to find it is worth the search and at its cheap price should be bought in bulk. I would recommend this tobacco to anyone who is a burley fan, a new smoker or a seasoned smoker who does not smoke burleys. This blend is a winner and a great example of classic American burley.

(STG version) One of my favorite OTC's. - I think that 'Old German Puffer' nailed this one in his review. Thank you sir. - This blend needs air. Not drying nor aging, just airing. The tobacco is coarse cut, and very soft to the touch. Pouch aroma is classic old-school 'American Burley Blend'. I tried the Pinkerton version a while back, and didn't much care for it. Tried the STG version to see if it improved, and while I thought the STG blend was much better, still wasn't really impressed by it. Put it in a mason jar, and on a whim, tried it again a week later, and wow, what a difference. On initial light, reminds me a little (very little) of the topping from half and half, but toned way down. This dissipates quickly. Past the charring, initial light, wonderful 'old school' burley flavors and aromas: nice earthiness, slight cigar leaf, a little cocoa, brown sugar, caramel-molasses, popcorn, (yes, popcorn) - and mostly towards the bottom of the bowl, that wonderful old-time burley toasted nuts and buttered toast. One of very few OTC blends I enjoy to the bottom of the bowl. Even stirring up the last bit with a little ash - yum (buttered toast). No bite. Wonderful 'Grampa's pipe' room note, which I personally really like. Burns nice and dry to the bottom, normal number of relights. I find that if I'm getting a 'popsicle stick, pencil shavings' off-taste, it is an indication that I'm pushing too hard. I think STG really got this one right. It's surprising to me, because I really didn't think I would like Velvet this much. Like many here do at least once, I was just going through the OTC's, so called 'codger blends', just to see If I found one I liked. So far, Velvet and Lane Ready Rubbed are two that I am really enjoying. Congratulations and thank you to STG for rescuing these time honored blends. 3 very solid stars, plus one for nostalgia and price point. Like Old German Puffer advised in his review, try this one aired out a bit, you might be as pleasantly surprised as I was. I'm going to cellar some in jars, just to see if some real age improves this one even more.

Recently when ordering a new pipe I threw in an order for a pouch of Velvet. I’m almost completely exclusively smoking Burleys or Burley-Cavendish mixtures these days and realized after all of these years that I had never smoked Velvet. However the shipment is delayed and it hasn’t arrived. I was driving through northeastern Pennsylvania earlier today and decided to pop into a small local smoke shop. The place was dingy and run down. There was plenty of cheap roll your own cigarette tobacco available labeled as pipe tobacco to avoid the Facist restrictions placed on cigarettes. These was a small glass counter filled with bongs and the like. I asked the fellow running the place if he had any real pipe tobacco. He pointed to a table that had one box of Velvet and a box of Prince Albert. I purchased the Velvet with the intention of smoking it as soon as I returned home. I opened the box noticing that it had a copyright of 2010 and that it had been manufactured by Pinkerton Tobacco. This stuff could be 10 years old! The pouch ripped a bit as I opened it. Now the notes: The tobacco was still moist but not exceedingly. The deep brown tobacco was in a kind of thick shag cut. The aroma was reminiscent of a slightly sweet porridge. It lit up easily and immediately delivered a very smooth, viscous smoke that was nutty, cereal like, and slightly sweet like the smell was. The flavor of brown sugar and licorice was apparent but subtle. The bowl burnt evenly without a hint of harshness. While the smoke was mild it was deliciously full flavored and it had a great natural tobacco flavor. This stuff is wonderful and could become my favorite Burley. When I receive the updated STC version I will be eager to compare them. Highly recommended. Update: I received a couple of pouches of the new STG version of Velvet. While there is some visual difference l, the Pinkerton original is a nice deep mahogany brown and the STG Velvet is mixture of lighter and darker reddish browns the flavor is similar. The original is perhaps deeper in taste but the recreation isn’t far off. Both are truly velvet smooth and has similar burning qualities. It needs few or no delights and stays smooth and rich with no bitterness to the bottom of the bowl. Highly recommended.

This is one I'm trying for the first time. I was expecting the flavoring to be too strong based on the smell when I opened the tub, I was pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful smooth burley flavor with a small amount of flavoring which seems to aid in the room aroma more than flavor the smoke. It reminds me of granger more than any other codger blend but burns a bit hotter than granger does. This one can bite if you puff too fast but is very smooth when puffed slowly. I must say I'm impressed and I wish I had stumbled on this one sooner.

My mentor in pipe smoking went through many a can of this blend, so I'm sort of biased for it. It was one of the first tobaccos I ever smoked and it's never left my rotation for long. There is no casing to this blend, and the pouch aroma comes from Velvet's processing and fermenting techniques. Most of the other reviewers hated it- I love the stuff. It's cut in what I call a crimp cut and is one of the easiest blends to pack in a bowl. It can bite a little if you're not careful, but overall it stays fairly cool. It's one of the best tobaccos for building a cake in a new pipe that I've ever found and the odd aroma won't stay in the bowl if you'd like to swap the pipe to another blend. I prefer Velvet as a nice "wake me up" smoke with some strong French Roast. It has enough nicotine to get you going and the taste is mild enough for your first smoke of the day. An excellent OTC blend and a pretty decent burley overall.

Velvet is my number one, all-day smoke. I have been smoking a pipe for many years and have tried hundreds of blends from sticky aromatics to 10 year aged Esoterica Penzance. I have gone through every phase a pipe smoker can and have settled down with Velvet for its smooth smoke, intoxicating aroma (which, although it bears some resemblance to Play-Dough or Crayons, is actually something decidedly more old-fashioned and warming, always satisfying the nostrils as the nutty burley pleases the tongue), and Velvet is easily one of the most worry-free blends to light and smoke. It is pure brainless pleasure in the pipe and rings every bell for me personally.

Now here is a very good, aptly named, simple, well behaved no frills Burley. Its smooth, creamy and nutty. It's mild and easy on the tongue. Like most burleys this sings in a cob, but also smokes great in a Meer or briar. This is one that can be smoked while doing any activity and if smoked to fast, does not loudly protest by biting. It packs easy, burns clean and even to the bottom of the bowl. Smoked slowly while relaxing with a beverage of choice, brings forth the creamy nutty flavor a good burley will. The price is also agreeable.

I was quite surprised by this one and can't stop smoking it! I purchased 2 pouches from Smokingpipes.com along with some Paladin Blackcherry (a blast from the past for me) and a tin of McLintock Black Cherry. Opening the pouch and upon deep inhalation I discerned something similar to the way apples smell after you cut them into slices and let them sit for a while. There was also a sweet smelling "something else" I can't put my finger on, but leaning towards a sweet anise/honey combo (reminding me of Germaine's Plumcake in that regard, but not in taste) . The tobacco was medium brown and crimp cut. It was fairly moist in the pouch but I smoked it without any drying. At the outset, let me say there was no trouble packing, lighting, or keeping this lit. It smoked clean to the bottom of the bowl without any gurgle or bite, leaving a light to medium grey ash. What I noticed right away was the lack of any detectable PG (I hate the stuff). If it was there, it may have been masked by the topping(s) present which were not over the top at all. The pouch aroma is addicting and did translate into the smoke, albeit mildly sweet. The room note is very pleasant, garnering favorable comments by those present (all non smokers).

Why did I wait so long on to try this? I think it was the name. It just didn't grab me, but I'm revisiting many of the codger blends of my past and some new ones for me (like Velvet). That apple smell I described reminded me of the can note of Granger, which I do like but found it always gave me a chemical burn on my palate. No such problem with Velvet. A real "sleeper blend" for me and one that I am pleased to have tried. Highly recommended and hope it never goes away! 5 stars.