Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Warrior Plug

50g Pouch

Tearing of the cellophane wrapping and just taking a sniff i get a very potent complex perfume which is hard to solve and reminds me of the "forbidden cupboards" as a kid.

1ST fathomable impressions through the sea of aromas i pick out are medicinal ala menthol or eucalyptus cough mixture, perhaps even wilsons menthol snuff. Woody furnature. Aftershaves,medicines,polishes and anything household,mysterious and on the top shelf or back of the cupbourd. Distinctly domestic cleaning cupboard; full aroma of all the perfumed and weird cleaning products,polishes,soaps and waxes for a kind of heady high. It smells complex..

The contents reveals a precision cut rectangular 2x4x4.5 cm blackish/brown moist compressed plug with tan brown stem speckle looking like a block of bakelite.

Consistancy in the hand is of a well dense/hard but moist block. Holding in the hand and sniffing at point blank range,the aroma is of dark honey,peppery cinnamon/spicy with maybe jaffa peel,an airosol beeswax pot pouri fragrent/floral(but not lakeland)furnature polish.

I tear about a 5mm thick layer from the block and cut some 2mm wide flake strips with some tin snips. Having had it exposed on the table a few minutes the initial pouch aroma has faded.

The manufacturers description of the contents :-"Dark Virginia and Burley,aroma of spicy dark plum"...I will take their word for it about the plum.(i didnt pick it up but it has a certain rich dark fruitness like a jar of Mincemeat) But; the spice factor definately reminds me of a long discontinued dark brown spicy cough syrup i remember from the 70s which i havent seen for years (Ipecahuana)? .

Takes light ok and i must say its quite a mellow smoke actually;simular feel to Benson and Hedges Mellow Mixture just with a different topping. Although this burns it may benefit from a bit of pre ignition drying time because it was a bit steamy,but sometimes the steam aspect carries the aromatic taste further in some baccies more than in the dry smoke.

The smoke is mild but has a mystery spice "old spice" aftershave-esque factor,and a sourness like plum which is felt as a sensation more than the plum aspect is actually tasted(more prune).

I don't know if this is love at 1st smoke, but it may grow on me like others have done a few days or weeks later. Its certainly unique and peculier enough to deserve a place in my rotation because i haven't smoked anything like this yet. Its charecteristics are somewhere between Peterson 3PS, Revor Plug, and Walnut Flake.

The room note is nice i might add, i can definately smell this as i smoke - it gives a sweet spicy perfumed woodball incense aroma .If i walk out of the room for a few minutes and come back in to see if i can make a pedestrian impression of the room note though i cant smell a thing - It doesn't linger so i don't think anybody would complain.

Taste gets stronger down the bottom bowl and is worth waiting for. The nicotine feels medium . Gives nice sour aroma up my nose and clears my sinuses. It doesn't taste menthol or anything but has a certain "vicks vaporub" effect. It seems like an applied topping essence rather than a casing BTW. The aromatic taste factor really picks up near the bottom actually ;makes me glad its mild at the top.

The aftertaste finish in my mouth is of "cough candy".

So many tastes and aromas;fruit mincemeat,dandylion and burdoch pop,wrights coal tar vaporizer,blackcurrent and licorice sweets,cough candy,victory v sweets(licorice-aniseed spicey)incense sticks,perfume wood balls,airosol furnature polish,kiwi shoe polish.Memory lane.

Revisiting a few days later the aroma has toned down a bit and i can say that the base tobacco is close to Petersons 3PS,like a pressed date and fig natural health food bar(kind of)but there is still a prominant spicy cough candy aromatic property. Its worth 3 stars at this stage and I might buy again if it ages well.