Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Warrior Plug

In the pouch Warrier Plug dark brown to almost black with a small number of lighter pieces mixed in. It offers a bit of a fruity and somewhat medicinal scent. I have tried this by cutting it into the width of a thick flake then chopping it into small pieces with some rubbed out on top. I have also gone with thin shavings and find that my preferred way to smoke it. The flavor is somewhat of a deep caramel, dark brown sugar, molasses etc. It is straightforward in flavor without much complexity. The Virginia's are more of straw than sweet grassy although there is some sweetness to its overall presentation. I am not sure if the sweetness is more of a result of the added flavoring, or the tobaccos themselves although likely both. There is a decent amount of Lady N although there are stronger plugs out there. It burns cool and is for me personally is best sipped. WP isn’t at the top of my list of plugs, but I wouldn’t kick it out of bed for eating crackers.

I bought this one about four months ago with a load of other tobaccos and stuck it at the back of the cupboard expecting to get round to it pretty soon Needless to say I forgot about it and only came back to it recently after a lean month.

The plug takes a little work to disect, I don't know if that's due to the age or just me making hard work of it. nonetheless I managed to get into a more smokeable form, actually getting as far as turning into some sort of ready rubbed status. The aroma of the tobacco itself isn't strong, perhaps something akin to a well roasted pork joint, fond memories of my mother's Sunday dinners ensued. Packing wasn't an issue but then given the effort to reduce it from plug to ready rubbed this is hardly a surprise. It was a little damp, even after four months, so a bit of drying out is required. The flavour is quite mild, maybe the aging hasn't done it any favours and I've had a job discerning it, possibly more of that roast pork as per the tin smell, but no fruitiness that I have picked up with other plugs. The ash, while not fine, does seem to come out easily enough making clearing the bowl a doddle.

On the whole, not a bad smoke, though it doesn't thrill. I will have to try some of this fresh from the packet to do it proper justice though. Not the best plug I've tried, that honour goes to 3P's, but worthy of three stars.

Cool looking mostly dark plug with a nose of burnt sugar and perhaps brandy with some fruit. This plug requires a knife to separate. I had the best results by cutting it fairly thin and then rubbing out, although I also tried it as a small flake with some rubbed out kindling on top, which worked pretty well.

In the pipe this tasted less sweet than the nose promised. A nutlike burley flavor with some sweetness that tasted more Virginia than topping but I wouldn't bet on that. The sweetness was a dark molasses with a lightly fruity alcohol flavor, which hit me as brandy. The nutty and sweet flavors melded nicely and kept this interesting, although there was very little complexity. As for nicotine, I'd put this on the high end but far from the biggest nicotine gutpunch. I could smoke a fairly large bowl of this without the woozies, but I preferred it in a small Group 5 due to the slow burn and the fact that it wore me out after two hours. Just not enough happening for a large bowl. When this one takes off, it's a huge mouthfeel but not much smoke when sipped normally. I enjoyed it but it didn't beg for cellar time. Then again, I'm not the biggest plug fan out there. Give this a spin if you're a tobacco lover rather than big on flavorings. It's not completely natural and I think it's better for not being so. I'm sure this tobacco has a huge following in the UK, and rightly so.

After just having reviewed Mick McQuaid Plug (see my review for details) I would have to say Warrior Plug is very similar in all aspects - appearance, preparation, taste, smoking qualities. WP is a bit less fruity but a bit more spicy than MMcQ - and not by much in those two qualities. Perhaps a tad less sweet and closer to Peterson's 3 P's - perhaps from the Burley. Otherwise, they were both enjoyable to smoke and I would have no problem smoking one over the other if availability was an issue, both being superb smokes. Along with Peterson's 3P's, these three plugs would be a nice rotation smoke as far as plugs go. Unfortunately, MMcQ and WP are not available stateside. What a shame. 3P's will have to do. Both MMcQ and WP are manufactured by Scandanavian Tobacco Group (Orlik/Stokkebye) and I would have to say they have done a nice job with these plugs. I wasn't bothered by excessive nicotine in either of these two plugs and would be able to smoke them daily, and at any time of the day. If you happen to like plugs and come by a bar of WP, you will not be disappointed at all. A solid recommendation.

Whoo! This is the sort of tobacco that grandpa used to smoke back in the days when men were men and women were glad of it. If you like all the fuss of preparing plug or twist tobacco for the pipe, it'll be fun. It isn't difficult, though, with a sharp knife and some patience.

If Warrior Plug ain't what it used to be (as Invigilator says, below), I don't want even to think about what it used to be. It's slow, full- bodied and tasty; but it has one hell of a nicotine kick, and I don't mean maybe. If you like strong, dark plugs and twists, this'll do you nicely, but it certainly isn't for the meek. It had me praying for death after half a bowl.

Don't inhale, unless you want to end up with lungs like black lace curtains; and smoke it in a small bowl. For what it is, it's a very classy product: recommended. Be warned, though: this is masculine stuff.

I've a soft spot on plugs because of all the ritual of cutting it and preparing it to be smoked. Out of the pouch this one looks pretty scary: dark, oily, with a distinctive smell. I cut three slices and let them dry out a little, then I rubbed them and crossed myself while loading a meerschaum. Well, I thought it would have been a truly challenging smoke, but it proved to be a rather smooth one! The tobacco is smoky at the beginning, then it becomes sweeter and stays sweet to the end, with subtle touches of dried fruits, but not soapy at all. Never biting, it stays lit without difficulties and smokes enough dry. A very good Virginia plug.

I bought this for the first time in Sneem, Ireland. I was in a drug store and picked up a few plugs to sample the Irish pipe tobaccos. What a great suprise. It's a great virginia blend. The tobaccos are married in this hard little brick and this one is delightful. You pare away pieces of the tobacco and rub it a bit and in the bowl it goes (typically a billiard bowl). This stuff is not cheap but you get a nice long smoke out of the bowl and it is savory. It burns clean to the bottom of the bowl. You can still get it by ordering from some of the fine tobacconists in England. You can't use a credit card anymore (what genius made that rule????) but you can buy it from Mr. Barber in the UK. Buy it!

Some plugs and ropes are so goopy you need half a bowl of kitty litter just to soak it up. Not so with Warrior Plug.

I whittled thin slivers, let them dry thoroughly and just crammed 'em in a tall Peterson Billiard. Took to the match with no resistance and smoked slowly all the way to the heel.

I picked up some toasted almond and berry flavors, but I don't think they are added...just tasty natural tobacco nuances. No bite factor, and subsequent bowls DGT very well. No ghost in the wood or the cake that forms quickly with this tobacco. A good hard cake with no brittle flakes. Nicely done.

Update November 13, 2008: Almost an entire plug has gone up in smoke. Warrior Plug has many positive similarities to Erinmore Plug...the light fruit flavors being the most obvious. Still a chunky monkey, it burns slower than Erinmore, and the flavors last longer before the base tobaccos push through. Delightful.

The few places that sell this usually offer it with the proviso that it is a strong tobacco, for the experienced only.

Out of the foil wrapper, the plug gives the appearance of a brick of oily tar; perhaps almost as scary as one of the black twists. Cutting thin slices (if nothing else, ordering plug tobacco will keep your knife-sharpening skills up!) does nothing to belay this impression. I did find that my sample did need quite a bit of drying-time.

When it's finally ready for smoking, match to bowl, preparing for the worst...Hey! It's smooth, and with a medium taste, quite accomodating. I'm not sure if it is or is not slightly sweetened, but it certainly is slightly sweet. Although the room note doesn't draw raves, neither does it inspire brickbats. Overall strength I would put on par with S.Gawith's Full Virginia Flake.

I would, and will, order it again, but I won't be in that great a rush to do so. There's a lot of work that goes into the smoker getting it ready to load; I would expect something quite unique to make it worthwhile. A medium-full, heavily steamed and pressed Virginia isn't all that uncommon.

Lucky us!