Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Yachtsman Plug

3 stars for this. It was very pleasant but not up in the heavens like the truly wonderful Mick Mcquaid plug. It was discontinued for a while but thankfully it is now available again. James Fox has them on their web site in Ireland. It's a rich, very traditional plug, in the navy tradition of British tobacco. It lacks any top flavouring and doesn't suffer either. Not as strong in my opinion as Warrior plug. Goes well with a morning coffee whilst perusing this site.

I came upon this plug and the Tobacconist James Barber via the Internet.

A more refined plug than say, Cob or Cannon. It could be mistaken for a fudge brownie by a small child, except for the rich tobacco aroma and there are no walnuts. It is dense and moist so whittling isn't what you do, but it cuts with a utility knife. Not gooey, but close to that. Rubbing out seemed a daunting task, so I teased it to a reasonable texture. I didn't dry it and, no, it doesn't stain the fingers.

Sweet tobacco. I detected no Lakeland essence. The burn is cool and dry. Some plugs and twists turn hard, almost charcoal-like in the bowl. This stayed spongy as I tamped the powdery ash on my way down. Here is just the right blend of burley and African and Brasilian virginias to create a naturally sweet and flavorful smoke. Delicious. No bite potential. In no way harsh. A pleasant smoke as only plugs can deliver.

07/27/09 UPDATE: I am revising some of my reviews. I have given out more 4 star ratings than anything else. That practice is probably not helping. So, I am reducing Yachtsman Plug to 3 stars, not because I like it less than I did before, but because I am limiting 4 stars to fewer than 25% of all my reviews. One day I may use the 4 star rating to designate my top five.

update: going through my reviews here, i find that i'll have to downgrade a good deal of the praise i've given so many blends. 4 stars should, i feel, be reserved for the blends i find truly exceptional. so, this is downgraded a bit. end update.

slightly edited review, based on smoking it back-to-back with warrior plug:

this, on the whole, is very similar to warrior plug. they're so close that i suspect the blends in themselves are almost identical with the only real difference being the light flavouring. like warrior plug, this is first of all baked, fermented virginia with perhaps a bit less burley added, and a bit more pronounced berry (plus a smidgen tonquin-) flavour.

it is good! smokes slow and cool, with deep fermented virginia notes and a little sweetness peeping through.

i find it rather strange that warrior plug is described by the manufacturer as being more flavoured than this. perhaps the blends are different from what they used to be in their murray days, as they're now both probably made by orlik.

It's a plug! A very dense, dark, moist block of solid tobacco - not an aromatic but there's a rich and very pleasing caramel/toffee/butterscotch smell with a background of - something like - cooked black cherries. You do need a sharp knife but once sliced I found it rubbed out rather easily into moist tangled strands. It would probably benefit from a bit of time to dry - but I just stuff it in and spark up (& it burns fine). There's not much of the fruit note in the pipe, something of a (what I'm learning to describe as) Lakeland soapy floral beginning - but it's not like smoking a bar of Imperial Leather - and this fades at once. I'd agree with the noted similarity to Peterson's Irish Flake. There's no bite; there are no complicated aromatic arabesques - it's a fine straightforward tobacco; there's a healthy dose of vitamin N and the smoke is cool and plentiful. It's not, to my mind, quite as yummy and powerful as Irish Flake but it's a perfectly fine alternative to it.

UPDATE

I used the Stein Method on this tobacco, ie chopping it up really fine, and just gravity fill the pipe, gently tapping the bowl for the tobacco to settle.

alot of more flavor is now apparent, even though the pipe gets a bit hotter. Taste is now at medium, and I have to up it to ***

ORIGINAL review follows:

Me and Pipestud must have gotten completely different tobaccos.

The one I recieved is a mild, slightly sweet VA/Bur. A bit dissapointing since I got this entierly on the review submitted here 😉

The burn characteristics of this tobacco is truly outstanding. The room note is quite nice.

A sharp knife is needed to cut the plug, since it is quite stubborn.

I bought two plugs, I have smoked one of them, and I will gladly smoke the other one. Don't know if I will buy another though. Not because of this being bad in any way, just not my cup of tea.

Package note of peaty vegetation, burnt sugar and spices. Tobacco is a plug of mostly black with a tiny bit of brown. Moisture content is great, recommend using a sharp thin knife or razor to slice plug and rubs out with a little effort. Burns slow with a few extra relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. Flavoring is listed as other, I honestly didn't detect a topping, the may be a sweet alcohol casing as the flavor doesn't go away. I wouldn't classify this as an aero. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of fermented vegetation, spices, sugar, floral, molasses, rich earth, savory, tart sour citrus, toasted bread, sweet grassy, wood, orange peel/zest, nutty, a stewed tangy dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Burley is barely leading with Virginias supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is great.