Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Skandinavik Full Aroma Cavendish

This tobacco while not bad, is not great either. I found it to be lacking in any real taste, and yes it will bite you if you puff too fast.

If you are in a real pinch for a quick smoke this might fit the bill, but there are better choices.

PROS - The price is the very good especially if you buy the big tubs. It is also a high quality tobacco that tastes a little sweet but the fresh "hay" flavor comes through with a little nutiness from the burley. It has a very pleasant room note and burns very well.

Cons - It is not too complex and will bite if smoked too fast.

Finally picked up a package of this and was favorably suprised. I've been smoking the Mildly Aromatic stuff occasionally and have really enjoyed it, so when I saw this I naturally picked up a pouch. Now I didn't notice the "overwhelming fruity aroma" that some have described, although it is certainly an aromatic. Nicely cut with a good moisture content, I pack a billiard with ease with little or no rub out and can puff away contentedly for at least an hour. Faint whisps of fruit, like a pie baking in the kitchen tickle up the nose while a satisfying-enough base of real tobacco flavor lays on the tongue.At no point was I bitten by this Dane.

As far as such things go, I think this is pretty good tobacco. Farly cheap, available and certainly undemanding, I think this fits into a league with sail green and Skandinavik Blue. Could be an all day smokefor me, honestly, were I not so enamoured with other things.

I find that all of this style of tobacco actually taste better when smoked out of smaller (narrow) bowls...i.e tall narrow billiards or cobs...smoking them out of big wide bowls does strange things to their taste and burning characteristics.

P.S- Try throwing a flake of penzance into a couple pinches of this...WOW...

UPDATE- 1.28.10: My supply has transitioned over to the new Orlick blend with the updated packaging. Wow...unbelievably, it's a much nicer blend now and I enjoy it even more. A little more flavor, alot less bite and more quality weed with a better virginia component (and a lower price!). I have been stocking up in bulk pack pouches from JR and this has morphed into an all day, go to smoke for me. I've discovered that eyeball mixing 2/3 Skan FAC with 1/3 McClelland blending Oriental makes for a tremendously wonderful aromatic smoke with the exotic sandalwoody notes of the oriental carrying over into the fruit topping of the Skan in a wonderful way. Try it...

Update 4/25/12- Purchased a bunch of packets bulk from JR a few years ago (probably 15 of them). Have been smoking them on and off for a while and purchasing packets here and there locally, and I'm still impressed. It has certainly become my go-to smoke. Excellent, and despite the almost absurd increase in tobacco prices in NY, still fairly reasonable in the local smokeshops. Seems to get more distinctly pleasantly "cherry" as the packets age on the shelf in my cellar.

10/28/2004: I give this four stars only as an Aromatic. It is one of the dry non-goopy aromatics that has a lighter touch of flavor than the U.S. types. I bought a pouch of this after reading some other reviews. It is a big step up from Capt. Black, etc. The Virginia component is quite pronounced, even forward. I smoked this in a very small pipe which worked perfectly for this relatively strong blend. The flavor is a bit stronger than other Danish-style Aromatics so keep this out of your most valued pipes until you decide if it's a keeper. I will happily smoke the remainder of this pouch on an occasional basis, then probably not buy another. I prefer Virg. flakes or Balkan-English type blends most of the time, though this was a very nice changed of pace.

11/17/2006 Update: No longer in my rotation. Still a decent Aromatic.

To me, skandinavic red is an excellent tobacco. It blows mac baren's cherry ambrosia out of the water as far as I'm concerned. A very nice, earthy base of virginia and burley with a wonderful fruity sweetness lingering in the background. A little bit bitey, but no worse than most danish blends. I've never tried amphora red so I can't compare the two, but I highly recommend this to anyone who likes this kind of tobacco. I don't know why it isn't more popular than it is.

I don't recall the old Amphora tasting like this, but it has been 30 years. This blend seems high quality with a strong fruit juice taste. Not artificial cherry, like maraschino, but the way cherries actually taste: sourish. I recall the original Amphora had a more oriental taste which I crave. As far as cherry blends go, I prefer this natural flavoring approach to the candy-like Middleton or Paladin.

This scratches an itch I sometimes get for an aromatic, and I'm glad to have it on hand, but it ultimately fails as a regular.

Update 4/05 I have bowls of Amphora red fresh from Holland and Skan red both burning. They are both cavendishes with fruity toppings, but the similarity ends there. Nah. Not the same at all. Not even particularly close. Amphora rocks. Skan... ok. Skan's topping is 3x as strong in the container and the pipe and smells different as well. Skan has more virginia character. Amphora is less fruity and more... sweet? floral?

I typically smoke English blends, whether they be Latakia-spiced or pure Virginia flakes, so this blend is a step or two away from what I typically enjoy.

However...this is a very nice, high-quality Aromatic, really. The Virginia component is nicely preserved here - and this is so far above a "drug store blend" that it deserves to be recognized as such.

If you like the PS Luxury series (which I do), think of this as a sweeter, slight step down. It's a prefect choice when you need a change of pace from the Latakia or straight VA world and want something a little on the sweet side, but not so overbearingly sweet that it drowns out the Virginia notes.

JR Cigars (and others) sell this for a bargain price, so it's a fine blend for those on a budget as well. A similar, high-quality, inexpensive smoke is SAIL - YELLOW, but I think this blend has more character and a slightly nicer room note.

A nice Virginia-based blend at a very competitive price. Good job, PS!!

In my early days as a pipier, Amphora Red was my staple tobacco. So I was curious to see how another big red can of Scandanavian tobacco would smoke. Conclusion: bitier, and with not nearly the flavor of the old Amphora Red. Skandanavik skates by on a smidge of cherry flavor, while Amphora, with its "whiff of pure fruit blossom" is tastier, smoother, and sweeter. Amphora also contains Kentucky and Oriental tobaccos for a little fuller taste with less tendency to bite.

Skandanavik is a dry, quality tobacco that smokes down to a white ash. It just burns too hot and, ultimately, it's not Amphora Red, or even that close. Worthy effort and recommended to aromatic fanciers looking to step up. Note, though, that this tobaco can really bite--it bit me, consistently, even though after a few bowls, I smoked it slowly in Peterson system pipes.

This blend is a surprisingly high quality offering for an OTC blend. The pouch aroma reminds me of lightly spiced raisins, and that flavor comes through the smoke as well. The pouch I bought had enough flavoring that I could taste it quite easily without lighting it. The moisture level was good, and it packs easily, reminding me of some of Rattray's broken flakes. I could see this as a good blend for those who appreciate discreetly cased aromatics, or as a warm weather smoke, or perhaps a nice change of pace. It burns warm, so don't puff too hard. No goop or gurgle, but the essence does linger a bit in the pipe. Don't let my rating fool you, the quality is quite good. I just won't smoke this often.