Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Skandinavik Regular

Review based on a sampler I received from a friend - perhaps an ounce and perhaps too little to make an honest assessment. However....

This is a pretty decent rendition of the typical Danish-style burley-based cavendish aromatic. Nothing leaps out here but it has the typical subtle honey flavor and nice room note - mild but with a tendency to bite if puffed too rapidly. Much more tobacco flavor than an American-style aromatic. I loved the cut of this - sort of a mostly rubbed out but not completely rubbed out flake. Nice burning qualities. The flavor was a bit too mild to make this a reference blend. It came across as sort of a dumbed down Mac Baren Symphony, lacking that tobacco's immense complexity in favor of a simple mild all day tobacco.

I'm just getting into these "Danish OTC's" if you will so I can so far really only compare this to its sister blend, Full Aroma Cavendish, at this point.

There is a feeling of nostalgia associated to this tobacco, at least for myself. My two great uncles (captains) were both smoking a tobacco with this particular taste.

Living in a small town, this is the only tobacco readily available that a devoted non-aromatic pipe smoker can tolerate. So, when I mess up my internet orders of refined premium grade tobaccos, I know for a few days I can count on Skandinavic Regular.

The mechanics are quite good. The humidity is most of the times ok if not a bit on the dry side, but this is dependent in many factors. Burns slow, produces a bit of smoke and smokes nice till the bottom. It can burn a bit hot if you overdo it, but slowing the pace it 's easily corrected. This cannot be done with any of the drugstore brands I have tried up to now. And all this in unfiltered pipes. The one thing I don't like is slight aftertaste it leaves. Not a complicated smoke, holds the taste for the whole duration of the smoke. Overall I think this is the most honest drugstore pipe tobacco, Although I would never imagine myself craving for it.

I'm halfway through this pouch of tobac. I'm still trying to decide if continuing is worth it. The packing, lighting and smoke generation is fine, the dryness, lack of denoted flavor and resulting burn if not careful, can spoil any pipe experience. With this blend you will have to take care in your draw and prepare yourself if you don't. On the principle of cost and budget, I will finish the pouch. But, won't revisit. Not for the novice. Even though noted as mild...

Skandinavik Regular is a simple mixture, an unpretentious blend. Virginia, Burley and nothing else. Regular is the appropriate word. Yet it is one-dimensional, boring, without nuances. And it has an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. In my opinion this is a classic national – popular mixture, cheap, not at all sweet and it doesn’t cloy. But it is banal and common. Nothing special. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 6 and two stars.

not so bad but nothing special.5 or 6 hours after smoking this product, i feel something in my throat than it was normal. That was strange.

But i like its package. It is really attractive.

This cavendish tastes exactly as I expected, plain, nutty Burley with some Virginia tangy-sweetness...simple and mono-taste all the way down.

It can burn a little hot and bite if you don't care to go very slow on it. There are a few better blends out there if you need this plain and nutty sensation.

I prefer smoking it adding some Latakia and/or Orientals to reduce the bites and even the burning qualities.

If I was to rate it considering the bites I'd give it just 1 star...but considering taste first, 2 stars are better

A simply Cavendish that smokes exactly like it smells: tobacco. It isn't bad and I can easily recommend a try, but for me it has a monolithic taste and burns a bit hot.

I'll make this review brief. I was disappointed. I thought of it as "Troost Lite". I enjoy Troost and I suppose that was my reference and with Troost being readily available, I've no reason to buy this one. It isn't a bad tobacco at all, it just isn't as good as a tobacco of similar type with equal availability.

It is definitely worth a try as you may well like it but if you do like it be sure to give Troost a try as well.

I decided to try this after reading reviews on this site, and seeing it at one of my local discount cigarette/cigar/ stores. This place carries Prince Albert and Half and Half at good prices, Paladin Black Cherry (which I've not tried), the full complement of Captain Blacks, a couple of inexpensive bagged tobaccos, and now a couple of Skandinavik varieties. Mine came in a standard wrap-around pouch, with what looked like new graphics for this line. The tobacco came in a decent ribbon-cut, very firmly packed into the pouch, with "18 percent more" now included. Very inviting, honeyish pouch-note. I found that once I pulled a few pinches from the slightly sticky wad in the pouch, it helped to sort of rub it out, or pull it apart a little to prep it for the pipe. Once in, it burns very nicely, has a pleasant, mild flavor, mostly tobacco with a little honey sweetness, requires maybe one relight past the initial light/tamp/relight, and is a good value for the dough (about $4.95 here in SoCal). I'd recommend this to new pipe smokers as a transition away from gooey aromatics, or just as a pleasant change of pace for the long-timer that won't require a lot of thought. Nice stuff.

Update 4/29/09-- I'm about 2/3 of the way through this initial pouch, and I unfortunately have to downgrade this a little. The more I smoke it, the less pleasant the flavor and roomnote seemed to become-- more in line with the "burned soy-sauce" I've heard described. I tried using it as a mixer, but it just made other blends unpleasant. I will still try Skandinavik's other blends-- I have a pouch of the Full Aroma Cavendish waiting.