Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Skandinavik Vanilla Cavendish

It amazes me how many people will review a type of tobacco that they don't like to begin with. Maybe they are hoping this will be the blend that changes their mind?...I like all types-Va/per blends, Latakia blends, Aromatics (sweet and mild). I bought this despite the humble two star rating because number one the price is right and number two I like the quality of tobacco from P. Stokkebye. I WASN'T LET DOWN. The quality of the tobacco here is EXCELLENT. It says on the pouch that it has a DEEP vanilla flavor, so I wasn't supprised to find a strong vanilla flavor.

upon opening the pouch I noticed (as another reviewer stated) a cherry/vanilla scent. And it was strong.

I used the german method or Frank method to pack the bowl due to the cut.

The char light had an excellent room note, and yes the vanilla/cherry flavor was there.

The top: Strong blast of the flavor, almost overwhelming and kind of perfume(y).

The middle: The tobacco flavors are coming through more and since I always smoke slow and enjoy my pipe it is not biting at all. Nice and smooth.

The bottom: The flavor has developed into a VERY nice smoke. Tobacco and flavoring balancing out. Very relaxing and tasty with an excellent room note. A little bit of gurgling

Summary: This is an EXCELLENT smoke. High quality tobacco that when smoked right (slow) is smooth and full. I love this stuff and for the price I will be smoking alot of this when I want a full flavored aromatic. The reason I didn't give it 4 stars is because it takes too long to balance out the flavoring and the tobacco, plus the gurgle at the end.

PS....Try adding a little Perique/Latakia.

Allow yourself to fall through the ice (chocolate) covered waters, If you have not banged your head breaking the surface- be vigilant -explore the layered flavours , are you so experianced to swim so deep -wow!

Beyond the great room aroma and reasonably good burning characteristics, this Peter Stokkebye blend has been added to my list of losers in my continuing search for an enjoyable vanilla aromatic. Although I normally prefer VA flakes and really enjoy some of Stokkebye's, I'm still open to blends for the hot weather or just a change of flavor. However this blend is so highly cased that even a hint of tobacco taste is missing until the bowl is almost finished. I didn't even have the courage to work it off slowly in other blends due to its intense flavoring. Unless you prefer very strong aromatics, I'd pass on this blend and try MacBaren's Vanilla Cream Loose Cut or Dan's Sweet Vanilla Honeydew if you want more tobacco taste.

Not exactly vanilla, sort of cherry-vanilla, but more like cough syrup than a soda, or maybe cherry-vanilla cough syrup with a topping of schnapps, and yes this stuff burns, but is it tobacco?

As a young and infrequent pipe smoker, I probably don't have the flame-scarred tongue nor the mental library of comparisons that a more experienced smoker might be able to provide, so think of my reviews as the neophyte's angle on pipe tobaccos.

Pipe: Broken-in Brookfield with 9mm filter Weather: Cool and overcast, with a slight humidity Mood: Upbeat Flame source: Butane pipe lighter Modifications: Denicool crystals in bowl

Packaging: I ordered a 100g tin of this and a 28g pouch was thrown in for free. The tin was solid with a coin-poppable lid and a vacuum-sealed foil cover. The tobacco is guaranteed to be fresh with care like that. The pouch was a standard vacuum-sealed plastic/foil bag.

Initial Impressions: A POWERFUL vanilla aroma perfused the room and there seems to be a slightly alcoholic tinge to the smell, almost as if it were coated with schnapps. The tobacco was a nice mix of golden and dark leaves, shredded and suitable for packing into a large-bowled pipe. It might need some rubbing to get a good cut for smaller-bored pipes, though.

Packing: A little moist, so I let it dry out for an hour and then it packed perfectly. I loaded 2 charges (the Denicool crystals were in the bottom third) and it seemed springy and fresh.

Unlit taste: Vanilla and a slight hint of tobacco

Lighting: A charring light produced a powerful blast of unablated vanilla flavor for the first few puffs. It charrred easily and I tamped it down for the relight with no wait time.

Smoking (First Third): I must admit that I have a sensitive nose and tongue and that even a few puffs of this tobacco had my head swimming. Even with the charcoal filter holding it off, a strong bass note of vanilla and plum were too much to think around. Smoked fairly hot, so I recommend a longer smoking time. Vanilla stayed strong throughout, but a subtle hint of tobacco was detectable, sort of like a flute playing over a set of timpani drums.

Smoking (Second Third): This part is where my tongue began to falter and became desensitized to the vanilla. The oriental and burley became more obvious through a nutty base flavor with a slightly spicy top note. This was the most enjoyable part of the pipe. The room note remained pleasant throughout, at least to the people around me. The tobacco constantly balances between going out from lack of puffing and heating up to smelting temperature from overpuffing. I'm normally a pretty relaxed puffer, so this was something that really tested me out and made me concentrate on it.

Smoking (Last Third): The Denicool crystals don't smoke, of course, but I noticed while cleaning that they were dark brown, almost black; an indication of high moisture content.

Aftereffects: The vanilla smell wouldn't go away! It pervaded the room, my clothing and anything else I came in contact with. I brushed my teeth 3 times, rinsed with Biotene 4 times and chewed about 50 chlorophyll tablets, but I awoke the next morning with that same vanilla taste burnt into my palette...it might be a reaction with my body chemistry, but I found that only time was effective at restoring my sense of taste.

Overall Recommendation: If you're the kind of guy that likes Borkum Riff or banana peels, this will be your luxury tobacco, indeed. If you're an average pipe smoker looking for a tobacco to test your skills and endurance on, this is it. IF, though, you're like me and you want a good, light smoke without woman-killing halitosis for the next 24 hours, you'll leave this one alone. I admit defeat. This tobacco wins. I lose!

Come tutti gli Skandinavik che ho provato (non molti, grazie a dio) questo tabacco è una vera fetecchia. Gli Skandinavik sono, per quanto mi riguarda, dei panettoni dolciastri brucia lingua per neofiti che molto presto cambieranno tabacco, scoprendo i veri tabacchi ed affinando così i loro gusti. Purtroppo molto reperibili, sono il classico errore da principiante.

Nothing complex about this tobacco. Very highly aromatic, vanilla and honey like flavours. Strong Cavendish presence. Recommended for the lovers of overwhelmingly strong aromas for pipe tobacco.

One of the common problems with pipe tobacco is availability. In my region, it's usually difficult to find blends that are of good quality and which I like.

Skandinavik seems to be readily available, the price is adequate for what you get, and if you want a vanilla flavoured aromatic to smoke every day, this one surely beats Stanwell (which is more noticable, but annoying and overwhelming after a couple of smokes) and many other aromatics I have tried.

The aroma is pleasant, translates well into both taste and room note. It burns hot and short and is somewhat flat, but bites very little. Overall, a cute little tobacco that will probably not be of interest to anyone who takes pipe smoking seriously. If your vanilla aromatics are limited and you find them too strong (vanilla additive-wise), give this one a try.

If you are an aromatic lover, you will certainly like this. If you want to smoke something with a lot of aroma and little nicotine then go for this one. From the moment you light it, you will sense the wonderful vanilla flavor that will conquer you. The aroma is very tasty and you will want to smoke even faster, but this will lead to a hot pipe and a hard tongue bite, so be careful. If you smoke this one relaxed and calm, you will love this blend. However, from the last half of the bowl, the aroma is losing its power and the tobacco flavors comes in front but it is not too powerful. And I am sure that you will love the smell of its smoke.