Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic

After smoking the Regular Sir Walter Raleigh I was expecting the same weak and bland tobacco. Much to my surprise I was greeted with a gentle lightly flavored smoke. The ribbon cut Burley packs and lights well. I required only two relights for the whole bowl. The liqueurs that are said to be applied to this blend are done so very delicately. I normally avoid aromatics due to there over casing and goopy gurgling they produce, but this was a pleasant surprise as it did neither. At $2.90 a pouch it's a bargain! I would highly recommend this to anyone new to pipe smoking. You really have to push this hard to get it to bite. The only thing that kept me from giving it four stars was the lack of strength. I'm not a big Burley fan but this wasn't bad. If your looking for something mild and an all day smoke this is it.

I'm updating this review, raising my rating from 1 to 4 stars. I was not approaching this aromatic burly correctly and now I'm using the STG produced version.

I pack it very lightly and smoke it in a cob (only recently have tried cobs after 25 years of briars and English blends) Also I use a filter. No bite. What I like best about SWRA is the very low level of humectant (PG) for an "aromatic".

The taste is mostly burly with a big dose of "liqueur" flavoring, but it is not a full on aromatic. More in the league with BLWB but better in most repects. --------

Just tried some of this and it started biting me like a rabid ferret, totally out of the blue.

Taste/smell was pleasant enough until the attack, like butterscotch, and the room note was decidedly unferretlike. However, next time I'm in a pinch, I think I'll reach for something safer, like PA.

I have several 1/2 pint jars of this blend packed away in my deep hallway "cellar" closet from a 14-ounce tin I purchased back in the Winter of 2016. And there they have stayed. I used part of one jar to help break in a new Tinsky I got recently and today I reached for the jar to have a smoke in a large Tilshead Billiard and am liking this a lot. I don't smoke much aro anymore but this is telling me I may gravitate back to them again. What with my McClelland cellar slowly disappearing, I must adapt.

Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic

This currently runs neck and neck with my other favorite OTC, Carter Hall...although the two tobaccos are very, very different.

The pouch note is burley chocolatey and nutty, with a hint (barely there) of Virginia hay. The liquor is a suggestion, a ghost and a nearly invisible player which serves to round out and mellow the burleys a bit and make the experience sweeter.

After smoking quickly through a 1.5 ounce pouch, I've reached the following conclusions:

1. Pack this one lightly, regardless of chamber size. This allows the tobacco to burn without numerous relights and allows the flavors to really emerge as you work slowly down the bowl. 2. This weed will absolutely not bite. The four or five reviewers who say it does bite either have unique body chemistry or don't know how to sip a pipe rather than guzzling it. However, if pushed the ashiness of the burleys and some bitterness quickly appear, making the rest of the bowlful unsmokable. 3. A corncob is the best choice for smoking this tobacco. While it behaves well in all chamber sizes, I have smoked halfway through this pouch using a M.M. Diplomat - 5th Avenue that has burned everything from lat bombs to shisha-type aeros. It will ghost most pipes but has never been a problem in my cobbs, especially if I do a little high-proof alcohol scrub after every fifth bowlful or so. 4. The cut is more RYO style than a ribbon. As a result, SWR/A burns incredibly quickly. The large 5th Ave bowl should smoke for over an hour with most tobaccos, but this one will burn up in about 20 minutes. The reasons for this are either the short ribbon cut or perhaps the loose pack I prefer. Good news is that packing lightly reduces the amount of tobacco needed to fill the bowl. If loosely packed and frequently, gently tamped this is a one-light smoke. Packed more firmly into the pipe, this requires numerous relights each of which tastes worse and worse. Try to keep this one smoldering rather than counting on relights.. 5. PG? What PG? There is so little humectant here compared to other OTC pouches that it bears mention. A couple bowlfuls laid out on my tobacco tray dried to crunchy after less than an hour. Keep in mind, my smoking room features a gas log fireplace...and the relative humidity in the smoking room is a bit lower than elsewhere in my house. But yes, it dries fast and therefore will smoke fast, especially if loosely packed as I described. 6 Yes it can be inexpensive, but prices for the 1.5 oz. pouch range from around $$2.50 to as much as $6.00. Local taxes, tobacco vendors who specialize in anything but cigars and pipes, and local demand all affect the price. At the $4.00/package point, I start looking for nice bulk offerings, like C&D Pegasus and other lightly-topped blends. 7. Speakng of toppings/casing: Nothing goopy, cloying or sticky here. This will not leave sticky, messy, wet crap in the bottom of your bowl. Leaves a medium grey, dry ash with only a few bits of hard carbon dottle. Nice mechanical characteristics. Won't smoke wet unless pushed with overly anxious puffing.

When I bought this, I had real doubts. My first pipe tobacco, recommended by a minimum-wage "expert" at a chain tobacco shop was a horrible Danish aero cased with what was supposed to be cherry liqueur. I figured another OTC aero would yield similar results. To my great relief, this "aromatic" smokes cleaner, drier and cooler than any other OTC I've tried, even my beloved Carter Hall. SWR/A is lightly sweet, aromatic, easy on oral tissues, inexpensive and for the money, a 4-star blend. Highly recommended at the price. 4 stars.

Not what you expect from SWR, the cut of the aro is more of a semi cored ribbion and the addition of Va. is quite noticeable. The addition of liquor aling with The famous SWR anise is alluring to say the least. Packs a pipe well and burns like a champ. Very consistent flavor too to bottom. No problem with bite or funky taste when smokes at a reasonable pace. Good smoke indeed. Looking for a blend that can be had almost any where that is a good smoke, this is your blend. It is one of the standards I enjoy while in the tractor, cutting wood and other such farm chores, and the dogs and the cattle say it smells good to boot. Because it is a old codger blend doesn't mean it not good smoke!

This is my daily go-to smoke. It is the best OTC blend out there, in my opinion. The pouch note smells just like an oatmeal raisin cookie. It smells so good I could almost get a spoon and eat it. It packs very easily, and I have found I can even pack it with one hand while driving. It has a pleasant aroma that gets compliments every time I smoke it in the company of strangers. The flavor remains consistent throughout the bowl, and it has the nuttiness of burley mixed with a sweetness that is coming from the liquors used in it and possibly from some Virginias. I find myself craving this stuff. I need to buy it by the tub instead of getting pouches. I think people who don't like aromatics could enjoy this as well simply because it has so much flavor and the room note lacks the typical "vanilla" scent that so many aro's tend to have. Give it a shot. You may find that it deserves to be much more than just another drug store blend.

Presentation is thin ribbon, almost a RYO/shag cut- very different than SWR regular, which is more of a traditional OTC crimp cut.  Pouch note is of dried, candied cherries, with some chocolate undertones and the slightest hint of aniseed. I get no liqueur in the pouch note. The tobacco was very dry, which may have just been a function of the age of my particular pouch, ie. how long it sat on the shelf. As such, it took a match well and a single light was all it took to get it going. There was no ritual of charring light followed by true light given how well this blend ignited.

The initial light brought a flavor very similar to the pouch note: a touch of sweet cocoa, a touch of candied cherry, a hint of aniseed, and something I can't quite identify but would characterize as a stereotypical, old-timey, "grandpa's pipe" flavor.  As the bowl progresses, the flavor takes on a slightly sour and vaguely unpleasant note akin to cherries and chocolate past their expiration date.  What I'm picking up here, similar to Half and Half, is some potentially interesting flavoring agents applied to some poor quality tobaccos.  There's a funky chemical taste to this blend that does nothing to improve upon the original. I am somewhat skeptical as to the "imported French and Dutch liqueurs". And I detect no liqueur, European or otherwise, on the palette.

Mrs Perique approved of the room note, though I was less than pleased with the flavor. Overall, I was unimpressed with this blend, even when ranked among its OTC peers.  The thinner ribbon causes this blend to burn fast, and the chemical agents cause it to burn hot. The smoke and the flavors are very thin, with no mouth-feel to speak of.  Sir Walter Raleigh regular is, in my opinion, a better blend.  But with the vast sea of American-style aromatics out there, it's hard to rate either very highly. SWR Aro, unfortunately, ranks below SWR regular, itself a two star blend (though a decent OTC). I cannot, however, recommend the "Aromatic" version. The only positive thing I can say is that it didn't bite.

Update: this blend is improved by mixing roughly 50/50 with Sir Walter Raleigh (regular).

Dont do aromatics, so was really not sure what to expect from this, i smoke SWR all day every day, & i love it so thought i would give this a chance, & i like it,its not like the aromatics that i remember and hated with a passion,this taste the same all the way down from start to finish,& its not a sticky sour tasting blend at all, i still like SWR better but i will keep a tin or 2 of this SWR Aromatic in stock for them times when i just fancy a little sweeter smoker, i would recommend this blend ***** from me

For some reason I have wanted to try this tobacco for years. But have had a hard time locating it in my area. Well, I got lucky a couple of weeks ago while visiting a tobacco shop which sells cigs & other tobacco items. They had a couple pouches of this blend on their shelf. So, I bought & gave it a try. Not bad for the price. Not sure what I expected it to be. But guess it just didn't live up to exactly what I thought it'd be. Worst I've ever had? Not by far. My all day smoke? By no means. Will I keep it around as a fallback for every now & again? Surely will.