Peter Stokkebye Norwegian Blend (No.80)

Sold as pipe tobacco, reviewing as RYO/MYO cigarettte tobacco. Bag aroma is impressive, dominated by topping, makes me want to eat it. Flavor bomb with near perfect balance. Almost no aftertaste, extremley well done. Flavor best decribed as plain old homemade brownies with walnuts. For me, best served fresh with maximum moisture as supplied. If left to dry out, the flavor fades, starts to become coarse/woody/veggie like. Good value. Much credit to the mfg, my favorite combination of forward topping flavor and extremely well balanced virginia/burley/oriental blending.

Edited 5/23/12: Smoking my third lb from two sources. Consistancy has been very good. I only stuff/roll/smoke one at a time. Stuffs poorly because of the moisture level. Worth the effort! Will not smoke if cigs sit around or tobacco drys out, flavor always fades and always developes the woody/veggie taste. Volatile flavorings? Served fresh as possible, still fantastic/favorite RYO/MYO smoke. Four stars!

PS - When not inhaled, almost no flavor. Can see why not the greatest pipe smoke.

Norwegian Blend is a true sleeper, as it's got all the qualities of one; a wonderful smoking experience, almost never mentioned on pipe forums, and inexpensive. Smokers who enjoy Turkish tobacco will love this one. There's a pleasant balance of flavor from its components, and none are lost in the fray. An even mix of the hallmark flavors are here in a fairly mild presence. I get the "bready" taste from the Virginia(s), a mild spiciness from the Turkish, and the fairly standard Burley flavor that's not too cigarette-like. The Turkish Oriental component is the star of this show, and it's what keeps me coming back to this blend again and again. It imparts a kind of old world flavor to the blend that's just wonderful. Nicotine-wise, it falls into the category of a morning blend; not strong but there's something there to satisfy. Additionally, if you've ever had C&D's Sunday Picnic, you'll find this similar but with a bit more Burley flavor in the mix.

The tin/bag note is exactly like marble rye bread. I have some Norwegian Blend here with me alongside half a loaf of marbled rye (I'm at breakfast), and the resemblance is absolutely uncanny; that fresh bread smell of Virigina tobacco mixed with a certain twang of Turkish is delightful. Norwegian's thin ribbon cut--bordering on shag--is perfect for this blend as it burns evenly and takes to a light with ease. With such a light casing and no discernable topping, it also dries out very easily. It usually arrives dry enough to smoke straight from its bag. The room note will be pleasant for the everyday piper, but definitely less so for non-smokers.

This is that kind of blend that's great to keep in the car or smoke whilst doing your daily activities, because you'll never have to worry about any preparation. Sometimes it's convenient to be able to simply grab a pinch or swipe your pipe into the bag and light it. Although Norwegian Blend has the "smokability" of a cheap blend, it tastes just as good as anything on the top shelf. Like the majority of Peter Stokkebye's offerings, Norwegian Blend is an excellent choice for the natural tobacco enthusiast with a price tag that cannot be beat.

Continuing my Peter Stokkebye's journey! I'm surprised by its simpleness, only three ingredients, but ends up a great smoke. The key is the Virginia, offering the natural sweetness with the help of the Burley, a nice touch, cooling down the temperature, and of course, the Orientals gave it a very nice seasoning, you can almost taste it in every puff! Best to sip it and pack it a little tight, it is indeed quite soothing, even during the winter time!

3.5 out of 4

Reviewed as a RYO: I'm quite surprised that I like this better than the universally beloved Turkish #84. I'm using a 100mm single roll thing with premade tips made by RAW. The result is spectacular. Very nice base notes with Turkish on top, present all the way from start to finish. I think it is the base notes from the Burley that I like so much. The Turkish #84 is brighter. Helga, my mother of Norwegian descent would NOT have approved. But I do.

I am reviewing this solely as a ryo cigarette. It was excellent the flavor is something new to me. It's not a bad new at all out of my order I made this was my favorite. Inhales great not inhaling its flavorless and not so great. I highly recommend for anyone trying ryo/myo and want something differnt but good if you like full flavored cigarettes.

Ive used this tobacco just a little in some briar pipes to cushion the heel of the bowl but this is relatively dry and spicy for me out of pipes.

I have however used this blend for about 5 years specifically for RYO cigarettes. Ive tried many of the cigarette quality PS cuts including Danish, Turkish, Virginia, and Amsterdam. This is by far my favorite and frankly all I used to RYO until I went exclusively to pipes. It has a very nice bold presence when inhaled but never to strong. A bit spicy and tends to dry out on me within 2 weeks or so and smokes well slightly moist.

After the changes to the Amsterdam shag within the last year or two, I've switched 100% over to this Norwegian blend. It's much lighter than the Amsterdam shag taste but still a very nice smoke for this RYO cigarette gal.