Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) C'est La Vie

Not a bad smoke, especially for a pouch. The Vanilla note is certainly more prevalent when taking a whiff from the pouch; once smoked it does take a discerning palate to pick up the vanilla. Furthermore, if, like me, you smoke aromatics more to abide the wife than because you personally derive satisfaction from the room note, there are stronger, better vanilla tobaccos (eg. Mac Baren Vanilla Cream). However, the folks saying that they flatly could not discern the Vanilla probably have less than 6 months smoking experience or are just plain uneducated in the art of connoseurial pipe smoking. Compare this to the rest of the Euro pack it came with (John Bull - an English - and Erin Go Brough - an Irish Whiskey aromatic) and there is no doubt about the mild Vanilla flavoring. That said, the vanilla is clearly more a casing than a proper Cavendish; compare to David's Midnight and this will be readily apparent to even a mildly experienced piper. All in all, it's a relaxing blend and certainly not a bad introduction to aromatics. Stays lit; burns cool; and even though it is very moist in the pouch, it really does not require drying...just don't puff away on it incessantly or you'll basically burn off all the casing and be left with an unfortunate blend of blandness and some tongue bite. Is this a 5-star, classy blend for smoking when you get to meet President Trump? No. But it's a nice, semi-sophisticated blend and all francophiles will enjoy it with a cup of French Roast in the morning. If you're looking to please the wife/family/etc or come off as a sophisticant in front of the bossman at the company BBQ, go for something a touch pricier (again, MacBaren jumps to mind, but regular Sutliff Vanilla will strike a similar chord on less $$) and search for an emphasis on cream or custard. You can definitely tell the difference. All-in-all, this is a solid 3 star smoke with a very mild Nicotine level; great for novice-intermediate aromatic pipers. Head and shoulders better than Super Value Vanilla, for example.

This blend is completely inoffensive... which means that it's also somewhat without character in my opinion. It's mild with a pleasant room note so long as it's smoked slow and cool. And vigorous puffing will quickly cause that vanilla topping to scorch and become acrid. This is also packed VERY wet so definitely needs some dry-down time.

This stuff came as part of a 3 pouch sampler from pipesandcigars. It's not a bad tobacco in its own right, but neither is it great. It's a vanilla arromatic, a genre that has been beating a dead horse for years now. And that is t the problem here, it's just another face in the crowd.

Edit: I figured out the secret to this stuff! Let it dry a lot bit and it's a good solid arromatic blend! Mild and sweet to the bottom of the bowl with the vanilla flavor present all the way as well!

Exciting as finding a $5 bill in a winter jacket... There nothing really exciting about this tobacco nor is there anything really horrible about it either. "A good tobacco for a yard pipe or an outside rainy day smoke break where you may have to dump half a bowl." Not a tobacco i would go out of my way to buy nor would I be offended if received as a gift. 2 1/2 stars

This is a decent smoke. It isn't bad, it isn't mind-blowing. It packs well, smokes cool, and tastes decent. I have yet to taste any vanilla in it though. It's a good tobacco to keep in the car or in the workshop, but it certainly isn't anything I'd keep in my rotation on purpose.