Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Half & Half

Yet another American style Burley blend, light, a bit bland, nutty, all day smoke. There can be little did about the blends other than that they were being smoked by our grandfather's and if it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for us.

When I was a kid on the farm we used to mix straw and hay and sneak behind the barn to smoke it in one of my fathers old corncob pipes. Try slow roasting it over some dried cow dung and----Get the picture?

Nice long lasting smoke. As OTCs go to me this is one of the best. Almost the perfect all day smoke. Give this one a try . I have smoked Nightcap and Early Morning Pipe Peterson’s Balkan Delight Irish Flake 1792 Flake IRC Virginia Flake And this is just as enjoyable.

I bought a pouch of this today. It was moist and had a strong anise smell.

I had to relight twice. I'm guessing this is from the humectant. Burn was good. No tongue bite, or other problems smoking this tobacco.

The anise was strong and even left an aftertaste for quite a while after smoking. I didn't find it disagreeable. The room note was merely tolerable.

While I prefer PA, CH and SWR in the OTC category, I would smoke this blend again, although I don't foresee it going into rotation. It wasn't a tobacco I feel I must keep on hand.

If you buy this, just bear in mind it is an OTC. It's not really comparable to a MacBaren grade tobacco. It's a plain Jane.

I don't understand why Half and Half is listed twice here. I would call this an American blend, not an aromatic. The pouch doesn't lie, it is cool smoking. However, I did get a slight tongue bite. Pouch aroma reminds me of those Christmas fruitcakes that came in a tin , like cherries or other fruit. The smoke tastes of anise initially. This fades to an ashy, cigarette taste. Mild enough to inhale, but there's no point, there's no nicotine. Inexpensive. Good about staying lit. Pleasant to retrohale.

Half and Half has become my go to tobacco that I smoke everyday. I have enjoyed all of the OTC blends but over time this has become the only one that I buy now. It is a no nonsense blend without any vanilla toppings like Carter Hall or Captain Black. The smell out of the can or pouch is pleasant with light sweet toppings and a pleasant room note. The price is right for 12 oz cans at around $22.00. A can lasts me about a month (sometimes less) so it's about as cheap as you can get. Every can that I have got is fresh and moist and the lid is easy to open unlike Carter Hall or Price Albert. It lights easy and burns/smokes good and I would recommend packing on the loose to medium loose side. If you pack it too tight it is hard to draw. It has a mild to medium taste with a good nicotene hit. I like to inhale so it is just right with no tongue or throat bite. I just received 2 cans delivered today so i'm a happy camper. For the price if you try it and don't like it, dump it in the trash you won't loose much. 🙂

Burley and bright tobaccos just that simple. Has a note of figs or raisins. But definitely you get the great creamy nutty taste of the burley with the sweet Virginia notes. I enjoy half and half its just plain simple burley and bright. No casing no heavy topping.

**Just recently bought and opened a new tub of H&H and it was even better than the pouches! Same Cherry and Clove type topping (Christmasy) and great quality leaf. Just make sure the can or pouch names Scandinavian Tobacco Group on it to ensure a quality product.**

Ah I sure am glad the Scandinavians are resurrecting these old blends (or just re-blending them with quality leaf) H&H and Sail are two off the top of my head that were not so good before and now have risen to the quality that they were before. My new pouches of H&H from Pipesandcigars listed STG as the manufacturer and once opened I could tell this was going to be a much better experience than my Pinkerton trials years ago. I get a Cherry / Anise like topping with the usual Kentucky Burley and Bright Virginia combo in a ribbon cut. My two pouches that I smoked did not have any sticks or stems, were mostly bite free and after ten minutes in the Las Vegas air, were dry enough to smoke to the bottom with one or two relights. Very happy to have decided to try H&H again and also pleased that STG has decided to make an old time OTC with the quality it deserves. 4 stars for quality to price ratio, 3 stars since its still not my favorite blend. Try it just to see the quality difference, you might be surprised like I was!

After trying a variety of Tinned and bulk tobaccos (Aromatic, English, etc.) I've begun trying inexpensive OTC american pipe tobacco. After my initial plain but pleasant intro by way of PA, I decided to try Half and Half. I was not expecting the pipe smoking equivalent to a 5 star meal, but at least a serviceable, smooth tobacco. The "tin" note reminded me of vinegar or fermentation, but after I got past this, I could smell a possible hint of unsweetened cocoa and other indefinable odors. Overall unpleasant. I know that tin note has little to do with the quality of a smoke, so I soldiered on. This tobacco is very soft and pliable, and packed reasonably well. (Did not seem gummy) Unfortunately once I began smoking, I got hit with a moderate but clear taste and scent of chemicals. The cocoa (I think) came through a bit, but I couldn't shake the unpleasant chemical taste. I am a slow smoker and H&H smoked cool, but I had a slight sting on my tongue and lips by half bowl. (Not a steam burn, but proper tongue bite) The taste and odor was unpleasant, and this does not agree with my palate at all. After several attempts, I have been unable to force myself to finish a bowl yet. Bad scent, bad flavor, bad experience. At best, this offers a bland smoke, at worst, tongue bite and chemical taste that wont go away. I've thrown away what's left of my purchase. On to the next tobacco......