Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Half & Half

This gets three stars from me - after finally trying it;)

The tobacco has a nice light body evolving from a smooth, even, burley character with the VA tang and creamy texture revealing itself at times, hinting at what I have tasted in premium VA blends. NICE! It really is "Half and Half" in the burley/VA flavor spectrum. Though, I don't find any burley nuttiness here with the VA seeming to peek through more often with the burley notes providing background structure - which I like.

Burns great with few to no re-lights and minimal packing required. This stuff will burn and burn - GREAT!

This is a true classic. I will certainly keep some on hand at all times. Give Half and Half a try!!

2 stars = Price and availability + 1 star for solid quality

3 stars overall!

Good Draw to You,

Glorfindel

The "Wild side" of "Codger Burley"....a yummy licoricey, raisiny rummy somewhat rough character lurking on the shelf in it's dusty box.

As noted in the previous reviews-either you love it or hate it.

I tend to like this tobacco, but with a few caveats:

1) It is quite batch inconsistent. I've had pouches which are fantastic and others which are terrible. If your tobacconist has a few on the shelf (they come in sleeves of 6 boxed pouches) and the one you get is one of the "good ones", buy the rest.

2)One of the few tobaccos that I reccomend ONLY be smoked out of a well broken in corncob for proper effect. It just doesn't smoke well out of any of my briars for me but it's fantastic out of a cob. It NEEDS the narrow, deep bowl of a cob to burn right, IMHO.

This is a classic blend, try it.

Never really tried any of the 'American Classic Drugstore Blends' but I bought a pouch of this in a pinch recently. You know no matter what anyone says this ain't half bad(no pun intended). I like burley and there is nothing to dislike here. Nothing spectacular but good honest burley flavor and aroma. I will probable pick up a pouch every now and again, not because I'm in a pinch but because I just enjoy it. Now put that in your pipe and smoke it!

It probably doesn't quite deserve three stars but I want to make sure everybody knows I enjoyed it.

I smoke this stuff by the tub. It does indeed have a wonderful boozy, cranberry, clove fragrance, and while it does have somewhat of an odd industrial taste, I just love it. I like the nice nicotine level, the one match ignition, the old school aura, and the fact that it's readily available. I smoke this in my old collection of drugstore pipes, and find it is wonderful in any shape or size. To me, at midbowl and beyond it tastes rather like a butterscotch milkshake. It has a noticeable tobacco flavor, even through all the condiments. This tobacco will build a cake faster than any other tobacco I have ever tried. After much deliberation, I must award this 4 stars, even though it is not a boutique blend, and many people don't like it. Yum. I hope they never quit making this. ****update**** I have been smoking this blend for years now, and I have recently come close to perfecting the "Frank" method of pipe loading. This brings out the very best from Half & Half. A properly charged pipe using this method will give well over an hour of gentle puffing. I now love this blend even more! I humbly invite my fellow pipe smokers to give it a whirl.

I recently retried this blend. My first attempt was very bad, leading me to believe I may have had a defective sample. I have had some trouble with Granger, which is also produced by Pinkerton.

This time around, the foil pouch was perfectly folded inside the box. The tobacco was surprisingly dry as well. This is about the eighth pouch of this I've tried. It is certainly the best. Maybe the QC folks at Pinkerton have been reading these reviews? I would love to think so.

Another reviewer pegged the topping as having cranberry in it, and I must say I agree. I detect cranberry, cloves, cinnamon, and maybe rum. The cut of this blend allows it to burn very hot, so take care. Puff it up and the flavor becomes rancid.

If you take your time with it, it can be a pleasant smoke, for very little money. I can find it just about anywhere where I live.

If you love H&H , count your blessings! You are laughing all the way to the bank...

Half and Half is my favorite tobacco. I have smoked it for the last 15 years since I went back to pipe smoking after a 15 year absence. I also smoke English mixtures such as 965, but I get a real thrill out of Half and Half. It is a simple straight forward tobacco, it smolders wonderfully in a pipe, but you have to have just the right technique to really get the most from it. I hope this tobacco will continue to be around for a long time to come.

This is my absolute favorite tobacco. There is no other smoke I have ever tried that tastes or smells like Half & Half! While Rattray's Terry Red, Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe and Brigg's are my top favorites, Half and Half is the crown jewel in my rotation. Even my wife thinks this is the best smelling tobacco I smoke and makes a point to tell me when I light up. This being said, I am forever surprised by the number of people who do not like this tobacco. It is full of flavor (and nicotine!) and is simply WONDERFUL! To put it frankly, a world without H&H just might not be a world worth living in.

Update 12/09/10: H&H was the first tobacco I ever smoked at the tender age of 14. (45 years ago). H&H stuck by me through my US Army years, college years, accountant years and into retirement. It definitely tastes different to me now than in the 1960's; however, I think that a person loses his senses of taste and smell as he ages. Being a burley guy, I never strayed too far from Half and Half. When I was a boy, my uncle smoked H&H and the aroma was wonderful. He looked so content smoking that soon I followed in his footsteps. (My father did not smoke.)

I venture to say that if we could go back into time and get a package from 1968, it would taste much the same as 2010 stuff, just different due to personal limitations. The younger fellows of today have a much greater selection of fine tobaccos to choose from, but nowhere to smoke. (That's another story.) I always have personally preferred the OTC stuff to the fancy tobacco, primarily due to what I began smoking. When I was young, pipe tobacco was sold everywhere, but all of it was H&H or Prince Albert genre.

It's natural to assume that a person who starts his smoking hobby with high end tobaccos is not going to like H&H and his lowly burley brothers.

All in all, Half and Half is an American classic that has stood the test of time. Very highly recommended.

Original review:I've been a pipe smoker for over 40 years, and Half and Half is the first tobacco I smoked. I think the pocket pouch was under 20 cents at that time. I feel that the quality of the blend has lessened over the years, however, today's Half and Half tastes much the same as it did 40 years ago.

The room note of this tobacco is unmistakable for any other brand. The slogan cool smoking, improved cut has been on the package as long as I have been smoking. This tobacco will always be in my rotation.

All in all, still an excellent smoke, however, not for everyone. Best in a thick wall corncob, smoked slowly to minimize bite.

Half and Half was my late paternal grandfather's favorite pipe-tobacco. Every time I smoke this blend today I am instantly whisked back in time, and can see him stoking his ever-present Falcon billard with it from the dark leather pouch he carried in his pocket.

The casing of this blend (if cased it be) reminds me of apples, however, I do not find it to be either goopy or objectionable. Having said that I will admit that it DOES tend to taint both pipe and room. I had an opportunity to visit Grandpa's old house years after he died, during a period when it was vacant, and I could still smell the lingering, delightful aroma of Half and Half! Some might find this to be objectionable. I don't. Rather, I am reminded of a staunch loyalty to brand that is sadly lacking in our world today.

Half and Half is a working-man's smoke that burns cleanly and wears well. It is admirable in a Popeyeish "I am what I am and that's all that I am" sort of way, and I recommend it.