Imperial Tobacco Group, PLC Saint Claude

Saint Claude is a blend that has been on the market for decades, belonging to the fine-cut "scaferlati" branch of French pipe tobacco tradition. It takes its name from Saint-Claude, the town in France associated with briar pipe making; the brand and recipe were long owned by the state monopoly SEITA, later passing to Imperial Tobacco, and records indicate the SEITA pipe tobacco catalog was taken over by Mac Baren in 2015. The backbone of the blend is fire-cured (dark fired) Kentucky; light-colored natural Virginia and air-cured leaves giving it its French character are added. The result is a woody, smoky, earthy taste with pronounced nicotine strength; the flavoring share is very low.