Erik Michael Stokkebye is the fourth generation of expert tobacconists to come out of the Stokkebye family tradition.
With the 4th Generation Tobacconist series, just like his tobacco pipes, he honors his family's tastes through releases of blends named in their honor. You can see these names as the years Erik Michael lists with the tobacco, such as the 1855 blend for his great grandfather, Erik Peter Stokkebye, the originator of the Stokkebye tobacco tradition. Erik Michael has released six other "years" for his family, including 1882, 1897, 1931, 1957, 1966, and 1982.
As 1882 was the year Erik Peter opened his first shop, the Stokkebye family has close to 150 years of history and tobacco expertise to pass down.
The 1897 blend honors the second generation, Erik Paul Stokkebye, who kept the business going after his father left him in charge.
1931 pays homage to Peter Stokkebye, Erik Michael's father, who is well known in his own right for some very popular tobacco blends himself.
1957 is the year of Erik Michael's birth, and so he wanted to use that to name his personal favorite blend.
The 1966 and the 1982 lines are newer blends, released after the initial launch. 1966 honors his younger brother, Lars Christian, while the 1982 mixture is for the one-hundredth anniversary of the family's company.
The 4th Generation tobacco line has received good reviews for all of its blends, but it is always better to test it out for yourself. After all, what some people like, you might not, and what others detest, you might enjoy. One of the great things about pipe tobacco is that there are enough flavors around that there is guaranteed to be something for everyone.
Choose your favorite or sample them all, with 40 and 100-gram tins of each blend.