Borkum Riff

Borkum Riff is a brand of pipe tobacco manufactured in Denmark by Swedish Match. Borkum Riff is one of the most popular brands in th world and was launched in 1968.

The History of Borkum Riff
During the Age of Discovery the first Swedish explorers travelled to North America. Arriving in Delaware in 1638, they rapidly established a permanent colony and began trading with the local inhabitants who were eager to barter items such as furs in exchange for goods from Sweden. It soon became apparent that one of these locally produced items, tobacco, had great appeal in Europe. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Queen Kristina of Sweden appointed skilled craftsmen to refine the art of producing fine pipe tobacco for the Europe's nobility.

This tradition has been kept alive by Borkum Riff which has gained a well-deserved reputation for excellence among connoisseurs of pipe tobacco around the world.

The story of Borkum Riff starts at the beginning of the 1960’s when a pipe tobacco was launched on the Swedish market under the brand name of Borkum Riff. Prior to 1960, the name 'Borkum Riff' was only known as a lighthouse located at 53° 58' N, and 6° 22' E in the Helgoland Bay off the Dutch coast in the North Sea. This lighthouse was a landmark for seafaring men and was well-known to Swedish radio listeners, as weather reports mentioned Borkum Riff several times a day.

The tobacco launched in Sweden under the Borkum Riff name was a rough cut mixture of a blend of Virginia and Burley tobaccos. It got off to a slow start but sales increased gradually. However, it was not until the whiskey flavour was added that sales began to soar. Today, the Borkum Riff brand is the third largest on the Swedish market, after the leading Greve Hamilton and Caravelle. Late in 1968, a new chapter started in the history of Borkum Riff. This was the year when tobacco blenders at the Swedish Tobacco Co created the formula for a new pipe tobacco with unique smoking characteristics – a revolution for the world’s smoking public.

The tobacco blend developed was soft and rich yet mellow in taste. It did not bite or hurt the mouth, was easy to handle and to keep lit. It was lightly flavoured, yet sufficiently strong to provide taste and create an agreeable aroma. The tobacco turned out to be the perfect choice for those wishing to switch from cigarette smoking to pipe smoking and immediately became a great worldwide success.

It is, however, not enough to have a unique pipe tobacco blend of high quality. The package must reflect the high quality image, and the Borkum Riff pouch package already on the Swedish market was the obvious choice. The design of the Borkum Riff package is unique in its simplicity. It is timeless with many interesting individual design elements.

The ship in the design originates from a 17th century engraving made by Johann Baptista Homann, who lived in Germany.

The tobacco blend had, of course, been developed with an eye on the world’s largest pipe tobacco market, i.e. the US. Borkum Riff, the Bourbon Whiskey blend, was introduced in the US in 1969 and a major success was achieved. It was not difficult to sell in Borkum Riff on the US market. At an early stage very favourable comments were received from wholesale- and retail trades as well as from consumers. It was even said that this was the pipe tobacco that US pipe smokers had been longing for. Since then new flavours and new packaging formats have been introduced. Borkum Riff has, of course, not only been spread on the US market but on markets such as Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Spain, New Zealand, Japan, France, Italy, Germany as well as on several other markets all around the world. Borkum Riff's biggest market is the United States.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Borkum Riff is one of today’s greatest tobacco successes in the world.

As of 2007 there are several products:


 * Borkum Riff Original


 * Borkum Riff Bourbon Whisky


 * Borkum Riff Cherry Liqueur


 * Borkum Riff Scandinavian Mixture


 * Borkum Riff Orange & Honey


 * Borkum Riff Cherry Cavendish


 * Borkum Riff Black Cavendish


 * Borkum Riff Vanilla Cavendish


 * Borkum Riff Champagne


 * Borkum Riff Highland Malt Whiskey


 * Borkum Riff Special Mixture No. 8


 * Borkum Riff GOLD Cherry & Vanilla


 * Borkum Riff GOLD Malt Whiskey


 * Borkum Riff Admiral's Flake Vanilla


 * Borkum Riff Admiral's Flake Cherry


 * Borkum Riff French Vanilla