Borkum Riff

Borkum Riff is a brand of pipe tobacco manufactured in Denmark by Swedish Match. Borkum Riff is one of the most sold brands in the world and was launched in 1969.fact|date=August 2008

The History of Borkum Riff

Originally, 'Borkum Riff' was 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 lightship Borukm Riff was used as the first Radioship by Radio Veronica from 1959 and till 1964 ho became the first Offsshore Radiostation in The Netherlands (see "Offshore Radio" weblink down under)

In the beginning of the 1960’s a pipe tobacco was launched on the Swedish market under the brand name of Borkum Riff. The tobacco 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.

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

The tobacco blend had been developed with an eye on the US pipe tobacco market. Borkum Riff, the Bourbon Whiskey blend, was introduced in the US in 1969 and a major success was achieved. Since then new flavours and new packaging formats have been introduced. Today, Borkum Riff is also sold in 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, where it was originally launched in 1969.

The brand comes in several different flavours:

* 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 Genuine Pure Tobacco

External links

* [http://www.borkumriff.com Borkum Riff web site]
* [http://www.swedishmatch.com/eng/FirstPage_fp.asp Swedish Match web site]

* Offshore Radio 60's Eng [http://www.sixtiescity.com/Radio/PirateRadio2.shtm]
* Offshore Radio Borkum Riff Ship Details Eng [http://www.offshore-radio.de/fleet/borkum.htm]