Sutliff Tobacco Company Frosty Mint 2008

...Do you like Mint?

...Seriously, are you a mint fanatic?

…Do you prefer your mint to feel like it's clubbing you in the face with a large 10 pound candy cane with other smaller candy canes nails through it, then having wintergreen oil poured into the open wounds while inhaling mentholatum through your nostrils as your eyes water? THAT is what you get with Frosty Mint from Altadis. Without all the violence.

I love the Altadis brand. It's like having the freaky girlfriend that everyone loathes. You know the one: sexy but dangerous and very offensive to everyone with a ‘devil may care' attitude, however when you put up with all her misgivings she's a tigress in the sack. All my senses tell me I should hate this brand. That I should turn up my nose to it; pipe smoking should be reserved for more serious brands.

But darn it, Altadis is tasty.

And Frosty Mint delivers as promised. It's mint, pure and simple. In the self-descriptor it claims to have chocolate-mint. Personally I think if it ever did have a hint of chocolate in there, that poor flavor has long since been killed and tossed overboard by all that damn mint.

Now FROSTY, that's an exact word for it. Combined with Minty it pretty much tells you all you need to know about this tabacco. When I first started to pick up the pipe, I looked for a menthol aromatic because frankly I am a mint fanatic. I found most brands lacking. Then Frosty mint came along and BAM. Instant love.

It burns nice to a grey white ash. It can leave a small bit of goop, but if you smoke it right that's not an issue.

Fair Warning: It will bite your tongue with the fury of a rabid grizzly bear if you smoke it wrong, due to the overwhelming mint flavor. However if you coax it out of the pipe right it'll cure any craving you have for the brisk flavor of mint.

Another Fair Warning: the taste will linger. I dedicated a Peterson pipe to it because it'll ghost the hell out of any pipe.

As a side note, Altadis is great for mixing together other Altadis flavors and coming up with lovable concoctions. I have added a few pinches of this with custom blends and given it to friends and they LOVE it. Just a pinch will due. It gives any aromatic blend you create a nice, clean feel.

Refreshing? Hell yes.

Minty? The Very Definition.

Frosty? All winter long.

Dangerous? With the fury of all nine ice hells.

Frosty Mint by Altadis is my Freya of pipe tobacco: She'll make you bleed for it, but she's beautiful and makes you come crawling back for more.

Mint.

Ok, I'm a big fan of mint. I always carry Altoids or some other strong peppermint and I enjoy not only it's flavor but that it's invigorating. I do love mint, but this stuff is ridiculous! Sutliff claims to have added chocolate to this and I may have detected some in the room note but the mint completely covers up all other flavors, including that of actual tobacco. The flavor here is mint and it's so powerful that for hours after smoking it, mint is all I could taste. I only smoked one bowl, so a truckload of salt might go well with this review, but one bowl is all it took for me to know to leave this one well alone.

There is some good news here, however. The mint flavor lasts through the entire bowl (yes, I smoked it down to ash) and doesn't diminish or get dirty. There is no bite. It doesn't burn wet and goopy. And it tastes like what it's supposed to - and then some! In fact, if truth in advertising means anything to you, add one star to my assessment. If you love the taste of mint to the exclusion of all else, add at least one more. And if you add mint flavoring to your steak, scotch or anything else that typically doesn't go with mint, add a 4th. They promise "mint" and they give it to you. If I graded on a pure objective level, this would merit at least 3 stars. But pipe smoking for me is mostly subjective, and they went well overboard on the mint if their object was to create a pipe tobacco rather than a mint blast. I thought about mixing this with something else but I didn't have any crappy blends on hand that I wouldn't mind destroying with this stuff. However, I intend to keep what I have left and try that sometime in the future. This might work ok as a mixer, as long as it's no more than 10-15% of the mix. On it's own, it's a total bust, IMHO.

Usually the Sutliff Tobacco Company tobacco smoke hot and hurt you the language so it had some doubts about this product, but when got it the curiosity of a tobacco of mint and chocolate didn't let me be quiet immediately opened it its aroma in the pouch I menthol super impact with a rather nice chocolate note , when smoking it I loved and it sneaked into my second favorite tobacco and much to say since I've been looking for my five favorite blends and he had only found one Captain Black-Dark this is say it is much that say no by cocky but because I have the strange taste of what smoke know what smells and no to tobacco as it should be and I'm aware that in the diverse world of pipe is not very appreciated. But this tobacco packed my expectations and I loved nor talk room is note a scent very sweet mint chocolate that enjoys much my wife.

DO NOT SMOKE THIS TOBACCO RIGHT OUT OF THE BAG! Mix it with your favorite tobacco. I use chocolate truffle at a mix of 10 parts chocolate and 1 part mint. I’m not kidding, it is that strong. When I mix it, it gives a real mint taste to the mix. Just right. I’m sure you could mix it with other aromatics, but right off hand I can’t think of one.

Sutliff Tobacco Company - Frosty Mint.

If you wanted to know how this tastes before ghosting a pipe with it just take a whiff of the bag!

The smoke from this one's quite bizarre: I can see why it's called Frosty, damn it's icy! As well as being icy it's also very sharp. Chocolate? Come on! It would take more than Willy Wonka's got in his factory to get past the mint in this! Burley, Cavendish, Virginia? The only thing the tobaccos do here is give the smoke build. Again, like with the chocolate, the minty addition isn't one for sharing.

The note's alright, and the nicotine's a touch above mild.

There's no way this would make my rotation, but it's decent as a novelty!

Somewhat recommended.

This is mint, imagine smoking a York Peppermint Patty or an Altoid. Nothing subtle about this blend, it is strong. Take in small doses and understand this will ghost your pipe so its best to devote one to this tobacco. Luckily I have a perfect pipe, a small Savoy that this tobacco was made for. I was shocked at how minty this tobacco is but very happy with it. Again, don't load up your huge Sherlock Holmes pipe for this, use sparingly. Recommended for brave souls or mint lovers, definitely worth a try.

WOW! This stuff is really minty, but not in a cigarette kind of way. I detest menthol cigarettes, but I really like this tobacco. It burns surprisingly well and doesn't leave a lot of gunk behind. Frosty Mint blends well with Altadis Chocolate Truffle when mixed in small ratios, say 1:6 or less. Otherwise it will completely overpower the Chocolate Truffle. I love smoking this outside when it's cold. Blowing the smoke out through your nose is especially cool. If only Altadis would do for cinnamon or clove what they've done for mint....

In the background, a few blades of grass from the Virginia, and a trace of nutty dark burley can be found. The black cavendish is MIA. The strong mint topping dominates the proceedings, though I get some menthol notes, too. The chocolate topping is just above the condiment line. Has little nicotine, but sports a powerhouse flavor. Needs a little dry time. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has no rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a slightly slow pace with a very consistent flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl. Requires a few more than an average number of relights. Has a long lasting after taste, and a pleasant room note. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Like just about every other review exclaims- I just don't know how you can smoke this straight. I did it once, and it's very Junior-Minty.

However, it has become one of my favorites when blended with equal parts of Lane 1Q, Lane BCA, Amphora Original and Frosty Mint.

I was looking for a pipe-version of Drew Estate Java Mint Maduro toros, and my mixture is pretty damn close. Just awesome on a summer evening after working over a hot grill for 10-hours on a BBQ Carolina Pork Butt.

My rating reflects its use in blending with other tobaccos to build dessert blends.

They weren't kidding when they say this is minty. And not menthol cigarette mint, but biting into a york peppermint patty and being left for dead on the top of a mountain mint. From the first puff all through the bowl, it stays minty. mid way and down I sense the hint of chocolate but it's barely there. It's incredibly refreshing for me and unlike any other tobacco I've tried really. I'll be sure to make room on the shelf for this one. No bite from this and found myself smoking 2 bowls back to back which I rarely do. Pair it with some iced tea and I'm set for summer. I actually really liked this, but I also really enjoyed Captain Bob's Blend...so what do I know?

Smoke in a cob unless you like ghosting. I'm thinking I could mix a bit of this into Captain Cool since the mint that was supposed to be in there clearly didn't make it.