Sutliff Tobacco Company Golden Age

The Virginia is grassy, citrus sweet, and acts as the base for the other tobaccos. The perique is more plum and raisin than pepper, always noticeable without dominating. Lightly sweeter than Dunhill Elizabethan as made by Murray's and less spicy, it's also missing the lemon Virginia lakes that DE had. The nic-hit is mild. Won't bite or get harsh. It burns at a reasonable pace, cool, and clean with a very consistent flavor. Needs few relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. Can be an all day smoke. Sold in bulk as Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture Match.

-JimInks

I have never tried Elizabethan, so I have no basis for comparison.

This is a very pleasant blend. It is fairly mild to my palate and delivers a slightly sweet Virginia flavor with very little perique. I don't taste the listed orientals, but they may contribute in a subtle way. It presents as a high quality and balanced blend.

The blend came as a narrow ribbon and I liked the moisture level. I have no reservations in recommending this one. You won't be happy with it if you are looking for an aromatic or a perique/latakia/oriental/whatever flavor bomb.

Edit: I have now tried Elizabethan Match, and I would not have guessed these two blends were intended to be similar. This is a good blend though on its own merits.

Edit2: I see the description has been edited, and orientals are not listed now. That corresponds to my tastebuds. I tried to find them, and it turns out they were not there.

Update: I had to update this review and downgrade my rating, unfortunately. One problem is there's too much humectant for a English style mixture. This level of pg would be ok in an aromatic, where you have to have pg to carry the casing. The other problem is..there are other Perique skewed mixtures that are more interesting to me (Bayou Night, Irish Oak, even Haddos).

I have never before given a four star rating to an Altadis blend, at least I don't think so. This is, for me, somewhere between four and five stars, so I'm going to bump it up.

As a fan of the old Elizabethan, Royal Yacht and more recently, Peterson's Irish Oak, I feel confident in putting this offering in or right near that group, although it is a bit more American in character.

One thing this is not, is a typical Va/Per.

It does not deliver a boatload of Perique like Irish Oak, but it is noticable, slightly peppery, slightly figgy tasting. It likes to be smoked slowly, not packed too tight, and it comes too moist in the tin.

The other reviewer was spot on in comparing this somewhat to Royal Yacht, although milder. The darkned tobaccos in this, are very smooth, a bit muted. There is not the depth of VA nuance that there is in the old RY or even Irish Oak. However, there is a very nice, under the radar, aromatic component of some kind, that to me tastes like burnt marshmellows. Maybe this is the unflavored black Cavendish. And there is the goodness of Perique. And this contrast provides the interest in this.

In any event, this is worth trying for Perique lovers. It does not overwhelm, is not confusing, and very pleasing. Those looking for some Virginia with their Perique won't find it here, and they should look at Navy Rolls and the many similar tasting high quality blends.

The blend works by combining the rounded, slightly sweet taste of unflavored Cavendish with the spice of Perique. Don't overlook this one, if you're a fan of English style tobaccos with Perique. Aromatic lovers will be dissapointed.

I will unable to compare this to an Elizabethan, but I can compare to the English and Balkans I do like (MM Patriot, Blend No. 5, R-Blend, Bosporus Cruise, et al) and must say this was very different. The main impression I was left with was sense of dark deepness, earthy being an excellent descriptor, but I would even add a meaty, plain jerky sensation, but spiced with notable pepperiness. Those who note a sweetness may be right, but that aspect is rather distant and minimal. This Golden Age would better be named Amber Age, lol. In terms of effect, I'd note the Perique, followed by the Turkish, thence the Burley, Cavendish and Virgina. The Golden Age grew deeper and richer down the bowl, and left a definite aftertaste in the mouth that was entirely consistent with the preceeding.

All in all this might grow on me, and seems an acquired taste. I'll have to let you know. Silly perhaps but I could actually see enjoying this one at an outdoor barbeque. I'd call it a TurPer, lol. I believe this one does best sipped in a wider bowl, like my Butz (15/16) in an attempt to draw out the supporting components. I believe this one is for Perique lovers. Not an all-day smoke for me, but I do believe I could come to like this more. Let's call it 2.5 for now, with possibilities.

Call it a PerTur - peppered oriental jerky.

I guess I'm not much of a Perique fan or Elizabethan fan. I tried this four or five times then added it to my stock of "in case were attacked by zombies locked in basement" stash. It will stay there

A surprisingly good Perique mixture. The tin art is beautiful, the cut is long and thin. Smell off the tin is slightly pungent and sweet, the tobacco has the right amount of moisture to be smoked right away. The flavor is perfect for a middle of the road tobacco. It burns fast and to a white ash, no pipe gurgling even if smoked fast. Interesting neutral taste with Perique breaking the status quo. The after taste is towards cigarettes but not too much. Overall a very nice mixture at a good price in the States and impossible to find in Quebec. This is my first review for a Sutliff tobacco.

Virginia lover

Sniffing this long-cut, fine ribbon blend betrays the distinctive aroma of white burley and a small amount of sweetness, both natural and added. Fruity aromas are almost absent.

The flavor follows the aroma. This is primarily a dry and earthy smoke with copious amounts of white burley along with a muted sweetness from golden virginias and natural black (burley?) cavendish. The contribution from the perique is noticeable, though secondary.

Golden Age is a satisfying and easy-going blend with a generously rugged and voluptuously sweet flavor that bears no immediately obvious resemblance to Elizabethan Mixture. This seemed best in a narrow to medium gauge chamber.

this was my first introduction to perique as a dominate flavor. Not a bad flavor I would personaly add a little more latkia for balance but thats just me. on it own merits it holds it own and i have purchased another tin which I will age a bit longer to see it that improves it. I wish sutliff would quit compareing there blends to oters because almost every time it cant live up to the standars others have set for it. these tobaccos are good on there own merits and compareing them to others they are smililar to really takes away how good these blends are.

Since Sutliff tends to emulate Dunhill in many blends in this series, and, since the Golden Age is identified with Queen Elizabeth I you might expect this tobacco to be an emulation of Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture. If so, you are right. The tobacco's tin appearance is the expected brown color of DEM, only slightly lighter. The tin aroma is familiar to DEM smokers, only lighter. The smoking aroma is similar to that of DEM, only not as heavy. Now, to some of us this is not good. I, on the other hand, feel the opposite and here's why. Although I have smoked DEM over the years, it was never a constant smoke nor one of my favorites. But, I did smoke it and it was nice and mellow and medium strong. Then things began to change and by the time you get to the 21st century this blend is no longer smoking in that mellow but medium strong fashion. I have smoked the current production of DEM and have found it to be denser and stronger than in the past and I didn't care for it. That is why I enjoyed Sutliff's Golden Age. It doesn't smoke like the old blend but is closer to the old blend's true nature than the current production. The bummer is that this blend is now out of production and no longer available.

This is a pleasant smoke all around, with some excellent qualities, yet I feel it's lacking in some respects. As a result this gets 2 stars but is of somewhat higher quality than that and is penalized more by what I wish it was rather than what it is on its own merits. Ultimately flavor and strength are just not quite sufficient to earn an unqualified recommendation from me.

The tin is the American style pop top, which for this blend has maintained both the flavor, aroma, and moisture in an open tin without issue for over a year. Is this an indication of chemical additives? If so, it is skillfully done and not evidenced in the taste. The age of exploration style tin art of an early misshapen New World map soundly illustrates the blend name. The ugly bronze colored plastic cap and terrible stylized S coat of arms logo common to Sutliff just looks cheap to me though. The tobacco itself is inviting, a fairly fine ribbon. Visually I pick out about four tobaccos, golden, red, and likely natural brown Cavendish Viriginias and coarser dark Perique. The smell is muted, and reminds me mostly of Worcestershire sauce, comprised of tangy spiced feremented fruit vinegar.

This blend burns quite well. My latest sampling took a single match, and burned just about all the way down. No bite was detected even under some accelerated puffing and the ash was very very fine with a slick feel. The taste is nice, middle of the road Va. It is mostly buttery with the barest traces of acidity. This is mildly sweet, and more evident in the aroma than the taste. The contribution of the Perique is weak. Had I smoked this blindly I would have identified the condiment tobaccos in the mixture as Orientals, as it shares a flavor profile with McClelland's Smyrna, somewhat earthy with a subtle tanginess and maybe hints of cumin or other Middle Eastern spices. It's interesting to me too that other reviewers often discussed this blend as a light English rather than a VaPer, which indicates to me that others have perceived a lack of Perique and a Turkish tilt more characteristic of English mixtures, even if not so written. The Perique tastes I think about, stewed plums and figs or woody pepper, which are found in the tin note, are disguised in the taste. I rate both strength and flavor mild so I tend to puff this a little harder than usual, but it doesn't seem to generate much moisture and no bite. Unfortunately, despite being pleasant tasting and smoking, I am just not satisfied at the end of the bowl and for me that nicotine induced feeling of bodily and mental relaxation after a fine smoke isn't quite reached. It's this reason rather than any specific dislike that I've been working on the same tin for over a year.

I think two specific tweaks could elevate this smoke considerably. An addition of burley would help bring the strength up and probably deepen the flavors without much change to flavor characteristics. A tad more Perique would also be welcome. I think this milder smoke would probably be better for a morning bowl rather than winding down at night. Lastly, I would recommend it morenhighly to newer pipers than the general population as a foray into VaPers.