Sutliff Tobacco Company Match Holiday Mixture

(3.46)
A faithful match of the old Larus & Brothers' Holiday Pipe Mixture.

Details

Brand Sutliff Tobacco Company
Blended By Carl McCallister
Manufactured By Sutliff Tobacco Company
Blend Type American
Contents Black Cavendish, Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Cube
Packaging Bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.46 / 4
13

12

1

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 26 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 21, 2014 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The Virginia is mildly sweet with a slight grass note and provides a solid base for the other components. The earthy, woody burley is sweet, and a little nutty and is a major player in the proceedings. A smattering of black cavendish chips in with a bare essence of vanilla and sugar. The perique is hardly noticeable, but the light spice and raisins comes from there. The Cyprian Latakia is also a minor player, but it provides a smokey, woody, earthy, sweet push to the proceedings. The topping is sweet and mildly fruity. The strength is in the center of mild to medium. The taste is a couple of slots below the medium mark. The nic-hit is a rung past the mild threshold. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent taste. Leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl, and needs few relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste. This is an all day, easy going aromatic American English that has a bit of complexity and some depth.

Comparing it to the Lane version, I'd say it is virtually identical. The only real difference I noted is that the Match is slightly less sweeter, and has a shade less Latakia. I gave three stars to the original, and as this is so close, it gets the same rating. However, as a Match, it is a four star blend.

-JimInks
28 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 01, 2017 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
Sutliff Tobacco Company - Match Holiday Mixture.

Some of the cubes are quite chunky, they look like small, square, flakes. The pouch gives a scent of added sweetness, something like candy floss/cotton candy, or marshmallow.

The smoke is prominently a VaBur one, the rest of the leaves are miles behind, only giving a wisp of flavour. Just like in the pouch-note I recognise an added flavouring: of the same sweet variety as in the pouch. The burn from it isn't that fast, providing some of the chunkier cubes have been selected, and I get no tongue bite.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: pleasant.

This is a nice smoke and a recommendation seems fair:

Three stars.
Pipe Used: Altinok Lee Van Cleef: Friday pipe
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: New
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 08, 2019 Mild Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant
My experience with this tobacco has been mixed. As nearly all others have pointed out, Holiday Mixture has a long history, having first been produced by Larus and Brother of Richmond, VA. Larus sold out in 1968, although its succesor continued the company name, and high quality, for a number of years. Somewhere along the line, Lane Ltd. acquired the rights to Edgeworth Ready Rubbed and Holiday Mixture, and it is there that my experience with this blend began, in around 2000.

Holiday Mixture has always been unique, having a subtle bitterness I've found in no other blend. It has been described here as both an aromatic and an "American English." In my estimation, it is neither. I would classify it as a quality drugstore blend, suitable to the adventurous codger. It is Burley, incorporating as its base Edgeworth Ready Rubbed. That is its smell in the pouch and its taste in the pipe. But there's more. It contains small amounts of bright Virginia and what passes for Black Cavendish, which is a steamed one-sucker Burley. There is also a smidgen of Latakia, and a small but just-right dose of Perique.

But how does it smoke? Very well--sometimes. Since Sutliff has produced the blend its taste seems to vary with the batch. The current supply is excellent; the last pouch I bought had a very unpleasant "sooty" taste that cheap Black Cavendish can sometimes impart. The tobacco I'm puffing on right now has that wonderful bitterness that is the essence of Holiday Mixture, owing probably to the expert use of Perique.

This is an all-day smoke, as it was when Lane Ltd. produced the blend. Set it and forget it. The tobacco stays lit and doesn't get hot or bite. And its dirt cheap. I never tried the Holiday Excursion Lane had when they decided to get back in the game. But the current batch of the Sutliff Match is almost as good as the old Lane Ltd. product, at a fraction of the price
Pipe Used: Misourri Meerschaum Washington
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes
Age When Smoked: Fresh
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 28, 2015 Mild Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Like many others, if I ever tried the original years ago I don't remember doing so. This is a mild 'American' - burley seems to be the major player supported by the Cavenish, but the VA & Latakia are certainly present (I'll take their word on the Perique). Unlike many similar burley/cavendish blends, I get no bite from this blend. The topping is mild. Certainly a good intro blend to the genre so long as the smoker doesn't expect a blockbuster, and the room note is about as pleasant as any blend with Latakia can be. Unsurprisingly, this is a fairly fast-burning blend. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is probably not.
Pipe Used: briars, cobs, and meers
PurchasedFrom: cup o'joe's
Age When Smoked: fresh
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 21, 2014 Mild Very Mild Mild Pleasant
I want to add my endorsement of this blend to the reviews.

No one picking this up should expect a flavor bomb. I don't think it was even meant to be one. I don't know about the original Larus mixture. I have never smoked the original, nor do I expect to. But, for a mild, uncomplicated, any time of the day smoke, this one can't be beat!

The perique is there--I get a bit of the tongue tingle. The latakia is there--close to my upper limit for that condiment. The virginias are slightly sweet. The burley adds a bit of a bottom to the blend. I admit to completely missing the cavendish, but I'll bet if it were removed its absence would be noticeable. My son and his wife find the room note pleasant. The Hunnette abhors any smoke (other than a barbeque grilling chicken). All I care about is the flavor.

Holiday Mixture Match fires up immediately. It rarely needs attention after the initial light aside from an ocassional tamp. Depending on how fast I smoke it, it may need one additonal light, but otherwise it burns completely down to a fine gray ash.

As I have stated in other reviews, I am fond of perique. I have considered adding some to this blend, but have resisted that thought. I don't want to change the character of the tobacco. It's just fine the way it is. I have other blends with more perique. When I want that sort of experience, I'll just smoke one of them.

There is a tinned blend called Holiday Excursion--as a matter of fact that is what is pictured above these reviews. Website descriptions I have read claim that it is either burley, virginia, and latakia OR contains exactly the same tobaccos as this bulk blend. I think the tinned blend is from Lane, but I could be wrong. This review is for the bulk Sutliff blend. I've never had the tinned version--it's much more expensive.

I have had the best luck with Holiday Match in Kaywoodie princes, but it is very tasty in cobs as well. Recommended!
Pipe Used: Kaywoodies, Corn Cobs, LaRoccas
PurchasedFrom: pipesandcigars.com
Age When Smoked: fresh bulk
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 10, 2013 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant
Have never tasted the original, but I love this blend. Easy, all day smoke. Yet, complex enough to keep me interested. Of the 20+ different tobaccos I have purchased in the last 6 months, this is by far my favorite. This classic mixture delivers a wonderful collection of flavors.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 10, 2017 Mild Mild Mild Pleasant
Holiday, in its original form went the way of Hickory, Edgeworth, Briggs and Union Leader. Long gone, but now only replicated to best of anyone's knowledge. Several years ago, when I lived out West, Holiday Excursion was a frequent purchase. Little did I know that HE was a remake of the old coedger blend. What Sutliff has done is create a remake from the remake. There might be some confusion to which is the original tin design, or what came first. Under Larus&Brothers the label reads Holiday Pipe Mixture: Aromatic in the Pouch-Aromatic in the Pipe. The cruise ship is in side profile with sailboats in front of it. When Lane acquired the H the name changed to Holiday Excursion with the slogan: Aromatic Crowd Pleaser. The cruise ship on that label is in sillouhette and sails toward the viewer. When HE was phased out, Sutliff bought the recipe. The blend is now only available in bulk. Having never tried the original I can only access based on the remake version. Either way a good smoke. A light English that won't offend. I remember HE having a denser, more cocoa element. Here, I really notice the Virginia and Perique. The burleys, not so much. The Latakia is light. All in all a smooth, slightly sweet and light aromatic mixture which is easy on the tongue. Behaves well and doesn't bite. Definitely recommeended, especially for those who advert English types like the plague. It's a keeper and is bound to make some new friends.
Pipe Used: Corncob
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 03, 2013 Extremely Mild Extremely Mild Extremely Mild (Flat) Pleasant
Ah...what to write? Let us begin by getting the worst out of the way. Abraham Lincoln once described a bill passed by Congress as being a soup "made from the ghost of a crow that had had starved to death." One could too-easily judge this blend as being similar. There could be more "there" there.

Having said that, this DOES evoke memories of Holiday when it was made by Lane Ltd. Both have a certain unique, intriguing bitterness. That singular feature was always what set Holiday apart. There is also a faint nuttiness to the Burley, though not nearly the same as when the Burley component was Edgeworth Ready- Rubbed. That version had some nicotine kick to it. This version doesn't.

Yes, one could easily smoke this all day. But would one want to? That decision is left to the individual smoker.

Nothing objectionable here...and nothing exceptional either. This would be a great blend for anyone switching from coffin nails.

I agree with the previous reviewer who said that this is a blend that needs to be smoked slowly; otherwise, all of its good points would slip right by you.

Other than that...very pleasant room note. There is no bite at all. This might just grow on me.

5/4/13 In the lyrics of blues artist Mayme Watts, "Alright, okay, you win..."

I had a long day of driving today, listening to NPR, and puffing on this blend in assorted pipes filled with this mixture. I DOES become more congenial and engaging with each bowlful. Its aforementioned deficiencies are still there...but somehow one soon learns to forgive them and savor this concoction for its own sweet self. Much like a woman or Kipling's cigar.

I have a Chacom Prince that brings out all the flavors of this blend, and it is something to be taken seriously and savored. Burley lovers will be especially gratified. For my own preference, a tad more Latakia would be appreciated. But I ain't complaining.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 21, 2020 Medium Mild Mild Very Pleasant
I never had the original Holiday, it wasnt my type of blend back then. This is a rating on the match alone.

When I opened the bag the pleasant smell aroma of sweet smelling grass, wood, slight vanilla, raisin met me and it was good. The tobacco seemed a touch moist do I sat this out for about an hour on paper towel. The cube cut seemed to be rough and uneven in cut but smoked slowly and consistently. This is one of the few tobaccos that I have ever smoked that I believe couldn't bite even if a blowtorch was applied to the end of the pipe. The smoke was a bit heavier than medium and this lit right up and needed far less re-lights than most. The Room Note was very pleasant with marshmallow, very light vanilla and very sweet smelling. There was a very slight amount of moisture in the bowl at the end.

Upon lighting a tangy grassy and slightly bitter woody taste greeted me and lasted for about 5 sips. It wasn't unpleasant but it sure wasn't what I was expecting and I was thinking if the whole bowl is like this what a disappointment this will be. Then, the complex dancing of different flavors began. The 6th sip and it became lightly sweet with a light sugar taste and a touch of nut, a touch of spice, a touch of raisin. The 7th sip it changed again with cotton candy followed by a lightly smoky sip followed by a cotton candy sip followed by a marshmallow sip followed by a cocoa sip!!! While each of these rushed to the front of the stage for their time in the limelight the tangy grassy taste remained constant and all the other flavors danced in the background. A very light toasty flavor came in about a quarter of the way down the bowl but never took center stage as the dance continued and I was kept guessing which flavor would move forward in the light pleasant manner that besides the tangy grassy flavor seemed to be the only constant in this smoke. Each of these flavors was never strong, but light and slightly more prominent only to go back to dancing in the background. This complimented the tangy light grassy constant flavor that was ever present. This was turning out to be a very pleasant smoke and the bowl seemed to get a touch sweeter the further on the smoke went. The dance continued right to the end although the sweetness receded just a touch the last 1/4 of the bowl and the light tangy grassy flavor remained constant. This burned down to a dark gray ash. During the smoke a slightly sweet and tangy pleasant aftertaste was present and after done a shorter more sweet aftertaste was present.

This was probably one of the more surprising blends I have smoked. IT started out slow in flavor but when it kicked into gear it was hard to keep up with the dancing flavors each taking center stage for a sip only to recede back to the background as another flavor would take over. None of them ever overpowered the others, just danced in the foreground. Once in a while the tangy grassy flavor would take over for a sip and when the other flavors moved up it only seemed to accentuate them. All of this is a very light flavored dance and is pleasant. I enjoyed this immensely and as it continued would try to guess which flavor was next on center stage. If not for the first 5 sips and the constant tangy grassy flavor which was pleasant but I could do without the pure tangy sips which were few and very far between, this would be a solid 4. I love it, give it a 3.8 and it is going into my rotation.

Pipe Used: Shalom Author Smooth and Carved Pipe
PurchasedFrom: P&C gift from family member
Age When Smoked: New
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 20, 2020 Mild Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
Sutliff Holiday Mixture- Surprising. What is funny is that the name is supposed to invoke a holiday beach vibe but it comes across as a wintery blend that you would smoke in the midst of the Christmas season, near a fire, with a hot drink. Notes of marshmallow are obvious to me. Latakia stays in the background. Molasses notes from the burley. I pick up chocolate and vanilla notes as well. This blend reminds me of a latte. The Virginas are light and fruity and the canvendish probably is the culprit for the marshmallow note. It isn’t a full blown Aromatic. Smokes quite cool. Requires little relights. A very easy smoke and is an excellent choice for new smokers. I didnt expect to find an aromatic/ semi-aromatic blend that I desired to keep around. Alas, I did. 7.5/10
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