Sutliff Tobacco Company Match Argosy Black

The original was a rather mild, unobtrusive black cavendish with a vanilla and chocolate topping, and a little tobacco taste. This Match is identical in every way, except it’s a little deeper in taste, much smoother with no chemical notes, and doesn’t get harsh at the finish. Has very little nicotine. Won't bite. Burns cool, clean and smooth at a moderate pace with a consistent flavor. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and needs an average number of relights. A comfortable all day smoke that makes a good mixer, too.

I rated the original at one star.

-JimInks

I have never tried the blend that this match attempts to emulate, so I have nothing to add from a comparison standpoint and only rate this on its own merits. On its own, this is not very good, but does retain some positive attributes which save it from being at the lowest rating, but not by much. I will start with the bad and then move on to the good.

The bad part about this blend is that the topping is so light, it makes it apparent how flavorless the base tobacco is. It is an all black cavendish base that I assume to be made from burley. In the cavendish process, all flavor and nicotine potency was pretty much washed away. This is not unusual for an all black cavendish blend, but with most of these, the topping is so prevalent, that it masks the fact that there is no tobacco flavor. The lack of flavor and strength in this one caused me to inadvertently smoke this hotter in hopes of coaxing something out of it. I finally got wise and mixed in a bunch of blending burley which greatly improved the experience.

I should have prefaced this to say that I did purchase this bulk (I think it is the only way it is sold) and jarred it 4 and a half years before I opened it, so it is entirely possible that some of this topping may have flashed over that time in the jar. So take that for what its worth. If the topping was stronger, I may have jumped this up to a three star aromatic.

On to the good. This is not "goopy"; quite the contrary, it is very dry. It packs nicely, but does burn a little fast. As it is dry, there is no concern for gurgles with this one. The topping is pleasant to my tastes. It is a touch vanilla with some liquer that I cannot identify. Maybe Amaretto, or something along those lines. Whatever it is, it was very much to my liking, I had just wished it could have been applied a little heavier to help camouflage this blend's shortcomings.

IMO, this should just be used as a blending tobacco as it is perfect for adding aroma to a blend and nothing more. As I noted above, I added some burley to this and it became pretty good. It was at least better than either of its components on their own, which is, to me, a hallmark of a good blending tobacco. As a blender I would rate this as a three star as I can think of many uses for it in that respect, but on its own, it is a one star tobacco.

I was reading some of my old reviews on OTC blends such as PA and Sugar Barrell trying to see what was still available for sale and what I enjoyed before they disappear. I noticed that I loved the aroma of Argosy but the tobacco quality was sub par so I decided to order some of this Argosy Black match since it’s made by Sutliff who has the access to quality leaf. Ahhh this is more like it, the same chocolate and vanilla topping a mild Black Cavendish. Kind of a cookie or chocolate cake aroma. Unlike the gray shade from HOW, this has shades of dark brown and black, absolutely not sticky or wet, I had to hydrate it a little with a wet paper towel draped over a stainless steel mixing bowl overnight (don't tell my wife). I love the unlit and lit aroma and so does everyone else, mix 50/50 with PA and seal in a Ball jar for a week and it makes one of the best Burley and Black mixtures I've tried. Again it’s not goopy or sticky and smokes cool and mild, a delightful Black Cavendish and very inexpensive. A winner in my book and hats off to the fine folks at Sutliff for letting anyone that didn't get the chance to try this vintage blend.

In my early pipe smoking days I would go to the local Drug Store which offered a cornucopia of OTC pipe tobaccos and a variety of affordable pipes. I would try out quite a number of these and I enjoy trying the re-creations of these lost but loved tobaccos. I don’t remember actually what the original Argosy tasted like but it was one of my favorites at that time. Therefore I cannot really offer a comparison between the match and the original. This stuff actually has its own characteristics that differentiate it from other Black Cavendish offerings. Argosy Match is a bit drier than most and is rougher cut than most similar BC tobaccos. The taste is actually rather full. It starts out with a bit of an edge but smooths out as the bowl goes on. I note not just a vanilla- chocolate flavor but a bit of a cinnamon like spice. The flavor stays uniform once it smooths out and I found that it needed not even one relight. Argosy Match is very gentle to the tongue.There is noticeable “tobacco” flavor that comes through the toppings. As should be expected it is low in the nicotine department, which I find to be a plus. I don’t like this nearly as much as Carey Classic Black but it is tasty and could be a nice ingredient in one of my mixes. Recommended

Sutliffe offered this as a match for Argosy when House of Windsor discontinued their line of pipe tobaccos. As a match, this fairly reproduces Argosy. The problem is, IMHO, that Argosy was a rather blah pipe tobacco, and so is this.

It is a black cavendish, pressed and steam treated to a very dark state. It is notably less moist that most black cavendish tobaccos. The chocalate/vanilla flavoring is similar to other black cavendishes, but less strong.

The cut is rougher than a typical black cavendish, something akin to a broad ribbon. Combined with the toned down flavoring, this is less goop prone than other black cavendish offerings. But the room note is definitely pleasant.

When all is said and done, there is nothing particularly wrong with this tobacco, except for pipe smokers who avoid aromatics. Although a mild aromatic, this is nevertheless an aromatic tobacco. My problem with the Argosy match is that I find nothing outstanding about it. It offers a decent light aromatic smoke, but there is nothing to excite me. It is relatively inexpensive, but I find numerous other tobaccos in the same or lesser price range to be better smokes.

A great match...especially in room note. My wife smells a lot of aromatics and this one really set her off... said it was "exactly" what her grandfather smoked. Must be a good match to stand out like that.

The room note is this blend's strength. It starts with just a slight bite and then really mellows out nicely. As it burns it gets sweeter and tastes better. Overall I don't find it as sweet or find that it tastes as good as the original, but it's still a really nice blend.

The only reason I won't give it a 4th star is that it's not as good as the original and it leaves a little bit of a harsh aftertaste for such a dark aromatic.

Overall it's a very good blend and recommended for any dark aromatic fans.

Match Argosy Black is a very mild Cavendish with some subtle chocolate and vanilla topping. Course cut and loads easily and takes fire well. Has a consistent taste throughout the bowl with no harshness or waning of taste. Burns dry and clean and leaves no moisture in the bowl. All in all a solid smoke with little nicotine. Mixes well with straight burley.

Now i never had had the original, so this is a review of the match tobacco and not a comparison to the original blend. I found it a tad dry although it packed fairly well but required some attention to stay lit. very similar in taste, cut and aroma to a Green River Cavendish or Edwards Toasted Cavendish. I think it would be better off as a blender than by itself, mixes quite well with a bright virgina flake. Not the best black riff out there, but better than most. Worth a try