Sutliff Tobacco Company Match Sugar Barrel

The Pipes&Cigars Match version is a little closer to the original than the Match sold by Milan Tobacconists. Both are a thicker plug cut woody, earthy, nutty, sugary, lightly molasses sweet burley than the original with a slightly brighter Virginia small flake cut. The Virginia in the Matches has the same minor grass and tartly sweet citrus notes as the original. The P&C Match is slightly cinnamon spicier than the original. The Milan version has less cinnamon spice than the other two. The original is a shade more brown sugary and buttery than either Match, though the P&C is slightly deeper in its sweetness than is the Milan, which is a little rougher edged in flavor. All three have about the same amount of nuttiness and molasses. Both Match versions burn a little slower than the original, and the Matches keep a little more consistent flavor to the finish, though the toppings in the original tended to be just a little less obvious at the end. All were mild in strength and taste. All have very mild nic-hits, no bite and leaves hardly any moisture in the bowl. The Matches require more relights. All have a weak after taste, and are all day smokes. I give this three stars, which is a star more than I rated the original Sugar Barrel. The P&C version seems to hold the flavor better, hence the extra half star. Two stars for the Milan match.

-JimInks

Better than the original, and a treat for those with fond memories. A rougher, larger cut that's somewhere between cube cut and broken flake. Call it diced flake. Pouch note is pure white sugar sweet. That sugar sweetness hits on the charring light and lasts right through to midbowl until it burns off a bit and evens out with a more cardboardy, slightly woody, nutty and mildly salty burley flavor.

This is an easy smoking blend that is very forgiving with no bite even when pushed, making it ideal for a novice smoker. However, minding one's cadence will prevent an ashiness that creeps into the blend by midbowl if it's puffed too quickly. Sip this one and a mild white sugar sweetness will stay with you to the end. The burn is fast but never hot. The mouth feel here, while thin, is more natural with less of the chemical preservative note that was always in the background of the original.

A great all-day smoke and a fine tribute to the discontinued original. Those lamenting the loss of Sugar Barrel should give this one a try.

This is rated three stars for those whose enjoyed the original. Two stars for those approaching it new.

Another sample I was gifted to try. The cut on this one consisted of ribbon, chunks, and a little dust and the cut on the site says ‘mixture’, no argument here. Upon lighting up I detected sweetness and maybe a little cinnamon but not sure as I had read the flavoring contents on the site. In other words, if I was not looking for the cinnamon note I would just describe this as sweet sugar. Not bad but I am not an all-day pipe smoker and have reached a point where there is a lot of better tobaccos blended out there, some say, more so today than probably any point in history and I am not going to argue that fact. If I smoked back in the 60s and not having the range of tobaccos, I would probably rate this a three but for me, nice smoke but more of a two.

What a nice classic Burley this is. Sugar Barrel is the comfort food of pipe tobacco. This is a simple old fashioned "codger" Burley, it is a jumble of tans and browns. The cut is something of a cross cut, crumble or kind of cube, it's not like ready rub or a ribbon. The smoking experience is smooth, a cereal like flavor, sweet and creamy. No tongue bite to experience as you taste something akin to a bowl of Cream of Wheat with brown sugar. I never tasted the original but this Sutliff Match has now passed the Lane "Ready Rub" re-do as my favorite Burley.

Never smoked the original, but this is a perfectly servicable blend. It has the nutty, creamy, soft notes i look for in an old timey blend. The first light tastes of burnt sugar, and slow gentle puffing will yield a light, laid back flavor of tobacco and white sugar. It actually tastes of sugar. I'd certainly consider it an aromatic, but one done with restraint. I think if one enjoys half and half, one would enjoy this. Nothing spectacular, but its tasty when smoked slowly and doesnt bite. Somewhat recommended. If i was offered it id gladly smoke it, but wouldn't seek it out.

Edit: after smoking my 6 oz package, im adding a star and buying some more. I think it an ideal smoke for those times when i want a simple sweet smoke. Its really tasty and creamy and sweet when sipped in a cob. There are often times when i want a simple smoke like carter hall, but with more va sweetness present. This was edging out half and half for those occasions while i had the pouch. Very tasty, no brainer pipefodder, with great cut and burn and flavor and a hair more complexity than most burley otcs

I smoked a who tub of the original right before they dropped it from the market and never really thought anybody would produce a decent match. Now that I've smoked several pipes of this stuff I have to say, they got it right.

Funny thing is, this is about as simple a blend as you could ever ask for. Decent nutty burley, a bit of VA to fill out the flavor profile and just enough topping to give it a bit of sweetness. To describe it you wouldn't think it'd be worth the time. But it offers a simple burley foward smoke with just enough sweetness to be interesting without getting in the way. I'm finding that there are times when I want a rich, complex and flavorful smoke. And there's times when only something simple, like this one, will do. If you liked Sugar Barrel you'll want to at least try this.

I never smoked the original blend; nor have I smoked the Milan version; but if they are anything like the Sutliff Match, I ain't missed much. Look....it's not that this stuff is bad, it's just that it is, to me, unimaginable that so much Internet ink has been wasted on it! Really. How long does it take to say, "old-fashioned drugstore burley blend?" That's just about all I can pick up in it. And ain't nothin' wrong with that.

I must confess that I am 65. It is a well-documented fact that the five senses dull with age. But I can still smell cinnamon at 50 feet; and taste it, too. If there is any cinnamon here, it is faint. Sugar? Probably. Burley is utterly unsmokeable without some sweetening agent.

So, what's here to recommend this tobacco? It is a thoroughly decent old-school burley pipe tobacco. For my part, that's it, folks. Mild, cool, reasonably satisfying burley pipe tobacco.

I never had the original so this review is for the match only. Continuing my exploration of old OTC I had heard a bit about Sugar Barrel and thought I would give it a try.

Opening the bag I smelled a pleasant combination of a sugary , slightly woody, mildly nutty, lightly earthy and a touch of cinnamon that seemed to blend together well and compliment each other. The tobacco is one of the strangest cuts I have ever seen. Small cube cut with larger cube and then chunks of what looked like tree bark. Now I broke the big chunks down to smaller pieces and while it seemed ready to go moisture wise I let it dry for 45 minutes on a paper towel. Then I gravity fed it into the bowl and tampered lightly (there isnt much give here) and filled and lightly tampered again. To my surprise this lit easily, burned at a faster than medium pace, but was cool, never bit (if you push it the cinnamon goes from sweet cinnamon to a spicy cinnamon. Average amount of re-lights. The smoke started out thin but hung in the air a long time and about a 1/4 of the way down went to a medium smoke that was thick and creamy. Has a pleasant room note like cinnamon rolls in the oven. This could be an all day smoke. I envision myself smoking quite a bit of this around thanksgiving and Christmas with the Holiday Match also. Nice cold nights in the Fall and Winter would be a nice time for this. Burned to a gray ash and was pretty consistent in burning.

Lighting Sugar Barrel gave me a nicely balanced combination of very light sugar, with a light wood, slightly earthy, mild salted nuts, with cinnamon in the lead. This went on for about sips and the sugar came to join cinnamon in the front. A sweet cinnamon worked well with mild sugar taste and the above mentioned other flavors in a close background. At a 1/4 of the bowl down the sugar gained a bit and the smoke increased to medium and became thick and creamy. This held till the end of the bowl. No decline of flavors as the bowl came to an end. This left a light cinnamon and sweet sugar after taste that was well balanced during the smoke, unless this tobacco was pushed then the cinnamon became spicy but not in a hot or sharp way. The aftertaste after the smoke is of light brown sugar and very light cinnamon, very pleasant.

I like Sugar Barrel. It is a straight forward smoke that doesnt have dancing flavors or a lot of activity going on. It is a unique, simpler blend that is consistent and for smoking and enjoying for those times one just want to relax, and stay in from the cold outside. If you are wanting complex, this is not it, but if you want to relax with a pleasant, straightforward old fashioned tobacco that the only time it gets your attention is when you realize how good the taste is this is for you. A great holiday season smoke and especially in a comfy chair, next to a fire or perhaps in the kitchen next to the stove as dinner is cooking. Enjoyment at its best, Match Sugar Barrel this is now part of my rotation. A 3.5 out of 4 stars this is a favorite also, not THE favorite but one I plan on enjoying especially during the winter season.

Sutliff- Sugar Bucket

I received my order from smoking pipes and this was in the box, I ordered 1 oz of this blend and lucky for me I didn’t buy more.

As stated below by another review this is a drugstore burley blend, the topping is very faint, I can smell it in the bag but get barely any of the flavor translation.

It’s a nice rounded nutty burley which I do like and enjoy, just was hoping for a bit of the cinnamon/brown sugar topping to shine through. I will try this again maybe it’s just me or something I ate that’s keeping me from tasting the full flavor.

Currently after smoking 3 bowls I have to rate it 2/4.

At first this seemed a little dry and brittle but it really does have the right amount of moisture. Sort of a granola like texture. True burley taste with a very mild top note. Overall the tobacco is medium strength. Not too sweet but smooth and nutty. I don't detect much cinnamon spice. Fairly straight forward flavor. Decent burley blend. Somewhere between aromatic and non aromatic.