Sutliff Tobacco Company Dutch Masters Whiskey Cavendish

I was sent a pouch of this tobacco to review by a buddy, with a note that they hoped I would review it. I remember Dutch Masters being an inexpensive cigar that was smooth as far as OTC cigars go and thought I would think it would not be very good. But, boy was I surprised! It comes in an orange colored roll up pouch and says it is a mix of tobaccos flavored and mellowed with bourban whiskey. I had rememberances of BR Bourbon and it's hotness on the tongue and expected that. I lit up my pipe with this great smelling, sweet aroma, wide ribbon cut blend and was awarded with just such bite. But I changed to a slow pace and just puffed it and WOW was it a good blend. Smoked slow, this is a very mellow blend that issues a thick, creamy, and sweet smoke and a truly great room note. It is very rich and it stays lit better than most high priced blends. It smokes all the way down to the bottom of the pipe with no relites and it smokes clean and with no dottle or moisture at the bottom of the pipe. The ash is dark gray in color. This is a great aromatic if only that it does not smoke wet nor leave goop in one's pipe. But add that to the great flavor and this is better than most. I do recommend it and I will be searching for a supply of this blend. One of the best OTC blends I have smoked really.

In 1974, when Nixon was president and gas was $.55 a gallon I smoked a lot of "Old Grandad" pipe tobacco. This does, indeed, seem to be pretty much the same stuff. I've smoked Havana Daydream (C&D) daily now for several years and abandoned aro's. But recently I decided to take a trip down memory lane and try some old stuff.

In the tub a bit moist. Definite bourbon casing that smokes less intense than it smells. Short ribbon cut, a mixture of dark, light brown and golden that easily load into a pipe and allow for "just the right" packing and draw. Stays lit pretty well. Has a very smooth, mellow semi-sweet flavor reminding me of burnt caramel. Granted I loved this stuff back in the day but I didn't expect to like this much now. It's a pleasant, no maintenance smoke with a very nice aroma and room note. I agree with many other reviewers: if you pay the least attention it should not bite. This will be a nice change of pace smoke that I'll keep on hand.

The last two reviewers noted that this fine blend had a lot of bite, and tastes sour. I can only think that they don't know how to smoke a pipe if they let this gentle blend bite them.

Dutch Masters is a very gentle blend of burley, virginia, and cavendish tobaccos with a bourbon flavouring added. It's easy to lite, easy to keep lit, and tastes like tobacco. I can taste the sweetnes of the flavouring as well, which really goes good with the tobacco. The room aroma will draw complements.

This is a time tested, and well respected aromatic, that really tastes great.

An old standby that is getting tough to find. The flavoring is not over the top, and it finishes dry and clean.

This used to be called Old Grand Dad, and I certainly remember seeing it and smelling it as a child back in the 1970s.

If you like sweet cavendish blends, it is pretty darn good...

God, when I opened it, the pouch aroma ticked me off at first! It smelled of a chemical Listerine or some mouth rinse of the like.

I put the pouch away for about 3 or 4 days, overcame the remain of Listerine and filled in one of my cobs.

I must say, it's very nice! Very mild, sweet and just relaxing. again, with that type of tobacco, be prudent with your smoking cadence. Or you's tongues is gonna get it.

I will buy some more for sure.

Update: 04/23/07. A year later and the same pouch is still fresh. I've just about finished the pouch, and I must say that it improved with age. Excellent flavor, tobacco taste comes through nicely. Bourbon flavor doesn't overpower the smoke. I must upgrade this aged tobacco from my previous review.

However, cannot find it anywhere in my area.

Original review: I received this as a part of the Sampler. I remember trying this brand years ago, as my late father would on occasion buy me a new tobacco to try. At that time, it was a buy one, get one free bundle from Kmart.

Nostalgia aside, this is a flavorful, whiskey tobacco. A little too much whiskey for my taste. Very little tobacco flavor comes through. I think I will blend the package with something like Carter Hall or Prince Albert. A hint of whiskey might suit my taste.

I got a buy one get one on this at the local Tobacco Barn...A friend in Germany wanted a sample of all the OTC blends I could find, So I kept one to try for the heck of it. Not bad stuff...Actually a good bourbon topping! Nice nutty burly. Burned clean- Smoked in a cob mind you- and no hint of a bite. I would do this again. It doesn't take any effort, the room note was good, because my wife actually said it wasn't too bad- and she thinks it all stinks.... All in all a good find for a simple smoke.

I will admit I was afraid to try this because of my memories of Dutch Masters Cigars from when I was younger. But I'm going to swallow my pride and say I was wrong, very wrong.

This tobacco has a pouch note of fruit, raisins, honey and grandpa's pipe tobacco. I was a little taken back because of the lack of a strong pungent whiskey scent. It's a little moist for my liking out of the pouch but with 5-10 minutes you can pack it easily. You could pack it straight out of the pouch but expect to be running some pipe cleaners through the pipe during the smoke to remove the excess moisture.

The burn of this tobacco is very even and leaves little to no dottle. I usually only have to relight it a couple of times. There is a caution for slow smoking as it can bite if provoked but slow puffs will reward you with a wonderfully flavored smoking experience.

The flavor off the bat is very pleasant. Fresh baked bread with a sweet honey and maybe even some caramel, the whiskey predominantly being in the background. Almost reminds you of those candies with alcohol in it. Well this would be the caramel candy fused with a light whiskey version of that.

What I really loved about this is that the flavor doesn't disappear after the first half, but rather it intensifies later on in the smoke. County Cork seems to lose it's Whiskey flavor and switch over to Burley, front and center. I assume that this is because the Cavendish processing in this assists in the sweetness of the smoke, instead of just a topping that CC has.

It burns very evenly throughout the bowl and leaves little to no dottle. What I really like about this is that you can smoke this tobacco in your non aromatic pipes and don't have to worry about ghosting. The next bowl may have a general overall sweetness to it but it doesn't impinge the next smoke. I will also be using this tobacco to break in new pipes as the casing and sugars will help form a nice cake.

Room note is very pleasant and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. I would love to give this a 3.5 as another poster had mentioned. Although I had nothing to do with the production of this I am happy for this blend. Whiskey gets such a bad reputation for pipe tobacco (I'm looking at you Borkum Riff!) but this blend does it perfectly. An all day smoke for sure and I easily recommend this.

thats a good quality cavendish blend,,mellow and considerable sweetness is presented through out the bowl a tender aroma burns perfectly in few tampings and it will all be cleared into white ash,,no regret anf i might be buying another pouch if ran through it once again.