Sutliff Tobacco Company Matured Red Virginia 515 RC-1

Twenty-plus years ago, I was in love with McClelland’s Red Cake. And I am fortunate to still have a pound and a half or so that I am saving for something special: maybe my 80th birthday, which is in 10 years.

Sutliff 515 RC–1 is an attempt to produce — not an exact match — but something similar to McClelland’s Red Cake.

Having just come back to pipe smoking (was forced to take an extended health break), I bought some 515 RC-1.

The aroma out of the bag, for me, is sharply acidic. Like getting a snootful of vinegar.

The smoke, however, I found to be lightly sweet and soft. I didn’t pick up any tanginess. But the smoke was pleasant and enjoyable.

The tobacco was quite moist, so I filled several pipes and let them sit out overnight.

Is 515 McClelland? No, it is not. Is it a good tasting, pleasant smoking Red Virginia? Yes, it is.

I plan on smoking 515 on a regular basis, as well as use it in home blending.

515 is a good tobacco. McClelland is gone. But we have wonderful memories of what they did for us. And if we’re lucky, maybe even a few tins tucked away for special occasions.

But Sutliff is here with us today, and I applaud their attempt to make an outstanding Red Virginia in the style of McClelland’s.

I like 515, and highly recommend it.

Summary: a serviceable attempt to replicate McClelland Virginias, if you like acidic Virginias.

McClelland produced a type of Virginia with strong flavor that made it easy to appreciate for newer smokers, blending the tangy acidity of young red Virginia with a malted, vinegar-like flavor. In my view, they spray sugar on it and then partially Cavendish -- air roast -- it before pressing, which produces the unique "ketchup" odor of light fermentation along with the softness of Cavendish. Given the wide range of options, it seemed silly to fixate on these, especially when they were obviously young Virginias roasted to conceal defects, not necessarily the high-quality leaf boasted by the marketing materials. Sutliff hit the gold mine when the audience responded to these, and came up with its own version, which tastes like a lightly Cavendished and slightly fermented red Virginia. If you like sweet-sour candies, this will appeal. To my mind, there are better Virginias out there, and the quality blends tend to use a spectrum of red, brown, and bright Virginias to achieve this same effect, using older leaf to avoid the lemon drop acid blast of this leaf.

Edit: 19 July, 2021 Having been around the block a few times since this initial review, I’m revisiting to knock this down to two stars. It’s a perfectly serviceable blending Virginia, but a little lacking on its own.

I hope to experiment some with blending in the next year or so. I expect I’ll be able to use this as a component and come up with something enjoyable. I’ll update further at that point.

But for now: two stars. It’s not good enough on its own (even after a few months of cellaring) to hold its own against what I’ve been smoking: Mostly a steady diet of Gawith Hoggarth flakes.

Original review: 13 March, 2021 Since discovering this magnificent red Sutliff Virginia, along with its sister product (Sutliff’s bulk stoved Virginia), they have become the standard by which I judge all other Virginias. Each stands on its own quite enjoyably, but are truly great when mixed together in various ratios.

But as to the big red in question, I have no memory of having experienced the late great McLelland reds that this blend is apparently modeled after, so I’m judging it entirely on its own merits. So here goes.

This beautiful, quality matured blend of red Virginia, a bulk offering of Sutliff, presents a rich, savory, inviting jar aroma. There’s an almost pungent vinegar aroma that will hit you right after opening. But give a few seconds to allow a little air flow, and that subsides enough to allow you to smell it for what it is.

That scent, to me, practically screams “smoke me.”

So I do. Again and again.

This tobacco literally makes my mouth water while smoking it. I can’t think of another tobacco that does this, other than Sutliff’s Crumble Kake Red Virginia tinned offering, which I suspect is made of essentially the same stock. I love that one too. But, honestly, it’s hard to beat the price of this Sutliff bulk stuff. So it’s my go-to every day, several times a day, tobacco. The red. The stoved. The red and the stoved. The stoved and the red.

Seriously: with those two, I can blend flavor combinations that meet or exceed pretty much everything else I’ve been trying in the Virginia and Virginia Flake department. Sometimes I throw in a dash of C&D bright bulk. But, honestly, I don’t miss it when it’s not there.

The bottom line: Sutliff matured red is an excellent bang for the buck. I have over a pound of it jarred up for aging, and intend to add to my stash soon, so that I can actually let it get some long-term aging. I go through this stuff pretty fast. I’m hopeful that aging will produce something truly ethereal, because it’s great as new stock.

Four stars, but only because I can’t give it more.

I decided to buy and try this Virginia. Pretty quick, I have realized that it is tasteless for me. I have been using it adding to my Syrian Latakia blend, experimenting with different proportion for blending. Finally, I have found the blend of two and I have been piping it time to time during the day or in the evening with either coffee or black tea. Mild, lack of strong flavor when it is alone, however with the Latakia it became a nice all-day blend for a mid-size pipe. I advise to experimenting when you feel not comfortable with such blend or other ones. It seems to me a combined blend could be an interesting option versus a standalone pipe tobacco.

515 RC-1 is a very good blend but for me it does not have the depth of tang or the depth of dark fruit notes that McClelland 5100 had. At the same time 5100 is a dinosaur. To be fare the notes say it is not an exact match but they do bring the comparison on themselves. That said it is still worth smoking. The jar note is slightly tangy, bready and earthy with a faint whisper of vinegar. The smoke does have a nice tangy note some dark fruit notes, a little earthy with a bread like note following in the background. As the bowl progresses the tangy moves to a tart slightly sour note at times and a nice clean woody note like a fresh planed oak plank comes in on occasion as well. The flavors do develop and become a little more clear at the bottom of the bowl and at this point the taste profile would be at medium for me. The finish is sweet and lingers on the palate for a good long while. The strength is at the right at the mild to med mark so an all day smoke if you are inclined. It does not get harsh or turn ashy. This one may age as the sweetness in the finish definitely suggests a lot of sugar content but it is very good at 6 months. I will be picking up a pound of it on my next order so this is really a 3.5 star for me right now. I will revisit this one soon as it will make it into a rotation and update as needed.

***Update*** This jar has been setting in my cellar dating 2019/11/20 so a year and a day as of today. I have smoked about 8 oz of this most of it ROTT to about 6 months. I taste no change at the 1 yr mark. A very good red VA.

Jar note of sharp vinegary, hay and tart stewed fruit. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of reddish brown and dark brown. Moisture content is ok, most pipe smokers will want to dry it out a bit. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of vinegary sour, very bready, tart citrus, sugar, acidic, spices, zesty, lemon grass, dry wood, savory, rich earth, hay, floral, a semi-sweet tangy dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

It's been several years since I last tried MC Red Cake, but I remember it to be a mellow and sweet blend.

This blend is richer and tastier, in my humble opinion. In the bag, the leaf smells like it was sprayed with apple cider vinegar, not ketchup. When lit, it gives a full taste... tangy, a little sweet, and overall very delicious. It smokes cool and doesn't bite, but it has an astringent quality to it, very similar to sipping vinegar; so I suspect vinegar was used as a casing to this blend. It's also quite strong when exhaled through the nose... it nearly burned my nose hairs and that sensation stayed with me a long time during the smoke.

Overall, it's a unique blend and I enjoyed the experience and will buy some more. Highly recommended.

Sweet yet tart. Slight vinegar with very mild metallic mouth feel. Plenty of Virginia characteristics. An interesting fruitiness. Mine needed some drying out. Still moist in mason jar after four years. Over all taste keeps growing on me as I proceed down the bowl. Top shelf smoke. Enjoyable all the way down. I'm inclined to say a very clean smoke with no bite nor any harshness. Yum.

I smoked 5100 exactly once about a decade ago. It did not make much of an impression. This is quite similar in that it didn’t impress. The cold odor of this weed is less ketchup/bbq sauce than mcclellands. It is much more like somebody opened a bottle of household vinegar and gave the leaves a quick spritz before shipment. It has a syrupy sweet opening that is enhanced/magnified by using a wider bowl. There are some astringent notes akin to black Chinese Keemun tea, and these help to balance the sweetness. Not particularly tart or tangy. This was a blend that left me wanting something, feeling like something was missing every time I smoked it. No distinct bite, but can be a bit…”fatiguing” on the tongue. It’s not bad tobacco, just not something I am likely to go out of my way for again.