Sutliff Tobacco Company Matured Red Virginia 515 RC-1

Sutliff Tobacco Co. - Matured Red Virginia 515 RC-1.

A blend inspired by Red Cake? Tough act to follow. McClelland were the kings of tangy Virginias; to me, at least. So, how does it compare?

On a very minor negative it arrives a touch moist, but nothing a short airing doesn't solve. The nose from the pouch is McClelland through and through: ketchup!

I love the smoke, it's just like a McC' Virginia. The flavour's inordinately ripe, rich, and mature. It isn't just a Va of hay and citrus sharpness, it's deep, tangy and sweet. The burn's medium in speed, exceptionally cool, giving a smoke without a bite in it. This is a blend where a long review isn't required, it's just a great smoke!

Nicotine: quite mild. Room-note: nice.

515-RC? The description may say it's not an 'exact match', but it's damn close! Highly recommended:

Four stars.

I walked into my tobacconist and asked him for something reminiscent of the dearly beloved and mourned McClelland 5100 Red Cake. He plopped two jars down on the table and happily obliged to let me have a half a bowl or so of each right there. So, I chose the first jar, which happened to be Sutliff Red Virginia Ribbon, a fine choice, I thought. I lit my pipe and settled in, and what I found was a slightly young, tangy red Virginia with no reminiscent McC "smell", and only did I get pockets, or perhaps, subtle, faint hints of the old 5100 we know all know of. Happy, but not what I was looking for, I opened the next jar, and had my fill. This one brought me back to the same mental state that my brain associates with 5100 almost immediately. I found, though it wasn't quite the same, the hint of the McC Virgnia smell and hurriedly in excitement lit my pipe. Much better. Much more tangy in the same way 5100 was, and that deep red Viginia sweetness was present. I let my pipe go out, bought a healthy sized bag, and relit my pipe for the drive home. Hands down, folks, this is the closest you will get to 5100 this side of the moon. Granted, it comes a bit moist, and isn't exactly Red Cake, it's pretty damn close. I do get the sense that there is a hint of sweet topping that at times gets a little "sugary" for me, which is a difference between it and Red Cake, but hey, let's all appreciate that this tobacco exists, and be satisfied with this cheap, Red Cake-esque tobacco that will scratch your McC red Virginia itch. A final caveat - Let it age. It does seem a bit young to me, and will age beautifully, just as all Virginias do. I feel that with some age on it, it will perhaps be as close to Red Cake as anyone will get.

Since I found out McClelland called it quits, it got me into a Virginia kick. I was trying to find something to fill the void since to loss of 5100. While almost every blend was good in its own rite, it just isn't 5100. 5100 is what got me started in appreciating natural tobacco due to its pure, zesty, creamy, semi sweet, unadulterated nature. Just light it up, puff away and don't think about it type of blend.

That all being said, I think Sutliff knocked this one out of the park. I can only find 3 difference so far. The bag aroma if more of a straight vinegar then a ketchup smell, and the tang is more pronounced and the zest is a little lower. But that's all fine by me. To me, this is similar to a well aged 5100. No matter what, nothing will ever be like for like. But I'm pretty sure this will be very much appreciated by most. And I'm damn sure my sample is not going to last long.

Update 9-30-2018. A difference that I am finding between 5100 and 515 is I've noticed 5100 actually starts to lose its flavor in the last 3rd but 515 keeps gaining in flavor. The sweetness starts to turn into a very nice creamy caramel/mocha flavor. Almost like McClleland Virginia #27 and in some ways it reminds me of Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake. Very very interesting. I am enjoying this more and more. A pound of this will be ordered very shortly. Excellent Virginia right here!

Sutliff Tobacco Co. - Matured Red Virginia 515 RC-1.

I took up the pipe in 2013, and it took me some time to learn how to appreciate Virginias. I snapped up quite a bit of the McClelland Anniversary 1977 - 2017 Virginias (both the ribbon and the flake). Somehow I missed the 5100 Red Cake -- the stuff everyone compares this tobacco to -- so, I can't compare the 515 RC-1 to something I have never smoked -- but, with that being said, I simply love this tobacco.

Sutliff Matured Red Virginia is everything a matured red Virginia should be: tangy, sweet, sour, citrusy -- with that signature McClelland vinegar and ketchup smell we all know and love (and miss) so well -- this stuff is just really good. Tin note is very much like the Sutliff Red Virginia Crumble Kake (though the vinegar is more redolent in the RC-1, while the crumble has more of a sweet/fruity bouquet).

Buying two pounds of this was an easy no-brainer. As others have noted, it does arrive a bit moist, and will need some dry time.

Upon opening the bag of bulk a very strong vinegar smell . Smoked about 6oz thus far and ready to review . I love sweet Virginia and this one does not disappoint! The tang is what I really love about it . Very simple and great by itself but also blended this with oriental (nice ) and made a mild english w/ perique and the sweetness and tang still strong . Great blender base and I cellared about pound and half . Hope it ages well! About an hour of drying and perfect . Leaves little ash and not too much moisture at bottom with one relight . I love it

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update 8/21/19 Just wanted to add this stuff is great for building cake in a new briar pipe !

McClelland can never be matched. They were the epitome of Virginia and aged Virginia. That being said...

The tin note of McClellands Va's is a soft ketchup aroma. adding other ingredients to the red sauce tones down the sharpness. The tin note of this Sutliff is straight up vinegar. Its pungent and sharp. This is not a bad trait though!

The tobacco appearance is a medium to light brown leaf. Long, thin ribbon makes up the majority of this blend, with a small percent small chopped ribbon. The moisture seems to be perfect on arrival, also perfect for aging.

This blend packs well, without much spring, and the initial lighting takes very few matches. There is a clean, cool and crisp felling on the palate on the first 1/3 of the bowl. The tobacco is light and fragrant, with notes of hay and grass. This blend is easy on the tongue, even for those with a Va sensitivity.

If you are looking for a 5100 replacement, this will be as close as you'll get. 4 solid stars!

Sutliff Matured Red Virginia is a truly excellent tobacco. It has lots of flavor, a very pleasant room note and absolutely no bite. The tobacco is a uniform medium ribbon, mostly brownish red in color with a few lighter colored strands. The aroma of the unlit tobacco is slightly sweet and fruity. As delivered, it's a little on the moist side, so it needs a bit of drying out before smoking. As one would expect, since it is a Virginia, the nicotine hit is on the light side (although, if you smoke a large bowl, you will feel it).

Upon lighting up, the first thing that strikes one is how sweet it is -- it's one of the sweetest tobaccos I've ever smoked -- and the sweetness continues to the end of the smoke, becoming a little less pronounced around the half-way point. In fairly short order, one begins to detect a sourness that offsets the sweetness nicely and that is quite enjoyable. I reminds me of dried sour cherries, although the flavor is less of cherries and more of raisins. As the smoke progress, one begins to detect some darker flavors like molasses and burnt sugar. Towards the end of the smoke, I get a little bit of hay and grass, as the other flavors taper off. At the very end of the smoke, I detect a little bitterness, which is the only defect I can find.

Others have compared it to the much missed McClelland No. 5100 Red Cake, one of my favorite pipe tobaccos. I get that. However, SMRV is sweeter than Red Cake, doesn't smell of ketchup and is not quite as complex (yet interesting enough to be an all day smoke). I see that one reviewer detected some flavoring. I don't, but I think that is understandable, considering how fruity it is and how pleasant is its room note.

While good enough to smoke on its own, I think that SMRV would really shine as a blender. I can't wait to try it with Perique, with Latakia and with dark-fired burley.

I can't say enough good things about this tobacco. If you liked Red Cake or if you like your tobacco sweet and flavorful, SMRV won't disappoint. Buy a pound of it. It should age nicely and, considering how inexpensive it is, it's a great value.

Purchased this as a blending tobacco. Combined it with an equal amount of yellow virginia and a modest amount of latakia. Wow, jackpot! Then smoked a bowl of just the Red 515. Slow burning, tangy and double delicious! Bet if this was aged for 10 years it would be a smoke of religious experience. You also cannot beat the price. Fantastic job Sutliff!

I intended to use my last four ounces of McClelland's 5100 to compare to Sutliff's Matured Red Virginia 515 RC-1 (SMRV), but when I opened the sealed jar of the 5100, I remembered why it has been around so long--there was a distinct aroma of cloves to it (not one of my favorite flavors for tobacco). Since there is only one review out of 188 of 5100 mentioning clove and my sample is of approximately the same vintage as that singular review, I am not going to compare the two based on what could be an aberrant sample of 5100.

SMRV has a smell and flavor reminds me of the long-defunct Beefamato drink that, I believe, Mott's (the applesauce people) put out years ago--lightly acetic with the mellowing effect of something "meaty" (for lack of a better word). There is a tang to it in the smoke, but that tang is mellowed by the background flavor. I believe that this Virginia is a good part of what is in Hearth and Homes' AJ's VaPer and Louisiana Red (two of my favorites), as I get much the same basic aromas and flavors from those two blends.

SMRV needs a bit of drying before it will burn reliably. The nicotine content levels out around the center of mild to medium. It burns at a moderate rate even when dried slightly, and I have yet to be bitten by it even though I tend to be a fast puffer. I guess that some would find it a boring smoke--there's not a whole lot of variety to it--but I find it to be a fine smoke.

I would gladly load a bowl of this any time of the day. Highly recommended.