Sutliff Tobacco Company Crumble Kake Va. Perique

I bought this at Emerson's in Williamsburg so I could smoke in the lounge.

Presentation in the tin is a little awkward. It belongs in a rectangular tin to match the rectangular kake. There is a lot of air space in there. The kakes are maybe 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick and hold together nicely. They crumble readily in the fingers with no residue and the result is a wide chopped ribbon - mostly dark browns and black. The tin note is earthy and slightly sweet. I smoked it as delivered and did not let it dry. It came at a good level of hydration for me - maybe a little on the moist side of things.

Smoked, this is a tasty red Virginia first. There is enough perique to give it a little plum and some spice when puffed. It has the bready and darker citrus notes you expect in a red Virginia. I am not really tasting the black cavendish, and I think it is a pretty mild touch that may contribute to the sweet and fairly smooth smoke.

It burned as expected and stayed lit as well as you might hope. It was on the medium end of the mild->medium range, and it is not heavy in the vitamin N. It was a pleasant smoke, but it was not awe inspiring. There is a lot of competition in the VaPer market.

This is a solid 3 on the scale. It is easy to recommend. It is not fussy, and it is a good smoke. if it were all I had, I would smoke a lot of it with no regrets. I am not likely to buy more.

Mostly black crumble cake that breaks apart easily. Fruity and heavy tin nose of perique and red Virginia. I rubbed this out fairly vigorously but left some small chunks for the bottom of the bowl, as is my custom for crumble cakes so that I don't get tobacco chunks in my mouth or plug up the draft.

The first half tin or so was really excellent - so good in fact that I accused Ernie of Watch City of putting this together, which he denied. A nice rich and savory tasting VaPer with a goodly amount of fruity, spicy perique. The various red Virginias ruled the show but not by much. A rather punchy and tasty blend with the "unflavored" black Cavendish providing some smoothness. I did taste a very light casing which may not have been a casing at all - hard to tell, really. I spun through the first half-tin pretty quickly. Then I began to notice a bit of unruliness to the smoke, particularly when I compared it to other VaPers, such as Watch City Old Dominion and McClellands St James Woods. It still tasted good but as I neared the end of the tin, I found it lacked the character and balance of the best VaPers on the market. Something was amiss, although this is still a very smokable blend. In fact, this may be the best blend Sutliff has ever produced. There aren't a lot of Sutliff blends to choose from in that regard, but I have to say that with this crumble cake series, Sutliff is raising the bar on what they themselves have produced. I find that encouraging. I hope they continue to improve. Oh, and no Sutliff chemical taste in any of the three! That's cause for celebration! I'd give this 3.5 stars. This is pretty close to a reference - it just misses the mark by a bit and I'll be focusing elsewhere. But this is a heroic effort and is worth an audition by any VaPer fan.

On opening the can , very fruitful of fig and plum and raisons . Needed very little drying though moister than it appears . Very slow and even burning ! I like the cake presentation but I can’t get past the damn fruity taste ! Too much for me . I may try to mix it something else . It just smokes like an aromatic to me and not my cup of tea . Maybe too heavy on the casing ? Better than anniversary cake but not by very much ! Update 7/20

---

I left the rest of this after a few bowls in mason jar and tried it again . The topping must have eased off after some time but it is better than it was fresh out of tin ! I bumped it up to 3 stars .

Very well presented! Two thick flakes and wonderful aroma of fruits and earth and some slight vinegar. Crumbles very easily, like the others in this series, and packs much the same. The light is easy and the smoke is rich and flavorful. Somewhat less sweet than the Red Crumble Kake Red VA, but makes up for that with spice and depth of flavor. This one is not quite as satisfying as the full red, but definitely a nice smoke.

It has that stewed fruit smell and dirty socks odor that I like.A good VA/Per.For me,it could use a little more perique, but still smokable.Lit up as is out of the tin, with no issues.Crumble cake breaks up easily.Good "gateway" blend if the smoker likes perique,and is looking to work his/her way up to some of the ones that could make their planets whirl and twirl if not prepared.No date stamp noticed on the tin.

Very fruity tin aroma which is delightful but this doesn't carry thru when smoking; breaks up easily resulting in easy packing; smokes cool and evenly without condensation or the need for relights; didn't get much of the perique influence that I prefer

Reading the numerous positive reviews, I had to try this. I doubt I will buy again. It reminds me of a less complex and rich 5100. It's not a horrible blend, but it's not stellar. I enjoy the fuller and richer Va Pers, such as SG St James Flake, or Silliems Councilor flake.

2.9 stars

Appearance: the tin of tobacco was released in 2021 and had an excise stamp reading "Q4 2021." The contents of the tin are three plates of cake (finely chopped and pressed tobacco), each approximately 6mm thick. The blend is fairly uniform in color, having a hint of medium-roasted coffee. In my opinion, the tobacco is a little dry, although some would say its moisture content is perfect. In any case, there is no need to dry it out. Cake easily crumbles into a fairly small fraction, but despite this, there is almost no dust in the tobacco.

Flavor: first of all, it is worth mentioning that some pipe smokers do not like Crumble Kake from Sutliff for its characteristic smell of "vinegar" or "ketchup", which is especially well felt when opening the tin. The firm itself states the following: "Red Virginia tobacco undergoes an 'accelerated' version of fermentation when pressed. We NEVER add vinegar to our products - it is simply not a recommended ingredient. However, Red Virginia inherently exudes a "vinegar/ketchup" type flavor based on the breakdown of its own natural sugars. When the tobacco is placed in the press, the tobacco undergoes anaerobic fermentation, which is basically a secondary (i.e., accelerated) fermentation process. We agree that the smell is quite pungent and reminiscent of a vinegar/ketchup smell - but again, this is a natural characteristic of Red Virginia - especially when pressed." As for my personal preferences and perceptions - I have picked up similar notes not only in Sutliff blends, but also in some Cornell & Diehl blends, and the legendary now-gone McClelland blends with similarly processed red virginia have become a signature smell. Personally, this smell does not irritate me, it does not show up in the flavor, but those who dislike it can put the tobacco in a glass jar for a couple or three weeks and periodically ventilate the tobacco. The "vinegar" will, for the most part, weather out. As for other notes, the blend has a pronounced flavor of very sweet boiled fruits (raisins, figs, prunes) with some molasses and a very slight woody note.

Taste: extremely smooth, mild, but at the same time dense enough. By means of additional processing the manufacturer succeed to reduce the intensity of woody notes of red virginia, while the sweetness of tobacco was reduced less. As a result, the leading notes of the taste are played by rather sweet fruity gathering, slightly enhanced by raisin-plum shades of perique and smoothened by the addition of cavendish. Woody and bread notes are definitely present, but are clearly in the second roles. Despite the manufacturer's description, the amount and brightness of perique in this tobacco is certainly inferior to blends such as my favorites Fillmore, Carolina Red Flake with Perique and St. James Flake. Still, there is enough of it to give off a spicy bouquet on the palate and fragrant pepper on the retrohale. A barely noticeable sour note adds to the tobacco's resemblance to the taste of various fresh fruits and berries. Toward the middle of the pipe, the woody notes, which are more prominent in straight pipes, become slightly stronger in the bouquet. In addition, the brightness of the perique fades towards the middle of the pipe. The tobacco does not bite, does not have harsh edges, however, it requires attention, as it is prone to overheating, letting you know about it with bitterness in the taste. The strength of the blend is a bit below average, but in very large pipes it can surprise with a light nicotine hit. The tobacco burns out into an even gray ash without lumps, leaving no moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is sweet and woody, extremely unstable.

Smoke from tobacco has a slight sweet-woody odor, which does not linger in the room.

What's the bottom line? Some compare Crumble Kake Va. Perique in terms of composition and flavor to Samuel Gawith's St. James Flake, while others raise its bar almost on par with McClelland. I wouldn't compare Sutliff's products to either of those. In my opinion, the blend lacks a bit the density and strength of St. James Flake with its stoved and bright Virginias and a good dose of perique, and the addition of Cavendish did not make it as much mild as McClelland's blends were in this respect. Nevertheless, there is a definite influence of the best of the best, and the endeavor to resemble them deserves only kind words. I bought a few tins of the already aged tobacco for further aging when I had the chance, pushed them farther back on the shelf Pretty sure it was worth it. As for the smell of "vinegar", as it was said one joke, "You don't have to smell Simon..."

The 'eau de foot' of the perique really comes through in the tin note, not my favorite scent. Luckily it doesn't translate to the smoke. I get berry, stewed fruit in the smoke, very pleasant. A light acidity and nice sweetness. It's very spicy, had to set the bowl down a couple times. Next time I'd smoke a smaller bowl. Flavor doesn't wane, from beginning to end.