Sutliff Tobacco Company Crumble Kake Red Virginia

On opening the tin, one is greeted by two dark brown kakes of tobacco, wrapped in a paper basket, with some broken bits around the edges of the tin. The aroma is wonderful- dried figs, cherries, and a bit of tangy molasses. Brown bread and some spice undertones indicate that this is a well-rounded fermented Red Virginia. The kakes break apart very easily and are a bit moist, requiring some drying time. Filling the pipe is very easy, just rub ever so slightly and pack loose to allow for swelling as the flame is applied. This blend does take a bit of effort to get a good light, but once lit burns well with few relights. The flavor is delightfully tangy dark fruit with sweet dried cherries, figs, and light raisin leading the way with bass notes of mild spice, brown bread and earthy wood drifting in and out among the tang. Sweetness increases as the bowl burns down, as does a lingering light sourness on the palate, augmented by touches of marzipan. Flavor profile doesn’t change much through the bowl, aside from the aforementioned sweetening. Burns clean and dry, and is happy to smolder along. Can get nippy if pushed, but it burns so well that shouldn’t be an issue. Overall, a very nice fermented tangy red that should only get better with age.

-Very lovely tin note. Fruits galore overwhelm the aroma. -Very thick flakes/crumble cake -Great moisture straight out of the tin. I have this up to 30 mins dry time in my humid environment and it seemed to burned a bit better. -Loads of rich, sweet VA flavor. Definitely one of the sweetest tobaccos I've smoked to date. Not a drop of topping on this beauty.

In their tin, the kake chunks give off an intense and penetrating vinegar smell, perhaps the spiciest aroma I have ever had the taste of feeling. That tin note is so strong that I do not perceive other typical Virginia nuances. The tobacco is extracted from the kake by pinching it and it crumbles easily. After turning it on, you can see the red virginia and the predominant flavor is of raisins accompanied by a light coating. This flavor ranges from sweet to sour and sometimes even salty, depending on the moment and the puff. It burns well and doesn't sting.

I was surprised by this tobacco because although it looks like other red virginias, it has clearly different nuances. I have really enjoyed this tobacco and luckily I have some replacement tin for the future. Highly recommended.

Fantastic. As close to McC 5100 as I’ve found (and I’ve tried a number of possibilities). Very, very pleased with this blend. Not too sweet. Lots of tang. Lots of red Va goodness.

Sutliff Crumble Kake Red VA falls well short of greatness. My take seems quite different from the current reviews so take it for what it is worth. The tin smells of vinegar and nothing else, it is over powering. When I first started really getting into VA's I haunted forums trying to understand as much about them as I could. Those that were interested in home curing their own tobacco all seemed to agree that properly aged VA's have a vinegar/Ketchup/silage aroma to them but it really does not translate into the smoke all that much if at all. McCelland did that and it did not translate into the smoke for me. Other blends use vinegar to treat tobacco (think St. Bruno Flake for example) and I get a note or two occasionally in the smoke but not much. This, however, was vinegar throughout the entire bowl. It's like they have tried to use vinegar to cover up the fact that the reds are not as mature at they claim. The tobacco flavors when able to come through beneath the vinegar are very earthy and vegetative. I cannot find any dark fruit notes that I associate with red VA's probably because I mainly get vinegar. Since others find this so appealing I will leave it as the somewhat recommended mark and avoid the rare not recommended rating but to sum up this blend in one word it would be vinegar. In fact after making in through 1/2 of bowl (and this happens with every bowl I have smoked), taking a sip of coffee the coffee tasted like I had just cleaned the coffee maker with a vinegar solution and should have ran another pot of water through it before brewing the pot.

To compare this with the other 2 red VA's I have smoked since October of this year I like this one the least and it cost the most. I would rather smoke C&D's red VA than this one and far prefer Sutliff's Matured red VA 515 RC-1 to both.

After endless days of mourning the closing of Mcclelland, I decided to find something that would satisfy the void without constantly breaking open my reserve stash. Many half smoked bulk samples and opened tins scattered around, I went back to McCrannies and pleaded for help. Having gone through the same transition, ( their bulks were blended with McClelland and they always had an ample tin selection) it was recommended that I try the Sutliff crumble Kake Va. Wilh skeptical thoughts I bought one.

Open the tin: two brownies of Kake Va. neatly packed.

Aroma: dark fruit, fermented Va. notes. Smells promising.

The rub: a little moisture which was nice. Better than too dry.

In the pipe: loads easily, charring light had familiar notes. Relight and was carried away by Va. goodness. Smokes consistently all the way. No grass or hay. After all it’s tobacco not fescue. Good flue cured and stoved tobacco. It’s why I enjoy a pipe.

Overall: it’s not McClelland and not should it be. It stands on its own as a good straight forward Va. I look forward to putting a little age on some tins. I think it has great potential.

"Wow" is right -- this is a remarkable tobacco. Being relatively new to pipes (2013), and being one of those smokers who generally avoided VAs (initially), I love, love, love this crumble. Just the wonderful earthy aroma, the fruity bouquet and the tang of the tin note alone lets you know this is something special indeed. And it is such a beautifully crafted crumble -- I'm appreciative (and very thankful) that there are people in the world who have the knowledge, the expertise, the science and the art of creating something so pleasing to the senses: to the eye, to the palate, to the nose. The cellar is heavily stocked.

This is currently my new favorite tobacco. Got to try it about a month or so before its release and I fell in love with it. I do not have the taste buds of Jim, not even close, but I absolutely enjoy every puff of this blend. The tobacco is at a fine moisture level and breaks off and rubs out easily. It is sweet, delicious, and satisfies the ol’ sweet tooth. I like it so much, in fact, that I’ve already purchased nearly a dozen tins and plan on grabbing more.

This is a fine , mature red Virginia with no gimmicks or sugary toppings, only fine sweet tobacco goodness. This is one for the veteran smoker that appreciates that, but might be a little to much for a newbie. Burns cool and clean with no rough spots unless ya puff like a maniac as the goodness of this tobacco takes, as with most, needs a little patience to let the flavor develop. This is a solid 4 in my book.