Sutliff Tobacco Company Mixture No. 79

Having smoked a whole pouch of Mixture No. 79, now, I'm upping my review to four stars. I love this stuff and do not want to be out of it.

ORIGINAL: Went garage saling with the wife this morning and dashed into my tobacco shop to grab a pop. They still sell the reasonably sized cans. Lo and behold what do I see--Mixture No. 79. Despite selling the throwback 12 ounce can of pop, it's a modern tobacco shop, meaning it's a cigarette/cigar shop that sells Captain Black and Prince Albert. They also have a selection of horrifying plastic pipes from China.

I was pretty surprised to see Mixture No. 79 there. I've always wanted to try it, just to say I did. For some reason I'm attracted to polarizing tobaccos. Universally loved or panned tobaccos are actually kinda boring if you think about it. Perhaps this is why Samuel Gawith is one of my favorite producers.

Mixture No. 79 is or was the blend of choice for millionaire pornographer and creepy old man, Hugh Hefner. Despite this, I bought a pack...seven bucks! Two and a half bucks more than the Prince it sat next to. In the car, I removed the cellophane and a very strong aroma of anise or licorice filled the air. "We may have just flushed seven bucks down the pooper," I said to the wife.

"At least you didn't get the canister," she said. Always looking on the bright side, that one.

The tobacco itself doesn't have such a strong licorice smell, thank goodness. Kinda fruity or something. Hard to place. Still pretty licorice-y, but not eye-wateringly so like when I first opened it.

Cut is a shag or a chop (or both). Pretty random-looking. Color is mottled, various shades of brown, some blonds, some blacks. Also random-looking. PG is present in the leaf. I can feel it with my fingers, but it doesn't seem to be overdone.

Taste is...wait for it...quite nice. I am enjoying this. No licorice at all translates. YAY! for that. An American attempt at a Lakeland, perhaps? There is a perfumey quality to it I like. Smoke is cool...not cool as in temp, but like a menthol cigarette, yet without the menthol. I am sipping this but I could see how it would bite if I started puffing away at it. I like how the strange licorice-y root beer-y smell of the tobacco itself is not present at all in the smoking. It has a flavor unlike anything I've ever smoked. It's uniqueness is what calls to mind Lakelands, but it is not like a Lakeland (if that makes any sense, haha).

Probably won't repurchase, but I can say the seven bucks wasn't wasted.

If you were ever curious enough to wonder what it would be like to smoke a urinal cake, here you go.

The burley does show through the toppings at times, and is a little nutty, woody and earthy with a slight sharpness when it does. The base burleys in this product are the same as those in Heine’s Blend. The strong, sweet toppings have a number of flavors mixed in, including wintergreen, licorice (lots of that), sarsaparilla, vanilla, possibly pineapple, etc. The perfume and soap others mention is certainly ever present. I can see this appealing to smokers who like Lakeland scented tobaccos. The strength is a step short of medium, while the taste is full. The nic-hit is a couple of slots past the mild mark. Burns cool at the reasonable rate with a very consistent taste, though it may need some dry time. Doesn’t bite or get harsh. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a few relights. The lingering after taste seems a little more sour than the taste you get while smoking. The room note is a little pleasant. How you rate it obviously depends upon whether or not you like the toppings, and while many hate it, it’s popular enough to continue production. Because it’s such a polarizing blend, I rate it two out of four stars in an effort to be objective in my rating.

-JimInks

It would seem that it is to be my lot to take some kind of sick joy in all of these blends that are either passed over or outright hated by so many others. I like Mixture No. 79, you see. Like is the opperative word here. I love Prince Albert, I love Grousemoore; at times, though, and not infrequently, 79 suits me right down to the ground. My severe burley fixation is most likely a governing factor herein. I have always liked the quality and cut of burley employed by H. Sutliff, having, as it does, a softer, seemingly mor herbal note than that of many other drugstore brands.

That infamous casing that is so feared by so many others about, while not in keeping with modern and conventional tastes, is both complex and masterly. It is at once like unto the flavor found in many old style candies and that perfumish, eighteenth century style of blending only found today in those blends of a truly ancient pedigree. I have smoked this in a clay many a time, in fact. I love how I will, throughout the bowlful, get just the first hint of a Captian Black sort of sweetness which will then fast give over to the floral notes that are in such fine blends as Bourbon Street. By golly, what's good enough for Hef is good enough for me. Let's hope that he will soon come back to the fold, whatever blend he should choose.

Granted, this is easily induced to smoke hot and a little wet at times. I would be interested to see how it would perform in a pipe with a filter, Medico, 9mm., or otherwise.

Regards,

A. Morley Jaques

This tobacco does not conform into any particular category. It is unlike any other. The flavoring must be tried to be understood. I think it's absolutely excellent. The taste and aroma are similar to Dr. Pepper. Again, not completely, but if you try it you'll see what I mean. Also, I'm a guy that hates goopy, chemically aromatics, so believe me when I say this isn't one of those. There's one disclaimer, however: This tobacco is ONLY enjoyed when smoked slowly, with labored puffs. There is a period of unavoidable tongue bite in the very beginning, when the pipe is first getting fully lit. After the 1-3 charring lights, let it cool down by smoking slowly. If this pace is kept for the rest of the smoke, you can then give Mixture 79 a fair analysis. Hopefully, more people will be willing to get past the initial minor tongue bite to find one of the most enjoyable tobaccos ever produced.

OK - I am sure I am going to lose all credibility with this review, but I have tried M79 and found it better than people seem to think. In terms of flavor, I get floral, licorice, root beer, a little vanilla and maybe a little herbal/menthol. It is full flavored, but not overpowering. It has a lot of tastes in there, and they are pleasant enough. They are not what I am used to. The tobacco base is a solid burley with a little nuttiness you don't get much of since there is so much going on.

I am not going to go out of my way to buy this again, but if it were all I had, I would smoke a lot of it. It is really a 2.5 on the scale and a little underrated. It did not smoke hot or wet for me. It is different, but I did not find it as bad as legend seems to say.

I suppose Middleton is shutting down PA, Carter Hall, Walnut, etc. I think that blends like, SWR, mixture 79, etc. will also soon pass on into history. Some say there will be "replacement" blends offered using the recipes .. by some company or another. I do doubt they will reproduce this blend at any point, but perhaps there are those who do enjoy smoking Mixture No. 79 by Sutliff; I however would not be among them. I have tempered my original review of this, in consideration for those who may find something redeeming in this tobacco, though I would strain to imagine what that would be. However, during my travels I took note of a people who enjoyed the rind of a fruit, dipped in salt that was so bitter it was nearly impossible to keep on the tongue. There are people who bury fish heads in mud for a month and then dig it up and consume the putrid flesh. There are others who eat boiled eggs wherein the embryo has developed into a partially formed duck. So it stands to reason that there would be some within a population of respectable size, who might enjoy this tobacco. I have never eaten the flesh of rotted fish, but I have tasted "balut", the aforementioned egg of the duck; it did not taste like chicken, nor did it remind me in any way of peking duck, and I remember I required a significant amount of the local beer in order to distract my palate in hopes of avoiding an unpleasant reaction. All this is to say that, while I cannot decide which experience I would choose should it ever be necessary to revisit one of the undesirable experiences; suffice to say that I would prefer not to. again, experience either of the two.

If you find yourself in, what I would consider, the unique position of finding some enjoyable aspect of this tobacco, you might want to consider acquiring a substantial amount of this blend, as I would not expect it to survive any decision process which might reflect a demand driven market.

Being interested in old name blends, plus all the bad reviews I have read about this particular blend, sparked my interest in giving Mixture No.79 a try.

I purchased a fresh 2 oz. sample from 4noggins and received it quickly through the mail. The tobacco was dark brown in color with just a few flecks of light brown mixed in. I could smell licorice and other components that I could not discern. All in all, the sample smelled very good to me.

I loaded up a MM 5th Ave that had been broken in, and used the 3 step method after I let the tobacco dry for about 30 minutes, it was a little to moist at the time.

The first light gave me a soapy floral flavor that was not overpowering, but was quite unusual for me. The final light gave me the same soapy floral flavor, and I continued to smoke.

The soapy floral flavor that I taste is not overpowering and I find quite enjoyable, the flavor is not harsh or bitter, but smooth and light. I find it to almost disappear after the 1st quarter bowl is smoked, other flavors that become pronounced, is the burley which has a slight tangy taste to it, with a slight sweetness throughout the smoke, the finish is almost like a root beer/ Dr.Pepper taste. As for myself, I enjoyed this blend and did not find it horrible whatsoever.

I tired this bend in the mid 1980's. My first reaction was who put pin-sol in my pipe. I smoked 1/4 of the bowl, promptly emptied it and threw the pouch in the trash.

Update: 12/20/08. I recently ordered some misc smoking items which included a new Kaywoodie Super Grain, and two zipper pouches. I also ordered a large tin of Mixture No. 79. This tobacco has changed. I think this stuff is really great now. In the past, I hated this tobacco like mostly everyone else. Tobacco in a large tin is always better than in the foil pouch. Mixture 79 is no exception. Vanilla and anise predominate the burley, but the tobacco flavor comes through nicely. I will not smoke this everyday, but it is a welcome change of pace. I do advise, however, that a person delegate one or more pipes for exclusive smoking to this mixture.

I remember trying this stuff when I was in the service 35 years ago. I think I sent in a coupon for a free package. Anyhow, I thought it was the worst tobacco I ever smoked, and gave the pouch away. It indeed tasted like soap.

Receiving this as part of the free sampler, I thought I read reviews on this site before I gave or threw the package away. I could not believe that Hugh Hefner smoked this stuff. Some people actually liked this stuff. I had to try it again.

I packed this in a thick walled corncob and lit up. It had the same soapy flavor with anise or whatever, but, I have to say, it mellowed to a relatively flavorful smoke, with all the negative points in the background. I was really shocked. The other day I played golf and grabbed The Mixture 79 pouch to take with me, thinking I'd smoke less if I didn't enjoy it. Outside, this tobacco shined.

Not a great tobacco, but a once in a while change of pace. Hef could not be all wrong.