Sutliff Tobacco Company Mixture No. 79

My Dad smoked this for years until recently passing away. Going through his items, I found a tin of the 79. Dad could never understand why I didn’t like this blend. I would try the 79 here and there with the same results. It tasted weird to me and I was happy with Sir Walter Raleigh,which is still my all day pipe tobacco. Something happened recently. It was like Luke Skywalker when Obie passed and then the force was with him, because now I like the blend. Maybe it’s just that my taste buds have changed, but I really enjoy this “weird” tobacco. Or, just maybe the reason is Sutliff has changed this blend. I think the blend has been changed quite a bit. Long gone is the granulated tobacco. Now, there are long brown shreds of tobacco. Large pieces of chopped tobacco. The “weird” flavor that pipe smokers love to hate has been toned down. I remember 79 being a cinch to light. Now it will take five to ten lights to get going. As for (the Sutliff of California) Sutliff is an old Richmond,Virginia company.

In the pouch this tobacco is almost wet and needs next to a week of drying time. The tin I got was from Dad, so it had been opened enough to be smokable. This blend is definitely a hybrid, and by that I mean nothing else I’ve ever smoked, smells or tastes like it.

I detect a good amount of anise, which can give off other flavors being slightly floral. The vanilla is almost unnoticeable as is the wee drop of whisky. The flavors go well with the nutty, chocolate burley tastes. The room note is nice, smells great in fact.

Either Sutliff has changed the recipe or my taste buds have changed. Whatever happened, I enjoy it now. May the force be with you too.

Well after seeing how this blend had been hammered I decided to give it a shot. This stuff has been around for years so obviously someone has to be smoking it! The pouch note is anise and liquor, which was pleasant. Cubed cut was easy to Load in the bowl and it took fire well. Upon on lighting the first thing that came to my mind was that this was the love child of Sumbaca and Grousemoor. So far so good, I suppose that it is good because I happen to like both of those blends. This stuff stayed lit and actually smoked like a champ in all pipes used. I actually think that a good cob is the best weapon for this mixture. Flavor was consistent throughout the smoke with some pronounced sweetness coming in the latter part of the experience. Found little Dottle and very little goop. No bite in any of my smokes but I'd didn't hammer it to hard either. I can say I found Mixture 79 to be a solid smoke that you either like or you loath. If you are averse to either Lakeland scent or anise I say stay away and invest elsewhere. Will I purchase more, most likely in a tub this time as I feel that time in a good mason jar will only enhance the blend. As you know, if you have read any of my reviews, I tend to rate most tobaccos with a 3 or a 4. Reason being I rate on each blends own merit and not on others expectations. I cut my my teeth on home cured burley and Velvet so maybe my expectations aren't to lofty. I just know what I like and I happen to like Mixture 79.

Sutliff Mixture No. 79 is one weird tobacco. It garners scads of very negative reviews. Yet it has sold well for decades while myriads of "good" pipe tobaccos have disappeared.

Mixture No. 79 is a burley blend, all burley but with some variance in color from tan to brown to dark brown. The darker colors predominate. The cut is slightly chunky. This rates about medium in terms of ease of lighting, but less than that of most OTC brands. It seldom requires a relight. Tongue bite is minimal. as is the case with most burley or dominant burley blends.

The nicotine level is medium.

The pouch aroma and taste are unique. Sutliff's description mentions vanilla, but the predominate note is licorice (or its taste twin anise). Many pipe smokers do not realize this, but the overwhelming majority of pipe tobaccos have licorice (or anise). This is a powerful sweetening agent, but in most blends it is used in an amount small enough to sweeten but not give an obvious taste of its unique flavor. The amount used in Mixture No. 79 is by no means moderate.

The room note is one of a kind. As with most aromatics, the majority of people find it pleasant. But there is a minority who find the aroma of No. 79 to be perfumey in a cheap toilet water sort of way, and not acceptable.

I find Mixture No. 79 to be a fine change of pace smoke, but not one that I enjoy smoking frequently. I prefer considerable variety in my smokes, so by change of pace I do not mean every three or four pipe fulls but every three or four days. A pouch will last me a couple of months.

One of the frequent complaints against this tobacco is very valid. It does ghost a pipe, as much so as any mixture I have smoked. This is no big deal if the several smokes it takes to eliminate the ghost is another aromatic. But with other types of pipe tobacco the ghosting is quite disconcerting.

You know that stuff you spray on fishing lures and plastic worms to attract fish? Well just pour some of it on a cotton ball and stick it in your pipe and smoke it. You will have the same thing as smoking this stuff.

I thought I had reviewed this foul weed before. So, I checked the Search by Brand and sure enough, I had. Oh well, here it is again.

I have been told by old timers that this crimp cut burley mixture was often used (in small doses) to "pep-up" cheap Virginias. Well, all I can say is that I'd sure hate to load up a bowl of any kind of tobacco that needed Mixture #79 to save it.

Yes, this blend has been around for eons, but old is not always better. My suggestion is that you pass this one by unless your schnoze is no longer capable of detecting odors and your tongue is protected by an asbestos sheath.

This is a heavier, darker, and more full-bodied smoke than Prince Albert (which is very clean, moderate, and basic). While there are a lot of extra flavors added to this, they more or less escaped me upon smoking; as all I got was a strong, dark tobacco flavor from the smoke, and with no chemical tastes detected - nor any of the advertised flavorings either, for that matter - and that was just fine with me for what I like. Warning: Do not be alarmed or put of by the strong "menthol/Skoal" nose-hit from the pouch; while quite moderately strong in the pouch, the pouch-smell had little transference to the mouth-taste for me. I only got the very lightest of impressions of any detection of black licorice/menthol while actually smoking Mixture No. 79 - and only along the very edges of the sides of my tongue. As everyone's taste sensations are different you may have a wholly different smoking experience. The point is, don't judge Mixture No. 79 out-of-the-bag. Will I smoke this one again? Sure, I can see it being an alternative smoke when you are in the mood for something a bit heavier than PA; but, will I rush to smoke this again? Probably not; but I will definitely be finishing the pouch, and picking up another just to have on-hand for days when I want a heavier smoke, but do not care to dip into, or carry-around, some of my heavier, quality tabaks. If you are looking for a readily-available (Drug Store, Gas Station, RYO Store) pouch tobacco with a heavier, full-body smoke, give Mixture No. 79 a try - it might just be the one for you. As far as the "urinal cake bandwagon" is concerned with regard to Mixture No. 79, I will admit, my immediate thought regarding the pouch-note was: Mennen Speed-Stick; However, as I said above, I experienced none of that during actual smoking. Give it a try for yourself.

EDIT: A recent pouch of 79 left me lacking, as the shredded bits were torn into almost a powder (though still retaining their bouncy rubbery feel), and the taste wasn't quite as nummy.

I bought a pouch of 79 shortly after Hugh Hefner died. I read he smoked it for a long time and wanted to test it out as a some kind of tribute. It sat forgotten for quite some time, and took almost a year before breaking the seal.

The initial aroma forms a soapy, black licorice, anise, old-time candy mish mash. The sort of smell one might find from fancy bathroom soap. For this reason, it reminded me of Samuel Gawith's Lakeland blends, as they also taste akin to Violet candies.

Everything was moist and it packed well enough. The lit product tasted pretty much the same as what I smelled initially. It does stain the mouth afterwards, in the way a Menthol cigarette tends to linger (so you may want to be wary of ghosting the pipe you are using). Aside from the intense flavoring, the nicotine is light and I had little problem smoking successive bowls.

I'll assume this stuff has such a low rating, since it smells more like perfume than tobacco, still, it IS meant to be an aromatic and I rather enjoyed it.

Sutliff Tobacco Co. - Mixture No.79.

I ordered this a few months ago but the package was impeded and held up by customs. But, after paying the surcharge I finally received it. Wish I hadn't!

O.k., the Burley tastes good-enough, I suppose, but the topping wrecks it. It's sharp, bitter, musty, too loud, and foul. I can see no pleasure in it. Once the burn's settles it becomes even worse when a floral/perfume flavour comes through. It burns hot and fast.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: tolerable at best.

Rank.

Not recommended.

I tried this blend about 25 years ago, shortly after I first started smoking a pipe and found it overwhelming. Over the years I wrote it off as perfumey dreck and thus avoided it like it was radioactive. Well...recently, I've been enjoying the YouTube videos from Artful Codger and was inspired by his love of this blend, a blend that I had considered the worst level of smoking hell. Why...how, could he possibly enjoy this awful, grandmas perfume soaked blend?

So, I decided to go out and dared to give it another try! You know what, it's not half bad, I dare say I even enjoy it....yes, you read that right, I enjoy Mixture #79. I taste a nice Burley tobacco flavor, with a casing of black licorice and vanilla, with a very light dash of a Lakelandesque floral. I enjoy black licorice and vanilla and Lakelands for that matter, so this blend really is quite nice. Will it ghost a briar, probably, but I like it enough to dedicate one to it, as well as my various meers.

I do understand why so many guys dislike Mixture #79, if you try it too soon and you don't know what you are in for, it's a hell of a surprise! If you have smoked only codger Burleys and drugstore vanilla and cherry aromatics, then Mixture #79 can be a bit of an odd duck. However, now we have this wonderful resource of the Internet and TR.com and all of the various forums etc., so new pipe smokers are much more informed about what they are smoking.

If you enjoy Burley and you enjoy black licorice, then I urge you to give this mixture a try, or another try if... like me, you found it off putting many moons ago. I wish to thank the Artful Codger for inadvertently encouraging me to give Mixture #79 another try.