Sutliff Tobacco Company Mixture No. 79

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 smoked this tobacco in the early 1960's...along with other OTC tobaccos from Europe as well as stateside... From the flavoring standpoint it was quite different than PA, CH SWR, etc. I rather enjoyed the distinct difference and found it quite good.

While I prefer strong Virginia plug/flake tobaccos, I have been re-acquainting myself with the old OTC's...In the last several weeks I have smoked close to a tub of this and frankly, I like it better today than I did 48 years ago.

I don't get a "vanilla" or "anise" flavoring, though perhaps a soapy flavor to begin with...not too different from some of the lakeland tobaccos which I smoke regularly. There are some mild floral notes weaving in and out of the smoke, and a fairly strong burley taste, like hickory nuts, but other than that, I find it a pleasure to smoke.

While this will not make my top 10 tobaccos, it, along with several other OTC's will make it into my rotation of regular tobaccos. I'm glad I re-acquainted myself with this mixture, and recommend it to anyone seeking a change or simply wishing to experiment a bit.

If you subscribe to the rather negative reviews on this mixture, you really owe it to yourself to try it as unbiased as possible...just my take on things...

Enjoyed in a group 4 or larger pipe...

...a pipe is to be savored...

I finally got around to trying Mixture No.79. If it was good enough for Hugh Hefner then it must be good enough for me. It had a nice licorice smell when I opened the bag. I looked up anise and found that it grows naturally in Egypt where the seeds are used and smells similar to licorice root. I find this to be an average pleasant blend for what some call Over the Counter (OTC). Apparently, Hugh had better taste in women than pipe tobacco but in all fairness, I do not think they had the designer selection we have today. 3 stars due to its unjust bad rap.

I do not understand the hatred towards this blend. As drug store blends go, this is well above average. The licorice casing is the star with some undertones of vanilla and a sweetness I cannot put my thumb on. If you are looking for a licorice blend, then this is worth a try. The burley adds a little nuttiness to the taste also. I bought this in bulk and Burns well with few relights as log as you keep it tamped down. Room note was pleasant, not so much the after taste.

Rough cut blend (Definitely NOT ribbon cut) of tobacco smothered in what appears to be Dr. Pepper. Very soft-drinky rootbeery tutti-fruity aroma. It's ok, definitely not horrible. Definitely not great. In the vein of a Capt.Black regular with Cherry type smoke, with a watermelon jolly rancher in your mouth. I remember seeing so many pictures and interviews, and celebrity shots of Hef lighting his pipe. Always lighting. I know why. This stuff is always freaking going out. Those rough moist chunks just need sooo much fire to get a good smolder. You can roll snake-eyes real quick and scald your tongue off. I let this dry for a full day, but I'm thinking more like a week. Maybe totally dry, and rehydrate back to a comfortable level. Like I said, it's not bad. I'm not a bit upset I bought a tub.

**Update** You know, I was plugging along on another bowl of this, still trying to figure it out, and low and behold I got the menthol kick! Holy cow, there is a menthol/pepperminty substance in there. I'm thinking this blend really changes with bowl design and air flow, 'cause there is ZERO way I could have missed that in half dozen bowls. No mistaking. Maybe the "additive" is not in the blend equally? Perhaps settles in the canister? You may as well Just leave your pipe in the canister with the tobacco, 'cause it will cast a 79 shadow from now on.

BTW, change the above description to smoking Captain Black regular, mixed with Cherry, while eating a horehound hard candy and watermelon jollyrancher, drinking rootbeer and chewing Wrigley spearmint gum. Its so freakin weird. I love it.

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.

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.

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.