Sutliff Tobacco Company Eastfarthing

I am participating in the Sutliff Virtual Pipe Club tasting this blend as I speak. I received this tin from tobaccopipes.com about a week ago who is sponsoring this event. Upon opening the tin, I am greeted with a strong pleasant somewhat vanilla liquor smell. This is a coarse ribbon cut with dark, medium brown and a little light tobacco in the blend. I will have to agree with some other reviewers in that this tobacco is extremely moist but I did not allow any drying time. I have read more than one review mentioning Frog Morton’s Cellar. I smoked a few bowls of the frog about a year ago but too long ago to try to compare. Not sure if this was blended to be similar or not but I am reviewing on its own merits. Second bowl, be right back. It is cold, dark and rainy out on the porch and this is California. The second bowl started to grow on me now that I know what to expect and enjoyed it more than the first one. The boss says she likes the room note but not in those words. She says it reminds her of food, I said it is probably the vanilla. It is a good blend, I enjoyed it with my coffee and was a good choice for the evening, very mild in the nic department. If you really like aromatics give this one a try and thanks again to Sutliff and tobaccopipes.com. Smoked good in my Meerschaum.

Smoking now:

Moisture content is perfect, packed and lite well.

Smoked this blind. Had no idea what it was as it was given to me in a sample bag. Nice woodsy, herbal, earthy, musty flavor and I did detect a topping to this. Very nice. Retro hale was smooth and the vanilla topping is noticeable but only slightly on the retro hale and complements the tobacco well. Virginias add more sweetness. I feel the burleys are more dominant. A very well done and easy to smoke crossover blend. Pleasant aftertaste, not overly topped with just a little sweetness added. Left some moisture in the bowl. Average relights.

A good crossover style American English or whatever blend.

Moist out of the tin, not wet or greasy, but I have to let it dry at least 2 hours. The latakia is really good, earthy, a little musty and slightly smoky. Some nuttiness from the burley. There's a noticeable earthiness that really compliments the blend nicely, likely the red virginia, if not, then I don't much notice them, but all in all the flavours are predominantly the latakia and vanilla topping. Burns well, no bite. There's a rich creamy quality to the smoke. It's quite different from anything I've smoked before. I like it, but could see it eventually wearing out its welcome. The topping might be overwhelming to some. Maybe, not an everydayer. It is tasty, though. I like Sutliff's burley, I think this one could use a bit more of it frankly. I also appreciate how they balance the latakia in their blends in which it's used, and this is no exception. Kinda weird stuff, but tasty. 3 stars. Recommend for latakia lovers that are in the mood for something completely different.

As a newer pipe smoker, I am mainly exploring the different blends (I favor aromatic blends, although I am dipping my toes into the non-aromatic blends now) to find what I like.

Like many others, I am a huge fan for Tolkien! So naturally I wanted to try some of the available themed blends out there. This review is for the "Eastfarthing" blend from Sutliff. While not really marketed as a "Lord of the Rings" tobacco, this is named for a region of the Shire. From Sutliff's corporate webpage it gives the following information - "Frogmorton was a village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire – so this blend pays homage to J. R. Tolkien."

Opening the tin, what I smelled was the vanilla, not so much the Latakia, but there was an artificial sweetness to it.

The flavor I tasted was the burley, followed by sugar/sweet and the Latakia popped up every now and then (it was not very strong).

It was very moist, but I did not dry this out before smoking (although I could understand if one did) and it lit up easily and did not require excessive relights. I did not have any tounge-bite with this blend.

I am starting to enjoy English/Aromatics and thought this would be great, but was slightly disappointed with this as it was a mash of things that just didn't do it for me. Although everyone's taste is different so don't let this stop you from trying it out. The best thing about this blend for me was the tin note.

This was one of the first pipe mixtures I tried getting back into pipe smoking after a 15 year hiatus for health reasons.

The tin aroma is latakia to my nose. I don't smell any topping. But latakia is good, so no complaints on that score.

What took me back was how mild the flavor was. The mixture isn't tasteless, but these old taste buds were straining.

I got hints of latakia and hints of sweetness. The smoke was pretty smooth.

The pipes I used for test driving were a Missouri Meerschaum corncob and a Falcon.

All in all, I like Eastfarthing. I can't say it will ever be a favorite. But for those times when Match Barking Dog is too strong, Eastfarthing will do the trick.

If you are looking for a light latakia smoke with a bit of sweetness this could very well be your next pipe of tobacco.

I can give this 3 stars.

Let's keep this simple: Imagine a higher grade Captain Black Original with slightly bigger cut tobaccos, a Vanilla/Sugar topping that tastes less artificial, and a pinch of Latakia added.

Definitely a quality aromatic superior to the majority of available tobaccos. The Latakia really adds to the experience. It's subtle but noticable in a very enjoyable way.

The topping could be a tad less but is in no way overpowering. Tastes minimally bitter if smoked too quickly. Definitely recommend, and much better than expected.

3.5 stars as an aromatic. 3 stars overall.