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Sutliff's Cringle Flake is a limited edition release for the 2019 holiday season and consists solely of red Virginia tobaccos, pressed into flakes. It delivers flavors of bread and tangy fruit, with an underlying sweetness that make for a pleasant all-day smoke.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JimInks (3046) |  |
Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Several fermented, matured Virginias ranging from orange to red to dark brown provide a lot of very tangy dark fruit, tart citrus (with minute acidity), plenty of wood and earth, some sugary stewed fruit (plums, dates, figs) and bread, light grass, lemon, floral and spice notes, along with touches of sour and vinegar. There are light toppings: raisin, figs, and prunes, but they don't sublimate the tobaccos much, and compliment/enhance the qualities of the dark red Virginia. While I tend to notice the aspects of the darker Virginia (sugary stewed fruit, earth, wood, dark fruit) a tad more than the others, the percentages of the various Virginias are inconsistent from flake to flake, so what your taste buds observe will change as you smoke a bowl, and from bowl to bowl. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a step past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it does have a minimal rough edge here and there. The broken flakes are a tad moist, but I saw no need to dry them. They easily break apart to suit your packing preference. Burns cool, clean, and a little slow with a woody, earthy, sour, spicy and savory, deep, ever evolving complex, very tangy and tart sweet flavor from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, but it will require some relights. Has a very pleasant, mildly lingering after taste and room note. Not quite an all day smoke for the inexperienced, but it may be for the veteran. Three stars due to the inconsistent flavors, but four stars overall for the complexity and age potential. I suggest a wide bowl (pot, egg, author) to capture all of the nuances.
-JimInks
23 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| StevieB (2080) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
Sutliff Tobacco Co. - Cringle Flake (Holiday Edition 2019).
Virginia perfection!
I received this a few weeks back but wanted to smoke a decent amount before reviewing it. Albeit, the impression I received upon first light is the same: magic!
The tin holds thick broken flakes that give off a rich, fruity, Virginia aroma. It smells more 'cased' than the taste; this has more of a matured Va flavour than a cased one. Because the flakes are partially broken I just stuff some into the bowl direct from the tin.
RICH, this could be the review! The smoke offers everything I love about a good red Virginia. It's as tangy as the McClelland Virginias used to be! I get no grass or citrus, no acidulous flavours, nothing 'fresh'; only opulent and deep flavours. I wouldn't say there's added flavours, it seems like a natural, mature smoke. The smoke is cool and bite-free.
Nicotine: just below medium. Room-note: nice.
Cringle Flake? Glad I have a few tins! Highly recommended:
Four stars.
Pipe Used: Various
Age When Smoked: A few weeks
Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com
12 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| JuanOrez (22) | |
Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I tried some of this expecting a mid quality tobacco. NOPE. This stuff is great! Whatever crop this was pulled from, it absolutely scratches my red Virginia itch. Is it as good a my McClelland favorites? Not yet but maybe it will get close with age!
If you like red VA's, please try this. You will be happy you did.
Pipe Used: Bent pot
Age When Smoked: Fresh
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Gripsholm (43) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
I would like to thank Sutliff for picking up where McClelland left off!
Every year I would purchase a tin of McClelland's Christmas Cheer and cellar it to be opened the next year. An annual rotation. It was, and now thanks to Sutliff, still will be a Christmas tradition.
I bought 2 tins of Cringle Flake 2019 and cellared them for next year. I'm already looking forward to next years offering "Cringle Flake 2020" and hoping it will be available in 3.5 or 4 ounce tins.
I'll have to wait until next year to give a review on the quality of the flake. However, after reading reviews already contributed by our esteemed pipe smoking community, I'm highly confident it'll be a good one!
Hats off to Sutliff! Hip Hip Hooray!
Similar Blends: McClelland's Christmas Cheer.
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| nkulk8r (90) | |
Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Cringle Flake, by Sutliff:
A sublime, limited edition Nutcracker Suite masterpiece release for the 2019 holiday season.
I'm not big on buying holiday blends, as I'm so often disappointed in them. But this being a red Virginia flake by Sutliff, I thought "why not"?
An exquisitely crafted artisanal blend, perfectly suited for the season (see JimInks' review). This will not only cellar very well, but also help to make for a magical and blissful holiday season this year (and for several more to come). God rest ye merry gentlemen -- and oh, what tidings of comfort and joy!
UPDATE 12-20-2019:
This is some uncommonly fine Virginia flake -- I'm lovin' this stuff. Quite remarkable, actually. Taste profile changes from bowl to bowl -- in a good way -- like an aluminum Christmas tree color wheel from 1962.
Pipe Used: clays, Briarworks Bullmoose (C11), 999
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| HabaneroHardy (401) |  |
Mild | None Detected | Medium | Unnoticeable |
A friend of mine from the pipe club gave me a nice sample of this on Sunday where I had one bowl and it was pretty good. Today is January 01, 2020 and I have finished up the rest of the sample that was given to me in a Missouri Pride Corncob throughout the day which was about four more bowls. I enjoyed the sweet hay grass smell of the Virginia. Always makes me wish I could live out in the country. Nice sweet tasting tobacco and the more I smoke Red Virginias the more I seem to like this variety of tobacco. No bite to this one and a real relaxing smoke. My friend and one other member both think that this blend would improve with age and no argument here but still was good right out of the tin. At times when I smoke a blend, I like reading others reviews and sometimes I look for buzz words to see how often they show up in the comments. For example, out of 7 reviews, 3 mentioned that the flavor profile of the blend varied as they smoked different bowls of this, about half. I cannot comment as I would probably need to smoke a whole tin of this and there is also the power of suggestion since others have stated varied tastes throughout different bowls which might make me more prone to notice it than I would have otherwise. I am sure a few years of aging can only make this blend better.
Pipe Used: Corn Cob
Age When Smoked: New
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| DirtyD (3) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Amazing delicious Va tobacco. Rich sweet, sour tangy flavors. Sweeness that goes lighter to darker as bowl progresses. I will buy more. No bite, smooth and just an amazing delicious baccy. I am leery of holiday tobacco because i don't care for aromatics. This is nothing of the sort. Cringle flake is sublime in a briar or cob. Definitely up there in top 5 of the Va tobaccos I've tried to date. Huge fan of ps lnf and ogs. Cringle is different in a good way. Tastes more aged and tangy. Reminds me of a Va with the macbaren odf treatment. Has a delightful sour note and is so so smooth and easy to smoke for a Va. Highly recommended, please don't buy it all up. D.
Pipe Used: Cobs, briars
Age When Smoked: Straight from tin , 10 minutes on paper plate
Purchased From: Smoking pipes
Similar Blends: ?.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Ilpipatoreinamerica (5) | |
Mild | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
This tobacco is very interesting, the Virginia are more on the darker side with earthy note, coffee, dark cocoa and definite zestiness. It is not sweet but it is definitely oriented towards the nutty, zesty, acidic and perhaps soury note. When opened it is a bit moist but more than anything I found the flakes very juicy and greasy, quite shiny too and this proves the quality of the product. It strongly reminded me to the Crumble Kake from the same brand but with several layers of complexity added. Interestingly, every bowl is different but never unpleasant. Definitely enjoyable and it will be interesting to see how it ages as perhaps it may finally get some of the sweetness that is currently lacking.
Age When Smoked: Fresh
Purchased From: Smokingpipes
Similar Blends: Sutliff Tobacco Company - Crumble Kake Red Virginia.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| MrKen57 (1) | |
Mild to Medium | Medium to Strong | Overwhelming | Tolerable |
My first review here. I'm not a tobacco aficionado by any means, but I know what I like, and this isn't it. I bought this tobacco on a review (not here) that this tobacco was the answer to the McClelland brands that we know and love. Not even close. To begin with, the tin note is pure vinegar, not subtle and refined like the McClelland tobaccos, but rough and horribly acidic. But what the heck, I tried it anyway. On the first light, I tasted nothing but acidic tartness...that lingered...puff after puff. I gave it a chance, but halfway through, I had to dump the bowl. I felt like I was smoking Vinegar and Salt potato chips. Sorry Sutliff, nothing personal, because I love some of your other brands, especially the Crumble Kake series. I bought 5 tins, and I am returning 4. The sour taste still lingers in my mouth 45 minutes later.
Pipe Used: Northern Briars Rox Cut Canadian
Age When Smoked: fresh from tin
Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Big Train (118) | |
Medium | Extra Strong | Medium | Tolerable |
So sorry to rain on the parade but I have problems with this blend. I found , upon opening , a fine looking virginia broken flake with an interesting tin note . I thought I had found a winner here . My mistake was lighting it up . My mouth was attacked with something that made it pucker up sort of like sucking lemons. It actually made my mouth sore . I knew it was not the pipe , a reliable pre lane Charatan lumberman . I let the tin sit for a while and tried it again , this time in a cob , not wanting to spoil another good pipe . It was even more problematic the second time . I needed to put the pipe out after a few puffs . I believe this would have been a good virginia flake had not someone gone around with a spray gun attacking the tobacco with some aromatic agent . Aromatic is one thing , tobaccoside is another . My mouth was sore hours after the smoke . It could be that , somehow , I was bothered by some aspect in the tobacco that others did not experience . Since others like it I will assume that I just had a bad experience .
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| CountryPiper (19) | |
Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
This is the best Virginia Sutliff has released in my opinion, probably why it was so limited. I’m a Virginia lover, and ever since the closing of McClelland I’ve wondered if anyone else would come close to that flavor. Now I in no way mean there aren’t still amazing Virginia’s being produced, there definitely are, however this is the first one I’ve encountered that actually reminded me of the McClelland style/taste.
As soon as you pop the lid on one of these tins you see beautiful dark, Red Virginia broken flakes that are a little moist and smell of raisins, figs, and other dark fruits, I even picked up some ketchup. I prefer my tobaccos to be sipped which requires a dryer leaf so I did dry it for 20 minutes. The flakes rubbed out very well and packs nicely. It took to flame extremely well and provided lots of sweet at first. That flavor remained consistent throughout the bowl but you begin to get some bread, tang, and dark fruit after the first third. This blend burned incredibly well and was very smooth all the way to the end and left very little moisture in the bowl.
This doesn’t bite and is what I’d expect/want from a Red Virginia smoke. The aging possibilities here are phenomenal, I can’t imagine what this will be like 5-10 years from now. I am thrilled with this blend and really hope to see more of it in the future. Really great stuff here.
Pipe Used: Vorboril Bent Billiard
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars
Similar Blends: 5100 Red Cake, some of the Christmas Cheers..
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Elk (9) | |
Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Very Pleasant |
I don't write reviews but I just had to defend this wonderful blend. Semi sweet and fruity goodness!
This stuff is wonderful for the Red Virginia fan. However, to fully appreciate this tobacco it needs to be put in a jar for at least a few weeks for it to get to a point where one can taste all of the very pleasant flavors in it.
I like my Virginia's to be on the dry side when I smoke them and some dry time seemed to work here too.
I also found that certain pipes bring out more flavor, such as the medium sized, long stemmed apple that I used. Smaller flake pipes didn't do it for me with this flake.
I believe there could be some sort of mild fruit casing on this and that suits me just fine as it is a natural taste or it could just be the quality of the leaf, not sure but don't care either way.
I found this flake similar in taste to two members in my rotation. Cup of Joe's Yeti Flake and Chacom #4 ( orange ). All are a little different but share a similar and spectacular fruity Virginia flavor for the patient and experienced Virginia flake smoker. Four Stars!!!
Thank you Sutliff and keep up the great work!
Pipe Used: Briars, Meer
Age When Smoked: A few weeks in a jar
Purchased From: Various
Similar Blends: Chacom #4 and Cup O Joe's Yeti Flake.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Planet Scott (66) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
UPDATE 9/15/2020---------------------------------------------
Let this one age for awhile and it becomes very complex. Up to 4 stars.
The tin note on this is a wonderful spicy fermented flake with the vinegar notes Mcclelland offered, just not as overwhelming. Sadly, the smoke was not there for me. My benchmark for straight Virginias is Opening Night,and the Cringle Flake did not reach that. It was not horrible, but it lacked the complexity I seek out in my straight Virginias. I have 2 tins, so I plan on letting the unopened tin set for awhile. 2.97 stars
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Tomcat (221) | |
Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Mild | Unnoticeable |
Opening the tin ,I was greeted with the usual fruity vinegar earthy bready aromas of the Sutliff red Virginias like 515rc-1 . I let this dry about a hour as it was fairly moist . It is mostly broken flakes of reds and some browns . The toppings added here are extremely subtle and complimented the leaf very nicely! It is very smooth and even on big puffs no harshness . Burns a little quick for a flake . Lots of baked bread .a little spice and very mild fruit which surprised me . Some hay and grass also . One topping that i think is fig is quite delicious. I like it and hope it ages well since I bought 6 tins ! Four stars - Sutliff is doing a good job with these red Virginias. The krumble cake. Red Virginia and 515rc-1 are also great and slightly differ from this .
Similar Blends: 515 rc 1 Sutliff.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| McQueen (41) | |
Mild | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This is interesting blend... very very reminiscent of McClelland Virginia’s both in Tin note and taste. Lightly red broken flakes with some mottling.
I see other reviews where these new guys are loading and smoking straight out of the tin. This blend like most red leaf dominant blends, needs to breathe and dry before smoking, THATS when the magic comes out. An excellent straight red Virginia with a little sweetness and tang. It burns really well and pretty consistently. Now let’s go back to that wonderful McClelland door we all miss.
I and some other lucky ones heard about this blend during the Sutliff factory tour at the CORPS Pipe show this year. As we all know (or maybe some don’t) is that Sutliff sold a one time run of tinned McClelland #5100 as they had several pounds leftover from Before McClelland closed. As we all know (or maybe some Don’t ) Sutliff and McClelland worked closely hand in hand and used each others leafs. Well in a long conversation with a factory employee that went from Kids, to fly fishing, etc, he mentioned a new Christmas blend that they may be peppering some #5100 into to give it that signature McClelland “tang”. And honestly after smoking a full tin of this already, it wouldn’t surprise me. I’m putting two more tins away to See how they age. Highly recommended.
Similar Blends: McClelland #5100.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| W.B. (13) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
One of the best things about pipe smoking is the great variety of blends and the fact that not everyone enjoys, if you will, the same cup of tea. Still, i am a little surprised by the wide disparity in reviews of this blend. I am not a Virginia flake smoker in general. Once in a while Orlik but most virginia flakes, vaper and vabur blends are much too reminiscent of cigarettes for me. However, i ordered a couple of tins of this in a recent order and really love it. I have now ordered 20 tins both to smoke throughout the year and to cellar. I only smoke it once per day and I look forward to each bowl with happy anticipation. Yes, the tin note is vinegar and i found the initial bowl to be very sour at first. However, that initial vinegar fades reasonably quickly to reveal a darkly sweet and earthy smoke which is wonderful. I now love the bit of vinegar which sometimes is present and have found that it fades a bit as you progress through the tin. Another reviewer said that fruitcake comes to mind as a flavor profile and i think that this is apt as it does have a stone fruit and breadlike combination. Great blend and, hopefully, one which can be carried forward in other years.
Pipe Used: Castello 55, 10
Age When Smoked: Fresh
Purchased From: Various vendors
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| CubishPatriot (14) | |
Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
A blend so delicious I scored more in 2020 and 2021 through various sources. I think I'm sitting on 5 plus an opened one and that's good enough for me. From the tin. A reddish brown piece of tangy, vinegary, ripe smelling leather greets you. The flavor is layers of ripe red Virginia goodness. A flavor only well aged and prepared red Virginia produces. The room note is fresh baked bread and sweet tobacco. It's singular and not overly complex while still being interesting enough to pause and contemplate. It just keeps getting better as it sits getting age. A must try for those who like tangy red Virginias
Pipe Used: Various
Age When Smoked: 2 years
Purchased From: Smokers Pipes
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| RonR (85) | |
Mild | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
3rdguy
Just finished my 1st tin, wanted to let it sit for 6 months before exploring it. Rich fig and plum tin note, needed a bit of dry time. Takes several lights to get going no matter how long I dried it. Smokes down to a fine white ash. Little bit of wetness left over.
This is a spicy Red Virginia with some great taste and retrohale to explore throughout the smoke. It is still a bit fresh and will let the rest of my tins sit for a few years before trying again. When it comes out again in the fall I would stock up before it sells out, as it will. Good chance it ends up being one of the best Red Virginias out currently in a crowded field. Will also make a great mixer such as McClelland 5100 was.
Highly recommended.
Pipe Used: Briar
Age When Smoked: 6 months
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| 계란반숙 (5) | |
Medium to Strong | Medium to Strong | Medium | Pleasant |
2019년도 크리스마스휴일 기념으로다가 만든연초입니다. 일단 기념으로 만들었다하기에 뭐든간에 기대를 품는건 마찬가지입니다 마치 지금은 사라진 맥바렌사의 크리스마스치어스 늬앙스가 물씬풍깁니다 아주깨끗한 순수버지니아의 베이스입니다 어떤다른 연초가 들어가지않은 순수버지니아의 탄생입니다. 기존의 순수버지니아의 맛은 일단 불을 붙였을때 올라오는 구수함과 동시에 뒤따라오는 살짝 달큰함이 엄습합니다 하지만 이녀석은 화이트후추의 산뜻한 매콤함이 기분을 업시킵니다 사실 순수버지니아의 구수함은 화이트후추의 매콤함에 살짝 묻힙니다 크게 달큰함은 뒤쳐집니다 그렇다고 맛이 떨어진다는것은 절대아닙니다 매우 흥미로운 조화라고 할수있습니다 흡입할때마다 상쾌한 매콤함과 옅게 뒤따라오는 단맛이 정말 묘합니다 다른 외국친구들은 양송이스프에 집안대대로 오는 귀중한 후추덩어리를 박박갈아서 넣은 할머님의 맛이다라고 하지만 동양인이 우리입맛에는 크게 공감할수는 없습니다 버지니아의 페어링한 가향된맛이 결코 싸구려틱하지는 않습니다 도시녀인데 4차원적인 도시녀같은 매력이 충분히 있습니다 플레이크를 대충 뜯어놓은 형태이어서인지 더욱더 흥미롭습니다 중간쯤 태우다보니 이제는 꽤 잠잠한 매콤함이 오히려 부드럽기까지 합니다 매우 옅어진 매콤함과 반대로 버지니아의 단맛이 처음과는 상반됩니다 이제는 달큰함이 쭉쭉 올라옵니다 상당히 매력적이고 스틸리프회사의 4차원적인 블렌딩기술이 흡입할때마다 기분이 매우 좋게합니다 그리고 오전이나 그날 처음즐기기에는 다소 혀가 얼얼거릴수있기에 점심이후나 기름진음식 먹고난뒤 즐기기를 추천합니다 늦은 저녁 한볼도 매우 괜찮습니다
Pipe Used: Radice:bamboo rustico
Age When Smoked: 52
Purchased From: US
Similar Blends: 엇비슷한 연초를 추천하라고 하는데 나는 딱 이것과 페어링된다, samuel gawith - sam`s flake.
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600 Perdue Ave
Richmond, VA 23224