Sutliff Tobacco Company Cringle Flake (2019)

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.

UPDATE 9/15/2020

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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

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 .

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.

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.

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

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.

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

https://youtu.be/nIrGnGBXf0I