Sutliff Tobacco Company Cringle Flake (2020)

The fermented, ten year old stoved red Virginias provide a big burst of tangy ripe stewed dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, vegetation, sugar, plenty of tart and tangy citrus, some grass, floralness, a couple of pinches of spice, mild sour vinegar, and slight acidic, smoky notes. In an abundant, opulent support role is the earthy, woody, stewed, sugary fruity (raisins, dates, figs, and plums), moderately spicy, year 2003 fermented perique. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are medium. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, though there are a few small rough edges. Your personal preference will determine whether or not these easily broken apart, moist flakes need any dry time. I did not dry them. Well balanced with some nuanced complexity, it burns clean, cool, and slow with a very consistent tangy sweet, spicy, lightly floral, deeply rich flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a tad stronger. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires some relights. It’s not an all day smoke, but it’s certainly repeatable. Four stars out of four.

-JimInks

I am no where as eloquent or capable of expressing a blend as well as JimInks, I have been smoking 7 years, Jim...lord only knows lol!!! I do know what I like and don’t like though and this one is a winner and if you like deep complex VaPers you really should give this one a try for sure! I sometimes can’t tell which gives a particular taste, the Virginia or the Perique, but I am getting all kinds of flavors but balanced pretty much through the whole bowl. Dark fruit, some tangy, some sweet, little acidic, spicy, citrus, smoky hints I assume from the Virginia’s. Different spice, sweeter raisiny and figgy from the 17 year old Perique I am pretty sure. The thing is they are all there and more floating around in your mouth and nose like a fine wine or a yummy dessert. I don’t think it will bite but I got so engrossed I may have gotten close in my exuberance. It smokes cool and very slow and caries through the whole bowl with all the flavors I mentioned and more. Leaves the room with a pleasant smell better than most aromatics in my opinion. I smoked right from the tin and I may try drying it a bit, left a bit of moisture especially in that huge Neerup. Every day, maybe, all day, I don’t think so but for sure one to have around and at hand when you want to go on a flavorful trip. 4 out of 4

Should be available soon and limited to 7000 tins!!!

Dave Da Dragon

Update: smokes better in a tapered narrow bowl for me!

The aged tobaccos are apparent throughout the experience. Opening the tin they are thick and sticky and smell of fruit and tangy sweet ripe tomatoes.

The char light exploded in flavor with a rich depth of tangy, musty, spicy, smokey and sweet all at the same time and beautifully balanced.

The ripe and mature decade old red Virginia is front and center and the 17 year old Perique, while there, is so beautifully balanced it is almost camouflaged in the entire blend becoming evident when looked for but quietly supports the red Virginia magnifying the sweet and spicy dark fruit sensation. Never monochromatic or boring. Explosive in flavor this is Highly recommended as an experience not to be missed.

Sutliff Cringle Flake 2020 is a very well aged and mature Red Virginia and Perique flake. My tin came with many thick ununiform flakes. They were stuck together and to be peeled apart, which caused them to tear pretty easy. The tin note was musty, with the famous vinegar/ketchup note associated with Red Va's, as well as sweetness from the Va's, and a bit of tang, dark fruit, and something fruity that I cannot describe, however it reminded me of prunes. It broke apart in large chunks, more like a crumble cake than a regular flake. It took to flame pretty easy.

Despite the strong aroma, the taste of the blend was not overpowering. The Vinegar/Ketchup is the first thing I noticed. But it was just the right amount and complimented the other flavors nicely. Right behind the vinegar was the sweet and tangy flavor of the Red VAs. They also had a wonderful fruit flavor that reminded me of a nice red wine. It is easy to tell that the VAs are aged, as they have the desirable mature flavor that comes about by being well aged. The Perique has been mellowed by age. The flavor is very much there, but not in your face like Perique can be. It offers notes of dark fruit and spice, but with just a small amount of tingle on the tongue. I could also taste the prune note that I previously mentioned, which adds a nice festive flare. Just before the halfway mark I found the flavors to intensify and become deeper. They stayed consistent however, except perhaps the vinegar became a little lighter.

Cringle Flake 2020 burned down to a fine ash, though it did require a number of relights. It requires some attention, which it deserves. With a special blend like this that is complex and full of great flavors to be discovered, you should take your time, not rush the smoke, and be consumed by the experience. I found this to be a great festive blend with many festive flavors, or perhaps it is the tin art and marketing that makes me say that, and if so they did a very good job. It did not bite or get hot, but I believe it smoked best with slow puffs.

Sutliff has a real winner here , maybe the best blend they have made . The stoved red virginias really hit the spot with plenty deep taste . Having been aged 17 years does wonders for any virginia . The perique is deep fruit and plum and has a strong presence . The smoke is deep and satisfying . I'm not crazy about the cut which is a little hard to work with so care must be taken in rubbing out and filling. The real question is " how does it stand up to the great Vapers we are smoking or used to smoke . Consider Watch City # 558 , one of the best ever made in my opinion . Both blends are similar in their output , a world of deep fruit and true virginia flavor . The 558 is a little easier to work with and provides a better burn . HU Directors Cut is somewhat more tart while providing a stronger perique hit . Curley Bloc is clearly stronger with a deeper taste and an excellent burn . In any case , in my opinion this one can run with the big boys . I tried some good port wine with it and it was a great match . Too bad this is only a seasonal blend with a limited issue .

I am glad this was reviewed by Jim and Dave because it gave me a heads up that this flake would be back for 2020. The flakes are a little moist but they smoke great right out of the tin . The soft flakes crumble easily like a cake tobacco . They smoke cool and mellow with hardly any sharpness and zero bite . Smokey Tangy dark fruit is the main flavor with a little citrus and spice and vinegar . The Perique is on the light side and seems to add to the red Virginia notes . There are some nice plum notes . Smoke good in a large dublin pipe better than a couple of my pots .Nic hit is about mild/medium. I like it a lot but enjoyed the 2019 version more . 3 1/2 stars and definitely recommended.

while I’m not usually impressed with Va/Pers, this one caught my attention with the ages of the components. Sweet and very slightly tart with a lot of pepper all the way through. I’ve bought four tins so far, and plan on buying as many as I can get my hands on. The only downside is that it requires about five seconds in the microwave to dry it out properly. Other than that it may be the perfect smoke.

Sutliff Tobacco Co. - Cringle Flake (Holiday Edition 2020).

'Wow'. That could be the review!

Very dark, very thick, very rich smelling, slightly broken flakes. The aroma gives a good adumbration of the forthcoming smoke; sumptuous and mature! I loved their 2019 Cringle and the addition of Perique has made me love this even more!

Even though quite thick the flakes weren't too moist enabling easy ignition. Then, I'll revert to my initial word: WOW! I don't want to blow a gasket with a plethora of adjectives, just a few will do for me: the Virginia gives LOTS of sweet, juicy fruit and the Perique heightens this flavour with a big dose of plums; it isn't very 'spicy' for Perique but more luscious and rich. It burns well and I find, because of the thickness of the flakes, just a gentle crumble makes for chunky pieces giving a cool, long smoke. Tongue bite? None.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: nice.

Cringle Flake 2020? I don't think it's fair on others to stockpile loads of a limited edition blend so I only bought a few tins. But I'm REALLY gonna savour every bowl! Highly recommended:

Four stars.

I cracked open a tin of this Wed as soon as it came in. I let it open up a bit before jarring it. Today, I took a whiff and the smell instantly transported me back in time. A young'in sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Raisin Bran, one of the preferred cereals of my childhood. After snapping back to the present day, I prepared this as I would most thick flakes and attempted to cut into cubes. Semi-successful, certain portions just fell apart and resemble something more like a ready rub. After drying and loading up in a Savenlli 614 a char, relight, and I am on my way! I am met with spicy, but well-rounded pepper notes no doubt from the Perique. This spiciness faded away pretty quickly into a deep, chewy, sweet matured Virginia flavor as the bowl settled down and got out of the "muck". Wow, I just love this blend as it has such an amazing depth of flavor. I glad I decided to get more than a couple of tins!

Started out with sweet hay, sour grass, and a slight raisin from the perique. About half way through the raisin got a little stronger but the grass stayed. At the end the Perique is punching you in the nose, the hay and grass is in the background. My mouth is watering and I'm forming sweet beads so it has a little vitamin n to it. Damn, I wish I had ordered 20 cans when I had the chance.... I pray there is a second run on this. I paid $15.50 a tin and it is worth every penny imho.