Sutliff Tobacco Company Pipe Force Episode IV

I may have a touch of Jedi in me, though I more closely resemble Jaba the Hutt to be honest, but I am glad the Master Per has been using his abilities to build up the Pipe Force! This first invasion is a tough but delicious alien nut to crack as it has two different sorts of Orientals as the advance guards in what is overall a very delicious light English. The borderline between which is giving what qualities to the smoke is as vague as a Jedi riddle. The one Oriental offers smoky mustiness, herbs, wood, floral, sour, spice and that light buttery sweet flavor. The other oriental is a new variation on Katerina, stoved, which changes some of its qualities while offering some more of earthy essence, herbs, incense, and a sweetness that has some darker fruity notes and a smooth creamy nature that you can feel in your mouth.

The next surprise is the transformation of Rustica in some hot alien environment causing it to be stoved. It’s brings along more spice, herbs, dark bread, some cigar, sour, and a tart almost marmalade note and another layer of sweetness. Right in amongst the Rustica and Katerini is the red Virgina with its dark fruit tang, more bread and wood, a touch of vinegar and citrus tang and of course some sugary sweetness. The Cyprian Latakia is laying back and covering the flank but adding it’s support with smoky, earthy, musty, floral delicate spice it’s known for.

As I said the lines between which leaf is adding what is a bit blurry to my palate but the end result is superb and unique. It’s in the familiar crumble cake form which is easily transformed to a very smokable from with just a little rubbing out. It’s a tad moist but I smoked it basically as is from the tin. Once you get it evenly lit, it may require a few extra blasts from your blaster (lighter) along the path, you will be greeted with relatively consistent enjoyable smoke. Rich and deep and mellow with a lot of subtle nuanced complexity including stewed fruit that varies from darker fruits to tangy and sweet, a savory smoky herbal spicy essence with a full smooth satisfying mouth feel. It’s not going to bite nor burn hot and it’s smooth. Strength wise it’s medium to a notch above, taste is a bit further along and thanks to the mix and the stoving of the Rustica the nic-hit is medium. As always a room note is tough for me as I usually smoke on my own but I would say tolerable or a tad better. It’s not quite an all day ally, but close, but I assure you when you are enjoying a bowl the force will be with you at four out of four stars levels!

Dave da Dragon

I got a sample of this blend at the 2023 Chicago pipe show. I finally got around to trying it out, and must say that I was quite pleased. It has the basic flavors of an English blend but with a smoky, savory twist that I can only assume comes from the Katerini and Rustica tobaccos. It made for a nice, long smoke in my Peterson house pipe. I packed using the Peterson method: https://petersonpipenotes.org/2020/01/14/166-charles-petersons-system-pipe-packing-method/ and enjoyed a flavorful, full smoke from beginning to end - almost two hours - with just fine ash left at the bottom when I was finished. The flavors were leather, cream, salt, and a tangy, smoky essence that lasted the full bowl. I ordered several tins for my cellar and am looking forward to seeing if the tinned version matches the sample. I found it tasty, savory, and actually gentle on the palate with thoughtful and paced puffing.

The light side of an English. Latakia is lower content to my palate which makes it a nice, easy going, all-day kind of English. More complex than most with the stoved components mellowing it out a bit, but not overpowering the blend. Sweeter from that stoved Rustica and Katerini, but never too much. Far from boring. https://thegreywoodieshow.buzzsprout.com/2032969/12977962-episode-42-avacadon-t

Opening the jar, the flavor is extremely pleasant and very unique for “English” type blends (reminds me little Sunday Picnic for those who are familiar with that blend, but in IV blend the flavor detected from the jar weakens slightly with time, whereas in Sunday Picnic it gets stronger with time).
This reach, floral, dark fruit and bready flavor indicates, and this is very consistent with what I experience during smoking, a type of Oriental/Virginia based blend - the Latakia plays extremely secondary role, but it adds smoothness and smokiness with a note of mustiness.
The cake is rubbed easily by fingers in small (and little thick) bits - it’s on the moist side, but it does not need technically any drying time. Even though JimInks suggests some inconsistency due to the crumble cake form of the blend, I found it, throughout many bowls I smoked, very consistent in flavor and taste, and for a given bowl, it burns and tastes also very consistent in my own experience. What might be a very mild change while smoking the bowl, is that for the second half i just feel that the different components might be little closer to each other, i.e., the Latakia might slightly compete the other parts, but it keeps predominantly as oriental-Virginia blend.
It burns pretty much slowly to a moderate pace, it does need a few relights and it is a blend that I feel it requests your attention - would not be one of the blends i smoke while working on my desk/PC.
I didn’t not find it on the strong side, but rather a medium blend in terms of strength (perhaps 2/10 steps from medium to strong) - but it is pretty full in terms of taste offering a thick, reach and very enjoyable smoke.
If your other half complains (or tends to complain) when you smoke English, then here will be even worse as the room note is little strong (between us pipe smokers we say “tolerable” but come on, it’s little strong … and it stays little longer the room note than more classic English).
If I had not read the composition of the blend (from online supplier and tobacco reviews site), I would incline to believe that the blend has a very small doze of burley, I don’t mean it is that much nutty, but its reach flavor/taste, thick smoke that offers put this blend in a quite different class than some of my (daily and favorite) English.
I predominantly smoke this blend in a Peterson SH Squire pipe, though I tried also some other briars and Meerschaum pipes - I do prefer for this blend medium size bowls.