Sutliff Tobacco Company Count Pulaski

To give some perspective, I mostly enjoy English blends, eg. Black Mallory, Night Cap and Pensance, along with fine Virginia blends such as Stone Haven and Old Growie. Recently, however, I've been looking for a mellow all-day blend that smokes effortlessly. I'm a retired Lawyer who teaches philosophy at a local community college and I enjoy smoking while I do class prep as well as reading for pleasure. Count Pulaski came as a pleasant surprise as it costs less than half of what I ordinarily smoke. The room note is pleasant (my wife, a cigarette smoker who objects to my latakia blends, finds Count Pulaski pleasant.) The taste, which I find remarkably pleasant, is replicated by no other blend I've tried. For someone looking for a transition blend that can be smoked effortlessly and rewardingly, Count Pulaski fills an important niche.

I love this blend, it's flavorful..the anise and latakia play well together.

Egad! I think I've found it. The world's best tobacco. This stuff is fabulous. Richly strong without being overpowering and pretty well stays that way to the end of the bowl. The flavors are tantalizingly complex; A hint of perique, certainly Va, a little fruity without being able to decipher the flavor (maybe a little chocolate?), but I sensed no anise which has been mentioned here several times, latakia is notably present without being obtrusive. The room note is definite but also not overpowering (my take, not the wife's), just pleasant. Lights easily and stays lit extremely well although I had to dry it considerably to get it that way. Smokes cool without even a hint of a bite. Never feel I have to suck up for a billowing cloud to get all the satisfaction out of it. Goes to the bottom without a whimper.

I've thought often about what I would expect my ideal tobacco should be like. Easy to pack. Easy to light. Easy to keep going. Rich, good flavored taste. No bite. No lingering bad aftertastes. Smokes cool. Holds my interest without ever getting boring. Comforts me when being introspective about other things. Heck, I could go on and on; this is just, in my humble opinion, one great tobacco.

This may not be the ONLY ideal baccy out there. I have long held that to keep a committed puffer completely happy, there has to be variety, so I will still keep looking. I certainly am not giving up other great blends that I have on hand.

This should be a very recommended baccy for a beginner also.

Thanks to all of you guys that led me to this. Can't express enough appreciation for this web site and all it has done for my pipe smoking pleasure.

I have to agree with all who rated this 4*'s. This is one of those rare blends where the sum is greater than the parts and everything is in balance.

Count Pulaski is the best of the Altadis blends I have tried to date. Being an aromatic lover, it took me a couple of bowls to get used to their Fox & Hound blend, but the Count was wonderful, from first light, till I emptied the bowl of the dove gray ash. Count Pulaski was not too wet or goopy, it packed very well, stayed lit, and left a clean dry pipe. I experienced a cool dry smoke, with no tongue bite. ( And the craving for another bowl) The Count gets a royal place in my tobacco rotation, and in my cellar.

As a smoker of English, Balkan and milder aromatics, I find this blend to be a wonderful combination. It is a rough cut that burns easily without moisture. The latakia blends beautifully with the anise-like casing for a bass note, while the other tobaccos provide intermittent welcome high notes. Despite the latakia, this is the tobacco my wife finds has the most pleasant room note. It is an all day smoke and is most highly recommended.

I smoked this in a smaller pipe which made the Latakia the dominant note. I will try it in a larger bowl as advised by the other reviewers. A very tasty experience. Ultra smooth with perfect moisture content. No fiddling needed. Highly recommended. 08/16/2005

Update: For those of us who don't like waiting a week or more for an order from the Eastern U.S., The Little Brown Smoke Shack near Yakima, Washington now has Count Pulaski on their website...lilbrown.com. It is under Bulk Tobacco, C.C.C. Brand. It sells for $18.10 per lb.

Smoking now:

This is the newer Sutliff version of Count Pulaski. Bag note smells more like an English, a fermented odor, earthy burley, and some rum/anise.

Lit and burned just fine. I did find that it burned a bit hot this first time and I lost a lot of the taste. So DRY IT at length. It’s an aromatic it needs to be dried a while. After that it burned just fine.

This is a strange one for me. I can see why this is a polarizing blend. It’s not like a savory English but rather has a sweeter and earthier smokey taste. It’s heavy on the burley which gives it a mellow earthy woody molasses quality but it also has that latakia herbal smoke that is very noticeable and on the retroale the Virginia. The topping is evident and I find it to be quite nice. But I could see how it would throw you off. It’s a sweet, relaxing, and creamy type of smoke, more complex than I would think. This blend has grown on me the more I smoked it.

If you’re a sweet / aromatic smoker and want to try something different I would recommend this very much. If you’re a cross over / sweet English smoker this should be on your list at once.

*update 12/21/20*

There’s a sweet smokey herbal earthy quality to this that I fell in love with. Maybe it’s my Polish roots or my love of crossover blends but if I could give this 5 stars I would. It’s something else and I haven’t found a blend like this. Easily my top 3 blends.

Za wolność Waszą i naszą!

Wow what a nice blend. I can't add anything to what Gae and Pipestud has already said. A great smoke, A great price. Try some.