Sutliff Tobacco Company Count Pulaski

(2.97)
"The Count Pulaski blend from Sutliff is a complex blend of four distinct sub-blends. The leaf content is a mixture of burley shag, burley plug, burley cube, Carolina flake, Virginia and Latakia. The primary flavors are Rose of Latakia and rum with a hint of anise" "Inspiration for this blend is Polish Count Casimir Pulaski, an all but forgotten Revolutionary War hero. In another era Count Pulaski was better known, having counties and cities named for him in at least seven states. Pulaski is regarded as the 'Father of the American Cavalry' having served at Valley Forge, Charleston, and Savannah." Thank you to Carl McAllister, Sutliff Manager of R&D for the above quote.

Details

Brand Sutliff Tobacco Company
Blended By Carl McCallister
Manufactured By Sutliff Tobacco Company
Blend Type English
Contents Burley, Latakia, Virginia
Flavoring Anisette, Rum
Cut Coarse Cut
Packaging Bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.97 / 4
33

16

17

9

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 75 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 28, 2024 Mild to Medium Very Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
With acknowledged introduction, now appears the subject tobacco of pressing interest. From the Sutliff Tobacco Company comes an unorthodox concoction named in reverence to a military figure of revolutionary honors. An English fashioned blend, as it were, that calls to arms a readied campaign of shaded farrago. Entering the field with a jumble of deviceful construction, the peculiar Count Pulaski promptly advances for decorous recognition.

At outward appearances, this left of center tobacco presents a uniquely arranged amalgamation of convoluted individual elements. Forming its core is a shrilled mash that enfolds shag, plug-cut, and cube Burleys, Carolina flake, customary Virginia, and the reins of colluding Latakia, all tinted gingerly with a bittersweet streak of darkening anisette and seedy light-hearted rum.

Assessing this bulk specimen, it is fair to conclude that our Count was an indelicate figure of gritty construction. In particular, a roughhewing of chiseled tuffs projects an evincing face of absolute boiled chaos. Brawny in texture, these disorderly leaves wave a colorful banner of enlivening hues. Filling the breadth of its combative palette, an expanse of ecru, caramel, weathered bark, jaded mahogany to motley browns, some wearing the rigors of contended aging all told, conspire with the hardened finishings of slate black. Optimally moist and high in the saddle, Count Pulaski aspires to completely revolutionize the pipe of conscription.

As to the pouched airs, the basis of essence is sowed in a grounded earthiness that combines with the essentials of looming musty wood. Rising with secondary impulse are notes of settled creosote, native barnyard pointedness, and tracings of distant aged grass. Still, a modest hatched inference of sweetness coils with a dirty tart and an underpinning of spicy anise to further annotate the vibrance of native aroma.

And now on to my tale. My journey of discovery was quite battle worn with this one. Upon repeated occasions, I was stymied on how to best gather my thoughts for commenting on this particular tobacco. For you see, unquestionably, Count Pulaski is one of the most elusive English productions that I have ever experienced, and that is on a scale of many.

Admittingly, having freely smoked just a couple of bowls with no attempt to begin a formalized assessment, I was stricken by the blend’s seemingly calamitous nature. Namely, in lieu of the standard conventions for a proper English, I was jilted by its apparent waywardness and total disregard to following the scripted genre. Namely, this tobacco initially encountered as somewhat of a cross between the confused chameleon who has fallen upon a bag of Skittles and the megalith of consistent inconsistency.

Anyway, compulsion found me with the desire to continue its smoking. I did not believe my palate was despondent yet there was something strangely errant that necessitated clear understanding. Was it just a horrible mistake in blending? And as I continued, actually measuring the experience by my usual formalized methodology, I began to see what was previously alluding me.

In summing the matter up succinctly, with a moderate depiction of strength, Count Pulaski’s medium-full appeal engenders not just a “bi” but a “multi-polar” expressiveness within its central character and here is precisely why. The steadied baseline registration is commonly earmarked as a mellow but tightly homogenized English-centric production. Prevailing impressions bestow a standard character that tenders along effectively neutral, if not inhibited. In effect, the occurrence of moving nuance is extremely subtle in gesture for a conventional English entry.

As this quiet ebbing of harmonious flavor continues to flow, suddenly there are randomized and abrupt shifts in what transfers through. With little notice, a bewildering disturbance takes form in the free assault of deviated flavors. Specifically, an accentuated thrust of one of the components, a nuance specific to an individual leaf, or a flashing tinge of the additive coating gruffly commandeers the lead position. With that the colored pattern of taste evolves into something completely different. The depth, the peripherals, and the central aura assume the way of the chameleon.

Nonetheless in short order the profile reflexes with the resumption of its previously calmed pulse of mixed balance. Yet in this exchange what generally transpires is a scrambled cascade of flavorful unpredictability. Initially as you might well imagine, this brings a feeling of uncertainty as to its true nature. Setting aside all pre-convictions however, as I measured and then reflected upon the high marks the objective evaluation recorded relating to the genre, the trueness of its singular English beauty came into appreciable recognition in its own unique way.

This conditional outlandishness may be attributable to the influential aspects of the inclusive Virginia Flake, on that point I must speculate. It could also be a function of how the various leaves are dropped and seated within the bowl. Either way this tobacco daringly rebels against the known normality of a traditional English and frankly I find that to be fantastically alluring.

In brief I would categorize Count Pulaski’s usual profile as passively sweet with supporting heavier undertones of earthy wood and blended spicing. The general manner revolves between muted nuancing and the felt vibrance of the more brazen aspects of the darker Burley and Latakia expanding the depth of its excited fullness. And of course, let us not forget the mayhem of nonconforming taste trajectories launched from the Count’s sporadically firing cannons.

Qualifying the coatings themselves, they tend to evolve within the overall taste with lesser pronouncement. If anything, the registration does occasionally expose the presence of the applied anisette more cleanly in erratic pops of bright concentrated licorice liqueur notes. As to the rum, it may be that Pulaski has stowed the best for himself, for it is generally inconsequential, only throwing on some lighter white natured spiritedness that embellishes the colorized accenting with a grainy and sweetly astringent remarking.

Most obviously the collection of Burley is the premiered feature within Count Pulaski’s alternative taste profile. In being true to the contentious theme this blend engenders, it really comes down to a contest between the spicy oak wood of the Dark and a sugary walnut affluence coming from the White cubed variety. Overall, these strains shine brilliantly with an actual tannic disposition within the middle band of flavor. What is more, recordings of that classic sweet-sour element intertwine with a darker fruit that favors splendid plums by my accounting. Last, additional pleasantry is afforded with a bit of crisp minty highlighting and most importantly a full push of earthy spiced cigar like punchiness.

For the Latakia, it weighs heavier on the initial lighting and then postures comfortably in the background as a secondary factor of importance. Regardless, its emboldening presence plays out wonderfully in fulfilling this compulsory English trait. The leaf elicits features of smoky, slightly tarnished pungency on the whole. Moreover, it comes to extended reckoning with strong sourness, lenient sweet prune fruitiness and a final charge of herbal mustiness.

Resting on the bottom the wrestled Virginia advances with guarded sobriety. Characteristically there is a consistent citrusy orange-centric tang that emanates along with blades of shy lemony grass to form the required English base standard. Occasionally respectable cleavings of Red seasoned wood fall forward with cultured sweetness as well as the lighter graces of alfalfa floral accents.

Demonstrating exemplary mechanical performance and offering a boldly seasoned fragrance, Count Pulaski soldiers into the position of respectability. Texturally, it is not especially creamy, as a showing of roughness abrades the upper palate but nothing too detracting. And given the blend of tobacco contained with this complicated recipe, the landed effects of the nicotine are perceivably quite manageable by my judgement.

As I questioned within my opening comments, sometimes it behooves us to put aside our common experience as the gold standard for framing our point of reference. Trueness is a concept that is quite easy to grasp when openly presented. Nevertheless, sometimes we have to look beyond to discern this honest faithfulness. Like the whimsical chameleon, it just might be awkwardly concealed in a demonstration of what seems to be absolute deniability and certifiable oddity.

Objective Scoring: (basis: flavor, standard genre/leaf attributes & mechanicals): 199/236 ? 2.8 WAVG.

Subjective Rating: (factored for likeability & cost): 3.5 Pipes.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 30, 2013 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant
The base of the blend is the grassy, tart and tangy citrusy, bready, mildly sugary, vegetative Virginia. The variety of burleys provide a mix of molasses, earth, wood, nuts and a bare hint of spice. There's enough smoky, woody, earthy, musty, floral, sweet Cyprian Latakia to form an important subordinate position. The rum and anise (which you'll notice slightly more than the rum) match up well with the other components to create an English/aro that's a little off the beaten path. The strength is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is in that center. The taste barely reaches the medium mark. Won't bite or get harsh even when pushed. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a smooth, consistent, smoky, nutty sweet flavor. Leaves just a drop or two of moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a nice, short lived after taste, and pleasant room note. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks
26 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 04, 2006 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I heartily concur with the majority of the experienced pipe smokers here who are proclaiming Count Pulaski to be one of the finest tobaccos on the planet. This tobacco explodes with a variety of delightful taste sensations with every puff. I have also found (as have most of the other esteemed reviewers here) this to be one of the coolest burning blends on the planet.

I was recently given a pouch of this complex blend by a good friend (and former professional tobacconist) who said Count Pulaski was a bell ringer. I was truly fascinated by the combination of tobaccos and addition of just a smidgen of Anise.

Why this is not a tinned tobacco, I do not know. It is truly as fine a blend (English in nature) that I have ever smoked. It was at the perfect moisture content and had a very beckoning smell in the pouch. Once packed and lit, I experienced a rush of flavors ranging from Burley to Latakia with Virginia thrown in. All were complimentary and the burn was nice and even.

Finally, check out the various cuts in this blend. Cube and shag Burley, thicker Virginia ribbon, Latakia chunks and tiny bits of who knows what made for quite a visual show.

Not just recommended, but highly recommended!
18 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 18, 2009 Medium Mild to Medium Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Rich flavor, anise topping, nutty burley and latakia. This is a catch all for me, and I love it! Packs well, and burns great!
11 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 09, 2017 Mild to Medium Medium Mild to Medium Tolerable
This is a pretty decent blend from Sutliff and would fall into that American English/codger type blend. It is a little unique from many of the other blends in this genre with that slight licorice twang that is included in the topping.

The blend is big on burley flavor. Earthy and nutty sweet. The latakia is lightly applied but does its job of adding some smokiness to the experience. The topping is about medium applied. The topping was not too much to my liking and this is the primary influence on this receiving two stars versus three. Because of this point, I would rather reach for a C&D American English such as epiphany or Peter Stokkebye's English Luxury or Oriental supreme than this to scratch the same itch.

All in all it is still a pretty good blend and would mark a nice change up for either the Latakia smoker or the aromatic smoker.
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 08, 2012 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Review is based on one ounce that I received as part of a blind test. The cut and bag aroma made me immediately think it was a C&D blend. I never did guess this one correctly.

This tasted like a budget blend, or rather, more like your prototypical bulk "pipeshop" blend. From there I guessed it was some cheap Lane's product. Wrong again. The virginias in this one seemed pretty cheesy and tasted substandard. The burleys seemed fine and the latakia was light. This is an American English with an aromatic twist. Nice idea, not so good execution. The rum and licorice taste was prominent for awhile and then those cheap-n-cheerful virginias took over. The blend started out not too bad but descended into bland territory, but with a bitter, chemical flavor. This seemed to be a middle-of-the-road affair that might be useful when you're busy and just want something to smoke. Then again, there are other, better blends for that purpose in my rotation.

I was not surprised to learn this was an Altadis offering, as I've not had much success with them. I'm not sure to whom I'd recommend this tobacco but apparently some folks like it, so it's most assuredly for them. But definitely not me.
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
OSR
Nov 27, 2008 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Altadis is known for their less expensive pipe tobaccos and premium cigars. This blend definitely puts their other tobaccos to shame. If Count Pulaski was in a tin with a more prestigious label...... well, you'd probably think a lot more of it with a "known" label.

Some folks have blend bias when it comes to Altadis and while admittedly, some of their offerings are mundane, this isn't one of them. No, it's not supposed to be the second coming of Balkan Sobranie! Let the blend be what it is and you'll do much better than having a blend bias going in.

There is a mixture of cuts here that is intriguing. The tobacco arrived at the right moisture to smoke so I fired up a bowl in a trusty "latakia pipe" that never fails to tell me what is good, what is not so good.

The match to tobacco produced a nice taste of all of the ingredients, sans the anise. I didn't get much of a flavoring at all but did notice a very nice, though light spiciness of something in the flavor so I'll suspect that since there is no perique noted - this was the anise, I reckon.

The mixture of burley and VA played very nicely together with the latakia being present but not overwhelming. Could this be the Carolina Flake making the whole blend some together? There's just enough of whatever it is to keep the burleys from becoming boring.

More people have picked up on this blend. When you're looking for an English type blend with something a little different, Count Pulaski fits this bill in spades. The Count burns cool, dry and picks up a little strength towards the end but never got hot or harsh. Sublime.

I suspect the different burleys give this blend the firm, round flavor and lets the other tobaccos dance in the background but not so far back that you can't discern them. This is a fairly complicated blend that goes over quite well. I can't compare it to anything else I've tried so no sense in even going there.

Distinctly different in a good way. I can't make this tobacco smoke badly in any type of pipe. Overlook the packaging - this is a diamond in the rough for sure. Charming to think that such a quality blend is available this cheaply in bulk. Get over the Altadis bias and enjoy this medium bodied, complex blend of flavors.

*Update 11/08*

This is one of the most requested blends at our pipe club meetings. I do the buying for our tobacco bar and the group continually requests Count Pulaski. I lean to this blend in a large bowled pipe vs. smaller bowls.
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 29, 2015 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant
If you enjoy sweeter Latakia mixtures this is one to try. Not only is Count Pulaski very affordable, it's also a darn good smoke. The course cut helps create some appreciable complexities and the flavoring adds a fair amount of sweetness that can be tasted on the tongue as well as in the side stream. The casing is somewhat sticky but the burn rate is slow, providing a cool smoke with a surprisingly low amount of excess moisture.

Count Pulaski is rich, sweet and well nuanced. The base tobaccos lend a warm, bready flavor with hints of dark fruit & spice and are balanced well with the smoky latakia. Off the bowl, I get a distinct scent of toasted grain along with subtle hints of the rum and licorice. The room note is quite nice.

As much as I enjoy smoking this fine mixture, I must admit that it leaves my tongue feeling a bit ragged. As a result, this has to be smoked very slowly. Nevertheless, I would still recommend it. For what it’s worth, Count Pulaski tasted best to me in a wider, shallower bowl.
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 21, 2009 Mild to Medium Very Mild Medium to Full Very Pleasant
I don't know if this is the worlds best tobacco but it seems to have something for everyone. I've heard it called a Balkan, full English, light English and American/English crossover blend. To me it is just one really, really good tobacco and it gets much better if allowed to age some...say, 6 mos. This could easily be an all day blend for many smokers. 4 big stars.
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 23, 2010 Mild Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
Our local pipe shop has pipe days on Saturday so its free tobacco for pipe smokers. Tried Count Pulaski described as mild english mixture with mild aromatic. Fired it up in my Savinelli Autograph. I was really, really impressed with it. I'm not normally an English fan or latakia, but this was impressive. Mild, even burning, and the smell was very pleasant. The weather was pretty nasty today but my day went great after trying this blend. I was so impressed I ordered some on the spot. Great stuff. Can't wait to try it in a meerschaum.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 13, 2009 Mild to Medium Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I am not usually an English smoker as Latakia just wears on me after awhile though i do like a little of it as a spice as in C and D Tradewinds or Middletons Walnut and others but I heard so much about this blend that I had to to try it. Well, from the moment I lit a bowl in my Peterson, I was in utter heaven from beginning to end. While I could not make this an all day smoke, I sure am making it a staple to keep around as it is simply delicious. i have a thing anyway for a touch of anise or licorice in a lot of my blends this one is a perfect marriage and I would like it at any price but at Altadis pricing it is flat out a bargain. It is easy to light, stays lit, smokes dry, and has to me a great aroma and room note. I don't see how anyone might say this one is not a perfect blend to savor even for non aromatic smokers. I highly recommend at least trying it. If it had a Gawith name on it, it would have a huge following.
6 people found this review helpful.
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