Sutliff Tobacco Company Voodoo Queen #523

I have dabbled very little in English blends, but this has got me begging for more. Though this is not specifically English, it is still amazing.

Upon false lighting I was immediately taken in back the smokiness of the Latakia, a wonderful fragrance. I proceeded to tamp and light for the second time and was amazed by how well this tobacco lights and expands. It expanded so much in fact, that I needed to tamp and light for a third time. This did not bother me, as I was desperately waiting for the flavors to wisk me away...and that they did!

For the first third of the bowl, I was greeted with a smokey/tangy flavor, I am guessing this is the Latakia and "Mocha slices". The flavor is just amazing, albeit I did not actually detect mocha or coffee. No matter.

As the bowl smoked down, I was seduced, entirely, by the spiciness of the Perique, as it mingled with the other flavors. This stuff is gonna do me in, I can feel it!

The Latakia took to the background as the sweetness of the VA/Burley cascaded the spiciness into a somber tang.

I had to tamp a bit as I smoked, the tobacco produces large chunks of ash that need breaking up, given the slices pressed format. (I'm guessing at that.) No relights, no bite, no regrets. Also burns a tad bit unevenly, but it was my first bowl, so who knows...

...but...

I am in love with the Voodoo Queen.

This is going to be a regular for me, and a re-order for sure.

Great non-standard English. There is a subtle chocolate-coffee flavor, but the main feature is Latakia, with a pleasant Perique background.

The way I've read some review this it's as if they are reviewing a totally different tobacco than what I received from pipes and cigars the other day. I got 4 ounces from them via us mail. It smelled great upon opening the bag. I personally love an English blend that has that sweet smell accompanying the latakia and this blend has that. Being a former cigarette smoker, I enjoy inhaling my pipe tobacco every now and then and whenever I damn well please and this one has that lovely, allusive little throaty hit I so crave in a tobacco. If a pipe tobacco is too mild in that regard I usually don't care for it too much. Voodoo queen is a great tobacco and I'm glad I ordered it. Edit: I've smoked about half of the 4oz I ordered so far and I can tell this tobacco is one I will have to keep in my permanent rotation. It's really good in the morning with coffee, but it's also good anytime of day. It is one of the most flexible, satisfying, and good smoking blends I've ever come across and there's been a LOT of them. Do not hesitate to try this if you enjoy a semi sweet English blend and if you like perique.

Really like this tobacco. I bought an ounce of this for some reason (I don’t remember why) and tried it for the first time last week on Christmas Eve. I only had a small bowl outside while cooking, but since I was at a party I didn’t get to savor it. But I knew that it was good.

Decided to have this as my last bowl of 2018, so I packed it into my Peterson lovat and headed to the garage. Super mild and flavorful, it just went down smooth as silk. No bite at all, even though I was puffing away pretty hard. Usually I take at least an hour on a bowl, but I got through this in 45 min. M drink on the side was an iced coffee with a little cream and milk, which was perfect and complemented the tobacco fantastically.

I’m not really that great at picking out notes and flavors, but for anyone looking for a mild, flavorful, and smooth-smoking blend, this should hit the mark. I plan to get plenty more in 2019.

I'm a fourth generation pipe smoker. My father, his father, and his father's father were all daily "all-day" everyday pipe smokers. As am I. We find that one blend that we both love and can can smoke all day, and we develop an exclusive loyalty to that blend. First, was McClelland. I had developed a comfortable relationship with this blender, only to have them close up shop. Then I found a relationship with Dunhill and Peterson. I was just getting comfortable when Dunhill closed up shop and the great Peterson hiatus began. I shifted around from blender to blender trying to find that one special blend I could rely on. Came close a few times, no cigar as they say. Then Peterson returns,. Guess what, the old taste buds have changed. Where I once found pleasure in these blends, they now came across as bland and lifeless to me. Guess I was hit across the the head by C&D's Latakia and nicotine strong blends. This is where Voodoo Queen comes in. Sutliff, of all blenders. Go fig. This blend really does it for me. A light Latakia, strong perique blend with a subtle aromatic quality that let's all the components shine through. Always interesting, never boring. A blend you can both puff away on without thinking and a blend you can sit back and ponder on. Sweet, sour, spicy, smokey, and unique. The perfect all day smoke, from sun up to sun down. I definitely recommend this blend,. Although it may be shade potent for the newbie, the experienced smoker is sure to find something of interest in the Queen. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Addendum: For some weird reason, the 1lb factory sealed bags of this blend contain less perique and more of the lighter shades ??? However, this is quickly corrected by adding the requisite amount of perique and allowing the mixture to set for 24 to 48hrs. You'll know when it's ready when it starts to put off that distinctive "stinky-foot cheese" smell perique lovers adore. I also like to add a splash of high proof rum at this stage as the factory one pounder is a shade on the dry side. The rum also adds a touch of sweetness and molasses that compliments the perique nicely. Bon Appetit

I've been smoking a pipe since 1972 - cut my teeth on English blends like Balkan Sobranie (white), Rattrays Black Mallory, Tinder Box Epicurean, Dunhill Standard Mixture, Nightcap, etc.. so over the years I think I've smoked 2/3 of the English style blends on the market. Never been a big fan of any Sutliff blends until now. One of the web stores had Sutliff on sale and I was wanting a break from Old Joe Krantz Red so I picked up a 2 oz package of Voodoo Queen. Man oh man - I instantly feel in love with this stuff.

First time to smoke was outside - upon lighting I discerned the grassy figgy taste of the virginia and of course the latakia - that wonderful sweet smoky flavor - the essence of English blends Then about halfway into the bowl the sharp, bitter, nutty taste of the burley and spiciness of the perique appeared - suddenly there was this really chocolate taste with a bit of spice and it combined with the smoky latakia for a truly wonderful smell and taste - exquisite. Couldn't really pick out the mocha until the last third of the bowl. The virginia had faded into the back ground and now it was just the bitter nuttiness of the burley, the spice of the perique, the incense like smell of the latakia and an overarching taste of chocolate and black coffee. I could hardly contain myself - this was just fantastic.

Second time to try Voodo Queen I was indoors - the characteristics were much the same but the chocolate smell & taste appeared earlier in the bowl and was more discernable.

This is a very complex blend and goes through many iterations in the smoking process that is worth paying attention to. Equally fantastic on the patio or in the den.

It burned cool (I'm naturally a sipper) - no bite whatsoever, required a few relights (once again because I'm a sipper), burned to the bottom of the bowl. Didn't really notice any nic hit but considering I've been smoking OJK Red lately, no surprise there.

Certainly could be an all day smoke, however, I reserve my smoking to after diner only - when I'm relaxing and pondering the day's events or perhaps tomorrow's. Would also be an excellent smoke to enjoy while reading.

Very light on the Latakia, my proper englishman has a much smokier latakia mix.

Really love this blend though, so far its my favorite out of very limited experience.

I must say that I did not expect this out of an Altadis blend. I opened the pouch and smelled what can be best compared to spicy gumbo. There was a notable amount of spice with a mellow undercurrent of earthy tones. It took a few tries to light this tobacco before it would give me a good burn. Ir started out mild with mostly earth and subtle coffee notes coming out. It soon graduated to a profile of chili powder and lime that you could tell was just starting to get comfortable. As this was beginning to remind me of Mexican food, the lime notes receded to a backup role and the chili pepper took control. This pipe tobacco covered my mouth with the spicy zing of Cajun food to the point that I needed a glass of water. Its intensity continued to increase until it abruptly dropped off at the end. Until the last puff of smoke had escaped my pipe, I sat at the edge of my seat waiting to see what would come next. This blend did not come out with the intention of pleasing everyone. I'm sure there are many who will not appreciate the bold, spicy character.

I'm trying to articulate what this tastes like but I'm at loss for words, I'll try my best though.

Tin Note: You know how "balkan" blends smell a certain way? or how "acadian" or "VaPer" blends also smell a certain way. Well this blend smells it's own way. It's not a combination or amalgamation of different Tobaccos that you can discern, rather they all combine to form something new and different entirely. It does not have that leathery latakia smell that many english and balkan blends have, nor does it smell hayish or grassy from the virginias. Closest thing might be if you were in the middle of a swamp and there was a dead tree, if you peeled the bark right off and smelled the bark.

Taste: Terms like "woody" and "earthy" don't mean much to me, but for lack of better words I'll use them. It smells as if there's a touch of mint (not menthol) in the smoke. This sweet-tree bark smell permeates the smoke, almost like sassafras bark. The perique is there and causes a non-burnning white-pepper taste; retroinhale doesn't burn and no notes of pepper there. Although the perique is very heavy it somehow is not overwhelming. As you go more down and down the bowl the perique becomes more peppery.

There's a certain uniqueness to this english blend that I have not experienced any where else. It's full bodies, rounded, has many many flavours to explore (and is an extremely complex smoke).

This goes in my top 5 blends of all time. No I am not joking. HIGHLY recommend.