Sutliff Tobacco Company Creme Brulee #701

I bought this blend based on reviews here and my general affinity for aromatics, but I really did not enjoy this at all. Marketing says it's creamy, has texture of vanilla, caramel, and honey. I would describe it as candy coated. I tried to dry it and my dry time seemed to make zero difference, and my blend stayed a sticky wet mess. I bet this blend would smoke better if I could smoke it slow, but I found I either had to puff it constantly, or re-light it. Because of that, I thought this blend was monotone. I'll try drying this for a week before I try it again, or maybe I'll mix it with something super dry.

2022-09-01 Update: I loaded this 3-year-old jar in a cob to see if age did anything to it. This is just hot air. There's a fine line between getting this blend hot enough to generate some flavor, but not so hot that it turned to acrid dumpster fire. And once you hit that sweet spot, it tastes like a weak imitation of BCA. This is an uninteresting, thoroughly forgettable tobacco.

Crème Brulee has got to be the aromatic lover's crème de la creme. It is very sweet & mild with a very attractive room note. I don't smoke many aromatics but read the description & bought a small one ounce sample to try. It is almost black as midnight in the pouch & the aroma is just awesome. Imagine a chef in the kitchen cooking up one of the finest & tastiest custard pies with a crunchy, buttery, glazed caramelized topping. It tastes & smells exactly like, well... Crème Brulee. You almost have to bake this in the oven for a while to get it dry enough to stoke your pipe bowl. It is the stickiest, moistest tobacco I've ever touched & can be used as a potpourri anywhere in the home or your vehicle. You'll need a wet paper towel after digging into the pouch to get the honey/sugary sticky stuff off your fingers.

Rather than baking mine in the oven, I just dried it over the stove top in a small pan, stirring occasionally until some of it turned a dark brown color and until a little dryer to the touch. Grabbed a handful and started gravity feeding my bowl & occasionally tamping until filled to the proper smoking level. I noticed some sizzling during the charring light & during the first few puffs. It develops a very good burn rate & is not the least bit harsh. It burns cool & requires a relight or two to get you started & doesn't create much condensation. From the pouch aroma one can expect the same flavor in this slow smoking blend & can be puffed on all day without discomfort.

The room note seems to add to the flavor nuance... whereas taste & smell combine to create a flavor. About halfway through the bowl you start getting a slight tobacco taste. If you like aromatic tobaccos with a mild taste & a heavy, delightful flavor, you can't go wrong with Crème Brulee. A burst of flavor & enticing aroma with every puff and it won't bite unless your pipe catches on fire. It leaves a buttery, sweet vanilla, caramel like, lingering flavor on the palate for a while after the smoke session. Based solely on the merits of an aromatic blend, it gets a high rating from this piper. I love an aromatic on occasion but prefer at least a medium strength but for those who prefer a milder option... this is one you might certainly enjoy.

Sutliff Creme Brulee has a jar note that is more honey forward to me with vanilla in the background. The taste flips this and it is more creamy vanilla forward with a little honey and caramel trailing behind. This is cased heavy enough that the tobacco flavors are muted and the sweet elements dominate the smoke. A nice change of pace for an after dinner smoke. However, this is very moist. I don't recommend drying it as the casing will lighten and I did not enjoy the tobacco taste which may mean it is less than A grade. In any case, lighting will cause it to hiss as whatever this stuff is cased and topped with boils off. It will leave the rim sticky and it takes a little time to clean off if you allow the tobacco to touch it. I also get a little prickly sensation on the tongue. It is not bite, it will go away after a couple of hours but it does mean that it cannot be an all day smoke for me. It does smoke wet so keep a pipe cleaner handy.

***Update 2020-11-30*** I have smoked 8 oz of this over the past year, I have to say it is rather growing on me. I have found that if I pack this a little lighter than I would normally pack my bowl it smokes better overall. Keeping it slow and steady seems to help with that prickly sensation with the tongue as well. I am adding the fourth star. This is a outstanding aromatic blend.

As others have noted, CB is very similar to Molto Dolce. But cheaper! And toned down some. Its not quite as soppingly drenched as MD, either, but it's still loaded with PG. It burns strangely well despite this, leaving some dottle and moisture behind. Never gets harsh or bites. I detect mainly vanilla and caramel, and though I wouldn't quite say the flavor is creme brulee, it is still very pleasant and different from other vanilla/caramel blends I've had. I do find that non-smokers generally prefer the room note of this to MD. Altogether a quite enjoyable aromatic dessert blend from Altadis...earns a solid 3 stars from me.

Like most others, this blend is hard to keep lit. It is very moist and not that good in flavor and taste. I added an oz. of lane IQ to one Oz of this Creme Brulee and it is much better.

Well this has got to be my favorite aromatic to date. What a great taste and pleasant room note. I tend to be an English blend smoker but I certainly have a few aromatics in my rotation and this bad boy is right at the top of my rotation. Really flavorful smoke that burns cool and stays lit well. Bite is mostly non exsistent. This gets better as it drys out but right from the bag is yummy.

THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES - I AM SMOKING A BOWL RIGHT NOW. MY WIFE LOVES THE ROOM NOTE AS DO IT. THE TASTE IS EXCELLENT! I HAVE A CLOSE FRIEND - BILL WHO LOVES IT AS WELL - HE IS GETTING TWO POUNDS FOR CHRISTMAS - I ALWAYS BUY 5 LBS AT A TIME - SO I HAVE 3 LBS FOR ME TO ADD TO MY STASH OF 5 LBS. I WOULD GIVE CREME BRULEE A 7 ON A 5 STAR SCALE.

I AM SHOCKED WHEN I SEE ANYONE RATING THIS BELOW A 4 STAR RATING - IT IS BEYOND EXCELLENT!!!!

I AM UPDATING THIS FOR 2023 - I STILL BUY 5 LBS AT A TIME - AND HAVE HAD NUMBER PIPE SMOKING FRIENDS TRY IT AND THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY SOLD! THEIR WIVES LOVE THE ROOM NOTE!! I DO ENJOY OTHER PIPE TOBACCO - FROM LANE 1-Q - SEVERAL OTHER SUTLIFF BLENDS - PETER STOKKEBYE BULLEYE - PROPER ENGLISH - OPTIMUM - AND THEN BALKAN SOBRANIE ON A LIMITED BASIS. MY FAV REMAINDS CREME BRULEE

I bought a creme brulee from a local tobacconists, not sure if it is atladis or abenaki (maybe they are similar). I found it to smell great in the jar, very moist and "gewy" so I let it air out for several hours. It lights easier than I expected, and sounds like fire wood crackling upon light up. Stayed lit ok, required relights, gurgles a bit at the end (I am a wet smoker anyways, especially in the bent stems I used on this blend) gave off generous amounts of smoke. The taste is one of my favorites and the room note is excellent. It is mild and did not burn/bite my tongue. After smoking I usually get an after taste or "cigarette like" taste, especially in the morning but I didn't really get it with this blend. I enjoyed it and will get more. In my opinion its worth a try, maybe just air it out a bit. Enjoy 🙂

Cream burley... After a pleasant shakedown cruise, thru a cob and several briars, I've come to the conclusion that this stuff is worthwhile. Hard to imagine anything with the texture of this stuff not being anything but a disaster, but like I said, worth having around. Lights easy, stays lit, and burns dry. Personally I did not have the goop problems others have mentioned, but maybe my tobacco was dryer. As with most burley blends, I find a sweeter smoke and pipe can be had if I stop the smoke, with small amount of tobacco still remaining in the bowl bottom. Amazingly, I found this stuff completely bite free, or for that matter, not even a tongue tingle appeared. No small thing with tobacco that has a almost sticky feel to it. As others have mentioned the aroma is almost custard like, very appetizing, which seems to comes thru mildly in the taste. As a blender or a straight smoke, I find it a fitter. Will I buy more? Maybe. My personal rating; 2.5/5