Sutliff Tobacco Company R Blend
(3.11)
A blend of Bright flake, Red Virginia, Burley cube cut, Latakia and Perique with a mild fruit flavor. Reminiscent of House of Windsor "Revelation".
Details
| Brand | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Series | Sutliff Private Stock |
| Blended By | Carl McCallister |
| Manufactured By | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | American |
| Contents | Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Fruit / Citrus |
| Cut | Coarse Cut |
| Packaging | 1.5oz tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 04, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
The HoW version left me with a bad impression all the way around, from the dullness of the burley to the relative lack of sweetness, depth, and flavor of the Virginia and the burley. In the Match, the medium brown Virginia has a mildly natural tangy citrus sweetness while the burley sports some earthy points, plus a light nuttiness. The perique is very lightly added for a hint of spice, hardly noticed in the HoW. The Cyprian latakia brings very mild smokey, woody bass notes to give this mixture a slight flavor push. There’s a mild fruity rum topping that tastes better than the one HoW used, and slightly more obvious, too. The HoW version tended to have a cardboard taste that turned bitter near the finish, and smoked hot unless you sipped it. None of these qualities are true of the Match. This is more well rounded, smoother with no bite, and the components work together with greater consistency than the original. The nic-hit is mild.
-JimInks
-JimInks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 2014 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
I know I've said this before, but at my Rum Project website, we've tasted hundreds of good spirits, not least rum and a number of good Scotch whiskies. It goes without saying that these are well accompanied by a good pipe or cigar. As a spirits reviewer I'm always concerned with balance, harmony but without losing interest, ie complexity. It's a fine line. When any one element shouts out to the detriment of the others, it can be jolting. This "R" are pretty nice tobacco, and at least for me strikes a lovely balance. The elements - burley, virginia, latakia and perique are all there, all discernible, but no one of them crowds the others.
They get along like the sociable patrons at my favorite Irish pub. Lots of conversation, but you can hear all of them. No loudmouths, at least not in the pipe. One of the other reviewers called this a VaBur with touches of latakia and perique, and I'll surely agree with that. I can imagine Albert (Einstein) sitting back after a day of hard thinking, to just drift away in this blend's pleasantness.
As has been well said the tin note is a simply beautiful deep, dark fruit and tobacco. Nice coarse cut, and just enough moisture to just pack and smoke. Simple gravity fill, with another pinch to finger tamp it down, light a couple times, toss your feet up and reeeeeelax. It's roasted nutty tobacco, with just the right sweetness, one could imagine the deep, dark fruity aromas, but little more than imagination. It's kind of an old codgery, but at the club kind of feeling. The burley peeks forward now and again - very nice - but recedes back into the virginia, with the latakia and perique always there to add a pleasant spice and smokiness.
This blend is so very easy to smoke, and so very pleasant. Now I know this shows up as an English, and perhaps for some it is. But for me I'd rather call it an American English, an expat who plays nicely by the rules. I dig it, and will buy it again...as blends go these components know how to play together.
They get along like the sociable patrons at my favorite Irish pub. Lots of conversation, but you can hear all of them. No loudmouths, at least not in the pipe. One of the other reviewers called this a VaBur with touches of latakia and perique, and I'll surely agree with that. I can imagine Albert (Einstein) sitting back after a day of hard thinking, to just drift away in this blend's pleasantness.
As has been well said the tin note is a simply beautiful deep, dark fruit and tobacco. Nice coarse cut, and just enough moisture to just pack and smoke. Simple gravity fill, with another pinch to finger tamp it down, light a couple times, toss your feet up and reeeeeelax. It's roasted nutty tobacco, with just the right sweetness, one could imagine the deep, dark fruity aromas, but little more than imagination. It's kind of an old codgery, but at the club kind of feeling. The burley peeks forward now and again - very nice - but recedes back into the virginia, with the latakia and perique always there to add a pleasant spice and smokiness.
This blend is so very easy to smoke, and so very pleasant. Now I know this shows up as an English, and perhaps for some it is. But for me I'd rather call it an American English, an expat who plays nicely by the rules. I dig it, and will buy it again...as blends go these components know how to play together.
Pipe Used:
Big Ben nosewarmer
PurchasedFrom:
Local tobacconist
Age When Smoked:
Not sure, but surely an older tin
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2014 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
Sutliff Tobacco Company - R Blend (Sutliff Private Stock)
Picture a nice grassy and lightly sweet VaPr with its trademark long malty/milky/peppery finish, and perch a sturdy rider of nutty burly on top, holding a small torch of smoky latika to light the way, and then set it loose to announce the arrival of the British, and you have R-Blend. Towards the end of the middle third the rider starts to droop in the saddle a bit, but the VaPr underneath carries the day to the finish line. A very nice and well balanced smoke that no doubt will find traction with VaPr fans who find most English blends a bit too latika heavy for their tastes. A great smoke for outdoor grilling & barbecue.
I give this 3 1/2 stars (out of 4), which I'm forced to round down to 3, since this site doesn't support halfsies. I'd like to give it 4, but I just can't quite do it (although I may change my mind after a few more bowls). Add half a star if you're a latika fan. Recommended.
Misc Addendums:
> My tin seemed to burn a tiny bit fast and hot. The coarse cut seemed very slightly on the dryish side of perfect, perhaps due to the slightly too-roomy tins Sutliff seems to favor for their modest 1.5 oz fill levels. If you sip slowly, all is well, but if you puff too fast, the latika and perique can start to tag team your tongue a bit, like licking a weak 9v battery.
> I dont find any trace of the fruityness mentioned in sutliff's product description.
Picture a nice grassy and lightly sweet VaPr with its trademark long malty/milky/peppery finish, and perch a sturdy rider of nutty burly on top, holding a small torch of smoky latika to light the way, and then set it loose to announce the arrival of the British, and you have R-Blend. Towards the end of the middle third the rider starts to droop in the saddle a bit, but the VaPr underneath carries the day to the finish line. A very nice and well balanced smoke that no doubt will find traction with VaPr fans who find most English blends a bit too latika heavy for their tastes. A great smoke for outdoor grilling & barbecue.
I give this 3 1/2 stars (out of 4), which I'm forced to round down to 3, since this site doesn't support halfsies. I'd like to give it 4, but I just can't quite do it (although I may change my mind after a few more bowls). Add half a star if you're a latika fan. Recommended.
Misc Addendums:
> My tin seemed to burn a tiny bit fast and hot. The coarse cut seemed very slightly on the dryish side of perfect, perhaps due to the slightly too-roomy tins Sutliff seems to favor for their modest 1.5 oz fill levels. If you sip slowly, all is well, but if you puff too fast, the latika and perique can start to tag team your tongue a bit, like licking a weak 9v battery.
> I dont find any trace of the fruityness mentioned in sutliff's product description.
Pipe Used:
Dr Grabow Freehand Briar (Group 4)
PurchasedFrom:
(sample from friend)
Age When Smoked:
Unknown
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 02, 2017 | Mild | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Note: Smoked in a blind review.
Very chopped ribbon, including a lot of little pieces. Light to black pieces, so I expect Virginia, burley, and Cavendish. Bag note: sweet. Maybe a hint of fruit and vanilla Smoke: starts off with a smoky note, which I did not expect. Not sweet or fruity. Add the bowl settles in, a thicker mouthfeel develops, and bounces back and forth between very mild English and very mild aromatic. Maybe a kind of berry? I'm not great at this. The fruit gets stronger for the second half of the bowl. I still can't place it. Not peach, apricot. I don't think it is cherry or raspberry. Overall, a very pleasant, soft smoke. Doesn't bite. Stays lit. Hint of fruit sweetness and smoke. I would recommend this to a new smoker.
Very chopped ribbon, including a lot of little pieces. Light to black pieces, so I expect Virginia, burley, and Cavendish. Bag note: sweet. Maybe a hint of fruit and vanilla Smoke: starts off with a smoky note, which I did not expect. Not sweet or fruity. Add the bowl settles in, a thicker mouthfeel develops, and bounces back and forth between very mild English and very mild aromatic. Maybe a kind of berry? I'm not great at this. The fruit gets stronger for the second half of the bowl. I still can't place it. Not peach, apricot. I don't think it is cherry or raspberry. Overall, a very pleasant, soft smoke. Doesn't bite. Stays lit. Hint of fruit sweetness and smoke. I would recommend this to a new smoker.
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