Sutliff Tobacco Company French Quarter

A received a free sample of this from Sutliffe awhile back. So first off, thanks guys. I let it sit in my tobacco cabinet for 6 or 8 months before trying it out, so that might explain the pleasantly surprisingly low moisture content - at least of my tin. Presentation was thick ribbon cut. Tin note was a lovely melange of vanilla and coffee bean, with a subtle kiss of sweet liqueur. So far so good.

Took a light well and burned well, particularly for the style. When sipped slowly, I could taste the vanilla and coffee bean - another rarity for the style. When pushed, this blend seems to lose flavor and become rather bland, so slow smoking is definitely the way forward with this one.

Interestingly, for an American style aromatic that actually tastes a bit like the tin note, there was shockingly little room note. Mrs Perique, a connoisseur of room notes, described it as neutral - nonexistent. I expected quite the opposite.

The tobacco itself was extremely mild, virtually flavorles, as several previous reviewers have alluded to. Overall this one left me wondering what this delightful top dressing would taste like on some robust, good quality tobaccos. This blend burned hot and fast, as is typical of the style, but left a relatively minimal amount of flavored Cavendish and PG goop in the bowl.

Overall not a bad aromatic but far too mild. While enjoyed the top noting, the room note was comparatively lackluster. Not an awful blend (and this is a style containing some God-awful blends) but not likely one I would rush out to buy. A well done aromatic is always a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately this one falls just short of that level. Certainly not horrid, so two stars as this may be a good fit for someone who likes an extremely mild aromatic.

This is a fun one! French Quarter is a blast because it's so chunky, and has a lot of character. It's like a conversation that keeps moving in different directions, so there's a lot of corners that this one takes you around. Lots of scenery. I find this one very earthy, and it reminded me of good times while out camping. Personally, I like the chunky flakes in this one, and it took a minor, minor couple of lights to get going, but when it set, it went through the whole bowl. French Quarter made the best impression on me whilst having a sipping whiskey, and enjoying some good conversation with friends at the end of the day. It's fine, but nothing great...and certainly compared to their R-Blend, or other quality tobaccos in general.

I got a free tin of this as a sample. Perhaps the fact that I didn't have to pay for it colored my review slightly, but here's what I thought:

Has a kind of chocolatey-raisin smell in the tin. There appear to be some flake chunks in there that aren't quite fully rubbed, so it was a little resistant to charring. Took two charring lights to get it going.

Has a kind of toasted bread taste to it that's really unique. I like it. I wouldn't buy more, but it's pleasant.

The tin note is amazing--somewhere between coffee and fresh baked bread--but it is way too mild for my taste and I am a beginner. It burns evenly but takes some work to get going. It isn't a bad smoke, but the taste is very subdued. The room note is pleasant but not as pronounced as I expected, but I have to smoke outdoors.

Not real interesting, and the cut is odd. I love simple burley blends like Prince Albert and Velvet so I am very hard to bore, but contrary to the blurb, this tobacco succeeded. I will try at least once any blend with a reference to New Orleans, having lived there years ago. Perhaps to really honor the French Quarter it needs the flavors of fruits, nuts and liquor.

After trying and enjoying Maple Street, I thought I'd give a few of their other blends a try.

Upon opening the tin, I detected a faint vanila scent, but not much else. If there is a topping or casing, this vanila might have come from that, but I don't think so. In no way would I classify this as an aromatic.

The coarse cut produces little chunks of tobacco about the size of a BB, mixed in with a good amount of loose tobacco. Packing straight out of the tin vs. rubbing it out didn't seem to make that much of a difference in the smoking quality. It is a bit more moist in the tin that it appears, so I recommend drying it out a bit before smoking.

It was a bit resistant to charing, requiring a second match to properly char and a third to finally get a good light. It smoked best hot, requiring careful attention to avoid scorching the tongue.

The flavor was difficult to ascertain until I got to my second bowl. I suppose it comes closest to toasted whole wheat bread or perhaps a toasted bagel. Occasionally, I encountered a faint bit of soapiness mixed in, but it would fade in an out, not apparently timed with how far I was through the bowl.

Being generous, I gave this 2 stars. It wasn't bad enough to deserve a single star, and I suppose this flavor might actually be attractive to a different pallette than mine. That said, I won't be buying a second tin of Sutliffe's French Quarter.