Sutliff Tobacco Company Match 20

UPDATE: 03 SEPT 2011 – After finishing another 2 oz. sample, I can now safely say that this is NOT as close to the original Dunhill 965 as I previously rated it to be. The strength is a lot milder and the flavor, though it may have that hint of sweetness, is milder and not as pronounced like the original Dunhill 965.

Does it warrant a down grade on the recommendation? In comparison to the original Dunhill 965, I would say definitely down grade the recommendation. However, as a tobacco, it can still hold its own. Until further review the recommendation remains as is. However, I did down grade the strength and taste.

12/12/2010 - I got a sample of this tobacco last week along with my order of a few tins of original Dunhill blends (one of them being My Mixture 965). Without going into much details, comparing this to Dunhill's 965, I did notice that this blend has a hint of sweetness to it.

Is it similar to Dunhill? Personally, I can say that this is close. It's a good alternative (not a replacement) to the original Dunhill 965. Again, as I've stated in one of my reviews, only a Dunhill can be a Dunhill. It may not be similar to the original, but it's darn tootin' close and I LIKE IT.

While not identical to the Dunhill 965, a great alternative. The taste and room note are similar, but not as rich. Same creamy thick white smoke. A great smoke for the budget conscious piper(me). Sad that Dunhill is exiting the pipe tobacco market, this blend will serve as a decent stunt double. As soon as the budget permits, I will order more.

Update 3/2019: It agrees will. Mellows out to an even better smoke.

Being on a budget and reading these reviews, i just popped for a bit of this due to the price point and some respected reviewers claiming it's as good or close to the real thing. I don't know because I haven't had real 965.

I have and do love all the Frog Morton's and McClelland's 5110 which has given me a little experience and enjoyment in the realm of heavier Latakia blends.

When I came to this tobacco, I saw that it had my fave ingredient, but in lighter amounts with other tobacco's more in the forefront than the mixture's I have enjoyed previously. However, this 965 mixture is widely popular, so I had to try it.

I've smoked it for a couple of weeks and my experience is that it has a brown sweetness, some describe it as nutty, which I find to be prevalent also. This tobacco has a lot of differing flavors. I get mostly nutty, but an almost campfire smoke darkness comes in at the bottom end at times. Only very lightly sweet, like a nutty deep sweetness carries into the smoke.

On a few smokes, I felt I was losing flavoring at some points and got some mustiness, then admittedly cleaned my pipe. Wow, that made a huge difference. After a thorough pipe cleaning, this tobacco's flavoring roared as my first bowl. All the flavorings I mentioned earlier had much more depth and nuance and no mustiness was present. I'd encourage one and all to make sure to be smoking this stuff in a fairly clean bowl as a musty pipe can cause much of the flavoring to become muted. That's my experience.

I'm not one to have a complete favorite amongst my tobacco's. I love the dark english blends, and I really love some other blends that have a lot of Perique.

(edit): Presently, I've smoked the 965 by dunhill. Also, subsequent to my previous review I uncovered the flavor is oriental that I taste so prominent in this. 965 isn't a great favorite of mine at this point in my journey, but I can safely say that this is a really great match to it. I can tell them apart slightly, so I can't see stocking up on real 965 with this in my cabinet.

I've never smoked the version of 965 that this is a supposed match too, but I can say it has very little resemblance to the current version.

The Latakia and Orientals are somewhat balanced and the Cavendish provides a strong, sweet base. While this is a tasty and enjoyable smoke it seems to be lacking in fullness. As reviewer CJBas stated it's just a touch thin. It's still a good smoke though. 3 stars.

This is a nice Lat/Oriental blend, each about equal in importance, the Latakia really being upfront and the Orientals giving all the other notes. When I start a bowl, it seems all Latakia for the first quarter, but after that the Orientals taken equal time. Like most blends with Cav (at least for me), it can bite a little, but unlike some it's easy to stop just by slowing down a bit. If you like some measure of balance between the Latakia and Orientals, and aren't looking for a powerhouse of a blend, this is worth trying

It's been several years since I last smoked some of Dunhill's 965, so to compare the two I'll have to depend on a no-doubt fallible memory. I've read that the sense of smell, and the memory of smells, is the most accurate of our memory sensations and I must say that I remember Dunhill's version of this as being richer and fuller though there is a family resemblance. Dunhill, if I remember correctly, pushed the latakia until is was almost, but not quite, too much. Altadis, evidently being on the safe side, does not push it quite to the limit.

Altadis' version does have a similar creaminess to is and does have the underlying sweetness that Dunhill's had. But this tobacco seems somehow thinner than Dunhill's; an honest attempt to come up with something similar but never quite willing to push the envelope enough.

It is however, a pretty good tasting English blend. Altadis makes several pretty good English blends and this is one of them. I've tried 3 of their other attempts to replicate Dunhill English blends and they seem rather timid, like this one does. They are all quite good, and if any one of them was the only English I could ever get I'd gladly smoke them. But Altadis makes better English blends of their own, much better.

May, 2010. This boend grows on me. The more I smoke it the more I like it. Try it with coffee and chickory if you havea chance. It's like they are made fof one another. This probably won't be my go-to smoke becauseit does require a person's attention to fully enjoy it. but I will be keeping some of this around for times when I can devote my full attention to it.

3rdguy

I think this is a pretty good match overall! If you enjoy 965 I highly recommend trying it. The Latakia really shows as you pour it out on your plate, it is definitely not over the top in the smoke. The orientals really came through for me. Seemed perfect moisture wise however it has required frequent relights (which does not concern me much personally).

A very enjoyable smoke.

I bought 4 of the Match Dunhill’s more out of curiosity than anything else. Disclaimer, (tongue in cheek) I am not a Master Blender nor a professional tobacco taster. With that being said I found the tin note to be similar to 965 but the tobacco cut was coarser. I did find that it smoked and and tasted similar to 965. Note the key word is similar which I have used three times already. I do not except any match blend to taste exactly like that being copied. The match tastes a little sweeter and several other reviewers have noticed the same thing. I like it and it is not a bad blend. Maybe like some others have said they should have blended it with unflavored Cavendish. To wrap this one up is it like, similar, (fourth time to use adjective) to 965, yes, would I buy it again, yes.

Bag note is quite similar to the real thing, woody, leathery and a little musty, though somewhat subdued.

Looks and packs like 965, though it may appear less aged.

Smoking confirms the similarity. It has what Dunhill's original has, but slightly less of everything, and the tobacco seems a little less "settled in", and thus a tiny bit less harmonious and homogenous. But this is minor nitpicking, Sutliff has made a copy that gives you 90 per cent of the real thing, at a really low bulk price.

Just enough Latakia to make things interesting, but the oriental tobaccos are the main players here, sweet and sour and nutty. The Cavendish evens things out and adds mouthfeel, but it remains a slightly lighter and "thinner" smoke than 965. Perhaps less nicotine too.

There is some sweetening in here that may be a bit more prominent than in the original, but some storing will probably make this less noticeable. All in all a very good tobacco. Clearly a three star blend, as the original is.