Sutliff Tobacco Company Mild Burley J4

When I smoke an aromatic, I appreciate the flavor of Vanilla. I am also a Burley lover, but, I am also a fan of strength. So, I mixed this 80/20 with Five Brothers (A super stout shag Burley that absorbs the flavor of other blends while firing off cannon shots of nicotine). For once, I made a blend that roared!

For those of you who enjoy the flavor of Vanilla mixed with Burley but do not like strong tobaccos, I think this one will satisfy you. Good stuff!

Pipestud

Smooth vanilla topped burley. Puffed it like a train with no signs of bite.could smoke this all day rotation. All in all a decent smoke. Better than drug store flavored tobacco

I received a pouch of J4 Mild Burley along with an order from a well-known etailer and figured, “Why not.” I'm usually a bit leery of free blends, but I like burleys and felt it might be OK. It must be noted that I am not usually an aromatic smoker.

The pouch presentation is of a uniformly light-brown, relatively short-cut ribbon. As soon as I opened the pouch I was met with a somewhat strong vanilla aroma. That same aroma is obvious in the charring light, and throughout the bowl. I like vanilla; the flavor is often written off as “plain”, but it comes from orchids and, to me, is rather exotic. The tobacco is relatively moist in the pouch, and after sitting open over night it remained moist, indicating a fair amount of PG was used in processing.

Unlike a lot of aromatics, J4 seems OK both on relights and also after being DGT'd. To me this indicates two things; first, the tobacco used is relatively good stuff, and second, the vanilla flavoring is of good quality.

The smoke stays cool and even, with little change or nuance, from first light to the last puff. Several people told me that the room in which I smoke smelled like French Vanilla, and so a very pleasant room note. In all honesty, the vanilla, while obvious, is never overpowering. The taste is quite sweet, more than straight Virginias, which is unusual for a burley and so must be from the topping.

The burn of the tobacco is even and easy, and it stays lit. There isn't a lot of ghosting from the flavor. I would call this a light aromatic. J4 reminds me of Burley Light Without a Bite, in appearance and smoking flavor. As aromatics go this one is quite pleasant. I would recommend it to aromatic smokers who like vanilla, or to any smoker looking for a slightly sweeter than usual change of pace. Those seeking a light burley, but not wanting the aromatic side, will want to look elsewhere. As a non-aromatic smoker it isn't a blend I'll ever buy, but judging impartially I would have to say that J4 is a pretty nice offering, and one I wouldn't turn down if offered a bowl at a Pipe Club meeting.

This tobacco is exactly what it says it is, a mild burley. And it's a pretty good mild burley. It has everything you'd expect in a burley; a mild natural sweetness, nutty flavor, real tobacco taste and aroma. And it doesn't taste like it has anything at all added (another positive for being what it says it is).

It is easy to light, smoked to the bottom of the bowl without a relight, does increase in strength as you near the bottom of the bowl (as expected) but never really has a foul taste even to the last puff. Like most tobaccos it will bite if you force it to but you'd have to force this to bite. And it leaves a pleasant after taste.

Don't come to this tobacco looking for any flavorings or complexities. They aren't there. That's not what this is all about. It does have a pleasant tobacco aroma, but again if you're looking for an 'aromatic', this is not what you're looking for.

It's more gentle than what I usually expect from a 'codger' burley like PA or CH. In fact, this tobacco almost tastes innocent by comparison. It does not lack for flavor when compared to those tobaccos, it's just more whey faced.

If you're interested in a blending tobacco this will probably blend well with almost anything or make for a good base to start a blend with. Or if you're interested in flavoring your own tobacco this will probably take on a topping quite nicely.

There are a lot of burleys out there to be tried. This one is probably about as clean and unadulterated as you will find.

Not gonna lie here, I really did not expect much from this one. Came free as a sample in an order I placed. I thought "oh boy, they cant sell the stuff so they are giving it away". Also the name led me to believe it wasn't very good. J-4? Not even worthy of one of those silly pipe tobacco names? like brimingshire forest? or country side escapades? Whatever, I put in in a bowl and fired it up.

I have to admit it is not that bad. It is not spectacular by any means, but enjoyable. It is pretty sweet, and needs some drying time, but I couldn't help but think this was a sweeter take on the tradition american OTC burleys.

Sometimes Altadis blends get poor reviews based on prejudices. This may be one such blend. It is not bad at all. It performed better than I thought it would. this would make a nice blend to keep in the tackle box.

Recommended.

The name for me was misleading, Mild Burley had me expecting just that, but in reality this blend is a mild vanilla aromatic. However, it is a very good mild vanilla aromatic, did not for this vigorous puffer bite in the least. The vanilla flavor is there from start to finish but does not overwhelm and the PG seemed to be applied in moderation, at least for Altadis. I will seek this out when I have a hankering for good vanilla aromatic.

My "thoughtless" smoke. It has a nice one-dimensional neutral sort of nutty taste, a decent nicotine hit, and it burns nicely. No harshness or risk of tongue bite whatsoever. I would not even classify this as an "aromatic", although some may, only because it is very pure and high quality with hardly any casing at all. The only slight downside is that it builds up moisture rather quickly. The best way to describe this blend would be to say that this is what pipe smokers should turn to if they want the licentious qualities of a cigarette.

Wet in the package, but dried nicely. Smoked the whole way to the bottom in one light. Pretty good flavor. I was getting a slight taste of figs in this-- Not my particular favorite, but it wasn't really overwhelming and was still an enjoyable smoke. I'd recommend it.

I too received this neat little blend as a gift from an etailer and decided to give it a run.

J4 would be what I consider a tolerable aromatic [I've move further into VA's and English blends]. The casing is light and the aroma is pleasing to the Mrs. I like the smell of the smoke when I draw through my nostrils. However, for me it is bland and has that bitter aftertaste I associate with Burleys (which reminds me why I've decided to get away from aromatics)

I would recommend this to aromatic smokers who want a more cleaner tasting tobacco. It's good enough that I will not be discarding it but I would not deliberately go out and purchase any for myself.

2011.01.20

Okay, as others have suggested, I let the pouch air out for a good 24 hours and must say that the bitterness has somewhat dissipated. The tobacco is much more sweeter and smells somewhat caramel-like. Because the bitterness has gone, I'm upping this to three stars instead of two!