Sutliff Tobacco Company English Oriental #400341

I had a bend in my rotation that most everyone gave a 4 star, BUT due to the advertising and popularity it became very scarce and very expensive I dropped as it became only ones with deep pockets like Bill Gates or those who had access to taxpayer dollars like our elected Governmental officials could afford it. Its name was eh, er .. " perchanze or something similar" I still have 6 ounces cellared and hope to one day with its escalating price trade it for a Mercedes,LoL, Bit I digress!

In my search for a blend with similar qualities I found the blend Sutliff's English orientals I really like this tobak as its close to the one mention I said close, but not a perfect match. I Really like English blends and this is a great smoke Try it and see if you don't agree that its worthy of the comparision and deserves to be your rotation! Have I ever steered you wrong? hoo-boy

While this blend will not wow you with any especially apparent unique or delicious flavor, it is a very nice relaxing tobacco that is economical to acquire and a pleasure to smoke. It lights and burns well and has little if any unpleasant bite. There does seem to be a tiny bit of a topping, it just has a hint of that type of flavor and it is produced by Altadis. You won't notice a copious amount of smokey Latakia here just a pinch for seasoning. All in all a very nice smooth and again, quite economical English style blend. It pairs nicely with jasmine green tea, while enjoying a good book and listening to Steeleye Span. Recommended.

I am not an aromatic fan and passed on anything with Altadis in the name for a long time. In my search for an affordable daily smoke I stumbled onto this at my local B&M without asking the blender, which I need to do more often as this turns out to be somewhat of a stunner.

Aroma is rich... Latakia forward with some sweetness and a touch of something musky, the Perique I'm assuming. It's a black and brown ribbon cut with a couple of chunks of burley which makes it as pleasing to look at as smelling it.

Match to pipe is a unique experience. The initial light was almost disappointing, like hot air... after the tamp and relight it develops into something really special. If you are a fan of Orientals this is a must try. I found it a much more satisfying experience than EMP with as much or more aroma and natural sweetness and it burns easily with no relights all the way to nothing. Found it works best for me gently sipped in a medium size Lovat.

At this point in time it's not going to replace anything in my rotation but it will be added. The tin prices in the socialist state of Washington are absurd and this will fill the need of something affordable... hey, for the price, this one's a serious contender and I see pounds of it in my future. Finally a bulk priced winner. Way to go Altadis! Highly recommended.

*******Update 07/02/12.*******

It's been 2 weeks since my initial review and a month since I first tried this blend. I gave it a go in my clay pipe which is usually reserved for cool smoking VA's to try and distinguish some flavors. You may now find me in my overstuffed leather chair with said clay pipe, drooling all over myself in a semi-catatonic state sometimes mumbling incoherently whilst consuming as much of this as I can stand from a stimulant standpoint. I have pounds of "high end" tobacco's just sitting waiting to be smoked that are now second to this blend... It has replaced everything in my rotation sans Presbyterian.

The buttery sweet Smyrna provides a wealth of earth, wood, floralness, vegetation, herbs, some spice and sourness as the lead component. The very nutty, earthy, woody, sweet, bready AAA burleys offer important support. The earthy, woody, musty, floral, sweet, vegetative, incense-like Cyprian Latakia is a tad above the secondary support position. Giving it some competition is the very tart and tangy citrusy, grassy, vegetative, bready, sugary, floral, mildly spicy lemon Virginias. The St. James perique offers plenty of earth, wood, stewed fruit (plums, raisins, figs), and spice. It competes with the Virginias in terms of effect, and often surpasses it. The fruit topping very mildly tones down the tobaccos. The strength and nic-hit are medium. The taste is a step past that mark. No chance of bite or harshness, but the tingly spice is potent enough that I suggest a moderate puffing cadence. Has a few small rough edges. Well balanced with some complexity, it burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a mostly consistent, deeply rich, sweet and spicy, floral, nutty, spicy campfire flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is tolerable. Barely leaves any dampness in the bowl,and requires an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and repeatable under any circumstance. Three stars.

-JimInks

Altadis' English Oriental is a very tasty tobacco. It's a light English, favoring Virginias and Orientals rather than heavy on the latakia. Latakia is there and in good proportion to give it flavor, but not enough to give the tobacco a deep base note that heavy latakia blends have.

Being heavy with Virginias it can bite if smoked too strongly. But the Virginias also give the tobacco a natural sweetness that gets better as it is smoked. There's no sour or foul taste at the bottom of the bowl. In fact the bottom is more flavorful than the top and I'm always sorry to see the bowl end.

The pieces are fairly large and springy, though not overly moist by any means. But this does make it slightly difficult to lead a normal sized bowl, something I don't find a hindrance to enjoying this tobacco at all. That does make it tempting to pack too tightly however, something that will make it hard to get it lit at first but even then, once lit, there's no problem in keeping it lit. When packed for optimum lightability (if that's a word) a bowl of English Oriental doesn't last as long as I usually expect a bowl of tobacco to last. It's not that the tobacco burns quicker than any other, it's just that it smokes best when not packed as firmly as others (thus using less tobacco). For this reason I prefer to smoke this is a big bowl.

While I wouldn't mind smoking this all day, it's naturally sweet enough to be a dessert tobacco, something I can't say about most English blends I've smoked. If you like aromatics and want to try some English blends to work into your rotation I strongly recommend giving this a try. If you're a fan of English tobaccos already then this may be something you'd like for the lighter, sweeter, end of the lot. It's very good for what it is. And like all other Altadis blends, it comes at a very good price.

I'm constantly surprised at the quality of Sutliff blends. This is an very good blend. Although I'm not sure why it's called "English Oriental" since it's not especially "Oriental-y". It's just a nice English blend. The Orientals are there, and definitely noticeable, but it's the Perique and Burley that make it stand out from a usual English in my opinion. It's rich and smokey and decidedly "English-y"... then that Perique gives it a little spicy complexity. And the second half of the bowl is even better than the first. The burley adds weight and substance to the smoke more than anything else.

Bottom line: Just a rich, full English blend definitely worthy of a try if you like English blends.

For the price you pay what’s not to love? If you’re a daily smoker you’re always looking for the next best tobacco to add to your rotation without breaking the bank. This is that tobacco. While the first bowl might be underwhelming give it another go and the subtle flavors will surprise you

I’m fairly new to smoking tobacco and I’ve found this blend to be exactly what I’m looking for. It’s not the best tobacco in the world far from it but it serves a purpose. It’s a nice smoke while driving or during a lunch break at work. However due to the strength of the aroma probably not the best smoke while hanging out with others who do not partake. Highly recommend if you’re a daily smoker.

Over the years, by great fortune, I have had the distinct pleasure of smoking an assortment of non-aromatic and aromatic blended concoctions. And if the truth were to be known, perhaps one of my favorite types of blending is a solid Turkish/Oriental forward Latakia-based production or more affectionally the common Oriental featured English. In fact, decades ago, it was Peter Stokkebye’s very own English Oriental Supreme that first blessed me with the splendor of Latakia-based mixtures including my inauguration to the liveliness of Turkish/Oriental tobaccos, and what a lovely discovery that was my friends.

In that vein, branching out to try competing blends just as a reasonable sanity check to my preferred convictions seemed like an appropriate measure, and hey, it’s always fun to try something new at that. One of these alternative offers, in particular, struck me with keen curiosity and was therefore earmarked for eventual acquisition. Well by chance, last year throughout my endless travels, I just happened to stumble upon an inviting glass cannister of the subject blend sitting in one of the miscellaneous B&M’s that I purposefully explored. Without an ounce of hesitation, I absconded with a healthy sampling purchase and have since re-bought this blend on a couple occasions.

Being somewhat remiss on the targeted quick reviews of English mixtures that I promised to do, I thought it was time to pick back up the pen and hammer out yet another for your consideration. As such, please take kindly note to a simple discussion of Sutliff Tobacco’s English Oriental as the branded featuring.

Generally speaking, one finds that Sutliff English Oriental presents a mild-medium smoking excursion as it lists as one of their many genre-focused product selections. As an affordable bulk offering, this blend is designed to premier the best of a Turkish/Oriental dominant English. Creating a rather integral recipe in response, Sutliff’s straight non-aromatic mixture combines choice Oriental strains, Burley, Virginia, Acadian Perique and of course Cyprian Latakia, a classic solution to an embellished English smoking alternative for all practical appearances. The blending excellence is categorically above average in qualified achievement by my objective assessment.

In terms of my pre-smoked evaluation, English Oriental demonstrated an excellent rating concerning its natural state scoring at the ninety-fifth percentile. Essentially, the blend presents a wholesome representation of both original visuals and standard pouched aroma. As a denser ribbon cut production, English Oriental offers a multi-hued facing of biscuit/tan, gold, reddish copper, and striated browns to minimized ebon flecks. From the bulk pouch a crispy clean air of campfire smokiness entertaining a bright tartness swirling with a colorized fragrant of musty spice projects with medium intensity. The assortment of constituent tobaccos is presented with optimum moisture that ultimately results in an easeful exercise of packing and lighting of the pipe.

Key points of the assessment:

An overall 2.7 measured scoring. Applying subjective factors relating to personal likeability and experienced enjoyment, however, I will finally award this one a basic 3.0 to 3.2 rating, depending upon the specific pipe deployed. The better practiced smoking experience unmasked itself with the use of a medium to deep and wider bowled briar, @ Savinelli 673 KS.

For the related genre, English Oriental scored exceptionally well overall at 87% in effectively modeling the standard and desired attributes of the category. The quantifying pattern of trial smoking sessions disclosed reasonable movement in the flavor streams and some nice mellow smokey, sweetened spiciness to its base character overall. In terms of the various leaf-based flavor standards, the tobaccos performed realistically well at 81% in capturing the true qualities of the respective strains.

Largely, English Oriental endows a genuinely nice mellow relaxed flavor, yet not overly complex at that, but rather quietly nuanced instead. On this one critical feature I scored the tobacco to be marginally minimized as a result. Namely, despite what one might expect due to Sutliff’s involved recipe, this docile blend affords a modest level in enlivening charisma, achieving an average to a more composed ranking conclusively. Perhaps this development speaks to the tighter melding of its individual flavor streams, or more so, the roundness of its construction. Either way perceivably a slight demerit in the end given the purist in me, but not to be necessarily perceived as a relegating or shamed weakness.

Repeated trials also revealed that the ensuing strength, depth, flavor presence and accenting to be about average by scaled measure and by comparative experience. The blend showed much stronger marks nonetheless in smooth tightly balanced consistency all the same. With respect to the three tier composite flavor bands, I discovered the bass line to be a little bit on the weaker side of influence whereas the middle and high tier presented a much more robust registerable character, which served to suppress the notation on the bottom layering of flavoring.

Regarding basic mechanical performance, English Oriental fared well in all classed segments relating to characteristic burn properties, overall consistency, ensuing fragrance, and recordable nicotine effects. These tobaccos are therefore easy to smoke offering a venture in consistent abiding comfort and pleasurable appeal as a key differentiator, a big positive unquestionably.

Strength/intensity: English Oriental is very much a mild to medium excursion and does lend itself to a nice accommodating all day undertaking. Going off my own history, I could easily see this mixture as a proper tempered introduction to new English or Oriental smokers. As previously mentioned, the tobacco presents the general attributes of the genre and the comprising leaves effectively in a somewhat biddable and simple manner.

Baseline: Virginian. This component offers sweetened tang, warm caramel nuance, and pleasant woody-grassiness. There is a modest floral quality to the strain’s character, as well as minor notes of bread and general tart.

Forward mid-band taste: Turkish/Oriental then the Latakia. Of mixed varietals, it did seem that the strains of forward featured Orientals submit a bit more relaxed, in fact giving ample room for the Latakia to ride forefront in close quarters. As these Turkish leaves reveal their splendor on the leading top note of the flavor, they tend to shine a practical influence of pleasant floral spice, piney herbaceous seasoning, and pleasing stewed tea-like affluence. Overall, the strains’ combined demeanor is well mannered and controlled tightly in registerable advanced impressions.

As to the Cyprian, its general stimulating incensed presence leans heavy on the front note in tandem with the Turkish. Largely the leaf’s persona engenders a nice sour-tart, mild sweet fruitiness, and earthy wood as the base character in the main, including a reasonable tone of smoky leathered must.

Accenting: Burley and Perique. Occupying the immediate background, the prime third layer founded by Burley fills the expansion of the main body of the taste sphere. Naturally this detail encounters with a complementing molasses, sugared nuttiness enfolding a decent degree of herbal seasoning. Bundling for additive flavorsomeness is a slant of genuine earthiness and soiled spicy character. Highlighting brings a tracing of cocoa, a weaker anise, and lighter but attractive native sourness.

As to the collaborative thrust from the Perique, it rides in the lower rear tier of colorized accenting. The trailing registration discloses refreshing darker prune notes, some pungency, musty earthiness, jaded woodiness, and traces of weaker umami, well-tailored in its contribution.

• Production of a buttery medium bodied smoke was consistently demonstrated effecting a room note that is categorically lighter in concentration and magnitude for an English production. Some general layered spicing, sweeter earthiness, tart/tangy, incense-smoky garnish with exotic murky quality on the whole. Tolerable in the rating.

• Generally smooth mechanical performance and moderate temperature burn • Experiential smoking is very relaxing and usually polished, making this one a great intro for non-English smoker or for folks like me who just want an easy calming encounter. • Just a tad of coarseness around the edges, nothing too significant or detracting, nonetheless. • No witnessed bite and very minimum nicotine effect. • Smokes well in a variety of pipes; briars and cobs. • The cost is affordable. • Provides a nice alternative to my treasured PS English Oriental Supreme bottom-line.

Package note of tart stewed fruit, smoky, and sugary spices. Tobacco cut is mostly ribbon and a bit of rough cut. It's brown, black, and a little tan and on the dry side, but some may want to dry it further. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and consistent, with notes of very woody, spice bread, sweet grass, dry earth, floral, hay, mildly spicy, tangy citrus, buttery, smoky, sour, molasses, herbal musty vegetation, bitter nutty, incense, tart, a lemon zest background note, and a peppery retro. Oriental/Turkish is leading with Virginia, Latakia and Burley supporting. Perique supporting from the background. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.