Sutliff Tobacco Company English Oriental #400341

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

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.

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.