Sutliff Tobacco Company Match Revelation
(2.80)
This is a match to House of Windsor "Revelation." The original was one of Albert Einstein's favorites, and this blend captures the essential character of the old classic, combining yellow and red Virginias, cube cut Burley, smoky latakia and zesty Perique with a soft, dark fruit top note.
Notes: Full range of colors, from tan, brown, dark brown, and black.
Details
| Brand | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Blended By | Carl McCallister |
| Manufactured By | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | American |
| Contents | Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Fruit / Citrus |
| Cut | Coarse Cut |
| Packaging | Bulk |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.80 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 14 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
The HoW version left me with a bad impression all the way around, from the dullness of the burley to the relative lack of sweetness, depth, and flavor of the Virginia and the burley. In the Match, the medium brown Virginia has a mildly natural tangy citrus sweetness and grass, while the burley sports some earthy, woody points, plus a light nuttiness as a supporting player. The perique is very lightly added for hints of spice, plums and raisins, hardly noticed in the HoW. The Cyprian Latakia brings very mild smokey, woody, earthy bass notes to give this mixture a slight flavor push. There’s a mild fruity rum topping that tastes better than the one HoW used, and slightly more obvious, too. It very mildly tones down the tobaccos. The HoW version tended to have a cardboard taste that turned bitter near the finish, and smoked hot unless you sipped it. None of these qualities are true of the Match, which burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a well balanced, complex, consistent flavor from top to bottom. Won't bite or get harsh. This is more well rounded and smoother than previous productions as the components work together with greater consistency here. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste reaches the medium mark chiefly due to the sweetness level of the blend. The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the mild threshold. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste. The room note is tad stronger. An all day smoke.
Comparing the Match to the old Philip Morris version that Albert Einstein smoked, I’d say the Match is a shade sweeter and a shade less nuttier, and just a little less earthy, drier smoke. The topping is the same in all three versions, though the amount and depth of flavor varies. The Virginia in the Philip Morris version seems to be a little grassier than in the Match. The flavor of the Cyprian Latakia is about the same in all three versions. The spice from the perique is just a little more obvious in the Philip Morris version. When I get to the finish of the PM Revelation, it gets a little of the same cardboard harshness that I experienced in the HoW production. The PM version I smoked for this comparison was over fifty years old, and it is hard to say what changes happened during that time, but I would rate it as being closer to the Match than the HoW, but it has some similarities to both. I gave one star to the HoW version. I would give two to the Philip Morris version.
-JimInks
Comparing the Match to the old Philip Morris version that Albert Einstein smoked, I’d say the Match is a shade sweeter and a shade less nuttier, and just a little less earthy, drier smoke. The topping is the same in all three versions, though the amount and depth of flavor varies. The Virginia in the Philip Morris version seems to be a little grassier than in the Match. The flavor of the Cyprian Latakia is about the same in all three versions. The spice from the perique is just a little more obvious in the Philip Morris version. When I get to the finish of the PM Revelation, it gets a little of the same cardboard harshness that I experienced in the HoW production. The PM version I smoked for this comparison was over fifty years old, and it is hard to say what changes happened during that time, but I would rate it as being closer to the Match than the HoW, but it has some similarities to both. I gave one star to the HoW version. I would give two to the Philip Morris version.
-JimInks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2018 | Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I have no experience with either of the original versions of Revelation, so this review is based on the merits of the blend and no comparison to the original(s).
This is a mix of a medium wide chopped ribbon. There are some "fish food" torn bits. It is mostly tan and brown ribbons with some black tobacco in there too. The pouch note is slightly sweet and a little grassy. Moisture level seemed pretty good to me - maybe on the dry side of ideal, and I smoked it as delivered.
Puffed, you get tart from the Virginia and just a little spice and pepper from the Kentucky and the perique. Sipped it is slightly sweet with a mild fruit flavor. The latakia is about as prominent as it is in Chestnut. You can notice it if you are thinking about it, but there is a just a subtle, pleasant smokiness in the background from the latakia. I claim the perique contributes to the fruit flavor when sipped.
This is a good "all-day" smoke but it strikes me as a little "thin" in flavor compared to Epiphany. Nicotine is on the mild end of the mild-medium range. It was interesting enough to smoke consecutive bowls.
I like Epiphany more, and if Epiphany is a 3.5, this one is just shy of a 3 for me.
This is a mix of a medium wide chopped ribbon. There are some "fish food" torn bits. It is mostly tan and brown ribbons with some black tobacco in there too. The pouch note is slightly sweet and a little grassy. Moisture level seemed pretty good to me - maybe on the dry side of ideal, and I smoked it as delivered.
Puffed, you get tart from the Virginia and just a little spice and pepper from the Kentucky and the perique. Sipped it is slightly sweet with a mild fruit flavor. The latakia is about as prominent as it is in Chestnut. You can notice it if you are thinking about it, but there is a just a subtle, pleasant smokiness in the background from the latakia. I claim the perique contributes to the fruit flavor when sipped.
This is a good "all-day" smoke but it strikes me as a little "thin" in flavor compared to Epiphany. Nicotine is on the mild end of the mild-medium range. It was interesting enough to smoke consecutive bowls.
I like Epiphany more, and if Epiphany is a 3.5, this one is just shy of a 3 for me.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 2015 | Medium | Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
I just finished up a sample of this I received from a forum friend and a fellow reviewer here when we had a bit of revelation showdown that included another forum friend and fellow reviewer here. I supplied some Philip Morris revelation that I scored off ebay. This one was supplied plus some epiphany was also sampled in the process.
Of course tastes are subjective and always differ, particularly between us three, who often diverge in our results. One thing we all three agreed was that the Philip morris revelation must have seen better days as it was a bit cardboard like as the topping had flashed and the lat had lost its punch. It was figured the tin was from the 50's and came sealed with the factory tape around the tin with an unbroken tax stamp.
In summary, it was a sealed tin. This leads to a conclusion that I can come to. It is impossible to compare anything to Philip morris revelation as it existed then. So on to the match.
I really enjoyed the match. I have tried R blend which, I believe, was another attempt at matching revelation. I found this match to be much better than that one. R Blend to me had a chemical tang to it, that was ever present throughout each bowl. The base tobaccos seemed weak and it was never a good experience for me. This, however, had a nice burley base and a good topping and provided an enjoyable smoke each time.
I liked this, but not as much as I like epiphany. While the sutliff match was sweeter than epiphany, it did not have the amount of body that epiphany had. The toppings were very similar between the two and both seemed very similar to what was left on the PM Leaf from the 50's. So the difference between epiphany and the sutliff match was more a matter of fullness in taste between the blends. If you find the C&D blends to be a little too stout, you would likely favor the sutliff match, but if you like C&D blends you will favor the C&D blend.
In any case, although I preferred the C&D match, I did enjoy the sutliff match as well. They are both solid and both better than the original as it exists today.
Of course tastes are subjective and always differ, particularly between us three, who often diverge in our results. One thing we all three agreed was that the Philip morris revelation must have seen better days as it was a bit cardboard like as the topping had flashed and the lat had lost its punch. It was figured the tin was from the 50's and came sealed with the factory tape around the tin with an unbroken tax stamp.
In summary, it was a sealed tin. This leads to a conclusion that I can come to. It is impossible to compare anything to Philip morris revelation as it existed then. So on to the match.
I really enjoyed the match. I have tried R blend which, I believe, was another attempt at matching revelation. I found this match to be much better than that one. R Blend to me had a chemical tang to it, that was ever present throughout each bowl. The base tobaccos seemed weak and it was never a good experience for me. This, however, had a nice burley base and a good topping and provided an enjoyable smoke each time.
I liked this, but not as much as I like epiphany. While the sutliff match was sweeter than epiphany, it did not have the amount of body that epiphany had. The toppings were very similar between the two and both seemed very similar to what was left on the PM Leaf from the 50's. So the difference between epiphany and the sutliff match was more a matter of fullness in taste between the blends. If you find the C&D blends to be a little too stout, you would likely favor the sutliff match, but if you like C&D blends you will favor the C&D blend.
In any case, although I preferred the C&D match, I did enjoy the sutliff match as well. They are both solid and both better than the original as it exists today.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Got a good sample of this from my buddy D. Thanks bro.
To be honest I have some trouble separating the components in this blend. They seem to be very well married. The overall flavor is very pleasant and I find it a delightful smoke. Smoky, woody, fruity and sweet, nutty and just a touch of spice. A well rounded smoke. Better than 3 stars, but still closer to 3 than 4 so 3 it is.
Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is mild. Burns very well. Comes with some rather large pieces of leaf making it difficult to know if you're getting a proper mix when you load it. I recommend running it through a food chopper to solve that problem.
To be honest I have some trouble separating the components in this blend. They seem to be very well married. The overall flavor is very pleasant and I find it a delightful smoke. Smoky, woody, fruity and sweet, nutty and just a touch of spice. A well rounded smoke. Better than 3 stars, but still closer to 3 than 4 so 3 it is.
Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is mild. Burns very well. Comes with some rather large pieces of leaf making it difficult to know if you're getting a proper mix when you load it. I recommend running it through a food chopper to solve that problem.
Pipe Used:
MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus
PurchasedFrom:
gifted
Age When Smoked:
unknown
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2017 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild | Tolerable to Strong |
Very enjoyable tobacco. Just the right amout of Latakia. It was not overwhelming. It had a nice light topping that gave it flavor. It seemed a little plumy. Smoke it and be and smart as Einstein 🙂
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2014 | Mild | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant |
Update 06/11/15
Okay. I bit the bullet and tried another batch of this blend. The new batch was, indeed, more flavorful and enjoyable than the one I had previously.
The burley and virginia shine through more in this batch, as do the latakia and perique. Overall, it is a quite tasty blend. I am moving the rating up to recommended.
------Original Review------
Wow.
Upon opening the bag I expected at least a whiff of the fruit/plum topping that's supposed to be on this tobacco. i smelled nothing but a mild leafy smell. Shrugging, I loaded a MM Legend with the blend and fired 'er up. Not much happened. i got a bit of burley and some hay-like flavor from the virginia. Not much else--no latakia, no perique.
I looked in the bag and then at some pictures of the mixture on the web. It looked like it was supposed to but there was no there there.
I have since tried other cobs and a variety of briars, but the results have always been the same--essentially, nothing.
I have probably gotten a bad batch, but my experience with this bag doesn't encourage me to order more to find out. When I want a blend of this ilk I'll stick with Holiday Match, which has essentially the same ingredients, substituting black cavendish for the kentucky. At least with Holiday I can get a hint of latakia and perique and enjoy the cocoa background from the burley.
Not recommended.
Okay. I bit the bullet and tried another batch of this blend. The new batch was, indeed, more flavorful and enjoyable than the one I had previously.
The burley and virginia shine through more in this batch, as do the latakia and perique. Overall, it is a quite tasty blend. I am moving the rating up to recommended.
------Original Review------
Wow.
Upon opening the bag I expected at least a whiff of the fruit/plum topping that's supposed to be on this tobacco. i smelled nothing but a mild leafy smell. Shrugging, I loaded a MM Legend with the blend and fired 'er up. Not much happened. i got a bit of burley and some hay-like flavor from the virginia. Not much else--no latakia, no perique.
I looked in the bag and then at some pictures of the mixture on the web. It looked like it was supposed to but there was no there there.
I have since tried other cobs and a variety of briars, but the results have always been the same--essentially, nothing.
I have probably gotten a bad batch, but my experience with this bag doesn't encourage me to order more to find out. When I want a blend of this ilk I'll stick with Holiday Match, which has essentially the same ingredients, substituting black cavendish for the kentucky. At least with Holiday I can get a hint of latakia and perique and enjoy the cocoa background from the burley.
Not recommended.
Pipe Used:
various briars, cobs
Age When Smoked:
fresh from bulk
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2015 | Medium | Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
My second "Match" review is Revelation. An aromatic. I generally don't like aro's, but this one's not too bad. Like the Edgeworth Match, they don't make'em like this anymore. I wasn't really noticing the different tobacco's weaving in and out as much as I'd like, and the topping tasted like peach (which wasn't a bad thing). One thing I really enjoyed with this blend was snorking it—that was actually very delightful. This tobacco also worked real well in my Country Gent (I used a different, that is a new Gent from the one I used with Edgeworth, which, I noticed, ghosted my other pipe—smokers take note on that observation).
Overall, for an aromatic, this blend is as good as anything new that's being marketed today. For me, this will make a good gear changer. I'll give this a weak three stars (I liked the Edgeworth Match better). Recommended.
Happy Piping!
Overall, for an aromatic, this blend is as good as anything new that's being marketed today. For me, this will make a good gear changer. I'll give this a weak three stars (I liked the Edgeworth Match better). Recommended.
Happy Piping!
Pipe Used:
MM Corn Cob, Country Gent w/filter
PurchasedFrom:
P&C
Age When Smoked:
?
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2018 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I recently purchased a pound of this blend after already smoked a considerable amount.In the pound size I found excessive moisture and viginia overload. After drying out for a while proved a good smoke when smoked slowly.Having a preference for heavily latakia laden oriental blends I find this is a good break if you call it from heavier blends.I love the general appearence of this blend with its large chunk and cube cut pieces with ribbon also.The topping is not a major player but is in the background.Great all day,work smoke as well.I primarily smoke a briar have not tried in cob.Lots of burley,virginas,dark fired,with some perique.Put some away really improves taste and character.
Pipe Used:
sasieni ruff root parker super
PurchasedFrom:
smoking pipes.com
Age When Smoked:
new and aged
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 22, 2017 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Since I never tried the original, "Revelation" , I can only compare this to C&D's Epiphany, which is also a match. This is a little more Burley forward and has slightly more topping ( touch of Vanilla comes through). It's cut is also less consistent, having many pieces of large "fish food" flakes, all in all, it burns well. I do like Epiphany better because it has less burley , more Latakia and less Vanilla, but this isn't bad for bulk. 3 star
Pipe Used:
cob
Age When Smoked:
new bulk
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 24, 2012 | Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Revelation Match… As far as how close this match blend is to the original, it's been too many years, but I don't remember the original being as good as this match blend, maybe my tastes have changed over the years but (today) IMO this stuff is an improvement over the original.
As suggested by others on this site, I gave my 4oz sample a good airing out and found this small change made all the difference, for one thing the castings strength was reduced to the background, allowing the taste of the various tobaccos in this blend to nicely waff in and out. As for the the amount of latikia used in this blend, for my taste it is just about right. If I were to add anthing to this blend it would be a dash of C/D burley flake #1 or 2 to get the nicotine level up a bite, but for now I'm enjoying this blend as is.
As suggested by others on this site, I gave my 4oz sample a good airing out and found this small change made all the difference, for one thing the castings strength was reduced to the background, allowing the taste of the various tobaccos in this blend to nicely waff in and out. As for the the amount of latikia used in this blend, for my taste it is just about right. If I were to add anthing to this blend it would be a dash of C/D burley flake #1 or 2 to get the nicotine level up a bite, but for now I'm enjoying this blend as is.
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