Sutliff Tobacco Company Bosphorus Cruise

This is a very pleasant medium/mild English blend. The components work well, and the foundation is a sweet red Virginia. I don't detect any topping. The tin note is slightly sour. The orientals and the latakia are nicely balanced and are always present but never the defining flavor. The bias is on the latakia end of things.

This blend is good but not astonishingly good. There are a lot of options in the "English" category, and competition is tough. The price point here is excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this genre. I am not likely to buy more, but if I got an 8 oz tin at Christmas, I would smoke it every day until it was gone.

As a relatively infrequent latakia smoker, I am really quite sensitive to its presence in most blends - a nice bonus as I really like it properly woven into the fabric of a well-executed blend. Such is the case with Bosphorus Cruise. Its presence is readily apparent (to my sensitive tastes) in the tin note and on the charring light. This is really my only significant point of divergence with the excellent review by pjorge1036. The spiciness of the oriental is also forward in the blend. Half way through the bowl the sweetness of the VA starts to chime in and from there to the finish line, there is a nice menage et trois between the constituents of this well- formed blend. For an inexpensive blend, the good quality of the tobacco is apparent. The appearance of the blend in the tin is impressive in its contrast. Room note is unobtrusive but not kudos-worthy. Nic content is acceptable for my insanely high requirement. All elements are detectable throughout the last half of the bowl but no one does the heavy lifting. All in all a nice, balanced and affordable blend. Recommended

I've often read reviews of English blends where the reviewer states that the tin aroma was that of a wood fire, but this is the first time and blend where I feel the statement actually applies. When I opened my tin of BC I thought that it had the aroma of a hardwood fire from later after the fire is smoldering. It just didn't seem quite right to me and I was suspicious that the wood fire odor had been "enhanced" somehow in processing. The mixture had an overall darker hue ranging from reddish brown to black and a rather even ribbon cut. The moisture level was such that you could load-up and smoke right away - so I did. The slightly acrid wood smoke odor in the tin was not really present in the smoking aroma and I was happy about that. From the initial light to the finish, it smoked in a normal and civilized medium English manner. Although a rather pleasant smoke, there was nothing that set it apart from the host of other medium Englishes that exist in a very crowded field. I've used it in micro blending and that has worked out fairly well; however, I like for my English base in a blend to have a tad more richness in the non-Latakia portion of it's base mixture - but, all in all, not a bad smoke and I can recommend it to other smokers.

A bit more Latakia and Oriental forward than Berkshire. Good components and blending, without the annoying topping. Burns smooth and cool. Once into the bowl, the Virginia sweetness comes out a bit more, helping round out the overall flavor profile. Very good blend. 3+.

At first I found the blend to be lacking flavor and punch. For the first minute of the smoke I couldn't even feel the presence of the Latakia.

After that this started to change slowly and I started picking up some of the smokiness and even a subtle leathery flavor associated with Latakia. At this point the spicy orientals also started letting their presence be known but it wasn't until I was halfway through the bowl that the big changes came. That's when all the flavors started to concentrate and develop a little complexity.

Earthy, smoky and peppery this turned out to be a satisfying smoke although, it took a while to get there. Definitely not the best in its class but a good smoke for the price.

I got a free tin of this at he Chicago Pipe Show and was genuinely and happily surprised! Upon opening the tin you get a strong scent of Latakia. This blend has an almost McClelland type smell to it. First light brings instant pleasure. The Orientals are quite prominent,followed by luscious high grade latakia and sweet virginias. I was actally shocked tht this was an Altadis product. Far superior to most bulk blends and on par with many expensive tinned blends. If you like Artisan's Blend or Tashkent but cannot readily find them this, is a good substitute. Very much recommended for the heavy English crowd.

This is one of the better Altadis/Sutliffe offerings. A solid Balkan/English/whatever entry. A tasty smoke, room note that the girl friend likes and, most importantly, the Latakia makes its presence known, interplaying nicely with the Virginia and Oriental components. Indeed, a pleasant surprise that compares well to some of the more pricier blends of this type. Recommended.

I've been smoking a pipe for roughly 2 years now and I've only recently started experimenting with different types of tobacco. I started with aromatics for my wife's sake but I was never satisfied with the over-all taste, especially towards the end of the bowl.

Bosphorus Cruise is the 3rd English Blend that I've tried and my favorite so far. It starts out mild but if you smoke it slowly it definitely picks up flavor. As you get towards the middle of the bowl you can definitely start tasting the Oriental and the Latakia is present throughout the smoke which gives you a nice smooth smoke.

Overall I would consider recommending this to anyone who likes a mild English Blend and this is good for beginners like me.