Sutliff Tobacco Company Berkshire

Berkshire offers a tin note similar to lightly sweetened English blends like Northwoods or Frog Morton on the Town. It smokes in similar fashion to those blends as well although the quality isn’t as good as FMOTT. I find the review posted by “JimInks” to very closely match my thoughts on Berkshire. It produces a large volume of smoke; it’s mild and would make a great introduction to English blends for new pipe smokers or pipe smokers seeking to move toward English blends or blends containing Latakia. Berkshire is also a solid offering for those that prefer mild English blends. There is a manually added sweetness to Berkshire that isn’t a result of the Virginias. The Perique is there, but well in the background and I only taste it as the bowl progresses. A plus is that Berkshire is an affordable tinned tobacco. On the negative side, as each bowl progresses, the topping turns a bit south for me offering a slight chemical taste. I don’t think the chemical taste is strong enough to be off putting but it is there. I find Berkshire to be one of the better blends in the Sutliff line up.

This is a good starting place for those wanting to delve into the world of English blends with Latakia. I am not a fan of Latakia, as it makes my throat feel scratchy and my tongue feel like the smoke is biting. However, this should not be offputting to those who have never tried Latakia as MANY people really enjoy it....it just isnt for me.

That being said, I know a good tobacco blend when I smoke it, and this is one of 'em. As I have an aversion to Latakia, I am just speaking to all the other elements in the blend. This is a good English. Very mild. Very VERY mild, but a solid all-day smoker. Moisture content was perfect. Lit with one match and burned to the bottom. Fantastic. Nice smokey flavor but doesnt linger too long afterwards. Overall a great tobacco.

I would recommend this tobacco to the following....

A. If you have never tried an English blend before and want to venture into these waters.

B. If you've tried an English blend but have yet to try one with Latakia. The Latakia in this is light and will serve as a good introduction.

C. If you don't like STRONG latakia but want English blends with some in it.

D. If you love English blends with latakia and dont mind a lighter serving of the peppery flavor.

If you like heavy English blends, this won't be your cup 'o tea or if you dislike Latakia, as I do, you wont care for it either. But if you just enjoy trying out a new blend and have no qualms about any of the tobacco varieties, give this one a go. You won't be disappointed.

This is a good mild/med English blend. The tobacco comes at a good humidity level for a tinned tobacco and it is a nicely balanced mix of sweet Virginia, smoky latakia, spicy orientals and enough perique to add a distinctive quality to the spicy/sweet. I claim there is a little topping to enhance the sweet, but I could be wrong. There is a little tart in the flavor profile that I don't think is the Virginia or the perique.

This is an enjoyable smoke, and part of the challenge with an English blend is finding the right combination of flavors for your palate. This one is probably a home run for lots of folks. For me it is a solid 3.

I was aware of the existence of this blend, Berkshire by Sutliff Private Stock, from ads but never saw it in any brick and mortar in my area. It also never appeared in any of my buy-outs of fellow, or former, pipe smokers; until this year. First one tin and, then, four more tins suddenly appeared. I opened one of the tins and found a normal-looking brown-to-black mixture in a normal ribbon cut with a modest English aroma. What I thought was unusual was the relatively dry state of the blend; basically, ready to smoke. There was no trace of a humectant use and it had lost about half of it's moisture. The blend turned out to be somewhat sensitive to the chamber diameter and depth. Wider and shallower bowls smoked thinly in the top thirds but taller and narrower bowls smoked okay from top to bottom. Berkshire is a medium English and smokes in a perfectly adequate manner that I had no trouble repeating. If there is a problem with this blend, it is that it's just so middle-of-the-road. So, I can recommend Berkshire at three stars; if you can find it.

I acquired this tin in a lot. The fellow who sold it to me said he'd gotten it at the Chicago Pipe Show as a sample from Sutliff. I'm guessing it's at least three years in the tin.

Upon opening, I was hit with funk, which I'm coming to understand is the Perique. The Latakia wasn't the dominant smell, but it's definitely there. But here's the thing... unlike most tobaccos which smell great and taste less great, these English blends with Perique smell nasty in the tin, but taste very good. The room note is even pleasant enough for a non-aromatic.

In the bowl, Berkshire was a pleasant surprise. It's the first non-aromatic Sutliff blend that I've tried. It's a fairly mild smoke. Lights easily and stayed lit. I wouldn't call the smoke creamy, but there's plenty of it. No bite, even when puffed hard. Flavors are mild, balanced, and dare I say elegant. As others have suggested, this would be a reasonable start for a smoker just being introduced to English blends.

Overall, I like this one.

Since this is almost certainly discontinued with most of the other Private Stock blends, does anyone know if this is marketed by another name in bulk?

Viriginia and latakia are playing with a good balance, here. No sweetness at first, but just the slightest bit as the bowl progresses about half-way through. I noticed when the sweetness popped, so did a bit of tongue bite. Not enough to coerce me to put the bowl down, but noticeable. Altogether, a good, easy smoking english blend. I would smoke this again.

This tin was given to me by a tobacconist for free as a gift after a purchase. I have smoked Molto dolce before and was pretty satisfied with it. This is my first Latakia blend from SPS. I really liked it. it was an easy smoke. a bit moist out of the tin so a bit of drying was necessary. one thing I noticed was that the tin was not evenly blended. it seemed that each bowel had more or less of a particular tobacco. I shook the tin up but still had a different smoke each time which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. all in all, for the price, (at retail not free) I will buy more. give it a try if you are into Latakia/English blends.

I am very new to pipe smoking (about 1 year) and mostly i go with the "bulk" jar at my local tobacco store, BUT like any true smoker i am always on the hunt for the perfect smoke. I ran acrose this blend in a sampler on "cigars international" and having never had a english mixture/blend i ordered it. I have a Tendency to smoke to fast so i almost always get tongue bite but with this blend it is little to none. when I first smoked it i did not care for the taste so i tossed it aside and went on to one of the other blends. about a week or two later i came back to it and from opening the can and letting it sit it had became smooth and the flavor while strong was nolonger over powering. with a deep draw you taste the cream small hints of spice. over all I enjoy this blend and will more than likly pick up another can down the road

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