Sutliff Tobacco Company Match Ready Rubbed

Sutliff's Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match.

Having only picked up the pipe in 2013, I never knew the original ERR.

Never have I purchased a tobacco that had more 3-star reviews than 4-star reviews, so, this was a first for me. What then would have motivated me to deviate from the norm to try a long-ago, discontinued, over-the-drugstore-countertop pipe tobacco that is readily referred to as a "Grandpa classic" and "Codger blend"?

There is a back story (which I have told before) that warrants re-telling here.

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The whole reason I ever picked up the pipe in the first place was due to what can only be described as an otherworldly, paranormal experience I had when I literally awoke one morning to Richard Pryor’s ghost screaming inside my head: “P

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PE!!! TOBACCO PIIIIIIIIPE!!! PIPE TOBACCOOOOOOO!!!”

It was the closest thing to a religious revelation that I have ever experienced in my life -- as if I had been commanded by a burning bush: “The redolent scent of Jack Lundy’s pipe, from the fertile fields of your earliest childhood memories on Loma Verde in Palo Alto, 1965 – that is what you shall seek, My Son” . . .

Within three hours of that awakening, I owned my very first pipe (a Peterson rusticated Donegal Rocky, a venerable workhorse, still in regular rotation today). And ever since that day, I’ve been searching for that most sanctified scent which emanated from Jack Lundy’s pipe, more than a half-century ago.

Back in 1965, when I was 4-years-old, Jack Lundy was our next-door neighbor in Palo Alto. To me, Mr. Lundy was “the milkman”: he worked at Peninsula Creamery, delivering milk and ice cream for a living. His daily work attire resembled a World War II officer’s uniform: khaki pants and shirt, with brass buckled belt, bow tie, and a crusher-styled aviator’s cap, replete with leather visor. I remember Mr. Lundy delivering “snowballs” to our home at Christmas: a round dollop of vanilla ice cream, covered in shredded coconut, with green plastic holly leaves at the base of a red candle that sat atop the concept.

But Mr. Lundy was more than just “the milkman” to me; more than just the next-door neighbor. Jack Lundy smoked pipes. He kept a round pipe rack on his end-table, just next to the family room couch in front of the fireplace and television set, where he used to sit, impassively smoking his pipes. I remember Mr. Lundy smoking his pipes as he watched boxing matches or baseball games on his black-and-white TV. When visiting their home, Mr. Lundy would hand me wedges of colored salts that I would then throw upon the logs burning in his fireplace – salts that would produce brilliantly colored flames of red, green, blue and aqua. Turning from the heat of the hearth, I would see Jack on the couch, cross-legged, pipe in hand, puffing ever so gently on his briars.

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The oracular epiphany of that morning literally changed my life: I have been a pipe smoker ever since that magical, mystical vision came to me.

Jack Lundy was already an "Old Codger" when he passed away more than 30-years ago.

What pipes did he smoke? What tobaccos did he smoke? I wish I knew. I wish I could go back in time to 1965 and sit with Jack on his couch, and talk with him about his pipes and his tobaccos.

Back in the mid-1960s, I am reasonably sure that Edgeworth Ready Rubbed was perhaps something that Jack would have most likely sampled himself, and so -- this Sutliff match being so close to the original, according to those who would know -- I wanted to commune with this blend, using it as a kind of Ouija tobacco, in a séance of sorts, to see if this native American spiritual leaf could somehow transport me back in time . . .

I did not have high expectations for this blend -- I prefer ardent, robust tobaccos -- and I've had lots of bad experience with aromatics and "flavored" tobaccos, but I was going to try this one out.

Well . . .

If this wasn't called Ready Rubbed Match, it could have very well been called "A Charlie Brown Christmas Blend -- 1965".

There have been occasions when I have smoked back-to-back bowls of tobacco before. The untimely passing of close friend, or in times of great stress and/or great joy. But I have never smoked back-to-back bowls of something that I am trying for the first time (no matter how good the blend).

To say that I was "pleasantly surprised" by this blend would be The Mother of All Understatements. This stuff is amazing.

Maybe I just got lucky with a phenomenal batch of bulk when I ordered this.

As soon as I opened the box I could smell the chocolatey cocoa topping ("okay, this has definitely been topped" I thought, "We'll see how this goes").

The stuff looked good enough to eat -- it looked like some kind of enticing animal feed on my tobacco mat. On the char my very first thought was "Wow" . . .

Nutty, chocolatey -- nicely topped -- no goop, no moisture. Burned perfectly cool. I have two Peterson Dracula Rhodesians -- I smoked the first bowl in one of them -- and it was so amazing I smoked the second bowl in the other because I wanted to replicate the experience of the first as closely as I could.

The following day, I put this stuff in a Dagner cob -- and it just really pairs perfectly with a cob. This will definitely be one of my top 3 Christmas cob blends from here on out.

As I was smoking this, the thought kept going through my mind: "This tastes so familiar -- I've had something very close to this before -- what was it"?

Brashboy mentioned Watch City Deluxe Crumb Cut, and I thought to myself "No -- no, no, no -- that's not right, DCC has Cavendish and Latakia in it". But I went and grabbed some DCC from the closet and, lo, it was indeed very, very similar in flavor profile (so, yes, it was the DCC that was the familiar taste).

To put this review into proper perspective, I will offer the following tangential comparison between two things for the purpose of insuring that the bullet of my thought makes its mark.

Wild Turkey 101 is my bourbon of choice (I will drink other bourbons, but I only buy the 101), and I've been getting it for years at $14.99 a bottle from San Tomas Liquors. It is, by far and away, the best bang-for-the-buck bourbon money can buy, and -- IMHO -- to spend a penny more on any bourbon is simply throwing money away. The nose is sweet caramel, bourbon spice, nutmeg and cinnamon. The vanilla is pronounced and brings with it some sweet cream. The wood is a bit hidden until you add a splash of water and then it rolls out next to the vanilla. It tastes of caramel like a Werther’s original. Sweet corn is followed by vanilla and red licorice. Some citrus, a slight grainy malt and a bit of smoky ash round out the undiluted flavor. Add some water and the oak begins to express itself much more and the corn becomes even more prominent. Smooth and warm going down, with a slight burn, but overall a great mouth feel. It has a long finish, initially dominated by Caramel but fades to wood, sweet grains and dark fruit.

Recently I discovered Mellow Corn: A 100-proof, Bottled in Bond corn whiskey (Moonshine!) made the same way as always by Heaven Hill since 1945, and it is THE most absolutely out-of-this-world hooch I've ever had: notes of vanilla and corn, with ethereal notes of spice, citrus, honey and a fruitiness that reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum. Vanilla taffy, Juicy Fruit gum and corn lead the way on the palate with airy notes of toffee, spice and citrus coming in behind. The finish is vanilla, Juicy Fruit gum, marshmallows and corn run it’s course on a medium finish. This is 100-proof 'shine that is smooth-as-silk, with none of the sharp edges one would expect, and virtually no heat; it goes down like wine (which makes sense, because it is, in fact, high wine). I get this stuff at Total Wines & More for $10.49 a bottle (less than one would pay for a cheap bottle of wine).

The point being that Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match is the Mellow Corn equivalent of pipe tobacco: it's old school, it's unpretentious, it's undervalued, and it's a damn good Burley blend that's been expertly and discreetly topped for a deliciously nuanced, aromatic-non-aromatic tobacco.

I cannot believe this does not have more 4-star reviews than it currently does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y9WucVyPOI

I decided to try the 'grandpa classics' of the pipe tobacco world. Stuff like Prince Albert, Half and Half, and Edgeworth among others. To my dismay the original Edgeworth line had been discontinued but I heard there was an almost exact match by Sutliff, so I went online and got myself some.

I will be getting more.

This stuff is a little strange but darned good! It smells like chocolate out of the bag and made my mouth water. The cube cut is something that I had never seen before and didn't quite know what to do with, but I loaded my pipe as is and was surprised at just how well the little chunks burned. It isn't overpowering or complicated in taste, being just a chocolate sweetness with some walnut. No bite, no fuss, really tasty flavors. Now I want another bowl!

This is a really delicious version of ERR! I do prefer the new Lane version in the blue tub that was recently released but only by a small margin. Sutliff's version having larger chunks that burn slower and is available in bulk at a lower price is also a 4 star blend in my book. I just love quality Burley's like this with their nutty, cedar, #2 pencil taste and aromas! Some molasses and cocoa topping perhaps but nothing too dramatic. A very old school aromatic... A small MM Washington gave me the best smoke. Pack It super loose until it is dry, then pack lightly.

I purchased my 8 ounce's from Pipe and Cigars and the moisture was a tad too high but honestly I would rather it arrived like that than dry and crumbly, for one thing some tobacco's lose their essential oils when dried too long and two cube cut tends to turn to dust when dried too long... Price, aroma, flavor... ERR Match is a winner for me! ERR and its Matches bring me back to the 1940's, FDR Fireside chats, Tube Radio's and The Andrew Sisters.... Enchanting!

There is little to add to what has been written, except that I first smoked Edgeworth in 1972, when it was produced by Larus & Brother, its creators, and it was the slices, not the ready rubbed. This Sutliff match is very, very close. The now-unobtainable Wessex Slices claims to be the "original Richmond recipe." It isn't. Not by a long shot. The even-more-unobtainable Solani Aged Burley Flake comes a lot closer. And the Lane Ltd. version of the Ready Rubbed, available until Sutliff bought the rights to the name, was just about spot-on. The current Lane Ready Rubbed tastes just about like Sir Walter Raleigh, at twice the price.

This Sutliff Match is just plain good, except when it isn't. The quality, or the taste anyway, can be rather uneven, and that has to do with a deficiency of the cocoa-molasses toppings. When Sutliff skimps on those, or the Burley does not absorb them, this can be pretty blaahh.

But, when all goes well...there's no better Burley smoke at any price.

****UPDATE***** I had experienced this before, but forgot to add it. For a real treat, and an advanced tutorial into what this tobacco has to offer: Smoke 1/3 of a bowl (or so) and set it aside for a couple of days, then fire it up again. SUBLIME!!!!!

Also....others keep referring to this as a "Va/Bur." It ain't. It is 100% Burley. That, from the head blender at Sutliff.

My rating & comments are based solely upon the merits of this Sutliff rendition as I have not tried the original Edgeworth Ready Rubbed. From the accounts that I've read this "match" version is purported to be most like the original with regard to the tobacco's presentation (cut) and smoking qualities. This is a good quality blend that delivers a delicious light nutty & molasses flavor. Nothing complex here ... but IMHO there are times when one desires a simple smoke that's easy to enjoy without a lot of hoopla ... and this is a very good one for that purpose. I can see this being an all day smoke for me. If this Sutliff ERR match is anything close to the original blend I can understand why the old codgers liked it (I said that as though I'm not an old codger at this point in my life)! I will try the Lane version as well for comparison ... but me thinks this one is quite darn good!

Sutliff got the Burley codger thing down pat with this one. The room note is pure codger Burley, and that is a good thing. I'm not the biggest fan of cube-cut, but overlook it for this blend. The Virginia is there, too, though only in a supporting role, but rounds out the flavor nicely by adding a hay-like note.

First off, this is fine tobacco. It is cube cut, so gravity-fill the bowl with little or no tamping. I knock the bowl against my knuckle as I fill it to make it settle. I smoked the real Edgeworth Ready Rubbed, and this is close. Seems to me ERR was a bit darker and stronger, but it's been a few years; and plenty of other ERR smokers thinks this match is right on the money. Certainly, it's close, and that also is a good thing.

I know that batches of a blend can differ, just as age will cause a difference (mine is fresh). But I think the cocoa note is very subtle in the pouch. If I hadn't read it was there, might have missed it entirely. Picked up no molasses at all. Contrasted to other Burley blends with cocoa (see below), the cocoa in this one is faint, based on my sample.

Great tobacco, great taste, and $12 for 4 oz. as I write this. If that ain't four stars, then nothing is. Will definitely reorder. It's like smelling my Granddad's pipe again, maybe better.

EDIT: frequently get a taste that is very floral, Lakeland-like, especially toward the bottom. I like it.

I have not smoked the original nor Lane's version so this review is based on the blends merits only. This is a pretty standard burley and Virginia blend topped with a chocolate and molasses flavor. You get a cocoa taste similar to Prince Albert but with a molasses undercurrent. I enjoyed this blend and I think you will too.

This is a four start blend for me not because of what is was but what it is now. Milder blends and some aro's are looked down upon by some as not having huge Wagnerian flavor profiles that define the milestone BIG blends. I will offer that we are burning stuff in a small chamber and huffing that smoke directly into our faces. While I make this a hobby it never ceases to amaze me. I suggest to the reader that defining each level of appreciation is art and science and finding balance is key. Maybe in my next life I'll smoke the labels off of CatsPaw ropes and plugs but for now I can enjoy this tasty blend all day long and never for a moment fake my enjoyment of it.

No nonsense easy to pack. Burns effortlessly and cleanly leaving white ash. Classic burley nuttiness in abundance that really remains consistent the whole smoke. Not complex and on the mild side. As good, if not better than SWR. Great in cob or briar. Not to be missed by Burley lovers.