Tobacco Reviews

Sutliff English: Majestic English and Count Pulaski

With the turn of the weather I step back from a pretty steady stream of Virginias to reach for something smoky, so I reach for…Sutliff? For those surprised by my confusion, when you’ve smoked a pipe for awhile you notice that each blending house has a reputation for certain kinds of blends. C&D is known…

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Wessex Brown Virginia Flake

Frequent readers will throw up their hands and ask ‘What! Another Brown Virginia?’ New readers will ask ‘What even is Brown Virginia?’ As we’ve found in previous reviews, Brown Virginias are another name for Orange Virginias, which are in the middle of the stock, above the yellow Virginias at the base, and below the Red…

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C&D Burley Sleepers: Pegasus and Habana Daydream

For many pipe smokers, Cornell and Diehl, despite their 400+ blends, equates to strong burly blends. Haunted Bookshop, Big’N’Burley, Old Joe Krantz, and their Burley Flakes are recognized for being bold, rough and tumble, and unapologetically strong. However with 40 burley blends and counting, there is a wider range of flavors C&D offers. Among these…

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Solani Virginia Flake 633

Growing up my family traveled constantly. We drove from the east coast to the west, from the gulf to Edmonton, up and down the rockies, blue ridge mountains, catskills, and sierras. Invariably we’d pass a truck stop that was bustling and my mom would say “Must be good if they’re that busy”. Solani Virginia Flake…

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Cobblestone Outdoors Hiking

Burley lovers are the redheaded stepchildren of the pipe tobacco family. Do you like English? There are over 250 readily available options for you. Fancy Virginia? Over 300. Just a Virginia Flake? You still have about 100 options. Okay you want a pure Virginia? You still have dozens of tins and handful of widely distributed…

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Boswell Aromatics: Berry Cobbler, Raspberry Cream, and Dan’s Blend

Flavor and nicotine. Or nicotine and flavor. Those are the reasons we smoke pipe tobacco and cigars. It may seem obvious but it’s important to every once in awhile focus on what we are looking for in this hobby. This is particularly important when discussing aromatics, as manufacturers often forget to include either in their…

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Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake

In 1865 the longstanding pipe tobacco company of Kendal, UK, split into two, Gawith and Hoggarth, and Samuel Gawith. These companies developed their own style and specialties over the decades. G&H, as it’s often called, is well known for very strong tobaccos, notably their ropes. Samuel Gawith is better known for well balanced English blends…

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English Oriental: Peter Stokkebye vs Sutliff

Armageddon and Deep Impact. The Adams Family and The Munsters. Gobots and Transformers.  Cheeze Whiz and Easy Cheese. Sutliff English Oriental and Peter Stokkebye English Oriental Supreme. There are dozens of times competing companies have given us seemingly identical products. And we the consuming public must choose one or the other. Or you know, watch…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Sutliff J4

With a less than inspiring name like ‘J4’ you can safely assume that Sutliff had little intention of selling this directly to the public when they added it to their catalogue. Instead, J4, like much of Sutliff bulk tobacco, was marketed as a blending tobacco. Or possibly something a Brick and Mortar retailer would repackage…

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Is Captain Black Worth Smoking?

If you read a spirits blog you are unlikely to find a review of Jack Daniels. If you read over beer reviews you will find sparse opinions on likes of Budweiser and Coors Light. That is because these are known quantities, experienced by most anyone who has dabbled in whiskey or beer. Captain Black, a…

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