In Praise of Mixture 79

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Ryan

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 30, 2021
586
4,514
Noblesville Indiana USA
The TL;DR version is that I like this stuff and recommend it.

Sutliff’s Mixture 79 is a blend I had been curious about for a long time. Finally, roughy six weeks ago I finally bought a pouch.

This pouch had no seal and some of the toppings you hear so much about with this blend may have dissipated to some extent.

I really enjoy this blend. I have been smoking it very regularly since I first tried it. For a two week period while I was staying away from home I smoked it exclusively and daily.

When I found the pouch at the B&M, I could smell the anise scent, it was strong and the only flavor I picked up from the pouch. When opened, that anise was even stronger and I noted a bit of a root beer smell also.

I was surprised that bag note did not overpower the tobacco while smoking. There is certainly a flavoring, but I feel it dwindles (although never disappears) throughout the smoke.

I definitely get a hint of the basic flavor I get from another product from Sutliff, their Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match. I’m not saying this is the same, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find they share some of the same burley.

As for the actual smoking, I wish I would have found this when I first started smoking a pipe. Easy to pack, easy to smoke, and hard to over-smoke. I don’t freight train, but I can push this one as hard as I care too without ruining the flavor or making it bitter. It doesn’t seem to burn hot. I’m not a person who cares about re-lights, but this burns as well as anything I have smoked and doesn’t require too much maintenance to keep lit.

I did read reviews of this blend before I tried it, and I’m glad I didn’t pay too much attention to them. I don’t get the perfumed, overly topped flavor from this, although obviously many disagree. Perhaps I should note that I have also enjoyed horehound candy since I was a little kid. I find the flavoring in Mixture 79 a bit more subtle than horehound, but it is in the same ballpark.

I love this stuff; this and the above mentioned Sutliff ERRM are the main burley blends that I smoke. If you haven’t tried this one because of the extreme reactions some folks have to it, I suggest you re-think that and give it a try. You might think it is terrible, but it won’t cost you that much to find out.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,812
29,654
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
it's one of my few must haves. I love the stuff. I don't get the hate it receives. I agree on so many points including the rare tobacco that when it bites you find out it doesn't have teeth. :) Though I do find it helps to pack it lighter then usual and to sip on it very steadily and consistently. That is when I get the most flavor and get the most interplay between the many things going on in this blend. Also not sure when they last made the pouch, however I do find when I have packed a pipe and left it out over night to dry, that a lot of the topping became way more mellow. Or in other words when you buy a tub you may find that you do want to leave some extra drying time to tailor it towards your liking.
 

Piping Abe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 27, 2021
532
1,463
Georgia, USA
I love it. But I remember when I first tried it the flavoring was very strong and potent. Now the newer pouches I buy are more like a flavored Burley Blend. I think it got the GH treatment. Or maybe they toned it down due to the overwhelmingly negative press on the internet. It is a great blend.
 

Bbailey324

Lifer
Jun 29, 2023
1,252
15,351
Austin, TX
Mixture 79 is a strange bird to me. I really like the base tobacco and the licorice, root beer, whatever topping tastes good as well. That out of place musk perfume note hits me periodically and causes me to make a bad face. Once I get my mouth saturated with that it is all I can taste and I'm done with it.
 
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mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
3,997
11,124
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
I don’t get the perfumed, overly topped flavor from this, although obviously many disagree. Perhaps I should note that I have also enjoyed horehound candy since I was a little kid. I find the flavoring in Mixture 79 a bit more subtle than horehound, but it is in the same ballpark.
I think they've dialed down the perfume so its predominantly a licorice flavored blend these days. Jim Inks reported that they had to change the topping in the 90s or so when the feds banned musk (I think it was musk).

You might want to try Peretti's No Name, which is similar. I think it has retained more of the perfume component. I also think that No Name uses higher quality base tobacco. Like most codger burley blends, Mix 79 gets bitter for me the 2nd half of the bowl. No Name doesn't.
 
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