Sutliff Dark Fine Cut

[buroak]

Of late I have been smoking Sutliff Dark Fine Cut in very small pipes that are finicky burners. The tobacco, a dark Va/Bur makes for a long smoke in a small bowl, though I have to take care to keep from getting the burn too hot. The flavor is enjoyable, with a dark fired taste, but not complex or otherwise memorable. The nicotine content is likely on the high side, as it is one of few pipe tobaccos that can give me a hint of buzz. Sutliff lists Dark Fine Cut as a bulk pipe tobacco, but its cut looks more like cigarette tobacco.
I would be interested to hear the opinions of other forum members who have smoked this blend.

 

[buroak]

I suppose the availability of a Sutliff Menthol Fine Cut is a clue as to the real target audience for this tobacco line.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

i did meet a guy who smokes menthol and mint tobaccos in his pipe at the last local pipe event. He was an exchange professor from Italy. I was duped into trying some concoction of his that tasted like a cross between an Altoid mint and lemons, blech!!
I've not tried the Sutliff fine cut, but I have smoked quite a few tins of McClelland's Black Shag from the Sherlock Series. It sounds a lot like what you describe, strong, fine cut, like a Virginia and burley combo with a touch of latakia. On a whim, I tried to roll up a cigarette with it, and it was just too moist. So, I let some dry, and tried again. It didn't make a very good smoke that way.
There are guys who like the shag cuts. There is a local doctor that frequents the B&M that runs all of his tobaccos through a coffee grinder. I tried it, not for me. There is also a McConnel's Pure Caribe that is a shag cut, and it's another VERY STRONG blend.
But, sorry I can't help you with that Sutliff shag. But, I threw in my .02 anyways. Happy smokes ::

 

[buroak]

Menthol and lemon sounds as appealing as drinking a glass of orange juice after brushing my teeth, if that comparison makes sense.
I have just ordered that shag cut McClelland tobacco. I am anxious to make a comparison.
Here is a picture of the Sutliff Fine Cut. How does it compare to what you have seen?

 

[buroak]

Update: I have not been smoking Sutliff Dark Fine Cut. Due to some miscommunication between myself and the young clerk at a nearby B&M I have in fact been smoking HH Old Dark Fired (the ready rubbed version) for months without realizing it. Count me among the already large number of ODF fans.

 

[mso489]

Old dark fired has come to the fore lately in a big way, for example with the new Orlik blend offered first by PC and soon others. I believe it is in the PS coin that I'm smoking and I find it a tasty variation on non-aro burleys and English and Balkan blends.

 

[buroak]

...I find it a tasty variation on non-aro burleys and English and Balkan blends.

I agree. It checks nearly all of the boxes on my list of what I want in a tobacco. I have started mixing it with some of my straight burley and Va tobaccos. Sometimes I just put a layer on top of a bowl of a tobacco that has proved difficult to keep lit or burning evenly.