Finally getting around to this one. I realize there is no shortage of reviews on this blend, most have already had it, and virtually no one gives a hoot what I think, but I am practicing picking out and describing flavors in tobacco and writing it all down helps. So ignore if you please, or read on if you’re that bored. Feedback welcomed.
I am not a big aromatics guy. I like them every once in a while, and most of the time when I decide to try a new one I am disappointed. This is why I had low hopes for Sutliff Molte Dolce. It is a well known aromatic, a popular one, and in my experience this usually means it is going to be a big wet pile of soggy ass sugar leaves. After a wonderful dinner of moose tenderloin, grilled teriyaki bell peppers, corn on the cob, and fresh baked bread, I stepped out on the front porch with my Savinelli Impero Smooth 111KS (A champion workhorse and staple rotation pipe for me, with amazing straight grain for the price). It is one of my few “anything except lakelands” pipes.
Hours earlier I had popped the tin open. I pulled back the tin with my nose in place to absorb the typically wonderful candy like scent of an aromatic like a dog sniffing at the rim of a dining room table. It did not disappoint with wonderful notes of honey and vanilla, and slight citrus somehow. Then I opened my eyes. MOTHER OF GOD!!!! It looked like syrupy black death that had been sprayed with simple syrup and shellac. So I gave it exactly one anusload of drying time. Given the looks of it I expected the usual goo infested wet burning smegma of aromatics past.
After dinner I loaded up and lit up out on the front porch and soaked in the Alaskan sunset with a nice glass of Cosentino Winery “The Franc” Cabernet Franc. A wonderfully smokey and affordable wine. After the first few puffs I knew this was going to be better than most. It instantly filled my nostrils with a fantastic room note, or in this case porch note, that was pure smokey vanilla loveliness. So much so that I got a little obsessed with the retrohale and my nostrils are now slightly cased. It provides that classic aromatic note that reminds one of their pre-smoking days, when aromatics still smelled like pure magic instead of type 7 diabetes. Straight Grandpa’s den type shit.
On the palate, thankfully, this is one of those few aros that actually provides similar flavors to the aroma. A lot of sweet Cavendish flavor with lovely dry vanilla and honey notes. Oddly I pick up a little citrus here too, in a glazed white Christmas cake kind of way, even though I don’t see any citrus (sweet orange specifically) listed in the toppings. It actually burns shockingly dry and clean for an aromatic, especially for the way it looked coming out of the tin, although I’m sure if I had sparked it right out of the tin without the hours of drying time it would have left the bowl looking like a 5 year old kid’s over-torched campfire marshmallow. I mean, the leaves had a sheen for God’s sake. But several hours of drying time seems to be the ticket. The Cavendish really shines throughout the entire bowl. It somehow stays quite tasty and smooth all the way through instead of going to hell in a bucket half way through the bowl like many aromatics. The tobacco is even quite tolerant of my typically aggressive cadence and remains bite free despite being pushed on occasion.
I did leave a little dottle at the end of the bowl, simply because I had to go back inside. It was my mother in laws birthday tonight and I was getting the “get the fuck back in here right now” look from the ole ball and chain so rather than relight for a third time for the last 1/6th or so of the bowl I just called it. But it probably would have smoked fine.
Overall, this is really a nice tobacco. As you may have noticed, I’m not a big aromatic fan, but this one is quite nice. It would be a great introductory tobacco for the new smoker, or for someone who is new to aros. It simple, yet sweet, burns well if dried enough, and it is nearly impossible to push it enough for it to bite. Not to mention the room note should be very tolerable, if not desirable, for most. One I will keep on hand for dessert on occasion for sure. I highly recommend it for those who like aromatics, but especially for those who aren’t so keen on them. This one may surprise you. It certainly did for me.
Cheers, and happy piping!
Frank
I am not a big aromatics guy. I like them every once in a while, and most of the time when I decide to try a new one I am disappointed. This is why I had low hopes for Sutliff Molte Dolce. It is a well known aromatic, a popular one, and in my experience this usually means it is going to be a big wet pile of soggy ass sugar leaves. After a wonderful dinner of moose tenderloin, grilled teriyaki bell peppers, corn on the cob, and fresh baked bread, I stepped out on the front porch with my Savinelli Impero Smooth 111KS (A champion workhorse and staple rotation pipe for me, with amazing straight grain for the price). It is one of my few “anything except lakelands” pipes.
Hours earlier I had popped the tin open. I pulled back the tin with my nose in place to absorb the typically wonderful candy like scent of an aromatic like a dog sniffing at the rim of a dining room table. It did not disappoint with wonderful notes of honey and vanilla, and slight citrus somehow. Then I opened my eyes. MOTHER OF GOD!!!! It looked like syrupy black death that had been sprayed with simple syrup and shellac. So I gave it exactly one anusload of drying time. Given the looks of it I expected the usual goo infested wet burning smegma of aromatics past.
After dinner I loaded up and lit up out on the front porch and soaked in the Alaskan sunset with a nice glass of Cosentino Winery “The Franc” Cabernet Franc. A wonderfully smokey and affordable wine. After the first few puffs I knew this was going to be better than most. It instantly filled my nostrils with a fantastic room note, or in this case porch note, that was pure smokey vanilla loveliness. So much so that I got a little obsessed with the retrohale and my nostrils are now slightly cased. It provides that classic aromatic note that reminds one of their pre-smoking days, when aromatics still smelled like pure magic instead of type 7 diabetes. Straight Grandpa’s den type shit.
On the palate, thankfully, this is one of those few aros that actually provides similar flavors to the aroma. A lot of sweet Cavendish flavor with lovely dry vanilla and honey notes. Oddly I pick up a little citrus here too, in a glazed white Christmas cake kind of way, even though I don’t see any citrus (sweet orange specifically) listed in the toppings. It actually burns shockingly dry and clean for an aromatic, especially for the way it looked coming out of the tin, although I’m sure if I had sparked it right out of the tin without the hours of drying time it would have left the bowl looking like a 5 year old kid’s over-torched campfire marshmallow. I mean, the leaves had a sheen for God’s sake. But several hours of drying time seems to be the ticket. The Cavendish really shines throughout the entire bowl. It somehow stays quite tasty and smooth all the way through instead of going to hell in a bucket half way through the bowl like many aromatics. The tobacco is even quite tolerant of my typically aggressive cadence and remains bite free despite being pushed on occasion.
I did leave a little dottle at the end of the bowl, simply because I had to go back inside. It was my mother in laws birthday tonight and I was getting the “get the fuck back in here right now” look from the ole ball and chain so rather than relight for a third time for the last 1/6th or so of the bowl I just called it. But it probably would have smoked fine.
Overall, this is really a nice tobacco. As you may have noticed, I’m not a big aromatic fan, but this one is quite nice. It would be a great introductory tobacco for the new smoker, or for someone who is new to aros. It simple, yet sweet, burns well if dried enough, and it is nearly impossible to push it enough for it to bite. Not to mention the room note should be very tolerable, if not desirable, for most. One I will keep on hand for dessert on occasion for sure. I highly recommend it for those who like aromatics, but especially for those who aren’t so keen on them. This one may surprise you. It certainly did for me.
Cheers, and happy piping!
Frank
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