Jim's Sutliff Crumble Kake Reviews.

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JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,302
564,697
These three new offerings will be on sale in November in 1.5 ounce MacBaren-like style tins.
Sutliff Crumble Kake English #1:

The woody, earthy, musty, lightly leather-like and moderately sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component, though it doesn’t dominate the other varietals. In a strong support role are the various aged, tangy red Virginias, which offer dark fruit, quite a bit of earth, some wood, and extremely light floral, sour and bread notes. The floral, dry, mildly buttery sweet and sour, earthy, woody Orientals fall a step below the red Virginias in the line up for the most part, though once in a while, it’s almost even money. The nutty, earthy, woody, lightly sweet burley js just below the level of the Orientals in terms of effect. The strength and taste marks are medium. The nic-hit is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. No chance of bite or harshness, but a rough edge may pop up here and there. The crumble cake is mildly moist, and easy to break apart. Well balanced with a little complexity, it burns cool, clean and a touch slow with a fairly consistent, tangy sweet and mildly savory flavor all the way to the last ember. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires a few relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and the room note is not very pungent. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and is certainly repeatable for the less experienced.
Sutliff Crumble Kake Red Virginia:

The various aged red Virginias provide tangy dark fruit, quite a bit of earth, some wood, and extremely light floral, sour and bread notes. They have some aspects of both McClelland 5100 and C&D’s Carolina Red Flake. The strength and taste levels fall a step short of medium. The nic-hit is a hair short of the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but once in a while, you may notice a light rough edge. This crumble cake is mildly moist, and easily broken apart. Burns cool, clean and slightly slow with a very consistent flavor from top to bottom. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires just slightly more than an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. An all day smoke that would also make a good mixer. Three and a half stars out of four.
Sutliff Crumble Kake Va. Perique:

The tangy, earthy, woody, lightly floral and bready, dark fruity matured red Virginias are the lead components. The tingly spicy, raisiny, plummy, perique is a supporting player. The unsweetened black cavendish provides a little smoothing sugar in the background. The perfectly intermingled varietals create a harmonious, deep, consistent sweet and lightly savory flavor from start to finish. The strength level barely reaches medium, while the taste sits squarely on that mark. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh. This mildly moist crumble kake easily breaks apart and burns cool, clean, and a tad slow. Hardly leaves any dampness in the bowl, and depending on how one prepares the tobacco, may require some relights. Has a very pleasant, mildly lingering after taste and room note. The blend packs a little punch, but not enough to preclude it from being an all day smoke, especially for veteran pipers.

 

uncleblackie

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 20, 2014
280
10
Well this is interesting. Most intrigued by the English.
Jim, how would you describe the cut of the base tobacco? Is it a fine ribbon like the current C&D cut, or a wider ribbon/rough cut? Or neither?

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,302
564,697
It's a crumble kake in two slices, and very easy to break apart. It's like the Watch City crumble kakes (which are made by Sutliff).

 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
11,800
16,188
SE PA USA
Jim, I know that Sutliff had a fairly large amount of Red Virginia that they had bought from McClelland years ago. Is this that?

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,302
564,697
Dan, I don't know for sure. There is a little difference between 5100 and what they are using, so I'll say they aren't.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
All of these sound pretty good to me. The red Virginia would definitely double for a mixer, which is good with the departure of 5100, not a replacement but at least an alternative.

 

jmill208

Lifer
Dec 8, 2013
1,087
1,163
Maryland USA
Got my hands on a couple of tins of the red va, and vaper today. I read that the release date was November 1st.?

Anyone else besides Jim try these yet? Wondering which to crack open first.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,302
564,697
Jmill208: try the Red Va. first. That'll give you a good baseline for the VaPer.
Piper: thanks for the kind words.

 

jmill208

Lifer
Dec 8, 2013
1,087
1,163
Maryland USA
Thank you Jim. I’ve had some of the bulk Sutliff red va, and found it good, but somewhat underwhelming. Hopefully this crumble cake will be better.

The reviews are great, and make it sound like that’s the case.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
jiminks, how do you feel about the Crumble Kake cut? The larger pieces have the advantage of retaining moisture and flavor longer, not quite flake or plug etc., but more durable than most loose cuts. On the other hand, they do require some prep in terms of breaking up the pieces and maybe rubbing it out; or maybe that isn't needed? Some Crumble Kakes I've tried seem to not stay lit as well and don't burn evenly, but I'd get better results with more practice no doubt. How does Crumble Kake work for most members? I have a small hand grater that breaks up any cut in even pieces and gives a lot of flavor without many relights; anyone else try that?

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,302
564,697
I break them apart in very small pieces with my fingers and drop them into the bowl. I rub out some for the bottom and top of the bowl. I get a fairly nice burn rate even with some relights, which doesn't bother me at all. Some people put while pieces in, but I'm not crazy about that myself. But, whatever works best for people is all that matters.

 

techie

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2018
589
10
Thanks for the reviews! I watched the smokingpipes video review of these last night on YouTube. Initially I was most interested in the English, but the way the VaPer was described in the vid is very enticing.

 

sparroa

Lifer
Dec 8, 2010
1,466
4
I am very excited about the Red Virginia and Virginia Perique blends! Hope I can try them eventually...
Thanks for the reviews!

 

krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,136
18,313
Michigan
I’ve got 2 tins of the Red Va on the way, and looking forward to it. And Jim’s review of the VaPer has me itching for that one too.
Does anyone have any idea of the production numbers? I imagine the FDA sword of Damocles will result in some level of hoarding.

 
Jan 28, 2018
13,083
137,162
67
Sarasota, FL
Smoked a bowl of the Sutliff Red Krumble Kake. Aired out the freshly opened tin for an hour and then loaded up. The tin note certainly has some similarities to McClelland Va's. This is the first bowl ever of a tin freshly opened, so this should be taken with a grain of salt. Very refined, no sharp edges. Kind of like well aged 5100 but with a bit less body and flavor. However, first impression was strong. Very enjoyable smoke, I'm looking forward to smoking some a week or two down the road after it has had a chance to air out.
Smoking the VaPer Krumble Kake right now. WOW! I had this open for 4 or 5 hours. The perique is more plum, fig, sweet spicy. Almost no pepper which is perfect for me.Again, 1/2 way through the first bowl ever from a freshly opened tin but I'm very, very impressed by this one. Delicious!

 
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briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,288
5,494
I am a novice so take with a grain of salt the size of a salt lick.
I get malt vinegar and quite a bit of chocolate out of the Red Krumble Cake.

Definitely has some "sour" notes, almost in the same way that acidity from tomatoes or vinegar "cuts" through and changes sauce.

Excellent all by itself with plenty of different flavors to keep you interested.

Mixed with some curly-block is quite yummy as well. The sour is really nice next to the spice.
3.1 *

 
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