Jim's Sutliff Eastfarthing Review.

[sandollars]

I JUST spoke to JD and he says he is waiting on a delivery of Ismir to arrive in order to complete the blend. He is hoping by the end of the year or shortly thereafter. Just FYI..

 

[JimInks]

I hate to disagree with the most-respected pipe tobacco reviewer on the internet, but I just had my first bowl of Eastfarthing yesterday and found it to be quite similar to Frog Morton Cellar. Granted, nobody is ever going to exactly reproduce any the Frog Morton series, but Sutliff came about as close as can be hoped for with Eastfarthing. What I recall the most from FMC is creamy liquor whiskey topping that reminds me of Bailey's Irish cream, plus the woodsy smokiness of the latakia. I got that same basic flavor profile from Eastfarthing. Of course this is my thought based only on one bowl, but as I smoke the rest of the tin I plan to dig some FMC out of my cellar and do a little more comparing of the two.

It doesn't bother me when some body disagrees with my reviews. Sutliff made a very good blend in the spirit of FM, but the difference in the tobaccos alone makes it not a close match to me. And FM has a little richer flavor. I'd say both blends were in the same family, but most people experienced with Frog Morton would know it's not the same. I didn't compare it to FM Cellar, and yes, I'd say it's a little closer to that than to regular FM, but again, there's a difference in what I get from the tobaccos. I would say the sweetness level is nearly the same between the two. I don't think it matters either way because Eastfarthing is a worthy smoke. That's why I posted the review away from TR, because I felt the blend deserves a wider audience as not everybody goes to TR.

 

[lawdawg]

It doesn't bother me when some body disagrees with my reviews. Sutliff made a very good blend in the spirit of FM, but the difference in the tobaccos alone makes it not a close match to me. I'd say both blends were in the same family, but most people experienced with Frog Morton would know it's not the same. I didn't compare it to FM Cellar, and yes, I'd say it's a little closer to that than to regular FM, but again, there's a difference in what I get from the tobaccos. I don't think it matters either way because Eastfarthing is a worthy smoke.

Well I'd mostly agree with you there. I still think it's a pretty close match though, at least close enough that I would definitely encourage anyone who misses FMC to give it a try

I would really like to see if others who really liked FMC agree with my take on Eastfarthing. For all the hubbub about FMC when McClelland closed up shop, I'm surprised that Eastfarthing hasn't already had more attention. After all, I'm pretty certain that it's intended as either a FM or an FMC match, or at least a close approximation anyhow, and it's the first time I'm aware of that any blender has been bold enough to make what is essentially a Frog Morton series match. In the Tolkien universe, Frogmorton was a town in the Eastfarthing, hence the name.

 

[JimInks]

Well I'd mostly agree with you there. I still think it's a pretty close match though, at least close enough that I would definitely encourage anyone who misses FMC to give it a try

I would really like to see if others who really liked FMC agree with my take on Eastfarthing. For all the hubbub about FMC when McClelland closed up shop, I'm surprised that Eastfarthing hasn't already had more attention. After all, I'm pretty certain that it's intended as either a FM or an FMC match, or at least a close approximation anyhow, and it's the first time I'm aware of that any blender has been bold enough to make what is essentially a Frog Morton series match. In the Tolkien universe, Frogmorton was a town in the Eastfarthing, hence the name.

The main difference between us is that I was comparing it to FM and not FMC. I had the notion it was meant to clone FM.

 

[lawdawg]

The main difference between us is that I was comparing it to FM and not FMC. I had the notion it was meant to clone FM.

It's hard to know what the Sutliff blenders intended since they just called it "Eastfarthing" as a somewhat vague reference to Frog Morton or the Frog Morton series. Eastfarthing definitely has the creamy liqueur thing going on like FMC. I'm actually smoking a bowl of FMC right now and am finding it quite similar to the bowl of Eastfarthing I smoked yesterday.

Of course if I was trying to do a more serious comparison right now, I'd have to get rid of my glass of bourbon, but being that it's Friday night after a long week at work, that will have to wait until tomorrow

 

[danimalia]

I'd try this one. I think i have one bowl or so of FMC left so maybe i can do a side by side eventually. FMC was an important blend in getting me into Latakia. I quickly moved on to other blends, more due to the thinness and lack of body and strength in FMC than the flavors which always remained intriguing to me. I continued to enjoy the FMC on occasion.

It would be nice to have a worthy blend in the same vein.

 

[cossackjack]

Nope, not for me.
Tried it with my tobacconist. We both found it underwhelming in flavor, body, & strength. Rather bland.
Glad that I did not buy it before trying.
More for y'all.

 

[rdoss16]

im not a huge latakia guy so i was a bit apprehensive about this blend but boy am i glad i tried it. I absolutely adore it. never had a chance to try FMC but if its anything like this im sure id love it.