I had never had it, but always enjoy English blends and have tried many. Most seem complex with a lot of components, this was simple and spot on for what I like English’s to be.
Opening A Tin? Show Us!
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Cornell & Diehl Small Batch Series - Fires on the Levee - Tin 08427/12000
I was hoping to put this away for a bit, but after opening the strange packaging box from Smoking Pipes and seeing a dented tin, I decided to jar the tin tonight. Smells like barbeque sauce dripped on charred hickory wood.
I was hoping to put this away for a bit, but after opening the strange packaging box from Smoking Pipes and seeing a dented tin, I decided to jar the tin tonight. Smells like barbeque sauce dripped on charred hickory wood.
2009 Wessex Campaign Dark Flake. I stashed a few of these away back in '09 then it was hard to get for a while, so I rationed it. Now it seems readily available, in fact I picked up a couple tins at the briary in Birmingham this summer. So I figured it's time to open one of my old tins. It's everything I remembered! One of my all-time favorite straight virginias.
Great post man.
This is what this thread is all about.
Dunhill flake is a gorgeous smoke as it ages. Enjoy!
(my description taken from another forum thread) HU Tobacco "Night Owl" - Hans Wiedemann, the man behind HU Tobacco, started blending long before the brand existed. He created personal mixtures for his pipe-smoking friends, and the feedback was so good that it led to the official launch at the Lohmar Pipeshow in 2011. The "Homage to my Friends" line is basically those original recipes, produced in cooperation with Kohlhase & Kopp. Night Owl is a pressed Virginia/Burley/Perique with a touch of Kentucky — nutty and earthy from the Burley, sweet from the VA, spicy from Perique, and a subtle smoky note from the Kentucky. Medium strength, cool burn, no bite. On TobaccoReviews it sits around 3.5/4 — most call it balanced and contemplative, perfect for late evenings. If you like Haunted Bookshop but want something a bit smoother and more complex, give it a try.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year All!!! I haven’t been on much lately and miss you guys. Just opened a 2022 Cringle and this was the result. Rusty lip and white crap all over the wrap and possibly on the tobacco too. Sad. To smoke or not to smoke? Your thoughts on this matter would be appreciated. 
Those had issues with the inner liner deteriorating. There’s posts about it and Sutliff had confirmed it being a problem.
(please note that this is my personal opinion, so it is for informational purposes only, but it is up to you to decide). Those white crystals on your aged flake are classic "plume" or "bloom," not mold. It's mineral salts and oils from the tobacco crystallizing on the surface during aging — a sign of good, oil-rich leaf (especially common on pressed Virginias and Burleys like FVF or similar plugs). Mold would be fuzzy, colored (green/blue), and smell musty. Plume wipes off easily (leaves an oily residue) and has no odor.
Try the flashlight test. If it sparkles, it's plume
I called Sutliff 2 years ago about this.
I spoke directly to the production manager whose name escapes me.
He told me that it’s a chemical reaction between the tobacco and a coating they used on the black paper.
It’s not salt or sugar or mold plume.
It’s something else.
He also mentioned it is safe to smoke.
Certainly not ideal.
I had some Germain's Rich Dark Flake that I stored in a jar for years and it looked EXACTLY like that. It wasn't mold and it smoked just fine.
Well, actually, this is a common occurrence, not just at Sutliff. That's exactly what I wrote about.
Nope. That’s not at all what you said.
Here is what you said:
“Those white crystals on your aged flake are classic "plume" or "bloom," not mold. It's mineral salts and oils from the tobacco crystallizing on the surface during aging — a sign of good, oil-rich leaf (especially common on pressed Virginias and Burleys like FVF or similar plugs).”
The above quote, according to the production manager at Sutliff, is false.
Also, it’s not at all a common occurrence. It is absolutely unique to Sutliff products that have that specific type of black paper. Now, other byproducts and reactions might look similar to the untrained eye, mine included, but it is not the same thing as what’s been photographed above, according to Sutliff.
Looks great. This now comes as cut flakes instead of the long roll. Same great red Virginia with some molasses-like flavor. I suspect that is what stained the paper!
I found a picture of the RDF I mentioned earlier. Yours has more on it but it looks like the same sort of stuff. Kind of powdery.
Thank you for sharing the conversation with the Sutliff production manager — interesting perspective. However, the phenomenon of white crystalline bloom on aged pressed tobacco is not "absolutely unique" to Sutliff products or their specific black paper. It has been reported and discussed for decades across many brands (G.L. Pease, McClelland, Esoterica, Cornell & Diehl, and even some European flakes) — long before Sutliff popularized it on their packaging. Greg Pease himself (one of the most respected blenders) has written extensively about it, calling it harmless mineral salts and natural oils migrating to the surface during fermentation and aging. No health concerns, just a cosmetic byproduct of good leaf. I'd be genuinely curious to see the actual chemical analysis Sutliff conducted on these crystals — composition, safety data, etc. If it's truly unique to their process, they should have no problem sharing the lab results. Until then, decades of collective experience from smokers and blenders suggest it's safe and not mold.
I'd give that a blast, if it smells ok. Doesn't look hairy.
In crystalline deposits found on pipe tobacco, a certain proportion may be attributed to… propylene glycol. Surprise, surprise! And this proportion can be quite significant in quantitative terms compared to other “actors” in this play. Another substance present in the bloom is ethyl maltol. There is very little of it, but (!) ethyl maltol is detectable in the air at very low—even extremely minute—concentrations. It is often described as having a caramel aroma, the smell of burnt sugar, or notes reminiscent of fruit jam or preserves. Together with propylene glycol, which also has a sweet scent, this duo is quite capable of playing a cruel trick on smokers by masquerading as the aromas of beautifully aged tobacco. Especially since, in crystalline form, this combination settles directly on the surface of the tobacco and actively releases its aromas. Another point worth noting is the form of these deposits. In online discussions about tobacco bloom, the focus is usually on flakes. Most often, crystalline formations appear along the boundaries of stacked tobacco leaves or in the direction of the cutting blades. On non-pressed aged tobacco, crystals are also not uncommon, but in this case the bloom is less visually striking and more diffusely distributed across the surface of the tobacco fragments. It seems evident that the manifestation of crystals is in some way dependent on pressure. Presses and cutting knives force certain substances to migrate to the surface, where they later crystallize. Tobacco additives may behave in a similar manner—“gathering” under pressure in looser cavities and then being spread by the knives, as evidenced by their characteristic trace.