Upscale in terms of packaging and marketing perhaps. In terms of quality and taste, not really. I tried their Top Shelf (bourbon) blend too and found it likewise. I would compare these blends to OTCs like Captain Black and Borkum Riff, or the majority of bulk aros out there, in that these Sutliffs are literally drowned in topping, with the base tobacco basically serving as a combustible sponge. The real old-timey OTCs like PA, CH and SWR are topped but you can definitely taste tobacco in there, albeit not very good quality tobacco. Not all OTCs are horrid to me though. I've been smoking a lot of Amphora Brown (the red I found a little too heavily topped for my taste) and like it quite a bit. I give it several hours of drying, not because it's too wet to smoke, but because it evaporates some of the generous application of PG.