Sutliff Cringle Flake 2020

[Chasing Embers]

never heard of Rougaroux

Made by Watch City Cigars from a base of their Simply Red.

 

[NomadOrb]

A friend at work gave me some. Not bad, but I prefer Rougaroux and Sutliff's Elizabethan Match.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the elizabethan match. I bought 3 lbs of it recently, and should have no trouble going through it over the years.

 

[sablebrush52]

A friend at work gave me some. Not bad, but I prefer Rougaroux and Sutliff's Elizabethan Match.

Not surprising, Rougaroux is modeled on the Murray's Elizabethan Mixture, just like Sutliff's.

 

[tfdickson]

Not surprising, Rougaroux is modeled on the Murray's Elizabethan Mixture, just like Sutliff's.

I hadn’t heard that before but it makes sense to me. Elizabethan Match, Rouxgaroux, and KBV Verge Engine Overdrive (not that anyone mentioned it here) are three peas in a pod to my taste. Not at all the same, but variations on a theme.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Not surprising, Rougaroux is modeled on the Murray's Elizabethan Mixture, just like Sutliff's.

Definitely good stuff. After catching the wife in mine, got her some as well.

 

[NomadOrb]

I hadn’t heard that before but it makes sense to me. Elizabethan Match, Rouxgaroux, and KBV Verge Engine Overdrive (not that anyone mentioned it here) are three peas in a pod to my taste. Not at all the same, but variations on a theme.

VEO and Rouxgaroux are very close in taste to me. The Rouxgaroux is a bit more chocolate to my palate, but they both hit similar notes.

 

[fightnhampster]

I found that I fell to the hype of it and in retrospect it wasn't terrible. It was similar to Old Ironsides or Salty Dogs. I like both of those but thought that this was supposed to be better. I would not walk across the street to buy it but if someone gave me a bowl, I would smoke it again... I mean who am I to turn down a free smoke?

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a singular blend worth the hype. I just have to get use to the different way it has to be handled.

 

[heathandleaf]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone smoked it and not liked it? I smoked a bowl and was met with the top quarter of the bowl being a fight between sweet and spicy the middle was mostly Virginia saying hi and the end of the bowl was pretty uneventful. I am not giving a review on it since I only smoked it once but I was disappointed...

I'll cop to it. I've only had one bowl and probably didn't rub it out enough and I certainly didn't let it dry. It was tedious to keep an ember going. My palate is so accustomed to C&D blends that I found it a wee might bitey, but I was probably chuffing a bit too eagerly. The bottom of my bowl was entirely too goopy at the end. I'll probably rub out the entire tin and revisit it sometime this week, but I doubt I'll be buying much more from my local B&M.

 

[logs]

Thought it was a little too mild on first taste but after setting down my pipe and coming back to it later I had a much better experience. DGT works well on this one.

 

[NomadOrb]

Trying a bowl out now and really enjoying it. It has a very pronounced stewed fruit for me. I'm glad I was able to get 5 tins.

 

[bnichols23]

I'll cop to it. I've only had one bowl and probably didn't rub it out enough and I certainly didn't let it dry. It was tedious to keep an ember going. My palate is so accustomed to C&D blends that I found it a wee might bitey, but I was probably chuffing a bit too eagerly. The bottom of my bowl was entirely too goopy at the end. I'll probably rub out the entire tin and revisit it sometime this week, but I doubt I'll be buying much more from my local B&M.

Yeah, drying is key on this one. Found that out my first bowl too.

 

[sablebrush52]

To taste the flavors in this tobacco, you need patience. There's a lot of moisture in these flakes and the flavors don't come out to play until you dry the tobacco. I rubbed out the flakes and let them dry for about 3 1/2 hours until they were just shy of bone dry. Then you slow smoke the flake. If you can't be bothered, you're not going to taste the flavors in which case you might just as well sell the tins to someone else.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

To taste the flavors in this tobacco, you need patience. There's a lot of moisture in these flakes and the flavors don't come out to play until you dry the tobacco. I rubbed out the flakes and let them dry for about 3 1/2 hours until they were just shy of bone dry. Then you slow smoke the flake. If you can't be bothered, you're not going to taste the flavors in which case you might just as well sell the tins to someone else.

Exactly my experience with this tobacco. If you take your time, dry the tobacco and smoke it slow, a lot of complexity of flavor will be revealed.

 

[JimInks]

Not surprising, Rougaroux is modeled on the Murray's Elizabethan Mixture, just like Sutliff's.

Actually, not so much. The formula I gave Ernie was based on the idea of doing a more refined VaPer. Murray's Elizabethan was stronger, a bit rougher, less fruity sweet, spicier and more floral than Rougaroux. Rougaroux is easier on the tongue and smoother than both the Murray's and Match.

 

[musicman]

Mine just came. I ordered a little too late and had to order from P&C, and sure enough, it was terribly packaged. 6 tins and three bags of pipe cleaners rattling around in a box that is much too large, with almost no filler materials. Still, all tins are intact (well, save for the one that got opened right away, but that's on me), with no major dents. Drying out a bowl's worth right now!

 

[Jwebb90]

Mine just came. I ordered a little too late and had to order from P&C, and sure enough, it was terribly packaged. 6 tins and three bags of pipe cleaners rattling around in a box that is much too large, with almost no filler materials. Still, all tins are intact (well, save for the one that got opened right away), with no major dents. Drying out a bowl's worth right now!

I’m glad yours showed up. After being guaranteed that my order would be shipped Friday it was not. In processing purgatory I remain.

 

[sablebrush52]

Actually, not so much. The formula I gave Ernie was based on the idea of doing a more refined VaPer. Murray's Elizabethan was stronger, a bit rougher, less fruity sweet, spicier and more floral than Rougaroux. Rougaroux is easier on the tongue and smoother than both the Murray's and Match.

I stand corrected.

 

[JimInks]

I stand corrected.

You afraid to sit down?

 

[anotherbob]

I don't think that the argument can be framed in low and high standards. It can be framed as different metrics, and whether those metrics appeal to you. Remember that shortly before McClelland was shut down they tried to make one last batch of 5100 for smokers who enjoyed it and for blenders who used it as a component in their blends. They decided that the result wasn't to their standard and they tossed it rather than release a blend that didn't hit their marks. They were quite picky about their Virginias. Not only was it handpicked, it came from specific parts of the plant. And if I remember correctly, some of their suppliers had turned to growing other crops.

C&D releases blends that they believe are good, as does Hearth & Home.

As much as I like many of Russ' blends, matured Red Virginias aren't something he does, they're something that he uses as a component in his blending. And he's not personally processing the leaf that he uses, batch after batch, after batch, which is what Mike McNeil did. That said, his RO Perique Series GP-11, which he made with help from Mark Ryan, is one of my all time favorite Va/Pers. And I love Viprati, Anni Kake and a number of other H&H blends. McClelland they are not, nor does that matter. They have a different metric and I like them for what they are.

C&D does make a wide range of blends and there are a few that I like, like Bijou and Yorktown. And as much as I like CRF, I don't find it to have the same depth of flavors that McClelland Virginias could have. Their metric is different from what McClelland had.

And frankly, a number of McClelland blends didn't do anything for me. They were not a great source of aromatics, though they made a few, like Deep Hollow, that I like. And I preferred English/Oriental/Balkan blends made by other blenders. Again, it's a matter of metrics.

One big issue is the manner in which leaf is harvested and processed. 10 years ago when this Sutliff leaf was grown the leaf was handpicked at the point where it was fully ripe, and other leaf was left to ripen for the next pick. With machine harvesting, that harvest is a mixture of ripened leaf and unripened leaf, and that's going to affect the flavor.

Can leaf be grown that's the equal of anything grown in the past? Sure. But lacking Federal subsidies, the labor to grow and process is will be expensive and so will the resulting tins. If you don't mind spending $30 or $40 for 50 grams you can have all the time tested, traditional method, labor intensive, high end leaf that you can smoke.

so that is why everything has stems these days

 

[sablebrush52]

You afraid to sit down?

When you're croutched behind my back, wearing those lace crotchless panties? You bet!