Sutliff Old Professor: First Impressions

[Bowie]

Sutliff Old Professor is sold as an English blend but many reviews classify it as an aro-english. I disagree with the latter and think it's an English, albeit quite a mild one. I tasted no hints of anything sweet or aromatic. I smoked it in a Rossi Vittoria pot.

Observations:

• Grab bag of tobacco cuts. Shag, ribbon, large ribbon, twigs.
• Nice and pleasing smoky campfire taste, but very mild. By no means a Lat Bomb. Take some Latakia and turn it down to 5.5.
• The Orientals are equal to the Latakia, yet also very mild. Some spiciness, but Minnesota Level Tater Tot Hot Dish "spicy" aka mild.
• Some lemon/citrus came through in the last half of the bowl.
• No sweetness or Black Cav or anything similar came through for me to classify this as an aro-eng.
• I had a hard time keeping this blend lit in the first half of the bowl, despite drying it out over an hour to a crisp feel. One other review on SPC noted the same. Perhaps user error or today's higher than normal humidity. But I gave my Bic a workout.

Conclusion: Mellow and mild English blend, but overall too mild. I'm not looking for a Lat bomb, but this was to me the Coors Light of Englishes. Not terrific, not bad, not something I'll order more of, but I will happily smoke the rest of it.

2/5 stars.

Cheers y'all.

 

[elessar]

Minnesota Level Tater Tot Hot Dish "spicy" aka mild.

I've grown up and spent most of my life in MN and ketchup is too spicy for some here. A shame really. But I was born in Louisiana so my tastes tend towards foods with some real flavor. I too prefer my tobacco that way and find myself buying full flavored blends.

 

[Bowie]

I've grown up and spent most of my life in MN and ketchup is too spicy for some here. A shame really. But I was born in Louisiana so my tastes tend towards foods with some real flavor. I too prefer my tobacco that way and find myself buying full flavored blends.

I get that and 100% agree, as I'm born and raised in Texas and have lived in MN for over 10 years. But I'll admit, Tater Tot Hot Dish - with some Cholula - is pretty good.

 

[elessar]

I get that and 100% agree, as I'm born and raised in Texas and have lived in MN for over 10 years. But I'll admit, Tater Tot Hot Dish - with some Cholula - is pretty good.

Now that doesn't sound half bad!

 

[canucklehead]

I think Old Professor is an aro English, but that's probably because I associate that heavy handed humectant taste and mouth feel with Sutliff aro blends. The PG/glycerin in them taste/smells sweet to me kind of like antifreeze (which it pretty much is). I like it once in a while (Sutliffed blends, not antifreeze).

 

[Bowie]

I think Old Professor is an aro English, but that's probably because I associate that heavy handed humectant taste and mouth feel with Sutliff aro blends. The PG/glycerin in them taste/smells sweet to me kind of like antifreeze (which it pretty much is). I like it once in a while (Sutliffed blends, not antifreeze).

I believe you are right. I enjoy a lot of Sutliff blends, but this one fell a little short of the mark for me. I'll try it again in a few months and see how it ages.

 

[wulfheard]

I happen to like this blend. As far as bulk english/Balkan blends go it is very smokable. It's complex enough to keep it interesting but yet easy going enough to smoke all day. Moisture level is about right as the pieces are generally springy and it jars well, but it does benefit from a short drying time.. I get no glycol taste that some complain about and I'm not going to address that whole humectant discussion here because I'm of the opinion that much of it is bullshit. As for it's strength level, it's about medium in comparison to other so called mild English blends. I also find nothing aromatic about it as I can detect no topping or casing of any kind. To my pallet something like PS Luxury 17, which I enjoy from time to time, is a mild English. I find that Old Professor is a full step above that in flavor profile. The only gripe I can really level at it is the cut. It can be kind of irregular with a fair amount of clumps or twiggy pieces in it. If you are smoking it in a pipe with a smaller chamber, it can give you some issues keeping it lit. Overall I find this to be a decent bulk, so called, English blend and worthy of being a regular in my rotation.

 

[canucklehead]

Moisture level is about right as the pieces are generally springy and it jars well, but it does benefit from a short drying time.. I get no glycol taste that some complain about and I'm not going to address that whole humectant discussion here because I'm of the opinion that much of it is bullshit. As for it's strength level, it's about medium in comparison to other so called mild English blends. I also find nothing aromatic about it as I can detect no topping or casing of any kind.

It's a noticably cased Sutliff blend, obviously containing a fair amount of humectants. It is shiny moist and leaves a sticky residue on my fingers when I handle it, and remains pliable after sitting in an open bag in my van in the sun for a week.

I don't mind smoking it, it's a decent blend, but it is Sutliffed for sure, it has the same texture and dry time as Mello Peach.

 

[mso489]

Maybe the Professor is very old indeed and speaks so softly his classes can scarcely hear him. Fair warning to anyone who needs a little volume in their blends. I'll pass on that one.

 

[wulfheard]

It's a noticably cased Sutliff blend, obviously containing a fair amount of humectants. It is shiny moist and leaves a sticky residue on my fingers when I handle it, and remains pliable after sitting in an open bag in my van in the sun for a week.

I don't mind smoking it, it's a decent blend, but it is Sutliffed for sure, it has the same texture and dry time as Mello Peach.

My experience is somewhat different. While it does have a casing of food grade proplyene glycol (most bulk tobaccos do) I do not find it "shiny" and it leaves almost no sticky residue on my fingers. It's my experience that comparatively, It has no more moisturizer than that of most bulk tobacco products and less than many. But to be honest I do not smoke my tobacco in a state of crispy critters as many do. While I do dry my tobacco somewhat I do not wait until it is crunchy. IMHO drying too much is a cardinal sin of pipe smoking. While Old Professor may not be of the same quality of other bulk English / Balkan products such as Arango Balkan Supreme, it certainly is a very smokeable middle of the road blend. And I guess for that reason it is one of the top 50 selling bulk tobaccos on Somkingpipes.com

 

[canucklehead]

My experience is somewhat different. While it does have a casing of food grade proplyene glycol (most bulk tobaccos do) I do not find it "shiny" and it leaves almost no sticky residue on my fingers. It's my experience that comparatively, It has no more moisturizer than that of most bulk tobacco products and less than many. But to be honest I do not smoke my tobacco in a state of crispy critters as many do. While I do dry my tobacco somewhat I do not wait until it is crunchy. IMHO drying too much is a cardinal sin of pipe smoking. While Old Professor may not be of the same quality of other bulk English / Balkan products such as Arango Balkan Supreme, it certainly is a very smokeable middle of the road blend. And I guess for that reason it is one of the top 50 selling bulk tobaccos on Somkingpipes.com

I like Old Professor (and Mello Peach) once in a while. It is true I definitely fall into the crispy dry category, I like D&R blends, and often dry C&D blends before smoking.

 

[Magpiety]

My experience is somewhat different. While it does have a casing of food grade proplyene glycol (most bulk tobaccos do) I do not find it "shiny" and it leaves almost no sticky residue on my fingers. It's my experience that comparatively, It has no more moisturizer than that of most bulk tobacco products and less than many. But to be honest I do not smoke my tobacco in a state of crispy critters as many do. While I do dry my tobacco somewhat I do not wait until it is crunchy. IMHO drying too much is a cardinal sin of pipe smoking.

After getting some advice about drying to avoid tongue bite, I'm well into the category of those that leave blends crispy dry. I'm curious about the benefits of more moisture, is there a flavor benefit?

 

[wulfheard]

After getting some advice about drying to avoid tongue bite, I'm well into the category of those that leave blends crispy dry. I'm curious about the benefits of more moisture, is there a flavor benefit?

With out getting into an argument about over drying tobacco because I have some pretty strong opinions on it which I know will ruffle some feathers around here I will just say this...I find that overly dry tobacco can lose a significant amount of it's flavor. This is especially true of aromatics. Once you dry out an aromatic, you are left with nothing but a cheap tasteless cavendish not even worth the time it takes to smoke it. You might as well be packing old cigarette butts into your pipe. I find this to be true to lesser extent with English and burley blends but if you dry out the essential oils in any kind of tobacco, you are bound to lose some of the flavor...But everbody's pallet is different so smoke it as you like.

 

[Magpiety]

With out getting into an argument about over drying tobacco because I have some pretty strong opinions on it which I know will ruffle some feathers around here I will just say this...I find that overly dry tobacco can lose a significant amount of it's flavor. This is especially true of aromatics. Once you dry out an aromatic, you are left with nothing but a cheap tasteless cavendish not even worth the time it takes to smoke it. You might as well be packing old cigarette butts into your pipe. I find this to be true to lesser extent with English and burley blends but if you dry out the essential oils in any kind of tobacco, you are bound to lose some of the flavor...But everbody's pallet is different so smoke it as you like.

Thanks for the reply, that's helpful. I tend to have blends sitting around in their tins for awhile before jarring, and sometimes they end up pretty dry. Sounds like I should jar them up before that point.