Disclaimer: Thoughts herein are written having only smoked one bowl of this blend. Thoughts are subject to change.
When I got into pipe smoking (March of last year) my first purchase was a pipe "starter kit" from Pipes and Cigars that contained a no-name full bent, a czech tool, some cleaners, a cork knocker, some matches, and a tin of Sutliff Private Stock Roma Vita and St. George's Blend. I eagerly attacked Roma Vita and as I look back, despite my poor technique and constant mouth scorching, this was a very solid and flavorful aromatic. I came to this conclusion after sampling a variety of aromatics over the past year and I have every intention of purchasing another tin now that my technique is more refined. Because of this recent epiphany I decided to pop open that tin of St. George's that has been sitting untouched and see if Sutliff Private Stock aromatics maintained their reputation with me, personally. Here are my initial thoughts:
St. George's Blend was decently moist upon opening the tin and I let a bowl sit out on a paper towel over night before smoking it this morning. The tin note was quite pleasant and not overpowering. I have read much about berry aromatics smelling/tasting like cough syrup so the fact that the tin note did not live up to that reputation was a positive sign. Despite the drying, it took a few attempts to get the blend to keep a lite. However, once lit it burned very well and only required one relight that I take the blame for (I got a little distracted reading the morning news). The blend is incredibly mild. I am a nic lightweight and I felt little to no hit. The flavor was very light as well.
Here is where I can see smokers encountering a problem with this blend: Because the flavor is so mild, one would be inclined to puff a bit harder to get more flavor out of the blend. However, the mild flavor is very pleasant and stays true to what I would hope a berry aromatic to taste like if you maintain good smoking form and do not seek out a bold flavor from the blend. When I did puff hard to produce a good billow of smoke as an experiment, the blend quickly took a "cough syrup" turn for the worse.
When all was said and done, I enjoyed the smoke. It is not for those seeking huge flavor, big nic, or billows of smoke. I smoked outside so I cannot comment on the room note. I have had a lovely little berry flavor on my palate for the last hour or so.
When I got into pipe smoking (March of last year) my first purchase was a pipe "starter kit" from Pipes and Cigars that contained a no-name full bent, a czech tool, some cleaners, a cork knocker, some matches, and a tin of Sutliff Private Stock Roma Vita and St. George's Blend. I eagerly attacked Roma Vita and as I look back, despite my poor technique and constant mouth scorching, this was a very solid and flavorful aromatic. I came to this conclusion after sampling a variety of aromatics over the past year and I have every intention of purchasing another tin now that my technique is more refined. Because of this recent epiphany I decided to pop open that tin of St. George's that has been sitting untouched and see if Sutliff Private Stock aromatics maintained their reputation with me, personally. Here are my initial thoughts:
St. George's Blend was decently moist upon opening the tin and I let a bowl sit out on a paper towel over night before smoking it this morning. The tin note was quite pleasant and not overpowering. I have read much about berry aromatics smelling/tasting like cough syrup so the fact that the tin note did not live up to that reputation was a positive sign. Despite the drying, it took a few attempts to get the blend to keep a lite. However, once lit it burned very well and only required one relight that I take the blame for (I got a little distracted reading the morning news). The blend is incredibly mild. I am a nic lightweight and I felt little to no hit. The flavor was very light as well.
Here is where I can see smokers encountering a problem with this blend: Because the flavor is so mild, one would be inclined to puff a bit harder to get more flavor out of the blend. However, the mild flavor is very pleasant and stays true to what I would hope a berry aromatic to taste like if you maintain good smoking form and do not seek out a bold flavor from the blend. When I did puff hard to produce a good billow of smoke as an experiment, the blend quickly took a "cough syrup" turn for the worse.
When all was said and done, I enjoyed the smoke. It is not for those seeking huge flavor, big nic, or billows of smoke. I smoked outside so I cannot comment on the room note. I have had a lovely little berry flavor on my palate for the last hour or so.
