Sutliff 1849 - My impressions

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RobJ

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A few months ago I received a tin as part of a larger order and was excited to give it a try. However after working hard to get the tin opened, and my eventual disappointing smoking experience, I closed the tin as best I could and set it aside. The tin's wall was distorted by my use of a screwdriver to pry the lid open as traditional methods failed. At the time I found the blend to be about as bland as anything I've tried in the past. There was just nothing going on that I could find and I got to wondering if I might be able to use it mixed with something else. So it sat for a couple of months in the not quite sealed tin.

Two weeks ago I came across the tin and thought I'd give it another shot, so I filled my freshly cleaned Brigham 5 Dot and with zero expectations lit the pipe. A few sips in after the charring light I started to detect a satisfying low level sweetness with a very pleasant spiced citrus like tang on top. The longer I sipped the better it got as the bowl burned down. At about 2/3 the way down the character of this blend really came together for me and a slight creaminess emerged which enhanced my experience. At the very bottom of the bowl for some reason my nose began detecting some light floral notes. The blend smoked cool, dry and evenly to the bottom with just a couple of relights along the way. No dottle to speak of, just grey ash and a few charred bits as evidence.

I've been enjoying the blend every evening after work in the Brigham, it's been consistently good, so I placed an order last night for a few more tins. My experience suggests 1849 may improve with a little resting time after the tin is opened before diving in. But ymmv of course.
 
RobJ":bp89q7n3 said:
A few months ago I received a tin as part of a larger order and was excited to give it a try. However after working hard to get the tin opened, and my eventual disappointing smoking experience, I closed the tin as best I could and set it aside. The tin's wall was distorted by my use of a screwdriver to pry the lid open as traditional methods failed. At the time I found the blend to be about as bland as anything I've tried in the past. There was just nothing going on that I could find and I got to wondering if I might be able to use it mixed with something else. So it sat for a couple of months in the not quite sealed tin.

Two weeks ago I came across the tin and thought I'd give it another shot, so I filled my freshly cleaned Brigham 5 Dot and with zero expectations lit the pipe. A few sips in after the charring light I started to detect a satisfying low level sweetness with a very pleasant spiced citrus like tang on top. The longer I sipped the better it got as the bowl burned down. At about 2/3 the way down the character of this blend really came together for me and a slight creaminess emerged which enhanced my experience. At the very bottom of the bowl for some reason my nose began detecting some light floral notes. The blend smoked cool, dry and evenly to the bottom with just a couple of relights along the way. No dottle to speak of, just grey ash and a few charred bits as evidence.

I've been enjoying the blend every evening after work in the Brigham, it's been consistently good, so I placed an order last night for a few more tins. My experience suggests 1849 may improve with a little resting time after the tin is opened before diving in. But ymmv of course.
Rob, Your probably right about it having to breath awhile. My first bowl of it was very Ho Hum and disappointing also but, I passed the tin off to another hoping they'd find something in it I didn't. But, I won't be buying another to revisit it. My tin also was very hard to open but, I found the right curse words and it popped right open. ;)
 
I'm always interested in Red Va based blends and this one sounds like it might be worth trying. (regardless of Rons dismissal of it, we all know what is the ONLY thing he'll smoke and it has to say "ESCUDO" on the label :twisted: ) and the price looks to be reasonable. I've enjoyed Sutliff's English/ Balkan blends they have recently come out with so this may be another of theirs to try! Thanks for the review ! :twisted: :twisted:
 
monbla256":6lqf3imc said:
I'm always interested in Red Va based blends and this one sounds like it might be worth trying. (regardless of Rons dismissal of it, we all know what is the ONLY thing he'll smoke and it has to say "ESCUDO" on the label :twisted: ) and the price looks to be reasonable. I've enjoyed Sutliff's English/ Balkan blends they have recently come out with so this may be another of theirs to try! Thanks for the review ! :twisted: :twisted:
 
Well Ron I guess I just didn't come up with the right combinations of curse words. :shock:

Seriously, opening this tin was like breaking into Fort Knox. I'm hoping Sutliff is aware of the problem and has addressed it so the new tins aren't so much of a challenge. Anyway I figure I'll jar the new stuff for a couple of months before I try it. The bad news is I don't have much 1849 left so I'll do without for awhile.
 
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