Tobaccos Sutliff Tobacco Company - Breckinridge (Sutliff Private Stock)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3022)	2014-05-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A straight uncomplicated Kentucky plug cut burley with no topping. It has a little earthiness contrasting nicely with mild molasses, nutty, and cocoa notes with some earthiness. Has a mild nic-hit, and will not bite. Burns at less than a moderate pace, cool, clean and even, though if you puff too fast, you may get a hint of cigarette. It’s not as sweet as the more familiar OTCs on the market, and as it burns slowly, you'll have a nice long smoke depending on the size of your bowl. Also works well as a mixer. Has a consistent flavor, and leaves virtually no moisture at the finish. Needs a few relights if you use a big bowl. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (632)	2015-06-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

EDIT 4-12-2016

I just finished another tin of this and ordered a few more fro the cellar. No change in my feelings on this one, but I would say that I am even more confident in my four star rating on this one.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 6-30-2015

A friend sent a tin of this to me from the Chicago show last year, because he thought I would like it. I was skeptical of anything sutliff at the time having been disappointed by a couple of their blends I tried and not really finding one I did. Well, this blend changed all that. This is one of the best burley blends out there today. I would say it is the best in a ribbon format as I would still put ABF above this one.

A nice thing about this is that it gives all the sweet nutty and earthy notes that you would hope for in a burley blend, but doesn't overwhelm you with nicotine the way several others do. It also doesn't get bitter at the slightest provocation making it a good candidate for mindless smoking while putzing around the garage.

This is a no brainer at 4 stars for me as I have recommended this blend a lot since popping the tin. Great work Sutliff! I will be stocking up on this one.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2015-05-17		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very good burley. Mine came in a generous sample from a friend and was slightly on the dry side. I can't comment on moisture from the tin, but I smoked it as is and did not hydrate it.

The flavors are subtle molasses and cocoa. There is an earthy quality to the taste, and I found it unusually easy to smoke very slowly. It stayed lit and did not have problems with burning hot. There were no chemical "notes." While it contains Kentucky, it is not spicy or smoky. I got a little ashy taste in the last few puffs of a bowl.

This is only available in a 1.5 oz tin, and while it is very good, current pricing is effectively $72 a pound. Were it an option in bulk, I think more people would try it.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Motoyoshi (68)	2015-01-19		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was very excited to try this blend and it did not disappoint. Fans of burley seem to be few and far between these days. That's a good thing, we always have our favorite blends readily available because nobody is buying them up :)

The tin is a mishmash of various cuts with colors that are reminiscent of cardboard or cork boards. I was a little surprised at first to find some plume though, being that Burley is not known for naturally occurring sugars. If you inspect closely there are little sugar crystals on the leaves which probably is from a slight casing just to balance ph levels of the tobacco. It doesn't impinge on the lovely flavor of this tobacco at all, if anything, it enhances the experience.

Packing is very easy because all the varied sizes of cuts offer you to customize how you want to load up. I typically put the big chunks at the bottom of the bowl and use the smaller ones for kindling.

Lighting this up there is a faint sweetness evocative of a sugared bran cereal (Honey Chex Mix maybe?). It isn't obtrusive to the smoke but rather quite nice. The first 2/3 of the bowl provide gentle whips of an array of flavors including but not limited to; cocoa, nuts, milk chocolate, leather, honey bread and chocolate mousse. The last 1/3 of the bowl really brings out the earthy and mossy notes but it's a nice close to a wonderful smoke. I would not be surprised if the tobaccos were treated with a sugar water because that sweetness allows so many other flavors to show themselves.

If you can't tell, I love this blend. Solani ABF and Carter Hall are my two favorite burley blends but this is like a perfect marriage between the two of them. ABF has more of the low notes with some highs where CH has more sweet highs than lows. Breckenridge's range is greater than both. I've heard others make reference to PA, SWR or Half N' Half, but this tobaccos leaf is of a much higher quality IMO.

I can only hope that Sutliff decides to put this into an 8 oz can because I would absolutely buy it. Highly recommended for Burley lovers.

Similar Blends: John Middleton, Inc - Carter Hall, Solani - 656: Aged Burley Flake.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	David E (4)	2015-06-18		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I like to call this ERR match Deluxe. If you like Sutliff's ERR match and you want a bit more oomph, a bit more taste then try this. Side by side with ERR match I cannot tell the different by the look. Same cut, same chunky pieces.

The difference is is the taste. This has more of a chocolate taste and jar note then ERR. To say that this is uncased is kinda weird. This is Sutliff hehe. The Fast food company of the pipe tobacco world.

This is a nice omage to the OTC blends and a nice all day burley if you like OTC blends and ERR match.

Pipe Used: Meers and corn cobs

Purchased From: smokingpipes

Similar Blends: Sutliff's ERR match.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	therockingchef (4)	2014-09-14		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Blend Name:Breckinridge

Description on Tin: A non Aromatic mixture of Kentucky plug cut burley

Leaf: Burley

Tin Aroma: sweetness, leather, paper bag, undertones of coco

Taste: Mild in the flavoring but the taste lead with soft cream, burning grass with light hints of coco in the finish. Decent body

Smokability: the blend was dry and needed no extra drying time. Did smoke a little hot in all the pipes I tried.

Room Note: Had the sent of dry smoke, and old paper bags (not bad smells)

Thoughts: This wasn't an unpleasant smoke for me, but it seemed flat and slightly uninteresting. There was not a huge hit of nicotine that gets associated with burleys. With that said it was not a bad tobacco blend, but it was not in my preference range.

Recommend to: Mild Non aromatic and Burley smokers

Summary: After smoking half a tin I found that the tobacco flavors stayed consistent through the entire bowl. It burned clean and smooth from top to bottom leaving soft white ash.

My Background: I am a Chef and rely on scents and flavors and how they interact with each other. I mix liquors and brew beer in my free time. I have been smoking pipes since 2009.

Pipe Used: a variety of shapes and sizes

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Sample

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2015-05-17		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have always associated the term "Kentucky" with fire cured burley. So I can only assume that Sutliff's tin description is referring to the origin of the leaf in this blend rather than use of Kentucky dark fired, as Breckinridge is not dark, stout or smoky tasting. Still, this is a lovely burley mixture with a mildly-sweet, clean and evenly-balanced flavor.

The smoke is smooth and medium bodied. It finishes with a touch of honey, chocolate and a hint of the same mustiness that I found in Sutliff's Great Outdoors. The chunky plug-cut pieces burn perfectly. I prefer to leave them intact which helps insure a slow bite-free burn that's flavorful and cool with no bitterness.

The only way to improve this blend would be 8 ounce tins.

Pipe Used: Cob

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2015-03-29		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Out of the tin this was moist, but not enough to make me think it needed drying. Wouldn't burn for squat. Dried it for 1 hour. Wouldn't burn for squat. Dried it until it was bone dry. Burned a little better, but still had issues. Also, I rubbed some out the first time and even though it was moist a good portion of it turned to dust. This stuff is just plain freaky. When I did get a taste of it I found it burned hot and was nothing special flavor-wise. I can't recommend this crap.

Pipe Used: MM Country Gentleman, MM Mark Twain, MM Patriot

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (241)	2014-10-08		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I am a Burley fancier and although I smoke the occasional Virginia or aromatic, and not caring much for Perique or Latakia, Breckinridge was a must try for me.

Fresh from the tin you are greeting with a true plug cut - very easy to pack and light. It was of a medium brown color throughout and velvety soft to the touch. Considering the softness, it was not damp at all. Although its description says it is natural without flavorings, there is a distinctive tin note of fudge brownie batter (before baking) and that taste translated into the smoke - not over the top or cloying, but just right. While smoking, good nutty Burley flavor came through as well. Both flavors lasted throughout the smoke (I've had several bowls so far). I honestly couldn't detect the presence of Kentucky leaf per se (not very strong here), but it was a true Burley smoke; nutty and very tasty. If there was any Virginia leaf included, I could not detect it. The slightest bit of moisture found its way to the bottom of the bowl, but certainly not in any abundance to be concerned about. Breckinridge, for me, is what all codger Burleys should be. A good tasting, slow smoking, enjoyable smoke. No evidence of chemicals, didn't smoke hot or bite at all - even with vigorous puffing. Kudos to Sutliff...they have a winner!

As a final note. I smoked this in a refurbished Peterson that came in the same order from Smokingpipes.com. Sucking on its stem without any tobacco within, I could not detect any flavor of past smokes whatsoever. After lighting my first bowl, every now and then I got the distinct taste - and whiff - of a mild aftershave. I'm not talking Lakeland here at all. It smelled rather familiar, but I could not place it. The strange thing is that it came and went. It in no way remained throughout the smoke as did the chocolate and nutty Burley tastes. At first I thought perhaps the tobacco, during its preparation/packing was handled by a factory worker who had a liking to using this particular aftershave. I figured, however, that very little (if any) manual handling is done these days with all the machinery employed to do the job; plus I am sure workers wear gloves. My next thought was "a visit from beyond." Probably nothing more than the refurbished pipe...but one never knows! I'll have to try it in several other pipes to test the theory. Regardless, 4 stars and highly recommended.

Pipe Used: K P Peterson bent rusticated system billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: OTC Codger Burleys but WAY better!.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Geronimo Von Klaus (76)	2014-09-02		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Strong

Sutliff is a winning company who offer an incredible range of products to us pipe smokers, and I will be reviewing several of their blends over time. They seem dedicated to making a lot of interesting takes of what we love, as well as giving us their take on original mixtures, and I have to say they have hit some real KO's along the way with such great ones like Bosphorus Cruise, Balkan Luxury 957, Court of Saint James and many others.

However, this is not one of their finest. I thought I would like their take on a straight burley, but this to me was just mediocre mixing tobacco with a harsh and very cigarette-like aftertaste.

I was sitting by waiting for the nutty goodness to come through, and expected it to be smooth and soft, but it was hot, hard on the palate, with a very mono/linear flavor which didn't get any better at all, and at the end I just felt I had been drawing on a dirty old cigarette for 30 mins.

Pass.

Pipe Used: Corn cob

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Can't remember

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JDub (2)	2014-08-24		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is a very earthy but mild smoke. The tin has a very mild smell of the burley/kentucky when opened. Has a nice flavor but is a bit mild for my typical tastes. Tobacco was not too moist and burned well. Although it did seem to burn hot even when trying to nurse it slowly. If enjoy mild blends with burley/kentucky I would recommend this.

Age When Smoked: Less than one month

Purchased From: Sample

Similar Blends: Sutliff CD Blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2016-10-28		Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Most Sutliff blends I've smoked were given to me but this one I bought, so I was hopeful for some hidden gem. Interesting cut and color, the former being sort of a ready-rubbed thing and the color being shades of gray, from darker to a sort of cigarette ash color. Looked almost like plume on a Virginia. Definite cocoa notes that went beyond an uncased burley, making me think this may have a mild casing. No real issue there - most of the tobaccos I smoke have a casing or topping of some kind. I smoked this at tin moisture and dried it out a bit.

The pos' and negs... Well, it smoked cool. I could never get it to bite or get harsh, although it got kind of cigarette-ish if pushed. But puffed gently, it never lost that cool. It also wasn't laden with nicotine but was most gentle on both palate and bloodstream. As a blender (once I got the cut of this to match what I was blending it to!) it added a bit of body and some light burley flavor, although it's far from my favorite burley blender. Finally, it had no signature Sutliff chemical flavor. A blessing, that.

Unfortunately, it didn't have a lot of any real flavor. Some slight nuttiness. The cocoa notes settled down quickly. None of the usual spice or deep flavor from the Kentucky. Definitely more than a hint of cardboard taste. A bit too gentle for my palate but would probably work well for someone that wanted something extremely mild that didn't offend. No complexity, which I expected, but also no depth to this one, although I don't think that will be an issue to its intended audience. Finally, I had some troubles keeping this one lit. Not horrible but noticeable. This occurred no matter how much it dried out... and too dry, this one collapsed. Somewhere just south of tin moisture was best for me. Just not much use for this one, as there are much tastier examples of this style out there. Not quite two stars but better than one star blends, plus this one has its fans, so curious readers may want to start with those reviews rather than mine.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeGuy82 (12)	2015-05-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Strong

This tobacco was definitely NOT for me!

I originally ordered this blend for two reasons:

1.) I have been on a huge burley kick recently and have really enjoyed trying several primarily burley mixtures (H&H Classic Burley Kake is a great example...LOVE that stuff!) so I am constantly on the lookout for another burley blend to try. I have ordered a few sutliff blends before with mixed success, but this was my first SPS to try.

2.) My mother's maiden name is "Breckenridge" so when I came across this blend it seemed that fate would necessitate that I at least TRY it! The last time I reasoned this way I discovered the exquisite taste of the Stokkebye 4th Generation 1982 blend (which happens to be the year I was born).

Despite all my high hopes this blend was absolutely unbearable to smoke. Not too many years ago when all I knew was gas station pouch blends heavily cased in PG and who knows what other chemicals I might have thought this was an "ok" tobacco, but thanks to PipesandCigars.com giving me access to HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of premium pipe tobaccos to try the bar has been raised and this blend simply doesn't make the cut.

My major complaints are that it tastes horrible and has a very heavy chemical aftertaste. Thus it fails the two most important criteria upon which I judge all tobacco that I smoke. Save your money.

Purchased From: PipesandCigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	leacha (15)	2015-05-03		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I've been smoking this exclusively for the past week and I feel this is an outstanding blend. I do not know what the reviewer before me smoked but it wasn't Breckinridge.

When the tin is first opened I get a very heavy scent of chocolate. Almost every time I have to reread the label to assure myself this is not cased. The cut is a simple plug cut that looks exactly like their Edgeworth Ready Rubbed. Again I had to check the label to assure myself what I'm smoking.

Moisture was perfect out of the tin and others may like it a little dryer, and if that's the case a 5 or 10 minute drying time is all that would be needed. Any more and you risk losing some of the flavors.

A simple gravity feed and a light tamp is all that's needed to fill. The char light and down through the bowl you pick up hints of nuts and cocoa. My thoughts are Edgeworth Ready Rubbed "light". It is a one dimensional smoke so do not expect layers of flavor. It will smoke hot if puffed hard an no tongue bite. If packed using the gravity feed you will smoke this with no relights and minimal tamps.

It burns clean and with no dottle. This is a high quality Burley and anybody venturing into the world of Burleys need to give this a smoke.

Pipe Used: Cobs (what else? its a burley)

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

Similar Blends: Sutliff Tobacco Company - Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match (Match), Uhle's - Perfection Plug Burley.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	troupkyx (2)	2014-09-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Upon opening the can, I was hit immediately with the smell of nutmeg and chocolate. Initially lighting the pipe delivered an increased room note of light cocoa. This would be a fabulous fall or winter blend, sitting by the fireplace.

Taste profile provide a slight sweetness, with a slight burley sharpness. As the bowl progressed downward, the sharpness disappeared, and I was left with a pleasant, almost aromatic flavor.

Overall, this was a wonderful tobacco, that didn't have an overbearing burley taste profile, and didn't have the tongue bite I normally associate with burley blends. Again, this would be a fabulous tobacco, highly recommended for those autumn evenings by the fire.

Austin Pipe Club

Pipe Used: Nording Handmade, Peterson SH Professor

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Sample

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (317)	2014-07-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A somewhat light tasting mixture, the burleys are in the background and the Kentucky is the main note yet mild. A good intro to Kentucky, easy to light, and not too hot burning. A nice change of pace from stronger tobaccos, but since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is probably not.

Pipe Used: various briars & cobs

Age When Smoked: one month

Purchased From: pipes & cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Theosprey247 (73)	2016-04-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Some have compared this blend to ERR. It sure looks like it with chunks of tobacco. But this blend has more pop. I'll compare it to H&H Classic Burley Kake (but without the added flavoring) I like this blend. I wish it was available in bulk. One of Sutliff better blends. Lights easily and requires only a few relights. If you like drug store blends, this may be the blend for you. Recommended.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: New

Similar Blends: Classic Burley Kake (without the added flavoring), Drug Store Blends PA CH again without the added flavoring.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2016-04-02		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Its funny in that I thought I would prefer Kentucky Planter to Breckinridge based on the reviews here but actually I preferred this since it very closely resembles Edgeworth Ready Rubbed with its light Cocoa topping and chunky cut. Just like ERR, let Breck dry out until you feel it is perfect, then dry out for another half hour. The key to these chunky Burley blends is to dry them just short of crunchy (IMHO) they smoke better with fewer relights and really don't release their flavor until you do so. No bite, cool smoking and a good value since a tin lasts almost twice as long as the ribbon equivalent. As I have stated before, Sutliff has access to very high Quality Burley and if you have put off trying their Burley Blends based off an experience with one of their Aromatics, consider giving Breckinridge a try, if you like Burley I trust you will enjoy a bowl of Breckenridge!

Pipe Used: Cobs

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

Similar Blends: Edgeworth - Edgeworth Ready Rubbed, Sutliff Tobacco Company - MATCH Edgeworth Ready Rubbed.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	msandoval858 (2)	2014-09-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Breckenridge by Sutliff is something of a nod to many of the classic burley blends that pipe smokers have enjoyed for generations. My first experience with this blend was from a sample and I really didn’t have any expectations of the blend aside from enjoying something new.

Upon first opening the tin, you are immediately hit with the sweet cocoa aroma of a quality burley tobacco. Being a big fan of this type of tobacco, the aroma is simply delicious even without the aromatic toppings often added to burley based blends.

Breckenridge packs with ease. The moisture content out of the fresh tin was spot on, neither being too wet nor too dry to the touch.

After an effortless lighting, the bowl settled in to a nice and smooth smoke providing that natural tobacco taste with hints of the cocoa coming through in the flavor profile. If pressed, it will get a little hot and can get a tad harsh, so if you are a hard puffer, this one might not be the best choice. I found it work well for me in a small briar or a cob that I can relax and sip slowly while enjoying the rich and nutty burley flavors that I am so fond of.

Overall a great tobacco for fans of the type. It’s a great example of a no frills burley blend and is satisfying but won’t knock you out with a vitamin N rush making it very approachable. As others have noted it would make a great blending component as well but I find great enjoyment from the blend as it is right out of the tin. It burns well and is a nice departure from my regular English blends when I want something different. Although I probably won’t stock pile this blend, it is definitely one I can see myself keeping a tin or two of around for the when the mood strikes.

Sample: Austin Pipe Club

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