In 1933, Sutliff began producing its flagship pipe tobacco, Mixture No. 79, and for decades the singular mixture defended its spot as the most popular pipe tobacco in the United States. Nearly a century later, Mixture No. 79 is still well loved by pipe smokers all over the globe. On this episode of Tasting Notes, I'm joined once again by Jeremy McKenna, President of Sutliff Tobacco, to discuss the remarkable Burley mixture. Tune in as Jeremy talks a little about the production process for this blend and I offer my own thoughts as I smoke through a bowl.

[Shane]: Welcome to another episode of Tasting Notes. I've got a guest in house today: Jeremy, the president of Sutliff Tobacco, part of the Mac Baren family. And I thought that, in honor of Jeremy's visit, I would sit down and revisit a classic American blend, Mixture 79. And it's pretty much a flagship product for you guys, right?

[Jeremy]: Yeah, I mean if you actually go on a factory tour of Sutliff, you'll see and we'll explain to you that the entire factory, which we've been in for 65 years, was designed around making Mixture 79.

[Shane]: I mean it's almost synonymous, right like Sutliff and Mixture 79. Those are a very close association for generations of pipe smokers. So, before we get into some specifics about the blend, I will say that, the last time I smoked this was years ago. And I will say that back then I did not know enough and I was not experienced enough to truly appreciate this mixture. It is singular in my experience. I would almost not consider it an aromatic, even though, technically, it has a flavoring. This is something that I would consider more of a crossover, particularly for Burley purists that want something with maybe a little bit more of an aroma. I think think this would do well in mixed company. It smells pretty great, the room note's pretty good.

But also too, it's not the type of quote-unquote aromatic that is going to be cloying or tiring to the palate. You could smoke this all day especially if this is the kind of flavor that you enjoy. Right out of the pouch, the best and most natural licorice flavoring or aroma that I've come across. Just a really beautiful licorice note. Right underneath that, there's some nuttiness, a little earthiness, something herbal maybe even slightly floral, but some robust tobaccos. The cut, it's a rough cut with some cubed Burley, it looks like. A couple of ribbon pieces, but mostly it's just a chunkier rough cut. It burns really well. Nice and slow and really gives you that full aroma in the flavor profile without it ever burning hot or harshly.

I also think that this is a tobacco that I have never aged myself, but I'm going to give it a shot at this point. I want to see what that licorice does over time to this leaf. Also, as I've said many times, to those who deny the possibility of Burley benefiting from age, I have a lot of experience that tells me otherwise and I think this is going to support that theory. So real quick, before we get back into some particulars about the blend, I'll say that I was surprised at first light how forward the Burley flavor was. It's a really comforting traditional Burley with enough intrigue from the processing, and from the aroma itself, to keep you interested.

It's got a sort of common Burley profile but with maybe a little extra creaminess, especially through the retrohale. I'm not getting a ton of earthy, nutty notes; I'm getting a lot more chocolaty-creamy sort of flavors. And they balance really well with the licorice note, which again sticks out in the pouch aroma for sure, but it definitely comes through in the smoke. But really well balanced, really enjoyable. I think this is a singular tobacco that every piper should try. So real quick Jeremy, a little bit more on the specifics of the blend; tell me a little bit about the process that you guys have for these Burleys.

[Jeremy]: Yeah, the really interesting part about this product in particular, and some of the other toasted Burley that Sutliff makes, is just that, the term toasted Burley, right? It's the way we produce this toasted Burley. The majority of cased tobacco uses a spray casing, right? It's sprayed on. When we toast our Burley, however, it actually is dipped. So the entire tobacco is dragged through a bath of casing, but then the really neat part — and I believe we're the only one, at least in the U.S. that has this piece of equipment — is a bed dryer. So, it goes on probably a four foot wide bed, over probably 50 or 60 feet, where it dries over time. It comes out soaking wet and dries out. And when it comes off the end, it's actually almost, kind of caramelized; it's stuck together in chunks, and that's how you know it dried correctly, because if it doesn't break off in huge chunks, then it wasn't done right.

And so that toasting process and that dip casing really make it a unique tobacco that you really can't replicate with any other process.

[Shane]: So presumably, the benefit of that is like a full saturation, full integration, full penetration of the flavoring into the leaf?

[Jeremy]: Right, and we're talking the initial casing, right? We're not talking a top flavor. We're talking the initial casing that's on a majority of tobaccos, you know, to really help bring out the tobacco in general, right? And then that subtle drying process over time: it's not like, "flash dried," or put through a tumble dryer where it gets beat up. It's gone across this bed dryer that takes a good while to make it all the way across. Because it comes off in sheets.

[Shane]:So you're not shocking the leaf at all with really high temperatures all at once or anything?

[Jeremy]: No. Nor are you flashing it off. You're not worried about flashing off some of that casing or flavor.

[Shane]: Well, I'm guessing too, because — again, I'm sort of separating this blend for me personally by what I taste, and there's a lot more complexity than this — the two main things that stick out to me are the licorice notes and the Burley specifically. Compared to other Burleys that I've smoked, what I'm tasting here is something that is a lot more creamy and a lot more soft and velvety. I think Burley smokers tend to get used to the leaf itself and then you sort of get those nice chocolaty-nutty notes. But a lot of people that come over to Burley from smoking either English's or Virginia tobacco's they struggle at first to get the cadence right so that it's not like harsh or rough around the edges, because it is a robust leaf with a lot of nicotine and all that kind of stuff.

[Jeremy]: And you have to figure, when you talk about it being a flagship product for Sutliff, when I say our factory was developed around it — I forget exactly which year the blend goes back to, but the early 1900s — the blend was the biggest selling tobacco in the US for several decades. I mean it wasn't just, "oh it's always been a good seller and it's behind our name;" it was the best selling tobacco in the US for several decades. So the thought that went into how to develop this blend, how to produce it, into the care and the treatment of the Burley, I think is unparalleled quite honestly in the blend itself.

[Shane]:Absolutely. And I would say that, again, this is something that if you've tried it, and it's been a while, you need to revisit it, trust me on that one. If you've never tried it, definitely see what generations of pipe smokers have been clued into this whole time. And the other thing is, if you're an aromatic smoker and you're looking to cross over into tobaccos that are, maybe, a little more natural, a little more pure, this is a great step in that direction. Because, like I said, the licorice, and the aroma as a whole really complements the blend without overpowering it at all.

And same thing in the other direction: if you're smoking a lot of real natural Burleys, real strong Burleys, and you want something that's going to be a nice morning smoke; something that you can smoke at home or in the car with the missus without any complaints; or something that you can just smoke all day or just switch up your routine just a little bit, this is going to be a good choice, too. I also think that for fans of some of the flavored Burley and Virginia flakes coming from England, this is going to be appealing to you, as well. Or if you're just into old school American style blending, this is not to be missed, for sure.