Sutliff Molte Dolce & Creme Brulee

ghostsofpompeii · January 2017

Now that I have both Sutliff Molte Dolce and Sutliff Creme Brulee blends to compare side-by-side I've come to the conclusion that they are so similar in both taste and room note that it doesn't justify paying the higher price for one over the other. Molte Dolce has a retail price of about $10.00 for a 1.5 oz. tin, whereas you can buy the bulk blend of Sutliff Creme Brulee for a price ranging from $2.60 an oz. when purchased in quanities under 3 oz. to as little as $2.10 an oz. when purchasing a pound (at Pipes and Cigars). And with either blend you can achieve aromatic pipe smoking nirvana.

Visually Molte Dolce looks as well as feels a tad bit moister than Crème Brulee, but not by much. Both blends leave a sticky residue on your fingers when packing your pipe. But I might add ... your fingers will smell delicious. And Crème Brulee also gives off that same characteristic crackling sound during the lighting process - something that has been mentioned quite a bit in reviews of Molte Dolce.

Now I'm not knocking Molte Dolce by any stretch of the imagination - it is easily an Oscar Winner for aromatic blends. But if you're on a tight budget, yet have a discriminating palate, I can assure you that the substitution of Sutliff's Crème Brulee bulk blend for a tin of Molte Dolce will still provide an equally pleasurable smoking experience while accomplishing it for almost half the price.

mfresa · January 2017

@ghostsofpompeii Thanks for the review. The local shop is a Sutliff dealer, so I can snag a tin of Brulee.

PappyJoe · January 2017

Thanks for the review. I have an unopened tin of Molte Dolce in the bottom of my cellar that I purchased 16 months ago. I will have to order some of the Créme Brulee to compare it with.

piperdave · January 2017

A couple of months back a local tobacconist had tins of Molte Dulce for $5 a 1.5 oz tin so I snagged 4 of them for the cellar. WooHoo! I have had Sutliff Creme Brulee but not side by side with Molte Dulce they are both a great Aro like you said. I will keep this in mind. Very interesting comparison, thanks.

Subtilis87 · January 2017

I have never tried Molto Dolce. What I can say is that the advertisement Molte Dolce that they play on the Pipes Magazine Radio Show Podcast is incredibly weird.

motie2 · January 2017

I'm a big fan of Molto Dolce (I mix it with Maple Street). I've been buying both for a couple of months, and a tin of Molto Dolce has been selling at Pipes and Cigars for $6.99, not $10.00. However, I appreciate your suggestion to try Creme Brulee in bulk. Thanks.

ghostsofpompeii · January 2017

@motie2 I didn't mean to suggest you couldn't find Molto Dolce for under $10.00 - that's the MSRP price listed in the October catalog of Pipes And Cigars. At that time Pipes And Cigars was offering it for $8.25. I don't think I've seen an ad for it since then in their monthly catalog. But when I bought it as the holidays approached I paid much closer to what you suggested because they offered a 20% discount - and that's always the perfect time to stock up on any tobacco. Mixing Molto Dolce with Maple Street sounds like a great idea. I don't currently have any Maple Street but I do have some bulk Sutliff Rum and Maple as well as Maple Walnut which might do the trick.

motie2 · January 2017

I stand corrected. Thank you for the additional information. I have found that mixing the Molto Dolce with the less moist Maple Street mitigated the moisture content of the Molto Dolce. Molto Dolce is near perfect IMHO, if only it were not so moist and sticky. The Maple Street mix really helps. I'm happy with the mixture I have, but I look forward to try mixing something else with the Molto Dolce. I've been thinking Barbados? Rum but no maple? I'll keep the Creme Brulee in mind as an alternative to the Molto Dolce. Thanks again..

ghostsofpompeii · March 2017

@motie2 I just received my order from P&C after a long delay, and one of the items I purchased was Sutliff's Maple Street. I can see by your response that it's also a favorite of yours and I was wondering if you tried the Sutliff bulk blends Maple Walnut and Rum And Maple? After trying the Maple Street, which is a bit more expensive since it's only sold by the tin, I'd almost say that of the three maple flavored aromatics I'd probably rank it at the bottom of the list with Rum And Maple ranked first, Maple Walnut ranked second, and Maple Street ranked third. All three are excellent blends - but I found the two bulk blends to be more flavorful ... and at a better price. So I was wondering if you've already tried them - and if not you might want to order a few ounces of each on your next order. Might save you some money in the long run if you share my opinion.

Gordon · March 2017

@ghostsof pompeii -- Thank you for suggesting the other two Sutliff maple blends. I've not tried them. As I indicated, I mix the Maple Street 50/50 with Molto Dolce. I've only smoked Maple Street alone one time, and I wasn't that impressed. I'm waiting for a shipment of Sutliff Barbados Plantation to try mixing it with the Molto Dolce. On your kind recommendation, I'll try the Rum and Maple next time I order. I'm most appreciative of your comments and suggestion.

ghostsofpompeii · April 2017

Just got my new catalog for Pipes and Cigars and noticed the Molto Dolce has gone up in price two bucks since my last order. Wish I had ordered more.

motie2 · April 2017

Yeah, I noticed it, and I also regret.......

@ghostsofpompeii has been kind enough to offer me some guidance, so, what with the bulk sale at the much maligned P&C, I ordered 2 oz. each of Vanilla Custard and Creme Brulee. Also a third tin of Barbados Plantation, still my favorite whilst I get lost in the weeds of the search for sweet tobaccos like Sutliff Molto Dolce, so far the standard. Whereas Sutliff does make several English blends, much of their output seems to be in heavily flavored and cased aromatics, so that's where I am focusing my purchases. In line to be ordered are their Rum & Maple, and Spiced Rum.

motie2 · April 2017

That was April 8. Today I received a "Your order has shipped" email from P&C.

Things appear to have begun settling down. We'll see.

motie2 · April 2017

@ghostsofpompeii -- Molto Dolce is still $6.99 at Smokingpipes.

Anthony · April 2017

Wow thanks to all of you for sharing on Molto Dolce my favorite by far. I do try others as well, but I always come back to Molto Dolce. I have never said much about it here fearing it might be considered to wimpy, but I'm just not found of head blasting gut wrenching types of Tabaco, but that's just me. I recently tried a couple of blends from the old Hollywood California Tabaco shop, I tried there mild and there Cary Grant, they are ok. Molto Dolce is still my go to, and I'm glad to hear many of you like it to.

motie2 · April 2017

@Anthony -- I'm with you. There is a dichotomy between pipe smokers (those who enjoy the act of smoking a pipe) and tobacco smokers (those who enjoy the taste of fine tobaccos. From 1964 until around 1986, I was a tobacco smoker, fond of English/Oriental and Virginia/Perique blends. I gave up pipe smoking from 1986 until last summer when I took up the pipe again. After flailing around with Erinmore, a couple of black Cavendish blends, and Black House (Marquee Series) because I couldn't find Balkan Sobranie, which had been my favorite, I began smoking sweet aromatics that obscure the taste of tobacco. I actually don't like the taste or smell of what I used to consider really fine tobacco. Yes, it's heresy, but it's still part of This Pipe Life.

I suggest you look at a wide variety of Sutliff tobaccos, whether bulk or the tinned Private Stock. Sutliff specializes in heavily flavored and cased tobaccos in a delightful spectrum of flavors. I started with Molto Dolce and Maple Street, but soon switched to Barbados Plantation, my current favorite. I've ordered their Vanilla Custard and Creme Brulee on the recommendation of @ghostsofpompeii and others. Next I'll be trying Sutliff's Rum and Maple and Spiced Rum blends, also in bulk. (I sense a theme here.....)

Anthony · April 2017

Motie2, That's interesting from 1976 till 1990 I was a heavy smoker all three Pipes, cigars, and cigarettes. In those days it was 3 star blue, for my pipes, centurions from Thompson cigar, and parliaments, lots of those. LOL I didn't smoke at all until Christmas before last I felt like it would be nice, to relax and enjoy a pipe, and that's when I went back. About once a week sometimes less but it's just an enjoyable moment of peace and thought. Nice to know there are others of us out there.

motie2 · April 2017

@Anthony -- SWMBO won't allow me to smoke in the house -- she did, back in the day -- so when it's cold out, I smoke very little. Now that spring has sprung here I'l be enjoying a bowl more often.

motie2 · April 2017

Cooler today, but warm enough to go outside and try a bowl of Creme Brulee straight. @ghostsofpompeii -- thanks for the recommendation. It's lighter than Molto Dolce, and doesn't seem to leave as much "muzziness" on moustache and beard. I guess I mean smell? But a very pleasant smoke. BTW, I'm beginning to think I had packed the bowl too tightly on my Barbados Plantation / Vanilla Custard experiment, and that would account for the steamy smoke. It appears to me that when one uses basket screens (as I do), the draw sometimes seems ok, even though the tobacco is packed too tightly. Let me put it another way: with a basket screen it's impossible to block the draw hole. QED. Logic might dictate that what draw there might be on an overpacked bowl would draw the fire down the walls and that might be a good thing (the ember not being in the center but rather the spoken of "ring of fire"), but it hasn't worked out that way. Dunno why.

ghostsofpompeii · April 2017

Since you mostly smoke Cary pipes it presents a problem when you over pack them because of the draw issue we discussed with fresh air coming in from the gills (for lack of a better word) on the sides of the stem, giving the false impression you have a good draw. The screen can probably complicate the situation even more so..

motie2 · April 2017

@ghostsofpompeii -- Again your wisdom in these matters continues to impress. I think you are right on this issue, It's just a surprise that it's never risen before. Anyway, I've taken the basket screen out of my favorite Carey and we'll see what happens.

Sutliff Molte Dolce & Creme Brulee

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