The Tobacco Files - Sutliff Cringle Flake & Krampusnacht 2024

Krampusnacht goes live on Tuesday, November 19th at 12 pm EST (TobaccoPipes.com exclusive)
Cringle Flake will be available on December 3rd at 6 pm EST.

It’s that time of year again—the holidays are upon us and with them, the festive mixtures that mark the season for many pipe smokers. Among them is the  Sutliff Cringle Flake tradition. Since 2019, Sutliff has been making this special Christmas blend that highlights the beloved Red Virginia. With changing vintages through the years and different approaches to the blend, Sutliff has made a creative endeavor of Cringle Flake.

Previous Cringle Flakes:

2019

Matured Red Virginia (age not specified)

2020

2010 Stoved Red Virginia, 2003 Perique

2021

2000 Stoved Red Virginia, 2003 Perique

2022

2000 Stoved Red Virginia, 2003 Perique

2023

2013 Red Virginia, Stoved Katerini, 2003 Perique

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This year's recipe offers a mix of two vintages—2000 US and 2010 Canadian flue cured. 

Last year, we also saw a very limited TobaccoPipes.com exclusive,  Krampusnacht, released as a pure Red Virginia flake companion to Cringle Flake. Now, both Krampusnacht and Cringle Flake return as straight Virginias. This is the first time Cringle Flake has been a straight Virginia since the first iteration in 2019.

The 2024 offerings are not the same as last year’s Krampusnacht. Unlike last year, Krampusnacht is an alternative packaging of Cringle Flake, but they are the same blend. I'll refer to the blend as Cringle Flake through this Tobacco File, but my notes apply to both. 

Krampusnacht will again be an extra limited TobaccoPipes.com exclusive, going live on Tuesday, November 19th at 12 pm EST. Cringle Flake will be available on December 3rd at 6 pm EST.

Sutliff Cringle Flake 2024

Worth noting before we begin—the 2010 Canadian flue-cured, which is one of two Red Virginia vintages to grace the 2024 Cringle Flake, is actually old McClelland stock that Sutliff received from Mike McNiel some years back. Of course, Mike and Mary McNiel brought a certain magic to their Red Virginias through scrupulous dedication. Much of that magic was no doubt accounted for in their guarded processing methods. But sourcing fine raw leaf was paramount to the renowned Virginia blends' success as well.

Pre-smoke

I break the seal and remove the top to find the brown flakes, which have a golden, honey hue to them

Cringle Flake 2024

The tin note is subtle. Getting close to the flakes, that vinegar note is there very slightly. Don’t expect  515 RC-1 or Red VA Crumble Kake acidity. This is far more mild. All in all, it’s not a tin note that jumps out at you.

Rubbing it out is no great chore, and because we’re dealing with pressed and sliced whole leaf, the resulting ribbons keep as long strands, not coarse bits that I get from breaking down Sutliff crumble cake slabs. I notice more red tones in the loose tobacco.

Cringle Flake 2024 in Wessex estate pipe

For those that found 2023 Cringle Flake to be more dry than they’d like on arrival, 2024 should be perfect. Hydrated and springy, but far from moist. Good to pack right away to me. 

Lighting up

Usually I’ll go into preferences for bowl sizes and all those factors after basic profile notes, but after trying several different pipes, I’m really only smoking Cringle Flake 2024 in my wider chambered pipes. As someone who leans toward smaller pipes, my “wider” may be most folks’ average, but let’s say around 20mm inside diameter.

I open with that because usually my preferences like this aren’t so definitive, but in this case, I went several smokes before trying a larger pipe, and for me, it just made such a difference. I tried a few more to see if that was a fluke and concluded that, for me, wider bowls decidedly open this profile up. I do wonder if age will affect that. This is certainly one that I am interested to see how time changes it—one of the charms of a good red Virginia after all.

Krampusnacht 2024 in Genod Tomato 

Cringle Flake 2024 starts out with a very natural flavor, wood, hay, slightly toasty with a bit of malt that gives the muted tones more of a thickness. The big difference in these opening notes when I lit up my bulky Genod Tomato—the first smoke I had of Cringle in a wide bowl—was the brown sugar and spices that accompanied the base. By "spice," I more so mean a herbal/baking spice flavorfulness, not peppery or especially dark in the Perique way. 

Through the smoke, a dark fruity, tangy depth develops, which has become more noticeable as I’ve familiarized myself. 

Usually I find larger bowls preferable with more complex blends, which I wouldn’t say Cringle Flake is, though I think time may bring out some more nuances. It's also not a particularly stout blend, however, I've noticed a correlation between larger bowls and a little more weight, as well as some earthier tones developing. I can see how this may factor into carrying the flavors a bit more.

Cringle Flake 2024 in  Chacom Reverse Calabash

Cringle Flake 2024 offers a nice burn, though, I got some bite when I experimented with further drying, so I'll probably jar what remains soon to so it doesn't lose much more moisture. I’ve made the habit of making sure to layer some of the smaller detritus through my pack, which has really facilitated an even burn.

Beyond the profile opening up in the first third or so of the smoke, Cringle Flake stays quite consistent throughout. I've mentioned in notes for a few smokes that I could see this flake among the Gawith brown Virginias, with more of an emphasis on the natural Virginia flavor. 

With that said, I look forward to seeing how time in a sealed tin marries and develops the profile.

Thanks for reading

Hopefully my rambling notes give some modicum of what to expect, or at the very least, some useful information. I always think of the Tobacco Files as more of a smoking journal turned outward—certainly not some luminary super-taster's expert review. So, thanks for coming along. 

Most importantly, happy holidays and happy smokes!

As always; feedback, advice, requests, corrections, friendly hellos? Please send 'em my way—[email protected]