John Middleton, Inc Cherry Blend

The cherry topping is fairly well muted, but the lightly nutty, earthy, woody burley and dull, grassy, barely citrus sweet Virginia showed through, more so at the finish when the cherry partly disappeared, though it's a mild additive to begin with. Burns hot, harsh, fast, and will bite if you puff beyond a very slow rate. The strength is mild, and the taste is very mild. Barely has a hint of nicotine. Leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a weak after taste and room note. Is an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Always likes this, was the first cherry blend I ever smoked. Burley based with some light and dark Virginia. No black cav detected. The flavoring is that of a cherry liqueur . It's kind of a spicy cherry, and not too tart. Bite is minimal if smoked normal. It stays cool and is a good everyday smoke. It is a bit moist out of the tin. Put some in a pouch and let it sit out of pocket for a day or two. I can smoke it right from the tin though and still enjoy it. It has a good taste and the aroma is pleasing. Only thing is it does smell better when someone else smokes it. The smoker can smell its aroma, but it's more pipes than cherry. Others will notice it though. The aroma and taste is better than Paladin. More going on with this blend. I like it for a change of pace and for nostalgia. I always keep a tin on hand and it's still available. I don't know if this was put out of production ? My local shop says no ? He still gets this and walnut ? I actually stocked up on both, I'd hate to see these vanish forever.

Update ! Just bought a 12 oz can of this, Its slightly different than before. Lighter cased, less of the pronounced cherry aroma that it used to have. Its kind of a shame because it was the most unique cherry. At the same time it's more simplified now, more of a cherry burley. I don't detect the Virginia like it used to have, it seems all burley now. Not a bad thing, but not the same either. Why can't companies leave well enough alone ? If the back of your tin says Limerick. Pa. Its the new stuff. If it says Ki ng. Of Prussia, pa it's the original. Its not discontinued, just locally distributed, this is what v I was told. Also they may be bringing back Hickory as well but I bet that too will be changed. One less star for not leaving it the way it was !

John Middleton Cherry Blend has been around since before Noah's flood. Although the canister has recently been discontinued, it continues to be a good seller in the pouch. It is also available as a little cigar, and it sells well in that format. In fact I would not be surprised if more cherry blend goes up in smoke in little cigars than from pipe bowls.

When I took up the pipe over a half century ago Cherry Blend was very chunky and smoked cool--that is if you could keep it lit. Then the chunks were diminished in size. Cherry blend today burns easily, but if puffed vigorously it smokes fast and bitey. Smoked gently it does not bite, and you can keep it going with a restrained puff regimen. Hold the pipe in you hand when you smoke this rather than clenching it in your teeth, a habit that tends to induce rapid puffing.

Sniff the opened pouch and you will encounter a very light cherry aroma. Light up and you will find a very light aromatic taste which does not totally obscure the tobacco. Without the name Cherry Blend on the pouch you would have a hard time discerning that flavor.

Likewise the room note is slightly aromatic, but again you would be hard pressed to guess that the flavoring is cherry. The room note is pleasant enough, not overly sweet, but it is not the kind that elicits positive comments from non smokers.

The tobacco is mostly small chunks of burley with a sprinkling of snow flake shaped bits of Virginia. The nicotine is only medium, rather light for a burley forward blend. The price is in the medium range of OTC's.

Over the decades of my pipe smoking I have known several people who happily smoked Cherry Blend exclusively. If I smoked it exclusively, I think it would bore me to tears. But smoked as a change of peace utility mixture I enjoy Cherry Blend very much. As it is so widely available I tend to buy it more often than some other tobaccos that are really better smokes.

I usually puff this in my cheaper pipes which I use only for aromatics. But the aromatic note of Cherry Blend is light enough that it will not ghost a pipe if smoked only as a change of pace. It will ghost if smoked repeatedly in the same pipe.

I hadn't smoked Cherry Blend for years, but picked up a 12 oz tub a few weeks ago at a grocery store because it sported a big orange $3.99 price tag. This was never a regular smoke for me—and won't be in the future—but I think it's a pretty solid blend.

The reason Cherry Blend never became a regular for me is because it is very reminiscent of other Middleton products—especially Prince Albert. I like Prince Albert just fine. Cherry Blend tastes like Prince Albert with a very light topping that reminds me of cotton candy. If I smoke two bowls in a row, I don't even notice the topping on the second bowl. It's just a fairly pleasant, hazel-nutty Burley. That's how mild and subtle it is.

Cherry Blend will never replace my preferred tubs of Burley—Prince Albert, Kentucky Club Continental, Carter Hall—but if I see another tub for 4 bucks, I'll probably pick it up.

Like many, this was one of the first pipe tobaccos and perhaps the first I smoked when I started smoking a pipe in 1967. All I recall is that it bit like a mongoose. I suppose that was because I was a cigarette smoker and simply had no idea how to smoke a pipe in the first place.

I have been smoking traditional American burleys almost exclusively as of late and am especially fond of Middleton products. After reading the reviews, I just had to have some. I was unable to find any sold in a pouch so I ordered a tub. In for a penny, in for a pound.

The pouch note was extremely mild but definitely cherry. The tobacco is neither wet nor dry but actually is perfect. The cut is like Grape Nuts cereal but a flake.

I haven't hit on any cherry flavor in the smoke except the feeling in my mouth I get when eating sour apple hard candy. Very nice tartness. There is nothing heavy about the tobacco; just nice light burley. The label says it is "Zesty" and that pretty well nails it.

I'm a pretty moderate puffer so bite is no problem. It burns a bit fast but not hot. If I want a long smoke I just fill the pipe up again and continue. No ashy taste toward the bottom and no goop in the pipe.

I've smoked it in a Peterson Dublin brier and a couple of cobs. I prefer the cob for this - actually I've come to prefer cobs to briers generally. All the money I've spent on briers over the years and end up preferring cobs. Who would have guessed?

As to the rating, I give it a solid three; this is a tobacco that burley lovers should at least give a try. This tobacco is mild in every way and very pleasant and refreshing.

Update: I can't stop smoking this stuff. I now prefer it over Sugar Barrel as it is more refreshing and I love the zestiness and clean aftertaste. Also, I get zero bite from it. I'm giving it an extra star as an all day tobacco.

One of the more enjoyable blends encountered during my ongoing tour of the "drug store" tobaccos. This one really takes me back to my earliest memories of the pipers of my old neighborhood. My parents were considerably younger that all of our neighbors, and literally all of the older men would sit around in the evening smoking pipes which I greatly enjoyed. This one and Half & Half were ubiquitous with the "old guard". Indeed, the room note of Cherry Blend is not only one of first tobaccos I remember, but it is one of my first memories period - its that memorable and pervasive. After trying a dozen or more cherry blends, I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of cherry-infused tobaccos. That said, I found this to be largely enjoyable and easy to smoke. My example came in a 1.5 ounce pouch. Moisture was just right. Pouch aroma was unmistakably cherry, though not overwhelmingly so. Appearance was lighter and darker brown flakes giving the look of a burley/Virginia rather that the darker cavendish. Packing and lighting characteristics are excellent - a standard 3-part packing, one charring light, and it was off to the races. Good burley-forward tobacco flavor smoothed out by the cavendish. Here's where it gets confusing - as distinct as the pouch aroma is, you really have to search for the cherry flavor which is a pleasant surprise. No tongue bite at a slow cadence. Room note is delightful - nostalgic bias notwithstanding. At five bucks, its a steal. Of all the cherry blends, this is a front runner for great value, easy smoking, and that one- of-a-kind room note. Recommended

tobacco searchers here is the honest review for cherry blend. This tobacco is a burley, and it has a light cherry flavor, I am a burley smoker and I enjoy this tobacco often. This blend is just a standard burley with a little cherry topping. Now this blend will bite if you cheef, I myself have only had tongue bite once but I was smoking it on a wiindy day, this is a good blend to atleast try. Remember every palate is different.

Having just smoked Top Black Cherry from G&H and thinking that it might remove my bias against cherry blends, I finally popped the pouch of this I've had in my cellar for a couple of years. Unfortunately, this one doesn't make its case nearly as powerfully as TBC.

Mostly burley with a bit of sweetening, the flavor wasn't the problem with this one, it was the bite. With a gallant effort, I was able to keep the sting to a reasonable level but it still diminished the overall experience greatly. The "cherry" flavor was more of a sweetener, and I didn't taste coffee or whiskey, but there was something else in there... perhaps a hazelnut or something? Couldn't put my finger on it. It was hard to taste beyond the sizzle. For my tastes, this was a one-star blend but I gave it two because if it hadn't bitten me, I get the impression that the flavor was pretty decent... and if not, at least it wasn't a goopy mess like many aromatic blenders seem to like to produce. Closer to SWRA than to a pipeshop bulk cherry blend. The flavor seemed closer to actual cherries than to frosted cherry poptarts. Worth a try if you can tame the bite or, probably more appropriately, if your body chemistry is compliant.

In the late 90’s I worked at a Cigarette Store and the Drug Store next to us had a large amount of OTC pipe tobaccos in a basket for 10 cents apiece that I noticed when stopping by to buy a soda. Not sure if it was due to our competition or if they just were cleaning house. I bought all they had and two of these were 12oz tubs of this cherry blend. I smoked it on and off and liked the taste but could not get past the bite. Maybe back then I was smoking too fast, not sure but all I know is that it bit like a viper. Later on, I mixed other Cherry blends into this tub and it seemed to smooth it out some. This is one of the very few if not the first review I have done from something that long ago, I actually am looking at this tub as we speak, almost forgot where I hid it but really not worth me buying this again to smoke it in its pure form. The other tub is still sealed. What made me pull this one out is that I am smoking Cult Blood Red Moon to be reviewed later. I am all for anyone trying this but be aware of the potential bite.

An old classic I had to try and wanted to like. The tin (pouch) note of the cherry flavoring reminded me of being a kid and the smell of the old style cherry cough drops. Unfortunately it doesn't taste like the cough drops did. I get some of the cherry flavor, but not a lot. I do however get a harsh chemical taste, very unpleasant. The tobacco appears to be a low grade burley. With very little nicotine. This will bite and bite hard if not careful. It lights ok, but appears to burns hot, no matter what pipe or cadence, which I attribute to the Cherry topping. Room note is very pleasant I've been told, and only wished it tasted as good as the note it leaves behind. For an OTC blend it's on the bottom for me. The burley is just ok, pretty forgettable actually compared to other OTC burleys much are better in taste to me. I know some folks love this blend, be it from days gone by with dad or gramps or the first baccy they smoked. I enjoy some aromatic tobaccos, but this is not one of them. I think every tobacco is worth trying but this one falls into the "I tried it, I'm good" category with no cellaring plans.