John Middleton, Inc - Cherry Blend pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 80 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
DK	04/23/2013	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
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.
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wodanick	03/22/2013	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
Puh-lease people! This is one of the two worst tobaccos I have EVER smoked, the other being Middleton's Apple. Both have relatively the same flavor, which in itself isn't a bad flavor if you can get past the sensation of your tongue being on fire. This tobacco has one of THE worst tongue bites I have ever experienced. Even the plastic tipped cigars in the store with this blend in them have tongue bite. I hate to have tobacco go to waste, so when I have gotten my enjoyment out of a blend and still have some left I add it to an air tight jar. The entire contents of this package went into the jar. It bites SO bad that every bowl from the jar is a scorcher. Save your tongue, smoke something else.
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TobaccoMan2012	02/15/2013	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Ok let me start off saying that I have avoided aromatics and classic OTC blends for a while. This one is rather interesting.. It needs to be packed in the bowl more tightly to get a decent smoke. Lights easy and stays burning. Not too much of a cherry taste, like the description says on this website I can taste a smooth cherry flavor with almost a coffee flavor as well. Not too overpowering at all. I think I will make this my lawn mowing tobacco in the summer, something to smoke while riding the lawn tractor. The only reason I give it three stars is that it has some moderate tongue bite when first lighting. Well I'm about to enjoy another bowl of this in my Brigham Voyageur pipe right now!
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ctyankeepiper	12/08/2012	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
I got to admit I found this tobacco while browsing a local smoke shop for better quality tins (they didn't have any). I had the plastic tipped "cigars" which I enjoyed when I was younger and didn't know what good tobacco was and thought" ehh why not...lets see how bad this bites me". I ended up walking out with a pouch of this, a pouch of Mixture No 79, and a huge no name cheapo painted pipe. I loaded up the cheapo pipe, lit it, and there was that familiar taste of the cigars minus the paper wrapper taste and flavor and the cheap plastic tip. As I got further down the bowl there was no signs of bite, and I could pick up a ever slight hint of cherry, and the room note from what I could smell was ok. Would I make this an everyday smoke, no, but it's ok for an every now and than smoke, and will grab another pouch to keep in car just in case. PS the pipe as it turns out is a decent smoker and holds a huge amount of tobacco. Just don't know how long the cheap paint will last as it's already starting to bubble up a bit around the rim.
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JimInks	09/16/2012	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Pleasant
One of the two worst tobaccos I ever tried, Middleton's Apple being the other. I should have known better. It burns hot, scorches the tongue and should be sold with yellow crime tape around the pouch.
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JerseySmoker	07/13/2012	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I bought a pouch of this on a lark. To be honest, it did smoke fairly well, no bite, etc. I did happily smoke half the pouch that day. Three days after I opened the pouch, it turned into a block of fuzzy mold.
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manxman	06/02/2012	Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Just couldn't find the cherry, coffee or whiskey flavors that Middletons claims. Just tasted burley. A bargain smoke here in Connecticut at around $5 a pouch when the other name brands go for about $7.75. IMO, this is a 2 star smoke, Middletons Apple is a 3. I smoke it in a hardwood Missouri Meerschaum using a Dr Grabow filter cut in half. I change the filter about every two bowls. The pouch was fresh when I opened it. This was to be expected as it's a sealed foil pouch inside a cellophane wrapped box. No tongue bite for me.
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ecce_ego	04/15/2012	Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I found a supermarket that sells all kinds of tobaccos, so I'll be reviewing them all. I wanted to try this one because I've been wanting to try a cherry blend for some time. It smells very faintly of cherry in the pouch, but I detect very little cherry taste. The room mote is great, but the tobacco is what I taste. All in all a good tobacco that is a nice price. Great right from the bag, nice big rough cut.
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Orion	03/03/2012	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
I'm under orders from my wife not buy any tobacco on-line till my birthday (April 15th!) So I took her literally and tried to find something decent in the Brick and Mortar smoke shops in the area. Not that I couldn't last on the stack of tins in the basement. I ended up bringing this home, as my mother in law was recently recalling fond memories she has of a cherry blend her grandfather used to smoke. I was prepared for a disappointment seeing it sit there on the shelf in a card board box. I was surprised when I opened the pouch to find such balanced moisture and color in the tobacco. It's aroma was distinctly cherry and burley. I was nervous to pack my Peterson as the last time I tried a new tobacco in that pipe it was very disappointing altogether, as it was bad enough for me not to finish the bowl! So I cautiously packed my small clay pipe with a thimbleful of the the blend, noting how the flakes seemed moist but not greasy like most cheap tobaccos I've tried. A few quick puffs and I taste gray... after a couple good tamps a light cherry tone manages to rise above the burley. Good enough for me! So I pack a full bowl and give it a couple false lights before I kick off the big show. As I expected the larger diameter bowl brings out the cherry very nicely and balances out well with the burley. Once again the blend surprises me by the lack of the chemical taste I associate with cheap flavored tobaccos. It burns very evenly and the first 3 quarters of the bowl are light, billowy clouds of cherry and burley. Towards the bottom of the bowl the moisture makes for a slightly dense smoke with strong almost plum cake taste. I set the pipe down, happy with the victory over my brother in a game of cribbage, and a bowl of surprisingly enjoyable cheap and readily available pipe tobacco! About 5 minutes later that chemical taste sneaks up on my tongue, but nothing that a pint of Founder's Red Rye IPA can't wash away. A well rounded tobacco with a very good flavor to price ratio!
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Fofo	11/11/2011	Very Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant
Not my favorite aromatic but nice enough to buy a pounch now and again. Very mild flavor and nice sweet aroma. I wouldn't buy this by the tub or make it my every day smoke but I can easily see how some would. Worth the try.
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Thbg	09/08/2011	Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
In the immortal words of Ralph Wiggum, "...it tastes like burning...". Every few years I try this blend again, but I simply can not find a way to smoke this that does not sear my tounge like my Weber kettle grill sears a ribeye. I really can not offer more to this review as I can not get past the initial pain that this tobacco has inflicted on my mouth time and agian.
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Dr. G	09/06/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant
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
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Coos Yellowknife	09/02/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This was one of the first pipe tobaccos I ever tried long ago. I liked it then and still like it today. Hard to find tins of it but can find it locally in pouches. I guess I will have to order a tin online. The only thing I do not like about Cherry Blend is it is not as good if it drys out. It tends to have a bit more bite when it is dry, even when smoked slowly. This will not keep me from smoking it. I just make sure it does not just sit around for along time.
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Ozark Nick	08/03/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant
I've now had 3-4 bowls of this and I'm updating my review. Very nice, sweet tobacco flavor. I do detect a cherry flavor, but I really have to look for it. Let me state for emphasis though I do not consider that a bad thing, I think it is just about right. Not as easy to smoke as Carter Hall, but not nearly as difficult as some other baccys I've tried. All in all a pleasant experience. My buddy came over and smoked a bowl with me the other night, and for the first time I really got to smell the "room note" and I found it very nice. In fact, I think I might say it is "the" smell I remember from other pipe smokers which originally drew me to this hobby. A big factor in my liking of a tobacco is in the aftertaste it leaves. The last time I smoked this baccy, it left me with just the slightest hint of cherry in my mouth all day long. And it was very very nice. Not overpowering, just a little taste if I stopped and thought about it. I didn't experience any tongue bite, but if you puff like a steam locomotive I think you'll find it. Right now this is tied with Carter Hall as my favorite, but I suspect it might surpass Carter in the near future.
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wosbald	04/04/2011	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
The tub aroma of this plug-cut burley cavendish is of sweet cherry Life Savers, though not overwhelmingly so. The basic creaminess of sweet burley dominates the flavor whilst the backup of cherry flavor is ingratiating though not domineering. Cherry Blend is a cheerfully and sweetly pleasant blend which manages to retain a tobacco- forward profile and which is a suitable candidate for all-day puffing. It will certainly ghost a briar and seemed best in a narrow to medium gauge chamber.
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apipeareyouserious?	03/08/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
I've fallen in love with this tobacco. I ordered a couple of pouches online (it's not available locally, been looking for a year!) and have been really impressed. When I opened my first pouch, I noticed that I needed to break the tobacco up...it was all clumped together, but really an excellent moisture level & ready to smoke immediately. I've found that the best way for me to smoke this stuff is on the verge of going out. I don't get lots of smoke with this one, but the flavor is tremendous. Pulling too hard immediately fires it up & threatens to bite, and the flavor turns to a harsh burly/chemical mix, but keeping it right in the sweet spot gives this really nice mellow nutty tobacco flavor coupled with a tangy sweet cherry flavor that's just so nice, maybe like eating a pecan with a dried cherry? It's not a mindless smoke for me yet, but I'm working on it! Added bonus: this stuff still tastes good even after the pipe's gone out. I'm ordering a tub or two for sure.
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Arkie	01/18/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This stuff is middle of the road - not the greatest blend available but certainly not the worst. It is the best of the cherry blends. It doesn't have much bite and it doesn't smoke goopy. My wife has a low tolerance for aroma of pipe smoke but she doesn't seem to object to this blend. The leaf used in the blend is decent quality and the casing doesn't completely overwhelm the natural taste of the tobacco as is the case with most other blends. If no other tobacco is available and I have to settle for an OTC blend, Carter Hall would be my first choice, SWR Aro second, Middleton Cherry third.
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rrackley	01/02/2011	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant
Like many who noticed the nice aroma of this tobacco while around others who were smoking it in the 1960s and 1970s - and who imagined that young women might be favorably impressed with them if they smoked it - I started out with Middleton's Cherry Blend in a pipe I bought with it in a drugstore while in college in 1972. I don't remember if it was a Dr. Grabow or Medico pipe, but I'm sure it was one of those two brands. I immediately became aware that pipe tobaccos don't taste when you are smoking them the way they smell when someone else is smoking them - and got a serious lesson in tongue bite. After a package or two of Cherry Blend I moved on to other brands that came in pouches in convenience stores with names that suggested fruit flavors and, if they didn't bite like Cherry Blend, left me feeling like I had been eating a bar of perfumed soap instead. Then, I discovered shop-blended tobaccos and pipes that did not have filters or gimmicky metal plumbing inside at a shopping mall pipe store, picked up some hints on how to pack and puff for mildness and flavor, and left the drugstore stuff behind. A while back, I saw some Cherry Blend for sale at a drugstore and decided to buy it just for the nostalgia. It felt fresh in the pouch and I decided to give it a try. I sprinkled it into one of my large-bowl old GBD pipes, packed it fairly loosely, gave it a good light across the top, puffed gently once it was lit and got an awakening. I actually enjoyed it. In the same way that I can enjoy a bowl of Carter Hall or Prince Albert these days, anyway. It still didn't taste the way it smelled, but my nose enjoyed the cherry aroma that it could pick up as I puffed. It wasn't bad as a no-nonsense tobacco flavor. I realize that my poor memories of Middleton's Cherry Blend have more to do with the way I packed it for too hard a draw and then puffed like crazy to keep it lit when I tried it almost 40 years ago, before I knew better. I am going to keep some around to enjoy from time to time now that I know how to enjoy it.
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doc'spipe	01/01/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
The first tobaccoreviews.com review for 2011 and a Happy New Year to you all! I smoked this on and off during my early piper days and always found it to be a pleasant experience. Nice tobacco pouch aroma; very subtle on the cherry. Always lit well and smoked without bite. No moisture, no goop, no mess. always clean by the bowl's end. Never was there a negative comment when I smoked it in mixed company. On the contrary, I always received the highest of compliments, especially, "It smells just like my grandfather's pipe used to smell." Good, old-fashioned tobacco taste. One of the great American drug store blends. I always liked tobacco packaged in a foil wrapper within a box. Thewre's something very nostalgic about it. Take care in filling your pipe and smoke it slowly. You will be pleasantly surprised. For me at present, always a nice change of pace smoke, and good for reflecting on the years that have gone by.
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TK Pipe	12/30/2010	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Cherry Bld… Having at one time or other, smoked most drug store blends, my memory of Cherry blend (late 1960's) was at the very least, an agreeable smoke, certainly not deserving all the negative reviews found on this site. Could it have changed that much? So to satisfy my curiosity I bought a fresh pouch, containing today’s product to find out. Reading the box this baccy came in, there is no mention of this being a aromatic, and the only mention of anything cherry, is its name. Sounds to me the idea of this stuff being a goopy, heavy cherry aromatic, is simply not the case. What I did find, was a blend where the somewhat strong tobaccos, provide the dominate taste, with a mild cherry casting, that only slightly shows up in the smoke taste. Sounds like the description of a good smoke to me. After smoking this baccy in a variety of pipes I found the simple cob, the way to go. Briars seem to bring out a stronger tobacco taste, at the cost of the many delicate flavors this blend is capable of. The secret to these delicate flavors, is no secret at all, no different than smoking a fine Virginia for example, sip and taste, sip and taste. Nothing new there, just SOP with most blends.. I smoked bowl after bowl of this stuff, to get a good feel for this blend, and found it to be bite free. Not saying an aggressive puffer won’t get bit, but I experienced none. Light up and burn was typical of a burley blend, easy light up, lots of smoke, and stays lit, to just short of total tobacco consumption, leaving only some ash and a few charred flakes to clean out, no wet goop, no special clean up. or for that matter no moisture at all. Bottom line; You do your part in smoking this old timer, it will provide you with a real decent smoke, as it has been doing for decades. Chronic complainers need not apply. 3 stars
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 80 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >