John Middleton, Inc Apple Pipe Tobacco

What a shame . This blend will " funk " your bowl.Room note is'nt that great . It's strange how the cherry blend middleton makes is realy pretty good and this is not . This company make other classic American blends but this is'nt one of them . Given the positive reviews here , I will snag a pouch next time I see one . Theres a chance it has changed or I changed since smoking it last , which was many years ago

I can no longer remember with any certainty what the first tobacco I smoked was. But I do remember my grandmother's gardener (the first pipester I ever observed at close quarters) used to put an apple slice in his tobacco pouch?to keep the tobacco moist, I think. I vaguely remember looking through the selection in a department store's smoke shop, and choosing something with an apple on the cover for this reason. Was it this? I remember the apple as being grannie-Smith-green, not delicious red.

Perhaps I dreamt the whole thing. In my teens, my dreams were far more vivid than they are now.

This is the mildest kind of brown cavendish, with a light casing of something that tries to taste like apple. It would not offend a beginner. As a dime-store cavendish, it is far from the worst.

And just think, from this little acorn, a mighty oak can grow. And grow...and grow...

I tried this in 2000 and only smoked one bowl. It burns without any effort and might work for you in a slow-smoking competition. Although a red apple is on the package, I think the apple flavor was more of Granny Smith. If you like apple-flavored tobacco, you will enjoy this. If you don't, then stay away. One bowl will funk up your pipe for at least a month.

What happened? This was the tobacco my dad caught me with when I was a teenager about 1980. I remember it having a smooth, distinct apple flavor that I enjoyed late at night sitting on the roof watching the night sky go by. Fast-forward 30+ years and I order a coupla pouches awaiting wonderful memories. When it arrived I couldn't wait to tear into the package and savor good times past. What a let down. Smell and texture was not what I remembered. Carefully loaded my custom Armentrout--still with hope--and again...flat. Almost no flavoring I could tell other than chemical. Disappointed for sure.

I waited until I purchased a second pouch of this from a different supplier just to make sure I was doing this tobacco justice. There is a FAINT odor of apples in the pouches I sampled. Had no trouble getting it lit or keeping it lit in my MM cob, both my pouches seemed a bit on the dry side. I could detect a very very faint hint of apples during smoking, I was hoping for so much more after reading the reviews here. The tobacco itself is quite strong, I would not recommend this to a novice smoker unless they like a harsh smoke. Noticeable tongue bite even with sipping. Not happy with this as a flavored tobacco, probably a decent smoke for those who like Half & Half or Carter Hall, or the like. I really really wanted some apple in this to use for blending purposes but will keep looking. I will buy ONE more pouch of Apple hoping that the two I have tried were old only because it is so inexpensive. After that I am done with this blend.

Once upon a time, I loved this stuff. It was readily available where I live (you could pick it up from Kroger, even) and was a very pleasant, non-biting aromatic. The last couple of pouches I've tried however, were harsh and even painful to smoke. I was quite disappointed, and I'm not keeping my eye out for an apple-flavored aromatic for when the right mood hits.

Well if you are just looking for a nicotine fix this may just do the job. If you are looking for any kind of flavor forget it. Even the burly flavor is lacking. It doesn't bite but there is little of anything here to talk about other than it is a cheap OTC blend that may rope in the naive, inexperienced smoker. I have been experimenting with OTC tobaccos over the last year and this one is better than Mixture #79 ... the best I can say. I prefer Granger and CH to this stuff. That said, I don't believe that Middleton dumped Hickory and kept Apple. Hickory was far better than this swill. There is some sweet chemical background taste to Apple but it ain't Apples and it ain't Burly .. The chemists at Middleton must have been very busy on this one. Purchase at your own risk. You have been warned!

You know, when I was a young lad, this tobacco is actually the first encounter I ever had with the world of pipe tobacco. My school Principal used to always smoke this and I absolutely loved the smell. Now it's almost 50 years later and I've grown to be a pipe fanatic of my own. That being said, now that I'm old enough to know better, I would have to say that no sir...I really can't recommend this. Yes it's a cheap tobacco, and if you are on an extremely low budget, this can get you by in a pinch, but seriously? If you can spring for better, I honestly can't see carrying this around when you can get something that is so much more enjoyable. I do love a good burley, but this really doesn't quite nail it. The pouch aroma is decent, but that is pretty much all I can say for this tobacco. The "Apple" flavoring is really non existent, which is supposedly the main feature of this tobacco as represented by it's packaging.

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The moral of this story is that for the money, there are really better tobaccos to be had out there. There are some companies that make their own burley blends ::cough:::Uhles:::cough::: that are absolutely worth spending the extra dime on. When you go outdoors on that fishing trip or just to soak in the environment, bring something worth-while to smoke on. It makes all the difference in the world.

It smells great in the pouch and that is where the pleasantness ends...abruptly.

Harsh, bitey and all around horrible. The room note is ok, but if you want something more than smoking a guest pleaser at the expense of your tongue, avoid it.