John Middleton, Inc Apple Pipe Tobacco

Back in college in the 70's I had a friend who smoked this exclusively. I tried it then and later before it was discontinued. It was always a little moist and smelled like apples in the pouch. Lit and smoked OK, definitely got the apple-ish flavor when smoked. Never an exciting smoke. As some have said, "OK" but nothing special. I loved many of Middleton's blends but this was not on that list.

Saw this for pretty cheap, decided to give it a try. Typical OTC aromatic blend.

In the pouch it smells very strongly of artificial apple, similar to junk food and candy apple. The tobacco seemed a little dry in the pouch. It was very easy to pack and to light. Stayed lit well for me.

The apple flavor was very strong when first lighting it, but quickly died down. There is a small hint of apple, but you wouldn't really notice it if you didn't know it was an apple flavored tobacco. Overall it was a decent smoke, nothing great, but not terrible.

The room note is pleasant, but not very strong. A mild aroma. I didn't notice any bitterness like other reviewers, and very little to no tongue bite.

It is a pretty good budget OTC blend, but not for everyone.

This tobacco is almost a perfect blend. This stuff burns great, has a good room note, wont gunk up your pipe, lights really easily, and has no tongue bite whatsoever. There is only one one drawback to this tobacco. There is absolutely no flavor. When I smoke this I can picture a little old lady in a black dress yelling "where's the taste!".

Apple? I certainly don't think so, I really looked for it too. Some people have mentioned a cider flavor but damned if I tasted anything remotely related to apples.

Once again, the overall characteristics of this tobacco are great, it just doesn't taste like anything.

This is one I smoked a lot of as a noob. It does have a nice apple flavor, but you can still taste the tobacco. It was always at a good moisture level and not a goopy aromatic. It burned down clean with minimal relights. I would suggest dedicating a cob to this one, because it will ghost any pipe it comes in contact with damn near permanently.

Everyone always remembers their first and Apple was mine. While not very much of a blend, this was in my pipe while sitting on the beautiful Maine coast when it became clear to me that pipe smoking was going to be part of my future. As a couple of folks have mentioned, I don't detect much apple flavor in this blend, but my personal history with Apple makes it somewhat recommended.

This is a good smoke for someone starting out and it's especially good for someone who doesn't like apples because THERE WAS NO APPLE FLAVOR DETECTED.

I've been smoking two years now and have been enjoying really fine blends form tobacconists and the famous blend houses. I happened to be in tax free New Hampshire USA and saw a pouch of this apple blend and decided to give it a try even though it is a "drug store" blend.

It smells fruity in the bag. What sweetness there is comes from the burley. Now that I think of it not too bad of an over the counter burley blend. As mentioned: No apple flavor detected. WEIRD.

Worth a try for a newbie.

Burley and cider. Nice, simple smoke, of a typical burley nature: some nuttiness with an almost naive touch, somewhat enhanced by the cider (rather than straight apple) flavor. Not a bad option when there is nothing else to smoke, but, in my opinion, not exactly a first choice tobacco. I much prefer, within this range, Prince Albert.

Another of Middleton's old time aromatics.

This stuff used to be in every grocery store, drug, store and bait shop when I was a child. It is now long gone.

It is a decent tobacco with a pleasant aroma, suitable for when you want to smoke around non smokers, or if the idea of apple flavored tobacco appeals to you.

Like the other Middleton aromatics, the flavoring is very mild it won't goop your pipe up, or nip your tongue as long as you go slow.

It's best in a cob. It isn't a great blast of flavor, but it isn't meant to be. Just a pleasant, cheap smoke.

I had no trouble keeping this lit, but I tamp as I go along. I smoke it in a Missouri Meerschaum Hardwood, using a Dr Grabow filter cut in half. I change the filter every 2-3 bowls to keep things fresh. The smoke is mild enough for a Newbie. Also mild enough to indulge my habit of exhaling the smoke from my mouth,then whiffing it into my nose. Mild enough for an 'all day' smoke, although some may think it too boring. Of course, at this level of mildness, I experienced no tongue bite. I found myself hoping for more apple flavor. To me it doesn't taste like apple fruit, but it does smell like applewood smoked bacon. I'd recommend everyone try it once to see if it is to your liking. I did not find that it gooped up my pipe, it left a nice dry ash behind. I also had no problems with tongue bite. I hope to order some Apple from Boswell's and revisit this review later. For the 'drugstore' tobacco that it is; 3 stars. At $5.59 a pouch here in Connecticut, it's more than two bucks less than most other OTC pouch brands, a bargain. For that reason, go ahead and dump the bowl when you're 3/4 finished. It will stay lit right to the bottom, but the last 1/4 isn't pleasant. I recall that this was better 35 years ago .