House of Windsor Mapleton

Very surprised at how much I enjoyed this almost cube cut primarily burley blend. Some VA in the mix as well. The tin aroma was extremely fruity which smelled like the perique other reviewers have noticed. I did not notice any maple scent but rum was quite apparent.

The one down side to this one is that it threatened to sizzle my tongue upon first light, and this sensation lasted for about 1/4 of the bowl. It finally settles down into a rather intense and complex smoke. The varying flavors, including the perique spiciness, hover in and out throughout the bowl. There was the mulled cider of its old stablemate Union Leader, as well as rum and various light spices. This completely eschewed the old burley nuttiness. It was a sweet and spicy smoke, and it was consistent in taste from the top to the bottom, bowl after bowl. If this were still available, I'd buy more. If it didn't have that tongue-threatening opening facade, this would plainly be an excellent tobacco. It's one of the 2 or 3 best OTC's I've ever smoked, as far superior to Sutliff's "match" version, which is far from an actual match.

In the tin, the aroma of this very short-cut, fine ribbon is of typically earthy tobacco. The rum and maple are clearly noticeable, though a dominant perique scent is not.

The flavor is defined primarily of red VA, burley, and dark cavendish which are enhanced by the distinctness of the sweetener and the rum aroma. These combine to give a rather low-toned character to the blend. Perique is a welcome addition, it's clearly noticeable pungency preventing the blend from slipping into murky stolidness.

Manufactured to House of Windsor's high quality standards, Mapleton is a comfortably rich all-day blend; the type of thing rapidly disappearing from american life. This will probably ghost a briar over time and seemed best to me in narrow gauge chambers.

Update: I revisited this tobacco in the form of a 10 oz. can for $12.99 at a discount tobacco shop (cigarette store). At that price I had to buy it. This time when I openned the can, it did smell of rum & maple and I didn't smell the perique. When smoking I do taste the rum & maple, but it doesn't overwhelm the tobacco taste. It actually tastes fairly good. Farther down the bowl a little of the peppery taste of the perique steps in, but much more subdued from my original experiece with the 2 oz. can. When I left my smoking room (garage) and came back later I could smell a slight maple aroma. Overall a good tobacco for the price. The problem is finding it for this price.

Original review: I first smoked a couple of pouches of this stuff over 30 years ago. I quit because it disappeared from the store shelves until recently. My memory of this and my present smoking experience aren't the same. I remember it tasting more of the maple flavoring & I don't remember the perique. (Not that I knew what perique was 30 years ago). Upon opening the 2 oz can I smelled the perique. Not necessarily bad, I just wasn't expecting it in that strength. My first pipe full wasn't pleasant. It started out OK , tasted like Burley, Virginia & Perique with a little sweetener. I couldn't actually distinguish the flavoring as maple & rum. Then part way down the bowl the peppery quality of the perique became overwhelming and I put the pipe down. I think I know what caused this. I dumped the can of tobacco into a pan and examined it. There were LARGE pieces of dark tobacco (the perique) present. One of these large pieces must have been burning in my pipe and just took over the flavor. I broke these down to much smaller pieces, mixed it up, put it back in the can and reloaded my pipe. This time I smoked the whole bowl without being overwhelmed by the perique, but it's presence was noticeable. I feel this is a quality tobacco, just not one of my personal liking. The perique presence is more than my tastes like, but I'll have no problem finishing the rest of the 2 oz can. Maybe down the road I'll try this stuff again. This tobacco can be a little aggressive to the tongue if puffed to hard. Probably the perique. It does smoke dry to the bottom of the bowl with a fine whitish grey ash. If you really like perique, you should give this stuff a try.

An interesting tobacco. I first bought the 2 oz. sampler can and enjoyed it. The larger twelve oz bucket has a somewhat different appearance: it's a chunkier and more coarse, with colors from medium brown to black. Neither the smaller nor larger container have much aroma: very mild topping, which isn't particularly "mapley", and a subdued odor of real tobacco. In searching for the larger container on the internet, one of the websites listed rum, maple and vanilla as well as the perique, burley and virginia as ingredients. I once ran into a bowl that had a big chunk of perique (quite an experience!), so now I rub out several handfuls and put them away in a container for smoking. Moisture content, like most HOW blends, is perfect right out of the container, on the drier side but it doesn't affect the smoke.

It packs and lights easily. At no time have I ever detected more than the slightest whiff of topping. It smokes like a nice burley base, slow, dry and cool. The perique makes for a spicy backdrop, but when rubbed out isn't offensive. No sourness at the end, a pleasant smoke all the way down. I don't get the impression of a lot of nicotine.

I will smoke this from time to time, but it's not a regular for me. Several of the other HOW blends have richer and more varied flavors. For other burley lovers, I recommend you try a smaller amount, rub it out, pack it well and smoke it slow.

Might I recommend this blend in a corn cob pipe. Very tasty if smoked slowly. If it is very windy or puffed too rapidly it is too harsh. Slow, small sips lead to a satisfying smoke. I rate this a three star change of pace smoke. update 9/15/2004: This is a unique aromatic. Not much sweetness or aroma. The Perique is now much more apparent to my more educated palate. I can't vouch for the room note, but if your crowd likes the smell, you won't give up too much real tobacco taste with this mixture.

Mapleton may be my favorite House of Windsor blend. It is made up of short cut pieces in what seems to be a traditional American style popular more than 50 years ago. It consists predominantly of VA and burley and is lightly cased with maple (it is called "Mapleton", after all) and rum. Other reviewers mention a substantial Perique element. However, I didn't really detect Perique in the pouch I smoked. Perique may be present but, if it is, I found the balance to be such that it did not dominate. Mapleton is a dark, rich, semi-sweet, highly aromatic blend made in the same old-school manner as all other HOW blends. Perhaps the Perique forms the basis of the rich taste or it could simply be the maple and rum flavorings. I believe Wm. Serad, in his Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine review, mentioned one or more flavors in addition to maple and rum and such could account for the stewed fruit flavor sometimes associated with Perique. No artificial humectants seem to be employed and, unlike many modern aromatics, it is fairly dry and, hence, burned quite well without bite. I like this blend better than Field & Stream or Bourbon Street because both aroma and flavorings are more restrained, more natural, and there is no soapiness--- though I like all HOW blends to some degree. Anyway, I give Mapleton a grade of "B+".