Details
| Brand | John Middleton, Inc |
| Blended By | John Middleton, Inc. |
| Manufactured By | John Middleton |
| Blend Type | Aromatic |
| Contents | Burley, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Cherry |
| Cut | Coarse Cut |
| Packaging | 1.5 ounce pouch, 12 ounce can |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Mild
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.30 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 35 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 2015 | Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
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.
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.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 2013 | Mild | Mild | Very Mild | Tolerable |
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.
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.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 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.
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.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2020 | Mild | Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
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.
Pipe Used:
Briar, Corn Cob
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 04, 2014 | Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This is my favorite Cherry Aromatic, but it still is not good. 🙁
I have only had three other cherries and have really sworn off buying them, but was given this healthy sample from a forum friend who was not too fond of it. My other experiences are a Store bulk cherry Cavendish, Sutliffe Gallery Wild Cherry and McClelland Three Cherry. All three of them overwhelmed me with an overpowering artificial cherry taste that disgusted me from the start and never abated.
This one is different in that the cherry flavor is more reserved and it allows the tobacco to come through a bit. It is like a lightly flavored Carter Hall. And it may very well be, but I would much rather have the Carter Hall without the flavoring. To me, this blend isn't too much different than a cheap cherry flavored cigar you would get at the corner gas station.
So this is somewhat recommended by me, but Don't think that I actually like it. I am sending the remaining amount of my sample to Scotland today to let another forum buddy gain his own impression of it.
I have only had three other cherries and have really sworn off buying them, but was given this healthy sample from a forum friend who was not too fond of it. My other experiences are a Store bulk cherry Cavendish, Sutliffe Gallery Wild Cherry and McClelland Three Cherry. All three of them overwhelmed me with an overpowering artificial cherry taste that disgusted me from the start and never abated.
This one is different in that the cherry flavor is more reserved and it allows the tobacco to come through a bit. It is like a lightly flavored Carter Hall. And it may very well be, but I would much rather have the Carter Hall without the flavoring. To me, this blend isn't too much different than a cheap cherry flavored cigar you would get at the corner gas station.
So this is somewhat recommended by me, but Don't think that I actually like it. I am sending the remaining amount of my sample to Scotland today to let another forum buddy gain his own impression of it.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 21, 2018 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild | Pleasant |
This opinion is based on a 7 oz tube of the 80s.
They say that this is the "non-aromatic" aromatic. They are right! Almost pure burley, which does not seem of the best quality, with a very subtle aroma of cherry. It burns evenly, it can bite. The smoke is nice but nothing exceptional here. There are better burleys and certainly a lot better aromatics.
Maybe it satisfies burley lovers, but I do not think it's for fans of quality aromatics
They say that this is the "non-aromatic" aromatic. They are right! Almost pure burley, which does not seem of the best quality, with a very subtle aroma of cherry. It burns evenly, it can bite. The smoke is nice but nothing exceptional here. There are better burleys and certainly a lot better aromatics.
Maybe it satisfies burley lovers, but I do not think it's for fans of quality aromatics
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 19, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I tried this in 1998 and it was the first blend I tried because it was the cheapest. Back then, it was a mild moderately flavored Cherry blend and the best of the cherry flavored blends. I tried it again in 2012. I do not know if its because my taste-buds had changed, the blend had been tweaked, my pipe needed some heavy cleaning (I used a pipe over 70 years old), the fact that it did not seem fresh, or any combination of the previous factors, but it wasn't how I remembered it. The woman I was dating at the time said it was the worst-smelling tobacco I had ever smoked. Smokers can rarely smell their own pipe, but I managed to catch a strong rotten-egg smell. Maybe it'll change in a few years to its former glory because it was once the tobacco to measure all cherry blends.
Pipe Used:
Corn Cob, Basket Billiard
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 04, 2013 | Mild | Very Mild | Mild | Pleasant |
Middleton's Cherry is one I smoked a lot of when I was a noob. The first tub I ever bought was Middleton Cherry. Why do so many of us go for cherry tobacco in the beginning? Anyway, this one is more of a Burley blend with a very faint sweetness to it. To be honest, I don't think it tastes like cherry. Not a goopy aromatic and has a good moisture level. Only one relight after char and burns down to white ash. Not a bad blend if you like something mildly sweet and enjoy Burley. I've moved on from this stuff, but still pick up a pouch now and then if the mood strikes me.
Pipe Used:
Kaywoodie, Italian Briar
PurchasedFrom:
milantobacconists.com, local B&M
Age When Smoked:
Fresh out of tub/pouch.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 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. I recall that this was better 35 years ago.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 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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