John Middleton, Inc Prince Albert

As a mostly Virginia smoker, why in the hell did I try this drug store Burley? Mainly for some historical perspective, as it is one of those tobaccos that have been around forever and all of the old boys smoked this.

What it God's name was I thinking? Horrible chemical taste, with an underlying Burley-esque tobacco flavor.

Bottom line- if tobacco was a black market product, this is the stuff they would use to "cut" more premium blends to increase their profits. Spare yourself the misery. Gross!

If it's Burley you're looking for, there are plenty of offerings that blow this out of the water for the same price. Lane's BL/WB comes to mind.

Cheap, smells good in the pouch, burns well and has a good room note. However, I used an unfiltered pipe and the smoke didn't do anything but burn the back of my throat, even though the smoke itself seemed mild in strength and taste. 28 hours later and my tonsils are still raw and I can taste the tobacco in my mouth after a half dozen brushings. Maybe there's some chemical casing on it or something that I am allergic to.

I guess the true value of this tobacco is in the amount of pain and suffering you can inflict upon yourself for only a few bucks. This is terrible.

I picked up the next to the last pouch at Walmart for only $4.73. That's a bargain here in tax heavy Connecticut. Seemed to have been on the shelf awhile as the tobac was dry. Probably why it lit right up and needed minimal relighting. It also burned fast, but did stay cool. No tongue bite. I've been on a tour of all the classic OTC blends, this is the latest stop. Smells sweet in the pouch, but that doesn't transfer to the smoke. Didn't find any nicotine, so I was disappointed. I used most of the pouch to blend with some amaretto tobacco I bought in bulk, and the rest with Altadis Smoker Friendly Jamaican Rum, because neither would stay lit. Both hid the cigarette taste of the PA, but I didn't like either concoction. I gave them both away.

I can't tell you how much I detest this tobacco, the flavor would be okay, except every time I smoke it I get this horrible taste of chemicals, I don't know what it is, but I can't stand it. People recommend this to break in a pipe and I've tried several times and never gotten through a bowl. Simply terrible, that's all I can say about it.

I have never been one to buy drugstore blends. I was a seasoned smoker before I moved to the pipe, and was accustomed to better quality tobacco from the start having smoked cigarettes rolled from quality Dutch tobaccos and of course, fine cigars from Davidoff.

That being said, I think the flavor profiles that I am used to have prejudiced me because I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would smoke Prince Albert.

The tobacco is cased with something harsh and chemical tasting. The predominate flavor is akin to the odor of 'Playdough'. The tobaccos used are of inferior quality and would not be good even if the topping were not used. I can't even begin to describe how nasty this weed is. And 'weed' is the proper word for this stuff. You might as well go out in the yard and scrap some grass clippings off the bottom of your lawnmower, I'm positive that more satisfaction would result.

If this is one of the best drugstore blends out there, then I can forego any further experimentation on this level. It would only be a waste of money and time.

Nostalgia can be a tricky thing for people. Memories are often more about the details one cannot remember than the things one does remember. This is a prime example of that. Grandpa may have smoked this, but your love and respect of him does not make this tobacco any better than what it is in reality.

I hate to do this to a blend, but Prince Albert just didn't sit well with me. I found it to be bland for the most part, and when it did have taste, it tasted like burning peanuts. I still prefer Captain Black as the best drug store blend and I would not recommend Prince Albert to any beginning smoker, as it would put them off the hobby.

Remember the old joke, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" Well, if you do, keep him there. Do not, under any circumstances let him out. Of course, these days Al comes in a foil pouch. But, I think the same would apply.

Out of cigarette rolling tobacco, and remembering that this stuff was supposed to be cut to smoke both in ryo and pipes, I picked up a pouch at the local supermarket (only thing they had that would make cigarettes). It was terrible as a cigarette, so I thought maybe it would be better suited for the pipe afterall. The human mouth cannot properly form the words that I would use to describe the taste of this stuff.

The pouch smell was bland. It packed with difficulty; constantly springing up over the top of the bowl no matter how I tamped it. I can only be thankful that I did not light this stuff up in my own house. First light elicited an odor not completely unlike what I imagine a fireman's dirty socks to smell like. And it tasted just as bad as it smelled; maybe worse. The first thing that came to mind when I tasted this stuff was "urine soaked cardboard".

I have never had the occasion of putting a urine soaked piece of cardboard in my mouth, but there are some things that one can just imagine how they must smell and taste. And after smoking Prince Albert, I found myself imagining just how good a piece of pee stained cardboard must taste. It really is that bad.

I smoked Prince Albert occasionally in the 70s and liked it enough to use it both in a pipe and rolled as a cigarette. I think my tastes have changed now because I really don't like this stuff anymore at all. It's just too bitter and too monochromatic. I think the taste has changed some over the years, too, but that's hard to tell as I didn't keep detailed tasting notes in my youth . Even as a youth, though, I found Captain Black to be a big step up from Prince Albert and Borkum Riff, the first brands I tried. If you're a diehard Burley fan, you will probably like this, though, as it's inexpensive and pretty much just plain ol' Burley. If you're like me, though, I suspect you might like Edgeworth Slices even more, and it goes without saying the Greg Pease's Barbary Coast will give you a whole new definition of "burley."

MADE IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC! So much for an American iconic blend. This was a good tobacco, too bad John Middleton's sold us out. I'm very disappointed in their decision to move production over seas. I enjoyed PA very much, one of the best OTC tobacco available. I do not believe I can support them any longer.