John Middleton, Inc Prince Albert

Appearance: Random smallish pieces, uniform medium brown

Aroma: Smells like just a plain burley, possibly a trace of top dressing. I can?t identify it, nor am I positive it?s even here.

Packing: Can be packed into any size bowl just by putting the pipe into the pouch and feeding with one finger. It is possible to pack a pipe in your car, with one hand on the wheel and your eyes on the road. However, see warning below

Lighting: Classic one-match light is the rule.

Initial flavor: Just Burley, nothing else. Nutty, and just a little bitter.

Mid-bowl: Nice cool dry smoke. You have to like Burley to enjoy this. There is a fairly good jolt of nicotine in it, so it MAY NOT be the best thing to smoke while driving.

Finish: A bit more harsh at the bottom, but not a problem.

Summary: An excellent choice in a cob. A good change of pace if you get tired of blends, or matured Virginias

"Cheap, sour burley" was my initial reaction to this old drugstore blend. Then it occurred to me that people who like bitter Dutch beer or black, unsugared coffee might enjoy the initial astringency of this otherwise mild burley cavendish. It is just the taste of Burley tobacco. And after I tried it in a small-bowled pipe and got it to smolder smooth and quiet, the cashew-nut gentleness kind of appealed to me. Nice, smokey after-taste. I managed the whole pipe with just one match. Considering that the pouch cost a couple of bucks (1 ½ ounce) members of the brotherhood on a fixed income might enjoy Prince Albert quite a bit, especially if they are slow-puffers. Overheat this and it will get sour and bite like hell.

I am not sure what "crimp cut" means, as it refers to some older American description. In the pouch, this looks, smells and is cut like a typical Cavendish burley blend. I don't quite see how one could roll it into a cigarette. Too thick.

Mind you, I am talking about the straight PA in the red-coloured pouch or can. AVOID the cased versions, they are AWFUL.

At the time that I tried this I was bit skeptical since most of the inexpensive readily available tobaccos I've found had lived up to their price point. This one was billed as a good classic mainstay and so I was intrigued.

Upon opening the very tiny (and kind of a pain to use) pouch I was happy to find the leaves felt fresh with some moisture and springiness. Packed and burned well and would be a great first time tobacco to try.

The flavor was full, but not overwhelming. It was rich for what it was. Many of the more expensive brands I now use have a fuller complexity, but Prince Albert does fill a good niche.

Does a great job for the cost.

Sometimes you don't always want that top end espresso and just want a cup of joe from the diner. Enter Prince Albert.

Prince Albert is a non-aromatic all Burley tobacco. I bought some of it on a whim, both to try something different from my usual rotation of English and Balkan blends and because I have pleasant childhood memories of my grandfather smoking it in his pipes as well as using it to roll his own cigarettes. While Prince Albert packs easily, burns well, and brought back the same tobacco smell I remember from being around my grandfather years ago, it's only okay as far as pipe tobacco is concerned. The flavor isn't bad, there's just not much of it, which isn't really a surprise from an all-Burley tobacco. As an inexpensive "drugstore" type tobacco, it's better than average, but with so many better pipe tobaccos readily available both online and from tobacco shops, life's too short to settle for this stuff.

There are nightmares lurking just beneath the seemingly refined and nostalgic surface of the pipe tobacco world. Not everyone arrives here prepared to face them. As a smoker who enjoys the taste of the leaf as much as its soothing effect on the mind, one should take note before venturing blindly into the field.

Let me start by saying that apart from buying a cheap bag of dry RYO and just smoking “cigarettes in a cob”, Prince Albert is the best way to transition to a pipe. It’s inexpensive, easy to get, stays lit, burns evenly, and tastes great. All cavendish burns a little wet - PA is no different in the stem, but it burns down to a fine powder in the bowl. There is a light flavoring in the casing, and it tastes a bit like the bourbon in Carter Hall to me. Some have said it tastes like anise, but it has a pleasant flavor and aroma that compliments the leaf nicely. Nevermind that, this is a Burley-flavored smoke, and the casing will all but burn off by mid-bowl - leaving only the nutty and tangy taste of the tobacco in its wake. It’s smooth, never bites, and for years I smoked Prince Albert every day.

But the truth of the matter is, I’ve also smoke those dry RYO tobaccos in cobs for years and still find many of them satisfying. I’m smoking one right now called Wild Horse - there’s some raw Burley flavor. It tastes like nutty raisins and cocoa, although I can taste some sweet Virginia hay in there. Nice, mild pepper on the retro. No chemicals that didn’t come out of the seed itself. It has a hearty nicotine kick, too; it’s half the price of PA, and it’s not even listed on this website. Sure, it also smells like cheap cigarettes, and the last half or third of the bowl can get really nasty, but I always keep a bag of it on hand. And not that it would deserve anything more than a “somewhat recommended” rating by any standard, really palatable only to cigarette smokers, but RYO is Prince Albert’s street-level competition after all.

Here is the singular problem with all of the OTC blends: additives. I went out and bought a pouch of PA recently and thoroughly enjoyed the bowl I packed sitting in the grocery store parking lot. I’ve smoked it on and off for the past two days, but today I’ve started to notice the strange and lingering sensation it leaves on my tongue. Now I’m sitting here an hour after having finished a bowl of PA and my tongue still feels coated. I’ve tried smoking it off with bowls of strong Perique and Kentucky blends, RYO, tried to wash it down with hot coffee and iced tea, but it persists! Carter Hall produces a similar effect on my tongue. Is it the bourbon in the casings? Or is it something else? PG, some other humectant or preservative, antifreeze? Liquor-cased tobaccos don’t coat my tongue like this, not any of the good ones.

I don’t taste anything overly “chemically” in PA, but that could be partially due to my biased love of Burley. Compared to everything else I’ve smoke tonight I think that might ring true. It could also be due to the discretion Middleton uses in their mix. Early into my pursuit of this hobby I found a cheap bag of Super Value Cherry Cavendish at a liquor store that destroyed my first briar and almost ruined my love of smoking. That Christmas a pouch of Captain Black I bought to smoke around my family brought me even closer to the brink. Prince Albert does not even compare to the hellish concoction of chemical waste that comprises these two. At the very least, “Uncle Albie” always gives a consistent Burley taste and a relaxing smoke without breaking the budget, and without an overtly nauseating malaise of chemical goop. It’s just that now it seems to leave my tongue feeling lacquered and numb.

Here’s the bottom line - anything you buy from the grocery, liquor store, or gas station that isn’t as dry as Bill W’s medicine cabinet is going to have some chemical additive mingled in with the leaf. I love the taste of PA but it leaves my tongue feeling like I’ve sucked on a 9volt battery. If OTCs are the only thing available to you, and you love the Burley leaf as much as I do, consider this a highly recommended tobacco choice. If you’re used to puffing on Lane or Sutliff aros, how have you not tried this? Otherwise, it doesn’t deserve the three stars I’m giving it. If you want a valid alternative, I highly recommend Newminster No. 702 - that’s what PA would taste like without the chemical bath.

Sometimes I think this is better than Carter Hall and sometimes not. It has some off notes to it, and the tobacco doesn't strike me as first tier. But, despite that PA just has something to it. There is more of an artificial cocoa/chocolate note here than in CH. The smoke doesn't develop, it's the same from start to finish.

Sometimes that simplicity is just the thing. I used to always keep CH and PA on hand. I've gotten away from them just because there are tastier alternatives from C&D and H&H that are priced similarly and are much better smokes.

Summary: a good Burley blend with light vanilla, cocoa, and rum flavoring

The experience of Prince Albert consists of worry-free smoking with casual convenience. Pick up a packet -- or the "Prince Albert in a can" of telephone prank lore -- and stuff some in a pipe, light and go. It smolders for almost an hour in the average pipe, delivering consistently flavorful Burley smoke with overtones of cocoa and vanilla. The flavors complement each other, and unlike with an aromatic, the user tastes mostly tobacco and the added tastes fade in after that. It is mild in every sense, both smoke and nicotine, and leaves behind a pipe smoke smell that is inoffensive and sometimes pleasurable. If you are a tobacco snob, content yourself with the knowledge that this over-the-counter (OTC) blend has satisfied many for whom the candied aromatics further down the counter proved unworkable, and that the majority of its appeal is a seasoned Burley which delivers the warm nutty flavor typical of that variety. While I may not be a snob, but prefer the term "elitist" or one who favors quality over novelty or popularity, I hope that I never fail to recognize a quality tobacco like this one, which joins "Five Brothers" on my OTC shelf as a good all-day smoke for casual social events and solitary work.

2019 update: the "new" version of this blend has more of a traditional aromatic topping, giving it that Propylene glycol "cotton candy" flavor and soaking the leaf with flavoring. Gone is the subtle tang of Orientals and Virginias; this blend now feels like a typical white Burley aromatic with a small dose of dark Burley to give it some body and power. I would not bother smoking the newer version.

It's taken me six months to finish a 2 oz or so sample that was gifted to me. I first smoked it in a briar but I kept tasting it when I was smoking other blends in that briar so I dedicated a cob to this blend. The tobacco was kept in a mason jar - not to age it but to keep it fresh and out of the plastic baggie it came to me in.

Ok, the quality of the tobacco is suspect, the room note made my kids think I had switched to cigarettes, and it pales in comparison to top-notch burleys but, you know what? This stuff tastes pretty decent! On top of that, it's fun to smoke! I enjoy nostalgic things and still own a slew of 78 RPM records. As the 78 is the ONLY way to listen to old Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington tunes, so too is PA the only pipe tobacco for the corncob pipe. Or is it, the corncob pipe is the only pipe for PA? Whatever - each brings out the best in the other.

This stuff is a half-step up from Carter Hall, a full step up from my memory of Granger and 10,000 light years ahead of Half & Half. No, it's not the best burley blend but will I buy it again? Well... I just might! I enjoyed this on rare occasions when I was feeling nostalgic, and that's a good feeling! The other test for a tobacco is the question of would I continue to smoke the pipe if this was all that was available? Unlike my impressions of Half & Half and Erinmore Mixture, with PA, the answer is yes I would. I'd be a little crankier but still puffing!

I tried it ages ago and wasn't a fan. Trying it again, and I'm still not a fan. This was an older pouch I had laying around and thought I'd give it a shot. I tend to be a Va, VaBur, VaPer, and higher end aro piper. I also like aged burley flake tobaccos. This is just a cheap smoking experience. It will get the job done if you want to Puff mindlessly and need to get some nic to fight off the beast. It burns a little hot in the bowl, but won't burn your tongue unless you freight train this stuff. I need to watch my pace as I keep trying to get it to taste like something with some depth, and it just doesn't. It reminds me of a cheap cigarette with a bit of scent added to it. It will get ashy and taste like pencils as you get down towards the bottom of the bowl. On the plus side, it doesn't get as bitter as some burleys can.

All that said, it isn't BAD tobacco, just not something I'd seek out. If I HAD to choose between one of those giant bags of drugstore goo, Carter Hall, this stuff, or god forbid, Borkum Riff.....Carter Hall, then the Prince, the goo...I'll walk away from the BR all together. Two stars even.