Sutliff Tobacco Company Duke Albert (Prince Albert Match)

When I saw the description of this blend's top flavoring as "Cocoa / Chocolate, Nuts / Beans," I could not suppress a chuckle at the idea of bean-flavored tobacco. The bean in question is the vanilla bean, and that is the primary taste you will experience here. As an unabashed fan of "Prince Albert," I was excited to try this substitute, which is not a great match but a really excellent tobacco on its own. If more aros were like this, what we might call a "semi-aro," I would smoke more of them. The primary flavor is Burley, with less of the condimental Orientals and Virginias that "Prince Albert" uses to condition the broader flavor of its major ingredient, topped with some cocoa but a lot of vanilla, which is sort of the universal ingredient in American aromatics. The result tastes like a "s'more" from your campfire as a teenager. The vanilla roasts with a marshmallow type flavor, followed by a gentle chocolate, and then the toasted grain flavor of a medium Burley mixture, mostly white Burley with some dark to give it richness and volume. Since the topping is lighter than in "Prince Albert," which haters allege is to disguise the low quality of the leaf, it burns even more easily and leaves less dottle and moisture behind. For most, it will scratch the "Prince Albert" itch because it is a smooth burning, low-bite Burley blend that you could smoke all day without fussing over it. The somewhat raisin-y flavor or possibly bourbon flavor of the original is missing, and for the most part, is not really missed. While it might be nice to have more of the Oriental and Virginia influence, this is a tasty blend that I find myself quite content with.