I just had an epiphanic moment with Prince Albert

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kaboom

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 12, 2012
120
0
Ok, i know this should probably go in the newbie forum, but I just had an absolutely wonderful smoking experience and I think it could get more exposure and help more newbies who have yet to experience this blend in this board. Plus its always nice to share a good smoking experience.
I've been fighting the "pack light, smoke slow, don't stress" fight seriously for about a month and a half now and although the progress is there, it is slow.
Having read everywhere that Prince Albert is a nice-tasting, easy-burning tobacco recommended for beginners, I've been trying to get my hands on some but being in Spain it's really hard to find. Finally i managed to source a little under 2/3 of an Oz. from someone in a Spanish forum.
I packed my small-bowl Amorelli Prince with the spiral method, lit up, and sat back.
G'DAMN!
It was AWESOME. Sure it doesn't quite have the same exquisite flavour and complexity of Early Morning Pipe, Squadron Leader, Samarra or similar up-market blends that I enjoy, but it tastes REAL nice! Dry and nutty with a hint of sweetness and no unpleasant flavors at any point during the length of the bowl. I could smoke this all day long.
And it stays the heck LIT! I was able to browse the forums and make some coffee all while enjoying this wonderful tobacco in the light, slender, clenchable and beautiful Amorelli. And it smoked almost down to the heel with only 3 relights. That's like an all-time record for me.
That was absolutely beautiful, I enjoyed the heck outta that pipe.
For all of the newbies reading this, I cannot recomment this tobacco enough. Lose the aromatics, lose the flakes, lose the wet SGs and tricky-to-pack thick ribbons and coins and get yourselves a tub of Prince Albert. YMMV, of course, but it can take a significant chunk of the pain and frustration (and scorched tongues) out of the path towards enjoying the hell outta even the most finicky plug tobaccos.
My hopes have been renewed, my taste buds have been treated and excited and my whole outlook on pipe smoking has just become a lot more joyful!
Now the problem is i've only got another 8 or 10 bowls worth of this wonderful blend left. But i've already made up my mind, i'm biting the bullet and placing a 16oz order on 4noggins or some other online outlet. Even if my wallet gets milked for all its worth at customs, its still worth it.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer
Jul 29, 2013
1,739
3
I can't smoke the OTC pouches anymore. Too one dimensional. Recommending to buy a burley blend from the grocery store is like telling someone to put down a six pack of craft IPA and go to the grocery store and buy a pack of 3.2% Bud Light.
To each his own. I don't get it though. Variety is the spice of life.

 

longbowman

Might Stick Around
Oct 11, 2014
61
0
Ah yes, Prince Albert. My grandad had a hundred uses for that can back when it came in a can. Fishin' tackle box for catching catfish, bait boxes for the bread balls and hot dog chunks to catch said catfish, hardware cans for nails and screws, piggy bank for pennies and change, band aid box, ammo can for .22 shells, and a matchsafe. He showed me how to pry the bottom off the can, cut the top of the can with the lid about 1-1/2" down, then crimp the bottom back on and make yourself a matchsafe you can carry.
Then he went to Bugler in the big round can. He saved the cans and gave those to his wife and mom (my step-granma and great-granma) who used them for spittoons. They dipped snuff.
Nothing went to waste. The old catalogs went to the outhouse, empty coffee cans became containers for cornmeal for frying catfish and making hush puppies, empty jars were used for seeds you saved from the squash and then planted in the garden, once clothes couldn't be fixed anymore they became gun cleaning rags, and mason jars were turned into iced tea glasses and shine jars. You didn't throw bones and food scraps into the trash. Those went to the dog. If raccoons were in the garden, they were for eating, too. Shotgun hung above the headboard of his bed and the .22 stood by the back door to pot raccoons, squirrels, and possums.
Man, every time I hear about Prince Albert, I always remember all of that.

 

elpfeife

Lifer
Dec 25, 2013
1,289
479
Sounds like hard times for us, but good times if you lived them. Glad you have those memories.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer
Jul 29, 2013
1,739
3
I don't enjoy any of them and I've tried them all. That is what I don't get: what enjoyment could come from burley/ aro burley?

 

ejames

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
3,916
22
Sometimes the simple classics offer that very variety.
Exactly! I like things simple. Every now and then I will smoke some Old Gowrie or Solani ABF or three Nuns etc, but PA and CH are my mainstay everyday smokes.

 

kaboom

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 12, 2012
120
0
I personally like steak better than burgers, or early morning pipe more than prince Albert, but eating a steak requires proper use of cutlery while you can dig into a burger with your bare hands. I'm still at the barely able to hold a fork level of skill when it comes to pipe smoking. Prince Albert allows me the pleasure of smoking a pipe without the frustration of having to fight with the tobacco to keep it lit, which is why I think its great for struggling newbies to gain some hope and confidence, and as a bonus I'm also quite fond of the taste!

 

kaboom

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 12, 2012
120
0
I'll also definitely look into adding some half and half and carter hall to my order.

We do get a version of half and half in spain which i havent tried, but i hear its heavily topped and bitey, and bears little resemblance to its american counterpart.

I plan on ordering a maximum of 16 oz so some of that might be allocated to trying out a couple of ounces of those blends.

 

ravkesef

Lifer
Aug 10, 2010
2,924
9,480
82
Cheshire, CT
Ah yes, back in the good old days when pipe smoking was far less complicated than it became. Your grandfather and a horde of others went to the drugstore to get their tobacco. It was always fresh because it moved out so quickly. If he needed a new pipe, the same drugstore sufficed. While I love the selection of pipes and tobaccos available to me today, there was something to be said for the simpler life.

 

indianafrank

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 15, 2014
950
5
+1 for PA, and CH. I smoke both at times, not together though, when I'm in a nostalgic mood.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
PA is a good standby and I normally smoke a few bowls of it a week. I've also mentioned quite a few times that it's a good 'starter' tobacco for those that are getting frustrated with keeping other tobaccos lit as PA can be smoked while taking a shower and the damn stuff won''t go out. Granted, it's not a complex tobacco, but sometimes I just like an easy smooth smoke with no hassle involved. I can relax with a bowl of WBCDF and then a few hours later thoroughly enjoy a bowl of PA. However, for some odd reason I don't at all care for CA or SWR. Taste is indeed a subjective thing.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
^^ Well said coalsmoke. Granted, I've taken my fair amount of shots at Lakeland blends in jest, but then again... who hasn't! :wink:
However, I've never understood this snooty disdain for OTC tobaccos that some of the younger people have. These are the very same tobaccos that my grandfather and great uncle smoked when I was a child in the early 50's and that delightful aroma has never left me in all of these many years. Poke fun at them if you will, but please keep in mind that these OTC tobaccos are our heritage and the very crux, if you will, of pipe smoking in America. If by chance one doesn't care for them that is obviously your choice, but please don't disparage them as mere generic crap.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Whoa there, Phil. Don't lump us all in together, lol.
As I said; 'However, I've never understood this snooty disdain for OTC tobaccos that some of the younger people have'. :wink:

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
606
Well, no epiphanies, but it's good stuff. I only wish they made it without PG (my sensitive little mouth doesn't react well). The aroma reminds me a bit of Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match -- it has that same, hauntingly nostalgic smell about it. I don't know what I mean by that except that the smell seems to jog the memory, but not of anything in particular. Does that count as an epiphany? I'd say it's at least epiphanic.

 
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