Sad state of affairs in my book... 
Prince Albert
- Thread starter BROBS
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Hm,
Hm, a retailer announces the demise of a blend in the same email that informs us of their own match for said blend. And it turns out the manufacturer has no idea what the retailer is talking about. You guys don't smell a rat here? Just to help you distinguish that rat odor - it smells like bullshit.
Well I hope it's not discontinued I just ordered a 14oz tin/tub yesterday. I planned to smoke some of it and now if it were to be discontinued I would be obligated to cellar it for posterity so in 2,000 years kids could still say - "Have you got Prince Albert in a tin......................."
Cheers on your milestone post.
The marketing history of Prince Albert along with the blend's 112 years of popularity say that you are not at all in the minority. Even after the decline of its peak worldwide popularity in the 1930s PA remains one of the biggest selling brands in America.
For what it's worth, I like the blend very much as well.
Those who mistake "I don't like it" for "it's bad" confuse the content of their own mind with broader reality. One of the great things about pipe smoking is that there are countless ways to approach it. Something for everyone. It doesn't take a great deal of maturity to acknowledge that different people have different preferences, but there are times when it's more maturity than some can muster.
One of the qualities I most appreciate about Prince Albert is its compassionate nature: not just subtlety of flavor and ambience, but also the tobacco's friendliness to pipe, pipe smoker, and bystander alike. What some may take as monotonous or unspectacular taste, others might find to be a comforting sincerity and dependability. To me, the capacity to enjoy simplicity or subtlety is just as laudable as the capacity to enjoy (or in some cases withstand) complexity or boldness.
The more you smoke it in the same pipe, the richer the taste is.
I'm happy with the taste as-is, but without making a point of it I found that I'm mostly smoking it and other Burley blends in a particular cob.
I also find PA very versatile: I've smoked it straight, augmented it with bits of Old Dark Fired (a sublime mixture!), and used it to fill out the missing middle notes of aromatics. Looking forward to experimenting with Prince Albert + Virginia mixes.
I mentioned this because I had kind of drifted off from smoking it every day.. when I recently went back to it, it seemed to lack the flavor I remembered. So I used a fresh cob.. after 2 or 3 smokes that familiar rich flavor came back to me..
It was a strange experience.. makes me wonder if old @BROBS ever gave it enough of a chance.
you know sometimes with some companies one hand has no idea what's going on inside the company. I've called some tobacco companies and ended up talking to someone that didn't even know they made certain products. Internal communications can be very lacking in a company especially if it's slightly larger. Oh and I've been assured that discontinued products where still in production by members of staff before. Sad but true.
Bingo! Have a Kaywoodie that does SO well with PA, consistently.
Just finished a bowl from a tub I’ve had since 2009, was still soft. Chalk one for pg & that amazing seal. Kept the paper disc on it. Tub has ~ 2 oz left. Same good taste. Crazy
BROBS - I have say, and say it proudly: Prince Albert is my #1, wouldn't want to live without it, daily smoke. There is something very special about the rich coco-burly flavor of PA, which doesn't rely on Poly Glycol-based flavorings - to the best of my knowledge - to achieve it's uniquely non-aro class; but, with the full flavor-punch of a chemical-bomb aro; and, without the chemical-base taste/after-taste. The only reason I can't just quick-switch into something like the otherwise wonderful and comparable H&H Mid-town: Prince Andrew - which is an aro, to the best of my knowledge - is that, unlike PA, I can't smoke as much of Prince Andrew without "getting too full, too fast".
PA is THE perfect pipe tabak blend; for me.
I also smoke PA quite differently than I smoke my other pipe tabaks. I also like to RYO Prince Albert in my Premier tube-loader rolling-machine; as it makes a first-class cigarette too. PA is my chugging-away, double-inhaling, "in a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hi-Ho Silver!!!", never let's you down, always there in a pinch, agressively smoke as much as like Blend-of-Choice; whereas, most everything else in my pipe tabak collection/rotation, I 'sip', 'taste', and 'savor'; and/or would not want/dare to inhale.
Sorry you didn't have a better experience with Prince Albert; but, I'm definitely on the other-side of the opinion on this one.
Oh, and I fixed your banner for you too... no charge!
- Sherm Natman
PA is THE perfect pipe tabak blend; for me.
I also smoke PA quite differently than I smoke my other pipe tabaks. I also like to RYO Prince Albert in my Premier tube-loader rolling-machine; as it makes a first-class cigarette too. PA is my chugging-away, double-inhaling, "in a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hi-Ho Silver!!!", never let's you down, always there in a pinch, agressively smoke as much as like Blend-of-Choice; whereas, most everything else in my pipe tabak collection/rotation, I 'sip', 'taste', and 'savor'; and/or would not want/dare to inhale.
Sorry you didn't have a better experience with Prince Albert; but, I'm definitely on the other-side of the opinion on this one.
Oh, and I fixed your banner for you too... no charge!
- Sherm Natman
When I can't get my flake tobaccos to stay lit and I'm tired of messing with a bad smoke, I go to PA. The ribbon cut just makes it easier to load and smoke.
Queen Victoria thought Prince Albert was really something, since the two of them had nine children together. I guess she wore him out, since he didn't live so long. But they were busy while he was around, and Queen Victoria presided with a strong hand over the apex of British global power.
That actually makes sense. Prince Albert is pretty easy to inhale. Same for Carter Hall, and any Stokkebye blend that also comes in a shag cut RYO/MYO version. I don't usually deliberately inhale, but if you accidentally inhale, PA is way less likely to choke you out or turn you green in the face than, say, a cigar.
I stuff tubes with the same Stokkebye blends when I don't have time to enjoy a pipe or it's too cold outside to sit still for 45 minutes, and sipping on these tubes the same way I do a pipe gives me a 10-15 minute smoke with no cleanup afterwards.
PA and CH work fairly decently in conventional rollies, but are usually too moist or clumpy for stuffing tubes. I vastly prefer them in pipes anyway.
PA isn't for light in the loafer Vegans. Just saying.
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