Question about Prince Albert

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Prince Albert is basically a very mild and softly nutty Burley with a mellow cocoa note to both the aroma and flavor. It's a good anytime smoke that's totally inoffensive, and while it may not be the most exciting blend in the world I have a hard time imagining anyone who appreciates Burley finding it unpleasant. I'm more of a Carter Hall guy myself, since I like the mild whiskey note and more subdued cocoa flavor, but Prince Albert is still plenty enjoyable.

If you'd like to try a small sample of Prince Albert before commiting to buying a whole tub then 4Noggins still sells it in bulk by the ounce, as well as Carter Hall and just about all the other classic codger blends.

 

[Lumbridge]

IMHO, much better than Half & Half. Prince Albert is a mildly aromatic burley-based blend, nutty and slightly sweet with a hint of cocoa flavor. Carter Hall is also good, and slightly milder in taste, but very similar - it's my #1 most smoked blend. They're both simple, straightforward blends that taste good and pack, light, and burn well.

 

[obc83]

Wow, thanks everyone. I did not expect this post to get such a variety of helpful responses. I'm not usually one to sweat a purchase like that, but I do hate to have tobacco around that I don't want. The laws here make it a little annoying to sample. I have a tin of Pirate Kake that I probably will never smoke just sitting around, don't know anyone who wants it. It's raining tomorrow so I'm going to grab the PA. Unless some other pipe smoker besides the one guy who sniped all my c&d comes out of the woodwork. Very much appreciate the responses!

 

[obc83]

I have absolutely no idea what your palate is like. I enjoy the occasional bowl of Prince Albert. If 30 dollars is a lot of money to you, you should probably pass on such a risk

 

[birdog]

PA easiest smoking burley, easy pack , stays lit...light semi sweet flavor (mostly chocolate) but tobacco flavor comes through...less sweet than typical aromatics...occasionally a cigarette note if puffed too hard...totally bite free for me.
Half and Half, strong anise taste last time I had it...nothing like PA in flavor
Carter Hall another easy "go to" ...tad more virginia in the mix, with some light alcohol flavorings, but to my taste buds...less flavored than your typical sutliff or lane aromatic.

 

[Briar Lee]

Let’s call them the last five grocery store codger blends.

Prince Albert, Velvet, Half and Half, Sir Walter Raleigh (original) and Carter Hall.

Prince Albert and Velvet were also hand roller’s favorites, and fifty years ago the stores had little papers out if you wanted some with the pocket tin.

I cannot imagine a Carter Hall smoker refusing the other four, or a Prince Albert smoker not smoking, if the other four were in stock. Technically they were (and are) flavored aromatics but all five are burley based pipe tobaccos with subtle flavorings added to make them distinctive.

Prince Albert featured a chocolate note, Velvet had a touch of maple, Half and Half had a touch of spice, SWR a little sour apples, and Carter Hall some juicy fruit gum flavor, but to me it’s like they were all Coca Cola drinks, or all clear 7 Up drinks, if the customer loved one he’d accept any of the others, if need be.

 

[Briar Lee]

More trivia about Prince Albert.

I researched the patent number on the can until 1949 and discovered it was mainly just advertising. The patent covers a much older process to flavor low grade burley using licorice.

Several factors made Prince Albert a revolutionary product in 1907.

It was mild air cured burley, easy to inhale.

It was moist and crimp cut, unlike the powdery dry flakes of Bull Durham.


The makers had conducted a lot of consumer research getting the flavorings to where most smokers liked it.

And the crowning touch was that iconic Prince Albert pocket tin, just the right size for a bib overalls front pocket.

R J Reynolds just murdered in the market place. Liggett quickly countered with Velvet and American a little later with Half and Half, all three in pocket tins, but for decades R J Reynold’s Prince Albert was the top selling grocery store pocket tin of tobacco. Even during the Great Depression Reynolds spent a million dollars a year advertising Prince Albert.

Prince Albert is the patriarch of tobacco in a little can.

It’s a shame they let him out of the can.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

These no longer being offered in pouches means a greater commitment before you can ever even try it.

 

[Briar Lee]

These no longer being offered in pouches means a greater commitment before you can ever even try it.

Back fifty years ago every grocery store had the last five grocery store codger blends of PA, Velvet, Half and Half, SWR and Carter Hall, plus maybe a few more like Middleton’s Cherry and Field and Stream and Revelation. But on the bottom they had large 14 ounce cans usually only of Prince Albert and maybe Velvet, plus any other brand a codger might have them stock for him. Prince Albert was the king.

If a true full service gas station had tobacco at all it was a box of Prince Albert cans.

My grandfather smoked like a chimney and chewed and dipped and snorted tobacco,,,,all the brands. When my mother gave him a big can of tobacco as a gift, it was Prince Albert.

When Harry Hosterman filled his little Dr Grabow squatted down on his haunches under the oak tree outside my father’s milk barn, it was from the little Prince Albert can Wilda Mae bought him every Saturday.

When Roy Acuff led off the Grand Ole Opry it was sponsored by Prince Albert (for him) and Martha White’s Self Rising Flour (for her).

Prince Albert was like Coca Cola and Wrigley’s Spearmint and Tabasco pepper sauce and a Frigidaire refrigerator and a Xerox photocopy machine.


There were other brands of pipe and cigarette tobacco in little cans but they weren’t Prince Albert, which was the default.

Even after they discontinued the pocket can for years afterwards two pouches of PA were sold, a shiny luxury pouch and one that was plainer that said

THIS POUCH REPLACES THE CAN

I’m sure Wilda Mae bought Harry those pouches.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

My honest opinion... if you haven't bought it yet, then don't! It's the worst tobacco I've ever smoked. I was smoking a variety of codger blends, Sir Walter Raleigh, Carter Hall, Granger, etc. at that time, so I thought I would try Prince Albert. That was a mistake. The pouch was well sealed, it was a fresh pouch, it smelled fine, and the tobacco itself looked fine and was in smokable condition, but it tasted terrible. I smoked it in a cob and in a briar, but it didn't matter it still tasted awful. I enjoyed the other three listed blends, but I struggled to get through those bowls of PA. I toughed it out and smoked about 4-5 bowls and suffered through each bowl. It was nasty stuff, so I threw out the rest of the pouch.

 

[Hutch Piper]

I’d recommend purchasing 2oz from 4 Noggins for $6 (plus shipping). Or I’m happy to send you a sample. As others have already said, it is nothing like Half and Half. I get a very dry/cocoa type flavor. I also get a chemical taste that will not go away so it isn’t my jam. I am a Granger and SWR guy when it comes to codger blends. Hope that helps.

 

[bullet08]

Don't worry. They don't seem to rot. Even if you don't like the blend, it will keep well till your posterity decide to smoke pipes few centuries later.

 

[Scottmi]

Don't worry. They don't seem to rot. Even if you don't like the blend, it will keep well till your posterity decide to smoke pipes few centuries later.

I can attest to that! I have some ~50 year old PA that is the "Vintage" base of my Vintage Enriched Price Albert+ tinbits jar. That stuff is still "good." Better with the various additions. YMMV. I also have a new tub of the stuff and it is 'ok' to my taste.

 

[Briar Lee]

If God would be grant me one more afternoon beside Harry Hosterman under the white oak tree that still stands beside by father’s milk barn.

Harry Hosterman’s pipe smelled sweeter and more fragrant than the pies my mother and Wilda Mae and her daughter Nona Fern were baking in the kitchen.

As Harry used his pipe as a pointer, he would show the place where a loyal cavalryman of the Eighth Missouri State Militia on patrol found the children of Granville Nolan who had been cruelty murdered by Jayhawkers from Kansas dressed in blue uniforms, and unmentionable outrages conducted on their mother.

The smell of Prince Albert then is not quite the same as today, but it’s not far off.

The makers still have the recipe. They may use corn syrup instead of brown sugar and propylene glycol instead of molasses, and the can has been gone almost 40 years, but my big plastic can still smells like the wrappers Harry gave me to get a $2 Old Timer pocketknife.


But I cannot retell the stories the same as the old men who heard them directly from the lips of loyal horse soldiers of the 8th MSM.

Battle Unit Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

But I’ve not forgotten nor will I allow another generation to forget.

When I smoke a pipe around guests at my farm I smoke the Prince.

 

[f4phantomdriver]

Been a Prince Albert smoker for years. I actually live 20 minutes from the King of Prussia facility. Even though they moved the pipe tobacco production to the Dominican Republic they are still using U.S. grown Piedmont burley, white burley and turkish. I worked at a place that warehoused a lot of John Middleton materials and knew employees from the facility. Trust me, there is no molasses in the blend. It is liquorice in the casing, then a chocolate liqueur and Maple sugar in the topping. To be honest I think Velvet really tried to copy the recipe. They even cornered the liquorice production to stop other tobacco companies from acquiring any. The secret in Prince Albert was they WAY they manufactured the blend. They steamed and crimped the tobacco before aging it in hogsheads. I saw some tobacco shipping manifests from South Carolina to Dominican Republic for the tobacco plants down there. It's all public on the internet for people to read.

 

[bent1]

Been a Prince Albert smoker for years. I actually live 20 minutes from the King of Prussia facility. Even though they moved the pipe tobacco production to the Dominican Republic they are still using U.S. grown Piedmont burley, white burley and turkish. I worked at a place that warehoused a lot of John Middleton materials and knew employees from the facility. Trust me, there is no molasses in the blend. It is liquorice in the casing, then a chocolate liqueur and Maple sugar in the topping. To be honest I think Velvet really tried to copy the recipe. They even cornered the liquorice production to stop other tobacco companies from acquiring any. The secret in Prince Albert was they WAY they manufactured the blend. They steamed and crimped the tobacco before aging it in hogsheads. I saw some tobacco shipping manifests from South Carolina to Dominican Republic for the tobacco plants down there. It's all public on the internet for people to read.

Thanks for the clarification. Interesting how the blend of additives and selected tobacco give it that mild coco taste. If it had to be only one blend, PA would suffice.

 

[birdog]

f4, thanks for your response...I'm intrigued by the contents/processes of many of our favorite blends and what gives them their distinctive quailities. Prince Albert is my go to everyday codger burley and I have tried others, but for the availability and price, its hard to beat.
On the Middleton lineup, I was wondering if you had any experience with the formulation of Middletons Cherry Blend. Discontinued, sad to say, and several have "match" blends available, but not even close in my opinion.
There was a "zest" to the burley base, that was enjoyable, almost saliva producing, like chewing gum will do, and the flavoring was...I'm not sute. It was just one of those blends...I started with in high school, back in the 60s, and I miss it.

 

[Grumpy11]

PA is one of my favorites

 

[f4phantomdriver]

f4, thanks for your response...I'm intrigued by the contents/processes of many of our favorite blends and what gives them their distinctive quailities. Prince Albert is my go to everyday codger burley and I have tried others, but for the availability and price, its hard to beat.
On the Middleton lineup, I was wondering if you had any experience with the formulation of Middletons Cherry Blend. Discontinued, sad to say, and several have "match" blends available, but not even close in my opinion.
There was a "zest" to the burley base, that was enjoyable, almost saliva producing, like chewing gum will do, and the flavoring was...I'm not sute. It was just one of those blends...I started with in high school, back in the 60s, and I miss it.

I've still have a pouch and a 10oz tub of Middleton's Cherry. I smoked though 8 pouches in the last couple years that a friend sent me. Another friend sent me a generous sample of 1970s Cherry Blend and when I tell you it was fantastic, I'm not lying! The blend definitely changed throughout the years. The older version was darker, richer and more cherry/berry flavor. The stuff that came out the last ten years before it was discontinued was lighter. It had more of that famous Middleton bitey virginia specks in it. The casing was sugar water and the topping was a cherry essence. I liked both versions but the 70s incarnation was more tasty and the room note was more "pipey". I have Walnut and Sugar Barrel as well. I only smoke them once a month. I'll have one bowl of each. I miss Middleton Apple Blend as well. I do remember talking about Cherry Blend with someone ,I just can't remember who. I was told about the sugar water and the flavor of the cherry, but I can't remember the whole conversation. It was years ago. I like Berry Wine too. I was a big Middleton fan. It wasn't froo froo upscale tobacco but it was tasty blue collar American pipe tobacco. I grew up in Southeastern Pennsylvania so most pipe smokers smoked either Middleton or House of Windsor blends. Union Leader was a big one along with Barking Dog and Model pipe Blend. I miss all the old Codger OTC tobaccos.

 

[birdog]

yes. I wonder if some of the well known blenders around (Ernie, Jeremy, Boswell, etc.) would be interested in taking a stab at duplication if you shared with them a small amount, and worked on it with them.
The base burleys may be the same as other Middletons and the sugar water and addition of brights are simple enough....it's the cherry flavoring part which seems elusive....if indeed it's cherry, its a tart cherry.....