Prince Albert revisited

[mark]

Some time ago before I got wrapped up in all the premium tobacco I grabbed some of the OTC standards available at the drug store ( PA, Sugarbarrel, SWR, half&half, CH) and smoked up a storm. Sugarbarrel and CH wound up on my smoking stand and I haven't gotten back to the others since. Let's say someone I know dropped their pouch of Best Brown Flake in the lake while fishing. Let's also say this person at the time had a choice of saving the $5 basket pipe he was packing or the $15 worth of tobacco in the $35 pouch and absentmindedly (or instinctively) saved the pipe. DUH.

PA was the only thing available at the beer store/bait shop/ U-Haul/ towtruck place and I lit up expecting a ho-hum smoke. Either my tastebuds have changed or they changed the formula because it's pretty damn good. A little more hearty than CH with a background flavor I can't quite place, but tasty anyway. Maybe a quick trip through the OTCs I've ignored is in order.



3 walleyes, a bucket of perch, and 2 lake trout.

 

[Fr_Tom]

I like PA enough that I always have it in stock. I don't smoke it very often, but I could and I have.

 

[KevinM]

L.L. Bean used to sell pipe tobacco, and The Man himself preferred Prince Albert, so the theory is that Bean's Pipe Tobacco was actually PA.

 

[Brewdude]

Whenever I want a good straightforward, no-nonsense, uncomplicated bowl of something I reach for PA. Also use it to break in new pipes.

Sometimes less is more.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Years ago, back in my teenage days, my original Pipe Mentor Lloyd had CH and PA on hand. I much preferred CH. That's my go-to cheapie smoke. I haven't had PA since then, and perhaps I should have a trip down memory land.

Thanks Mark.

 

[pepesdad1]

Speaking of drugstore tobacco...I was recently turned on to Half and Half which I always regarded as crap because of the price. Boy was I surprised, lovely marriage of virginias and burley. I'll have to revise my opinions and my revisit my tobaccos..it is a pleasant inexpensive go-to tobac that doesn't piss you off.

 

[Fr_Tom]

L.L. Bean used to sell pipe tobacco, and The Man himself preferred Prince Albert, so the theory is that Bean's Pipe Tobacco was actually PA.

Back in the 70's LL Bean used to sell pipes as well as tobacco. I got one for Christmas or something one year. I asked someone who would know about the Bean branded tobacco, and he said it was Edgeworth.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Maybe a quick trip through the OTCs I've ignored is in order.

I did the same thing several years ago, but with CBW. Since then I always keep a little on hand.

 

[Richard Burley]

Yeah, me too for OTCs. I don't "intellectually" or consciously prefer them, but I one day looked at the quantity I was smoking compared to the amount of obviously higher quality (whatever that means) weed, which I do love and appreciate. Very self-revelatory. And it's not a cost issue for me. They're just easier to smoke in a car or whatever and to me are extremely mild. Must be how the oldtimers used to smoke all day long. A friend's old man used to smoke a pipe even while mowing with a push lawn mower. He was never not smoking, except to eat. Try that with FVF or whatever. I can't believe my current favorite is Kentucky Club Mixture. The subconscious is a powerful thing.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Why break in a pipe with burley?
Why break in a pipe?
  I started out smoking 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 bowls; couldn't tell the difference  
  when the inconvenience caused me to chuck the practice. Still can't.

 

[KevinM]

I asked someone who would know about the Bean branded tobacco, and he said it was Edgeworth.

Possibly, of course, but I'd bet not.  I once put on my boy detective hat and was put in touch with a Bean customer service rep who had been with the company since before they put carpets on the stairs. (I remember that.) He checked vendor recods, but the pre-electronic records weren't available. He remembered that Leon L. kept handy the proverbial Prince Albert in a can, and LL's legendary insistence that he would not sell anything he didn't personally use, a bit of dogma that became more and more cumbersome as the store's customers got younger and LL got older  So PA seems like the better bet to me, although the evidence, as they say, is circumstantial. I also remember the L.L. Bean pipes and now wish I bought a couple.

I agree with the comments that the OTC blends are often just more cooperative than the more sophisticated offerings. Sometimes you just want to light 'er and smoke 'er. Especially when your taste buds seem to be calling it a day. In addiito to being cooperative, PA tastes like tobak, not cream soda or vanilla beans, which is a good thing.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Last time I smoked PA it was from a pouch in a cardboard box from the Walmart, bought it on a whim. I remember that it wouldn't dry out and gunked up the pipe pretty good, but didn't taste too bad.

 

[Brewdude]

Why break in a pipe with burley?
Why break in a pipe?
  I started out smoking 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 bowls; couldn't tell the difference  
  when the inconvenience caused me to chuck the practice. Still can't.

Just the wayI've been doing it Mike. Seems to work pretty good for me. We all have out own methods and this works for me.

And i've pretty much always broken in new pipes with a full bowl right from the start. Have yet to have issues with it.

Cheers,

RR

 

[Smoker99]

Can see why this was an all dayer back when. Too much gunk, and not strong enough to suit me. Nice flavor though.

 

[scottbtdmb]

Why break in a pipe with burley?
Why break in a pipe?
  I started out smoking 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 bowls; couldn't tell the difference  
  when the inconvenience caused me to chuck the practice. Still can't.

Just the wayI've been doing it Mike. Seems to work pretty good for me. We all have out own methods and this works for me.

And i've pretty much always broken in new pipes with a full bowl right from the start. Have yet to have issues with it.

Cheers,

RR

Agreed, RR!  We must all remember that pipe smoking is a very subjective hobby and each of our individual rituals/practices will differ.  Personally, I have found that smoking 1/2 bowls in a new pipe builds up cake quickly in the heel of the pipe, which prevents the pipe from smoking hot after the first few smokes.  Additionally, I have found that burley builds up cake twice as fast as English or Virginia tobacco.  Whatever works for you Mike...keep doing it and the same goes for all Brothers....but personally, I am with RR....I have seen first hand how beneficial smoking half-bowls with Burley can be for breaking in pipes....and I have gone through A LOT of trial and error in my short 4 years of pipe smoking!  YMMV!

-Scott

 

[ftrplt]

Why break in a pipe with burley?
Why break in a pipe?
  I started out smoking 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 bowls; couldn't tell the difference  
  when the inconvenience caused me to chuck the practice. Still can't.

This exercise in futility never worked for me either, Mike!!!!

PA vs. CH.....Last year I ventured back into the Burley world after distaining it for over 40 years. I just had to try PA & CH again. Surprisingly, I handled it pretty darn well for a dedicated Latweed lover!!! I like them both, but find CH a touch sweeter and smoother than PA. FTRPLT

 

[somedumbjerk]

i've never had any OTC's except for five brothers, which i love. i should probably try them, huh? i got into pipes with a good tobacconist who turned me on to really nice tobacco right away.