What's new

Say goodbye to PA

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
Just for kicks, how well does Carter Hall and Prince Albert store if one were to load up on it?

PA will neither improve or degrade in storage, provided you keep it tightly sealed. Burleys are fairly cellar-neutral in my experience. CH may improve a hair due to the VA component in it.

None of these have toppings to worry about fade with. These are simple Burley heavy blends with a mild casing.

You can pop open a sealed tub of these OTCs from the 1960s or 1970s, and it will taste as if it were new. The older tubs are well sealed. The same cannot be said of the pouches.

I have no opinion on the later Middleton plastic tubs, as I have not had any around long enough to form one. I have six sealed tubs of PA left. So I guess will find out, as I am going to start smoking LLRR and some others more going forward.

As far as tastes, should you decide to stow some away, CH is a little sweeter than PA to me. Somewhere between PA and SWR to my tastes. But as I mentioned above, it is all like comparing different brands of cola. None of them are root beers, let alone ginger ales.
 
I spoke today with representatives of Altria. It took about three call transfers to get to the right person.

The gentleman told me that Prince Albert has been discontinued. And that what's out there is all that is left ("while supplies last").

I will take that as CONFIRMATION.

RIP, PA.

Well I hope STG buys PA and CH as Middleton seems like they are a mess right now.

As mentioned Middleton's site is more about how PC they are instead of how great their tobaccos are.

Got a feeling Middleton is a sinking ship. RIP PA 🙍
 
On Facebook someone says they contacted Middleton directly and they said it wasn’t discontinued. It’s on FB so you know it’s true.
Like @Kentos said “if it’s on Facebook so you know it’s true!” Plus, with all the other “claims” of “inside information” from all the experts out in “net land” which they always seem to obtain through their accurate, reliable and credible sources and throwing it “all in” together for good measure were certainly not shy of sharing be it right or wrong with the public; what ya’ all worried about anyway? Just pick the opinion you agree with and everything will be just fine.

What I really mean to say is why waste anyone’s time. Just ask the first customer service representative at ANY respectable outlet and you were guaranteed to get your definitive answer that suited your own opinion to spread on the ol’ trusty net!

And that is exactly what appears to have happened; if, you were so inclined to look for the truth yourself rather than hanging on to the favorite flavor of the month/opinion. There were more than enough naysayers claiming (i.e. PA demise rumor mongers out in force again) and trying to convince others that their inside information was the valid source thus validating their own opinion on the matter. True legends....

What i find particularly astonishing throughout this “case study” was the perceived acumen of the some of the individuals relative to the claims they were disseminating to others. Lessons are meant to be learned and that end result should foster wisdom.

It should be common knowledge, but obviously is not, is that most companies/corporations try to keep things like this “under wraps” by not sharing the details of their most intimate business decisions with the rank and file. But, hey, it’s out on social media so it must be true.

Anybody with any bit of business acumen could see this coming if they were keen enough to combine “all the other elements or bits and pieces” of information that have already been gathered, cooked and are common knowledge.

Seems pretty clear to me at this point that a particular “frog is being slowly cooked to precision with increasing intensity”....
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Just for kicks, how well does Carter Hall and Prince Albert store if one were to load up on it?
Everything holds up well in Mason jars. CH lasts a long time in unopened tubs as does PA. If you’re going to stock up on any codger stuff, I would recommend CH. The PA Match is incredibly close to PA as is the CH is except for the topping. I may be saying this because I really have a thing for CH. Since CH is the last of Middleton I’m going to get a couple of tubs to have on hand just in case it suffers the same fate as PA. It may not because of its strong popularity, at least for a while. Last man standing is a precarious situation.
 

Hirsute

Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Don’t forget about the Hearth & Home Midtown series. These are codger blends and they released them after sugar barrel and a few others disappeared a few years ago. The names are barely disguised. Try the “Prince Andrew” (hmmm, wonder what blend that’s supposed to be....). ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I spoke today with representatives of Altria. It took about three call transfers to get to the right person.

The gentleman told me that Prince Albert has been discontinued. And that what's out there is all that is left ("while supplies last").

I will take that as CONFIRMATION.

RIP, PA.

Nice work, Columbo. Maybe someone will step in to buy the rights for it.
 

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
I wish STF would buy Carter Hall and guarantee a secure future for it.

That sometimes happens. Lane took over Edgeworth for a number of years, and then once there was a brand issue, continued it verbatim except for the name. Perhaps it happens here someday.

The good news is all these OTCs (with a couple exceptions) are sufficiently similar that moving to one of the others should not be too big a shock. Other than price, I’m fine moving to LLRR ... or even to SWR ... if Middleton is committing hara-kiri.

I enjoyed PA for a lot of years. But Burley is Burley, and there are lots of good daily codger choices out there.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
That sometimes happens. Lane took over Edgeworth for a number of years, and then once there was a brand issue, continued it verbatim except for the name. Perhaps it happens here someday.

The good news is all these OTCs (with a couple exceptions) are sufficiently similar that moving to one of the others should not be too big a shock. Other than price, I’m fine moving to LLRR ... or even to SWR ... if Middleton is committing hara-kiri.

I enjoyed PA for a lot of years. But Burley is Burley, and there are lots of good daily codger choices out there.
Actually RR is a good enough replacement for PA and much better in my opinion. I have both Lane and Sutliff. I prefer the Sutliff blend except for the cut which has some large chunks where I prefer Lane with a more consistent cut. I smoked Edgeworth slices back in the late 60's and early 70's but don't remember it well enough to compare with the Matches. And yes, it appears Middleton is getting out of the tobacco business.
 

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
I asked the owner of a local B&M today if they had heard anything about PA and he has been told that it has been placed on “permanent backorder” which he took to mean discontinued.
 
I went to the tinderbox last week and was basically told the same thing.

But then I noticed a post on a pipe mag forum.

Here is part of his post:

Reconfirmed: Just off the phone again,... again... with the Middleton Customer Service Rep at: 888-878-4562, who re-re-re-confirmed that according to the most current information they have, the ONLY Prince Albert product affected will be the availability of 14 oz. TUBS in CALIFORNIA ONLY.

Let's hope it stays that way.

The Rep could not explain why the online distributors - Smoking Pipes, P&C, TobaccoPipes, etc. - have all been out-of-stock of Prince Albert for some time; and all out of stock at the same time.




So I think the factory production and distribution has stopped for now. Do to covid and then the rumor that it's being discontinued caused a buying frenzy online.

I also wish that Middleton's site would just come out with a statement about this to clear the air, for once and for all.
 
Last edited:

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I’ve just quit caring. The match is damn close and significantly cheaper so why worry. Carter Hall Match has a different topping but provides just as pleasant smoke so I’m not going to fret over that either.
 
Top Bottom