Tobaccos House of Windsor - Mapleton

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3050)	2014-12-20		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

The rum and maple was very lightly applied, but was pleasant, I suppose. It seemed mighty tame. Mostly, I got burley, which burned a little hot and was bitey if pushed much. There was a slight nuttiness and a noticeable sharpness, but there was also the taste of cigarette at times from the very grassy Virginias. No Virginia sweetness to really speak of, either. Had almost no nicotine. Burned a little fast,and left little moisture in the bowl. Needed few relights. Sutliff's Mapleton Match is a much superior product.

-JimInks

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2003-11-26		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The above description is not accurate!

House of Windsor Tin Description: An aromatic smoking mixture blended with flavorful Maple and Old Rum. Country of Origin: US Group: Air Cured Contents: Burley & Virginia

There is Burley and Virginia in this blend, for sure. But, if it is indeed an aromatic flavored with Maple and Old Rum, the topping was applied so sparingly that I missed it. There is also no mention of Perique. Well, this stuff is loaded with that Louisiana tobacco product.

Smoking Mapleton was like smoking two different blends in one. The leaf is short-cut and at just the right humidity level. It packs easily and evenly. At the match the upper portion of the smoke was very pleasant. A mid-range burst of flavor and nicotine with just enough Perique to be interesting accompanied the first third of the smoking experience. Not a hint of bite either. At the mid-bowl point, my tongue began detecting waves of Perique. The more I smoked the more peppery the taste. Finally, Perique dominated to the point where I could taste little else. Most unpleasant.

The final verdict -- Mapleton was guilty of deceit and has been banished from my "cellar."

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2003-12-06		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Funny, I agree with the previous review, but tend to like this tobacco for the same reasons the previous reviewer dislikes it.

I wouldn't describe this as a ribbon cut, in the can it seems to be almost dry pebble sized grains. These can be broken up, or, for a more complex smoke, simply scooped up into the pipe.

The casing does indeed taste of maple, but it is not overwhelming. The tobacco is not goopy, burns smoothly to a thin white ash, and is easy on the tongue.

I agree that there is perique in there, but didn't find it overwhelming...some puffs tend to taste heavily of maple, and other puffs are spicier.

I've found that this tobacco smokes best from a nice big Missouri Meerschaum. The taste just seems to meld better than in a briar.

I enjoy this as a morning smoke with coffee.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2011-04-16		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Very surprised at how much I enjoyed this almost cube cut primarily burley blend. Some VA in the mix as well. The tin aroma was extremely fruity which smelled like the perique other reviewers have noticed. I did not notice any maple scent but rum was quite apparent.

The one down side to this one is that it threatened to sizzle my tongue upon first light, and this sensation lasted for about 1/4 of the bowl. It finally settles down into a rather intense and complex smoke. The varying flavors, including the perique spiciness, hover in and out throughout the bowl. There was the mulled cider of its old stablemate Union Leader, as well as rum and various light spices. This completely eschewed the old burley nuttiness. It was a sweet and spicy smoke, and it was consistent in taste from the top to the bottom, bowl after bowl. If this were still available, I'd buy more. If it didn't have that tongue-threatening opening facade, this would plainly be an excellent tobacco. It's one of the 2 or 3 best OTC's I've ever smoked, as far superior to Sutliff's "match" version, which is far from an actual match.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-02-11		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Although HOW has several blends I enjoy, I really cannot say anything good about Mapleton. It burned hot, the taste reminded me of the time I tried eating some acorns, and I'm grateful I only smoked it in a corncob.

The one positive comment is I only had one small tin to deal with.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-10-02		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

In the tin, the aroma of this very short-cut, fine ribbon is of typically earthy tobacco. The rum and maple are clearly noticeable, though a dominant perique scent is not.

The flavor is defined primarily of red VA, burley, and dark cavendish which are enhanced by the distinctness of the sweetener and the rum aroma. These combine to give a rather low-toned character to the blend. Perique is a welcome addition, it's clearly noticeable pungency preventing the blend from slipping into murky stolidness.

Manufactured to House of Windsor's high quality standards, Mapleton is a comfortably rich all-day blend; the type of thing rapidly disappearing from american life. This will probably ghost a briar over time and seemed best to me in narrow gauge chambers.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-10-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I really can't say anything good about this tobacco. I did not taste much rum or maple, just a bitterness while smoking, almost like biting into a bad walnut. (Or somekind of nut.) The room note was pleasant, I could detect a hint of maple. I probably will never buy this again, even if it became locally available.

Too expensive for what I consider an inferior smoke.

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	Auroraboy (22)	2008-07-10		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Tolerable

Not great. Had an idea of what this might taste like, and boy was I off. It had a very faint scent, drab appearance and burned hot and sporadically. If this is supposed to be a maple blend, it falls way short of that. Even if not, not worth the time or money.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	wmjotten (12)	2007-06-30		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Yet another HOW that came as a 'bonus' to a Pipe/Tobacco magazine subscription. Thank heaven I got my enjoyment from the magazine over the years because the HOW tobaccos are a distant unpleasant memory. Mapleton is supposed to be maple/rum flavored, neither of which I can say is sufficient to stand out in this blend. It smoked harsh, tasted poor, was dry in the can and soon was dealt with accordingly....I tossed it out. No more HOW blends for me, there are so many better blenders out there with premium tobacco, there's nothing premium in Mapleton.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-10-26		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A mild aromatic. If you still want tobacco and a little Rum, maple and such...its not a bad pick, and has a good price.

BETTER PICK: C & D AUTUMN MORNING- THIS ONE REALLY COULD BE BEATEN EASILY.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	A. Morley (97)	2006-09-06		Mild to Medium	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Overwhelming

This is the second disappointing tobacco that I have had from the House of Windsor. Truth be told, Mapleton in among the most disappointing tobaccos that I have ever smoked. Like other examples of House of Windsor's revivals of some classic American blends, I was highly anxious and even excited to try Mapleton: it was a Burley/Virginia, it was said to have a natural, old-world style casing and, depending on who you asked, it even had some Perique to make things interesting. It sounded like other blends that I have smoked and enjoyed for many years.

Once I did acquire a tin it was all downhill. Upon opening it the smell and appearance reminded me of nothing so much as a finely shredded grocery bag, though, at least, a clean and unused one. Lighting and smoking it left me with the same impression. Whatever light aromatic note was there quickly gave way to a hot blandness that left the tongue feeling thick and leathery after one pipefull. I can add nothing to the smoldering controversy as to whether this stuff has Perique in it or not, given that it really didn't taste like anything to other than hot smoke, perhaps like one would get from burning rags of straw. I am a relentless plodder when it comes to smoking any tobacco, no matter how much I may hate it, but Mapleton was one of the only tobaccos that I truly had trouble smoking all the way down. Worst of all, it was an aromatic that even those around me couldn't abide. My wife has tolerated a host of English blends and various concentrations of Perique for years. Mapleton, though, was a tobacco for which she had no patience. Even if I had smoked a pipe of it half an hour before, she would smell the stuff on me and her displeasure would be marked.

I like to save tobacco tins and keep them in my study as something of a reference of what I have been smoking in the past year, but I was even reluctant to keep the Mapleton tin around once the remainder odious tobacco it contained resided properly in the trash can.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	caddad (53)	2006-03-22		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have really enjoyed other H.O.W. blends however this is one I just was not that impressed with. My sample was rather dry and seemed to me to be harsh. H.O.W. asked premium prices for their tobacco now and this is one that is not worth spending the money on in my opinion.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MozzMann (33)	2006-02-22		Very Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Review coming soon....6-27-05 Burns way to hot, must be the burley as my fine chap says, no taste whatsoever, but the tin was nice looking! Gave it a shot but no cigars! -MZMN-

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2005-06-29		Very Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

The worst HOW tobacco I've tried. Smells like a gummy, haphazard melange of burley, Virginia, and some pedestrian topping. Annoying ribbon cut. Required frequent relights. Not pleasant in the tin or burning in my pipe. Why bother?

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	scootertrash (10)	2005-04-15		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Update: I revisited this tobacco in the form of a 10 oz. can for $12.99 at a discount tobacco shop (cigarette store). At that price I had to buy it. This time when I openned the can, it did smell of rum & maple and I didn't smell the perique. When smoking I do taste the rum & maple, but it doesn't overwhelm the tobacco taste. It actually tastes fairly good. Farther down the bowl a little of the peppery taste of the perique steps in, but much more subdued from my original experiece with the 2 oz. can. When I left my smoking room (garage) and came back later I could smell a slight maple aroma. Overall a good tobacco for the price. The problem is finding it for this price.

Original review: I first smoked a couple of pouches of this stuff over 30 years ago. I quit because it disappeared from the store shelves until recently. My memory of this and my present smoking experience aren't the same. I remember it tasting more of the maple flavoring & I don't remember the perique. (Not that I knew what perique was 30 years ago). Upon opening the 2 oz can I smelled the perique. Not necessarily bad, I just wasn't expecting it in that strength. My first pipe full wasn't pleasant. It started out OK , tasted like Burley, Virginia & Perique with a little sweetener. I couldn't actually distinguish the flavoring as maple & rum. Then part way down the bowl the peppery quality of the perique became overwhelming and I put the pipe down. I think I know what caused this. I dumped the can of tobacco into a pan and examined it. There were LARGE pieces of dark tobacco (the perique) present. One of these large pieces must have been burning in my pipe and just took over the flavor. I broke these down to much smaller pieces, mixed it up, put it back in the can and reloaded my pipe. This time I smoked the whole bowl without being overwhelmed by the perique, but it's presence was noticeable. I feel this is a quality tobacco, just not one of my personal liking. The perique presence is more than my tastes like, but I'll have no problem finishing the rest of the 2 oz can. Maybe down the road I'll try this stuff again. This tobacco can be a little aggressive to the tongue if puffed to hard. Probably the perique. It does smoke dry to the bottom of the bowl with a fine whitish grey ash. If you really like perique, you should give this stuff a try.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigSwede (93)	2005-03-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An interesting tobacco. I first bought the 2 oz. sampler can and enjoyed it. The larger twelve oz bucket has a somewhat different appearance: it's a chunkier and more coarse, with colors from medium brown to black. Neither the smaller nor larger container have much aroma: very mild topping, which isn't particularly "mapley", and a subdued odor of real tobacco. In searching for the larger container on the internet, one of the websites listed rum, maple and vanilla as well as the perique, burley and virginia as ingredients. I once ran into a bowl that had a big chunk of perique (quite an experience!), so now I rub out several handfuls and put them away in a container for smoking. Moisture content, like most HOW blends, is perfect right out of the container, on the drier side but it doesn't affect the smoke.

It packs and lights easily. At no time have I ever detected more than the slightest whiff of topping. It smokes like a nice burley base, slow, dry and cool. The perique makes for a spicy backdrop, but when rubbed out isn't offensive. No sourness at the end, a pleasant smoke all the way down. I don't get the impression of a lot of nicotine.

I will smoke this from time to time, but it's not a regular for me. Several of the other HOW blends have richer and more varied flavors. For other burley lovers, I recommend you try a smaller amount, rub it out, pack it well and smoke it slow.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2004-09-16		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Might I recommend this blend in a corn cob pipe. Very tasty if smoked slowly. If it is very windy or puffed too rapidly it is too harsh. Slow, small sips lead to a satisfying smoke. I rate this a three star change of pace smoke. update 9/15/2004: This is a unique aromatic. Not much sweetness or aroma. The Perique is now much more apparent to my more educated palate. I can't vouch for the room note, but if your crowd likes the smell, you won't give up too much real tobacco taste with this mixture.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-07-18		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Mapleton may be my favorite House of Windsor blend. It is made up of short cut pieces in what seems to be a traditional American style popular more than 50 years ago. It consists predominantly of VA and burley and is lightly cased with maple (it is called "Mapleton", after all) and rum. Other reviewers mention a substantial Perique element. However, I didn't really detect Perique in the pouch I smoked. Perique may be present but, if it is, I found the balance to be such that it did not dominate. Mapleton is a dark, rich, semi-sweet, highly aromatic blend made in the same old-school manner as all other HOW blends. Perhaps the Perique forms the basis of the rich taste or it could simply be the maple and rum flavorings. I believe Wm. Serad, in his Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine review, mentioned one or more flavors in addition to maple and rum and such could account for the stewed fruit flavor sometimes associated with Perique. No artificial humectants seem to be employed and, unlike many modern aromatics, it is fairly dry and, hence, burned quite well without bite. I like this blend better than Field & Stream or Bourbon Street because both aroma and flavorings are more restrained, more natural, and there is no soapiness--- though I like all HOW blends to some degree. Anyway, I give Mapleton a grade of "B+".

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2004-01-06		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I never thought I would ever say this: too much Perique!!!!! Perhaps if I wasn't expecting a nice aromatic this wouldn't have hit so hard. I tasted no maple or rum- just burley with perique build up. IF you are enamored of Perique to the exclusion of all else, give this blend a try- you'll love it.

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