Black and Mild Flavors

The History, Numerous Varieties and Exotic Flavors of Black & Mild Cigars

Black and Mild is a pipe tobacco cigar brand that manufactures all kinds of cigars and cigarillos. A wide variety of cigar versions and flavors of Black and Milds has made the brand extremely popular among smokers in America.

With so many tobacco products on the market, each of them have their own dedicated fans. Many smokers stick mainly to smoking cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, or even pipes. As the oldest traditional form of consuming tobacco, pipe smoking is slowly becoming replaced with modern, more convenient ways of smoking. However, many middle-aged and older admirers still prefer lighting a pipe instead of a stogie.

The Black & Mild cigars are machine-made pipe tobacco cigars that were the result of an experiment by the John Middleton Company. They were eager to create a brand-new product for those who enjoy smoking a pipe yet do not have the time to do so during the day. Besides, pipe smoking isn’t just about the enjoyment – it also involves cleaning, filling, tamping the pipe, which is quite time-consuming and, frankly, pretty annoying. So, people at John Middleton wanted to come up with a cigar that would be as flavorful and aromatic as a pipe but wouldn’t require all that faff.

History of the Black & Mild Brand

Indeed, the Black & Mild cigar wasn’t the first product manufactured by the company. Its roots go back to 1856 when “Middleton” was a famous name among pipe tobaccos. A small shop in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, owned by John Middleton himself, used to sell all sorts of cigars and pipes that were so popular back then. John was more than just a great entrepreneur – he loved to experiment with tobacco flavors and blends, always surprising his customers.

However, the John Middleton company never intended to make a revolutionary tobacco product that would blow smokers’ minds. They focused on the quality of their products and their consumers’ satisfaction, rather than always being first at everything. So, the business grew steadily, without making much noise or commotion, up until the 1960s.

In 1968, tobacco smoking was widely accepted worldwide, and a cigar or cigarette was a sign of one’s class and status. The folks at John Middleton realized that many smokers were actually willing to try a pipe to get the magnificent aroma that regular cigs could not provide them with. Eventually, someone got an idea to create a cigar reminiscent of the real pipe-smoking experience.

Still, there was no goal to make a breakthrough in the tobacco industry. It was just another experiment with blends and flavors that the company had become famous for a century before.

The experiment was quite challenging since pipe tobacco and cigar leaf come from different parts of the world. Pipe tobacco is cultivated pretty much everywhere, from North to South. The largest producers of tobacco are China, India, and Brazil. From climate to climate, pipe tobacco varies in thickness, texture, and taste, and that is what makes blend experiments never-ending yet so exciting!

Cigar leaves, on the other hand, are primarily produced in Central America, where the tropical climate provides ideal conditions to grow thick, bountiful plants.

So, after multiple attempts, the company came up with the perfect tobacco blend, tucked it into the homogenized wrapper, added a white plastic tip, and created the revolutionary cigar with the tremendous flavor and strength of a top-quality pipe. The revolutionary blend consists of a mix of Cavendish, thick-cubed Burley from Kentucky, and some of the best golden Virginia tobaccos. All of these provide the smooth pipe tobacco aroma and flavor.

Since then, Black & Mild cigars have been widely smoked both by cigar smokers and pipe smokers. The latter finally got the chance to enjoy their favorite tobacco product without wasting their time dealing with the pipe. At the same time, stogie admirers finally had an opportunity to try even more robust, deeper-flavored cigars they could smoke on the go. By the mid-90s, the cigar had become the most popular cigar in the US, and it is still considered one of the top-selling products on the market. In 1997, the company opened a second production facility in Limerick, PA, to manufacture Black & Mild cigars.

After the success of their invention, the John Middleton company didn’t stop there. They kept on experimenting and began to expand their assortment with additional flavors. In 2001, John Middleton introduced a lighter, milder version of the product, the Black & Mild cigar, perfect for beginners and those unfamiliar with or not ready for the strong pipe tobacco blend.  The shorter Black & Mild Fast Break cigar was invented three years later, perfect to smoke during a busy day. The following year, the company finally decided on its direction in flavored pipe tobacco blends.

Today, the brand offers over 20 flavor options, which we are going to discuss further below. In addition, Black & Mild cigars and cigarillos come in different versions, with a plastic or wood tip or with no tip whatsoever.

In November 2007, the John Middleton company was purchased by Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris.

Black & Mild Varieties

Black & Mild cigars come as singles, in a pack of 5, or a box of 25. As of 2021, John Middleton has the following versions of their best-selling cigar in their assortment:

•         Black & Mild (Original)
•         Prince Albert
•         Mild
•         Black & Mild FT 110 (Filtered Tips), rolled in a 100mm cigar
•         Black & Mild FT 85, rolled in an 85mm cigar
•         Wood Tip
•         Natural Wrap Wood Tip, natural-wrapped and finished with a wood tip

Plus, they now offer cigarillos for smokers who have very little time during their break to enjoy Black & Milds. These cigarillos replaced the Black & Mild Fast Break cigar, a shorter version of the original.

Black & Mild Flavors

Here are the best 15 of all Black and Mild flavors:

1. Original. This is the exceptional mix of black Cavendish and Virginia tobaccos produced in Pennsylvania, which gives smokers an excellent opportunity to enjoy the solid flavor of a tobacco pipe.
2. Deluxe. Truly classic taste touched with a hint of chocolate.
3. Apple. Sweet and delicious, just like apple pie.
4. Select. This one provides a smooth, sweet smoke with a persistent fruity flavor that endures throughout the entire burn.
5. Blues. A Black & Mild with the gentle flavor of mint.
6. Cherry. The spicy Virginia blend is combined with a hint of cherry liquor, finished with a touch of tartness.
7. Casino. The perfect mix of chocolate and cocoa. It’s a little spicy, too.
8. Wine. The classic Black & Mild flavor featuring Cavendish and Virginia tobaccos is finished with a sweet, tart red wine flavor.
9. Royale. A mild, smooth smoke that is rich in taste and finished with a creamy flavor.
10. Sweets. It’s a more traditional flavor that was created using air-cured tobacco. The mellow smoke has a lovely sweet touch to it.
11. Cream. Being the most decadent flavor of the Black & Mild cigars, “Cream” is a mix of the fresh creamy taste and mild flavor of the pipe tobacco.
12. Gold & Mild. The famous tobacco blend by John Middleton is touched with a hint of sweet vanilla and nut flavor.
13. Jazz. The Jazz flavor has a very interesting, unique sweet taste to it.
14. Soft Vanilla. A great combination of Burley and Black Cavendish, finished with a strong vanilla flavor and a fruity taste.
15. Cherry Vanilla. A delicious, sweet vanilla taste with a nice touch of tartness.

Other Black and Milds flavors include:

•         Cruise
•         Rhythm
•         Summer Blend (discontinued)
•         Dark Blend (discontinued)
•         Black and Mild Wood Tip Flavors (a category of flavors)

Why Black & Mild Cigars?

Clearly, the Black & Mild cigar is one of a kind, as it even falls into the category of pipe tobacco cigars, which aren't prevalent on the market. What makes their cigars so special is the plastic tip that mimics the pipe-smoking experience without needing one. Light a Black & Mild cigar, and you’ll get all the joy of a pipe and none of the fuss.

The quality of John Middleton products has been proven many-many times for the past 150 years, especially when it comes to Black & Milds. Only high-quality ingredients are used in the production of Black & Mild cigars. They are considered some of the least annoying gas station cigar brands in the tobacco industry because of the black Cavendish pipe tobacco used in their products.

Honestly, it's no wonder that the brand has become a household name in such a short period of time. It has a lot to offer to both cigar lovers and pipe smokers. In addition, it also has milder products for those who are just beginning to enjoy their smoking experience. Even the design of the packs and cigars themselves clearly shows how detail-oriented the brand is and how well they understand their consumers.

Another reason why these cigars are still so popular among smokers is the number of different flavors of Black and Milds and the varieties they offer. It’s interesting that many of the Black and Mild best flavors John Middleton offers today were originally created back in the 19th century. The company was initially run by a person who was eager to experiment with blends and flavors, and the business fully adopted this concept, creating its most successful product literally by accident. John Middleton would be so proud!

People at the company always make customers’ satisfaction their main priority, so they listen carefully to the feedback they receive from Black & Mild cigars’ consumers, constantly coming up with new ideas on how to make their smoking experience even more exciting. That’s why they keep adding different kinds of cigars to their assortment, be it wood-tipped, untipped, filter-tipped, or short cigars. Thus, anyone can find a type to their taste.