I grew up on Hickory, so that may be why it's always been my favorite. Once I moved to California. everything was Mesquite. I got used to it and have no problem with it, but Hickory is still in my blood I guess. My Ohio buddy always did a hog when I'd be up there hunting, he always used Apple. It was fine, but I'm not positive what I was really tasting because he'd BBQ the hog on a big grill with a spit and constantly basted the meat with apple juice. NO complaints.