Half & Half Half & Half Light American

Having smoked a great many custom blends through the years I feel I finally have enough experience to evaluate and appreciate the old OTC brands. In my final evaluation I'd say that Half and Half is THE FINEST "Over The Counter" blend ever produced and still sold! That would be followed closely by Prince Albert, but H&H wins for me hands down. It has everything I was looking for in an everyday, anytime pipe tobacco. It's flavorful and the taste reminds me of a little bit of Ocean Spray Cranberry at times regardless of the companies actual listed toppings. It burns well and doesn't bite if it's not pushed by smoking to strong or fast. Though not PC today it's even mild enough to inhale coming from the time period long ago of a "crossover" blend (think lucky strike) tobacco for pipes and roll your own cigs. I frankly find myself reaching for it most always even though I have a wide variety of tobacco cellared away. I am well aware of how subjective taste among people, but I'm very pleased that a great many obviously agree with me since it's still being produced. Don't let older reviews keep you from trying and potentially enjoying this historical and familiar favorite of mine. If for some reason you happen to not enjoy it, you can send any left over my way! It's seriously that good to me. Some may call me common, but I've learned there's nothing wrong with that. I'm an "earthy" man, that comes from simple folks that worked the land by the sweat of their brow with calloused hands. Half and Half goes well after good honest work, wearing blue jeans and of course is best smoked from the venerable Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe.

This tobacco is one of my old stand-bys. It was my father's bowl the whole time I knew him, and I didn't smoke this with any kind of regularity until after he died. I disliked the stuff intensely and didn't understand how he could smoke something so terrible. He encouraged me to learn to smoke a pipe and put me on to some very nice blends when he caught me smoking cigarettes as a teenager. I started smoking this after his death because I wanted the smell in the house. It was his smell. The tobacco itself is nothing to write home about, though it gets pleasant once you get ussd to it. An acquired taste, I suppose. It delivers a good amount of nicotine, and I've only ever gotten compliments on the room note. It's versatile enough that it can be rolled into cigarettes in a pinch as long as you don't make a habit of it. Overall, a good workhorse tobacco with a tolerable to pleasant room note.

After hearing all the negative reviews I thought I would try this for myself. This is actually not a bad smoke but it's not the best smoke. This is an everyday Smoke For the Working Man. This is the type of tobacco you can smoke all day. The flavor is not that bad it's a whole lot better than what I thought it would be. I think I will keep this in my rotation as a backup for when I want something different. For an over-the-counter blend I give this three and a half Stars out of four

I personally think this blend is very good for what it is. A purely American blend Burley and Virginia with a very light casing. This to me makes it an aromatic blend. Just a point of reference for those reading this I have smoked pipe for 23 years. I am by no means an expert. Started like most, with the captian. Now I blend my own with bulk tobacco. I have for the past 4 years been smoking only natural blends. Perique being my favorite of all. You can't judge any baccy by another after all the recipes and process used to make them are secret. Making them all unique.

H&H stuff just has no direction. Not a good grade of Virgina and Burley. The Name should be achanged to Half Bad & Half Rotten

At first I hated it. Then after a few pipes it grew on me. Turns out our Grandfathers knew what they were doing all along! Has now become one of my favorites! Along with Carter Hall, Prince Albert, Sir Walker Rawleigh, Five Brothers

At this price point you get a little more than you pay for. This is a old school nothing fancy smoke expect more and you will be disappointed. Room note ok tobacco not top shelf but it’s a ok smoke. I smoke it while mowing the lawn. If Expectations are low you will be pleased.

I'm usually pretty averse to "codger blends," but Half & Half was surprisingly pleasant.

Often, legacy blends like this were at one point discontinued and then acquired by another company, which debases the original blend by using sub-par leaves and profiting, with the higher margins, from the stubborn pipe smokers of yore who, even after the transition, refuse to smoke anything else. This has happened to all the old favorites, like Carter Hall, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Prince Albert unfortunately, which switched from using high quality American and European tobaccos to sub-par Dominican ones.

Fortunately, it seems like Half & Half is still made in the USA, which might explain why it hasn't really lost its luster and why, unlike the rest of the "codger blends," I really like this one.

The pouch note isn't remarkable. It smells sweet and figgy, with a small hint of anise. The moisture level was lower than average but still perfectly acceptable. It burned well, stayed cool, and didn't bite.

Toasty and nutty burley is dominant, rounded off by sweet and citrusy Virginias. As in the pouch note, a hint of anise arises, giving this otherwise plain tobacco a bit of needed complexity. Otherwise, the flavor is still smooth and creamy, and the thick plumes of smoke this blend produces are always entertaining.

The nicotine hit is light and this blend is easy to smoke. As far as OTCs go, this sets a high standard. Like Mixture No. 79, it's well worth trying this one out. The two blends are quite similar, this one being milder and without the occasional strange flavor creeping in.

This used to come in two different boxes containing a roll up pouch. It was alright but only tasted of generic tobacco with some wafts of "sweet" poking in and out. It bit my tongue pretty bad (except in a cob with a fresh filter), thus it took me a long time to finish.

I have not seen it in a long time but it was something I occasionally enjoyed around the holidays, due to the aroma.

Update: This is sold at the local grocer, so I may just pick up a tin once more.

Half & Half is light and I find it a refreshing change from more "curated" tobaccos. When I am working outside or seeking pipe friendly recreation I generally reach for an OTC blend and Half & Half, Carter Hall, Granger and Prince Albert fill that need well. Very light smoke, low nicotine and doesn't require much contemplation - just smoke and enjoy. Light anise taste and very mild nut and mocha flavor.