John Middleton, Inc Carter Hall

This is something in between Prince Albert and Half&Half. A very conventional burley, with a hint of Virginias (at least in the aroma), and a rather sharp, acidic note. Mild and virtually flavorless, it is prepared with the same industrial care of many a drug store blend, hence it packs easily, it lights quickly and it burns trouble free. Again, not a bad choice if stuck in the middle of nowhere, or if just wanting to have a few puffs when in public. Personally, I prefer Half& Half or the Prince, but I recently smoked this one in a shopping mall, just before going to a movie theater, and it served its purpose perfectly well.

Not available in the UK. My son brought some back from the States.

I have only a couple of bowls-worth therefore to base this review on.

As an OTC in the US this does compare favourably with equivalent blends in this country, but then it doesn't have much competition.

This is a soft mixture, mild on the palate and easy burning. There is a friendly malty fragrance so unlike anything I have tried before. It doesn't have much in the way of taste, but I would certainly be dragging this out on a regular basis if I had a whole pouch to play with.

I picked up a pouch of Carter Hall a while ago on a whim on the way out of the gas station. I had a recent go with Prince Albert that pleasantly surprised so I decided to spend three weeks worth of pipes on Carter Hall. The handling properties of CH are just what I like. just smash a wad of weed in the bowl, light, and go. Stays lit and allows your mind to pursue other endeavors if you want to. Flavor of the stuff, though, does fall short of acceptable. I considered tossing the pouch halfway through but stuck it out if only for a fair review. I found it to burn a little hot, and it tasted a lot like cigarettes after the first third. Life is too short and there are too many other tobaccos to try, I won't be getting this one again. Especially when Prince Albert is sitting right next to it on the shelf.

I purchased a pouch simply for nostalgia and due to its low price. I hadn't smoked this since the early 1970's. Unfortunately, the taste hasn't changed much: strangely topped low grade burley. The company used to seal the pouch, they no longer do that, leaving it free to breathe through the box and loose cellophane overwrap. I'm guessing it's to finish the insufficient curing, judging by bitter ammonia notes. Maybe my pouch needed another year of offfgassing.

Wherever this is found for sale in the US, Prince Albert will be located within 18 inches of it. Do yourself a favor and select that instead.

3/2015 update: 8 months in the back of my car apparently finished curing it, no more ammonia or greenness. Several tobaccos have this property, I usually find them among C&D tinned blends, including Pease's. Unlike them, I buy OTC's for immediate consumption. I'll enjoy the rest of the pouch because it is a good smoke once cured, and even add a star, but I wouldn't buy it again.

I guess I was lured by these glowing reports of CH. I am pretty much an English blend smoker and of those mostly those by Cornell & Diehl and McClelland, but I do on occasion enjoy several Lane bulk aromatics (I know, weird) in a cob. Thus, when I saw a 1.5 oz pouch yesterday at grocery store for only $2.79 I figured to give this a try. Going slightly against the consensus here, I did not really enjoy this. It did not offend me outright, but did not satisfy either. Added to this was the amazing effect of giving my tongue a rasping after two bowls spaced 5 hours apart. As I smoke up to 8 bowls of C&D's Engine99 (which is like their Pirate Kake on steroids) I was surprised. Hey, I gave it a try...the remainder of pouch will go to longterm storage in my stash against the coming tobacco prohibition days ahead, unless I find a fellow Tobacco Review member in Pittsburgh to gift him this.

I find it incredible that Middleton would discontinue a fine blend such as London Dock and keep making this. I guess the bottom line rules- no surprise.

I would like you to meet Prince Albert's cross dressing cousin, Carter.

This is not an entirely unpleasant tobacco and is said by many to make a great mixer, but for the guy that just wants a good burley smoke on the cheap, this isn't it because it is too sweet, the result of whatever it is topped with.

That being said, it is still a smokable tobacco. Just not one I would purchase regularly. It lacks the natural, unadulterated goodness of burley and has a "cigarette tobacco" element to it's flavor. I far more prefer the more straight forward burley taste of PA to this.

***UPDATE***

Someone suggested that I mix half Carter Hall and half Prince Albert. I did, and what I found was that I wasted a perfectly good bowl of Prince Albert.

I used to smoke this exclusively for about ten years until I discovered all the great private tobaccos I now smoke. It is mild, just a touch sweet, burns well and stays lit to the bottom. It has a slightly sweet smell in the pouch and a pleasant room note that has never brought a complaint (except to smoke police). It is a good basic blend that acts as a good mixer, is fairly easy to find and if mixed with Borkum Riff Bourbon blend is great. I am on to better things now but a great starter tobacco and at a very good price.

This is probably the first pipe tobacco I ever smoked .... (45 years ago?) It has been around forever and I don't think that it is going away any time soon. What you have here is a basic burly concoction augmented with a mild flavoring agent and a mild casing, which is typical of tobaccos in this class. When smoked slowly it produces a mild nutty tasting smoke that doesn't change much. This is my "yard work tobacco" because you don't have to worry about your technique short of not puffing to fast because if you do it will leave you mouth crying and your head spinning as will most burly tobacco mixtures.

If you are expecting some kind of epiphany forget it. There are far better burly mixtures out there. On the other hand, this stuff is cheap and it isn't quite mulch. 2.5 stars.

For a "drug store" burley blend, this is actually pretty decent. It lights and packs easily. It delivers a one-dimentional taste of bark, that traditional burley taste. It doesn't bite too much and has a nice aroma. Having said that, I wouldn't be against picking up some of this when I can't get to any better blends or if getting high quality tobaccos becomes very tough. However, I probably won't return to this one as it is nothing to write home about, but it really isn't all that bad either.

UPDATE: Bought another pouch. I detected a strong astringent odor in the pouch. Is that Scotch I smell? The flavor reminds me of a cheap, sweet beer. It isn't bad, but I just don't care for it. Try MacBaren's London Blend Burley or Lane's Burley Mild for a better and still reasonably priced burley.