John Middleton, Inc Carter Hall

I have not been smoking a pipe very long & got many recommendations to try this tobacco. I have to say I enjoy the taste of Carter Hall! It is a non-aromatic OTC brand with flavor which works for me & many others as well.

It's got a sweet, subtle bourbon smell with hints of other flavors when you open the package. It's not a grab you by the nostrils aromatic by any means, but it entices you to taste what lingers inside.

It's easy to load, burns well in a cob & stays lit with few relights which helps you to savor all the flavors without distraction. I can taste throughout the bowl a sweet mixture of bourbon & cocoa tobacco goodness. I get some nutty flavor here & there, but only slight. It was one of the 1st tobaccos that I actual knew what I tasted when I tasted it, besides vanilla or chocolate aromatics.

I am a new pipe smoker & haven't sampled a lot of tobaccos in this category. I hear a lot say there are better tobaccos out there. This is a good OTC tobacco, that can be found easily around most towns. It's a good smoke & if that's what you're looking for you found it!

I got this one as a result of a recent trade via PSF.com as it's unavailable here in the UK. I have been wanting to get my hands on it for a long time as it seems to be a much talked blend. I did some reading up on it, mainly the reviews on here, so had a rough idea what to expect and, it turns out, it didn't disappoint.

The initial packaging of the 1.5 ounce packets I had, for me, were a pleasant novelty, to come in a nicely presented foil wrapper in a nice box was certainly pleasantly different. The aroma, too, was something a little different, something akin to confectionery, perhaps a mildly flavoured bubblegum. Packing was very easy due to the finely cut ribbons as was lighting. The smoke carried on much the same as the aroma from the packet, a nice mild and sweet flavour. This flavour and the aroma, however, developed into something a little nutty, though maintaining the sweetness. As for tonguebite, I got a little to begin with but after four of five smokes it disappeared.

I can understand why this is so widely and highly regarded. No, it's not a fantastic tobacco, it's not the same standard as, say, RDF or FVF, but then it doesn't pretend to be. It is a good, cheap and easily affordable (for the US anyway). Yes, it is quite obviously cased, but is done so expertly. Comparing this to "better" tobaccos is like comparing bubblegum with steak, there is no comparison. Sadly, it's not so cheap to get in the UK, what with international shipping charges and all, and even if it were on general sale over it would probably still cost the same as most OTC blends over here, somewhere in the region of £10 or £11 for 50g, saying that I would probably still buy it, even at those prices, though perhaps not so often as I'd like. Saying that though, I can see why it's so well regarded, it's designed to be cheap, not designed and then made cheaply.

Taking my tour of OTC classic tobaccos I found Carter Hall to be a pleasant surprise. While very mild in taste it did have a light nutty flavor here and there as I smoked a bowl, mixed in with the slight burley flavor. The flavor is so mild I hesitate to call it an aromatic as the packaging says. Like most of the OTC's it lit well, burned consistently down to the bottom of the bowl. This is certainly something you could smoke daily and your tongue won't fall off or have a ashtray in your mouth the next morning. The room note was very light and neutral. I would say this is the best, for me, of the OTC tobaccos I have tried. A solid unpretentious blend that is worth a try.

Update 5/30/14: Upped to four stars because this has become my everyday smoke.

Carter Hall is hands down the best OTC blend I have tried to date. It tastes like tobacco, is nutty, doesn't bite, and leaves a nice aftertaste. There isn't much nicotine in it, but enough to notice. It lites well, but doesn't produce tongue burn. Whereas PA tends to get bitter towards the bottom of the bowl, CH doesn't.

CH has replaced PA as my OTC burley of choice for breaking in pipes. 5-10 pleasant half-bowls and you have a nice cake. I will return to this blend again when I run out. For what it is, an OTC plain burley, it is definitely 4 stars! Buy a pouch, it's inexpensive and it won't disappoint!

The first time I ever smoked Carter Hall I was the ripe old age of 12 - now I'm 64. You see my uncle had a big collection of pipes and jars of Carter Hall tobacco placed at strategic locations around his home - he was never more than 6 feet away from his CH anywhere in his house. When I went to visit and as soon as he was busy in his office reviewing some legal brief or working on a new trial I'd sneak into the den and take one of his pipes, fill it with CH, grab a cane pole and haul ass down to the creek. I'd spend darn near an entire morning sitting on the bank and puffing on my uncles pipe and CH. I can also remember getting incredibly sick several times from the nicotiene - especially in the hot summer months of South Texas.

So now it is 52 years later, I'm sitting on my front porch of my country house watching the deer graze by the creek smoking a Missourri Meerscaum filled with Carter Hall and a nice amount of Wild Turkey in a coffee mug thinking how fortunate I've been and how good life is.

I don't smoke CH all the time - I became "educated" in the way of pipes and tobacco in college and mostly smoke VA/Per or Balkan style blends. But when I'm here, in the country, back to my roots - it is always Carter Hall.

As soon as I open that "luxury" pouch, take a whiff, pack my pipe - I'm transported back to a simpler time where things were just 'right'.

So Carter Hall isn't a complex tobacco that undergoes several itterations as you smoke it, you don't need to have a roundtable about what is in it, what it smells like (i laugh my ass off at these guys who attempt to disect tobacco as if it is some fine French wine - if they only knew what they think they know). CH is what it is meant to be - just a simple blend of burley and virginias that is meant to satisfy and relax your soul, as all tobacco should be. It tastes good, smells good, burns cool and dry - all the characteristics of a good smoking tobacco.

Try it - you'll like it.

The essence of this tobacco is its mildness. It is a 1950s Ford Fairlane doing 35 mph on the two-lane highway, and that's its jam.

Not strong, not weak, not soft, not heavy, it stays in the middle of the road. You light it once, it stays lit, and remains an unobtrusive partner in whatever you're doing.

I'm not a fan of mild; I like powerful, complex flavors, interacting and changing as you go through the bowl.

But you know what? Sometimes I'm fixing a Broken Thing or cleaning or mowing a lawn, and I don't want to spend my time chatting with a beautiful, but attention-demanding tobacco. I want a silent companion.

That's what Carter Hall is about. I can see why it's been an American success story in pipe tobacco. And, by gum, when you smoke it for what it is, you cannot be less than pleased. 4 stars, because its true to its aims.

One of my favs! This should be in every pipe smoker's cabinet, humidor, sock drawer, or whatever. It packs and lights easily, and takes minimal effort to keep it lit. Burns all day long without being hot. I never get tongue bite with this. It's a simple blend. Lightly aromatic, not too flavorful, but very pleasant all the way around. Daily smoker.

This tobacco is already well-reviewed, so i don't have much to add. Out of all the so-called drugstore tobaccos, this is far and away my favorite. It never gets harsh, requires no dry time, burns cleanly, and never bites. I can smoke bowl after bowl of this. It's simplistic and requires no thought. The topping is sparingly applied and allows the wonderful burley flavor to shine. On top of all that, its very affordable to boot. I always keep a big tub of CH handy and often binge on it for several consecutive days

Ditto what others have said. Very satisfying smoke....cool and mild, nice tobacco flavor, without hitting you over the head. Just an honest, unadulterated flavor that went extremely well with the first cup of coffee for the day. Sometimes it just pays to go back to basics, and avoid chasing rainbows and unicorns.

While I do love my Old Glory, my BCA, my 1Q, RLP-6, and various mixes of those. the CH struck me as simplicity in itself, not trying to be something else, but just the pipe tobacco I recall smelling as a kid. I ordered a tub, while P&C was having their appreciation week. This will most definitely be part of my rotation.

Try it mixed with a bit of 1Q for a flavor that is very remindful of the taste of a sweet-salty mixture of roasted nuts.

Lovin it!

EDIT: 9/11/2017. I purchased a tub of CH, based on how good the pouch was. The cut and unsmoked aroma seemed to be the same, but the tub contents was more moist, and smoked with a very harsh, very bitter taste. A second pouch seems to smoke as well as the first, however. I'm not sure what makes the tub contents so different. They certainly look the same. However, it may have to dry for 6 months (or more) until it begins to smoke like the pouch contents. I'd still recommend the pouch, but approach the tub with some caution.

EDIT 9-27-2017. I'm changing my rating to 4-stars. The tub finally dried nicely, and I discovered that my aromatic chugging technique is not appropriate for this. Sipping brings out an astounding sweetness, nuttiness, cocoa that is well worth discovering. I'm quickly finding that I go to my aromatics less and less, and gravitate to CH and LRR at almost any time of the day.