John Middleton, Inc Carter Hall

A very mild burley tobacco, sold everywhere. No real distinguishing characteristics. A tobacco to be enjoyed while driving, playing golf, or other activity.

Enjoy in a cob for best flavor.

Mild is the word. Nice taste, but mild. Nicotine was unsatisfing- But is was inexpensive and found everywhere. The one interesting note is it makes a great 50/ 50 blend with Prince Albert. That I would recomend. With about an 8% perique addition- Your having a great time.....But on its own? OK in a pinch.

Carter Hall is what it is. Drugstore burley. It doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. It's cheap, burns well and tastes ok. That's about all that can be said for it. I carry a pouch in my car and I don't regret it.

Nice middle of the road burley, as previous reviewers have said. It was not offensive in the least and it produced no bite. If I were out of tobacco and found this at the store I would not be disappointed. My second favorite drugstore burley after Kentucky Club.

Here where I live Carter Hall is the juvinile detention center, so when I first saw a pouch of this I was a little curious. I find it to be a mild and a relativly enjoyable smoke, something that is good to cleanse the palate after smoking something more heavy such as 1-Q. I have noticed other reviewers saying that when smoked in a corncob it develops a fruity-nutty taste and I would generally agree with that statement. Although I find the taste from the corncob to be much better than that from a briar, from which all I can seem to taste is hay & horse manure. I think I would recomend this if nothing else can be found or if you are on limited funds. For the price, its worth buying.

I tried Carter Hall for the first time in a Missouri Meerschaum "General" that has about a 1/4 bent stem. It has a large bowl (3/4" diameter X 1 7/8" depth. I can load it up for the trip home from work and it will last all the way to the driveway, about 35 miles. It is also light on my jaw, smokes like a dream once I remove the filter and my tobaccos smoke well and taste good in it. It has become my favorite pipe and I keep several around. Easy to do for $7.29 a pop plus shipping.

But this is about Carter Hall. When I opened the pouch, I was greeted by a fruity odor, kind of like apples when they begin to decay or ferment. Not a bad odor. Given the cut, it fills and packs easily. The moisture level was fine.

With the first (and only) match Carter Hall took off and burned well. At first, I thought I was in for tongue burn, as the first draws scraped across my offended tongue like a coarse file. After that, the tobacco settled down and my tongue was not further assaulted. I had to "sip" it slowly to accomplish that end.

I will probably finish this pouch, but I have no plans to buy more. Carter Hall is just too mild, both in flavor and nicotine level for me. I was hoping for more of a tobacco taste and scent and I did not get it. Among the drugstore burleys, I much prefer Hickory, which, once the strong hickory scent subsides, provides a smoke with more nicotine punch and more tobacco flavor.

I occasionaly smoke this blend in the summer heat. Tastes along the same lines as Prince Albert with what I feel is a slight fruity taste. You can do better and much worse. Will do in a pinch. But not something I keep around for cellaring. Hey its a cheap and readily available pipe tobacco which is becoming increasingly rare..at least in these parts.

This is totally adequate for what it is, but just isn't very interesting. I don't ever see myself driving home from work and looking forward to a bowl of Carter Hall.

Granted, I only smoke a handful of bowls of tobacco each week, so my preferences are likely quite different from the 8-bowl-a-day pipe smoker. But I like to be able to get excited about the tobacco I'm going to smoke, and when I'm smoking I like to be transported to an exotic location or to an old memory. Carter Hall is simply too pedestrian for me to keep a can round, especially with the variety of pipe tobacco out there.

Edit (2-17-2022): I've spent a week comparing Carter Hall to Sir Walter Raleigh. Carter Hall is noticeably harsher and lacks the flavor of SWR. See my review of Sir Walter Raleigh for more details.

All in all I find Carter Hall relatively harsh on the throat for a codger blend, lacking in flavor, and generally unsatisfying.

You have to appreciate it for what it is - a basic blend of burley from your local gas station or drug store. But despite it's humble origin, it surprisingly holds a candle to pricier, highly-rated blends out there. Every pipe smoker should try Carter Hall at least once.