John Middleton, Inc Carter Hall

Carter Hall is my favorite codger burley. It's the only tobacco I'll buy in a tub. If you want to just sit and relax without having to constantly nurture and coax your tobacco to burn; if you don't want to smoke a bouquet of flowers or a fruity salad; if you like the smell of bread baking and a sweet, mild, burley flavor with a nutty topping then this tobacco is for you. It has a sweeter taste that PA and non of the chemical or cough syrup overtones that I get with Half and Half. CH burns clean and fine with no relights or residue. Nothing complex here. It's just simple, wholesome goodness.....Extra wholesome with a nice cup of coffee.

I've been smoking a lot of burley lately and I've been really enjoying Carter Hall with the morning coffee. after about three mugs of high-quality beans, I'm ready to draw deep on a tasty, smooth and slight chocolaty burley, and Carter Hall allows me to do just that. Carter Hall is a damn good OTC blend that I enjoy smoking in both a corn cob or a briar and works best and also taste best when packing my pipe using the air-pocket method... Keep Smoking.

I have been on a long trek, as many of us have been, to find the tobacco of our father/grandfather that was so pleasant to our youth. Grandpa Rahn smoked a brand that entranced my siblings and I and, being the only pipe smoking one, I I took up the search. I remember being on the walking post of my patrol in about 1989 and smelling the familiar fragrance of grandpa's tobacco. (He, a retired Milwaukee PD Sgt. and me a Binghamton PD cop.) I still remembered that smell, though he died when I was 5 years old. I think grandpa smoked Sir Walter Raleigh, which smells great, but have found myself attracted with Carter Hall. So for my siblings, I will revive grandpa in their presence with Sir Walter, and for selfish pleasures at home, smoke Carter Hall.

Every now and then I achieve a monumental smoke. Not earth shattering, but just perfect. Maybe the stars are aligned just right, or all of the other variables might just be in sync. Although I have 90+ tobaccos in my cellar, Carter Hall has given me moments like these. It’s not complicated and I don’t have to over think it. It has a very satisfying flavor and mouth feel with no bite whatsoever. Just the right amount of sweetness and nuttiness with wisps of chocolate that remain constant throughout the bowl. It has a pleasant room note that does not linger. Tin note is warm and delicious and sometimes open the tub just to take a whiff. It blends with other tobaccos very nicely and has given some redemption to tobaccos that were in my opinion unsatisfactory. As far as it being an OTC, I remain unbiased. I have aged unopened tins of some of the most coveted tobaccos in my collection, but there will always be room for Carter Hall. As has been said many times before, for a stand-alone smoke, it does best in a cob with hot black coffee. It is also good for breaking in new pipes. I take this fishing with me, and when that Striper hits, Carter Hall always saves my seat.

I had always related Burley to cigarettes' so I was hesitant to give anything containing Burley's a try because I didn't want anything near that would make me smell like or taste like a stinking cigarette. A friend put me on to Carter Hall and suggested I give it a try. After my first bowl I was in heaven. Moisture content right out of the package was just right. It packs and lights well with a fraction of the fuss that many more expensive pipe tobaccos offer. Two matches was all it took to start and finish a bowl. The burn was even and consistent and required minimal relights. The aroma off the pipe and residual room note fragrance was very pleasant, catching hints of sweet baked goods or cherry pie. Carter leaves a very nice after taste follow through. A sweetness at the back of the tongue and on the lips. This is not a goopy syrupy aromatic that is laden with glycol. In fact there is not even a hint of that at all. If there is a topping at all it is very light and well into the background. I have smoked many of the expensive top grade tinned blends over the years and have discovered I like them less than I do Carter Hall. Carter Hall is a very nice, simple pleasant experience that requires little fuss to enjoy. I have discovered that there is a reason Carter Hall has been around for such a long time. The pipe snobs will look down their noses at this, but this is one OTC tobacco that can hold its own with the B&M best. Many reviewers have simply described this as a simple one sided pure Burly tobacco, however I would have to disagree. Yes, it is Burly based, but the maker states that it has some added Virginia and Cavendish. The Cavendish could consist of a pressure or heat treated Virginia or Cavendish to bring out the sweetness, or Virginia or Burly with a topping of some kind. Point being that it is much more than just a plain-jane Burly. The combination of these three components gives this blend a greater degree of complexity and interest over just a straight Burly, which can be detected as this blend is explored. I tried this in a billiard with a 3/4" wide chamber and my large bowled full bent with a 7/8" wide chamber. It seemed to burn too fast and hot in the narrow chamber and much slower and cooler in the larger 7/8" chamber.

Love Carter Hall! All the high and mighty pipe snobs can go kick rocks! CH is a good old fashioned American classic. High quality Burley with just a sprinkle of Va to sweeten the pot. This is my go to blend because it is really good. Nice solid, tasty smoke that's been around since the Civil War. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!! Nothing wrong with being fancy pants sometimes, but you also have to bear in mind that sometimes the more you overthink the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the drain. Sometimes simple is better. OTC?...Maybe. But, here is some brutal honesty for everyone that's "too good" for OTC.....ALL tobacco is OTC no matter who "blends" it. To my knowledge the Baccy Nazis in Washington haven't made it "prescription required" yet....Not yet. If you haven't tried it yet, get some. Pack yer pipe and enjoy something that your grandad and his dad smoked for a very long time. You don't have to like it, if it's not your cup of tea, but if it is and you don't try it....You will miss out on one of the finer and simpler things in life.

One of the blends I could smoke everyday. Opening the pouch reminds me of dark chocolate covered raisins. not that milky chocolate, but dark.. with Burley presence and the Virginia taking the aroma to a brighter level. No dry time, no packing method. Just drag that pipe thru the pouch and finger twist it. I am now ready to light it up. Easily lit, a little tamp and it stays that way. My mouth is covered in that light tasting chocolate raisin flavor, with just a slight tingle from the Virginia. The burley keeps it all in check for a very nice mild smoke that doesn't bite. This is comfort smoking, no surprises. like a lifelong friend, always around and always welcomed.

Sidenote: Carter Hall Pipe Tobacco also makes as a pretty good chew to be honest. And if you ever have a toothache.. this is the chew to remove it. Honest!

I have always enjoyed Carter Hall and found it to be an easy smoke to enjoy while doing anything from fishing to reading a book. The taste is very enjoyable and the flavoring does not overpower the tobacco. The chocolate and molasses are combined in unison as to not overpower each other. There is something else there that I really cant figure out but whatever if is is REALLY nice. A great all day smoke! 3stars all day long!

A week ago I came across an unopened tin from the 1970's and I must say this was like finding a pot of gold! The tin aroma was close to a freshly opened pouch but the aroma was... deeper and richer. It did not come out and get me, I was drawn to it and spent several minutes with my face in the tin just enjoying how good it smelled. The tobacco itself took on a darker color and felt different to the touch than the tobacco of a new pouch that I really cant explain. The tobacco was very easy to pack and lighting was very easy. The first puff was AMAZING, it was smooth and mellow from the start and I did not get that first puff " squint and wince" that I get from some fresh tobaccos when I first light them and before everything comes together after a few puffs. The tobacco smooth and mellow, sweet and savory and just a joy to smoke. The flavors melded together so well that to me there was just one perfect flavor and not a combination of flavorings. The tobacco burned very well and only required three relights, the fourth time I tried to relight it I found that the bowl was empty and there was just a bit of ash in the bottom. That is how good the tobacco was, it needed no time to fully develop and smoked consistently from first puff to last puff. There was really no room note that I can describe because I only smoke outside but I will say the smoke smelled as good as the tobacco smelled in the tin. I will enjoy this find for a very long time. Four stars out of four!

Simply the best OTC there is. It must be smoked slow to cultivate the delicious cocoa/molasses burley goodness. I've only smoked it in my cobs and it's a great smoke every time. Just ordered my second tub today.