John Middleton, Inc Hickory

I miss hickory, it was a good codger blend. I loved the aroma and mouthfeel of it, it was so unique. I liked the package, plaid with two guns, reminded me of the old west. A good burley smoke with a tad of va for sweetness. It stayed cool and was satisfying. I remember when u could have got a can of this for 10 bucks ! Its a shame this disappeared, this was a good budget baccy.! I don't know what the topping was but it was unique. Nothing else was like it and nothing will replace it. It was kind of a cross between Kentucky club aromatic, walnut, and cherry blend. That's the best I could put it. Sorry this old friend is gone !

* UPDATE* Just picked up a dusty sealed can of this from a tobacco shop for $10...nice to have tucked away now that it's out of production...

Basic American burley with a Hickory top-dressing. Unbelievably appetizing scent out of the pouch, makes you consider eating it. Typically crunchy dry out of the pouch, moister in the can. Pouch tobacco does well with some judicious dH2O re-hydrating. A pleasant smoke, suitable for an all-day smoke. Can be a little hot burning at times, but not a flamethrower if smoked correctly. Good nicotine content. Smokes well out of a cob, will not impart off flavors into briar like some other cased blends. The rule of smoking bargain burleys holds here: Slow and steady, dump the bowl at about the 1/4 mark to avoid an "unhappy ending". Cheap too ($1.89 per pouch in my neck of the woods).

Recommended if you're into the drugstore burleys.

Good old friend, my first smoke back in '72. It now strikes me as the least tobacco-tasting of anything I've ever smoked. The casing is over-cloyingly cotton-candy sweet, the flavor more pineappley than Erinmore Flake ever dreamed. Impossible to keep lit out of the can. It sizzles like a cheap sausage on a hot grill. Minimum purchase is now 12 ounces; the pouches were apparently too cheap for the store shelf space. The quintessential drugstore blend that makes Captain Black look upscale.

Jab jab jab... That's why we're here. Sneer at unsophisticated aromatics and by extension, their smokers. Well, fie on sneerers. One likes what one likes.

By all logic and current preferences, I should despise Hickory, but how can I turn away an old friend whose aroma brings me back vivid memories of misspent youth? I took the plunge and bought a can last week. No regrets. I still love it. I may dilute it with other plain burleys to thin the flavoring though.

A suggestion: 12 ounces is an eternity if you dislike this. Beg a sample first.

A few years ago at my pipe club's first anniversary meeting, we revisited many old blends just for fun. Hickory was one of those blends (we purchased a large tin from Iwan Ries & Co.)

I've never tasted a tobacco anything close to this one. The hickory nut flavoring was somewhat like grape vine in its presentation, and left a somewhat dry taste in my mouth with an aftertaste that I actually enjoyed. Mild to the hilt, watch your pipe carefully to make sure its still lit when you are smoking. Why? Because that hickory flavoring still comes through the shank and stem when you puff even when the pipe's not lit.

This tobacco does not have those things which many so called "drug store" tobaccos have. It does not have an overwhelming odor of vanilla. It does not have the heavy, scent of cherry. It does not have an excess of moisture. It does not have any detectable artificial moisturizers.

On a whim I bought a 12 oz. plastic "can" of this tobacco at a local discount store for about $11.00. The tin literature says that it is a blend of Virginia in a base of Burley. It states that this blend has been in existence since the 1940s and that it strives to be the best tobacco in its price range. It boasts of a fruity scent and a long, cool smoke.

Looking at it I see a lot of Burley and some very light Virginia. I don't know what the "fruity" aroma is, but it is a little off putting to my nose. But, the short, narrow, slightly crimped ribbon packs well and lights and smokes easily.

It is mild, it smokes quite cool. More than anything, it tastes like a rather good tobacco, not great, but good for the price. John Middleton accomplished what he set out to do. I would not go looking for this tobacco again, but if I was out of tobacco and had to fall back on "drug store" brands, I would pick this over the cherry and vanilla glop that fills store shelves.

ADDENDUM: 03/03/2004 I need to start dating my reviews. However, I think that 8 to 10 months has passed since I first reviewed Hickory. And I now have a real tobacco cellar. As real as I am ever going to get. It is a 50+ year old Philco fridge that my sons rescued from a trip to the dump. It still seals up tight and I keep it in my basement shop. I keep all of my stash there now.

My hickory has been aging well. The fruity taste, which a fellow reviewer ID'd as actual hickory,is now quite subdued. I find myself enjoing it more and turning to it more often. Still a lingering sweet room note. Nice tobacco flavor. No bitterness. It really is a nice tobacco for the $. I am upgrading my rating from "might try again" to "I smoke on occasion."

I don't know why this was put out of production? I used to call it Walnut on a budget! I liked the Hickory smell. I liked the two guns on the package, it reminded me of a tobacco that was possibly smoked during the old west era. It was sweet but not vanilla or cherry. It produced a nice sensation on the throat like many English blends do. If you compared Hickory's aroma with Walnut's aroma, you would find the similarities. Walnut had more types of tobacco in it, where Hickory was Burley based with a hint of VA. It was cheap, $10.00 for a 12oz tub! Now that it's out of production, everyone who smoked it will buy whatever they could find! Much like when they stopped importing Amphora to the U.S. Another " Good Old Blend " down the drain. Who knows, maybe House of Windsor will buy the rights to it, put it in 10oz cans, and sell it for $32.00!

Like other Middleton blends I've tried, Hickory is a simple no frills burley that burns cool, dry and creates no goop. A simple lightly cased burley, with very subtle fruity notes with a pleasant taste. A dependable smoke.