John Middleton, Inc Kentucky Club

Since this is out of production, my only aim here is to encourage those of you finding a tin if this in your hoard to give it a try. I had purchased a tin each of Country Doctor, Field and Stream, Barking Dog, Granger, and Walnut back in 2005 as fall-back blends should I run out of the high end stuff for some reason, such as their being discontinued. I recently took an early retirement and not being yet eligible for full SS retirement benefits, $ is tight. I therefore find myself resorting to my emergency stash. Honestly, Kentucky Club is not a bad Burley. I had tried bulk samples of CH, SWR, PA, and KC back in 2005, slightly preferring the KC, so I bought the large can. Is this as good as a premium Burley? No, it isn't. But it's not crap, either. It's a low-key lightly cased Burley that you can fire up and enjoy with a coffee in the morning, or at any other time of day. Minimal nicotine present, which to me is its primary drawback. This is easily remedied by just a reload and repeat. It doesn't get bitter, doesn't bite (as did Granger), and is consistent in a variety of pipes. It's no longer around although there are many inexpensive bulk burleys of a similar type available from Sutliff and others.

This is a very pleasnt OTC, and I am sorry to see it discontinued. It is a mild and somewhat effortless smoke. It is on the burley end of the VaBur spectrum. It is not the sort of thing that requires much attention, and it smoked cool and dry for me. It is perhaps a little like a combination of Carter Hall and SWR. I get a little sweet and sour in the flavor profile, and the burley has a nutty quality. The flavors are mild and don't produce "tongue fatigue" after multiple bowls.

I suspect this blend is a relic of the past when people smoked a pipe all day and wanted basic smoking satisfaction w/o many challenges. I find this an appealing combination for smoking while I concentrate on something else and am sorry to see old stock disappear off shelves and not be restocked.

Based on a little over an ounce that was gifted to me from a rather old stash, estimated to be about 15 years. Really nice deep rich tobacco aroma in the bag with the barest hint of some flavoring. Crimp cut.

This and the Mild KC makes me think that Kentucky Clubs are the finest OTC's that John Middleton or pretty much anyone in the U.S ever produced (barring the Edgeworths). This gave off a rich, nutty flavor, full of oats and grains in just the right combination. Very cereal-like and reminded me of the Fortified Oat Flakes I used to eat as a kid, with just that hint of sweetness. Coffee flavoring? Well...ok. I didn't really recognize it as coffee but now that I read it here as the flavoring, I suppose I can see it. For me, it was just a slight sweetener and smoother-outer, not that I could see the blend needed it. The leaf quality appeared excellent and this was just a very simple smoke that punched the right buttons on flavor. This blend flirts heavily with 4 stars, missing by the barest of margins. Measured against the American OTC's that remain...SWR, PA, CH, Granger, H&H, etc... this one is head and shoulders above the mundane. If it were still available, I'd be all over this one. I wonder if Russ Ouelette can make a clone of this one....

A nice if basic and straightforward blend; old fashioned? perhaps, but sometimes basic is best. I don't detect any 'coffee' topping, but it lights easily, keeps going, and smokes without a trace of bite. It's one of the basic blends I recommend for those new to the pipe. As the ads from the 1940s proclaim, 'Good ol' Kentucky Club'!

I am a diehard C&D English blend smoker who rarely smokes any aromatic and more rarely reviews them; it seems a waste to offer a negative opinion about a blend style one does not like to start with.

However, someone gave me a pouch of this and I have tried it a few times over the past two weeks in a MM cob and find it to be pleasant as far as an OTC goes - smokeable.

If the flavoring is coffee I must take that as a given because I could not otherwise discern what the flavor is. It is so light that I must over-stoke the bowl to get a tobacco taste at all and then I come away with a slight celery(?) aftertaste and an overheated pipe. But if I was caught in a motel in a town with no real tobacconist I might as easily pick up a pouch of this as I would Carter Hall to get through the night.

Personal rating of two stars, but I am guessing three for those who like this style.

There's something very honest to this fair-priced tobacco: it is a tobacco blend that holds very few surprises which, in the daily life of a pipe smoker, can be quite comforting. For better or worse, you can smoke a full tin of it for the period of weeks and never get anything else but what the tobacco initially offers: a fine taste of burley that isn't exaggeratively sweet; a mild but noticeable taste of coffee grain; and a room-note that is very discrete.

No nuances, no unpleasant surprises, no relighting hardship; only a tobacco that can be smoked pleasurably both indoors and outdoors and in any small to medium sized bowl regardless of the shape. Pipe smoking needn't always be complex or exotic; in that sense, Kentucky Club has somewhat of a homely feel to it.

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I have yet to try the original American blend, but down here in Mexico there is a licensed version (the same company produces a version of Mixture 79, and of something called Brush Creek). It is made from Mexican burley, with a very mild topping, and it is readily available at a popular chain of stores.

I am not a burley fan as such, but this particular tobacco smokes pretty well in a middle of the road sort of way: not too heavy or harsh, not too light or mild. It has pleasant flavor and an agreeable room aroma, and as it is produced locally it is not expensive at all.

When, for whatever reasons, I cannot find my usual supply of Petersons', Gawiths', Mcbarens' or Davidoff's (about the only imported brands one can find here), KC or Prince Albert are not entirely bad options. KC is, definitely, a simple, straight forward tobacco, enjoyable in the most traditional sense of the term.

It's just swell, a little soft but very pleasant to smoke at evenings. I'm very happy to have this in my menu, quite a good one for almost everyone!

In the pouch, this fine crimp-cut blend smells of licorice and vanilla, along with the typical burley grassiness.

Based upon fairly good white burley, there is a gentle cigar note to the blend. The added sweetness is welcome. The toppings remain noticeable throughout, though without distracting from the simple tobacco pleasure underneath.

Kentucky Club smokes exactly as billed: Mild. With a wholesome graininess, this reminds me of Sir Walter Raleigh, though a bit sweeter and more aromatic. This went well in a chamber of any gauge.