John Middleton, Inc Sugar Barrel

I picked up a 12 oz. tin of this at a local tobacco outlet because the price was right and I wanted to try it. My initial impression upon opening the tin was that this stuff was going to be great if it tasted anything like it smelled. It smelled moderately sweet and reminded me of a pastry kitchen with a hint of liquor mixed in. Unfortunately after trying the blend I was let down. My first several experiences with this stuff were HORRIBLE! It bit like a cottonmouth and the resulting pain was almost as bad. I was truly disappointed with it - since it was relatively dry when I got it, the bite was unexpected. In an attempt to remedy the bite I opened the tin and let it sit for a week (house humidity is kept around 30% year round for my reptiles). After this drying period I tried it again and found that it was a bit better with less bite and hints of a sweet taste. Another 2 weeks of sitting open and daily turning of the contents and I was ready for another try. This time I was pleasantly surprised - the bite was gone, even under my two extreme puffing conditions (driving and application coding). The taste was still quite bland for me, but not completely tasteless. Due to my drying regiment this tobacco burns fast and I can whip through a bowl or two inside an hour in a Grabow Savoy. I have been told that the room note is similar to that produced by cigarettes and prefer to smoke this blend outside because of it. All in all I find myself reaching for this blend quite regularly - usually after dinner and before switching to my late night English blends. I have about 2 oz. left and will probably try some other blends in search of a replacement once it is all gone, but I wouldn't be opposed to picking up some more in the future to have it around.

I love the taste of this stuff, it is like smoking an oatmeal cookie. The moisture level is about right, and burns to a clean ash and leaves a nice room note. The only bad thing about this old blend is that it does indeed have tongue bite. Try blending this with Carter Hall, fifty fifty.

A sugar cased virginia and burley blend thats heavy on the sugar. A sweet delightful smoke that is like many natural sugar cased danish blends with a bit more kick. It tends to smoke hot if you don't take your time with it. I like it once in a while but I couldn't make this my everyday tobac because of the scalding my tongue and gums take from its heat. If it were cooler I would give it 4 stars because I do like the taste.