John Middleton, Inc Sugar Barrel

I go with the reviewers' tide on Sugar Barrel and add that this is apparently an under rated and mostly overlooked and unappreciated drug store blend that appears to be making a comeback. Justifiably so. A healthy, sweet aroma emerges from the cube cut leaf when you open the tub, packs well to the bowl, stays lit and smokes consistently well. But I wouldn't puff too hard as it can kick back and become a bit nippy.

A mild and tasty smoke that won't become elusive or lost outdoors. I pack it into one of my large "General" style Missouri corn cobs and I also reserved it for an old briar pipe I rehabilitated after years of inactivity. The result is just a very pleasant and pleasing smoke that goes the distance when you want a sweet burley and steady aromatic companion.

Of all of the "old codger" burley's that I've tried this is, for me, up near the top. For a lot of us who like burley tobacco, we're not looking for a nirvana experience necessarily. This has what I'm looking for. It looks and smells nice in the tub (though describing the smell is difficult for me.....). Loads very well with simple gravity feed and some tamping. I like the cut, not quite a cube cut but not the fine granular cut of, say, the Prince. Lights easily and tends to stay lit easily with only a few relights. Very mild, smooth and a hint of sweetness. Just a hint, but enough. Decent burley that tends to stay pretty nice all the way down. No bitters at the end. If I was going to have one all day smoke, this would be it. Very consistent. If you like burley you have to try this at least once.

There has been a lot of interest in this old Codger OTC blend of late so I decided to revisit it after over 30 years of not smoking it. I had a forum meber send me a nice sized sample of it and I have to say right off this is a very smooth, creamy non biting blend. I don't taste the Virginia in this but it is a very nice burley with a flaked cube cut that is very easy to light and keep lit, unlike a lot of cube cuts. It really reminds me of Kentucky Club Blue Mild with a brown sugar casing on it. It is a pretty tobacco, ranging from very light almost tan in color up to a dark brown, and it smells and tastes a lot like a good old burley mix. It comes with a good moisture content, just right for smoking right out of the tub and it is very easy to light and stays lit well. It is very light on body and for me is a little too mild, but it is a cool smoking blend without any bite at all and the room note is pleasant. It does leave a cigarette aroma on you after smoking it which I don't like but it disappears fast. This could be an all day blend for most people and would be a great blend for new pipe smokers. It burns pretty dry and leaves a lite gray ash with little dottle in the bottom of the bowl. The brown sugar taste mixed with the nutty flavor of burley stays consistant from first light all the way to the bottom of the bowl. If puffed too fast it can get a little ashy tasting at the very end but not enough to prevent me from smoking it all the way down. I think this one would be a good mixer, a good one to cut down a blend that smokes hot or too strong. All in all, this is a nice old time blend that I recommend trying, but it did not wow me into a four star rating.

This is a nice, solid old school pipe tobacco. It has a slightly nutty taste, ala Carter Hall, but finishes with an ever-so-slightly amount of sweentness, much like a Captain Black, but no where near as sweet. Someone mentioned brown sugar and I'd have to concur. The sweetness though, is subdued and not in anyway cloying or overwhelming.

Similar to Blenders Gold Golden Burley. The same almost buttery taste and mild burley, but of slightly better quality.

When my 1 oz sample of this arrived, I took a big sniff of the pouch aroma and rolled my eyes, thinking "Oh boy - this is going to be a gooey and sticky mess!". Happily, I was wrong.

This is a sweet tobacco, to be sure, but not sugary sweet. Definitely more buttery, as the previous poster noted. It absolutely didn't taste as it smelled in the pouch. This is a good old fashioned OTC burley with a bit of casing to sweeten it, rather than a goopy aromatic. It tastes like tobacco rather than an artificial flavor, and it's mild and tasty enough to be smoked all day without tongue problems. This would be a good start into OTC burleys for anyone, particularly those who smoke sweetened black cavendish and other aromatic mixtures.

Sugar Barrel is going into my rotation. 2 more tubs on the way!

I smoke primarily non-aromatics (Virginians, Burleys, English, etc.) therefore, I was surprised by Sugar Barrel. It tasted sweet, but not overly sweet. The room note was nice. It was cool and did not bite or gum up the pipe. It is also inexpensive. If one is looking for a delightful change of pace, try it. I would give it two and 3/4 stars. It certainly will stay in my rotation.

It's too bad that Sugar Barrel is not more widely available, because it is tasty and a great value. The moisture level is perfect, so you can just scoop it up, mash it down, and light up. The flavor is straight burley with some brown sugar sweetness. The nutty/sweet combination suggests cookies, but there doesn't seem to be much flavoring added. My only complaint is that Sugar Barrel seems to have the cigarette ash flavor that is common to all JR Middleton blends. Often it is faint, but when it pops up it's annoying.

This review is based on the 12oz tub.

Tin opening: cube cut burley. A little drier than I would prefer. To me, it doesn't smell like an oatmeal cookie, but mike many of the burley blends. Of course, it does smell quite a bit smoother than other blends like Velvet, Half & Half, etc.

Packing: I used the three-fingered clumpp with air space, as described in Pipes. I packed it into my Quiet Comrade pipe.

Smoking: Lighted easy, not as sweet as I thought it would be, but yet smooth and slightly sweet. Tamp and rest at mid-bowl, and relight once to the end of the bowl.

Finish: Smooth all the way to the end, without the ashy taste following tamp/rest/relight experienced with some burley blends.

Summary: I bought this online, and while I do indeed like it, the blend isn't as flavorful as I like. I did mix it with some black cav mixture, and it complemented it well. I'll keep this tub on hand, and will even buy more! I can't wait till my tobacco is ready to harvest this year, so I can mix some of this stuff with it!