John Middleton, Inc Sugar Barrel

What can I say, I love Burley! And on top of that, I love Sugar Barrel! Sweet, goopy, and/or bitter aromatics arent my bag. I prefer a more natural blend. That being said, when I want an occasional "sweet" smoke, I reach for Sugar Barrel. Pouch smell reminds me of oatmeal cookies. It tastes of burley, with a hint of sweetnes like brown sugar. It iskind of like a rich, brown sugary prince albert. It is great for after dinner, and AWESOME in a cob. Don't let the name fool you, it isn't a really sweet tobacco like you might think, so you aromatic smokers might be disappointed. The price is good, It is a classic, and if you are a Prince Albert/Carter Hall lover like me, you will like Sugar Barrel if you get a sweet tooth. If you are an aromatic/ or black cavendish lover, this is good if you want more of a straight tobacco taste.

My 12oz tub arrived friday and I've been smoking this stuff for 4 days straight. Smoooooth and sweet. Excellent cube cut burley with just enough "sugar" to enhance the buttery sweet burleys. This is barely an aromatic - more of a codger burley with a slight tweak to bring out the flavour. At times it tastes like carmelized sugar (duh), but mostly just good tobacco taste like PA.

Burns perfect right out of the tub. Only needs a single tamp and relight mid-bowl. No bite. Does NOT taste like vanilla (as someone suggested).

Definate candidate for an all dayer. I gave this one "highly recommended" because it is one of the nicest in its class - and a great value at that! If you like PA but found it needed a little something then try this tobacco.

Edit: Found an old add that states Sugar Barrel was created accidentally when well aged bourbon burleys were stored in old sugar barrels containing damp sugar. There you go.

I sincerely enjoy this blend very much, its become my morning/afternoon burley smoke and it behaves itself all day. I think this is the best cased burley out there.It never bites, the topping is not overpowering, it is amazingly complex for a drugstore blend and the flvour and room note are pleasant from both ends. Call me a drug store cowboy, but i love it!

I was actually craving something sweet and I love Burley. So after reading the reviews I purchased a cannister from JR. I love the appearance of it. It's cube cut with colors ranging from dark brown to almost yellow. The moisture level seems just about perfect for my tastes.The aroma in the tub just smells like a good sweet Burley.YUM!! To my surprise there is only a little sweetness noticeable in the taste of the batch I have. It just tastes and smells like a very good quality Burley blend.You can puff like a Sumo running a marathon without any hint of bite.Sugar Barrel is a good smoke on it's own but I find it a little lacking in the body department that leaves me a bit unsatisfied.I think I will try mixing it with something like Pipeandcigars Old Red to give it a bit more strength and interest.All in all it is a very good Burley blend that,while pleasing on it's own, will probably make a great blender.

4/5/08 update

This has simply gotten better since I have opened it. The sweetening agent seems to have subsided a bit . The burleys have really opened up displaying a creamy butter taste and mouth feel. I have not smoked a burley blend that I like better.I will always keep some on hand. I am upgrading my rating from 3*** to 4****

I just recieved my can of sugar barrel today. I havent smoked this in over 20 years, mainley due to the fact I can't find it on shelves anymore. It tastes as good as I remembered it !! It doesn't get gloppy in the pipe and it's a "fufilling " smoke. It also retained it's 'sugar" taste all the way through. I'd say it's the best of both worlds, aromatic and satisfies the plain tobacco fans. Highley recommended

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Tommyboy

Looking on the Blends list there are all kinds of "sweet" something or others and only one with the word "sugar" in it. This is primarily Burley and some Virginia with a light topping that is sweet and vanilla. Fear not! The topping is quite subtle with plenty of tobacco taste. Now that summer has arrived, I have set aside most of the heavier tobacs in favor of this other light, tasty Aromatics. This is one of my favorites in that category. I just wish I could have bought this in a pouch instead of a 12oz. can. Ah well, summer has just started and this does burn fairly quickly. This smells even better than it tastes which is quite good. Enjoy.

If fresh this is a real treat for me. I lov the simple no frills burleys and this aeromatic was a great change of pace when I want a change. This has a wonderful flavor and aroma of a raiseny brown sugar and the nutty aftertaste of a good burley. No matter how hard I puffed away it just refused to bite. I liked that! This is however, a very "sweet" tobacco and the only real tobacco flavor I can detect is the burley. All in all a great aeromatic for burley lovers!