John Middleton, Inc Sugar Barrel

I have been smoking for about 10 years and I have gone through all the phases. I have, until recently been a heavy Latakia Blend smoker with Frog Morton On the Town and On the Bayou being my daily smoke with occasional dips into some aromatics.

I started smoking a pipe as a member of a pipe smoking family. But, the men of my family were Mad Scientists of Tobacco, mostly smoking OTC blends they mixed together or played with.

Uncle Bill smoked Cap. Black White and sliced apples into his humidor. Uncle Charlie mixed SWR, Middleton Apple, and something else into a blend. Uncle Frank smoked Captain Black Blue and White mixed and bought some brand of Cigar that he ground up and put in there too! Uncle Ernie smoked Half and Half that had a peeled orange and put in the humidor that he would shake around every few hours on his desk. Uncle Bill smoked, as far as I can tell, a mishmash of whatever he happened to buy in a pouch and then dropped into a large humidor. He never bough more than 2 ounces of anything, and never took tobacco with him anywhere, he just bought a bag (I mean almost daily) and smoked some and put the remainder in a large jar. When at home he just dipped into that jar and packed his pipe. Dad smoked SWR when "doing things" but his sitting down to enjoy smoke came from where he and the tobacconist created, over a 10 year period, "Bob's Blend" that the store still sells, a mix full of perique and latakia with something aromatic because the smell is mild for something that should smell like a burning cat (it tastes pretty good, but is STRONG! Neither the tobacconist nor Dad will tell anyone what is in it!)

Well,when I started, I started at the tobacco store and I went through a lot. I finally found I loved Frog Morton On the Town as a regular smoke, but was always buying a little of this and a little of that.

About two months ago I was on vacation and had left my tobacco at home (I brought my pipe bag, but left the tobacco bag on the table). We were far from civilization in the mountains and I happened into a gas station/grocery store/post office. The man behind the counter was smoking a Cob in defiance of a state law against smoking in a business (Hooray!), so I asked him if they had Pipe Tobacco. He had large tubs of Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Middleton Cherry, Walnut, and Sugar Barrel. All of these were the tubs, so whatever I got I was gonna be smoking a while. As I thought he offered me his pouch (without telling me the brand) and I loaded my pipe with it and lit... One word...HEAVEN!

Maybe it was withdrawl (I had been 48 hours without), but I liked it. I liked it so much I bought the tub.

Over the course of my week vacation I kept a bowl of this lit almost every waking moment. I couldn't get enough. And it PASSED the wife test. She kept saying it was so pleasing to smell.

After the trip I ran out. I did not find it in the stores, so I ordered several tubs worth.

I am slowly becoming a one tobacco smoker.

And it is an OTC.

I am addicted to John Middleton's Sugar Barrel.

Whew! It feels good to get that off my chest! The room note is pleasing and it smells wonderful in the barrel (Buy the 12 oz. plastic barrel, not the smaller bags). What my wife notes is that it smells "Like you think a pipe should." I've been lighting this up in public and getting compliments on the aroma. The Barrel says "Mildly Aromatic" but it seems to be a "Pleasant Aromatic" for those around!

The taste is mild and I get no bite, even though I am a hard puffer. I've been smoking this in a Meerschaum it they seem to be coloring better than before! But it smokes great in a briar as well. Long ago when I was experimenting I was a heavy aromatic smoker and, because I am such a heavy puffer, I assembled a 7 day set of Savinelli Dry System with the Balsa. This tobacco is not wet or gloppy, but the balsa insert really makes it smoke sweeter. I also smoked it in a Cob (The Filtered "General") and found that the cob adds some sweetness to it as well. Not every puff, but I often find a pleasing note of brown sugar.

The thing I like most about these OTC's ESPECIALLY this one...I never relight. I gravity fill, tamp it down, light and puff. I smoke 3-4 bowls per day and if I have one relight during these bowls it is a shocker! I don't know why, but these OTCs stay lit and this one best of all. The only hard part? This smokes clean and tasty all the way down, so you sometimes are shocked to find yourself at the bottom of a bowl.

When finished I walk over to the toilet (The wife insists I flush old tobacco), turn my pipe upside down, and out falls all the ash. No dottle, no scraping, just an empty Meer ready for the next smoke!

One piece of advice...open your tin and let it breath a little. This tobacco tastes better and better as it gets some air.

I am going to try to convert three cigarette smoking friends to pipes and I am presenting each one with a Meerschaum Pipe (I bought two boxes of lovely CAO and SMS Meers when the Tobacco Shop in town went out of business 4 years ago...Luckily my Dad and his blend are in another city!), a Zippo Pipe Lighter, and a 12oz of Sugar Barrel!

UPDATE: After more time with this blend I am moving it up to 4 Stars. I know that some might think that too much for an OTC, but dang it...I love it!