John Middleton, Inc Walnut

The nutty, earthy, woody, lightly molasses sweet burley takes a little of the lead. The Virginia provides some grass, tangy citrus, and a touch of honey as a supporting player. The smoky, woody, earthy, lightly musty, sweet Cyprian Latakia is a secondary player. There is a light taste of nutty, earthy, woody, sweet Kentucky in a condimental role. The floral, herbal, earthy, woody, very slightly spicy, mildly sweet Oriental is just detectable. I know Maryland is in here, but I can’t taste it. The topping is mildly sweet, but I have gotten a chemical note from it a couple of times. Overall, it has nice subtle complexity that meld well together for a very consistent sweet and lightly smoky flavor. The strength is just short of the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is a step past the mild mark, while the taste is a slot past the center of mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh, and hardly has any rough edges. Burns cool at a moderate pace, leaving little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has a slightly lingering, pleasant after taste and room note. It is an all day smoke. It gets three stars instead of four because of that chemical note.

-JimInks

Unfortunately, due to the quality leaf needed and the time to blend, John Middleton decided to cease production of this very nice "drugstore" English blend a few years ago and now it can't be found anywhere. What puzzles me is the fact that it was one of their best sellers and certainly a worthy smoke for those who appreciate American style English blends.

Walnut is a light English and will not overwhelm the palate. I found it to be remindful of Barking Dog, although much tastier.

If you smoke multiple bowls a day and enjoy some Latakia flavor in a somewhat light smoke, this will be a nice addition to your rotation, especially if you keep a close eye on your pocketbook.

This was a tobacco ive seen on the shelf for years, never bought but always wanted to try.......I heard through the grapevine this blend had been discontinued by Middleton so I decided it was now or never. Milan was the last one to have it in stock after i searched high and low (and i believe i bought their last tub). It arrived lightning fast and i was very anxious to try it. Opening the tub i smelled something like strong leather and wood, and a bit of date maybe. Lots of color in my tub ranging from black crimp cuts to bright ribbons, it seemed a bit dry at first but packed up quite well. Smoked nicely with enough flavor to keep me interested, burned a bit quick but didnt bite any more than the Prince or Carter Hall. Nice stuff, funny blends like these disappear. I would have thought it had a strong following, for the price there really isnt anything else like it that ive smoked out there. If you happen upon a tub buy it, its no revelation in terms of smoking experience (no pun intended) but its a decent all day smoke with more flavor than PA or CH. I wish i tried it sooner.

First off, this is not a high grade tobacco in any sense. However, it is worth the price as long as you're not expecting a high grade english blend and don't mind smoking cardboard.

Basically, it's a mild tasting english with very little latakia. The blend is predominantly burley and that becomes evident in smoking it.

I would rate it as a step down from Lane's 10 Downing Street, not at all worth going out of your way for.

Caution should be used as this stuff will bite the piss out of you regardless of how slow you smoke it.

I came upon an old tub of Walnut some time back and finally got around to opening it. Time had reduced the color to very dark brown and black. I got my best results by smoking it very dry. There is a sweet topping, but either age or the dryness had rid Walnut of any chemical taste or bite. The Latakia is there for minimal effect but does provide at least a hint of smokiness. No goop to be found although I wasn’t a big fan of the later stages of each bowl, but that is usually the case for me with OTC blends. I generally associate American English blends as having the typical English tobacco components with added Burley. This slides well over in to the Aromatic category for me and if you are a regular English smoker it will likely be for you too. Not being a huge fan of Burley forward tobaccos, OTC or otherwise, this was a nice OTC change of pace.

Anyone who'd like to try Walnut can get a 2oz pack at www.4noggins.com. Go there, click on "Drug Store Blends" from the left-hand column. Then scroll down to the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

OK- This is an update to the bulk of my original review after several POUCHES of Walnut. I've bumped my first-response from somewhat recommended to recommended. I have made my peace with burly, whose tobacco sweetness is actually probably the "tobacco juice" background taste I mentioned before. It is really not meant as a negative comment, so much as a highly subjective & specific comment with a history. My father habitually cleaned his pipes when he got a sudden shot of juice from his pipe - maybe that was the "old codger's blend" smoker's method. Anyway, I'm afraid I picked that up from him back then. With PA (or any blend where burley predominates, it is a practice rewarded by that inevitable sudden reminder. Even though I've long since broken the habit, I know that taste, associate it with burley, and can pick it's potential in the distinctive taste of burley as soon as I light a burley-based blend. I think it put me off burley for all these years. Brebbia Balkan cured me of those negative associations permanently, and let this balkan smoker appreciate burley flavor as a base. Trying something new educates you. I learned more about tobacco by smoking a vintage tin of 759 than by any other pipe smoking experience, for example. The several burley-balkans Tinder Box sells first made me aware that some consider that acceptable in a "balkan." Well, maybe an Americanized English - which is what Walnut has always claimed to be, I think; and actually is - or maybe was in 1859 when Walnut was first blended.

Walnut IS working for me as a daily tobacco. Even so, I've ordered some syrian latakia to further balkanize (here, a positive adjective), the smoke.

ORIGINAL REVIEW FOLLOWS: I wanted to try Walnut, and just before I found the above source I'd already broken down & ordered a 12 oz can for $14.

My favorite available blend is Penzance, but I've also learned to enjoy SG's Best Brown, and Buteria's Balkan (which, with it's use of burly was a stretch for me as I don't remember my father's PA that fondly. To keep me from cigarettes - this was the early 60's); pop bought me my first pipe and offered me all the PA I could smoke. And I am grateful to him for that. PA was was ok, but what I really wanted to smoke back then was Hickory, which my mom said I couldn't smoke in the house because it smelled like it would "leave a film on her curtains."

Times are tough right now & I just couldn't debit the kind of $ to my checking account that I have been. I wanted an acceptable standard tobacco so I could order along with a two oz tin of something more costly (which I did do already, a tin of Best Brown). Walnut is so inexpensive that, alone, that 14 oz. doesn't meet the minimum purchase requirement at Noggins. Imagine.

So how did that work out for me? I tried a first bowl of Walnut in a Peterson system meer, as I know I can clean just about anything out of it & not taste it later. If I'd gotten the 2 oz pack I don't think I would have trashed it, as I just did a pack of Carter Hall, and 3/4 of the way through this first bowl I'm not sure yet that I'll make it through the whole can - but I might. It has a kind of tobacco-juice flavor in the background of a different kind but reminiscent of that Kendal-taste that lurks in the background of many SG & Gwaith & Hoggarth blends that I like just fine.

It is a definite cut above Carter Hall, which would have been my previous nominee for best "drugstore blend." It won't replace anything else I smoke in bulk. But it may (or may not) tide me over until better times as a replacement for bulk orders of Penzance - or, maybe it'll just make Penzance last longer in my drawer. I'll have to revisit this site later for a comment futher down into the can - which means I want to give it a fair chance.

Some smokers of better blends may well find Walnut accomplishes all I'm after for them right off the bat. Tastes differ widely, after all, and I've tried blends at several times the price that never made it to a second bowl. Walnut has already passed that standard.

Well, one thing that cannot be claimed with Walnut is that change of ownership messed-up this blend; it is John Middleton's oldest blend, and its original.

As we age, our tastes and tastebuds change; and though the ownership of this venerable tobacco has not changed hands, I would swear the tobacco HAS. Twenty years ago, people complemented its aroma; now they threaten me with arrest. I know there are other variables in there...but don't get me started!

Walnut is a classic, no argument there. There are others in its vein, and better. The list is long and distinguished, but this is about Walnut.

This is truly a Burley-based mixture, and far from the worst of its kind. But it DOES wear on one after a while. It is NOT walnut-flavored, but it is cased, and the polyethylene-glycol only nasties-up the casing. DuPont long-ago abondoned their slogan, "Better Living Through Chemistry." Why can't John Middleton follow suit? Despite propaganda to the contrary, tobacco CANNOT be re-humidified to its original taste. Middleton might experiment with a better seal on its 12-oz. container of Walnut. It used to be much better.

There is no heat, bite, or harshness to this blend. But it does draw derisive comments from those who can detect Latakia at a hundred years. And the casing--whatever it might be--wears on one after half a can. After a while you might think you are smoking a candy bar.

If you like a combination of Burley and Latakia, you could do worse than Walnut...but you could also do a whole lot better.

This is a review of Walnut that was gifted to me so I have no idea how old it is. I would have to agree with Jiminks review. This is good. I enjoy blends like this and wish it was still in production.

I aged a tub for four years before opening. Actually, I think this is okay if you live alone and don't care if your pad smells like ash tray. It is too mild for me to smoke outside. Smoke it slow for a fairly tasty bowlful of a gently complex blend. I don't think this will make my rotation unless I forget what a premium blend tastes like.

This stuff was one of my favorite English blends as a new pipe smoker. I got gifted a bunch of pipes from my parents that came in a box they bought from a yard sale. I cleaned them all up and put Walnut into my Oom Paul and boy was this stuff amazing. I don't remember much of how to describe the blend as I do not think my pallet was refined enough to really discern all the flavors, but I knew I liked it and that is all that matters. This one needs to make a comeback in my lifetime as I think a lot of people are missing out. If you can find a retro tub that is still sealed, do not hesitate to buy.