John Middleton, Inc Walnut

This "drug store" blend has been around for decades and has evolved to become less interesting after Middelton took over the franchise. What exotic tobaccos are present are very minimal in amount. There may be Latakia or Perique or Turkish, but the overwhelming tobacco seems to be Burley (although I'm an English blend nut, I have no problem with that).

Whatever the casing is, I suppose if you think "Walnut" you might get that aroma. What I sense is more like a maple and cherry casing. The latter doesn't surprise me since that gawdawful cherry casing that Middleton uses seems to seep into everything they make. At least it doesn't have that "baked cookie/cake plus flavoring" aroma that seems to predominate in tobacconist mixtures these days.

The burn is not hot and is fairly clean, reducing to a white ash without too much glop. There is little bite. And there is little that is inspiring in a bowl of this stuff. You can smoke it all day and not remember much about it, 'cept it was sorta sweet 'n the wife didn't mind it.

The canister is great. Save it for other blends that aren't so nicely packaged.

My opinion of this blend pretty much echoes Wolfpaw?s. Walnut was not an entirely bad smoke nor was it a completely satisfying smoke for me. It lacks in body and strength with a pleasing, mildly sweet, yet wanting, one-dimensional flavor. And for an Americanized English blend, the latakia, evidently in a minimal amount, is reluctant to make its presence known as are the other tobaccos in this blend except for the burley that clearly dominates. Because of this, I consider Walnut a mild, extremely light aromatic rather than a bona-fide Americanized English blend.

Walnut is loaded with PG but it does have superb burning qualities, doesn?t bite and it is inexpensive but I just prefer my tobaccos with a little more Oooommmmph than Walnut has to offer. Unfortunately, if you wish to try Walnut it is available only in a 12 oz. tub. But in my case this tub may come in handy. To wit, if I am lying penniless on my deathbed, at least I?ll have a ?pot? to pee in.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this blend 7.2 out of 10.

Walnut is a tobacco that might be classified as an Americanized English mixture. Smoking a pipeful of Walnut stirs up nothing more than feelings of indifference in me; I can't work up a serious dislike for it, but it's not entirely satisfying either. I'm always left wanting more. Not more Walnut, but more strength, more complexity, more flavor. Perhaps because I'm accustomed to stronger, fuller-flavored English mixtures, I find Walnut to be rather bland. The Burley is the dominant tobacco in this blend and provides a light, inoffensive flavor that is indeed somewhat reminiscent of walnuts. The Turkish and Latakia are barely noticeable, while the Cavendish adds a slight background sweetness. The pouch aroma could mislead potential buyers into thinking that Walnut is walnut-flavored; it smells very much like freshly shelled English walnuts. I bought the bulk version, which was not excessively moist, and packed, lit and burned effortlessly. Maybe its most persuasive selling point is its very reasonable price. Because of that, it is a good alternative to the fruit-flavored mixtures that seem to dominate the low-priced bulk bins. It's not a bad mixture to smoke when one is busy doing other things; it won't demand a whole lot of your attention. It does leave me with a slight bitter aftertaste, which I often get from Burley-heavy mixtures. Not a really bad mixture, this Walnut, but not an exceptionally good one either.

This gets two stars only because there are a plethora of better english blends, but this is one of the best cheap blends I have ever tried. It has a nice english taste, I noticed smoke filling my palate with the taste of nuts and rich latakia. It has a nice aroma, burns well, and doesn't bite. A good all day blend and one of the best cheap blends out there. I will probably stick to 965 for the time being, but you could do worse than to buy this as it is so easy on the wallet.

This was my first experiment with a Middleton blend, better than I expected, but not my cup of tea. I'm not a fan of blends with much or any Burley in them, so far of all the burley's I have tried I have not liked. In this case the burley came through as tart bordering on bitter.I will say that it is better than what you will find in the drug stores these days, so I can't say not to try it , if you like burley blends you may find it very plesant and reasonably priced.