John Middleton, Inc Walnut

I am returning to update a review posted in 2014. The tub now has about 8-9 years of age on it and I have more experience with tobaccos as well. Walnut is the mildest American English blend I have smoked and it has become a rounder and purer smoke with age. Though of as a soup, very mild white burley (comparable to that in PS 306) and Maryland is the stock, Virginia is a bit of added sugar, and the rest are very very mildly applied spices. Dating from a time when men could smoke throughout the day at work and at home, and burley was the tobacco taste most Americans sought, this mixture met those requirements brilliantly. One can hardly fatigue the tongue or senses smoking this. Compared to the codger burleys, this blend must have been the college man’s upscale choice. Or so I’ve heard that was once the case in Philadelphia. Middleton once sourced some quality leaf and some was in this mixture. Not a great tobacco but a solid choice for those few who smoke a pipe through much of the day. Much to be regretted that Middleton has pulled back to little besides flavored cigarillos. Of course others have taken up the fallen flag.

This is one of those blends that I like to have around when I need a break from heavy Balkan blends. Is this an English blend? ... No, but it is at the high end of the "drug store" class of tobacco blends. Mostly what I taste here is burly with a touch of Virginia and some lightly sweetened Cavendish. I can't really taste any oriental tobacco and the Latakia is there but really in sparse quantity...it is really hard to detect. I don't find this blend complex in any way but I am used to very complex Balkan blends so it seems kind of monochromatic ... with a few surprises here and there.

Even though they say that there is no walnut flavoring agent in the blend I definitely taste some "nut like" flavoring agent however mild.

In the end this is one of the best tobaccos in it's class. It could easily be an all day smoke for the smoker that is a fan of these blends. I like it in the morning in the fall season. Nice with a cup of coffee while I wake up.

I would keep this around if I could still get it in a pouch. It is cheap enough but a tub would last me 5 years and it dosen't seem like age will help this stuff. 3 stars for what it is.

Just received a fresh can of this and thought I had better fess up and rate it. Had been seeing reports that this blend had degraded from past blends and just wasn't as good. Don't know how far back to go, but I find no big differences or particular problems from past usage.

The new tub was drier than in the past but the flavor was the same; slightly sweet and almost aromatic, but pure baccy with no discernible chemicals or toppings. I know that this is a mixture of a large number of tobacco types but I really cannot discern any specific type in the smoking. it is well blended and aged (married).

Out of the can, my only complaint that was never noted in the past was a bunch of sticks that I have to keep picking out (hate that). The moisture was just right and although there was some large chunks of leaves, it packed easily and well. Does not light easily. After getting a good light, smoking went OK but tends to smoke hot and is stingy with smoke volume. Stays lit well and smokes to the bottom leaving a dry, dark grey ash. No gurgles. Does not get harsh as it burns down. No bad aftertaste or bad after odor in the pipe. No trace of trying to bite.

Over all, this is a pleasant smoke that never disappoints. Will continue to keep it on hand. Recommend for newbies.

I'm on a bit of a drug store blend odyssey.

Walnut is good stuff. Better to my taste than PA and Carter Hall which while more pure Burley Bullies are pretty comparable.

I know this is named after a street but I swear there a slight walnutty aroma in the "tin". I also agree with others who say they pick up some occasional very subtle maple. But this is in no way an aromatic. This is good honest pipe tobacco.

Just a beautiful no-nonsense, easy burning, tasty smoke.

I bet if this had a catchy name and came from a blender like Cornell and Diehl or Hearth and Home, we'd all be singing even higher praises.

Mileage does indeed vary but I give this a very solid recommend against the field and would rate it 4 stars if factoring in cost.

By the way, 4 Noggins has this in 2 OZ quantities if you don't' want a whole tub. Getcha some.

I'm a sucker for a good OTC and this is a really nice one. The light topping really brings this blend together, the burley is high quality, the cut is really easy to manage, it burns really well, and the hint of latakia is lovely. I am only giving it three stars because it can tend to get a bit ashy in flavor towards the bottom of the bowl, which is a problem shared by most burley blends. (I wonder what this would be like with a bit of perique? I find a lot of times that perique stays strong in flavor throughout the bowl... hmmm...)

Frankly, this blend puts a lot of more expensive blends to shame. Really worth trying, if the idea of a light aromatic burley blend with latakia sounds appealing.

After quite a few of what most would call OTC or drug store blends, this seems to be the one to take the top honors, IMHO. I find this to be a very good all day smoke. It will not bite, I've tried to incite it, but it was no use. It has a nice volume of smoke, the taste seems dependable and it seems to pass the wife test nicely. It smokes down to a nice ash at the bottom of the bowl. I would recommend this to the novice or the long time smoker. I will definitely be getting more of this blend in short order.

Additional comments made on 11/5/09: I just received a 12 oz tub of this fine mixture. I transferred it to my large jar. The lower half did seem a bit moister than many would like. It was pretty much clumped together and needed some breaking up. I think it will dry out nicely though. There does seem to be some large segments of leaf that missed the QC guys and made it into the tub. Having smoked several pipefuls of this in several types of pipes today, it does not seem to be too ungodly moist. The comments above are unchanged from the original review and still ring true for me and are based on a 2 ounce sample.

Like so many others I've been smoking a pipe for, well, a while, and never had a chance to try this one. When I opened my fresh tin it has just a hint of topping that is almost like berry/cherry, very lightly applied. It's a nice tobacco to look at with a variety of light and dark tobaccos. It packs nicely and give a slow burn. In the pipe that smoke PA, CH and other similar blends I get about a hour of smoking, this stuff gives me a couple. The flavor seems to be mostly a burley base with what seems to be a hint of "other stuff". Occasionally I get a whiff of latakia but it's not anywhere near the top. The topping is barely noticeable and has that hint of, well, berry/cherry.

Its a nice cool and dry smoke. Funny thing: theres no one flavor that comes out to greet you and it could almost be considered a tad on the bland side but I like the stuff. Its a well behaved, comfortable, slow burning and mild burley based blend with a subdued flavor. I'll definitely keep this around. Seems to have a decent room note.

After reading, several reviews I decided to try this. I liked it. It rather reminded me of Prince Albert with a bit of Latakia It had a pleasant taste, smoked cool, and stayed lit. I suspect it is sort of a mild English blend.

In over 40 years of pipe smoking, I've never tried this tobacco. I recently ordered a tub of this stuff on line as I don't ever remembering seeing this anywhere, anytime. Being a mostly burley type of guy, I've smoked Half & Half and the Prince almost exclusively, with occasional forays into other tobaccos, including Dunhills, Petersons, etc.

Walnut is as someone else put it, an Americanized English blend. I find it to be a very pleasant burley with some exotic condiments barely but nicely noticeable. It reminds me of Dunhill's London Mixture, but much milder, and for me more enjoyable. I find the less full flavor very nice, although nicotine content seems higher than the other Middleton tobaccos.

I don't know if Walnut will become for me an everyday smoke, but I hope it's available for a long time to come. Recommended.