John Middleton, Inc Walnut

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.

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.

I let this age for about three years. Fresh out of the tin it was not really to my liking. It had an undefined but unpleasant after state and it burned quite hot, no matter how softly you puffed.

Aging did the trick for me. Whilst still not one of my favorite blends, it has a acquired a certain maturity (I could also use the word "dignity") that makes it quite palatable. The interplay of Burleys, English and Kentucky, plus the Virginia, is more evident.

I would recommend this to anyone seeking to switch from artificial aromatics to a more straight-forward tobacco taste, or are beginning to explore the Latakia experience. In that department it is a gentle introduction and what I believe could be dubbed as a classic American-English (far better than any Frog Morton).

Its interesting trying to sort out how you feel about pipe blends that you smoked fifty-plus years ago. All this time from my early days of both college and pipe smoking, I have mistakenly believed that Walnut was one of the blends that I rejected early on as unacceptable and unworthy. Recently, I was the lucky recipient of a multi-bowl sample of Walnut from a 14 oz tin from the late Middleton tinning era; now in a state of good preservation. In the bag it presented as a darkish, granular and ruddy brown and black tobacco that had a feint English sub-aroma underneath wonderfully aged Burley and Virginia odors. It simply compelled you to smoke it, and that is exactly what I did. The smoke, and the smoking itself, was pleasing and soft and round (like how we feel about ice cream) and exhibited all of the positive qualities one associates with a quality tobacco that has aged to perfection without weakening too much. How I ever thought that this blend was nasty, is just beyond me as a mature pipe smoker and I was clearly mistaken in my memories. Okay, now for some reality. At one and the same time, I feel that Walnut was the best of the earlier American Englishes and, yet, there has always been a limit to how much I enjoyed them compared to the Englishes they competed with then and now. Since I do not account for aging in rating pipe blends, this is a very solid three stars.

This is probably the best quality blend that JM makes. I would argue that it is unique from other drug store blends in its quality and complexity.

While it is marketed as an "english blend" this stuff is a true American blend through and through. Don't let the pouch note of latakia fool you. Upon lighting there is a delicious mix of various natural tobacco flavor with a "sweet liquor" topping that persists through the smoke but does not dominate.

It is not nicotine strong (as none of these blends really are) but the mouth feel is a bit stronger (in a good way) than CH or PA. I have gotten many compliments on the room-note from other men.

I can sense this is an "old-school" blend and can imagine past generations smoking this at taverns in Old City Philadelphia.

This is going to be my everyday tobacco for the upcoming fall weather.

A predominately burley crimp cut blend with a seasoning of latakia and other condiment tobaccos, many have described this as an ?americanized english?. I am not a big fan of english style blends, but when I do get that ?itch? for a dose of english flavor Walnut scratches it admirably. Always cool smoking without bite.

Walnut is without a doubt, the best blend Middleton produces. It has a nice, rich, slightly smokey, slightly spicey, flavor. It isn't too wet. It packs well. It may have been available in drug stores at one time, but those days are long gone. An incredibly good tobacco for the price.

A good old timey American burley blend, with a hint of latakia. This was my introduction to Latakia, and as such will have a warm place in my heart.

I don't smoke this too much these days. I have other blends I prefer, but for a mild, inexpensive, American-English, you could do far worse. The only real down side to this blend, is that it can have an ashy finish. Worth a try. If you like it, you will save a bunch of money...

My first "English" blend. I tried it because everyone said it smelled like s**t, but didn't bite. The taste was a revelation, i actually tasted like tobacco, not perfumes. It's a nice variegated, mostly medium color short cut that packs easily. The aroma is that of a mild English/American blend wih Burley and Virginia noticeable first. The Orienal and Laakia are lighter, but wimpy. There is some PG present, which makes it a bit sticky to pack, and doesn't let the blend dry out at all. It doesn't come through in he taste however, which is a very pleasant melange of all the ingedients. An excellent intro to English style tobaccos, and a very good all day smoke. Also an extremely good value.