John Middleton, Inc Kentucky Club Mild

I was recently given the chance to smoke from a 50 year old sample of this tobacco. This was labeled as "Mild", and suitably so. These OTC burley blends typically used a dab of either cocoa, honey, molasses, liquor, etc., to enhance the flavor. Sometimes in combination. I detect none of those here, with the possible exception of honey, or maybe some weak sweet tea with just a hint of lemon. Note from tin was also a hint of tea with lemon to me, (maybe that is what floral smells like to some. I did NOT smell what I consider a flower to smell like, but I am NOT a professional sniffer). As mentioned, I smoked from a vintage tub, so some casing could possibly have degraded away. I have read the comparisons to SWR, and agree with that visually, but the flavor is NOT like SWR in my experience. KCM didn't have the spiced raisin odor or flavor that SWR does for me. I would describe it as a lighter bodied PA, with a light honey topping. PA is itself mild to me, yet with a slight black pepper twinge to it. KCM, again, was milder than that with zero kick of anything except a slight sweet, and possibly a TINY sour tinge on the end like citrus, or very mildly lemon tea. I hate to say this, but it was in many ways like a sweetened cigarette tobacco. I missed trying this tobacco in it's heyday. Now, I'd put it at the bottom of the OTC Burley gang that I have tried. For the record, I have smoked some 40 and 50 year old samples of PA, and they shared some tea-like qualities with the KCM, without a hint of citrus though.

Far and away the best "codger burley" I've tried... I've avoided them for years since my H&H experience... maybe I'm starting to turn into a codger? Nice flavor, nutty and somewhat sweet, not at all bitter like I remember these kinds of blends being. Can develop an ashy taste if you tamp mid-bowl though. Good all-day smoke if you wish. A strong two stars from me, you may take it as three if lack of nicotine power not a concern.

TobaccoReviews.com lists three blends: Kentucky Club, Kentucky Club Mild, and Kentucky Club Mixture Aromatic. This is a review of the Kentucky Club with the word ?Mild? printed above the name; in the canister with the blue and white label. Whatever the source of the confusion, I will add to it a little by asserting that this ?Mild? Kentucky Club should, in my opinion, also be classified an aromatic, or at least a flavored, topped, or scented blend.

I definitely detect a mild floral, incense-like scent of lilac or lavender. (Some reviewers suggested apple, or even ?funeral parlor scent?. That could be.) Further, it has a saccharine taste, suggesting the presence of P.G. which, I read, tastes sweet in an artificial way.

These odors and tastes dissipate after about the first third of the bowl, and the blend settles down to become a pretty good codger burley; and taste-wise, a bit more interesting (though not better) than its cousin, Prince Albert. Amazingly, the pipe bowl does not carry an enduring crossover aftertaste upon switching blends. For me, I think it was two bowls ? max, and the ?memory? of KC was totally gone. (Heck, I can hardly taste any artifact after the first third of a bowl of KC, much less subsequent bowls of a different tobacco.) Since ?Mild? Kentucky Club burns cleanly and dryly to the bottom of the bowl without goop or dottle, it?s possible that a more natural substance is used: perhaps oil of lavender, rather than some arcane, polysyllabic chemical concoction. For this codger Burley:

3 stars if you smoke aromatics (this one is very light but tasty)

2 stars if you can get past the first third of the smoke ? the aromatic part

1 star if you would rather not fool around with even slightly aromatic blends.

If you?re tempted to try Kentucky Club solely because it?s in the Burley family and you need a change of pace, but you wish to avoid aromatics, try 101: Morley's Best (w/Latakia) by C&D; 401 Burley (w/natural Cavendish) by Milan; or my guilty pleasure, Prince Albert.

I bought a pouch of this tobacco at my neighborhood tobacco shop, it had been sitting at the bottom of a shelf long enough for it to accumulate quite a bit of dust. I am not sure if the "aging" did any good or not, but I was surprised how mild this tobacco was. It was just as the description stated, mild and cool. There was no variation from the top to the bottom of the bowl. The tobacco did burn fairly cleanly, but did leave some junk at the bottom of the bowl. I would say that there is nothing special about this mixture that would make me buy it again over any of the other drugstore burlys, but it is one that I a glad I tried (but one pouch is enough). With that being said, I would cautiously recommend giving it a try just do not expect great things from it.

When I opened the pouch I thought- what did I get into here. It selled like the inside of a funeral home. Very flowery- almost ad nauseum. I let it air out a while, and it got at least bearable. I thought I'd bettr try this out in an el cheapo corn cob, so I plopped down my buck fifty for one of those small sample cobs at the neighborhood cheap smoke shop. I lit up, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Very good tasting for a 2 buck pouch of tobacco. No bite, nice and smooth. Did not flavor the pipe, so I put it to the test in my Kaywoodie. Not bad stuff. I'd rate it higher, but since it's a DS brand I kept it at 2. Very good buy for the dollar.