Tobaccos John Middleton, Inc - Kentucky Club Mild

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pokey Nipple (7)	2011-07-02		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Of the three burley-based Middleton offerings I have tried, this is my favorite. These three--a triumvirate of excellent, affordable burleys--Kentucky Club Mild, Prince Albert, and Carter Hall are all delicious and well-worth the money and time.

They are all quite similar and have the nutty, earthiness characteristic of burley-based blends. They differ in nuances only, PA being caramel-ly with the nuttiness emphasized, while CH is creamier with hints of fruit (fig/raisin).

Kentucky Club Mild is harder for me to describe and is clearly a touch more complex or interesting than PA or CH in my opinion. It has a delicate floral quality or hay-like-ness that weaves in and out of the basic nuttiness. These tastes work amazingly together.

The 'Mild' in the title has more to do with the way it is blended or flavored than tobacco strength, I feel. I'm sure a primary, "foundational" blend is used for all three.

Kentucky Club is yummy, yummy stuff and great as an all-day pipe. Two enthusiastic thumbs up, as Siskel and Ebert used to say so many years ago.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2014-12-21		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The earthy, woody Kentucky burleys are very nutty with some molasses as the lead component. The Virginia provides some tangy citrus, bread, light sugar and grass as a supporting player. The toppings moderately sublimate the tobaccos. No chemical notes to be found. The strength and nic-hit are mild. The taste level is near the center of mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns clean and mostly cool at a moderate pace with a very consistent flavor to the finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and hardly requires any relights. Has a very pleasant after taste and room note. Is an all day sweet smoke.

-JimInks

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2011-07-12		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

I'm not sure my review would be the same if I had smoked this tobacco from a fresh tub (impossible now), but it is out of production. The tin I had was from the late 1980s and the cube cut leaf was brittle and very dark. The tin aroma brought back those early days of pipe smoking memories for me as did the presentation once lit. Mild, delightful Burley with a little old fashioned something to sweeten it up a bit without ruining the tobacco flavor. Nice smoke, especially for the price!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. G (15)	2014-02-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Great old-school burley. Cool burning unless you hammer the pipe relentlessly. Brief soapy feel at the charring light which quickly dissipated into a comfortable, no-frills, dependable, predictable burley. Sours slightly for the last quarter of the bowl (which I really don't mind in the least) which could almost be construed as increasing complexity if it wasn't so darn burleyish. Dry, white ash is all that remains. There are better straight burleys out there, but this one commits no damnable sins.

Pipe Used: Kaywoodie Supergrain 50B Briar

Age When Smoked: 1 year old tub freshly opened

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-07-05		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Just finished up the better part of a 14 oz tub. Tub aroma is plain old burley. The floral casing that others have described was so faint that I'm not sure it was there at all in my tub. Taste was basic burley nuttiness with a slight hint of sweet hay. It was slight and it was fleeting. 99.5% of the flavor I got was straight, honest burley.

I find this to be one of the, if not THE, best American OTC blends currently available. It started off with a whiff of that weird soapy character I get when I first fire up a straight burley blend and very quickly calmed down into the ever-popular burley descriptor of nutty. What elevated this one ahead of a lot of other basic OTC's is that this never got bitter down the bowl. It got a bit hotter but not too hot. No tongue bite overall but I did get a hint of sizzle at the match that lasted a minute or so.

The only issue I have with this one is that it's price is no longer as reasonable as it used to be. One can get a pound (16 oz) of C&D's Burley Straight at a cheaper price per oz than a 14 oz tub of this. I prefer the C&D, but only slightly, with regard to taste but the new cost of a tub of this makes the C&D even more attractive. I do recommend this to lovers of straight burley but I have to give the overall nod to the C&D version.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skoma (32)	2016-04-29		Mild	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A friend of mine brought me a pack of this from a visit to the U.S.1 Surpisingly there are no pure burley blends available in the country I live and that´s a pitty for sure! Dark brown cube cup. Easy to fill in any pipe though I would prefer small headed ones. Easy to smoke and handle in all conditions, never bites no matter how you treat it. The taste is allways mild with lots of sweetness and the aroma of chocolate, cocoa and maybe a little caffee. The perfect all time and everyday smoke! Great! Highly recomended!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Henry Mars (21)	2011-12-09		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a basic burly ..medium brown in color. Not much of anything in the way of flavor. Slightly nutty and slightly sweet... perhaps a very light sugar casing which is well in the background. It can bite like a rabid dog if not smoked slowly.

All in all not too bad if you have experience with this sort of tobacco. I don't recommend it for beginners.

Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. PA or CH will blow this away, but you can't argue with the KCM price.

I won't be buying it again.

UPDATE: 12/15/11

I added some moisture to KCM and it opened up a little .... enough that I am adding another star. It still bites a little but there is more flavor .... simple flavor. It still tastes like some kind of mild sugar topping. If you have the discipline to smoke it slowly it isn't bad. I still won't buy it again but if you fancy this type of smoke you will like it especially since it is cheap to buy.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TK Pipe (101)	2011-07-14		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

KC Mild … Another old timer that is still quite popular. KCM has its own unique character, similar in strength to Sir Walter Raleigh, only this blend does not seem to have any noticeable added topping, more a straight tobacco taste and aroma.

Medium brown in color, mild with no bite or bitterness, very pleasant from light-up to bowl bottom. IMO one of the better, so called straight Burley's available. Nothing fancy here, just good old fashion burley pipe tobacco, tasty and simple. The only negative trait I found was its tendency to burn a bit fast/hot. So I found that a heavier tamp than normal for this cut, helpful. Overall I feel very confident in recommending KCM to those that find happiness in cob pipes and basic American tobacco's. For them, 3 plus stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	D.K. (58)	2021-02-06		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

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.

Pipe Used: vintage briar

Age When Smoked: 50

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Der Pfeifenraucher (71)	2017-01-09		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

First off I'll say I'm biased toward this tobacco as it is what my grandpa used to smoke. That being said , KCm is a great all day weed that always satisfies and never interferes. Smells like an old time burley in the can, packs and light flawlessly, and has that old time tobacco thing going for it all the way until the end. I wish the vitamin N content was a bit more, there just isn't quite enough N in a cob full to satisfy but a second cob quickly brings nirvana. On it's own merits this is a three star blend for me but add nostalgia and I bump it up four. I still prefer Prince Albert to KCm in the pipe but for remembering old times and working/walking grandpas old farm, its Kentucky Club Mild.

Pipe Used: grandpas old grabow royal duke

Age When Smoked: ??????? years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wallenberg (11)	2016-04-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

It is a rare occasion to receive such a gift in Austria. A friend brought it home from the United States.

Tin note is very spicy and a bit sweet, there is some cinnamon and cocoa quality to it.

The ribbon cut is quite easy to pack, lights and burns fine.

I'm overwhelmed. No Burley-based blends I know of are available in Austria, and this was a fascinating sidestep from English, Latakia, Virginia and other blends. What constitutes the tin note for me finds itself back in the smoke; tiptoeing from peppery spiciness to sweetness ever so often it is a pleasurable smoke from the beginning to the end of the bowl. It may be uniform or one-dimensional, but as it's a rare gem to find where I live, it can't get old quite so easily.

The room note definitely has something of incense and tea.

Lady Nicotine seems to have turned away from this blend, it's not strong at all, but who am I to judge, being a regular cigarette smoker!

All in all, I could easily give this blend four stars - but excellency does not come from nothing, and so I deducted a star for the lack of depth and variation in the taste.

Pipe Used: Strambach Meerschaum Bent Apple, Briar

Age When Smoked: fresh out of the pouch

Purchased From: brought by a friend from the US

Similar Blends: I do not know any other White Burley blend yet..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-07-28		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

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.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	brogreggblues (45)	2010-08-02		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really enjoy this blend. It's been hot this summer in Kansas, and Kentucky Club Mild has been a wonderful hot-weather blend. Like the description says, it's mild, bite free, cool-smoking, and light. Very easy to enjoy. I'm almost halfway through my 14 oz. canister, and when that's gone, I'll buy another. KCM has a slight floral taste that I really enjoy, which keeps the taste interesting, and seems appropriate for the hot weather. Three stars for this honest, simple OTC burley, and another star for the low price.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2008-10-26		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

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.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pkloop (53)	2006-12-04		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I cracked open the 14oz bucket of this I had for quite some time. Inside I found pretty much exactly what the tin description says. All brown cube cut burley..I didn't notice any topping..just nice plain burley smell.

Using the tried & true gravity fill that these blends/cuts seem to favor, I set flame to the tobacco and begin the journey. What I discovered was an easy going, very mild (too mild) smoke. This is just plain burley with no detectable topping by my taster.

Smoked clean, cool, dry all the way to the bottom. I didn't get the bitter finish at all. This one just doesn't have anything to keep me interested however..don't look for any flavor explosions here. Just plain burley. I can see this being used as a blender to perhaps tone down some bitey VA's or I would imagine it would be very useful for breaking in new pipes. And thats about all I see myself doing with the remaining amount I have.

All in all I can't see this one offending anyone, and at about a buck an ounce its worth a shot to try. 2 stars here for me for lack of flavor but 3 stars for cost, burning characteristics, cool smoking..

Not bad..but nothing to write home about.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2005-11-18		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

On a whim, I purchased a pouch of KCM at an independent backwoods Wisconsin supermarket. Yes, it is a drug store blend but it has survived for decades as have a handful of other drug store blends. This has to say something about their quality and/or popularity. This is a simple burley that was introduced in simpler times. It is straight forward, mild and moderately sweet. The thing I noticed most with this blend is the very distinct and very pronounced ?grassiness? that I have not experienced with other burleys. This may have something to do with the mild topping or casing. The grassiness does dissipate and become less pronounced as you progress down the bowl. I think this grassy/hay characteristic will be what either makes or breaks this blend for you. I experienced no bite. This fine cube cut burley burns cool and to a dry ash. This is not an outstanding blend. It is a simple, down-to-earth, old-fashioned burley blend. Take a ride back in time with KCM when you have the opportunity to buy a pouch.

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

I rate this tobacco 8.0 out of 10.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cakeanddottle (105)	2019-12-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Burley Grape Nuts. I missed the boat and didn't order any of this when they delisted it. I have since bought two tubs, one from 1983 and one from the 90s. My opinion after smoking the aged version is that this is the very best of the American OTC Burleys. The tobacco still available that is most like Kentucky Club is Sir Walter Raleigh.

They say age doesn't help Burley but you could sure fool me. The 1983 tin had a rich chocolate cake aroma, and that tobacco is like smoking chocolate cake. It's incredible, I've never had anything like it. In every other regard, it reminds me of SWR.

The 90s tin had a strong dark fruit nose to it when I popped the tin. It's kind of raisin-y and plum-y. There is an underlying chocolate body with the fruit. That tin is also excellent, although not as rich and decadent as the 1983 tin.

Granted, both these tubs had age on them before I broke the vacuum. As I said, this is a very similar tobacco to SWR, and I would probably be just as enthusiastic if I had snagged and smoked old tins of that one. My advice is twofold: if you can get your hands on Kentucky Club and you love Burley, you're in for a treat. Enjoy yourself. Lastly, buy a 14oz tub or two of SWR and wait 20 years to break the seal. If it's anything like Kentucky Club you're going to be ecstatic when you get there. I know I'm going to.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-04-26		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

A straight and honest burley. No bells and whistles or sickly-sweet casing. Just good American tobacco. Nice nutty flavor. A traditional aroma that can only come from a pipe. Burns kind of quickly which isn't too bad a thing as there isn't much time for your pipe and baccy to get all goopy. Burley lovers should keep this one on hand at all times.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CornCob (94)	2009-02-01		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I liked this blend!Its a good honest to goodness burley at a great price.It didnt bite me and the aroma was lovely in pouch and room. It packed well,lit well and smoked just fine.Id buy it again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-01-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

What could I say to convince you that Kentucky Club is a great pipe tobacco? I can't really.All I can tell you is that for myself I'm a burley fanatic,and the taste of Kentucky Club is very interesting.Kentucky Club has a floral casing in the blend that gives a unique character to the burley which could be an all-day smoke for some or a nice change of pace for Prince Albert fans.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2008-01-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Picked up a tub of this the other day as it was one of the few Codger Burlies I had not smoked fairly extensively. As has been meticulously documented here, I am an unabashed fan of these classic American burley blends. Kentucky Club Mild is no exception but the key word here is MILD. This is perhaps the only fault I can find with this tobak. The taste is good and the smoking manners are great. Consistent with the genre, it is plain and serviceable, good for any occassion and something you could undoubtedly chain smoke day after day without a problem. The room note is inoffensive (maybe even pretty good). Burn was a bit quick but otherwise cool, dry and bite free. Vitamin N content was just OK and overall, as I said, this is pretty light stuff. For the burleyphile, this would make an ideal light, change of pace smoke (which is precisely what I was looking for.) Due to its mild nature, I hesitate to give it a four star rating but in its proper place it's very effective. Don't expect a lot of oooooh and aaaaaah out of this one; it is what it is, a light, mild, all day burley. It will never replace Old Joe Krantz or Prince Albert in my rotation but for a light change of pace tobacco, I'm sure it will stay on my occassional list for a long time to come.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2007-12-22		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

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.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SopwithCamel (255)	2007-10-21		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is one of Middleton's best blends, along with Carter Hall, and Walnut. A good simple burley. Great in a cob. A good value for the money. Sadly, unavailable to me unless I order online. If you love burley, try a pouch!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-11-05		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

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.

1 person found this review helpful.