Smoker Friendly Classic Black

It's a very calm and mild blend of tobacco, a lot less abrasive than the other smoker friendly blends I have tried. The flavoring is a very mild dark chocolate, or even slightly nutty note. It needs a little dry time, smoker friendly tends to be really moist.

I'm an on and off pipe smoker since I was 16. I'm now 72. My go-to tobacco has been Lane's RLP-6. Because of the reviews here, I decided to try Smoker Friendly Classic Black.

My first pouch was exactly as described in other reviews here...very mild, and with a chocolate (almost hot chocolate) taste that wasn't overdone...not too sweet. Not even as sweet as my RLP-6. It went so well with my morning coffee that I decided I might make it a regular.

I then bought a 12 oz. bag. The tobacco in the bag was a black cavendish...but with a flavor I describe as grape lollipop! Nothing like what was in the first pouch! To me, that was a red flag!

I gave it a shot an bought another 1.5 oz. pouch. While it's much closer, it smokes hotter, and the chocolate flavoring is much less noticeable.

We buy tobaccos expecting some consistency. Sadly, I won't be buying anymore of this because it's just too inconsistent.

This tobacco sat on the shelf for a long time after I opened it. I found it boring, and I was trying lots of new types of tobaccos, so it sat.

One thing I will say is that it burns perfectly every time, even after being left in an open pouch for months. That's pretty nice.

At some point, when trying to finish up several pouches and tins before opening new ones, I rediscovered this one. It's still not great, but it does make a fantastic base for mixing. The slightly sweet boring-ness of this tobacco complemented some Old Dark Fired I found too strong, and so I'm finishing both together.

That mix, with 2/3 Classic Black and 1/3 Old Dark Fired is a home run for me. It has a really nice sweet bbq flavor that really satisfies.