Charles Fairmorn Lancer's Slices

(3.67)
This almost black flake tobacco combines the best grades of naturally sweet Virginia and smoky Latakia, matured together under pressure. A wonderfully smooth and mild yet full-bodied mixture. Very reminiscent of the old Bengal Slices.
Notes: The "Where to Buy" Hyperlink has changed, and the accurate Hyperlink is https://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/fandk/bulk/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=39821

Details

Brand Charles Fairmorn
Blended By  
Manufactured By  
Blend Type Virginia/Latakia
Contents Latakia, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Broken Flake
Packaging Bulk
Country Germany
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.67 / 4
70

12

6

2

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 90 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 16, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I just opened a jar of Lancer Slices that I put away 4 ½ years ago. If a blender is going to go with just two tobaccos in an English blend, the key is using high quality tobacco and getting the proportions just right or it can be boring. Lancer Slices gets it just right. When I first bought it back in 2009, I thought at the time that the Latakia might be a little bit heavy handed. But now, due to time in the jar or my taste changing, not only has the broken flake changed to a nice darker color, but the Latakia feels just right. LS burns cool, has a little sweetness and is a full bodied blend. I don’t see the comparison to Bengal Slices because I recall Bengal Slices having a topping where this blend has none. One of the things I really like about this blend is that the flavor continues to build as each bowl progresses. Secondly, where can a person buy a real high quality broken flake like Lancer Slices at bulk prices?
Age When Smoked: 4 years
29 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 22, 2009 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant
I don't want to scare anybody, but I think I share the same palate as most of the esteemed reviewers here on TRC... well, at least regarding Lancer's Slices. This is another bell ringer for Charles Fairmorn. An elegant offering expertly mixed to produce a smokey, yet sweet and refined Latakia blend that burned cool, evenly and very dry right down to the last shred.

To me, Lancer's Slices tastes similar to IRC's Gourmet English and Rattray's Black Mallory (both are Latakia blends on the sweeter side) and left me wanting another bowl immediately. This one does not carry a lot of strength but is certainly full of unrelenting flavor.

Frankly, for those who enjoy this genre, there is nothing about the blend not to like. Kudos to the Fairmorn boys for producing yet another dandy tobacco for us pipe hobbyists to enjoy!
24 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 19, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable
Lots of smoky, woodsy, earthy, musty Cyprian Latakia with an earthy, smooth, dark fruity, creamy Virginia that has spice and citrus notes, and a touch of grass. The Latakia takes the lead. The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The strength is medium, while the taste is a couple of slots past that mark. The mildly sweet and very savory, campfire flavor is very consistent throughout the smoke. It may require a few relights, but it burns at a slow to moderate pace, cool and clean with no dull or harsh spots, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. Most of the time, it burns to ash. It's not overly complex, but it is well balanced. Has a pleasant, lingering after taste, and a smokey room note. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable.

-JimInks
23 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 13, 2012 Medium to Strong None Detected Very Full Tolerable to Strong
I purchased 8 oz. of this in bulk from 4Noggins due to all the reviews comparing it to my all-time favorite Bengal Slices. While I find some similarities, it is definitely not a dead ringer.

When I first got this the deep black color and intense woodsy, smoky tin aroma really overwhelms you at first. I was sure it was going to be a Latakia bomb, but it is surprisingly (and pleasantly) smooth with a delicious Latakia richness that is rounded out with the sweetness of the Virginias in the blend. I like it much better than Penzance, and it has quickly become one of my all- time favorite English blends.

It takes a few tries to get this one burning, but once it gets going it burns slowly, yet consistently, with a very cool yet thick and luxurious smoke that never bites and keeps you wanting more. It leaves behind the aftertaste I remember from the old Balkan Sobranie and Bengal Slices days (leading me to believe that it contains some Syrian Latakia), not unlike the ancient tin of Garfinkel's Orient Express No. 11 I am currently smoking (minus the Orientals). The flavor is both nutty and coffee like, with a dose of sugary sweetness to temper the flavor. For the bargain price this sells for, I would strongly suggest getting some and cellaring it, as I am sure that this will age marvelously. You can be sure this will remain a staple in my cellar.
17 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 06, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
This is outrageously good. Sweet, spicy, smoky, and woody. Flavors are rich and deep. Medium bodied with flavors medium to full. Not terribly complex, just dang good from the top to the bottom of the bowl. Sometimes simple is better and this is one of those times. Can't wait to try it with some age on it.
Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman, MM Freehand
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: fresh bulk
15 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 31, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Strong
This is a full english mixture that showcases the smokey latakia with the subtle sweetness of the virginia. A well behaved tobacco with good burning qualities. I prefer it fully rubbed out. It is slightly tarry with a dry woodsy character . It is one of the finest english mixture offerings of today for the seasoned Latakia devotee.

I do not see the similarity with Penzance and I most certainly prefer this tobacco.
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 05, 2013 Medium to Strong Mild Medium to Full Tolerable
To my palate, Lancer's Slices is very similar to Penzance in taste. I would consider it a poor man's Penzance, and, for those who don't have the scratch or the patience for some of that stuff to come along (at a reasonable price), Lancer's Slices makes a good substitute. I find the flavor profile between the two to be nearly identical—Lancer's just a bit more rough around the edges than Penzance. Still, Lancer's a class smoke, though I find it both a tad bit strong and harsh. Back in the day, I used to smoke Bengal Slices, and Lancer's does have some of its qualities, but Bengal was no Penzance. So, in the end, I'd rather be smoking Penzance, therefore Lancer's gets only three stars from me. Is that unfair of me? Perhaps.
Pipe Used: Molina bent
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins
Age When Smoked: ?
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 02, 2010 Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
Quite frankly, one of the best tasting latakia blends I've ever smoked. Simple latakia and virginia blend - no orientals, no perique. I've never smoked Old Ironsides but this is reminiscent of Bengal Slices, a tin of which I smoked last year. The difference is this has better flavor but the Bengal was smoother. This is a spicy and semi-sweet blast of flavor without a hard-to-take blast of strength. The latakia was pungent but had excellent presence and flavor. Beautiful broken flake cut, and very dark in color.

As good as this stuff tastes, I can't give it a 4th star. Smoking it made my tongue feel grainy... like it had a fine layer of grit on it after finishing the bowl. I don't know if I attribute that to latakia of less quality or what, but it was consistently there. And after smoking this, the taste of latakia was in my mouth for quite awhile! I found this an excellent counterpart to a fine scotch. But it misses my regular rotation due to the cotton mouth I got after each bowl. Try this if you love the taste of latakia and don't want it subdued by too many other tobaccos.
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 07, 2013 Medium None Detected Full Pleasant to Tolerable
While it isn't Bengal Slices, it is as close in character of any that I have smoked. A huge, rich smoke, it stayed cool and smoked slowly. The taste is dark and sweet and hugely of latakia without the sharply acrid taste some latakia heavy blends get. It stays sweet, dry and smokey. I like this as an evening smoke, or when I'm outdoors. I plan grab a little more and see what a few years of aging will do.

As an update, this has become one of my go to tobaccos. It has a wonderful, rich, straightforward taste. It smells like what I think one of the Edwardian Clubs in Pall Mall must have smelled like. Lancers has helped me fall back in love with latakia, it is "just right."
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 10, 2011 Mild to Medium Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a blend that I long read about here before I went ahead and bought...you may share the feeling that you look at the reviews of something that seems to have possibilities, but there's always safe bets that you need to restock and there's no money left for possible tries 🙂 Well your pocket might be larger than mine and your budget also, but I've brought up two kids, put both of them through university and had my daughter's wedding to consider and all this as a single parent...soo my resources have been severely limited.

Anyway the upshot of this is that I finally managed to get hold of some Lancer's Slices. I had read all the reviews several times over and was pretty confident this would be a winner.

You bet it was. Wave after wave of smokey, medicinal flavours caressed my senses. I smoked this walking home with my Springer Spaniel on a muddy lane by the side of a wood with no other sounds save the rain on the leaves and Meg splashing in the puddles and it was perfect. Cold evening autumnal scents; September in East Anglia.

A worthy list of stars.
7 people found this review helpful.
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