Update edit: No. This is worse than smoking a ciggarette. Cigarrette have better flavor than this junk. No stars.

It is smooth, flavorful, has the best room note, and burns to the bottom of the bowl with ease. I have my first pipe, a Wiley freehand, with a large bowl dedicated to it.

I like it so much, I keep a pound in the cellar.

With Boswell, Just For Him and a variety of other aromatic blends getting a lot of love, 1Q sort of gets underrated IMO.

I'm not much of an aro. smoker but I've tried a bunch. I personally rarely enjoy heavily flavored Cavendish blends. But when I'm in the mood 1Q is as good as or better than many of the more popular boutique aromatics from Bowsells, Just For him et al.

It's easily as good as any of the Boswell aros and some swear up and down that Boswells Best is just renamed 1Q. I don't know if this is true and I don't care. What I do know is that I find 1Q to be as good as anything out there short of Sillems Black.

If you smoke aromatics and would like to try a classic give 1Q a shot. Just pretend it has a cooler name involving some manner of a Hobbit or Grandma's baked goods and you'll be quite pleased I think.

1Q also makes an interesting addition to English/Balkan blends to create an very enjoyable Aromatic English. Give it a try if you're so inclined and I think you'll find it enjoyable.

Bottom line is this an premium blend? No. But neither are many of the more highly hyped aromatic blends available today and 1Q is a classic that anyone looking for a nice room note and sweet tooth satisfier in a mild and relatively dry smoke should experience.

When I first lit it, it has almost no flavor at all. The smell was very nice but no taste at all.

As I got to about halfway through the bowl, it started to get a nice flavor that was similar to the room note. It is a tobacco that gets better the further down it goes.

I was not expecting much from it but was pleasantly surprised. It's not a strong smoke but a mellow one that you could smoke for an extended period.

Oh sure, it's not what you would call a great tobacco. And for the life of me, I do not know why. It's inexpensive, it's inoffensive, its downright tasty. But something about it just screams "cheap!" at me. Every tobacco shop in America carries this blend under some house name or another, and it's usually to be found amongst the really obnoxious goopy aromatics.

But, no goopy aromatic this. It's got a nice mellow flavor of soft vanilla, and a mild buttery after taste. The aroma is just nice and sweet; the kind of thing that causes people to think of their grandpa. I have heard this blend refered to as "old man tobacco". Maybe I am getting old. But 1Q has the aroma and flavor that many folks expect when they pick up their first pipe.

It shares with Lane RCA a vanilla note that I associate with the the scent of oak casks. This is stronger in the RCA, better integrated in 1Q where it nicely complements the Virginia flavor.

All in all, a very clean, cool smoke with almost no noticeable nicotine kick, just a slight buzz, which is how I like it. Leaves only a very subtle aftertaste, which is another plus. The room note is generic pipe smoke fragrance. Burns well without any bite and leaves a fine darkish ash and at the very bottom a little dottle but no goop. I can see this becoming an unfussy all-day smoke.

Go into any shop in the whole of the USA that sells bulk brands and this will be their biggest seller. So, obviously a lot of people like it. But I struggle with it. It turns to goo in my bowl. It gets hard. It doesn't stay lit. It just doesn't smoke good to me. The taste, unlike the smell, is unexceptional - and for the trouble it causes, I just simply can not fathom why it get sells so well.

Not the worst I have ever had, but far from being a satisfying experience.

I do not like the rating system here as this is not quite so bad as to compare to the worst reviews I would give, but one step up from there is "Somewhat Recomended". I do not recommend this at all but it is not as bad as say Borkim Riff Whiskey (see my review) and I would not put it into the same category as that wretched, useless weed.

My dearest fondest love is reserved for Lane's 1-Q. It is the FIRST time ever that I was never bitten; never was it at any moment bitter or sour; the room note was what it ought to be; and the wife is totally sold on this blend.

I was never so impressed with the cavendishing of a burley. That and the delicate hint of honey is what sold me on this stuff. Yes, you read it right: HONEY. There's nothing "fruity" about this.

Also I have to take exception to the complaints about it gunking up the pipe. I do not know what some people are doing but I have never had any more trouble with 1-Q than I've had with any other tobacco, period! Are you guys coating your bowls with milk and honey before loading up?? :)

It's also true it is THE prime base for your home recipes. Here's mine, bye the by: 4 OZ Lane's to 1 OZ of Velvet and 1 OZ of Kajun Kake (which ought to be rubbed out and slightly dry when blended). Marry this as long as you like, or smoke it then and there. I have one humidor with this blend which I keep on hand at all times. I call it "Thundersnow 13". Now, if you do this, you won't get so 'tired' of 1-Q, as I've noted people saying.

Also note: this competes and beats hands-down the Haunted Bookshop I hear so much about...no comparison at all, really.

For the rest of the time, and I only try aromatics and cavendishes as a sort of desert course, Lane's 1-Q is MINE!