F & K Lancer Slices

The jar note smells smokey, camp fire, leather, with a slight sun dried tomato tang to it. It’s nice. Long thin strands of almost black broken flakes. I like it. Lancer slices is such a cool name. Packed and lite just fine.

The smoke is very much a smokey, dark, leather, camp fire, musty, wood, slightly herbal, with a tiny little sour tang to it. Little sweetness some spice. It’s rather simple but in a good way. Heavy Latakia with some Virginia pressed and broken up. The taste and flavor is above medium to strong. For me it’s a bit too smokey/creosote and can come off as harsh. If you like Latakia you’ll love this. Burns slow, no bite, little mouth tingle.

After letting the jar air out a bit and smoking it some more it definitely mellowed out. I’ve been smoking this a lot more lately and I find this really good. It’s simple, Virginia and Latakia, but it’s rather nice. Bold in flavor but milder in nicotine.

This one benefits from some aging. I have three jars of this, each from different vintages, and the transformation with age is noticeably beneficial. Of course I don’t know the actual date of manufacture, as these come in bulk, and who knows how long something may have sat at the seller’s end. So this is based solely on how long I’ve had possession of the product. My newest batch is a little over six months old, my middle batch is about three years old, and my oldest batch (now down to just a few bowls) is about six years old. Just sniffing the jars tells the whole story: the youngest is reticent of aroma, the middle is showing some personality, the oldest smells awesome, with a deep, rich inviting aroma.

The range of my ratings also varies according to age: fresh batch 2.8 stars, middle batch 3.1 stars, oldest batch 3.5 stars. I sure do wish I had another untouched jar of the oldest vintage so I could see if ten years bumps this up to true four-star greatness. I thought about seeing if somebody on a forum had an older supply they were willing to trade for. But all along, from my very first tasting notes, I’ve always considered this a poor cousin to Sillem’s Commodore Flake, specifically this being slightly lighter and less complex. They both end up getting nearly the same tasting notes: salted meats or jerky, burnt molasses, graphite and pencil shavings, creamy malt (like a dark lager), and both have a unique flavor that seems to be in the casing that I compare to a dash of Dr. Pepper. Not saying that was really used, although I’ve used root beer before in my casings (unique!), but this is certainly a very specific tasting note that I’ve not encountered in any other of over 600 commercial tobaccos.

Charles Fairmorn was originally a tobacconist and distributor of cigars in Lübeck, Germany, so perhaps Lancer’s Slices and Commodore Flake (made in Germany) share a common DNA (?). For a wonderful evening sipping session they both pair well with Köstritzer Schwarzbier from Germany, or among domestic choices, Shiner Bohemian Black Lager.

Lancer’s does seem to develop more aromatic expression (although my stack of cellared Commodore tins will need a couple more years before they hit that age). I do consider Commodore to be a truly great flake, and that is something quite evident even when you sample it fairly young. Lancer’s needs time to really hint at its hidden potential. Lancer’s is substantially less expensive, so it doesn’t hurt to put aside some for long-term cellaring. I like to keep both on hand. Incidentally, I have a wonderful tweak of Lancer’s which is an effort to bring out more complexity and a little more contribution from sweet, well-aged (10 years!) Virginias. I call that one Sir Lancelot, because he’s a noble, warm-hearted but seductive son of gun.

Lastly: since these are flakes with well-homogenized flavors, I find the wide bowls I normally favor for complex mixtures don’t really add to the experience, whereas a tall narrow bowl helps focus extra deliciousness at the end of the bowl.

F & K
Lancer Slices

Blend notes: “ This almost black tobacco combines the best grades of naturally sweet Virginia and smoky latakia, matured together under pressure. A wonderfully smooth and full bodied mixture, reminiscent of the old Bengal Slices.”

Lancer Slices is an average English. Nothing to write home about. The Latakia takes center stage with a smokiness consistent with what you might expect from Latakia — a musty, slightly sour type that smells better than it tastes. The Virginia is the citrus, dry mouthfeel kind that taste like the tannin of red wine on the back of your tongue.

There is nothing here that is inspired. It’s just an OK blend.

2 out of 4 stars.

Opening the bag of dark brown and black, with a few yellow specs, of broken flake it definitely smells like smokey, campfire, latikia with some fermentation and just a tad bit of VA sweetness.

Very easy to load into the pipe. Easy to light as well with the charring light and final light. Remained lit with occasional light tamping and a fairly regular cadence of puffing.

Overall this blend is very good. I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites or 'wowed' me, but it is very high quality and perfectly balanced. It's a wonderfully pristine dance between the VAs and the Lat. Just when you feel that the smoky, a bit floral, robust flavor of the Lat. will overpower the smoke, the sweet and slightly bready VAs step in. It's an impressive volley that never ends, down to the bottom of the bowl. I thoroughly enjoy this tobacco and think this could easily be on many people's favorites or an all day smoke for them. For me, it's one of many great Lat./English blends, but this one is missing a few notes that I prefer for my English blends, but this doesn't diminish what an excellent tobacco this is.

Having wanted to try this for a while, I purchased 4 oz from 4 Noggins. I had an older tin of the re-release Bengal Slices and wanted to compare the two.

My 4 oz sample had a very appealing bag aroma of musty Latakia along with a faint sweetness. No top dressing or any other aroma noticeable. The broken flakes were rough in appearance and texture and just the way I like broken flakes.

After minimal rubbing out, loading and lighting posed no problem. After a few charring lights to get it going, each bowl I smoked remained lit and smoked to the heal with gentle puffing. The taste was predominantly Latakia but not overbearing in the least. There was the combination of a mild salty-sweetness in the smoke, and with a good mouth feel. After each bowl I was craving another. There was no bite, but only a slight nip to the tongue's tip with heavier puffing. BTW, you don't have to puff hard to extract the beautiful flavor of this tobacco, pure and without any additives detected. I enjoy the room note of Latakia, hence rating it as pleasant. It has an incense/churchy smell which, for me, is appealing.

Comparing it to the re-issued Bengal Slices, which is equally superb, I find Lancer's Slices to be more appealing to my palate. The price point is below what you would pay for a tin of Bengal Slices and that is a benefit. I don't know if F&K Lancer's Slices is the same as the tobacco listed as Charles Fairmorn Lancer's Slices. On the 4 Noggins website it is listed as "F & K Charles Fairmorn Bulk," and on smokingpipes.com simply listed under F & K's fare. I read on an online forum that it is produced by Dan Tobaccos, so who knows!

All in all, an elegant, yet simple blend, and in that simplicity lies its beauty. 4 stars and highly recommended for those who like Latakia.