Lane Limited Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed

There is a sort of old time variety store near where I live that I sometimes go to and pick through an old stock of Dr. Grabow pipes. They have obviously been on the rack at least twenty years. Last time I was there, I inquired about pipe tobacco. After detecting my lack of interest in the usual blends one finds in such a store, the proprietor said "I have something to show you" and proceeded to pull from behind the counter an unopened can of Edgeworth Ready Rubbed. Like the pipes, this can is at least twenty years old. It seems someone down on his luck brought in in and traded it for cigarette tobacco. $20 Canadian later I figured the can must be worth at least something. Upon peeling off the disposable metal lid I was greeted with an earthy-sweet mince-meat smell and a dark, cube cut leaf. I knew I was in for something interesting. It tastes pretty much like a burley with a dark spicy undertaste and is unlike anything else I have tried. I like the taste, it is earthy, but honestly find this a little harsh, even a filtered pipe didn't smooth it any. It also packs an incredible nicotine punch, and I spin for a few hours after just one bowl. It wasn't goopy, but it wasn't as dry as the age of the tin might suggest. Perhaps when the tin has been open awhile it will mellow. The can states it was "Made under authority of Larus & Brother Company Richmond, Virginia by The Pinkerton Tobacco Company, Owensboro, Kentucky". I understand it is now made by Lane, so I would be curious to try some of it's current incarnation. In the meantime, it's an interesting curiousity to share with fellow pipe smokers, if only to watch their eyes pop out from nicotine.

The so called tin description is not accurate plus this product has changed and been reformulated. I can't detect any fire cured or virgina in this blend, only rough cube cut burley with a gentle flavoring note. I have read this description elsewhere but think it is a "typo" from the manufacturer confusing it with Edgeworth Slices. This used to be large rough cut peices of leaf packed as a solid compressed block in the tin. It was more moist with a heavier and different aromatic flavor giving a more round and sweeter (not cloying) flavor with a cigar leaf-like note. I preferred the older version better, in fact I esteemed it to be one of the best and unique burley blend around. Today it is much drier and smokes more closely like Sir Walter Raleigh regular. I think Lane may have reformulated this to be more like the "sclices" version. All in all it is a pleasant blend that will be especially appreciated by "Burley Nuts" but has lost its distinction in my opinion.

-Recommended for burley fans