Lane Limited Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed

Lightly sweet nutty burley. As with just about any pipe tobacco this really improves with age. Letting the blend dry a wee bit will also improve the flavour as well. It is said that rum is added to this blend, though it may be hard to detect I believe it does add a certain mellowing to the delicious tobacco. Just because this is an old favourite from yesteryear doesn't mean it's not good. It's wonderful, and I highly reccomend it.

On my recent odyssey of burley tobaccos I happened upon this jewel. It's hard to believe that over the years I have passed over this time and again. The crumbly cut makes for an easy load with no tamping required (or recommended). A few lights to get it going and off we go...Edgeworth has the characteristic nutty, smooth taste of burley, but has an edge reminiscent of virginia. Smooth, cool smoking (if not pushed), good room note, and a nice level of nicotene, all make for a very enjoyable and relaxing smoke..Recommended.

UPDATE: Edgeworth RRd will also survive my culling of the four star rated tobaccos. This is an American classic and it will only take one smoke to figure out why. I alternate between this and Prince Albert for my medium burley. Most of the time, I'd tell you I prefer PA but in point of fact this is a much more complex blend and to my tastes PA and Edgeworth are about at a dead heat. A great classic burley smoke right out of the can, readily available at a very good price, with a lot of value for the money. Smoking qualities far surpassing many much more expensive blends. As far as hybrids, the Edgeworth Toasted Cavendish was OK at best. For a truly remarkable Edgeworth RR hybrid, mix it 1:1 with Five Brothers. Now that, by God is a Codger Burley.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I went on an Old School, Over the Counter, Burley safari starting in about September. No such undertaking could be complete without an icon of classic American burley like Edgeworth RR. True to the era, there was not a lot of complexity with this blend. That won't be a factor though if straight burley is enough to keep you interested. When I opened the large tub, I was greeted with the typical nutty, bread dough, burley smell with a very unassuming casing smelling something like cocoa or instant coffee, almost too light to be detected. The cut was different and it kind of reminded me of Grape Nuts cereal (texture wise at least). Once flame was applied, it really began to shine though, after a charring light and a subsequent tamp, we were off. True to the breed it was not a sickening sweet aromatic type smoke, if anything it was almost a neutral room note with just a hint of sweetness and casing. Basically, it smoked and smelled very similar to the tin aroma. That's what I've really learned to like about burley blends, they are a nice medium between the cloying, sickening sweet aromatic and the musty, leathery, smokey English blends. The burley blends are nice and middle of the road, no scented candle smell but you're never mistaken for a road repair crew either. The room note was typical of a burley but much fuller than, say, Carter Hall. Every once in a while the chocolate/coffee casing peaked through but never seemed to be pronounced or lingering. A full blend, old reliable, all day, every day smoke that smoothly smoked to the bottom of the bowl and quickly jumped out as the front runner of my burley excursion. Also typical of the breed it is very low maintenance and wouldn't bite if you asked it to. After smoking half of the tub I decided to experiment with some hybrid home-blending. Nothing too complex or expensive. I ran to Walgreens, got some toasted cavendish and mixed 2 parts Edgeworth to 1 part toasted cavendish. THIS STUFF rocks. The toasted cavendish managed to bring out a bit more of the burley creaminess and while what I am smoking will never be mistaken for an aromatic, it took great and made it that much better. While the toasted cavendish gives it a bit more complexity, the burley is still the star of the show and the toasted cavendish basically gives the effect of a little heavier casing and a mildly sweet, creamy, (but still nutty and kind of doughy) taste (without being too over the top.) All in all, by itself or with the toasted cavendish, Edgeworth RR is a winner, highly recommended. One of those blends that you may or may not smoke for years at a time but will always eventually get back to.

Coming back to the pipe I read many reviews here. Pipestud seems to be the man so I ordered a ERRd tin. One week later I have found my go to blend. I tried Half and Half, hated it. Carter Hall and Prince Albert were OK, but in my novice taste I find ERRd really tasty. No bite and I know I am drawing too hard too fast. Whatever the casing is I find it absolutly to my liking. My better half even said it smells good!(in the tin and burning) Is that a slight chocolate smell and taste? Very subtle, very nice. Nutty burley very tasty. Anyone can not do wrong have some ERRd in the rotation. If you find otherwise you can always send it to me! Thanks go out to pipestud and smokey for you reviews. 07-17-2011 OK , now that my tin of ERRd has aged three more years: Why oh why do they not make this anymore? I am going to have to try the Altidus copy to see if it is even close.

I've been smoking a pipe for more than 38 years, yet somehow had never tried this classic tobacco. On the recommendation of Bob Runowski ("Morleysson"), a person whose opinions on tobacco I respect a lot, I ordered a 14 oz. can.

ERRd in the can is a mix of medium and dark browns with a slightly sweet, somewhat chocolatey aroma. I have heard a rumor that this blend is cased with chocolate but have no idea if that is true. It comes in a rubbed out cut that packs almost as well as a cube cut and makes it very simple to pack, light, and smoke. It has a very good burn rate; you won't need many relights with this one.

The flavor can best be described as a crisp burley nuttiness. In spite of whatever casing it may have, it is not a sweet tobacco. The flavor stays consistent most of the way down the bowl, although I did note a slight bitterness right at the bottom in a couple of pipes. I smoked this blend in a variety of pipes and found it works best in a larger bowl.

One excellent point for this quality tobacco is price. I purchased a 14 oz. can from JR Cigars for $19.95. With many blends exceeding the $30/lb. mark that is an excellent buy.

Scores for Edgeworth Ready Rubbed: Flavor-16 of 20; lighting and burn-9 of 10; value-10 of 10. 35 points gets ERRd a **** rating and the highest score I've ever given an OTC tobacco. It has found a permanent home in my tobacco cabinet.

Out of the big blue tin, Edgeworth arrives a little damp. Some drying time and some further rubbing out certainly helps.

After a quick gravity fill, the slightly sticky Burley cube cut burns steadily, although several charring lights may be required. The soft, slightly sweet casing (tastes like chocolate to me) adds a touch of sweetness to the mouth, but overall, a classy Burley taste prevails. The room aroma is beyond tolerable and may even be fairly pleasant to non-smokers.

To me, Edgeworth is the best OTC Burley blend available today, but Prince Albert is an extremely close second because it burns much better and it finishes a little less sweet.

Within the Americana OTC Burley blend genre, Edgeworth effortlessly earns 4 stars.

I ordered a tin of this from JR's not expecting much and certainly not expecting it to be anything like it's cousin, the sliced version.

What I found it to be was just plain good ol' burley. The cut is somewhere between a crimp cut and cubed burley. It packs and likes easily and smokes cool and pretty much biteless as far as burley tobaccos are concerned.

It costs a bit more than Prince Albert. However, it burns a lot slower and cooler. It's a higher quality of burley than that used in Prince Albert.

For those who like classic American burley blends, this is worth your time. Ounce for ounce, I believe it to be the best cubed burley available and I smoke it often.

Hands down the best OTC in my opinion, in that it doesn't smoke like an OTC. PA and CH are great but when they're done they're pretty much done. This lingers like a "high class" blend.

I talked to someone at a local B&M who said he heard from an old blender for Edgeworth that they most definitely add chocolate. But this has a solid burley flavor that isn't marred by any sort of aromatic character. As with all OTCs, much better out of the tub than out of the pouch. Spicy and delicious. I would almost guess there is a dash of perique in this but it is not the case.

Edgeworth first showed up for me in Gene Hill's outdoor writings (columnist for Field and Stream) as his pipe tobacco and I remember it, but never tried it, when I started the pipe in the '70s.

I always have a change of pace tobacco in my rotation that is either a typical English or a burley. I tried Granger and Kentucky Club (burned) and still use Half and Half. I also kept a supply of C&D's Crooner on hand, and liked its peppery taste, but tired of the difficulty in packing it and keeping it lit. Besides, there always seemed to be so much "dust" and bits in it.

Edgeworth is what I wish Crooner were. It is superior to the other OTC blends I have tried. ERR is close to a cube cut, but packs and lights much more easily. Some have described its smell as chocolate or "grassy," the latter being closer, but it reminds me of bale of fresh hay; grassy, yes, but pleasant, earthy and redolent of the outdoors.

It packs and lights easily; stays lit; offered no tongue bite and burned to a grey ash; a nutty, burley tobacco that is what it is. I don't see it as "spicy" and there sure is shootin' no detectable rum taste. Just an earthy, dependable burley that is mild and fragrant. Smells good too. This stays in my rotation.