Lane Limited Paladin Black Cherry

I must say I was very surprised with blend after reading some of the reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The aroma was quite pleasant and the flavor was bold and full but not overwhelming, the down side is that it was a hit an miss at times in the aroma and flavor department not to say one could not enjoy this blend, still well worth the smoke enjoy.

A pretty decent aromatic. If you want an English blend or anything heavy, go elsewhere, but if you like cherries, this may be the tobacco for you. A bit wet and hot if smoked too fast. A very smooth, sweet smoke. A bit of tongue bite too. Not nearly as bad as say Captain Black Royal.

...While I prefer strong Virginia Plug/Flake tobaccos and have for the past 46 years...I am reacquainting myself with many of the old "drug store" tobaccos, and as in some cases, I very much like what I have found...

I smoked Paladin back in the early-mid 1960's and didn't care for overly sweet flavored tobaccos...that said, I recently purchased a pouch of Paladin and this version is produced by Lane, not Pinkerton...The Pinkerton version was a rough cut similar to Granger/Half & Half with a strong cherry flavoring...I find the Lane version "rounder", appropriate moisture, more of a "crimp" type cut, and while still sweet and flavor laden, not so much as it used to be... Frankly, I like it.

While it will not be in my top 15 tobaccos in rotation, I believe I'll keep a tub of it around, as I do with many of the old burley tobaccos..Perhaps worthy of another trial for those wishing to judge differences in this version vs Pinkerton's.

enjoyed in a group 4 or larger size pipe...

...a pipe is to be savored...

I bought this because I was looking for an in your face wham bam "hello, Im Mr. Explosive cherry flavor how are you?" and I got just that. This blend smells great in the pouch and taste just like it smells.

If you want a mild light smoke then this is not for you. But if you want a face smashing cherry bomb then you will like it. I wanted something to change up the routine of my boswells blends. (raspberry cream being my favorite)

If you dont like aromatics, dont buy it (and please dont give it a bad review knowing you dont like aromatics) All in all Im probably gonna buy a tin to have around. If nothing else just so it makes the cabin smell nice!

I would give this 3.5 stars. But, we can't do that.

First of all, any experienced pipe smoker knows that you can't judge a tobacco according to the first smell upon opening a package, but according to how it smokes.

Does this tobacco smell like "Play-Doh" upon opening a pouch? Yes.

But, so what?

It has enough cherry flavor to tell you that it is a cherry flavored aromatic, and enough flavoring beasties to beat down any misbehaving bites. It is also a full bodied smoke.

Quality control is great with this blend. If you smoked it five years ago and bought a pouch, today, it will still be the same blend. It delivers faithfully.

Since I have no idea what pink urinal cakes taste like I won't comment on that. But I will say that I recently tried this tobacco and was pleasantly surprised! Yes, it's cased and has a very pronounced black cherry aroma in the pouch. But once lit it gradually transforms into a very nice burley smoke with only hints of the cherry note wafting in and out. The bottom third of the bowl is a delight. Don't be put of by some of the negative reviews. Give this a try and judge for yourself. Oh, and the room note? Many compliments from everyone who smells this.

I have mixed feelings about most cherry blends. Most cheery blends are horrific and the worst of tobaccos with casings or aromatics. The only cherry blends that I liked were Lane Limited bulk Very Cherry, Captain Black Cherry and Middletons Cherry Blend. I like Paladin a lot. It has a great pouch smell and aroma when smoked. It does taste very similar to Black Cherry Shasta Soda or Cheerwine Soda with a hint of tobacco taste. I happen to like Black Cherry Shasta and Cheerwine so the taste was a great surprise. For a blend that is so heavily cased it is not goopy in the pipe or sticky on the hands. The cherry flavor is very strong and closer in power to Captain Black Cherry or Lane?s Very Cherry but totally unique. This is one to smoke slowly and I would use either a cheap briar or a corncob with this cause even though it does not leave any goop in the pipe the flavor will take over the pipe. If you like a strong cherry flavor that dominates the taste with very little tobacco flavor at all give Paladin a try. If you are looking for more tobacco taste with a good cheery overtone, I would recommend Middleton?s Cherry Blend instead.

In the late 90s when I was just starting out smoking a pipe, I met a guy nicknamed “Ski” who loved this stuff. I tried a pouch back then when I was exploring pipe tobaccos and maybe like a lot of us, I was trying the ‘drugstore’ blends this being one of them. I did not think it was that bad. A few moths ago when I moved to another state I went into your typical cigarette store and saw this one of the few pipe blends they offered and decided for nostalgia sake what the heck and bought a pouch. I just finished this up and honestly and I am not ashamed to admit it but I like it despite its 1.9 star rating. The smell of the pouch is an intoxicating cherry with almost a licorice smell to it. Yes, the taste of this is sort of cough syrup medicine but I knew what I was getting into when I got this. Obviously, I only smoke in dedicated pipes that I have trashed with just about every aromatic in my collection that I have smoked so far. For me it is what I would call a fun tobacco to puff on and remember what fun I had in the beginning when starting out on this great hobby/past time many years ago. Will I buy again, probably not as I have for too many tins left unexplored but was a nice change of pace. So, buy yourself some Luden’s Cherry Cough Drops, pop open a Cherry Coke and enjoy this blend. 😊

Summary: your basic last-century aromatic, it has a topping that burns like napalm but is pleasant-tasting and smells really good.

Your average aromatic takes a simple formula: add white Burley and dark Burley together, throw in some Cavendish, and then spray it down with a sugar-alcohol mixture that contains basic food flavorings. These evaporate as the stuff burns and leave the room smelling good, which apparently fools enough people that they no longer perceive that smoke is present. Paladin burns like an orphanage on Christmas eve, but this is its strength. You light it, forget about it, and guess what -- it is still on fire! For distracted smokers who remember to take a slow gentle puff every thirty seconds, this is a perfect smoke. It tastes like warm Burley soaked in cherry pie filling, and leaves everyone around thinking what a nice old-timey pipe smell that is. You would have to smoke a dumpster worth to get nicotine sickness, and if you can get over the sticky smoke, it is not an unpleasant experience, even if it is not for me.