Lane Limited Paladin Black Cherry

I like this Black Cherry blend when mixed 50/50 with Prince Albert. The 50/50 combination was recommended on alt.smokers.pipes newsgroup. The mix I call "Papal". It is an all day smoke and is very forgiving on the tongue.

When you open the pouch, there is the expected sweet cherry aroma. It smells good enough to eat. Mine came a little dry so some hydration was in order. It packed well and tokk a light reasonably well. You might think this is another cherry Cavendish with no real tobacco flavor; you would be wrong. This tobacco is very much Burley-forward. The black cherry seems more sweet than cherry. If you know how to smoke aromatics, there is no harshness. The smoke is thick and the room note is a nice balance between Burley and cherry. BTW, the wife does not care for the aroma so this one goes outside. But, to be fair, she does not cre for anything with Burley in it. So, this should tell you that this is not simply another Cavendish cherry bomb. This will ghost your pipe so you would do well to set aside a pipe just for this. The flavor stays the same down to the last puff. The ash is just a little clumpy, but thee was very little moisture left at the bottom of the bowl. And, in a strange way, this does go with coffee more than what you might first think. I do, however, tend to smoke this more at night. I think the Scandinavian Tobacco Group has saved and improved yet another classic. If you tried this stuff from a decade or two ago, you really should give this another try and see that this is not chemical-laced stuff from a few years ago. Besides, many of us started smoking a pipe with this blend and it is always nice to go down memory lane. And, all true Burley files should smoke this at least once.

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.

This is not the goopy, sickish blend of years ago. The black cherry flavor has been toned down, the moisture level is much better, and this has become a very good aromatic blend. It packs well, burns without many relights, and does not bite. A flavorful smoke but not overpowering. I keep a tin of this around for a pleasant change from vanilla blends, Carter Hall, and Captain Black Royal.

Update- 11/10/2018 I just loaded this in an unsmoked GBD Prehistoric poker shape. The harshness I expected from a new, uncaked pipe was not present. PBC delivered the same mild blackcherry flavor that it does in a cob or a well seasoned pipe. BTW, the pipes I have smoked this in have not presented and ghost flavoring when other blends are smoked, including burley blends. Paladin Black Cherry is rapidly moving closer to the top of my favorites list. It has even outclassed some of my favorite Latakia blends.

If you're a fan of non-sweet aromatics just avoid this blend and save the anguish. But for me inexpensive and relatively plentiful Paladin from Pinkerton is just the "nutz on the sundae." Especially if you: a) desire your cherry blend on the sweeter side and/or b) want a tobac you can mix with genetic burley or non-aromatic leaf to give it just the bit of cherry flavour you crave.

For all intents and purposes Paladin is most useful as a condiment type cherry flavour additive tobacco. A previous reviewer suggested mixing it with Prince Albert or other burleys and that's an excellent alternative; I've done the same with Carter Hall and Mixture 79 to great satisfaction. Even mixed it with Red Cap, a coarsely flavored tobac concoction that tastes more like cigarette than pipe tobacco. For me it managed to make the rest of the Red Cap pouch smokable.

So I puff Paladin straight as I am right now in a Great Dane Bent cob reserved especially for cherry blends. Or, keep it around as a trouble shooter mixer just like you would Tabasco or Frank's RedHot Sauce on the kitchen table.

Some of our purist non-aromatic reviewers rate Paladin as a pouch of "glop" but for we lovers of sweet aromatics its a cheap, pleasurable if not versatile date. Happy hunting.

Bought my first pouch of this after smoking luxury pipe tobacco for 10 years. Apparently its under new management with Lane Limited. Personally I'm extremely pleased. The black cherry note is awesome. This is my favorite aromatic flavor from the old time OTC blends. Delicious Burley with nutty, creamy coffee notes enveloped in a strong dead on black cherry topping. Delicious! The flavor rings true through every bowl. This is the perfect black cherry top note. Pairs gorgeously with the Burley. Perfect for lazy summer days or anytime really. Room note is a crowd pleaser. Topping seems to weaken slightly off over time but only serves to showcase the Burley a little more. Lots of sugar here so be smart about your cadence.

One of the first tobaccos to be incinerated in my pipes (1972)was Paladin Black Cherry. And it certainly has not disappointed me over the years. In fact, i have recently started migrating it with a few Virginia blends such as full virginia flake. The only other Black Cherry that comes close to this IMO is Boswell's blend. The pouch and room note brought back many fine memories of times these last 49 years. I found as before, no tongue bite if smoked properly, and an absolutely enjoyable smoking experience. The black cherry flavor and aroma are just outstanding, and the aftertaste makes me want to immediately fill up another bowl. Try mixing it with your favorite Virginia sometime for an interesting result. I have also recently did a 50-50 with Paladin and Amphora Virginia with similar pleasing results

This is actually a re-write of my original review on Paladin Black Cherry.I've been off imports for a long time..my return to american burley blends made a permanant comeback,especially Paladin.When I think of aromatics I think of pipe clogging,chemical flavor,overly-moist,quick burning tobaccos with not enough flavor to enjoy past the few puffs.Paladin is consisted of Cavendish and Burley and the pouch aroma has a cherry smell that will make your mouth water.Upon your first and only lighting the hearty cherry casing is very evident but not in a bad way,after several puffs the cherry flavor mellows out letting the burley/cavendish tobaccos get it's share of flavor.once you get to probably the lower 1/2 of the bowl the cherry dissapears and burley shines through with a smooth nutty flavor that lasts through the rest of the bowl.In my opinion I think the cavendish is cased and the burley is non-cased, and this is one of the few aromatics that doesn't burn my tongue(aromatics tend to make pipesmokers 'puff happy' or as a result of the casing).A highly underrated blend I highly recommend!