Smoker's Pride Black Cavendish

One of the wearisome issues of being a pipesmoker is that well-wishing but utterly clueless neighbors and friends always want to give you tobaccos to try. Things can get really interesting when they want to hang out with you while you smoke it to see how much you love it. Enter Smokers Pride Black Cavendish. "Oh, Goodness!", thought I in despair, but bravely putting on an "I just sucked a lemon" smile... a bagged black Cavendish gooper! What's next, dirty socks rolled in chocolate???

I was concerned over nothing. I smoke an oz or two a year of Lane's BCA, not because I love it but because it brings back memories of when I was a beginner. I've started many a new smoker on this tobacco to give them a start towards better blends in the future. BCA holds a special place in my heart, and this Smokers Pride, also made by Lane's, is the spitting image of BCA. It's not goopier or different in taste. It's vanilla bag aroma is no different. Granted, it needs a little bit of drying time or it'll smoke too wet - same as BCA. Even dried, it leaves some goop in the pipe and will ghost a pipe faster than a snake can eat a mouse. But if you enjoy Lane's BCA and like to stock up on tobacco to save a few bucks, you can buy this instead. I would have no prayer on my best day of discerning this from BCA in a blind test. I intend to steer all newbie smokers to this one unless they're cigarette or cigar smokers. It's a very nice inoffensive lightly flavored vanilla blend that is lower in goop than many aromatics. It won't set the world on fire but there are other blends for that purpose. This is just to get you started on your journey, and you might find yourself smoking an oz or two each year even when you've graduated to higher quality tobaccos. Oh, and this is based on 3 bowls worth... it's not like you need to dissect this to figure it out.

...Normally not a smoke I would care for, as a lot of these tobaccos are far too sweet, too much casing/topping, and, too much PPG...

However, this Black Cavendish does not have the "over-the-top" additives as many like it do. Several times a year I get a desire to smoke this type tobacco and this fulfills my need adequately.

Certainly the price is reasonable and it smokes well in any size pipe...although I prefer a group 4 size or larger. Could be an all-day smoke as well.

Definitely worth a try if you're a fan of Black Cavendish or for those wishing to experiment a bit.

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

UPDATE: Frankly, this tobacco is almost an exact copy of BCA...

I always laugh when I read a review that states the reviewer had received a giant bag of cheap pipe tobacco and was forced to smoke some in the presence of the gift giver out of courtesy, respect etc... Well here I am fatzing around in my office when my girlfriend comes running in, bouncing around the room like she won the lottery saying she had found this giant bag of BC while at the mall and how good it smelled.. Thanks Hunny!!! (rolling my eyes) So here I am with my gallon size bag of BC waiting for her to leave but she won't of course until I pack a bowl so she can see my amazement at her find of the century. She picks out my largest (and most expensive) pipe, an Ardor, and hands it to me. At this point I'm almost convinced this is a joke but I play along since I know the two potential outcomes. 1. I resist and Dr Jekyll transforms from a bubbly 30 year old happy blonde into a crying, angry and resentful Mr Hyde. 2. I swallow my pride, burn my tongue and ensure I "get some" (or at the very least avoid option #1). I pack a bowl and light it, to my amazement BC is a bagged and slightly PG'd BCA which makes sense since Lane manufactures both. Really not bad at all! Marshmallow / Chocolate taste and aroma. No bite! If your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband etc. brings a bag home, do the right thing and give BC a try, it's not bad at all and I'm sure will make a great mixer.

This is a nice Black Cav. Toasty and sweet with a nice nuance of vanilla. There is just a hint of a lightly applied chocolate flavor. Not the richest in flavor that I've tried, but it has plenty enough to enjoy. Just a small amount of stickiness. Not enough to cause any trouble. A nice smoke all by itself.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in flavor. Flavoring is mild. Needs no drying time. Burns well with no goop.

All - in - all, a darn fine tobacco for what you pay. Very similar to BCA, at about half the price. One of the few 'true' pipe tobaccos I can find locally.

As with some other reviewers, I'm not much of an aromatic smoker. I can't even remember the last time I smoked a bowl of this by itself. I do, however, keep a stock of it on hand at all times. I use it quite frequently to adjust blends that are surprisingly strong or just to add a bit of sweetness to a blend for a one-time smoke or, in some cases (if it improves the flavor for me), each time I smoke that mixture. I have also used it to slow down the burn on some blends.

The topping in this BC is mild so it doesn't overpower whatever it is added to, isn't overly moist, and burns well. I have found that isn't the case with some others brands. Smoker's Pride Black Cavendish is a valuable asset for blending and is reasonably priced to boot.

Recommended.

On Tuesday at our pipe club meeting this was the mystery tobacco. Thrown in a jar and passed. Everyone in the group misidentified the tobacco. Most thought it was a bulk Snuff lite blend. Some felt it was Lane. A few grabbed to the idea it was a Peterson blend long forgotten. First time I tried it. It packed very nice with a gravity drop. Lit fast and kept going to the end. Little tamper was needed. Smokes very sweet with heavy smoke. We really filled up the room. The ladies all liked the room note. I could not smell any but hey I spend more time smoking than smelling. No moisture to speak of here. In all a very good tobacco. Several members went to the smoke shack were it is sold and bought them out. I guess it was a hit.

A wonderful tobacco! Not very strong, but that's the ONLY complaint from me. Tastes wonderful, smells great, and makes the whole room smell of sweet vanilla and hazelnuts. This tobacco couldn't bite if it tried! And the fact that a 1 pound bag of this stuff goes for about $10 is just icing on the cake! Seriously, go out an pick a bag of this stuff up. I am confident that this blend can work its way into anyone's rotation if only as a filler. Cheers!

This is my first tobacco review so I am nit trying to give a fancy or sophisticated review. This is a very smooth and tasty tobacco. Even getting aggressive in smoking it, this blend does not bite. The vanilla flavor is not overpowering and stays pretty much the same from beginning to end. It is my go-to blend that I never tire of. Three stars.