Charles Fairmorn Lancer's Slices

Just one small word of advice - you better like Latakia before lighting this one up. Starts off great, beautiful melding of the Virginia and Latakia. Rich and smooth, easy to light and keep burning, just don't pack it too tightly.

During the last third of the bowl the Latakia almost becomes more prevalent. It got very pungent and strong, but if you slow down the pace a bit and puff more gently than during the first two-thirds it'll reward you with rich smoothness all the way to the bottom. I really like this blend!

I've now got a pile of this stuff aging. One of my all-time faves.

jiminks (of course) nails this. Especially the virginias where I do get a surprising "citrus note" [tangerine?] and a "touch of grass." The Latakia doesn't quite dominate. This blend is perfectly balanced and the price for this in bulk, divided by the quality and satisfaction level produces a nearly unequaled value. In this blend, I get the best of MM965 in terms of flavour, and I do understand the comparison to Bengal Slices; but this is more minimalistic and crystalline than either of those blends (or any other english blends that I've tried). I'm smoking this now after about 8 months in a jar, and it has mellowed out a bit, but I can see how this would only get better and better with age and perhaps more Virginia dominant/fruity over time. Worth jarring 10 pounds of it!

One of my top favorites, I think of Lancer Slices kind of like the Laphroaig of English tobacco blends: It's rough, straight forward, slightly unrefined, and "rustic", but somehow the realest of the real. Earthy, almost moldy notes, bright and satisfying. Not for everyone, but if you're one of the folks with the taste for it, it's going to be a go-to blend.

Just two ingredients: Va and Lat, so you can imagine it's sweet and smoky, in that order. I love orientals in an English, but LS is so good, you won't miss them. Stripped down, in your face at times, but super enjoyable. I treat it like a Virginia flake (which it is, basically) and smoke it in a (dedicated) tall, narrow-bowled Chacom. I also love it in a crappy 3 dollar cob, too.

Appearance-wise, this comes in long shreds of black, dark brown, and yellow stripes. I have seen flakes as long as a foot when I have bought it in bulk. Comes pretty dry, which is perfect for this blend. Smoke it slow.

Bag note is a very aged, almost moldy-like, earth note with some campfire going on. The fragrance belies just how smoky it is when you out a flame to it. Nicotine-wise, I find it to be fairly strong, in contrast to some other reviewers opinions here. This is probably because I only smoke one pipe a day, on average. My nic tolerance is probably not as high as others. Still stronger than most englishes I am used to, probably because of the Va proportion, I suppose.

Lancer's Slices is a Good Thing.

Black, pliable flakes which come at the perfect moisture content. No particular care is needed in filling the pipe, and the flakes take light easily and burn steadily to a fine grey ash.

Just two ingredients, but both are of high quality. I never managed to smoke Bengal Slices and therefore cannot comment on the similarity of taste. Penzance it is not: it has nowhere near the subtle complexity of that mixture. The nearest approximation in my experience is Gawith's Balkan Flake, though Lancer's Slices is heavier in latakia.

When in the mood for a simple latakia heavy smoke, there is little that is better than these slices.

First impressions: Meaty, sweet and smokey. I get a little bit of a floral or fruity note at the top of each puff. Is that the Virginia? I can't quite place it, reminds me of a Lakeland. According to the description it's not flavored. Maybe that's just the herbs in the Latakia? Having grown up with a lot of campfires and spent a fare amount of time trying to keep the smoke out of my eyes and throat (though it annoyingly seemed to follow me everywhere) I don't mind a bit of the woody smokiness but ive had my share of that taste already and I'm not that enamored with Latakia in general because of it. I need a lot more in a blend to make it interesting. For me, this can be a fantastic winter smoke but not a daily.

Update: few more bowls, actually the Latakia seems pretty well balanced with the Virginia. Kind of growing on me.

Lately I’ve been revisiting some blends that I haven’t smoked in years as I’m packing up my cellar in preparation for a move.

Lancer’s Slices is somewhat reminiscent of Penzance in terms of the quality and amount of Latakia therein. However, there is no similarity in terms of the Virginias. LS has them all beat with the use of very sweet and flavorful Virginias which I am assuming must have been stoved for added effect. The interplay between these special Virginias and the tangy, piquant Cyprian Latakia is just sublime.

I have only one jar left so I better order some more as I don’t see this one lasting for very long.

This blend, with 10 years aging, is fabulous. I opened a jar and found an inviting aroma. Loading and lighting went well. At first match, Lancer's Sliced revealed a soft, smooth flavor. The Virginias and the Latakia both shine through with neither one dominating. I enjoyed this when it was fresh, but aging makes it more enjoyable, more scrumptious.

For being just two components at an amazing price, this is an excellent blend for Latakia fans!

It's pretty straightforward, the Virginia is slightly tangy and grassy, with some sweetness which is rather understated. The Virginia could be a little more forward in my opinion, and that's my only critique (and easily remedied by adding some straight Virginia of your own). The real star of this blend is the Latakia, which falls somewhere between sniffing the finest leather and chewing beef jerky. There's a bit of a resinous quality to the Latakia that is not unwelcome. This Latakia is of the meaty variety, there is no incense quality to it as in say Nightcap or HH Vintage Syrian. Smokes incredibly cool with a dark brooding characteristic. Very creamy and smooth.

In the bag, it's a consistent dark brown with with occasional tan ribbons mixed in. The shaggy slices make it look a lot like a bag of beef jerky, which is amusing since smoking it reminds one of that very food product.

The closest blend I've experienced to this is Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake, which I also like quite a bit. This is better in my opinion, as the Latakia is slightly less resinous, the moisture is about perfect out of the bulk bag (unlike the Gawith which is dripping wet in the tin), and the value is unbeatable! Smokes as good as anything from a top dollar tin, at bulk prices.

Wouldn't be everyone's idea of an excellent smoke, but anybody that likes Latakia blends that are so creamy they feel like you could chew the smoke, this is about the best thing out there. I intend to stockpile large quantities of this, age should make Lancer Slices among the best Latakia smokes that have ever existed.

The best VA/Latakia mix out there. I'm not sure what the proportion of leaf is regarding the Latakia and Virginia, but the blend is not compromised at all by the lack of Orientals.

I find that some other similar mixes, including Commonwealth and Balkan Flake sometimes smoke flat without the Orientals, but I don't get that here. The flake, which is almost black in color and comes in a rubbed out, almost splintered state, is flavorful and hearty enough that I feel satisfied after a medium sized bowl.

You can get a ton of this at a good price. Great stuff.