Charles Fairmorn Lancer's Slices

A man's tobacco, not for beginners, strong but flavorful.Nice amount of smoke ,stays lit even with a slow sip. U Don't have to think about this one ,light it and go, ending in white ash.Creamy, earthy, just a touch of sweetness. I do feel this will bite if you over puff this one

Update 1- 11/17/11- Some more age and the bite is back? This just doesn't smoke well on my tongue ( agree with reviewers "DK" & "tabaco" from 2010). I also feel that the complexity is not here, some Orientals would help. Still a solid 2 1/2 stars

Update 2 2016-08--08 I just tried a stash from early 2013 and it is flat , no flavor, time has not been good . Don't bother to cellar this one- 2 stars

This is the first Charles Fairmorn mixture I ever tried, and didn't really got excited about it with the first trials. A broken flake mixture of Latakia and Virginia, with intense smokey flavor. Very heavy for my taste, it does not present any sweetness at any point and the Latakia appear particularly harsh. It specifically has an intense acidity/sharpness in the beginning of the bowl. The Virginia does not make its presence very perceptible. Perhaps after some less healthy meals, than these I have this period, I may like it more. If still it is combined with a good whisky, the results may be even better. All these, hypothetically. In any case, I didn't go crazy about it.

Having smoked English blends for 4 decades, I know what I like. Bengal slices was perhaps my all time favorite. All I can say about Lancer Slices is OUCH!! Much like the review from Elcid, I'm gonna stand outside the crowd on this one. Based on its contents, you would think think it would be on my hit parade. The two seperate occasions I smoked it met with the same results. Within minutes of lighting a bowl my toungue would actually swell, and my taste buds would numb. The effects lasting for more than 24 hours. Never, before or after, have I experienced this in any blend. Far worse than bite, more like an allergic reaction.

I wouldn't let my review stop you from trying it. Based on others reviews, I wish it worked for me.

BBQ smoke was all I thought of today as I smoked this blend all day to review. I love a good English blend but I like to taste the sweet notes of the VA and or other compnents in an English. I did not get that with this blend. it was like smoking straight Latakia. While some may like this I am not one of them, I want a blend that brings all the tobaccos together in harmony. Quite frankly, I don't think this one does that at all, it's all about the latakia. It is smooth, it is a full creamy smoke that behaves very well in the pipe. I think the tobacco in the pouch looks and feels very quality, a dark brown and black mix of straight long ribbon cut flakes. It smells very peaty in it's puch note and my mouth waters smelling it. It came at a good moisture content to open and smoke and it did smoke quite cool and down to a dark grey ash to the bottom with minimal relights. It smoked very dry and had no dottle when done. Everything about it would be perfect if they had just let the VA come though and offered its sweetness to the blend. The room note was tolerable to strong but that is typical of this type of blend. I can only recommend it if you like a very latakia dominated type of blend but out of four stars, it is only a two in my book.

Overall an okay smoke, ignites quickly for a slice, burns fairly well, and the slices pack quite nicely.

Is it akin to Old Ironsides . . . sort of, maybe second or third cousins. Is it akin to the celebrated Bengal Slices . . . not really. Penzance replacement . . . different solar system, you'll need a higher power telescope.

There is a nice wisp of natural Virginia sweetness that comes through and a good amount of Latakia, which I really enjoy. Often, most blends of this ilk are right up my alley, all very good stuff.

I found the pH varies quite a bit from batch to batch. During my first encounter the tongue did not agree with this blend at all, even though it combusted quite cool and my test pipe Charatan was humming along as per usual; surely old reliable would never let me down especially after a thorough cleaning.

I can somewhat recommend this blend; however, it's not memorable rather mediocre and tends to bite. There are many others which I'd pack before I reached for this again.