Tinder Box Wilshire

So I hear that this is the same stuff as 1-Q, which I've never had a chance to have, but I smoked a bowl of this stuff that was about a year old from a friend who came over with it. I had to say I really liked it. It was a really earthy and smooth blend and I enjoyed it till I got to the dottle and it turned nasty, but most tobacco does. I'm not giving it 4 stars because I went out and got some new Wilshire from Tinderbox and it's taste was a little more bland, more dominated by the cavendish and not a real tobacco flavor. But I'm assuming if you let it age a bit, the taste factor will increase. Cheers.

UPDATE:

After 3 months of aging in a shoe box in the closet, the sweetness level has gone down and a very smooth, non biting aromatic has taken shape. I really like it. Taste did change when I got to about 1/2 the bowl, so I dumped, but overall a quality bulk tobacco.

I too tried this early in my pipe smoking career. The Tinderbox chain had several shops in Florida in the late 1980s.

This is indeed Lane's 1Q, and it is a mild, mellow, somewhat fruity and sweet blend. If you like mild Cavendish blends like this, it is decent.

It didn't take me long to realize I prefer more natural blends, so my dalliance with this was short.

That this is Lane's best seller tells us where the pipesmoking community was back in the 1970s and 1980s. Even today when the average person thinks of pipe tobacco, they think of some vanilla laced concoction such as Captain Black, 1Q, RLP-6, or BCA.

So while I never became a huge fan of this, being able to walk into a store that primarily sold pipes and tobacco was worth the trip all by itself.

Lane 1-Q is a goopy blend like most of their other stuff, heavily coated in glycerin, perfumed, wont dry out- ever. It's the best selling blend at my local shop and I'm told, in the US. I find it to be awful, little flavor, fouls up your pipe, burns hot and wet, etc. If you're reading this, you know there are a hundred better, cleaner tobaccos to smoke. It's interesting that McClelland has begun to 'copy' some of the Lane bulk blends (as the whole pipe tobacco industry seems to be collapsing, at least temporarily). The McClelland version of 1-Q is better, as McC does not use all that glycerin. Look for it, and other McClelland tobacs in bulk- a better alternative to Lane.

To be fair, I am a novice and this was one of the first blends I've tried. I'm still trying different blends and I haven't found a 'favorite' yet, but I would put this as my #2 choice of four blends I've tried so far. It's not overly flavored, the smell and room note is pleasant, but the smell seems to hang around in my pipe more than the others I've tried. To me, it smokes a bit hotter than other blends, and if smoked too fast, it leaves me with a bit of tongue bite. I think I'd buy more of this blend in the long run, especially once I've gotten more experience in pipe smoking and can enjoy the subtle nuances of the blend.

Running across this from 2005 (18 years old), I compared it to my 7-year-old Lane 1-Q... it's exactly the same...

Package note of tart fruit, mild vanilla, and a caramel background. The brown and black ribbon cut is moist and refuses to dry out. Burns moderately with few relights. The strength is mild and nic is very mild. Flavoring is medium, with notes of Vanilla and caramel. Taste is mild to medium and consistent, with notes of lemon grass, tart stewed fruit, and a little smoky. Virginia is leading with cavendish supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

A nice aromatic. Prefer other similar mixtures that have less of a taste of chemicals. This one will do in a pinch.

I have found this to be wet candy! I will give this two stars simply because it can be obtained at the local drug store, aka Tinderbox.