Lane Limited 1-Q

I stopped into my neighborhood B&M. The guy admitted that he was mostly a cigar smoker, but that this (they call it "Ladies Love It") was their best seller. I bought an ounce, and have been in love ever since! If you are an aromatic smoker, how can you not love this?!?! It packs, lights, and smokes easily. It never bites, and it gets even more delicious as you get closer to the bottom of the bowl. Finally, like the title suggests, the ladies DO love it! Never had anything but compliments about 1Q. Plus, you can get it EVERYWHERE (under dozens of different names)!! It is what you'll find in my pouch, and usually in my pipe!

Update (12/26/2012): I got some more of this from my Secret Santa yesterday completely by accident! She only knew that I liked to smoke a pipe and had never bought pipe tobacco before. So, she stopped by her local B&M and got me an ounce of their "24K", not knowing what it was. Anyway you name it, it's still 1-Q! Lucky for me!! Thanks, Santa!!

Lane Limited - 1-Q.

Been on a bit of an aromatic trip lately, and as I love vanilla aro's the most out of that genre I popped 1Q open this morning.

Rather than the tobacco being contained in paper with a card top, this one's paper with a clear plastic disc topping it. It's nicely hydrated, and although it's listed as containing only Golden Cavendish and Virginia, there's a few black pieces too.

The smoke's a good one. The flavour is prominently vanilla with only a mild tobacco taste: honey and hay. I find a good burn requires a bit of effort to initiate, it goes out easily for the inaugurate few minutes. But once a burn has established itself it gives an independent one. At the beginning I have to give my bowl some firm puffs whilst getting it going, and even while I'm sucking like mad, the smoke doesn't bite. The smoke's temperature is the expected one for a Cavendish blend: cool, and the room-note's very nice indeed. If you smoke for nicotine this won't do for you: it's very mild.

Vanilla aromatics have long been a regular addition to my rotation, they normally take the role of the evening smoke. This is one of the best of its kind, it has to have four stars:

Highly recommended.

Just to add another 2 cents worth, Lane 1Q is a pleasant smoke anytime and anywhere. Gently sweet, a room note that is among the best in the industry, and doesn't really ghost a pipe. A great introduction to the hobby of pipe smoking and worthy to be a "go to" blend for anyone who likes a mild aromatic. Most who find this too moist or note a wet bowl bottom might benefit from packing a bit more loosely and puffing a bit more slowly. Properly executed, 1Q is a refreshing and very forgiving tobacco that I enjoy often. It is also a remarkable value.

I tried this blend and found it to be a very friendly smoke. It's tasty, mild and a comfort smoke. it's a blend that can be an everyday smoke. Others have mentioned that it's nothing more than Captain Black. I disagree ..... while it does resemble CB slightly .... it's much smoother ...... another level above. 1-Q is become one of my favorite smokes. I will smoke this daily ... I recommend this to beginners and veterans alike. If you like a tobacco that is mild ..... no bite ...... tasty ...then you should definitely try 1-Q. I understand why this is one of the most popular tobacco blends. It's very yummy! It has a well disguised sweet caramel, vanilla taste but subdued. It is one of my two favorite smokes ...the other being Butternut Burley! The price makes this blend truly a bargain. I will keep it well stocked.

As I mostly smoke virginia/VaPer blends, I'm going to review this based on what it is rather than what it is not.

I usually have a couple of ounces of this in my tobacco bar. It is a nicely flavored cavendish aromatic mixture that is light on the palate but with a pleasant vanilla taste and aroma. Not nearly as flavorful as my other two "standard" aromatics (McClellands #2050 and Stokkebye's French Vanilla), perhaps I smoke this because this is what I started on decades ago. My first tobacco was Captain Black Royal, and this is its higher quality "tobacco shop" counterpart. At my age, romance is where it finds you - usually in the reminiscence phase!

If you're looking for complexity, you won't find it here. It's not geared for that. It's purpose is a simple, mild smoke that is a nice palate cleanser for a later headier blend. Very inoffensive to both smoker and those around him. And if it bites, SLOW DOWN!!!! Everyone that is not adverse to aromatics should try this once. There's a reason it's the best selling premium bulk tobacco.

The Horror---------The Horror.

I need to take a long hard look at myself. I bought a pound of this stuff and I am sorry. Its wet when you open the stylish ziplock bag, its wet when you leave it to dry for a fortnight. It'll burn hot and steamy, halfway down the bowl, then gurgle and put itself out. It is just so wet. It tastes like chemical ---------something and its not an aromatic crowd pleaser either. It will destroy any pipe so only use a dedicated old Pete system pipe cause its easier to wash out with metho. If you like this stuff then I'm sorry I've been so rude and good luck to you.

If you like this blend, you have to admit to yourself that you like captain black. It's frustrating seeing so many people compliment this blend while making disparaging remarks about OTC's like captain black. 1Q IS captain black royal. no if's and's or but's. I myself find it to be very unpleasant. The disgusting sour taste that creeps in halfway through the bowl. How artificial and chemically the flavoring is. How wet/goopy/greasy the tobacco is to the touch. This blend will absolutely ghost a pipe with that sour chemically layer of soot. In my novice days I had to resuscitate many a pipe after exposing them to this blend and other blends like it. My advice is to skip all captain black blends.

Oh with the hype surrounding this blend,,i finally had the chance to try it out during the chicago pipe show..i ended up with 2 pounds purchase eventually!!! the blend is fine ribbon cut that seems to be dipped in molasses, luckely that is not the character it reflects throughout the smoke. very consistant blend, burns without problem leaving fine ash and some times few dottels if u smoke it fast, taste reminds me of captain black some where between gold and royal but this one have a better quality casing to it and lacks the combustion heat that the former blend produce. price is reasonably cheap when purchased in bulk, the room note is acceptable by many and the only draw back it has is the fine cut which makes it burn fast leaving you craving for more. i would smoke this blend slowly as it can hit u back where it hurts (yes your tounge).

If you have ever purchased bulk pipe tobacco from a brick and mortar shop, you have almost certainly smoked Lane Limited 1-Q. But you probably bought something with a proprietary name other than 1-Q, Willshire at Tinderbox, for example. This mixture has been the best selling bulk in the United States for decades under a plethora of names.

Basically, 1-Q is Captain Black Blue with less humectant (propylene glycol). It may be that 1-Q uses a better grade leaf, but personally I doubt it. But it is not as moist as CB Blue, and smoked slowly it leaves less goop in the pipe.

Open the bag and you find a mixture consisting of about 75% ribbon cut golden Virginia and 25% black cavendish. The dark tobacco is blackened Green River Burley. In contrast to Captain Black White (and its bulk sibling RLP-6) this is predominately a light rather than black mixture with a slightly brighter taste.

The sniff test reveals vanilla. Light up, and it is not difficult to get an even light, and you will note in the flavor a combination of vanilla, chocolate, and maybe a touch of caramel. The room note is a real winner variously described as toasting marshmallows or baking cookies. Few if any pipe tobaccos elecit more compliments on the smell from non smokers. Although not as moist as the CB Royal, 1-Q is still a pretty moist mixture, but you have no difficulty keeping it lit with a relaxed puffing cadence.

The taste is milder than the fulsome room note would indicate. When the pipe is done you will find a little gray dottle, but again less than you would expect from a mixture with a decidedly sweet room note. Unless you puff wildly 1-Q does not bite. The nicotine level is well below medium. Many smokers will like this aspect, although those who like a full nicotine kick will find it a bit wimpy in that regard.

Is this a gourmet blend? Of course not. But the chances are that you are in the mood for a hamburger more often than for prime rib. Likewise budget issues may steer you toward the hamburger more often. This bulk blend is easy on the budget. If you are looking for a smoke at the high end of the complexity scale you might well choose something else. Although 1-Q does have a significant coterie of pipesters who smoke it and it alone, I personally find it best as a utility tobacco. I suspect that will be true of many others.

Use pipes dedicated to aromatics, or else choose a cob or meerschaum. 1-Q will ghost a pipe.

Aromatic pipe tobaccos are the best sellers by far. There are many who smoke only this type of pipe tobacco. Likewise there are many who get the majority of their smokes from the aromatic range. Of the remainder, quite a few will puff happily on an aromatic as a change of pace. Each of these groups will likely find 1-Q a satisfying experience.

There is a minor segment of pipe smokers who eschew aromatics. There is probably a larger group of these on this board than in the pipe smoking world at large. Aromatic haters need not try 1-Q!