Lane Limited 1-Q

This is a standby of the american culture for a reason. It's a really good aromatic. Plain and simple, the ultimate good drugstore blend (if such thing exists). Sweet flavor, nice room note, burns hot and bites at the least over-puff. Wife loves the smell. What more can I say, 1-Q is definitely one of those blends everybody should keep a supply of, even if it's only an occasional smoke.

The major stepping stone from the drugstore blends to buying premium tobaccos. I've smoked plenty of this stuff over the years and it's not bad for what it is...a room pleaser. It's for the smoker who thinks a pipe tobacco should smell good for others and has an aroma that non-smokers just think of as what pipe tobacco should smell like. It is moist and is heavily cased but lights easily and I never have a problem keeping it lit until the end. I definately prefer it in a meerschaum over a briar because it smokes much sweeter and drier and really aids in the meer coloring process. I can honestly admit I always keep a few ounces on hand during the year for when I want to smoke in public or not have to think about what I'm smoking. It's also mild enough to start the day off with a cup of coffee and the two interract well. Inexpensive too. A pound at Lil Browns Smokeshop on the web is 13 USD.

For most folks this is the codger blend most people think of. Good all day smoke with nothing exciting, low nicotine, and pleasant room note. I recommend trying this at least a few times since it's such an iconic blend albeit average at best.

I was waiting to taste Lane Limited - 1 - Q and the end of summer seems to be a nice period for this. It is an elegant aromatic blend. Vanilla and caramel flavors are well expressed in the smoke and some other aromas from Virginia, like grass, sugar, or citrus, are present. The moisture was a little high so it was necessary to dry it a little bit, but it smoked well. A recommended aromatic blend for a long and relaxing smoke.

This is always my recommendation for an entry level tobacco for new pipe smokers. It is distinctively aromatic, but it is not overwhelmingly flavoured with vanilla like Captain Black or Planta Black Vanilla. The tobaccos are not of prime quality, but they are good enough to enjoy the flavour of the leaf. There is no chance of tongue bite, so it's the perfect match for a new smoker. I keep a jar of it around for nostalgia from when I used to purchase this from the Tinder Box under the moniker 'Wilshire Blend'.

I give this 3/4 for its practicality and being great at what it strives to be — a straightforward mild aromatic.

Reliable and consistent aromatic. Review based on a jar opened intermittently with over several years. Doesn’t seem to get stale or lose much character over time. Can smoke this absent-mindedly with pipe clenched in jaw and continuous puffing for an hour. Great fun to have a constant volume of that typical, nostalgic aroma pipe smoke hovering all around one’s hair, beard, pullover etc. Vanilla flavour base and and also has some slight tobacco bitterness to satisfy. Few relights required when using medium density packing using air pocket or Franck methods.

Typically prefer unflavored tobacco but this is good from time to time to avoid annoying bystanders. Builds a good cake and should be used in dedicated filtered or unfiltered pipes, the former being a bit smoother. Try 9 mm, paper or Brigham maple distillator systems for different nuances.

Overall, recommended as a simple, unpretentious blend.

There really isn’t too much to talk about the flavor of 1Q. It’s definitely one of those aromatics that really only has a light hint of vanilla with hot air, but where this blend really shines is both in the room note and how easy it is to smoke.

This is my go to blend to smoke around other people. My general rule is that I smoke non-aromatics if I’m alone and aromatics if I’m around other people, and this one has always gotten compliments.

It’s also very easy to smoke. No bite, and easy to keep lit. For a novice smoker who has their heart on aromatics, it’s the blend I always recommend.

Lane’s 1Q is light, and lightly sweet. It’s not goopy and can be smoked straight away. Packs easily, burns well, and won’t bite. It imparts notes of creamy vanilla, and a slight hint of honey and hay from the Virginias. A nice change of pace for the non aro smoker, and a must for the aromatic enthusiast. Very pleasant. Recommended.

I used to buy a lot of aromatics way back in my college days. Never really paid attention to what I bought before, just whatever smelled good in the jar at Tinder Box, so I am sure that I have had this one before. But this was the first time that I bought 1-Q knowing what I was getting and it immediately transported me back to sitting on my postage-stamped-sized college apartment porch. Mild flavored but still toasty and creamy. Room note is great. Smells like "pipe tobacco". The flavoring is not overpowering. I think that it's very well balanced tobacco. There's enough going on to keep it interesting.

2022-07-31 update: I am revising this down to 2 stars only because I think that LL-7 is everything that 1-Q wants to be. I have some 30-month-old 1-Q, and I don't know if this just doesn't age well or if I am just expecting more flavor now. When I first started smoking a pipe, 1-Q used to be one of my favorite blends. But now, I had a hard time getting any flavor out of this blend whatsoever.

2023-02-09: Back up to 3 stars. This is a solid blend, and there's a reason why it's one of the most popular tobacco blends on the market. It is not meant to age, so smoke it when you get it.