Lane Limited BCA

I really enjoyed this, mixed it 1/2 and 1/2 with 1Q and am really enjoying the mixure. Very nice, everyone around me loves it.

They are a lot of Black Cavendish Tobaccos out there, but this one is truly great. After I purchased it I thought to my self, I can not believe I bought another Black Cavendish Tobacco. I have somewhat always liked it, but was never nothing to write home about. Well I could not have been more wrong. This stuff is fantastic to say the least. It is loaded with flavors of vanilla, and nuts. It burns dry and cool, even my pipe does not get as hot as a lot of other blends. I am very excited over BCA and plan on buying much more of it. If you like aromatic pipe tobacco try this, this old tobacco may become your new tobacco.

I discovered BCA in 1974, in a college town pipe shop that blended its own tobaccos. I quickly noticed that their most popular blends, and the ones that I liked best, were full of this rich black stuff. I thought "If this is what they all have in common, I want to try the straight stuff," so I got the proprietor to scoop me some out of his blending stock and learned from him that it was called B.C.A., for Black Cavendish Aromatic. I really liked it. It became my favorite pipe tobacco, and it has been ever since.

That was a really fun time in my life, so I may be biased toward BCA in the same way as toward an old perfume a whiff of which brings back vivid memories of a teenage romance. But there's nothing wrong with that, is there?

I can load up a pipe with BCA anytime and know that I'll have a pleasurable time with it. I don't get tired of it. It's nice to have something different now and then, but I'll always have BCA around. Others have already commented adequately about its flavors and aromas. Lane hit on a really nice combination with this stuff. There are other similar tobaccos out there, but I haven't find any of them to quite measure up. To me it's the standard for cavendish, and for aromatics.

Nonsmokers tend to like the fragrance of BCA, and often comment at some length about how they can't stand cigarette or cigar smoke but love to smell pipe tobacco, which they feel is more "natural." (Which is rather amusing considering that the source of much of the pleasant aroma is the added casing.) Maybe smoking wouldn't have been subjected to so much restriction and banishment if more folks had been smoking sweet aromatic pipe tobaccos!

I did much of my learning to smoke a pipe on BCA, and I went through all of the problems that have been mentioned in this thread including the wet pipe troubles and yes, even tongue bite! They are all problems resulting from improper smoking technique. After learning how to properly pack, light and smoke a pipe, BCA will give a pleasant, dry smoke from start to finish, and at the end the gray ash can be emptied out of the bowl by simply turning the pipe upside down. It will leave the pipe dry and clean, and doesn't even build up much cake.

I highly recommend BCA, which is as good a tobacco as any for a pipe novice and one that any experienced pipe smoker will want to keep handy in his stock. I could get along happily with BCA alone if I couldn't get any other pipe tobacco, and not feel that I was missing a thing.

First of all I am predominately an English, Oriental, Virginia smoker? with that being said BCA is one of the few aromatic pipe blends that I will tolerate, actually I really like this one. Unlike many aromatics this one does not goo up your pipe so badly that you feel like your pipe is submerged in swampy water. It also does not have the ?typical? candle wax, plastic taste when you smoke it like many other of its peers. This pipe tobacco would be great for a beginner because it burns so easily that it really doesn?t take any concentration to keep it lit. The room note is very mild, my wife wishes that this would be the only tobacco I smoke, and she says it ?smells like baking cookies? this is especially true when mixed with Lane 1-Q. A mixture of 1-Q and BCA in equal parts is probably the best way to enjoy this tobacco, too sweet otherwise; they complement each other very well.

A great cavendish aromatic.

BCA is more complex than most cavendishes, and is solid for any aromatic smokers. Beginners will enjoy it for its sweet smoke and low maintenance, veterans will enjoy the layers of flavor it has to offer. A few notes:

--Pouch Aroma: Sweet, but not too sweet. The aroma isn't "standard vanilla." I'd say its a much deeper, "thicker" vanilla. Add to this a bit of black licorice aroma and I think that's a reasonable description.

--Packing and burning: The tobacco is a bit sticky (even when allowed to dry), but that doesn't inhibit the packing much. The tobacco likes to pack fairly dense, and smokes well that way--but that means to take care with the charring light. I usually char this one 2 (sometimes 3 for a large bowl) times before lighting for real...take care to pull that flame all the way through the bowl--it'll be worth it later. The smoke burns evenly throughout, needing very few relights. Also, it didn't take much, if any, effort to keep a cool, smooth burn. No tongue bite here!

--Flavor: Not quite what the pouch aroma advertises...actually, I find it to be better. One thing I've noticed is that its a very deep taste. Depending on your palate, and a billion other variables, this has the ability to be slightly different everytime you smoke it...different flavors come out more, deepen, fade, mellow, or brighten each time. Even better, these change as each individual bowl progresses as well. I've found this to be rare with topped cavendish blends.

If I had to describe the general flavor, I'd say its build on a firm foundation of vanilla...not boring vanilla but a rich, complex vanilla. The base tastes more like ACTUAL vanilla, not what we've come to associate with vanilla flavoring. Usually, the licorice that's in the pouch aroma pokes its head out a few times in the bowl. It is usually a very mellow flavor hiding in the background, but it does pop up every now and again. Beyond that, different tastes will spring up from time to time. At different times I've picked out what seems to be a berry sort of flavor. Sometime I can taste cherries. Often there is a nutty flavor and quality. Once or twice I could've sworn I tasted roses.



On the whole, this is a terrific tobacco. Great for beginners and vets alike. It works well as a first smoke of the day with coffee, a good afternoon or after work smoke, its nice and sweet after an evening meal, and is relaxing and pleasant enough as a just-before-bedtime smoke. No doubt about it, 4 out of 4.

My favorite Lane blend so far and one of my favorite Cavendish blends. Stays lit, burns well and leaves a dry residue. Great taste and delightful room note. A much better tobacco than 1Q.

This blend is just a delicious treat for me. I always keep some handy. Never bites, stays lit very well and burns cleanly and never leaves a damp residue. I mostly smoke burleys like MB's Navy Flake but this aromatic really hits the spot. Smoke some every day!

I absolutely never have to re-light this tobacco unless I have put my pipe down for a while. Lane has a winner in this one.

Maybe I got a bad batch, but BCA bit my tongue hard. I found this smoke very hot and quite bitter. I was pleased with the room aroma but that will surely not bring me back. Based on the reviews here, I tried this in several kind of pipes and got the same result each time.

I am by no means a fan of aromatics, but there are a couple that I enjoy on occasion. The tobacco is VERY black and has a pleasant pouch aroma that comes through in the smoke (which is, by the way, quite thick). The flavour is somewhat reminiscent of Samuel Gawith's "Firedance Flake" in that I note slightly soapy, fruity, and perhaps some vanilla elements. However, this tobacco is much sweeter than "Firedance Flake".

I don't think I could smoke this all day, but I wouldn't want to do without it when I'm in the mood for it.