Lane Limited BLWB

This is easily the world's most friendly, mild, inoffensive tobacco. It's not exciting. It's not sophisticated. It is good, though.

It's everybody's grandpa's pipe tobacco. A mild, easy smoking, sweet smelling cased burley that you'll be happy to smoke any time of the day or night. You'll be happy to smoke it, that is, if you don't wish to project any ambiance of connoisseurship. Burley Light Without Bite is nothing to get excited over, but it is perfect to relax with on a lazy summer day: at a barbecue, say, or when mowing the lawn or fishing. I don't, personally, engage in such activities, but I am told that they are very nice and this is just the sort of nice, uncomplicated tobacco that would compliment such activities.

Every aspect of BLWB is as advertised. There's just enough earthy, nutty tobacco flavor from the base leaf to give it that drugstore tobacco pedigree. The fruity, creamy top dressing rounds it out and softens what raspy edge might be there. There's not a hint of harshness or bite. It's like grandma's peanut brittle or a golden wrapped butterscotch candy from the same grandma's purse.

I could smoke this for the rest of my life and not feel particularly deprived. I wouldn't feel particularly excited or stimulated in my palate, but that doesn't mean that BLWB is anything other than a success. It's exactly what it says it is and that's okay by me.

This is what the name says it is, Burley and it's light without a bite. There is no bite because it is so light. The taste is very nice though, sutle, lightly sweet. From other reviews I hear that the flavouring is Coconut. I would have never guessed that in a hundred years, but that just may be what it is.If it is coconut, it takes on a very different and magical taste and aroma with this blend.

Update 07/10/2012 This is begining to be one of my favorite smokes. It has something about it that takes me back to the late 1960's and 1970's and reminds me of my dad's pipe aromas.I prefer a good burley blend and this one is excellent. If you get tounge bite with this blend you need to take pipe smoking lessons. (P.S. I mix this with Carter Hall).

If more aromatics were like this, I would gladly smoke them. This is a Burley blend which has been lightly sweetened and flavored, creating a vanilla Cavendish effect that brings out some of the underlying tastes in odd ways. Sometimes, I taste something like amaretto; other times, sarsaparilla. The room note is the pleasing toasted mushrooms scent of old school OTCs, and since the tobacco is only lightly flavored, the sore throat from burnt sugar and unpleasant charred goop in the bowl of a full aromatic are missing. Instead you find a tobacco which tastes better than it smells, which says a lot, and lends itself to a mild smoke which is simple and easy to prepare. To take it to the next level, however, mix this with C&D's "Cube Cut Burley" which kicks the performance up to medium-to-strong and slightly lessens the sweetness, which while less than seemingly every other aromatic, when reduced allows more of the natural tobacco to shine through.

Lane Ltd makes tobacco blends that appeal to the mass market. BLWB falls into this category quite well. Pouch note is slightly sweet and low key. Similar to vanilla wafers with a hint of coconut. Packs easily and lights without a problem. First half of the bowl is where the sweetness comes through. Second half, after the topping and casing burns off a little, the burley tobacco taste is evident. Mild to medium strength smoke that tends to burn very quickly. No bite as advertised but fairly straightforward. I enjoy burley blends and this one is good as a first venture into burley. Seems best suited for cobs.

Update: 5/18/15. I have found myself coming back to this tobacco more and more. I love the sweet pastry/coconut aroma from the pouch and the sweetness on my tongue. Pipe snobs may have a problem with this Lane Ltd offering but I have come to love it on a daily basis. I just ordered a pound of it and it will have a place in my daily rotation. It is great for mixing with other blends that need a little sweetening. If you love burley this has to be on your list.

Lane Limited Bulk No. BLWB

Star Rating = 4

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst

Pouch Note = 8

Room Note = 8

Flavor = 8

Bite = 7

Burn = 7

After Taste = 7

Raw Score = 45

Rated Percentage = 75%

Comment = Mild, Smooth, great Bite Free Burley Flavor

I bought this tobacco 28 years ago for a Prince Albert Alternative.It became my favorite for years till I discovered Black Cavendish.I still smoke this occasionally.It is a good nutty burley tobacco with hints of cocoa and does not bite.The room note is chocolate, sometimes cookies baking in the oven.I have found out over the years that I just love Lane's Tobaccos thank you!

This is a wonderful burley in a world of complex pipe smokers.It pacts well lights well and smokes superbly. you can mix it with almost anything and improve it.And it does get a mellow taste with age.Sometimes its nice to have an uncomplicated tobacco that gives you pleasure over and over again.I smoke many different tobaccos and blends blwb keeps a place in my rotation. Just bought another 20lbs.I use it to break in my Vipratis.after 50+ years of pipe smoking this one is good for the beginner or experienced smoker .4 stars for sure!

Lane BL/WB: a review

I had been sampling a lot of different blends of aromatics, and while liking some of them, they always seemed lacking. The added flavoring would wane as I smoked down the bowl, and I was left with nothing but an acrid, bitter taste towards the end. The common denominator to these blends was that they contained burley, so I concluded that I must not like burley. I've tried Half & Half, a burley and bright blend, and never cared much for it.

But then I made a wonderful discovery, a jar of tobacco I had set aside a year ago, labeled “BL/WB.” I tried it in one of my corn cob pipes, and was pleasantly surprised by the experience. It was mellow, but not lacking in flavor. It smoked well, not needing the frequent relights which some tobaccos require. The taste was, as many describe, a nutty flavor. There's a somewhat earthy taste as well. Another thing about BL/WB is that it smokes the same all the way to the bottom of the bowl. If anything, it improves somewhat towards the end, with a subtle taste of cocoa married to the nutty flavor. BL/WB burns down to a fine white ash with very little dottle.

BL/WB burns easily but not quickly, so the smoker is not required to constantly puff on his pipe, or risk its going out. The result is that BL/WB lives up to its name, in that there is normally no tongue bite with it.

The original tobacco I smoked was aged a year, but I have bought more of it and have not experienced any decline in this fine tobacco's attributes. This has become my go-to tobacco. Burleys collectively have been labeled “codger” blends. If my smoking experience is reduced to BL/WB in a corn cob pipe, I won't consider myself deprived.

Having a very nice relationship over the last 20 years of Pipesmoking with Lane Limited Blends, I was very pleased to discover BLWB recently. It is sold under the name "Sweet Burley" at my local B&M. I have smoked English, VaPers, and Aromatics of all kinds, and am rarely disappointed with Lane's selection. And this is no exception. I found out through a little research that the light topping applied to this baccy is actually Coconut! Sounds awful, but it translates into a very mild, flavorful smoke! While it indeed will bite if puffed too aggresively, in BLWB's defense, so does all other Burley Blends out there, IMHO...But this is by far the one with the least amount of bite. I have become very sensitive to Nicotine as I approach middle age, and BLWB has little to no nico-kick, which is just fine with me. I would recommend this fine baccy to both novice and longtime pipers without hesitation!