Lane Limited Crown Achievement

Update September 2004:

My stash of this is almost gone after sampling it for over a year. I am now aging about eight ounces and this makes my regular rotation. I am upgrading my rating to three stars.

I smoke CA when I want something of a traditional, stronger English that approaches a Balkan. With age, the sour, acrid notes have gone. Burning qualities are good.

Where I itch, CA scratches. Keep some around for yourself.

---

CA is nothing special, yet not to be avoided. Somewhat acrid and sour at times and not very complex, but it is unmistakably Latakia laden.

The Virginia component keeps it from being overwhelmingly pungent and sour. Sweetness does not describe this blend.

It does seem difficult to keep lit, but finishes dry enough. No bites on this tongue. Dunhill's 965 seems rounder, sweeter and creamy compared to CA.

I will try it now and then, but when it is gone, I will not be running out to restock. If aging changes the profile for me, I will update.

Yuck!!! This is not my kind of tobacco at all. This stuff is some of the wettest smoking crud I have ever put into my pipe. My wife bought an ounce of this stuff at the local tobacco shop to go with a new pipe and a tin of Royal Yacht that she knew I wanted to try. The owner recommended this and IQ when she asked for some good samples. I know this guy but he didn't know she was my wife. I'm at a loss as to why he would recommend it. Perhaps he is trying to cut down on his customer base. Why do tobacconists even carry this crap is beyond me, but I have to assume that someone buys it. I'm going to have to have a talk with him! In his defense all she told him was that I liked English Tobaccos. The tobacco started out a little like 965 in that it was definitely English with some sort of cased cavendish added to it. I wasn't to bad through the first third of the bowl if a little boring. Through the second third however, it got extremely sour and bitter. This is the first tobacco that I couldn't even finish. When I went to empty out my bowl I found the problem. The remaining dreck in my pipe was nothing but a slimy ball of ash and wet tobacco. This might be alright if dried out, but I'm not sure I want to wait for ten years for the glycol to wear off. I personally don't think this tobacco is worth the effort. FWIW this stuff was sold under the generic name of English Oriental. Be on the look out and beware!!!!!

Well, this from a novice pipe stoker (20 pipes with a stash of 30 or so blends in the larder) I seem to have stumbled onto either an old tin or a new tin (if Lane doesn't make this in the tin anymore, as noted above) I found recently as a single in a local small shop. Whatever the "vintage" I find the tin version very enjoyable. Pungent. Very English. Very Oriental. Tickles my nose in the pouch. Packs and lights very well and burns nicely in a new Tomas Spanu 200C Rusticated 1/4 bent medium size. Some time ago I picked up a few ounces of the bulk version on the recommendation of a good blender in a high end shop locally and was disappointed (looks to be coarser in cut and not as "fresh")...this however is a delight, though does not take to being relit after sitting.

In appearance, this looks like a well balanced English blend. There are a full range of colors to the mixture. The pouch aroma, however, is different from my usual English Latakia-Oriental blends. There might be some aromatic addition. The first few puffs lead me to believe that this is going to be a good inexpensive blend that I could fit into my rotation. After the first few puffs, the blend falls apart on me. It turns into a strange mixture that switches from a good English to a ?. I don't know what. It just keeps fading in an out for me. I have tried this a good dozen times, yet I have never finished a bowl. It does not satisfy me. On the plus side, it does not bite. There are plenty of superior blends to smoke, for both the experienced smoker and/or a new pipester.

What a disappointment. I smoked Balkan Sobranie 759 and the tinned version of Crown Achievement almost exclusively for 15 years. I always found CA to be a good change of pace because of its spiciness from orientals. There was nothing else quite like it. Lane no longer makes CA in tins and the bulk version is just another English mixture that is no different from any number of other blends. Not that there is anything wrong with it, there is just nothing to distinquish it. Worth a try, but not the CA of old.

This is a mottled blend of latakia, bright virginia, and turkish. The initial taste is sweet, which turns to a sour, citrus-like flavor before settling down after the first ¼-1/3 of a bowl to a spicy just-there-it-ness. There is a background (sometimes front note) that reminds me of Vanilla that I don?t quite care for. This, overall, needs some more complexity to be enjoyable on a regular basis. (5/2002)

This is possibly one of the best Balkan/English blends ever made! The moisture from tin... What moisture?! I did have to rehydrate this whole batch once bought! It was worth the wait! This blend had some unique notes of earthy leaf litter and smokey leather. The perique added a perfect sweetness that made this blend perfectly balanced! Their are Def better English out there, but this blend taste like no other blend

Tin note is smoky, sour and Rasin. Looks like the typical English blend, blacks, dark browns and light browns, a mix cut: shag, ribbon and broken flake with a few stems and very dry. Burns easily, requires an average amount of relights. Orientals and Latakia takes the lead. The Virginia's trails and further back is the perique. The strength and nic are mild-med, and no flavoring detected. The taste is consistent and around the medium mark. Taste of earth, smoky wood, a few sour notes and slight sweet. I couldn't taste any spicy perique. Mildly offensive room note and a good after taste.

I really like this blend! I’ve gone through this stuff so fast, it flabbergasted me when I reached for this and it was gone!

It’s a very flavorful English/Balkan with the orientals playing the lead and the Latakia plays second. Full of flavor and no bite, just a REALLY balanced, not overpowering blend.

The tin is gorgeous, and while I feel this is of high quality, the tin description above is definitely hyperbole. I think this is one of Lane’s best blends, and might be THEIR most expensive to make, but what do I know!

Nutty, smokey, somewhat floral, and harmonized to perfection.