Lane Limited Crown Achievement

If you're in the mood for an English, this is a fine choice. The Virginias in this one are quite noticeable and provide a nice, pleasing grassy flavor while the Cyprian latakia takes center stage without being overly spicy. To have the best smoking experience with this one, don't treat it like a cigarette and burn it quickly. Sit back with a gentlemen's drink of choice and enjoy it. The flavor remains consistent as can be throughout the bowl.

Pretty standard aroma for an English blend. The VA's are ever present and you can tell they are decent leaf. I just wish they would have paired it with a better quality latakia. It's plenty smoky, but also a bit astringent. I don't take much notice of the orientals or perique in this blend. Overall unremarkable to me, although some may like it. About halfway through the 2 oz sample, I was ready for it to be all gone, as I don't like tossing tobacco unless its truly bad, so I smoked the rest and moved on.

Lights well and burns to a nice grey ash but is lacking in anything similar to a true English or Balkan blend. Very blah with no noticeable flavor.

At the match, Latakia and orientals....within a few minutes a little spice from the Perique. The first third of the bowl the flavor is the type medium English/Balkan that I totally fall for, the Latakia is ever present but not overwhelming and balanced well with the orientals. There are a few shortcomings; first it seems to get hot no matter how slow I smoke it, also it lacks a lot of flavor in smaller bowls. Where it really falls apart for me is that no matter how slow I smoke it the second half of the bowl gets harsh. I'm not sure if this is from the Virginias or the Orientals. The aftertaste isn't the worst but it's not great. Room note is great if you like Latakia and orientals but probably terrible if you don't.

I have smoked 2 sample bags of CA, about 4 bowls when it first was re-released and a sample bag of about 5 bowls over the last week. This is one of three Lane tobaccos I've been smoking regularly the last couple weeks and I would say I like Medal of Valor much more and surprisingly I even prefer the Lat heavy BS-005.

I'm giving it two stars because even though it disappoints me the second half of the bowl it was pleasant enough to finish both sample. I'd hope this might improve after a couple years in a tin.

I expected a well balanced V-O-L mixture but I found it's more oriental-oriented. Latakia is there but so much in the backgorund. This blend provides a cool smoke, a bit salty. Good only with the addition of some Latakia. Two unfortunate tins? 3,0/5 in my personal rating system.

I smoke a lot of English and Balkan style blends, CA is indeed a fine smoke. Maybe a little heady for a new pipe smoker.

The tobacco itself is simply a beautiful color, couldn't wait to smoke, Orientals were the first to appear rich and creamy. Latakia Perique, are just enough to balance, sweet Virginia to take edge off. It a slow smoker made that way I am sure to bring as much pleasure to the smoker.

Bought some of the bulk on my last order from P&C. Mouth watering delicious! I can't wait to order up the tin and check it out. Lane has hit a home run with this one!

Great english latakia blend in my opinion. Pretty straight forward tobacco presentation and smoke. Has typical notes of a good, rich english blend, but with some nuttiness, that I really enjoy in english blends, with just a hint of spicyness. It is Complex, but not too much so. At the bottom of the bowl it can get a bit harsh and if you smoke it on a regular basis it can get a little (just a little) tiresome.

10/24/2004: I would realistically give this two and a half stars. Pretty good taste in small doses or half a bowl. Not complex like the more popular Dunhills, Butera, G.L. Pease offerings. If you were unable to get any other Latakia blend this would do for a short interval. If you had to smoke it exclusively my guess is you would eventually give up smoking entirely! I think its' relative A-100 is better than C.A. A-100 tastes only of Latakia but the A-100 Latakia is smoother than C.A. And in my searches on the internet it C.A. is not cheaper than Dunhills tobacs especially in bulk. I would much rather smoke EMP, 965, or Nitecap all of which can be purchased in bulk for a similar price. I have never had the tinned version of C.A.

Update 11/23/2006: A pretty good English if you have limited access. The Latakia is a bit harsh.