Lane Limited HGL

This has become my daily smoke. Not too sweet, not too strong and enough flavor to keep it from being boring. It replaced Middleton's Walnut for me when they stopped production. Though sweeter than Walnut, It had the same satisfaction I enjoyed of just sitting back and relaxing to a mild, slow smoke.

Bulk purchase is the only option here I believe. Bag aromas of latakia, vanilla and some fruity notes. I prefer to smoke this a little moist. If it is too dry the flavor is lost. The initial light is easy and let's off a lot of smoke. First flavors are a mild smoky latakia followed by that fruitiness I smelled in the bag. Vanilla flavors make themselves known from time to time as the smoke goes on. There isn't much complexity here, and the smoke doesn't change or evolve much. The body is light and the strength is mild. This is a good smoke with a morning coffee. Overall a decent blend. Nothing too exciting and not offensive either. 2 stars.

Edit Aug 2020 I have smoked more of this in a few different pipes. I think it does best in latakia pipes. I have noticed a really nice toasted caramel flavor at times during the smoke but most often towards the end. This blend must be smoked slow to get the full flavor profile. I am upgrading to 3 stars.

This is my first bowl of HGL. I find the room note pleasant and somewhat mellow, not an offensive note at all. There's a faint hint of topping flavor, but I can't pinpoint it. It's a very slight sweetness on the backend. It's not the star role whatsoever. The Latakia is much more present, but not overwhelming at all. There's a very mild earthy flavor from the Virginia. All in all this is a very smooth blend, definitely agreeable for an all day smoke. I find no harshness at all and I tend to be a hotter smoker, yet there's no indication of bite. Burns cool and even to a fine ash. Definitely recommend for new smokers and experienced smokers alike.

This is a pretty decent smoke. I see a lot of reviewers stating that the Latakia is too light. I didn't see it that way. In fact it seemed to be a Latakia forward American English to me. Nice tasting one. The casing is vanilla-like, but not really vanilla. More like sweet cream or even whipped cream to me. It's an enjoyable smoke, but not something I would want to smoke on a regular basis. More of a change of pace blend. Mild in body and mild to medium in flavor.

Found this brand out of town, while searching new stuff to try. Loved the aroma, and when I read the lable I knew it's what I'd like to smoke. Latakia and Cavendish, with extras thrown in. It's easy enough to work with, burns well, and doesn't dry completely out once it's left the jar. Taste is superior. So far it seems to be what I've been looking for in pipe tobacco for a long time. 4.5 stars. Should have bought more.

The cut varies quite a bit. Make sure you shake your bag to mix things evenly. There's a good portion of smaller particles that tend to settle at the bottom, so do make it a point to pick a few pinches for your bowl.

This mix lights up easily. Relighting is infrequent. RLP-6 reminds me a bit of sweet banana's floral bouquet. The embers are easily stoked back to life.

As a Latakia* fan, this aromatic concoction is delightful and light enough to even favor as a daily blend. I've enjoyed it's base, LL's RLP-6, and the touch of Latakia makes this a much more interesting proposition.

* To my knowledge, the tri-syllabic city name of Latakia, Syria is pronounced lah-TAH-kiah, not lah-ta-KI-a.

Smoking now:

So I’ve been smoking this blend for a while now but didn’t realize it because it goes by another name at a local BnM store. Picked up an ounce of HGL in bulk from an online store which I am smoking now. Bias alert, I love cross over / American English / sweet Latakia blends.

Smells like, musty herbal smoky Latakia and chocolate. Moisture is perfect no dry time needed.

The first few puffs give me those sweet aromatic notes of RLP6 however soon after the Latakia adds a lovely herbal smokey quality to this. The Latakia really changes the profile of RLP6 which is one of my favorite aromatics. The Virginias are toned down by the earthy burley and sweet cavendish. The nougat/chocolate/vanilla flavor of RLP6 is in second place here as the Latakia herbal smoke flavor beats it out slightly. However the two complement each other the the flavor is wonderful.

There’s not much complexity to this and that’s ok. HGL is a pretty sweet, aromatic, vanilla, chocolate, but musty, herbal, smokey all day type of blend. Provides enough Latakia to make this an enjoyable smoke. Little mouth tingle, retrohale is nice, no bite, nice aftertaste, Easy smoke could be done multiple times a day and the price makes it easier to do.

A descent cross over blend for sure. I would recommend to someone who smokes aromatics and wants to get into smoking Latakia/English blends. Looking for a replacement for FM Cellar??? This may be it for you. I love this stuff.

Ahhh, HGL. Close to a decade ago I found HGL. I liked the way it packed, smoked, there was nothing negative about it. It was what I looked forward to smoking, unlike anything ever before or since. It had lat, but as a condiment, not out front. There, but not out front. All the tobacco's blended well in a harmony with a caramel/vanilla flavor that only Lane can do. My all time favorite. Then suddenly it was gone... I searched the phone book and the net for people that might just have some left, but no. Any traveling I was looking up shops along the way. Argh! This went on a long time,years. After a while copies started showing up. Some were close but none really had it, I mean really had it. As the corporate changes took place rumor had it it might come back. When it did I bought a pound, cleaned my favorite pipe and started. The cut is not the same. Nor is the flavor. The lat is stronger, which a lot of people will like. It is still mild.The tobacco blend is OK but the Lane caramel/vanilla is completely missing. A great big letdown for me. A big empty spot in the over all flavor. That being said, I have been smoking it, enjoying it for what it is and it is not bad. I will by more when this is gone. Lane if you are listening, tweak it a little. Find out what the old topping was and ad a little then use slightly less lat. You'll sell more of it and make an old fart alot more happy.

When I first got this blend, I thought the first several bowls were pleasant. Then suddenly, without warning, the highly artificial taste of the black cavendish disgusted me. The first half of the bowl is very smooth, but soon after that all of the burnt chemicals cause it to taste like charcoal brickets with lots of lighter fluid. It gurgles a fair bit and gets very gooey. There is very little tobacco flavor here, least of all that of latakia. I love quality aromatics; unfortunately this does not fall into that category. There are just too many additives covering up the tobacco.