Lane Limited HGL

This is an economics textbook in tobacco form. Birds flying by and smelling the cloud of smoke fell from the air, dead from boredom.

Call it "mellow" or "nuanced" or "well-balanced." I call it boring, flavorless, and a waste of my time.

There was nothing genuinely unpleasant about it, but there was certainly nothing to write home about.

I received a sample baggy of this with a recent order placed with smokingpipes.com and a big thank you goes out to them for it!

A mixture of black and tan leaf with a nice, low-key Latakia aroma with some background sweetness. As I'm not a huge fan of Latakia, I found the amount added to HGL was just right for me. It loaded and lit very readily and did not smoke hot or bite. It burned slowly to the bowl's end and did not leave any goop behind, nor did it gurgle. Picked up the Captain Black influence that many have commented on; not too much, but present.

A pleasant set-it-and-forget-it type of smoke and a good crossover blend for those wanting to venture into Latakia territory; but not too deeply. Not my type of tobacco to place in weekly rotation, but certainly good for what it intends to be. A nice smoke for a cool fall day, sitting on the porch, watching the leaves fall. Nothing spectacular, but dependable. Reminds me of those old codger burleys with Latakia mixed in. Happy I tried it. A solid recommended for those who want a smidgen of Latakia in their smoke.

I've never had the chance to try this blend, from years past when it was readily available. Now the online company I buy my pipe tobacco from, has started carrying this one time popular blend. It packs well, and lights easily enough. Sniffing the contents of the bag, I could definitely smell the Latakia. As an avid aromatic smoker, I would've liked just a tad more sweetness to the mix. Someone else said this was RLP-6 based, but I smoke that blend all day and this ain't it, trust me. I'll update this in a few days, but for now to me this is OK, but not something I'd order again anytime soon...

Peppino, no worries. I'm no tobacconist expert, but maybe the mix so changes the flavor, at least for me, that I didn't detect the RLP-6 taste. I've smoked pounds of the stuff, and couldn't taste it in the HGL blend...

7/26/13 I had ordered several ounces of this stuff and on a whim I thought it might be better if it had a little more sweetness to it. I added some black cavendish to it, and what a difference it's made. It's actually pretty good. Ya got the latakia thing going on with some nice sweetness and smokey-ness. Sort of a yin-yang thing. Is smokey-ness a word?

I liked this blend at first, I tried this when I was just starting to stock up on tobaccos that I liked and so I bought a whole bunch of it and put it in a jar. As a year or two rolled by, the jar eventually collected dust, so I pulled it out and gave it a go again. I found that my tastes had changed quite a bit and this one really didn't interest me any longer, so I passed it on to a fellow smoker who had not tried it. With that background out of the way, this is an okay blend, nothing super special about it, it was mild and very smooth, just didn't have anything that grabbed my attention, if you are an all day smoker I might say give this one a shot, for me the appeal wore off as I like variety and unique character and I did not feel that this blend delivered well enough to stay in the rotation.

Characterized as a 'cross-over' blend by fellow pipesters, HGL is probably one of the best in its (cross-over) class. This stuff smells delicious out of the bag, yet the casing is only faintly present/noticable during a smoke. Unlike many of its brethern in the Lane stable, this blend has little (if any) bite, and does indeed smoke cool and possess a pleasant sweetness. The Latakia is in there, but it does not predominate. This was the blend that introduced my taste buds to Latakia and piqued my curiosity about English/Balkan blends. Plus, it's a fine all-day smoke.

i found this blend to be "ok" but I wasn't truly impressed by it. It is a bit lighter on the latakia than I would prefer. The virginias provide some sweetness but they bring their bite with it at about mid bowl. I'll keep what I have on hand for an occasional bowl, but I won't buy anymore of it. A far better choice for a "crossover" blend is Just For Him's "Shortcut to Mushrooms" by former tobaconist Bob Shafer.

This is sold under many names in many places. It has a very easy going quality to it, a hint of Latakia and is incredibly easy to smoke, nearly biteless, with a nice underlying sweetness (casing) which I don't find cloying or too much. I would give it three stars but there is simply not enough taste or strength to keep my interest level up. If I smoked it all day, I'd go through 12 bowls ! I'll give it 2.5 stars.

I have to say I smoke this on occasion because I possess about four ounces of this stuff. I think CaptnDan has this one figured out. My slant would be that RLP-6 is the smoothest smoker in Lanes' stable. Otherwise I am not big on this crossover thing. I don't recall a blend that is an American style aromatic with Latakia other than this one. I have tried this many times with limited enjoyment. Not an offensive blend, just not a bell ringer. (10/02/2004)

Update: O.K. for a stepping-stone tobacco. No longer smoke this blend.

I've smoked better and I've smoked worse. The Latakia in this blend is almost non-existant. In fact you can't find it most of the time, even when looking. I do find this to be bite free and absolutely non-tiring. You could easily smoke this all day if you needed something pleasant and boring. I personally like a little more Latakia in my aromatic English crossovers.