Lane Limited LL-7

I have purchased this particular blend from three sources. The first was in Houston at Croft's; excellent shop, marvelous tobacco. I then bought a pound from an old shop in Lake Charles, La. The stuff was not the same! Turns out, it was a bit wet from their humidor and had to be dried out. Whew! The same LL7 after that. My daughter bought me the third pound in Lafayette,La. Perfect amount of moisture, just like Crofts'. Now to the tobacco; there are only two things detrimental about this blend. The name and the fact that it leaves no cake buildup in the bowl. Yes, you heard me right, no cake buildup. I smoke it in a few of my older pipes that have a properly trimmed cake and they need NO MAINTENANCE! Okay, they do need cleaning with a paper towel and a pipe cleaner every few bowls, but I don't need to worry about cake buildup. I just LOVE this blend. If Lane stops making it, I guess I'll have to move on to another tobacco. That is the only way LL7 won't be on the top of my choices for a mild, pleasant, satisfying smoke.

Lane has created a great blend with this one. Burley and VA smokers will truly enjoy this one. Real tobacco taste here and at a very reasonable price. While this is not a complex flavored blend it is full of flavor and has a great aroma. After 2 ounces it has been easy to pack and stays lit and burns even to the bottom leaving no dottle.

A winner here for Lane and for those wanting a reasonibly priced bulk baccy.

I've been led by the reviews here to assume LL-7 takes home the Blue Ribbon for Cavendish tobaccos. That may be true, I've sampled only a handful of such blends in the course of my pipe smoking career. It's certainly the best of the bunch that I've blown through--and that includes such hit or misses as Nat Sherman 509, Lane's other contender 1Q, and Captain Black White.

I've noticed while reading reviews for most "controversial" blends, that the greatest concern from die hard fans seems to be their intolerance for dissent. "Don't review an English if you hate Latakia" it is said. Or "Tell people your taste preferences before you review." Those are noble thoughts, of course, voiced to shoot for some degree of fairness in the review. Then again, do I *have* to say what I like and dislike before every single review? Doesn't seem very practical, on second thought. For those who believe that only fans of a certain artifact are entitled to voice an opinion, I say the input you receive will be unbalanced and skewed toward your mindset. Yes, your precious rating may see-saw, but do not worry. Those who buy tobaccos only for the number of stars probably aren't worth lumping into your fan base.

With that said, I will say LL-7 excels in the Cavendish group because it burns cool, provides a generous allotment of that classic "Cavendish" flavor without being goopy, has a nice thin ribbon cut for an even burn, and a price point to please the masses. Why do I dislike this? It's not a knock on Lane, but the style of blend. Cavendish tobaccos' intrinsic flavor tastes artificial, and the kick never exceeds anything beyond slightly greater than mild. That's an opinion.

Which is why I must ask myself, why do I still seek these blends out? As many have said before, the room note is spectator-friendly. But smoking this just to smoke when around others has its drawbacks. If a person finds their eyes wandering in the direction of my pipe, I'd rather not bother with the ensuing conversation.

For my last consideration, LL-7 has replaced MacBaren's Vanilla Cream in the aforementioned rotation category. That's right. I'm a hypocrite.

After a few bowls, I find this stuff pretty enjoyable. The room note is fantastic, reminding me of s'mores above all. I pick up the flavor noticeably from time-to-time, as it mingles with the room note. It's a pretty cool, productive smoke if you treat it right. I consider it a good "party smoke."

If you dislike aromatics, don't bother. If you want a mellow smoke that will please your company, this is for you.

Sold by the name "Pipe Dream" at my local baccy shop, I had to sneak a peak at the rubber tubs stacked against the wall to discover it's true identity. This is not a tobacco that immediately grabs your attention, but for a bulk it's smooth with some flavor and pleasant. I truly enjoy this tobacco.

If you enjoy bulk aromatic tobaccos, you'll probably like this one. Although a tad mild for my taste, it consistently tastes good and you'll get no complaints regarding the aroma it leaves in a room. Not a great deal of tobacco flavor here, but the caramel flavoring is a nice touch. Not particularly bitey, you could smoke it all day.

Here is my take on Lane's LL-7 in a nutshell. If you like Lane 1-Q then you will probably like LL-7. I find that the aroma of the unlit tobacco is the same between the two. The room note is also very similar. I think the added burley in this blend gives you more 'mouth feel' as people like to say. Personally I find that I get a tad more flavor and mouth feel from LL-7 than I do with 1-Q. So much so that I will be smoking this from now on vs 1-Q. The cut is the same between the two: ribbon. Same packing, lighting and smoking qualities. I get a sweetish vanilla taste along with a few random hints of chocolate. I also get a taste of nuts from time to time. Most likely from the burley in my estimation. Nicotine wise it seems pretty mild, very similar to 1-Q. I have nothing against 1-Q and will probably enjoy again in the future but I think I'll turn to LL-7 more often in the foreseeable future. 4 stars, recommend very much!

As many people have pointed out, LL-7 is very similar to 1Q and RPL-6 in that it's a smooth, mild, easy smoking tobacco available at a very attractive price. Judged by itself, this is a four star tobacco. Comparing it to the others, I'd say that this is of slightly darker tone to 1Q, and certainly nothing like the fruitiness of RPL-6. For my own taste I prefer 1Q which seems to have just the right balance of taste, whereas I find LL-7 a little too dark. LL-7 seems to have all the emphasis in the bass notes, whereas 1Q is the full orchestra.

Another four star offering from Lane. I must admit that I was hoping for something a little different. Lane already has the top selling tobaccos in the USA in 1Q and RPL-6, and I rather hoped for something perhaps slightly stronger than their very mild, nicotine-less aromatics. But LL-7 is just another in the same vein. No harm in that, but I'll stick with 1Q. In fact when my supply of 1Q runs out I'll go back to Captain Black Royal, which I think is better than all three of the Lane bulk aromatic tobaccos.

I am excited to review LL7 one of Lanes better aromatic blends next to RLP6 and 1Q this blend is something else. A few months ago I had some BCA and 1Q and decided to mix it up and forgot about it until last night, I packed a bowl a realized wow!!! this taste so much like LL7 and told my wife this like I made a huge discovery or something. The only difference was the BCA-1Q mixture was alittle sweeter and the Black Cavendish was alittle more defined as LL7 is not as sweet and has a different kind of a spicy hint to it that 1Q and RLP6 does not have but that's a good thing let me tell you what. LL7 besides being so dang smooth has this chocolate liquor flavor with a touch of marshmallow just rocks my world and is so enjoyable I look forward everytime I pack a bowl of this wonderful aromatic blend and goes perfect with a cup of coffee or after dinner. The fact that it is not a goopy overly moist tobacco blend and its a beautiful color and keeps your nose (yes your nose) coming back to the jar to sniff the stuff because the smell is as good as the taste. I am not sure what gives it the mild spicy note it has to it but I like that when smoking LL7 and keeps it interesting every single time you smoke it, I think a touch of perique would go very well in this blend once on awhile and one could play around with it blending other types of tobaccos and create something really delightful. The nicotine level is low amd the room note is very pleasant which is a plus for those who have picky other halfs, thank the Lord I dont face that problem because my wife likes the camp fire smell to, isn't that awesome?!?!?!!! Yes it is... I highly recommend this fine aromatic and is perfect for a novice pipe smoker and a perfect all day smoke hands down. Good job and two thumbs up Lane Limited for a worthy pipe tobacco please keep this one on the market because I will help support and keep this blend alive and well. If you like 1Q and RLP6 you will like LL7, give it a go because you will buy more, I would also recommend buying at least 4oz as the perfect size sampler cause you wanna know why? You'll smoke the heck out of it and be really bummed out when you run out, thanks for reading my review God bless America and God bless all you fellow pipe smokers. Do not forget to stand up for your tobacco smoking rights and remember McClelland as a reminder why you must support your American tobacco farmers, have a goodnight and make sure to read my other reviews where you will get a down to earth honest non-pipe yuppy tobacco review.