Lane Limited LL-7

As with aromatics in general, the flavoring(s) overpower the tobaccos in the blend...That's not to say that this is in any way an unpleasant smoke...it's just not an interesting smoke...For an all day, pay me no mind smoke, it could be better; it could be worse...one thing in its favor, I found that it's not too wet and requires minimal to no drying time.

Don't get me wrong. For a sweet aromatic, this is one of the better ones. It is more coarse cut, burning slower and allowing more tobacco taste to come through. It is not too wet or over flavored either. I would compare this to a premium version of Captain Black. Many reviewers say that about Lane's RLP6, but I think the opposite. (Read my review on RLP6 if you wish).

The one thing that kept this review from being better is that the taste seems very common to me. It reminds me of some of the drug store blend tastes that take me back to the amateur days. Sure, this is a better tobacco, but I'm not exactly searching for a premium version of Captain Black. After all, a high end Hyundai is still a Hyundai - a good vehicle for the money but still a Hyundai, not a Lexus.

I am assuming the LL stands for Lane Limited and who knows what the 7 stands for, maybe the 7 times it took to perfect the blend. Guess I will never know. I was given a good solid one-ounce sample of this a few weeks ago and wanted to give it a whirl. It has a very sweet vanilla/caramel smell and is really moist. Not sure if Propylene Glycol is used but probably. I loaded it in a cob reserved for such purposes, that way I do not have to worry about ghosting. It is smooth, sweet and somewhat like a desert in that once I started puffing, I did not want to stop. I do not take the aro road very often but it is nice to relax sometimes with one. It does not stand out, and I have never really been a big super 1Q fan but in other reviews it seems to be the benchmark for comparison. Good but next time I am in the mood I will go back to my Captain Black White. I am sure the room note on this one is a crowd pleaser, but I smoke alone on the porch. Nobody opened their door and asked what stinks so that is always a good sign. And if they ever did complain, tough.

Lane Limited LL-7 is definitely a blend I will keep on-hand as long as I have a pipe. It is excellent. Flavor is complex, but not overpowering. I thought it was very balanced, easy smoking, mild-to-medium flavor, and pretty light on the nicotine. Nutty, soft vanilla, maybe a bit of chocolate. Maybe a bit of oatmeal. It reminded me of 1-Q, only better. No candy-coated flavor coming through.

Update 2022-07-26: I pulled this jar out of my cellar and loaded up my Peterson 314 System. My tastes have generally moved away from Aromatics, but this was still a very enjoyable smoke. It had flavors of cloves, cinnamon, toasted raisins, and maybe ginger. The first half of the bowl was good, but the second half was sublime. By the very, very end, the casing sweetness was getting a little much, and I dumped the last few puffs. This bowl never got wet. I was able to smoke a lot of it before I needed to tamp and re-light. After that, it was an average number of re-lights. I'll go back to non-aromatics in my next bowl, but I am glad I have this in my rotation.

Update 2023-01-23: My cellar is getting pretty overloaded and I am on the verge of needing to cull the herd. I tried this back-to-back with RLP-6, and I maintain that this blend is superior in every way.

Great scent within bag. It packs very light and easy to lit. It leaves no tongue bite and no gurgles. Bowls never gets hot and leaves no mess at end of bowl. I taste the black Cavendish, vanilla, caramel and other sweet undertones. I do enjoy every sweet retro nasal and does not leave sensitive nose at all. The room note is very pleasant. LL-7 is an outstanding aromatic.

I really like this blend. Tastes and smells great. No nasty taste or bite. Would be an all day smoke for me. Added to favourites. Good stuff.

Thin brown and black ribbons emerged almost wet from the bulk bag, the scent very reminiscent of RLP-6, although the cut is different.

This behaved particularly well in my corncob pipe after about a half hour's drying time. Loosely packed (as seems to be the key for smoking all the Lane aero offerings) produced a bowlful that after the charring light, a gentle tamping and the ignition light burned to the heel of the pipe without further relights.

I didn't know that I was becoming an aromatic tobacco fan until recently, in particular because of Lane's RLP-6 and its slightly English cousin HGL. This is slightly different from Lan'es other aromatics, but only slightly. Wheras 1-Q is the bulk version of Capt. Black Royal and RLP-6 is the bulk version of Capt. Black White, LL-7 is definitely Capt. Black Copper. Unlike its Captain cousins, the Lane bulks contain much less humectant and for me are therefore much more pleasant to smoke....not to mention a helluva lot cheaper, even with shipping from an online retailer.

Like Lane's other aeros, this one offers negligible nicotine. However, when compared with BCA and 1-Q, LL-7 and RLP-6 both offer a shade more nicotine, probably because of the inclusion of more burley in addition to the ubiquitous black Cavendish.

Flavor starts with almost a smores (i.e. graham cracker, marshmallow & milk chocolate) scent but quickly becomes more caramel-like by mid bowl. Thanks to either the blend or my body chemistry, this one doesn't even tingle my tongue, let alone bite it. I can and do smoke consecutive bowls of this; the gentle rounded tobacco flavor, lightly done toppings, low nicotine and burn characteristics make this an ideal all day smoke for me.

My experience with Lane aeros is that the best flavor is reached by mid bowl in most pipes. And like Lane's RLP-6, 1-q, BCA and others, this one sings best in a corncob pipe. An all day smoke for me if not an every day smoke; it is a bit one note and could become boring for some smokers. For me, this is a solid 4 star aromatic blend and is worth a try at the typical $2.00/ounce price point. My current order of preference for Lane's aeros is (from most enjoyed to least) would be RLP-6, LL-7, 1-Q and finally BCA...but I enjoy all four and keep at least two of the four in regular rotation.

Lane Limited - LL-7.

The pouch contains a blend that looks about 75-25% brown to black, smells sweet, and is a little too moist. But, being fair, it's still smokeable from the pouch, just a touch damp.

The flavour's quite a basic, sweet, aromatic one, giving more caramel than vanilla. Where the tobaccos are concerned I don't really find it has anything to shout about: honey-Cavendish and Burley, with a little Virginia. Mechanically LL-7 does well: a good burn, no tongue bite, and a thick/cool smoke.

The nicotine feels mild, and the room-note's nice.

LL-7? It's pleasant enough, would suit beginners and aromatic fans, but any more than one bowl bores me.

It seems like any other sweet aromatic out there. Somewhat recommended.

Two stars.

I've never been a big fan of Captain Black (at least the white version) because of it's goopiness and overly sweet taste. LL-7 is a close relative, but with the sweetness and goopiness both toned down. I smoked this sample in an XL Boswell, a Duncan Hill Aerosphere (a yard pipe, but a good smoke, especially for aromatics), and a Gatlin-Burlier 1/4 bent apple. The pack and lighting were only fair, par for the course for many aromatics. The blend also required more than the average amount of relights.

The flavor of this one was surprisingly good for me. It started out with a toasted caramel type taste for the first 2/3 of the bowl, then faded slightly to a burley/Virginia sweet nuttiness. I found myself wanting another bowl after finishing one, something that is easy to do with this all-day smoke. It burned down to a dark ash with no dottle, except in my Boswell, which is bored a little high in the bowl. That's not the fault of the tobacco.

Price is the thing that makes this tobacco stand out in a rather crowded pack (vanilla aromatics). There are some great buys to be had on the internet. I found it at LilBrownShack (www.lilbrown.com) for $14.40 a lb. I don't buy my tobacco on price alone, but it is a consideration, especially for someone like a college student on a budget. The aroma will help attract the co-eds to him, too.

Now the ratings: flavor-14 out of 20. Lighting and burn-5 of 10. Price-10 of 10. Overall score-29 of 40. LL-7 gets three stars from me. Give it a try, it might surprise you.