Lane Limited MV-1000

Interesting aromatic. I am not a big aro smoker but I do enjoy them once in awhile. When I get the craving it is usually in the morning with coffee. The other time is afternoons around Christmas when I am home with nothing to do but sit by the fire with the family and fire up McClelland's Holiday Spirit, but that is another story... and another review. As an infrequent smoker of aro's, I am not sure how unique a Virginia only aromatic is but this is very unique to me. Maybe Cavendish is too sweet or absorb flavors differently, same may be said for Burley, I am not sure but this is a light aromatic compared to most and maybe it is the VA only that keeps this more firmly grounded in the tobacco world instead of the candy world. The pouch note is great like most aro's, Vanilla is the main aroma I get but there is a hint of caramel and a hint of fruit. I get a generic tobacco aroma "built in" but it is not something I would call a typical VA aroma.

The flavor is also quite nice. You can get the grassy VA flavor and that does become more pronounced at the end of the smoke. There also some earthy notes. The primary flavor is Vanilla and it is ever present. I have read that some say it flashes off but I do not experience that. It does fade and the Virginia flavor becomes more noticeable: grassy and even some toasted bread, but the Vanilla and other flavors stay until the end. This burns real well with some dry time. I have had it in a jar for over a year and it has dried out some but still needs 10 plus minutes. After drying it will burn with one light another miracle for an aromatic. Not an everyday smoke for me but this is a go to aro for me and I attribute this to the fact that it is a straight VA aro, and even a bad VA is still pretty good, in my opinion, this one is a stand out aromatic.

Very well flavored, very easy to smoke. Highly recommended as an introduction for new pipe smokers. The room note is nice and not overpowering. This is recommended for someone who enjoys Virginia tobacco.

My b&m has this under a different name and called it a Virginia. So I quiz him to get the real name and brand. I knew it was a aromatic. With that being said it is a nice mild tobacco perfect for the summer. Smokes clean. Smoke it slow and enjoy. It is what it is.

A recent sale on Lane Limited blends led me to this wonderful Virginia style smoke. Lane tobaccos should be labeled "light". All the variations I've tried have a very light, mellow flavor (some almost non-existent). This is in that vein, as it is a very straightforward, super light Virginia.

In the pouch, it consists of beautiful golden yellow ribbons throughout. It has a strong vanilla aroma, but that never comes out in the smoke. It is moist but not drippy or goopy, with no topping holding it together, sticking to your fingers, or ghosting your pipe. I could smoke this easily in my pipes reserved for English blends and not feel it would change the flavor of those.

The tobacco lights easily, and the only semblence of topping I get is the mild sweetness it adds to the light Virginia flavor. It tastes very much to me like Capstan Gold, but dialed way back. In that respect, I think this is a truly wonderful tobacco and would earn my vote for best starter tobacco, especially if someone wants to have more tobacco flavor. The Virginia is mild, grassy and sweet, the sweetness obviously greatly enhanced. I don't get any lemony or sour flavors in this. It is consistently sweet and mildly grassy throughout the bowl. If I smoked all day, this would be the tobacco I would go to most often. Not as rich as the more complex and expensive Virginias, but most definitely good and a solid 3 stars (maybe even 4, if you aren't interested in more variety of flavors).

Smoking now:

The aroma is sweet, vanilla, raisins. There is a bright Virginia grassy, hay, citrus, apple, raisin, and honey graham cracker smell. Smells nice to me as a Virginia smoker. Bright colored ribbons and pieces. Moisture is fine, it’s not sticky or overly wet. Packed and lights just fine.

Initially on lighting I do gets notes of sweet vanilla however that quickly disappeared within the first quarter of the bowl. The Virginias are bright, sweet, with some bread, and cookies. Very mild with the added topping greatly sweetening and mellowing them out. The retrohale at first is mild and sweet, however as the bowl gets deeper it becomes more grassy and bread like with some baking spice. Average relights, this needs to be smoked slow, it burns hot, would definitely bite. At the half way point when the topping dies out this becomes more grassy, citrus, bread, however it does stay sweet. Leaves an “eh” aftertaste in my mouth that needs to be washed with coffee which is fine with me because I enjoy aromatics with coffee.

For a bulk aromatic it’s good especially if you like Virginias. Room note I’m told is vanilla and pleasant. Someone else said it was like church incense and that it was nice. So one to smoke around others. Isn’t overly wet, sticky, or messy. Has some pleasant Virginia qualities to it. 3 star aromatic.