Lane Limited Captain Black Red Sky

I've tried a lot if not all of the major OTC cherry blends, both past and present and this one has to be the best......past and present. if you don't like aromatics or particularly care for cherry or fruit blends I'd recommend you pass on this one. Now I don't always smoke aromatics, but like a dessert wine or after dinner liqueur it hits the spot from time to time. Tin art was modern and simple, aroma was that of a cherry danish pastry. Presentation was lovely with colors ranging from black to bright and some chestnuts in-between. A tad wet, but by the time I smoked a second bowl a few days later it was almost perfect. Upon lighting it took the match well, thick white smoke prevailed and I was left with warm cherry flavour with no heat. The cherry wasn't boisterous and had a creamy finish, by mid bowl the flavors changed to an old school bubble gum and stayed with me till the end. Normally that sounds unsavory but in this case it worked. A cool smoke with enough vitamin N to keep me interested. Not an all day everyday, but certainly welcome from time to time and certainly the king of all the cherry blends.

Because of the other 2 Captain Black Premium tins, I decided to smoke this in a very large corn cob pipe. When you open the tin, there is a nice cherry aroma and some colorful tobacco. The moisture level is just about right. The cut seems a little shorter than most ribbon cuts that I have seen. It packs nicely and, even before lighting, you can puff and taste the cherry. The cherry flavor hits first, but there is a fine tobacco flavor that follows closely. The taste and aroma remind me of a Blackstone Sweet Cherry pipe tobacco cigar. The taste is full and there is no tongue bite at all. It is very mild and does smoke cool. The Burley tobacco keep this one from smelling and smoking like candy. As a result, the room note seems more tobacco rather than cherry. But it is very pleasant. The cherry backs off about halfway down the bowl and the Virginia and Burley tobacco maintain the smoke. However, the room aroma stays pretty much the same to the end. The smoke is dry and is forgiving of fast puffing. This is not true of most aromatics. The nicotine level is a bit low, but will sustain you. The ash is a little clumpy and this will ghost your pipe for a bit; so keep a single pipe for this until you finish the tin. I recommend this for aromatic smokers looking to transition to Burley tobaccos. For Burley lovers, this is not as sweet as Prince Albert's Cherry Vanilla, but the room note is better. For those looking for that perfect cherry, this will surely make the tip 3!

This is one of those very rare tobaccos that is under rated by pipe smokers and is so relatively unknown in the pipe tobacco markets. It deserves a better reputation and greater fame with a more widespread distribution. Lane Limited should push and distribute this more than what they presently do. My usual choice for tobacco is good Oriental tobaccos. I usually do my best to stay away from aromatics. The majority of the time I get tongue bite and mouth burn; a hot gurgling pipe with a taste I don't really enjoy.

I won't go into a technical description of the blend of this tobacco. I will simply say that the taste is wonderful, I have not ever been able to push it to being hot, I have never gotten tongue bite. It always lights easy and burns to the bottom of the bowl without having to constantly relight. No gurgling, no soaking wet bowl. The note given off by the burning tobacco is delightful. Not an aromatic lover, this has amazingly become my favorite tobacco to really relax with and enjoy, allowing my thoughts to go wherever and not have to concentrate on the mechanics of keeping my pipe lit. This blend always reminds me of why I smoke a pipe in the first place. I never imagined this would happen with an aromatic. Remember, my favorites were always Orientals; not anymore. More than 55 years of smoking pipes. What a wonderful surprise!

I really like this one. It tends toward medium, is cool and slow burning and the flavor lasts. Good in both briar and meer. I tried a lot of cherry blends this year, and this is one of my top three.

It's a cherry aro with a hint of vanilla. The topping is thick and I can see how that would be offputting to some. I love it though. You get a solid cherry flavor throughout the smoke and the room note is amazing. My wife loves when I smoke this and has even said "you need to smoke that one more." Definitely a candidate for an all day smoke with minimal relights

Lane Ltd. - Captain Black Red Sky.

Where the tin aroma goes, this has to have one of the strongest cherry smells I've come across. The majority of the ribbons are short and stubby, they appear to include a fair amount of each constituent, and the fresh tin was perfect with hydration.

With the smoke I'm going to have to lean more toward those who rate the added flavour stronger. I get a decent sharpness/acidity from the cherry, especially at the start. A quarter of the way in the cherry subsides a little, clearing the way for a slight vanilla trait, and a lot more tobacco. The burn can be a little quick if it's puffed harshly, which due to the lack of bite, and cool temperature, happens quite easily.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: first to rate it very pleasant.

One of my favourite cherry blends. Highly recommended:

Four stars.