Lane Limited Captain Black Midnight Gold

When you open the tin there is a sweet vanilla aroma and there is a nice variety of colors. I bought this tin about 9 months ago and the moisture was just about perfect when I finally got around to popping the lid. It packs well, but the various cuts seem to lend itself to being a little more thoughtful during the packing process. It takes a light very well, but I find it stays lit more consistently if you have a charring light first and then light the vowl a second time. The smoke is plentiful and white. The aroma is sweet with the main player being vanilla. However, the taste is tobacco. The tobacco taste is very mild and there is no bite at all. Again, the word here is mild. Puffing fast or slow does not change this and the taste stays the same all the way to the bottom of the bowl. To me, the Virginia plays more of a roll than you might think. The Burley tobacco seems to be in the background. I have smoked a ton of Black Cavendish in my day, but I had a tough time noticing a big Cavendish hit with this one. Maybe this speaks to the tobacco's balance in that none of the elements drowns out any of the others. The ash is fine, but a little dark for my taste. Some of the sugars may burn a little hot and darken the ash at the end. It does, however, jump out with a tap on the knocker. My wife loves the aroma of this stuff and I can enjoy a mild tobacco flavor at the same time. She likes it better than Captain Black Royal and better than 1Q. The aroma also tends to leave very quickly so this one might just be the one to please most people most of the time. By the way, I find Captain Black Royal, CB White, and 1Q to be stronger than this premium cousin. And, this stuff works better in a Brier than a cob. The same cannot be said for the other cousins in this genre. For those looking for a mild well-balanced blend that will please a crowd, this is worth the very affordable price.