Great post Andrew! I just placed a tobacco order last night, took advantage of your IPSD 10% off promo, and I received notice earlier today that it's shipped already. Good for beginners, because 1-Q doesn't take a lot of fuss to enjoy.It's a smooth, lightly sweet-flavored tobacco without being overpowering on the tongue.An excellent choice with which to begin your pipe smoking odyssey, and you'll likely return to it again and again as well, as one does with an old and trusted friend. The room note is so pleasant that anyone who complains about it is just being a freakish, high-minded wood tick. Of course, that doesn't mean that it isn't a staple for veteran smokers, with many relying on 1-Q as an all-day, everyday smoke. Like many of Lane's other products, it's quite forgiving, making it the perfect choice for new pipe smokers looking to develop their technique.
A classic mixture of golden and fire-cured Cavendishes, it's our number one, best-selling Aromatic here at Smokingpipes, and has been for years. When you talk to any non-smoker about pipe tobacco, they probably have a certain aroma wafting through their mind's nose, and more than likely that aroma came from Lane Limited's 1-Q. I've tried hundreds of different blends but this one is in my top three favorites. It has a very mild flavor, and I always get comments on the aroma, even sitting outside - someone said they smelled it from a block away and loved it. This classic Captain Black blend never disappoints. Marked by a royal-blue color palette, Captain Black's aptly named Royal mixture combines Black and Gold Cavendishes with flavors of vanilla, molasses, caramel, and subtle liqueur for a delightfully complex flavor profile and enticing room note. For many pipe smokers, Captain Black's blends represent the archetype of Aromatic mixtures, redolent of nostalgia and conjuring memories of times when pipe-smoking was more commonplace in society. Made under the Lane Limited name - a tobacco manufacturer with roots dating to Dresden, Germany, in 1890 - Captain Black is among the world's most iconic lines of pipe tobacco, having made its debut in 1956 and eventually becoming America's best-selling pipe tobacco brand. Hopefully it simplifies your selection process and maybe even introduces you to some future favorites. It's an ideal list for paring down the myriad options should you be interested in exploring the expansive world of Aromatics. For this article, though, we're overviewing Smokingpipes' top 11 best-selling Aromatic tobaccos. Chuck Stanion dove deeper into the blending and categorization of Aromatics in a previous article in which he discussed the topic with Jeremy Reeves, Head Blender of Cornell & Diehl. Most tobaccos are flavored to some degree so the term "aromatic" can be misleading, but Aromatic blends are those that are flavored in such a way that it affects the room note to a considerable degree. Instead, the grouping is characterized more by the tobaccos' flavoring and room note. Unlike English, Burley, or Virginia blends, Aromatic pipe tobaccos - as a family of pipe tobacco - aren't defined by their components. I'm sure many of you have similar stories. I'm glad I was wrong - the world of pipe tobacco is so much more enjoyable with diversity - but Aromatics still carry a certain nostalgia for me. I later learned I had Captain Black Original to thank for that sweet aroma, and admittedly, I assumed for the longest time that Aromatic pipe tobaccos were pipe tobacco. I never remember him smoking, but I remember those pipes and how the chambers reminded me of vanilla candles. That progression was certainly true for me: Growing up, I would often sneak into my father's study to smell his pipes. Because of their pleasant aromas, Aromatic pipe tobaccos are often reached for when first venturing into the pipe-smoking hobby - before one discovers Latakia-, Burley-, or Virginia-forward blends.
Their enticing room notes of vanilla, or chocolate, or cherry, or whiskey often conjure fond memories of pipe-smoking grandparents or rekindle a nostalgia for one's early pipe-smoking days. For many pipe smokers and non-pipe smokers alike, Aromatic blends represent the archetypal pipe tobacco.