...in social situations and for both beginning and advanced pipe smokers. I say socially, because 1-Q is the quintessential pipe smoke whose aroma non-pipe smokers remember with fondness. The room note is so pleasant that anyone who complains about it is just plain being a freakish, high-minded wood tick. Good for beginners because 1-Q doesn't take a lot of fuss to enjoy. It's a good one with which to learn to pack a pipe because I've always found it easy to light and also forgiving if I don't get the pack quite right, and we do tend to learn from our mistakes where packing a pipe is concerned. And, you'll get a good Virginia tobacco flavor along with the light sweetness of the casing. Good for advanced pipe smokers too because, having worked at a local tobacconist for a couple of years after college, this was far and away our best seller to young and old pipe smokers as well as our most common ingredient in blending. It's a smooth, lightly sweet flavored tobacco without being overpowering on the tongue. That light sweetness feels natural to the tobacco too, not heavy as with some other cased products like the cherry or whiskey flavored aromatics, nothing against them. 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. P.S. My own experience was that once I wanted to expand my palate and choices, a good place to go from Lane's 1-Q was to try McClelland 2010, followed by McClelland 2000. Read Less

Update: After trying GH Bob's Chocolate Flake, I find that Luxury Twist Flake has a topping that's quite similar - sans the Lakeland essence. This is a great flake with a beautiful presentation; LTF does not disappoint. On the other hand, it is probably not going to please Virginia purists with such a distinctive casing. The pouch/tin note smells like powdered hot cocoa mix and fresh-baked bread. Its room note is pleasant as well. Preparation is easy, and behavior is good. Whether you choose to rub it to ribbons or fold-&-stuff, it's hard to mess this one up. The smoke is creamy, with a flavor that's mildy sweet with hints of cocoa and brown sugar, and I find it to be almost entirely bite-free. Additionally, the nicotine level is very low—even a big pipe of this on an empty stomach wont make you dizzy or ill, making it a very agreeable flake. As for aging, blends that are good when fresh—especially Virginias—are a thing of greatness, and this is one of 'em. With that said, it absolutely gets better with age. Still, it's nice to buy fresh flakes and be able to enjoy them as is. LTF is a perfect blend for those who want a Virginia flake with a sweeter twist, and if you liked Luxury Navy Flake, it's likely you'll enjoy this as well. Read Less

Guys and gals this is a real bargain. I love it fresh or aged a bit. This is a Virginia that from first light to the last puff is creamy and in the pastry realm. It smells like a bowl of Golden Grahams cereal. I like to fold and stuff for best results but rubbing out is sublime too. It does have a slight earthy quality but on the sweet side. Sometimes I get a touch of cinnamon, but overall is toasty and bready and doughy. Burns super easy. I love it! Read Less

I've been pipe-smoking for 45+ years and "grew up" with the OLD Balkan Sobranie, Dunhill 965 and Standard Full, Rattray's Red Rapp and Black Mallory as well as Bengal Slices, State Express, etc. While I have found nothing like these old blends, some of todays are very smoke-able. This, however, raises the bar to another level. If you have been lamenting the old/good stuff, this is worthy of your attention! I wanted to give it 5 stars, but somehow the website wouldn't allow it. Give it a try, you won't regret it! Read Less

As I have mentioned in other reviews I have only been smoking a pipe for 2 weeks. This so far after smoking several other blends I have found for my Virgin palette, this is to me the easiest smoking pipe tobacco yet. I smoke this like a freight train and have yet to find it to bite me, it just didn't happen. It has a little flavor not much. This is the smoothest tobacco I have ever smoked in my life. In my opinion if you're a new pipe smoker and you're not able to smoke this blend you might as well lay the pipe down. Read Less

I am definitely a Virginia and Va/Per lover. I have recently been having an affair with burley, particularly the lighter, OTC blends. I've come to like most burley-based blends very much. I guess my tastes in pipe tobacco are fairly eclectic: I also like light English blends and certain other latakia blends - long as they aren't "lat bombs". But I find myself always coming back to Virginia and Va/Per blends. So, after the fling with burley, I wanted to get several good quality Virginia-Va/Per blends for a nice change. Sutliff's Virginia Slices was one of them. I must say that the presentation is very interesting and attractive. These slices are cut considerably longer than most other flakes I've seen. I read that this is a European style. These slices rub out pretty easily, but my preferred method of flake preparation is a variation of "fold & stuff" I think of as "wad & stuff". So, I pulled a slice into a shorter section, then took a bit and simply wadded the tobacco into a ball and stuffed it into the bowl of my pipe. I repeated until the bowl was full. Bag note: smells like fresh, good ole tobacco. I couldn't detect a topping. This tobacco lights and burns readily to a fine, gray-white ash, and very few re-lights required. As with other Virginia blends, smoke this slowly to get the most flavor. Sip it! The smoke was cool and lasted a long time. Now, I usually have difficulty tasting the citrus notes everyone describes with Va blends. Plenty of grass and hay and all that, but citrus always seems to elude me. But with this blend, I was able to detect it! That sorta citrusy taste was subtle and would shy away whenever I tried to reach for it, but I was definitely getting it with this blend. Some earthiness in there, too, but lots of good, solid tobacco taste. Most Virginias leave a good after-taste for me, and Virginia Slices is no exception. It is also not hard on the tongue provided you don't huff n puff it. My favorite straight Virginia is G.L. Pease "Union Square"; Virginia Slices isn't going to beat it, in my opinion. But, just the same, this blend is tasty. Yes, it is a basic tobacco that is one- maybe two-dimensional. But, sometimes that's what is needed. This blend is good, especially for the price. I recommend it! Read Less

EDIT: 06/20/2019-2 years on and this is still one of my favorite blends. The DFK keeps drawing me back. Mixed this with some Five Brothers recently... wow, just wow. What can be said that hasn't already been said about this amazing blend?! Not much. I will just add my own two cents by saying that this is probably one of the most satisfyingly pleasant blends I have smoked to date. Really rich, wonderful flavor that gets only better as you work your way through the bowl. The flavor that it ends with is the highlight for me. There is a cocoa like flavor that comes through about halfway down. There is a bit of a nic-kick here to, so if you're a lightweight, smoke it on a full stomach and take your time. Another thing about this blend, it ages REALLY well. Buy yourself enough to enjoy right away and enough to squirrel away in your cellar. If you like Dark Fired Kentucky, this is one of the best I have tried thus far and it has been holding steady in 1st place of my tobacco rotation. Read Less

Ok, one bowl of RLP-6 was enough to make me a fan of this blend! I know I'll need more time with it to get to really know it, but my first impressions are very favorable. Many of the other reviews of this blend mention flavors like vanilla, nougat, chocolate, and various fruit. I guess I could taste some of these things, like the vanilla, but more than anything I was tasting caramel, something rather creamy, some nuttiness, and banana. Especially banana! No kidding. Banana! I didn't see any other reviews here or elsewhere mention a banana flavor. Maybe it's just me. Banana... Hmmmm... Anyway, don't get me wrong: I LOVE banana! And I love this blend. Also, there was plenty of real tobacco flavor in the mix, especially nuttiness from the burley. Great stuff, huh? I guess for me at least, RLP-6 drives me bananas AND nuts! Cheers. Read Less

Great Tobacco. Smokes cold, smokes dry, does not itch the tongue, great aroma, great flavor and the best thing is that smokes so easy. In a small pipe of 1.2 in chamber depth you can smoke for about 40 minutes smoking pleasurably. This is my 4th Sutliff tobacco and none disappointed me, I can say that it is a house that gives great guarantee on the quality of their tobaccos. Read Less

This is truly lovely English blend. I would recommend it to those looking for a replacement for the original Frog Morton.. I really love this tobacco -- mildly sweet, but you know there is latakia in there. That is comes is bulk is quite a bonus. Read Less

very good English blends, mild to medium, you can get the sweetness of the virginias, and sweet smokiness of the latakia, and spice of the oriental. The flavors all work well together in this blend. excellent everyday smoke Read Less

I've tried many English blends -- and will continue to do so to satisfy my curiosity -- but this remains my daily smoke. Flavorful with just the right Latakia perfume. Read Less

I know you are supposed to mix it. I mixed mine 50/50. Latakia/latakia. My buddy (Awesome guy) brought this over to try. I filled up my biggest bowl (Missouri Meerschaum General) and smoked it. This was smooth, smokey, silky, and sultry. I am hard-pressed to understand the need to mix it with other stuff, unless you are trying to make it last longer (best guess?). This was a great smoke. I am trying to figure what blends that good use some extra help to use it on... or maybe another straight indulgence. Read Less

Yes it's wet and yes it's actually a little sticky but this has to be one of the most flavorful aromatics I've ever tried. It takes a little extra effort to light but once it's going it burns really well with a nice thick smoke. Surprisingly it doesn't have that chewing gum effect of losing all the flavour before your done. It keeps it's flavour right to end. I'll be reordering this! Read Less

I keep around 10 blends in my rotation but this is my favorite. Some people liken it to the current (orange) version of Three Nuns but I beg to differ. Both Three Nuns and 403 share similar ingredients but they taste different. The dark fired Kentucky in 403 is not what we are used to tasting in the likes of Orlik DSK, HH ODF, you name it - it provides a serious dose of woodsy spice, almost bordering on a good Dijon mustard in the retrohale. The tin note is almost identical to Wheaties cereal. The taste profile is built upon the sweetness of the top quality and grassy VAs, which provide a very balanced and consistent sweetness in the background, with pops of delightful brown sugar taste every now and then. Somewhat forgiving to indulgent puffing, but still at its best when sipped. Never bites or gets bitter if packed right (loosely) - and for me the only way the pack this tobacco is to asymmetrically stack a few coins, roll and then stuff with the bottom half less dense and the top of the bowl denser. Oldest I've smoked had 6 months of aging in the jar with no mind-blowing improvement but I suspect it will improve with more time. If you want a tobacco with balanced sweetness and serious woodsy spice, then look no further. Happy smokes everyone! Read Less

I actually like this blend quite a bit. It is smooth, easy to keep lit, and has all the mellow breadyness we love about Virginias. Not very figgy, but very bready. One downside is that due to the cut it is quite dry, which means a faster burn and a hotter burn. But, then again, that makes it a perfect option for a quick smoke. It is also quite ideal for balancing out some of the wetter blends. A necessary staple for any well-stocked tobacco cellar. 3.5 stars. I recommend it. Read Less

I eyed this tobacco for some time, and waited until Autumn to buy it. I was scared that it would be an overly moist, soapy aromatic, and I had friends who said it was “bitey”. As soon as I opened the tin, my nose hadn’t even got close to it and I was greeted with a beautiful sweet smell of maple. I was intrigued to find out about this ‘red virginia cavendish’ from C&D and I packed my pipe and lit it for the first time. It was good, sweet and took light easily. The flavors were subtle and I got the taste of maple with the virginia cavendish tobacco. Middle of the bowl, it got a lot better, and I must say that that’s where the fun will stop for some people; during the final stages of my smoke I couldn’t taste any maple, but I could taste the tobacco. I have never tasted the straight red virginia cavendish from C&D so I couldn’t tell you if there was a difference, but boy I felt the nicotine was strong. It was relaxing - this is probably one to smoke indoors sitting comfortably with something good to read. I did take it out once, but didn’t appreciate it as much. There’s not a lot going on at once, it’s not a complicated blend. However, I would go as far as to say it’s one of the best aromatics I have tried. I enjoyed it so much, I bought a new pipe and dedicated it solely to this tobacco. That way nothing can change the delicate flavour this gives. It doesn’t bite as much as I was expecting - dumping the ash mid bowl seemed to revamp the taste of the maple. Read Less

The SP description lays it out. Not for the faint of heart. If you're new to VA/Per's, don't go here. Go with a 10-15% perique. Also, the particular Perique that C&D uses is very intense. It's dark, oily, musty deliciousness. The VA's in the blend are excellent. Sweet, clean favor. The perique in this blend is above excellent. It's what perique should be. Hints of dark fermented fruit. Only slightly "peppery". A nice loose leaf blend. Packs and lights perfectly, smokes through with only the occasional re-light. No bite, no gurgle, only a small dottle left un-burnt. Yes, it's full and intense. Yes, it strengthens as the bowl progresses. This is not a "light" blend, and not meant to be. It's heady and them some. I cannot say enough about the perique used here. The VA's are good, but there are lots of good VA's out there. This perique is special - very special. It's full flavored and totally satisfying. I looked for years for "my" favourite VA/Per - this is it. Heads and shoulder above and C&D blend I've ever tried - I found most of theirs sorta bland. This - this is wonderful. I will be buying pounds of it. Read Less

After smoking this blend, I find it hard to enjoy anything else. They say that a person always comes across that one blend that is for them, and this one is mine. I smoke about 4-5 bowls a day of it and it never gets old. For me it has a wonderful chocolate kind of flavor. I love the way it smells and tastes. I order about a 1lb a month of this and still have almost none cellared. I enjoy it that much. But I am also a simple person. YMMV. Read Less

Back in the early 80s we had a family friend in the shipping industry, who used travel the Gulf Coast from Port Arthur to Tampa, and he would bring plug-like chunks of Saint James Perique (along with packs of Picayune cigarettes!) back from his travels. That tobacco used to come in a big, pressed cake-like brick, with stems included, and we would cut it using a kitchen knife on a cutting board. Smoked it straight, or mixed with Granger Burley blend. This C&D long cut is as close to that as I have found. Plenty moist, and has the fermented scent, which always makes me think of old wood pilings in salt water. This smokes a lot smoother than I remember the raw Perique did, and seems to have less of a nicotine kick...and you dont have to pick out the stems! Bought an oz to try, and will likely get a lb next order to cellar and smoke. Been smoking this straight in a new Meer, and am thinking of trying some blending. Short of going to the source, this is the best pure Perique option available right now. Also available in a granulated cut, which may be more suited for blending...might need to get a can of Granger too! Read Less

Lane did it again! Very pleasant room note and taste. Burns very well if you leave it out to dry for about 15 min. Sit back and enjoy the aroma, what you smell coming out of the bag is exactly what you get in your room. No bite what so ever. I had bought 4oz. When I tried this I immediately bought 1lb. Read Less