I've smoked about 8ish bowls of this tobacco so far and it came up in conversation in another thread. I didn't want to go too off topic in that thread so here are my thoughts (not so much a review) of LEO by Lane.
First off, I haven't experienced many English blends and those I'm attracted to are either on the lighter side of the English moon and/or have more of a Virginia/Oriental push. LEO falls into both categories comfortably. My EARLY thoughts...
Tin Stuff & Cost-
I appreciate the value of a dollar. Like everyone else I work for my money. I can appreciate when I receive quality for it. $6.40 a tin. This becomes a point of interest later.
The tin art is simple. The black and gold/yellow look sharp and give it a classy-bold look especially with the name in all caps. I know it's got it's credentials on the tin about winning an award, but honestly that really doesn't mean that much to me. Everything is subjective when it comes to taste.
Inside the tin, we have the standard paper liner with the standard paper top sheet that the tobacco loves to stick too. I tend to like my tobacco a "little" moist and this was perfect upon opening. The tobacco itself is cut into THIN ribbons that end up taking a lighting really well. In fact it burns very even and heavy puffing can rush through even a large bowl.
I don't pretend to know which ribbon of tobacco is the Virginia, Latakia (I'm guessing the blackish bits), or the catchall term...Orientals. However based on other visual experiences and amount of dark leaf I see, I expect the flavor to have a fuller Latakia body but this is not the case.
The tin note itself is largely what I (probably mistakenly) associate with standard English blends. Leather, herbs, dry paper, and intrigue.
The Smoke-
This tobacco takes flame easily. It wants you to smoke it. It knows what it wants and I like that. Initial lighting gives an upfront Latakia smokey flavor that lasts for only a few minutes. I'm always a bit surprised by this. As the Latakia quiets down the sweetness (not overly, I have to look for it) of the Virginias come forward with the herb like Orientals trailing a bit behind.
It's almost as if these three tobaccos are taking a road trip together. The Virginia sits up front driving keeping it's eyes on the road and having a friendly conversation with the Orientals beside it, while the Latakia has quieted down and started to drift off in the back seat. I think the interaction between the Virginia and Orientals are almost equal at the start, the conversation smooth with neither side taking the lead in it. A sweet and sour interplay happens between the too for the first 1/3 of the bowl. Snorked through the nose you get a slight spice tingle but nothing that immediate that makes my brain register anything specific. The onion/herb-like scent is slight but there.
After a bit the Orientals start to direct the control of the conversation a bit more and while the Virginia stays involved, they instead turn slightly creamy and smooth. The flavor on the tongue is one of a cream based herb soup but not anywhere near as forward as say Dunhill's EMP. Instead the taste is like a smooth lightly sweet chive. The smoke has more substances now that everything is simmering together and stays that way for the until right before the end.
Somewhere past the 2/3's mark the entire flavor becomes a little muted and muddied together. It isn't unpleasant it just feels like the various tobaccos are done conversing and instead there's a comfortable but dull silence that's taken over. This might be a "me" problem. I often find that tobaccos stall out in terms of taste for me towards the bottom third of a bowl.
I hate the always present term "it burned down to a fine white ash" but I do think this tobacco burns very evenly and light. I usually have much more "good" tobacco left at the bottom of a bowl when I dump it, but I find myself with very little dottle when smoking this.
Randoms-
This tobacco doesn't bite when puffed up. It's fairly smooth, but blowing plumes of smoke hide the Virginia and Oriental tobaccos in the smoke. This tobacco doesn't require Zen like focus (or nonfocus...I see you No trap) either. It's very easy to enjoy this blend while doing anything. Some tobaccos that I enjoy immensely I can only smoke a few times a week. Too much of a good thing/what have you. This tobacco doesn't fit that profile for me...I enjoy it several times a day.
I really enjoy the sweet/sour flavor in the first half of this. Towards the end I also like the "same but different" push the Orientals make with their herbs and cream taste. Again I would not consider this tobacco Oriental forward as other Englishes, but I believe that they are the the MVP in this blend. That's no slight to the early Virginias or sleepy Latakia. Everything can be picked out but nothing jumps out awkwardly.
To wrap up this ramble, I come back to the price. I would have easily felt I got my moneys worth if I had paid $9-$10 for this tin. Instead I paid the very comfortable price of six and change. When I mention price I'm not trying to focus so much on the low cost as I am the quality I think this blend brings for it's low cost. Nothing feels muted or skimped on here. I don't advocate trying this because it's cheap. However if you like light Englishes I advocate trying this because IMO it's good and cheap.
Last thoughts I promise. Nicotine. Didn't notice any, but I'm not highly sensitive. Also if all the projected information on aging tobaccos is correct then I would think that this blend's Virginias would put the rack time to good use. I don't have any personal experience to back that up....but I plan too.
This tobacco isn't my best friend in the whole wide world, but we can definitely hang out a few times a year.
First off, I haven't experienced many English blends and those I'm attracted to are either on the lighter side of the English moon and/or have more of a Virginia/Oriental push. LEO falls into both categories comfortably. My EARLY thoughts...
Tin Stuff & Cost-
I appreciate the value of a dollar. Like everyone else I work for my money. I can appreciate when I receive quality for it. $6.40 a tin. This becomes a point of interest later.
The tin art is simple. The black and gold/yellow look sharp and give it a classy-bold look especially with the name in all caps. I know it's got it's credentials on the tin about winning an award, but honestly that really doesn't mean that much to me. Everything is subjective when it comes to taste.
Inside the tin, we have the standard paper liner with the standard paper top sheet that the tobacco loves to stick too. I tend to like my tobacco a "little" moist and this was perfect upon opening. The tobacco itself is cut into THIN ribbons that end up taking a lighting really well. In fact it burns very even and heavy puffing can rush through even a large bowl.
I don't pretend to know which ribbon of tobacco is the Virginia, Latakia (I'm guessing the blackish bits), or the catchall term...Orientals. However based on other visual experiences and amount of dark leaf I see, I expect the flavor to have a fuller Latakia body but this is not the case.
The tin note itself is largely what I (probably mistakenly) associate with standard English blends. Leather, herbs, dry paper, and intrigue.
The Smoke-
This tobacco takes flame easily. It wants you to smoke it. It knows what it wants and I like that. Initial lighting gives an upfront Latakia smokey flavor that lasts for only a few minutes. I'm always a bit surprised by this. As the Latakia quiets down the sweetness (not overly, I have to look for it) of the Virginias come forward with the herb like Orientals trailing a bit behind.
It's almost as if these three tobaccos are taking a road trip together. The Virginia sits up front driving keeping it's eyes on the road and having a friendly conversation with the Orientals beside it, while the Latakia has quieted down and started to drift off in the back seat. I think the interaction between the Virginia and Orientals are almost equal at the start, the conversation smooth with neither side taking the lead in it. A sweet and sour interplay happens between the too for the first 1/3 of the bowl. Snorked through the nose you get a slight spice tingle but nothing that immediate that makes my brain register anything specific. The onion/herb-like scent is slight but there.
After a bit the Orientals start to direct the control of the conversation a bit more and while the Virginia stays involved, they instead turn slightly creamy and smooth. The flavor on the tongue is one of a cream based herb soup but not anywhere near as forward as say Dunhill's EMP. Instead the taste is like a smooth lightly sweet chive. The smoke has more substances now that everything is simmering together and stays that way for the until right before the end.
Somewhere past the 2/3's mark the entire flavor becomes a little muted and muddied together. It isn't unpleasant it just feels like the various tobaccos are done conversing and instead there's a comfortable but dull silence that's taken over. This might be a "me" problem. I often find that tobaccos stall out in terms of taste for me towards the bottom third of a bowl.
I hate the always present term "it burned down to a fine white ash" but I do think this tobacco burns very evenly and light. I usually have much more "good" tobacco left at the bottom of a bowl when I dump it, but I find myself with very little dottle when smoking this.
Randoms-
This tobacco doesn't bite when puffed up. It's fairly smooth, but blowing plumes of smoke hide the Virginia and Oriental tobaccos in the smoke. This tobacco doesn't require Zen like focus (or nonfocus...I see you No trap) either. It's very easy to enjoy this blend while doing anything. Some tobaccos that I enjoy immensely I can only smoke a few times a week. Too much of a good thing/what have you. This tobacco doesn't fit that profile for me...I enjoy it several times a day.
I really enjoy the sweet/sour flavor in the first half of this. Towards the end I also like the "same but different" push the Orientals make with their herbs and cream taste. Again I would not consider this tobacco Oriental forward as other Englishes, but I believe that they are the the MVP in this blend. That's no slight to the early Virginias or sleepy Latakia. Everything can be picked out but nothing jumps out awkwardly.
To wrap up this ramble, I come back to the price. I would have easily felt I got my moneys worth if I had paid $9-$10 for this tin. Instead I paid the very comfortable price of six and change. When I mention price I'm not trying to focus so much on the low cost as I am the quality I think this blend brings for it's low cost. Nothing feels muted or skimped on here. I don't advocate trying this because it's cheap. However if you like light Englishes I advocate trying this because IMO it's good and cheap.
Last thoughts I promise. Nicotine. Didn't notice any, but I'm not highly sensitive. Also if all the projected information on aging tobaccos is correct then I would think that this blend's Virginias would put the rack time to good use. I don't have any personal experience to back that up....but I plan too.
This tobacco isn't my best friend in the whole wide world, but we can definitely hang out a few times a year.
