At tobaccoreviews.com by Moi:
"One reviewer noted that "...it's hard to argue with the best selling blend in the world". That's true but only for the herd of cows that can be unwaveringly driven over a cliff, as one simply follows another over the precipice. 1-Q has also been described as a Captain Black but with better tobaccos - if so I'm glad I never bought the Captain. No this blend is a Virginia/Cavendish with a real dollop of vanilla flavoring.
Dollop enough that a good drying is essential and even then not successful. And although the blend is certainly very mild, you will soon be made aware that Viriginia and flavoring bite is a possibility and you will have to really focus on s-l-o-w sipping, and even then...
Nice pouch note, nice room note, no complaints but from the smoker's perspective not much to talk about - I found 1-Q unidimensional and oddly "edgy" - a tobacco I had to fight with to keep lit. Two things dominate - the aromatics and that little Virginia bite. You are tempted to buy this tobacco as a "mild, all-day, gentle aromatic" based on numerous cattle reviews, but I'm afraid these are overstated and overly influenced more by the reviews than by the experience.
I'm not saying 1-Q is bad; it's just not all that pleasant; and the underlying tobacco is so remote as to be hard to find. There's some tobacco there, but we're just not sure where. Personally, I think this is a tobacco that is smoked based on herd reviews and their wive's approval for the room note, not for the smoke itself.
As a comparison, I dare you to fired up Lanes RLP-6, which will immediately show you the difference - still aromatic but very lightly so. Tobacco-forward, not behind, lovely nutty Burley effects and contribution to good burning. Burns beautifully with no real re-lights out of the pouch. RLP-6 is really the blend 1-Q could and should have been, but wasn't. As a result 1-Q is little more than a common aromatic drugstore pouch tobacco aimed at getting laid, albeit with probably better tobacco. But not much.
But don't believe me - or the herd reviews - buy an ounce of each: 1-Q and RLP-6 and compare them. I daresay you'll prefer the RLP-6 in every way.
Pipe Used: MM Cob - Eaton
Age When Smoked: 1 month
Purchased From: Local Tobacconist: house "blend"
