When I visited San Antonio two years ago, we stayed at the Menger Hotel and there is a small tobacco shop there called Club Humidor. I stopped in and sampled some of their pipe tobaccos. I asked if they use Lane’s tobaccos to make their blends and I was told that they do. Normally, I just figure, “Well, I have most base Lane’s tobaccos; I don’t need to buy anyone else’s blend,” but I came across one that I fell in love with: Original. I can’t put my finger on it, but whatever they do to blend it is magical. However, I didn’t initially think so.

I purchased some Original as a sort of, “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me” purchase and I figured it would be a tobacco that just sat on a shelf. It smelled really nice, but I didn’t have high hopes for it. Later that day, sitting on a park bench outside the hotel and looking at the Alamo, I smoked a bowl. It was nice, but at the time, I didn’t note anything special about it.

Yet something stuck, and I found myself wanting to smoke it again. At home a few days later, I filled one of my precious Peterson’s with some Original, and smoked it. Again, I found its flavor was very subtle but it was very smooth with no bite. It burned nice and evenly, and I was able to smoke it all the way down to the bottom of the bowl without any special tricks or technique. It was not too heady; the nicotine content wasn’t too high. It was also not too wet, nor was it too dry. In many ways, it was perfect.

Over the next few months, I would smoke it after smoking many other tobaccos and I was always impressed with how much I liked it, how well it smoked, its nice smooth flavor, etc. As I neared the end of the 2 oz package, I lamented no longer having any more of this fine tobacco left for me to smoke. San Antonio is at least three hours away, and I didn’t know if they sold online. Their website was more marketing than commerce, so I figured I’d just pick some up the next time I was in San Antonio.

That “Next time” was this weekend. I purchased 16 ounces as well as a holiday blend of theirs called Yuletide. When I got home, I smoked a bowl of the Original: it was everything I remembered and then some. It’s truly an aromatic tobacco fan’s dream: beautiful room note, smooth flavor, no bite, and even burning. There is no overwhelming flavor to overpower the palette. I learned while in the store that they accept orders over the phone. When I run out of this tobacco (and I will!), I will certainly order more from them.