Tobaccos Tinder Box - Wilshire

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2013-10-14		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

As this is Lane's 1-Q, I'm repeating that review here: Sold under dozens of different names, people buy it more than most other blends. It's not hard to see why. Vanilla and caramel are appealing flavors, especially when not overdone so that you get sick of it. That doesn't happen here. Not much tobacco taste here, except for a little grass and a hint of citrus from the Virginia. Burns cool at a reasonable pace with a consistent flavor. Will leave some moisture in your bowl, and needs an average number of relights. No bite, and little nicotine. Has an okay after taste. This is one of the quintessential "all day smoking blends", and though it's not a complex mixture, that works to its advantage for people who just want a pleasant, no nonsense, comfortable all day smoke.

-JimInks

7 people found this review helpful.

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	robinbj (11)	2015-11-28		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Ok. Here's the deal. Supposedly Tinderbox sold the blend to lane and lane then called the blend 1q...not true at all.

Wilshire is 1Q, was always 1Q, tinderbox had nothing to do with the creation of this blend. Call the original store in CA, they'll tell you the same thing.

With that said, it's delicious. But 45 a lb from tinderbox is steep, I'll buy it from any other online source under its original labeling of 1Q

Similar Blends: Lane 1Q.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-02-22		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Wilshire was created in 1974 at the Tinderbox on Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles.

Lane purchased it fom the Tinderbox which became Lane's infamous 1-Q.

Oh well, it's a low-maintenance, pleasant smoke if not pushed too hard. Plus, it passes the girlfriend/wife room note test with flying colors.

Recommended.

4 people found this review helpful.

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	fr_tom (393)	2015-09-13		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I have tried this several times. The Tinderbox employees who don't seem to smoke themselves insist this is what you really want when you get a tin of ODF or Plumcake. I have had an ounce thrown in with a pipe purchase, etc.

This presents as a mild golden cavendish in a narrow ribbon. The pouch note is vanilla and caramel with maybe a little coconut. Smoked, it tastes to me like a toasted marshmallow, and I don't get much tobacco flavor. It is better than not smoking but not by much for me.

This tobacco seems to have its fans, but I am not one of them. I can believe it is a smoke other people like.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-08-06		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I told the guy at tinderbox that I am a pretty enthusiastic smoker of english blends, but wanted to try out some "aromatic" types. He recommended Wilshire to me and I'm grateful he did. This is not my FAVORITE tobacco, but features heavily in my rotation now.

Positives: It smells sweet and vanilla-ish in the bag and the smoke is the same (my girlfriend reports the smoke is almost too sweet-smelling for her liking, actually). To me, the taste is akin to smoking a cigar while drinking a cream soda... but not too horribly sweet. Pretty mild, but not lacking in flavor. I felt no tongue bite, even with pretty aggressive smoking. Very cool-smoking, no gurgling problems. I packed it via the frank method and only had to relight it once toward the end of the bowl.

Negative: The only real negative thing I can say is a bit of a bitter-acid taste in the back of the throat that I've randomly encountered (rarely). Now, I have smoked pipes and cigars for about 8 years now and nicotine doesn't usually bother me, but the flavor I'm talking about is LIKE the nicotine flavor you get from a strong cigar or from chew. I'm not sure where this is coming from or if anyone else encounters this with this blend, but I have experienced it more than a couple of times. Strange... I'll update this review if I figure out what's going on (ie what I'm doing to cause this??)

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-10-21		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

Otherwise known as Lane's 1-Q, the Wilshire blend is my favorite of the Tinderbox bulk aromatics. I've kept coming back to it over the years, as it has a warm and sweet yet subtly spicy flavor and aroma with hints of perhaps vanilla, almond, apricot, and ginger. This is one of the classic aromatic tobacco blends which inspire such fond memories.

I feel that Wilshire is often unjustly written off by those who are looking for a bolder, more distinguished and prevalent flavor, and by those that don't care for a sweet smoke. That being said, Wilshire isn't for everyone, and shouldn't be smoked by those that are looking for something more than what it has to offer.

I would actually caution newcomers away from this blend because it can be more temperamental than others if you're not yet proficient with a pipe. It can be on the moist and sticky side, so I would recommend letting a fresh batch sit and dry for a time before being packed. Also, don't smoke this one too quickly because it can bite and muck up your pipe if you're impatient with it.

If you find yourself frequenting this blend, I would recommend having a briar pipe to use just for it. It doesn't smoke as true in pipes seasoned by most other aromatic blends (though some aren't a problem) nor does it compliment pipes seasoned with English blends. However, its subtle flavor wont ghost an aromatic pipe.

Wilshire is perfect for a relaxing and gently flavored pipe to linger on for an hour or so, filling the air with a hearty and sweet aroma that aims to please both the casual smoker and company alike.

Enjoy.

3 people found this review helpful.

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	Pipestud (1829)	2009-06-02		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

I got acquainted with Lane's I-Q (aka Wilshire at Tinderbox outlets), back in the late 1970s where it was known as "Special #2" at the old Pipe Pub franchise shops located around the southwest. I am glad this one is in the database and will give fellow pipe smokers knowledge regarding what they are actually purchasing if they pick up a pouch at a Tinderbox Chain Store.

This is one of my all-time favorite aromatic blends. It is nutty, sweet, tastes like tobacco, has a bit of nicotine strength, is very cool burning and is enjoyed tremendously by those non-smokers who happen to be around me while I'm puffing on this classic. Enjoyed by pipe smokers worldwide in droves, it is not THE all-time top selling Lane tobacco blend for no reason.

Good anytime, day or night... If you have a sweet tooth.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-07-16		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

As a reformed cigar smoker(well, I still smoke a stick now and again) I've developed a certain palate that I will, hopefully, be able to refine a bit more now that I've started getting into pipes. This is my first review and my first "not-drug-store" tobacco so here goes:

The vanilla in the Willshire seems heavy to the smell...once lit though, the tobacco flavors kick in and remind you that you are, indeed, smoking something. As others have found, I thought this one to be a bit on the wet side and I had some issues keeping it lit through the first few bowls. Of course, as a new pipe smoker that might have been user error as well so I won't fault the tobacco too much.

My wife and friends enjoyed the scent from this one which is a big win since much of my smoking time is around others. I will purchase this again as I really like the fragrance and copious amounts of smoke that it imparts when it gets burning good!

I'd also like to note that I really enjoy reading the other reviews on this site! They've been invaluable to a newbie and I appreciate all the work done by others!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2014-10-30		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Very good blend. Good base tobacco flavor, with hints of walnut, licorice and honey/butter. The licorice makes this uniquely tasty, IMHO. Smokes clean on one light, no mess. 3+*.

Pipe Used: Nording

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Tinder Box, Mishawaka, IN

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Bishop_Pipe (5)	2013-02-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Unnoticeable

This I picked up in the Daytona Tinderbox, after the manager recommended it, as it is their best selling tobacco. Well I have only just found out that 1Q comes from Wilshire, so I'm glad I put some money into the original blender!

The tobacco is nice smelling, no particular flavours that I could pick out. It packs and lights very easily.

To me this tasted like a nice mellow virginia and burley blend rather than cavendish. (Shows how accurate my tastebuds are!) But never the less, the taste is slightly sweet, a nice straw kind of taste. It is relatively slow burning, and very smooth indeed.

I would recommend this as an all day smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RyeWhiskey (43)	2012-03-19		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A good no-hassle blend. Smells a bit sweet when you open the lid with nice long strands of tobacco mixed with black cavendish. The vanilla is really an undertone if you will.

Smokes great, I just let gravity fill the bowl and top it off with a push of the thumb, char it then light it up full. After 5 minutes or so, I drop out the top ash and then it pretty much smokes all the way down to the heel with minimum condensation. Even with aggressive smoking it doesn't bite. Leaves a nice room-note.

Nothing real fancy in the taste, some sweetness in the wafting smoke some mild nicotine but does get some bitterness near the end, but then again, most of the tobaccos I've tried do that near the heel.

Good all-around starter or those who want to try a light Aromatic.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Pipe hound in PalmSprings (9)	2012-03-11		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I was swayed by your reviews and glad I tried Wilshire. Not much of a selection here in Palm Springs and never was a fan of Tinder Box. This one is something I would try again. Very smooth with good aroma. This would be a great beginner.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-06-21		Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

It smells good and tastes good. I liked it and will buy it again. to up the nicotine level I did mix the last litle bit I had about 50/50 with Prince albert, That was pretty good the taste of Wilshire came threw over the prince.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-01-27		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I enjoy Wilshire by itself, but my preference is to mix Wilshire 1-to-1 with Midnight from Tinder Box.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-12-07		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I have smoked this of and on for about 15 years and often use it as a blending tobacco for harsher aromatics. I would recommend it to newer pipe smokers, but I have to say, be careful, sometimes it's a bit dry and may need slight re hydration and then it can be very wet and in need of drying. That aside, it has a very mild vanilla spice flavor and is one of the mildest aromatics I can think of. It remains consistently flavorful from first light to last puff. A good rotational tobacco when going from aromatics to light English blends.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-07-16		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed this blend. That said, it is pretty generic (Yes, I know, it's Lane's 1-Q.) in taste and quality. To me, it had a robust, yet very subtly sweet taste, that at times hinted at a cigar-like flavor. By and large, this is a forgettable blend, but while it's being smoked it's a pleasurable experience.

This is a great blend for someone just getting started with pipes: Not too harsh, but just enough spirit to keep you interested until you find something you like better, as you most certainly will.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	DeadMensPipes (38)	2010-03-28		Medium	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

The very courteous and helpful Tinderbox store clerk confirmed that "Wilshire" is indeed their private label of Lane's 1-Q. It is worth buying Wilshire just to keep the local pipeshops in business. With the new proposed increased federal tobacco tax, they will become a dying breed. I suppose that is how the do-gooders who want the government to control everything want it. Until then, stock up. If you want to read my review of Wilshire, just read my review of Lane's 1-Q - it's exactly the same blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-27		Mild	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Tinderbox recently sent me an email offering a sample of Wilshire if I purchased some other stuff. I've been hearing about Wilshire forever, but never tried any before. Yes this is the Lane 1Q renamed. So what? This is the #1 seller in the US. I let some dry out for 3 hours. It's a very very nice aromatic. No bite. Lots and lots of smoke. No gurgles. The cleanup is no worse than any other aromatic. A wonderful smell and taste. 2 matches and that was it. I can see why this is the biggest seller. There is nothing wrong here. You could smoke this all day and never complain. Probably the perfect aromatic.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-01		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Maybe I just got lucky, but the few ounces of this that I bought were not at all goopy. It is a nice smoke that doesn't have an overpowering flavor added to it and you can taste more of the natural tobacco. I haven't had a problem with it keeping lit and it did not gurgle for me too much. There is some sweetness but it is quite pleasing. I will continue to buy this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-10-16		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I received a 2oz sample from a friend, and decided to try it today on my lunch break. While I'm not a big fan of aromatics, this pouch from Tinderbox, seemed a bit sticky and took a few lights to get burning.

The taste was OK, but not something that I would have in a regular rotation of tobaks. I do enjoy cavendish at times, but this smoke was almost too sweet for me. This might be a good starter for someone who wants to try a sweetish aromatic.

The biggest turnoff for me, was the amount of deposits it left in the bowl and the stem of my pipe. I don't enjoy having to use pipe cleaner after pipe cleaner, just to get all of the residue out of the stem and pipe.

Perhaps I'll try this one again in about 6 months, and see if it has gotten any better. Otherwise, I'll go back to my VA's and VA-Per blends.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-08-21		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is my favorite tobacco. It doesn't bite at all and is a great smoking experience. It is a very mild and easy to handle tobacco for a beginner or occasional smoker.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-08-11		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

So I hear that this is the same stuff as 1-Q, which I've never had a chance to have, but I smoked a bowl of this stuff that was about a year old from a friend who came over with it. I had to say I really liked it. It was a really earthy and smooth blend and I enjoyed it till I got to the dottle and it turned nasty, but most tobacco does. I'm not giving it 4 stars because I went out and got some new Wilshire from Tinderbox and it's taste was a little more bland, more dominated by the cavendish and not a real tobacco flavor. But I'm assuming if you let it age a bit, the taste factor will increase. Cheers.

UPDATE:

After 3 months of aging in a shoe box in the closet, the sweetness level has gone down and a very smooth, non biting aromatic has taken shape. I really like it. Taste did change when I got to about 1/2 the bowl, so I dumped, but overall a quality bulk tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	SopwithCamel (255)	2009-06-04		Extremely Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I too tried this early in my pipe smoking career. The Tinderbox chain had several shops in Florida in the late 1980s.

This is indeed Lane's 1Q, and it is a mild, mellow, somewhat fruity and sweet blend. If you like mild Cavendish blends like this, it is decent.

It didn't take me long to realize I prefer more natural blends, so my dalliance with this was short.

That this is Lane's best seller tells us where the pipesmoking community was back in the 1970s and 1980s. Even today when the average person thinks of pipe tobacco, they think of some vanilla laced concoction such as Captain Black, 1Q, RLP-6, or BCA.

So while I never became a huge fan of this, being able to walk into a store that primarily sold pipes and tobacco was worth the trip all by itself.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-06-02		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Lane 1-Q is a goopy blend like most of their other stuff, heavily coated in glycerin, perfumed, wont dry out- ever. It's the best selling blend at my local shop and I'm told, in the US. I find it to be awful, little flavor, fouls up your pipe, burns hot and wet, etc. If you're reading this, you know there are a hundred better, cleaner tobaccos to smoke. It's interesting that McClelland has begun to 'copy' some of the Lane bulk blends (as the whole pipe tobacco industry seems to be collapsing, at least temporarily). The McClelland version of 1-Q is better, as McC does not use all that glycerin. Look for it, and other McClelland tobacs in bulk- a better alternative to Lane.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-05-22		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

To be fair, I am a novice and this was one of the first blends I've tried. I'm still trying different blends and I haven't found a 'favorite' yet, but I would put this as my #2 choice of four blends I've tried so far. It's not overly flavored, the smell and room note is pleasant, but the smell seems to hang around in my pipe more than the others I've tried. To me, it smokes a bit hotter than other blends, and if smoked too fast, it leaves me with a bit of tongue bite. I think I'd buy more of this blend in the long run, especially once I've gotten more experience in pipe smoking and can enjoy the subtle nuances of the blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (562)	2023-04-20		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Running across this from 2005 (18 years old), I compared it to my 7-year-old Lane 1-Q... it's exactly the same...

Package note of tart fruit, mild vanilla, and a caramel background. The brown and black ribbon cut is moist and refuses to dry out. Burns moderately with few relights. The strength is mild and nic is very mild. Flavoring is medium, with notes of Vanilla and caramel. Taste is mild to medium and consistent, with notes of lemon grass, tart stewed fruit, and a little smoky. Virginia is leading with cavendish supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

Pipe Used: 2015 XXX Ashton Brindle Author

Age When Smoked: 18 years

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-10-07		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

A nice aromatic. Prefer other similar mixtures that have less of a taste of chemicals. This one will do in a pinch.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-06-04		Extremely Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have found this to be wet candy! I will give this two stars simply because it can be obtained at the local drug store, aka Tinderbox.

Nobody has rated this review yet.