Imperial Tobacco Group, PLC Caporal Export

(2.64)
A dark, coarse, finely shredded shag.
Notes: Made of what is called in France "dark" tobacco[s]. Naturally-flavoured (no casings).

Details

Brand Imperial Tobacco Group, PLC
Series Scaferlati/Gris
Blended By  
Manufactured By  
Blend Type Cigar Leaf Based
Contents Cigar Leaf, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Shag
Packaging 40 grams pouch
Country France
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.64 / 4
1

5

5

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 11 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 19, 2004 Strong None Detected Full Strong
For the antecedents of this breed of tobaccos, see my CAPORAL [plain] review.

To speak of CAPORAL Export is a bit like speaking of meat loaf cordon bleu. One either wants to experience the killer qualities of the original, or one leaves the whole thing alone.

Ever-so-slightly more ?blond? than the PLAIN, this finely-shagged strip is more probably intended for persons in Berkeley who wish to roll cigarettes with the same stuff as uncle Ho and St Germain jazz-cave-dwellers.

How will ya keep ?em down at the farm, after they?ve seen Paree??
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 01, 2005 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
Well, I partly disagree with the tobacco description. First of all, it seems made not only of Virginia, but of dark Kentucky-type leaf.

It is not a completely natural tobacco, as the pouch says 89% tobacco and 11% flavoring and preservatives. The taste is natural enough, though.

Bear in mind that there are two versions of Caporal: one, in the red pouch, is meant for rolling cigarettes. The other, in the brown pouch ("pour la pipe") is meant to be smoked in a pipe.

I have tried the brown version, hoping to find something similar to the taste of the very dark Gauloises and Gitanes of old. Well, it is a bit reminiscent of them, but not as dark and intense.

This is a good tobacco, a bit like the Italian blend called Forte: very intense, natural, fermented, like a dark cigar. It can turn bitter, but it's a rewarding, woody, licoricey experience. It is not a delicate tobacco, or a complex one, but if you like strong and rustic stuff it should be very pleasant.

It burns great, quite dry and easy to pack, and it offers a lot of taste. Just take care not to rush your bowl, or it turns bitter.

A good everyday tobacco, not as refined or complex as the most prized american or English blends, but worth trying.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 24, 2007 Very Strong None Detected Extra Full Very Strong
Better than the regular Caporal, which is lighter in colour, as where this one is dark.

In answer to the remarks below, the dark tobacco is called "Scaferlatti", which is typical of most of the French pipe tobaccos, and cigarettes.

Not recommended in society.

Very harsh, acrid, very strong tasting.

I can't say I like it.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 10, 2015 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Strong
Caporal Export is a typical french tobacco and it is called brown tobacco because of its dark brown color. And the color refer to the Paraguay tobacco, essential constituent of this natural basis mixture. Caporal Export can be considered a national - popular mixture, typical of France. In my opinion this is a very natural tobacco, quite good but not extraordinary and in my personal rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 6/7 and two stars.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 14, 2006 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Full Tolerable to Strong
Being quite the fan of rough, rustic tobacco such as the the Belgian Semois and American Burley blends, Eulenburg's fascinating review of Caporal put the stuff near the top of my TAD list. My recent holiday in France gave me an excellent opportunity to track some down. I ducked into nearly every Tabac shop I passed, much to the chagrin of my folks, who accompanied me on this particular vacation. Most stores had the brown "Export" caporal for the pipe as well the red RYO variety. At a shop in the lovely yet touristy Perigord town of Sarlat, I picked up a pouch and a nicely shaped St. Claude briar to smoke it in.

The dryish brown shag that greeted me upon opening the pouch had a promisingly brash aroma. The mention of "tabacs bruns" on the pouch leads me to believe that Caporal is not Burley or Virginia per se, but rather the old style brown tobacco grown around the city of Bergerac, which is the center of French tobacco farming.

Whatever the variety of leaf happens to be, it was messy to pack, as the shag often stuck together in long strands. It lit well, and smoked nicely. As mentioned in other reviews, Caporal tends toward bitterness if smoked with excessive vigor. The flavor was pretty much what I expected it to be, cigar-like and woodsy. Out of all the 'raw' or 'rustic' tobaccos I've tried, Caporal has the most vulgar and unrefined flavor. This is not a drawback in my opinion, but others may be put off by the rough, one- dimensional flavor of this weed. The nicotine content is not as cold sweat-inducing as, say, a Lakeland rope but is very robust nonetheless.

All in all, I'd strongly recommend Caporal to fellow tobaccomasochists who like rough and rugged tabacs with plenty of punch.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 29, 2005 Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
This is a pretty raw, masculine tobacco, not refined at all. If you like a strong impact this is for you. The cut is a fine shag, and that helps packing and steady burning, but pay attention to smoke slowly because it can become very hot, even if it never becomes a wet smoke. To tell the truth, if you smoke it really slow you can find some hints of sweetness, but don't look for complexity here.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 06, 2022 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Medium Tolerable
I would say VaBur but not one dimensional despite it's rough and ready reputation. Once I'm over the stellar nic-hit, there is a flavour from the strong tobacco which leaves me perplexed. It is not cased. I once heard a local description of toasted "brioche", French milk bread, but it has that and something more. Maybe a smidgen of tonka bean topping, "fève de tonka", to suit the domestic market. On second thoughts, no, rather Spanish liquorice. Despite its deceptive ribbon-cut, it benefits from some drying time. A pleasant all-day smoke.
Pipe Used: Caminetto Vintage 08 Bulldog Sabbiata
PurchasedFrom: La Civette de Marly
Age When Smoked: Fresh pouch
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 08, 2011 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
A remarkable, simple tobacco, very similar to Caporal, but with some complexity added to it. And a very distinct little sweet note.

Again, like Caporal, it needs to be packed tight, and smoked slowly in a mid-size-bowl.

It smokes very well. I regularly replenish my stock of both Caporal and Caporal Export. These have been a major and extremely pleasant discovery for me.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 11, 2009 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Tolerable
The word "export" in the name confuses me, my pouch was bought from a shop in France and I can't seem to find this tobacco anywhere else (offline or online). When I was a cigarette smoker my favorite brand was the French Gitanes, this tobacco reminds me of those fags, the tastes are not comparable, but it's strong with a raw natural taste and you know your presence is felt when you smoke the stuff. I bet I would have liked this if I tried it as RYO tobacco.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 11, 2011 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
The pouch comes sealed and the dark-brown tobacco is perfect for smoking. A shag cut that has some preservative or flavoring but I cannot detect any. Powerful yet flavorful, this is the kind of pipe weed I would carry if nothing else were available. To be smoked with caution as the nicotine content enhances the full bodied taste and one tends to forget that by puffing at a faster rate than advised. Slow and easy, in contemplation is the best way to tame this beast and better yet after a meal in the evening.

Virginia lover
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