No, it's not an flavour explosion in your mouth, but a cool slightly sweet smoke. The second half of the bowl the taste increases in depth in a way I enjoy very much. The only light Virginia flake I liked more was Four Square Mild Navy Cut (Yellow), but it hasn't been available for years.

As an occasional smoker, I really like the Capstan tin. The seal is very tight, so it keeps the tobacco moist for months (if you are careful when opening it the first time)

In the pipe it's thin in taste, nippy on the mouth and generally unispiring to smoke. This is a newish tin mind you, and I have much older ones with the logo horizontally on the tin as per the above picture.....but to be fair if you are going to review a baccy, it's far more honest (and useful to the reader) to base it on a modern tin.

So, as far as Capstan Mild Navy Cut goes, I'd say not to bother.

It's not exactly a mild tobacco in strenght or flavour, but closer to a medium. Smokes really smooth. Dark-gray granular ashes, as stated before.

In the taste department I find it very roasty, warm, like a slightly over-cooked fresh raisins bread. Not much sweetness, nor citrus.

Highly recommended for those who like a roasty flavoured virginia, as I do. Perfect for a early smoke or as an all day. (from a tin with the vertical lettering)

It is a little `brighter` in taste than the Capstan Medium, but with lesser depth. I rather enjoy it as the first smoke of the day, and also mid-morning, but by the afternoon the tastebuds need something fuller. The taste and room note are comparable to those of Luxury Navy Flake.

The lettering on my tin is vertical rather than horizontal - I suspect to make room for the fatal warning.

Finally managed to get hold of a couple of tins of this, I have'nt had it for years, and I didn't like it then, so I thought I'd give it another try.

A very good quality tobacco, perfect moisture content, rubs out well without turning to sawdust, packs easy and burns down to a fine grey ash with just one match, no tongue bite.

A smooth cool smoke, slight hint of lemon in flavour, much better than Orlik's Golden Slce, but not much else, just a good honest tobacco, not pretentious in any way, wife did not appreciate the room note, I didn't notice it, thus "pleasant (for me) to tolerable" (for her). Sad rearly, I keep expecting more flavour from this tobacco, and it just isn't there, so I have to keep reminding myself, "If you want more flavour YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE MEDIUM and not the MILD"

As I can only get this from Germany, when someone goes, will I ask them to get me some more ? most certainly yes. Will I miss this if I run out ? YES I think I will.

update 21/1/2010

Well I did buy more because I knew I would miss it before I ran out. I tend now to let it dry out on a sheet of newspaper for about 24 hours. It now makes an excellent "First thing in the morning smoke" for me, along with a large mug of industrial strength tea.

Well worth 4 stars.

Airing out before smoking improves the taste a lot, as it does DGT. In fact, I only smoke this tobacco after DGT'ing, which kicks the taste and improves its strength significantly.

I haven't tried it yet, but if Capstan Medium Navy Cut is similar at an extra strength, I'm gonna love it.

But right now the mild is great. It feels like a good french white table wine, that you just keep going back to (in your superior cellar) because it is so honest and modest. That said the price is a little high. Along with Sherlock Holmes from Peterson, this will be my all day mild and sweet smoke...and I know that for sure 100% only after about 5-6 bowls. Now how many tobaccos can you say that about?

There exists a rubbed out version of this also, which I have tried, but for some reason find it inferior

Smooth, toasty, easy to pack in, this is a delightful flake. I don't know if there is some Perique in this one, but by the end of the bowl I do find a certain peppery piquantness that added a wonderful taste to the blend. An excellent straight Virginia that, without that natural sweetness (redolent of molasses or dried raisins) present in many other Va. flakes---Dunhill's, Rattray's or Gawith's---it nevertheless delivers a top quality smoke, very tasty and rich. (03/05)

N.B.: as I stated in my review of Original Navy Cut, I don't know if this review should go here. The tin I reviewed is rectangular, but yellow with red letters, in a vertical rather than horizontal layout.

I normally prefer the red or brown VA's but this a nice friendly tobacco i like to smoke in the afternoon.

In Denmark this is the only good quality english tobacco you can actually buy in every drugstore.

There's nothing much to it, just plain tobacco taste. It does not intensify much through the bowl, and some would say it was boring. But as an allday smoke compared with the reasonably low price, this is a good alternative to many uninteresting cheap smokes.

Not outstanding but quite good.

If you are looking for big virginia flavor though,you may want to look elsewhere. If you just want something inoffensive to puff on, well then, Capstan Mild is your ticket!

*** I recently purchased a couple of 10 year old tins of Capstan Mild and delighted in revisiting this old classic. An extremely mellow smoke and I have upgraded my opinion of this blend.

MILD is a light-coloured flake, with a high orange tonality; this colour influences my olfactory perception perhaps, but I smell something like mandarine orange?a light, inoffensive topping.

The taste is very sweet and refreshing, although it can get aggressive if over-puffed: I prefer it to ORLIK Golden Slices, which is just too light; on the other hand, this is perhaps more likely to bite. (I have not smoked Golden Slices often enough to reassure you on that count.)

There are now so many flakes in the market that this old favourite seems less of a treat than it did years ago; CAPSTAN MEDIUM was always my favourite anyway; but this is certainly one of the classics.