Mac Baren Capstan Original Navy Cut

(3.41)
This blend is a composition of select, ripe Virginia tobaccos whose citrus and grassy notes go brilliantly with the natural sweetness. A must try for everyone who appreciates a good, straightforward Virginia blend.
Notes: Originally produced by W.D. and H.O. Wills, now re-released by MacBaren. According to the Tolkien estate, this was J.R.R. Tolkien's favorite tobacco.

Details

Brand Mac Baren
Blended By Mac Baren
Manufactured By Mac Baren
Blend Type Straight Virginia
Contents Virginia
Flavoring Other / Misc
Cut Flake
Packaging 50 grams tin
Country Denmark
Production Currently available

Profile

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

Average Rating

3.41 / 4
120

72

20

5

Reviews

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Displaying 91 - 100 of 119 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 19, 2021 Medium Mild Mild Pleasant
Il Virginia è un mondo; costruire un tabacco con un monocomponente può essere una sfida, si rischia di creare un qualche cosa di mono-tono, noioso. Poi il Virginia è un tabacco che va corteggiato, conosciuto prima di poter dire di "so tutto di te", ti si concede nelle sue sfumature solo se ci sai fare, se no è difficile poterne cogliere le sfumature, il carattere e le suo grandi sorprese. Trattato male si chiude in se stesso non regala alcunché. Come la donna che offesa alla domanda “Cosa c’è?” risponde “Niente”.

Il Capstan può essere considerato una palestra per introdursi nel mondo del Virginia appunto. Non è facile (come nessun tabacco, d’altronde), ma è paziente e sa tollerare un maltrattamento. Più che un amante è una madre che sa rimproverare, ma ti vuole sempre bene.

Innanzitutto parliamo del taglio il flake, questo non è solo una forma di confezionamento, ma un procedimento di lavorazione atto ad esaltare determinati tipi di maturazione soprattutto coi virginia.

Apriamo la famosa scatola azzurra, saremo accolti da una grande varietà di aromi dal pungente al morbido, un po’ di pazienza e si sentiranno altri aromi come agrumi, fichi, erba. Il tabacco è di un bel colore biondo scuro, il taglio delle strisce è ben realizzato e fine, Il tabacco più che umido è untuoso, si può accendere subito, a me piace più secco, ma questo è gusto personale; un certo grado di asciugatura e ossigenazione lo migliora, senza dubbio. Sapete io arrotolo il flake e in questo caso rende molto rispetto allo sbriciolarlo.

L’accensione paziente, fatta col fiammifero è il top. Formatasi una brace uniforme questo è un tabacco che fuma da solo (grande vantaggio).

I primi puff ci seducono in modo gentile sopratutto il fruttato e quello speziato intrigante per il palato e il retronasale che ammalia e imbriglia, nella voluttà e passionalità. Le note poi virano in un gran alternarsi acido dell’agrume, dolce della frutta, secco della terra.

Ripeto è un tabacco da corteggiare, va fumato a fil di respiro, e saprà donare tutte le sfumature del Virginia. Fumato in modo nervoso, diventa acido, agre; riportata la fumata a ritmi più consoni ti perdona e sa manifestare le sue sfumature. Saputo sedurre si concede ai sensi in grande voluttà.

Il massimo lo traiamo da pipe dal fornello capiente, più lo si fuma e più si svela. Nelle pipe piccole è piacere, ma di una “sveltina”.

Il neofita non può che imparare e crescere, anche prendendo in considerazione considerato il prezzo imposto non esagerato. La forza media ne fa un buon tutto giorno, un tabacco sia disimpegnato, che da meditazione.           La nota ambientale è buona e di rapida dissoluzione. La persistenza in bocca invece abbastanza lunga e dolce. Accompagnato con un ottimo Calvados ha il massimo.

Chissà se era questa l’erba pipa di Tolkeniana memoria.
Pipe Used: Savinelli, Armellini, Peterson, Gasperini
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 29, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Very Pleasant
Cuando abres por primera vez la lata, el aroma caracteristico de un virginia puro, con los tipicos aromas a chocolate, higos y frutas maduras, heno, pan horneado, tierra y madera, quizas algo mas amaderado, es el unico punto negativo que le doy. La fumada es completa desde el principio hasta el final. La nota de habitacion es muy agradable. Es uno de mis grandes favoritos. El punto de nicotina es muy tatisfactorio. Un tabaco que nunca faltara en mi bodega y en mi dia a dia. Muy recomendable.
Pipe Used: Corn cob
PurchasedFrom: España
Age When Smoked: 3 meses
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 09, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I was very surprised by this tobacco for its quality / price ratio, which is the best I know among the tobaccos in tin. A mixture of different virginias, rich and with fruity, hay, slightly sweet flavors. Its qualities are as good as those of the best tobaccos: it burns well, does not bite the tongue or produce moisture.

I have never taken into account the price of a tobacco to value it, but this being such a remarkable case, I am going to make an exception with this one. Three stars for tobacco, four for the total product.
Age When Smoked: 1 year and 6 months
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 11, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Preparation & Burn: 5/10 Too moist, but it's a lovely thin and pliable flake. Burns fairly cool, not much bite. A few too many relights. Best to pack loose, let sit for 10 minutes then tamp a bit and light.

Taste: 19/20 It's a great, rich flavor. I think this is my favorite straight Va so far. Lots of flavor, does not get boring.

Mildness: 7/10 My idea of a good smoke is a relaxing, low nicotine session. Therefore, the milder the better. Not much nicotine.

Total: 31/40
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 11, 2020 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Others have described this in great detail. So I will just give my impressions. It has a tin note of tobacco, Virginia tobacco. I find this to be a mix of hay,wood,and dried fruit. There are no hints of added flavours.

The flakes can be either rubbed out or folded and stuffed. I find it benefits greatly from being lit and then slowly allowed to go out then relit. A natural consequence for me as I get distracted easily!

It smokes cool with no tongue bite. But it is a Virginia so slow is the way. I imagine it would be an all day smoke. But I only have a couple of bowls a week so not my thing.

A very small amount of dottle each time.

It's really a classic blend.
Pipe Used: Barling fully bent
PurchasedFrom: In spain
Age When Smoked: About 1 year
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 23, 2019 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Capstan Blue: My favorite Straight Virginia Flake

The Virginia varieties used in the flake are a mixture of dark and light leaf that bestow a good deal of natural sweetness and pleasant grassy notes to the smoke. The rum casing is barely noticeable in the tin-note, but helps smooth out any rough edges from the Virginia leaf. A slight crisp edge and just enough body in the smoke helps to keep me interested for an hour+ pipe session.

After smoking numerous straight Virginias, Capstan Original has become a go-to flake. If you want something with more citrusy zest, check out Capstan Yellow or try to bag a remaining tin of Dunhill Flake. If like more body to your Virginia flakes, check out Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake or F & T Vintage Flake.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 11, 2019 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
Very good tobacco! It was my first virginia tobacco, and i loved it! Let the flake out of the tin for some minutes can help lighting it; i nticed that, if smoked without care, it can burn a little your tongue, so be careful! It leaves a very sweet taste in your mouth when you've finished the bowl.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 12, 2018 Mild Very Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
For a while I avoided trying this blend because of the price. I was happy when I finally caved in and tried it. Capstan Blue is the pinnacle all-Virginia flake. It is supremely tasty and mild, with excellent characteristics all around. The moisture content is perfect, the flakes are easy to rub apart, and it burns evenly. There's a distinctive but very mild citrus flavor present in it that's just sublime. Before I smoked Capstan Blue, I never really tasted the citrus-y notes in any Virginias, but I can taste it here; it's not like oranges, just an ever-so-faint whiff of, well, citrus—like a tiny bit of lemon zest that tops-off a simple but well-prepared plate of white meat chicken or whitefish. In fact, if it were a food, that's what Capstan Blue would be.

I don't notice the nicotine in this flake. It is very mild in that respect. Tin note is of figs and raisins—exactly like figs and raisins. This note didn't really translate much into the flavor of the smoke, but is enjoyable all the same. Room note is pretty typical of a plain Virginia flake, and probably won't win you any friends (but you'll enjoy it). The tin presentation is similar to all Mac Baren flakes in that you get some very neatly stacked flakes that are entirely uniform, only the flakes are wider and don't appear to be hot-pressed. Overall, I'm very happy with this stuff; it's milder than most of the VA and VA-Per flakes I'm used to, but it's a superb puff, especially for the morning or daytime when lots of nicotine and/or bold flavors aren't wanted. I've smoked a bowl or two every morning since I first popped the tin.
Pipe Used: BW Rhodesian, bowl dimensions: 1.42"D x 0.76"W
PurchasedFrom: SmokingPipes
Age When Smoked: 3 months
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 13, 2016 Medium to Strong Medium Medium Very Pleasant
Although I am not a big fan of flake tobaccos, this tobacco I smoked for the first time some thirty years ago, as a young smoker pipe. Then I was found very strong ( then I loved aromatics, which is normal!), so that at the time I was very disappointed. A few days ago I got this "new version" of Mac Baren and I was very pleasantly surprised! Yet more than thirty years of experience in the matter! This tobacco is a superb blend of several types of virginia. The first time, when they lit a pipe, is quite flat, but when smoking goes on, develops deep, high quality sweet aroma of superb Virginia! Tobacco for the all day, undemanding, with very pleasant room note! For each referral!
Pipe Used: old tanzanian meerschaum, Peterson, DMP,
PurchasedFrom: Dreier, Graz, Austria
Age When Smoked: fresh
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 29, 2015 Medium Very Mild Medium to Full Pleasant
It's my favourite straight-virginia. Mild at start, with a subtle honey taste (maybe a slight casing), its flavor becomes more and more full troughout the bowl, ending with a nutty hint in the last quarter. Burns slow even rubbed out and the smoke experience is fully satisfying from the start to the end. I'm cellaring some tins of this cause I guess it will age great.
PurchasedFrom: Noli Tabacchi, Milano
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