Mac Baren Capstan Original Navy Cut

Simple to say Virginia but more difficult to compare to other pure Virginias. Something different and enigmatic that doesn't let you get bored of this straight bo.

Straight Virginia flake, the tin smells grassy, with a strong tomato/vinegar note. Easy to smoke, it will bite a little if not smoked slowly. Taste is very pleasant from the beginning to the end, plain for most of the time, not too sweet and very balanced, with some toasty and chocolate notes emerging from time to time in the second half of the bowl. I usually break it apart before packing and leave it drying for 15 minutes, pack it loose preferably in a large bowl pipe. If you smoke it without expecting too much it will be a very pleasant hour, if you are in the mood for a complex taste evolution go for something else. Anyway it never disappointed me and I always have a tin of this tobacco.

Presentation: Iconic light blue and dark blue Capstan tin.

Cut: Comes in neat, thinly cut flakes—standard for Mac Baren. They rub out easily and the moisture is fine for smoking out of a fresh tin.

Tin note: Smells like sweet graham crackers. Quite an unusual scent and very delicious smelling.

Tasting notes: Tangy, dry, grassy flavors on light up. There is a nice sweetness too—it's not quite a grassy sweetness nor a fruity one, but somewhere in the middle. It is creamy in additionto the other flavors and has a woody finish. A light spiciness and smokiness come into the picture later into the bowl.

Mechanics: N/A—A well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: This blends beauty is in its simplicity. It is a beautiful mild-med blend. While lacking in complexity and robust flavor, it is a very good blend and flavor is certainly still there. This is the perfect "all day" blend for a virginia lover. 3 stars.

I'd had this in the cellar for a while. I was debating on what tin to open when this blue tin started calling me.

I do like a good Virginia, and that's exactly what this is. It isn't going to knock your socks off, but if you fancy a Virginia this is going to tick every box.

Looks great in the tin, darker side of blond, close to red. Nice uniform flakes with a few sugar crystal hiding. Almost perfect moisture content, on first opening smokes fine, but after a week or so in the tin, just a little drier, is perfect for me. Rubs out quickly without any hassle, and packs very well.

It can take a little lighting, but burns well once lit. I've smoked the exclusively for the last five days, and only today did I divulge in some Plum pudding special reserve which had been calling me. I've smoked it in around half a dozen or so pipes and it performs well in all of them, with surprising differences, but always very enjoyable.

This is indeed a very fine tobacco worthy of high recommendation, but I can only give it 3 out of 4 as for me there are some slightly better blends, and I don't believe this tobacco warrants the rather high price. I'd like to buy ten or so tins of this for the cellar, as I can imagine it will age beautifully, but at the price there are others, such as Germains that I would rather spend my cash on.

This stuff really grew on me. Have to admit I wasn't crazy about it at first. Perhaps I needed to get used to Virginia based blends. I had been exploring mostly burley blends prior to trying Capstan Blue. Now for me it is one of those few tobaccos that both tastes and smells wonderful. It is funny how many blends give you taste or aroma, but not both. Nice natural tobacco taste and aroma. If there is a topping, it is quite subdued. Personally I find that many Virginia based blends bite me, but Capstan (both blue and gold) are well behaved. The taste is a citrus, hay, little spice, sometimes sweet (honey?) tobacco goodness that I've grown to really like. It has a pleasant aftertaste, and a room note I think is very nice in a non-aromatic kind of way. Very pleasant to the bottom of the bowl. Sipping seems to bring out more of the sweetness. Nothing overly complexed here, just a really well done Virginia. Recommended for the Virginia novice or veteran. Can be an all day if you like Virginia blends. Not quite an all day for me, but I do enjoy it whenever I indulge.

I hate to sound campy but this is a nice clean, honest tobacco. This is pure VA goodness and nothing more (that is a good thing) and definitely nothing less.

The tin note is bright, lemony Virginia with some light grass notes. Sweet and full of pure tobacco goodness. The flavor is typical VA for me: toasted bread and sweet fruity undertones (Plum or fig comes to mind). A very consistent smoke. As the bowl builds the toasted flavors become more prominent and there is a molasses like sweetness that comes on midway through the end of the bowl. I think I give this plug in most of my VA reviews but I hope to share the experience with others that have not tried it. Virginia tobacco's are best enjoyed in a meerschaum pipe in my humble opinion. A meer cools and dries the smoke and delivers a super pure tobacco flavor. This is another that I enjoy most in my meerschaum pipes.

As I'm sitting here on my couch, sipping red French wine and enjoying my pipe, I understand why this classic Virginia flake is still so popular. It provides a good balance between earthiness and sweetness. A straightforward, natural-tasting tobacco with a nice to tolerable room note. Capstan Original can't reach up to champions like Dunhill Flake, but it could play in the same league, so to speak. Less sweet than Orlik GS, but as good.

Being Tolkiens go-to smoke, one has to assume he had it in mind when describing his beloved characters puffing away on their own pipes. I would describe this much as I wold describe a Hobbit- A little sweet, very simple, stout, dependable.

The tin note is nice. Slightly fermented with that molasses and grass aroma. Smells darker than it tastes.

A varied spectrum of hay and grass and that whisper of brown sugar. This has only gotten better over the past couple months after the tin had been opened. The more it dries to the perfect moisture content, the more grassy and earthy notes I get and the more the molasses morphs first to brown sugar and then nearly to refined white sugar.

Smokes well with little lighting (when dried a bit) and no gurgle. As far as bite, I felt a little spice on the tongue when I got too fast with it, but I never experienced tongue bite.

I really enjoy this blend and will certainly keep a tin on hand always. As for the rating, I am torn. Though it is a tin of perfect VA tobacco, it is also 40-50% more expensive than a tin of many competing blends. I feel docking it a star is only fair.

I see similarities between this and Dunhill Flake, and minus the Burley the Va component is much like University Flake to my tastes.

Blend is 4 years old, reads April 2013 on the tin (thanks for setting a good example for your Euro competition MacBaren!!)

Like Dunhill, Mac Baren understands that the cut matters - here the flakes are soft, pliable, and cut very thin. Thin to the point where I can take half a flake, roll it gently between thumb and two fingers and just like that I have a light airy tuft of super thin strands of sugary goodness.

Burn is spot on, and in part because of the cut enough air can be trapped in the wad as it is packed that a slow, methodical but bite-free smoking experience.

As is perhaps more important with straight Vas then other blend types, keeping the bowl burning in a cool, slow manner is very important to bring out the natural citrusy goodness that this type of cure demands.

Having said that, I don't sense any flavoring at all, its all Virginias here - and that is just fine with me.

Deeper in complexity than Capstan Gold, still a very good option for Virginia Lovers!!