Mac Baren Capstan Original Navy Cut

Raisin, spiced, bready, grassy, like a cool breeze. Slightly sweet and acidic. Maybe a hint of cardamom, the suggestion of cardamom. I'm not so far a huge fan of straight Virginias, they're usually too subtle for my palate, or entirely fade into nothing. I'm giving this 3 stars, but i could upgrade it to 4 after i spend some more time with plain Virginias. Seems like there's a fair bit to contemplate here, even if the flavors aren't as strong as i prefer.

A very approachable flake. This was one of the first flakes I ever tried. The tin note is a beautiful mix of hay and dried fruit. The presentation is also pretty, you can tell it is a very high quality flake as soon as you open the tin.

I tried rubbing it out and the fold and stuff method, both worked well. It was well behaved from start to finish. It was a light Virginia smoke. No bite, a beautifully mild bready smoke.

My palate is still developing so i can't pick out many flavors. What I do know is it is an approachable flake for a beginner.

I’ve had a tin of this that I’ve jarred for a year or so, and it was the first straight Virginia I’ve ever tried. I know there is a little bit of hype behind this being the famed flake that Tolkien enjoyed, and quite of few reviews are very positive, but it just didn’t do it for me, Don’t get me wrong it is a good blend, and I would even recommend to try it just for its renowned status, you may even like it better than me but for the price I feel I can do better. Tasting: Charring and true light give hints of citrus, fading quickly giving way to a very raisiny bakery taste, consistent flavor to the bottom of the bowl. Like I said a decent smoke, I proabably made it sound worse than it is but I much prefer OGS. I’m rating at three stars only because it’s only slightly better than two stars.

Wonderful straight Virginia with notes of citrus and hay. Some might find it not complex enough but I enjoy loading a pipe of this when reading a book as it will last very long. The smoke is nice and mild. Somehow great for the summer and depending on where you live, a really good price for a quality tobacco.

Edit: when I first tried it it didn't do much for me, but I have learnt to appreciate it, however I appreciate other straight Virginias more

I bought this because supposedly it was J.R.R. Tolkien's choice tobacco. The initial smell inside the tin is wonderful and sweet. The flakes stuck together, and were very difficult to separate as wholes, since they crumble easily; however, if one prefers to rub out the flakes, this may be quite the advantage. As far as the flavor, this is a very good Virginia. There isn't anything particularly distinguishing or complex about this smoke, but there is definitely a very noticeable, consistent flavor of hay and sweetness. I am not sure if the sweetness is from the natural Virginia, or if there is also some kind of light casing, as is typical of flake/navy cut tobaccos. Something to keep in mind is that this tobacco, being a flake, can be hard to tamp down, and may sometimes err on the side of overpacking. This, however, may carry some advantages. I could easily imagine a dockworker or sailor smoking this tobacco on a cold, windy, and rainy day out of a corn cob pipe all day long.

The tobacco is presented in clean, uniform flakes, with a dark brown color and some lighter specks. The smell is the usual in virginias: fruitness and a sweet aroma. My prefered method is to prepare it is to rub the flake completely: it crumbles to small long pieces. I've found that works best for me when packing and lighting, but your mileage may vary. It may need one or two relights, but otherwise burns very well until the end of the bowl, leaving very little residue. It has a rich body and a moderate nicotine content. The taste is on the milder side but still you get a pleasant smoke with the usual hints of grass, citrus and even a little vanilla. It's a good -if simple- tobacco, it will not overwhelm your taste buds but it's not boring either.

The room note is not bad, not an aromatic, but will not raise complains.

A very straight forward basic VA flake. No obvious added flavor, other than a tinge of sweetness, as I think the very (very) slight fig-like notes come from the VA. Might take just a bit more to get lit than other flakes of similar thickness, but holds the light pretty well (I do fold flakes rather than rub them out) but you might have to relight slightly more than usual. Burns at a moderate rate. If you often smoke VAs like Gold Brick you might get a bit more complex flavor out of this, but not nearly as much as many other straight VAs. If you're looking for a mild-to-medium/medium all-day VA, you might want to check this out. If you're looking for power (in flavor, N, and/or complexity), skip.

What drew me to this tobacco was that it was that which J.R.R. Tolkien smoked and I was curious to know what his tobacco experience was.

When I first popped the tin, what surprised me was that in addition to that usual grassy-hay sweetness you expect from Virginias, there was a very pronounced fruity, citrusy type of scent -- I am certain there must be some sort of topping to that affect. If there is / was, I cannot say that I've detected it in the tobacco as of yet.

At any rate, beyond the tin note, what I experienced in smoking this tobacco was pure, naturally sweet Virginia bliss. Prior to trying this I spent last weekend smoking F&T's Cut Virginia Plug and I'll have to say that Capstan Blue very much reminds me of that. In fact, I'd easily see the two as being interchangeable for me. CVP isn't always easy to get and this would suit me absolutely fine as I get a similar flavour profile from it.

Really just very enjoyable. Worth spending the bit of extra for it. Also the most perfectly formed flakes I have ever seen.

This is definitely one that I can see myself stocking up on.