Mac Baren Capstan Original Navy Cut

An old classic. It is sold anywhere here in Denmark, and Capstan is what i buy when I am out of my favourites.

Dark, pungent and fruity (dried fruit) with hints of well.. Just plain old, good quality matured VA. It is way better than Yellow Capstan and much more complex. The nicotine-level is satisfying and it does not burn at all.

I have not tried it aged yet, but it is very nice fresh. A little drying should be necessary; It is a little too wet, straight out of the tin.

I like to smoke it in the evening, together with a nice cup of hot strong coffee..

One of the Patriarchs of VA-flakes

********* Update, June 14 - 2004

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Blue Capstan is growing on me. The past 10 days I have been puffing it all day long. It will never burn and can easily be smoked on mornings as well as evenings.. Gets better and better!

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

This is a very, very good straight Virginia. If there is casing it is an adhesive? Not flavoring, more of a binding of the elements. You taste pure tobacco. It is fun, enjoyable, but not … sweet. Very good but not my favorite? Worth a four star rating for sure.

I had some of this from the US as sadly it's not available here - just the "ready rubbed" which I had a few pouches of more than a decade ago and obviously didn't go rushing out to get more in the meantime... I do prefer my Virginia tobacco in flakes, and this is most pleasant.

The predominant aroma in the tin is of well dried hay, with a hint of horsefood. Not really fruity and I don't notice much citrus and it's not fruity. It smells entirely natural, I don't detect any topping or flavouring. The flakes are beautiful, clean and square and totally regular, presented in a gold paper wrapper within the tin, with a sticky label to re close it and keep them tidy. You don't often see tobacco so nicely presented these days!

The light brown flakes are easy to rub out, and I find minimal rubbing to break them up a bit is best for this baccy. The moisture content is fine, they don't need any drying time unlike some flakes, and it lights with ease, often a one match job. Slow breath smoking does the trick, it may need one relight before it's done but the burning characteristics are easy.

The flavour is simple, undemanding Virginia tobacco, hay and bread, with gentle natural sweetness. The bowl can become a little warm to the touch, as with many Virginias, so when the time does come to relight it's worth setting it aside for a while to let it cool down. The flavour is pretty steady throughout, just becoming a little richer towards the end but overall pretty mild.

I'm enjoying this on a warm summers day, outdoors, reading a book. It's pleasant and not distracting, nice after breakfast and probably ideal for the all day smoker. I'd certainly get more to stash if it were available in the UK, but we have plenty of other nice Virginia flakes available.

To compare with some other favourites of mine - Dunhill Light Flake and it's clone the Charatan Flake a tad fruitier and stronger. Gawith Hoggarths Bright CR flake is very similar, perhaps a tad more citrus. Sam Gawiths Best Brown is similar but a little breadier and burns cooler, and their Full Virginia Flake is stronger and fruitier. Peterson Signature Flake similar but more moist and citrusy.

TIN NOTE

hay , grass , figs , fresh mirabelle plums, citrus, some stewed dark fruits. Mostly un-matured Virginias , and the smell is very straight forward.

SMOKE PROFILE

It's a summer tobacco.. lots of fruit, figs, hay, grassy freshness, bread, and a tiny bit of cedar wood. You need to smoke it when the sun is out. Very simple and approachable tobacco.

SMOKE MECHANICS

Rubs out and packs easily. Moisture was on point. Tends to burn hot, but didn't bite. Use a narrow chamber to control the temp.

FOUR STARS

There is a reason Capstan Blue is considered a classic!

What an extraordinary tobacco!

First, the presentations is great. The tobacco comes in nice blue tin. Inside you will find two rows of beautiful flakes, wrapped in golden foil. Each flake is approximately 4g, so I tend to use half of the flake per bowl. Moisture is perfect straight from the tin, flake rubs out without any effort. Tin note is wonderful - sweet, hay, citrus tones.

The tobacco lights without any issue. Taste is heavenly - sweet with notes of honey and citrus tones and keeps up well down the bowl. Just be careful to smoke slowly and sip, don't puff, otherwise it will taste like ash (like any virginia flake).

Highly recommended!

The classic no nonsense straight Virginia blend that has been loved for decades. It was a favourite of JRR Tolkien and for good reason. The Virginias are bright and flavorful, with a slight tanginess. It can be an all day smoke, as the Virginias are not sharp and nic hit is medium. If you are looking for a simple Virginia blend you can enjoy throughout the day, then this should be at the top of your list.

4/4 a classic.

Smell from a freshly-popped tin is grape juice, 100%. Welch’s, Protestant communion, grape juice. Pre-light draw gives the same effect, with the slightest addition of burnt toast. Loaded into an estate Clark Layton blowfish that is fresh from the shop, no ghosts here.

Takes the flame easily, despite the moisture in the flakes. Initial flavors are of hay, like many Virginias, a little wheat, a little stewed fruit. Very typical Virginia profile. I also pick up hints of a sweetness like custard that enhances the sense of stewed fruit. Very nice, and also very consistent. That’s at a sipping cadence. Speeding up doesn’t do much for this blend, except heat it up and introduce the threat of tongue bite. There is a burley-like note of oats, more understated even than the custard, barely present enough to be a counter note. Other flavors include a note of cedar or pencil shavings, not present in every puff, but weaving in and out, and graham crackers, even more subtle, and the merest suggestion of brown sugar.

Burns well and quickly for a flake (I used fold-and-stuff). Not much of a nicotine hit. I could definitely inhale this one if I wanted. Wouldn’t call it cool-burning, but it’s well-behaved. From what I can tell, the room note is pretty pleasant. No relights needed.

I like this stuff a lot. Maybe the most user-friendly Virginia I’ve smoked so far. If it were not for the price, I’d make this my everyday smoke. I’d definitely recommend this, especially to beginners who want a friendly, mostly sting-free introduction to the world of Virginia tobaccos. The whole experience is exactly what I love about Virginia tobaccos. Easily four stars.

Pleasant and enjoyable smoke. This Virginia flake brings the expected sweet, grassy, citrus flavor, with a touch of darker fruit in the background. Needs to be relit more than normal, and can bite if not intentionally kept at a slow pace. Comparable to SG's Full Virginia Flake. Recommended, but not quite 4 stars for me.

È la prima volta che fumo un tabacco Virginia, prima la mia concezione di tabacco da pipa era sugli aromatizzati, specialmente i vanigliati o al whisky. Ma assaporando questa delizia, specie il tipo di taglio Flake, senza ombra di dubbio posso confermare di aver trovato il tabacco che mi accompagnerà. Purtroppo mi sono avvicinato al fumare la pipa quando in Italia avevano già esaurito le scorte dei vari SG (avrei voluto provare il FVF). Inizialmente ho provato a piegare i fiocchi, ma vuoi che la latta sia appena aperta, vuoi anche la mia inesperienza, credevo di essermi sbagliato. Allora ho adottato il metodo di sminuzzamento e sfilacciamento. Posso solo dire che è stata una gioia per il mio palato. Non morde la lingua, non è stucchevole e soprattutto il mattino successivo non si sente la bocca impastata, cosa che succede con gli aromatici specie se sono secchi. Ovviamente per assaporare a pieno le qualità bisogna tirare leggermente e trovare il giusto ritmo di fumata, ma basta poco per trovarlo. L’odore nella latta ricorda quello del fieno appena tagliato. Fumato in varie pipe non cambia e non si forma condensa, anche nelle curve. Il mio giudizio finale è: se lo vedete nello scaffale del vostro tabaccaio di fiducia non indugiate ad acquistarlo, se invece non c’è fatevelo ordinare che non ve ne pentirete