McClelland Captain Cool

Pipe: Savinelli Quarter-bent

Weather: Cool, sunny, not humid.

Mood: Amused

Modifications: Denicool crystals in lower third of bowl, Savinelli balsa filters (6mm; replaced as needed)

Packaging: 50g tin

Initial Impressions: This tobacco has a very airy smell to it, as if it were almost a weakly mentholated cigarette tobacco; at least that's what it reminded me of. The tobacco, as usual for the McClelland line, was damp and I immediately set about drying it for a couple of hours. The dark/light blend of ribbon-cut tobacco had no stems in it.

Unlit Taste: A very cool and "tobacco"ey flavor.

Lighting: No problems. An initial sizzle wasn't followed by any kind of nasty, steamy biting. Tamped well and relit fine. I was able to smoke the entire charge of tobacco without any further relighting.

Smoking (First Third): A noticeable menthol flavoring is present as a top layer, with a solid butty Burley base and some hints of what seems like vanilla. The smoke was cool and unoffensive. This can be smoked fairly rapidly, increasing the danger that, with regular smoking of this, that I'll forget to puff slowly with an English and pay dearly.

Smoking (Second Third): The flavors started to meld together, with the vanilla giving way to a more nutty flavor. The room note remained pleasant and the flavors, while not complex, were good. This finished out cleanly and turned into a nice, grey-black ash that didn't foul.

Smoking (Bottom Third): The Denicool crystals don't smoke, they just absorb moisture, tar and nicotine. And they do it WELL.

Aftereffects: This seems to have low nicotine, meaning no head swimming or racing heartbeat. It was cool and pleasant in taste and after a good tooth brushing, I was ready to talk to non-pipe smokers.

Overall Recommendation: THIS tobacco is intended for the daycarry pouch and for any pipe you could throw at it. This is for when company is over or for when you're fishing on a nice autumn morning. For an aromatic smoker, this is a mild and cool blend; a nice cheese danish with your morning coffee. For a lover of heavy, rich tobaccos, this could be a nice change of pace for the tongue. I give this a good recommendation, smoke it regularly and give generous samples to friends who need good pipe tobacco, making sure to dry it before I give it away.

I was very excited to purchase my first tin of McClelland?s Captain Cool, after hearing such great words about the product.

As soon as I opened the tin I could smell a wonderful world of vanilla, butterscotch, a hint of something like nutmeg along with the sweet smell of the 50/50 mix of dark and light Cavendish. The tobacco was very moist so I set some sit out on a piece of paper for a couple of hours before smoking. This only enhanced my excitement for the office I had set it out in began to smell of the wonderful flavors.

It packed very easily and even after sitting for a bit, still had a sizzle upon lighting. Right away I could find the hints of the tobacco coming through above the casing flavors. This I enjoyed very much being a fairly new smoker discovering all the wonderful flavors involved with tobaccos.

The first third of the bowl was much the same as the second. The vanilla is perfectly matched with the butterscotch flavoring and yet is not overpowering and as stated before, there is a taste of real tobacco that also comes through. As Britt Park stated I too detect a hint of menthol as well. This keeping with the "cool" idea. The last third of the bowl required a pipe cleaner or two to rid the moisture that was steadily growing. After that the last third lost a bit of the real tobacco punch and nutty butterscotch menthol flavors and settled into mostly a mild vanilla. Very enjoyable down to the end of the bowl.

I really tried to provoke this ?Captain Cool? into smoking hot, but it stayed calm and cool the whole bowl. There was no hint of tongue bit what so ever. It produces a puffy white smoke and provides bystanders with a very pleasurable room note. McClelland nailed this one and I recommend this tobacco to any new smoker looking to broaden their horizons just a bit or for someone looking to sit down and enjoy a good, cool smoke without having to worry about the craft or concentrating to hard on their objective

When I bought this tobacco I was hoping for a lot of mint flavor. I never found it. But this is still a pretty excellent aromatic. You can see mint leaves in it. Maybe you can smell them in the can. But I find this to be an excellent vanilla blend. I don't mean like some drugstore blend. This is a silky smooth creamy vanilla blend, with a large amount of flavoring. Not in production anymore, but I'm glad I bought a few cans of it. No one does aromatics like McClellan. Captain cool proves that. The room note is absolutely crowd-pleasing. This is a fun blend to smoke, especially at picnics and family reunions. You will be showered with compliments.

FOR AN EVERYDAY SMOKE IT IS GREAT. THE MINT IN THE BATCH I GOT WAS NOT VERY PRESENT AT ALL. A GOOD BURLEY BLEND AND MUCH MUCH BETTER ON RE-LIGHTS. IF YOU GET TIRED OF CAPTAIN BLACK THE TRY THIS FOR A WHILE. MUCH SMOOTHER.

Nice blend....despite the description on the tin i did not felt hint of vanilla nor touch of mint but still it was plesant smoking...one star less for "ketchup" taste in second half of bowl

This tobacco reminds me of captain black, but in a good way. If you like captain black give this on a try. You wont go back.

I let this dry out for 6 hours as it seemed a bit moist. Took only 3 matches to finish the bowl. No bite, which is an accomplishment for an aromatic. Sort of a vanilla, caramel flavor. I didn't get the mint, but I eat lifesaver peppermints every day so I'm a bit minty already.

One of the very top 5 aromatics. If I was limited to only smoking aromatics, this would be a must have.

This is a very light smoke that produces very light tastes of vanilla. Will not bite even if overdone. Smokes nicely to the bottom of the bowl with no goop. Nice choice for someone who wants to enjoy a pipe with a tobacco that is mild and cool.

I like how this blend just went and declared itself captain of all cool-smoking aromatics--it just might be right. I enjoy Captain Cool for a relaxing smoke that smells pleasant and calms the nerves at the end of the day. Not as flavorful as other McClelland premium aromatics, but still a good smoking tobacco. What's up with that name though?