Lane Limited Captain Black Royal

This blend smells great smoked, or unsmoked, tastes great but burns hot be careful ! vanilla vanilla!

Like most Captain Black blends, this is cheap and very easy to find. It is sweeter than the White blend, so I tend to smoke this when looking for a budgeted aromatic or when I am trying to turn someone else on to pipe smoking. I have no trouble with this tobacco as long as I smoke it slowly.

I was doing a different review while I smoked this. My first thoughts were 'this is going to be another tasteless tobacco that will end up in my mixing box'. The tobacco was very dry when I opened the pouch and there was little to no smell to be found in it.

Half way through the bowl things started to change. Suddenly there were hints of vanilla and it got sweeter. Now having finished the bowl there is a pleasant taste on my tognue and in my nose. Actually at the half way point the entire experience got rather pleasant. Unlike others that complained the mix was too moist mine was very dry. Moisture levels may be the key here.

Like with any new blend I try I smoked this out of a new cob. You have to give a tobacco a real chance that way without ghosting it with your regular pipe. I have hopes of it storing well in jars and will purchase more to find out.

I prefer the White over the Royal when comparing the Captain Black blends, but I do purchase this once or twice a year when the mood strikes me.

I find it packs better than the White, but drying out beforehand is an absolute must in my experience. It can be too moist out of the pouch. I definitely recommend it, and as it has been said many times before it "could" be a good beginners blend. Although I would make that recommendation on it being both tremendously easy to find, and fairly mild for those of us who never smoked anything before trying a pipe.

Being raised on Dunhill 965 and Early Morning I always felt that drug store tobac was just junk and never even considered it. After picking up the pipe again after a few years my wife turned up her nose at the old english's and some of the Bright Virginia's. I kept hearing about how much she liked her Grampa's pipe smell. She broke me and I went to the local drug store for a couple pouches. CB white, CB Gold, CB Blue and some cherry junk that did not get past one bowl. The CB's were tolerable and the blue seemed to be the easiest to stomach. After a few months of smoking the blue as a staple I have gotten used to the sticky, goo'ey sweetness. Its actually really good after a middle-eastern meal with a cup of turkish coffee or some Cardomom Tea. Good to let it air out a bit.. it seems to smoke much dryer in the pipe. I would suggest that you dedicate one pipe to this aromatic as the taste stays in the pipe forever. Dont kick this one to the curb just because its an American Drug store Tobac. Still love a late evening Kendall Cream, GL Pease Cumberland or a stout English. If you really want to give it a punch... use a Zippo to light it... Really creates an interesting flavor.

I need to start by saying that I recommend all pipe tobacco because I feel everyone is different with different tastes. "To each his/her own".

With that I will be short in my review. The room note is friendly to all and many will compliment your hobby. I found the tobacco to be too moist right out of the package. This I found puts stress on the smoker to either puff fast causing tongue bit and a hot bowl or lite and relite. The first half of the bowl smokes very tasty but then the tobacco turns and leaves a sour taste to the sides of your tongue. Whether you smoke the bowl all the way down or leave it half smoked your left with an odd sour tasting mouth that stays with you for the day. For me, I'm not a fan of that with my tobacco. I will leave this one behind.

Captain Black Royal is the second Captain Black blend I've smoked, after the Regular (or White). Like the first one, this also has a Vanilla flavor and it's also a little sweet. It smokes quite long and doesn't bite the tongue if smoked slowly. And the other thing that I like at this is that, like all Captain Blacks, it is easy to find. Recommended for all smokers, especially the beginner ones.

As a newbie to pipe smoking my review is meant for newbies, not for seasoned enthusiasts.

This was the third tobac I tried, after Admiral's Choice, which I don't much recommend, and Captain Black's White, which I do recommend somewhat, but it tends to be a bit "rich" if smoked continually. Captain Black's Royal, on the other hand, I have found to be extremely pleasant to smoke and garners compliments from those around me. It can be found at Rite Aid drugstores in the USA, but not CVS which only seems to carry Captain Black's White or the Gold.

As with the Captain Black White, there are subtle differences between what's in the packet and the tin, primarily moisture content. The tin, which is more moist, yields a consistently nice smoke, so I just let the tobac dry out a bit before filling the pipe; problem pretty much solved. It does tend to burn "hot" as others have said, but I find that to be no big deal. Also, at about the 3/4 way down the bowl I find that it gets a bit soggy and reluctant to take a light. I may simply need to let the tobac air out a bit longer. I did notice that the tobac out of the packet burned more consistently to the bottom of the bowl than that of the tin.

It tastes great and isn't nearly as "sweet" tasting as the White. Don't get me wrong, I do like the White, but it can be overpowering (like eating too much ice cream or chocolate) if I smoke it continually. The Royal I find I can smoke over and over without complaint. Certainly there are probably better blends out there (without the issue of "additives") and I'll get to those in time, but for now I'm very satisfied with the performance and the flavor of Captain Black Royal. I would recommend it (strongly) to anyone starting out. A corn cob pipe costs about $6 and a packet of Royal runs about $8 (the 12 oz tin will save you a chunk of money in the long run, so if you get through your first packet itching for more make the investment in a tin).

It smells marvelous and that's not just me talking -- friends also enjoy the aroma. Until I find a blend from a tobacco shop that surpasses Captain Black Royal, it will be a staple in my home selection. It's unpretentious, economical, and fine for a beginner like me.

If you are just starting out like I did, I recommend Captain Black Royal over the White unless you happen to really dig the "roasted marshmallow" flavor of the White over the flavor (or "flavorings") of the Royal. Both are good to me; I just prefer the Royal. The rest is up to your own taste buds.

Syrup anyone?That's what will be left in your pipe after smoking this stuff.That aside,it does have a very nice room note and I like the toasted marshmallow taste.It's like smoking candy.There is not a lot of kick to this wonderful smelling stuff either and keeping it lit was a chore.If it burnt well and more cleanly and had a little kick to it,it would be a really good smoke. Nov 24/2008 I just had to update my review a little.I've come to realize that despite it's warts that perhaps I've been a bit unfair to the captain.There is no other tobacco that tastes as good or smells as good as this one and as a cigarette smoker I suppose nicotine punch may come over time.If packed properly one can avoid too much syrup and too much relighting so I will give the captain another star.