Lane Limited Captain Black Royal

I don't know why so many people knock Captain Black tobaccos. I rather like them, and I think extra points should be given for price and availability. The overall quality is better than most people judge. I don't smoke the cherry, but I do smoke the White, Royal and Gold. Of these Royal suits my taste best - it's a little more refined than White with a slightly deeper tobacco taste and less vanilla topping. Overall a very nice aromatic smoke, more complex and higher quality than most people judge. Soft hints of vanilla and perhaps some chocolate and caramel, subtle rather than overboard like many aromatics nowadays. I like it and always have a supply in my cupboard. Smokes nicely in my Big Ben which has a slightly wider bore and therefore easy airflow. No wetness. Burns down to a nice clean ash.

My go to bowl lately. Always lights and burns evenly without drama. Tastes good and has a nice mellow room note. My wife loves the smell. One bowl lasts me a good long time and lightens my mood. Mild and no bite or disgusting left over liquid type dregs in the bottom of the bowl either.

How did captain black get the reputation of being cheap? It’s $11.00 a pouch here in NY and no cheaper than many others online. Price aside I think captain black royal is the standard for mild aromatics. I have tried all major brand lines from frog Morton to borkum riff and captain black is one of the most consistent lines in all of pipe tobacco. It almost seems like knocking captain black is the cool thing to do. My question is if captain black is so bad, why does it sell so well? Someone is smoking it obviously. I love the white, gold and dark also but royal is the one I always come back to. The flavor is mild with some vanilla and molasses but you can still taste some tobacco. If you want to feel superior and cool go bid on some penzence on eBay. If you want a cool, tasty smoke grab a pouch of captain black royal at the gas station and enjoy smoking your pipe!

If the CB White is too strong for you then the blue is your cup of tea. Just Cavendish very mild. Good aroma like the White but lighter. A good blend for a begiiner or someone who needs to go lighter. CB An American Classic you can't go wrong.

Wow...Captain Black Royal is very aromatic. The vanilla scent while you are hit with the tasteful notes of the tobacco is extremely pleasing to yourself and everyone around you. If you like CB White, you will LOVE CB Royal!

***edit*** I just smoked a huge bowlful of this stuff in my kaywoodie...my god. I sipped on it like wine, it is legitimately the best taste I've ever experienced thus far (23 years old). I have yet to try other brands which I must order (very rural area I live in!)...CB Royal...delicious when smoked correctly!

I enjoyed this blend, it was mellow and quite restrained. It is however very sweet, which is a good thing considering I get am urge to eat sweet stuff during that period. It was my candy, my chocolate and my cake. Light up a bowl and sip it slowly and I get the fulfillment I require. It was the fastest consuming pouch I had.

CB Gold & Royal are the only two tobaccos I smoke.After trying various other blends these are the only ones I am stuck with.To hell with the tobacco snobs who shun OTC blends & aromatics and try to make you believe that something that tastes like wood or leather are for the connoisseurs.I want my tobacco to smell as good as it tastes.Recently I did an experiment which I would like to share in this forum.I mixed half a pouch of CB Royal with half a pouch of CB Gold poured a tablespoon of Captain Morgan spiced rum on it kept it on a newspaper & let the mixture soak in the rum overnight.The next day when I smoked the mixture I got an awesome taste.Why don't you try it & see if you like the taste or not.

It's great and best tobacco that i test until this time 🙂 So Nice smell

A year ago I left a scathing review of CB Royal, but now I’ve had a change of heart. I see where it belongs in my rotation. My problem is that I was smoking it after heavy English blends, making light aromatic blends like Royal impossible to taste. After giving my pallet a break from heavy Latakia blends, I now see what all the fuss is about.

I would argue that this is easily the most complex CB blend and one of the most complex aromatics I’ve smoked. I’m able to tease out all sorts of flavors and it’s a bit of a treat to try and guess exactly what I’m smoking from puff to puff. I get a lot of caramel and brown sugar like flavors throughout the bulk of the bowl. I can pick out the burley and the mix of gold and black cavendish; this alone would make the blend pretty interesting. But then I get an occasional puff of bright Virginia that’s rather pleasant and adds a bit of smokiness. From there I can just tease out a note of some kind of liquor, possibly two or three different ones. I’m not sure on this, but I THINK it’s rum or possibly some kind of cognac or whiskey. And finally, rounding and softening all of these disparate flavors, there’s the barely audible vanilla.

At first glance, this sounds like too many flavors to go in a bowl. I didn’t even mention the more subtle after notes I get like honey, molasses, chocolate and dried fruit. When you add it all together, it can be a dizzying affair to try and keep track of it all. I don’t think it would even work if the folks at CB didn’t use all of these flavors sparingly. When I look at my review it sounds like too much to pull off, but they have. I’d be impressed just that they were able to make it work, even if I didn’t enjoy it so much.

A big part of enjoying this blend was finding where it fits in my rotation. It doesn’t sit well after heavier and smokier blends like English or Dark Fired. The flavors are too subtle to be sensed after something like that. So I’d either wait a day or so and let my pallet refresh or gradually shift to simple burley blends like SWR to help me enjoy the complexity of Royal. This is a soft and complex blend for those that enjoy teasing out the subtle flavors, but it can also be smoked all day, another feat to be praised.

Pairs well with black coffee, dark beer, and scotch.

I completely misjudged this blend the first time around and now it’s one of my go-to blends.

Happy smoking