Admiral's Choice Black & Gold Cavendish

When I bought this brand I thought that it would do as a good stand-in for Captian Black Royal. I was sadly wrong. I am not sure if it is the different amount of gold burley that they use, but the taste is much different. They do not even smell the same.

This smokes VERY wet. Its sticky. You can puff as slow as you can and you will still get a gurgle out of your pipe as it protests in anguish at being treated in such a fashion. You could probably leave this stuff out in the sun for a week and it wouldn't be dry enough yet. For all its wetness, though, it somehow manages to stay lit. In fact, most of these tobaccos by this brand pretty well stay lit no matter what you do to them.

With Captain Black Royal, as an example, you can taste the sweet choclate and vanilla as the smoke fills the room and the notes of sweetness revist you a second time. This tobbaco, however, leaves much to be desired. It can nip your tongue if you are not careful. For some reason it burns pretty hot.

Someone noted that the taste was akin to maple. This may be true, but it surely does not taste anything like the blend of Captain Black Royal, and that is just as well, or I suppose no one would buy Captian Black for the price. I am not rightly sure what it tastes like to me, but there are times I can taste something sweet, though I am not wholly sure what it is I am tasting. Also note that the aroma of the tobacco is as faint as the taste.

There is a saying in life: "You get what you pay for." and that is certainly true in this instance.

This blend actually also comes in large tins and the aromatic combination of flavors is quite nice. A light and sweet compilation with mostly flavored Cavendish with a dash of straight burley for a boost. It actually tastes like tobacco but I think I'll take the rest of my eight ounce tin to my local pipe club. It is one of those blends that satisfies once a year.

Pipestud

I rather liken this to fishing. You can spend your whole life sitting quietly with a cane pole and a few worms at a favorite fishin hole or two and spend a lifetime of gentle, pleasant days. Or, you can experience the broad range of styles, fish, and equipment and enjoy a lifetime of rich, varied activity. I think of other tobaccos and pipes as the later - a world filled with complexity, adventure, and full activitity.

That said, a person could do a lot worse than go through life drawing mild, lightly sweet smoke through a cob. This is where I find AC B&G Cavendish. If you like to experience variety and fuller flavored tobaccos this one will get lost in the journey. This is a simple, mild, pleasant, but unexciting tobacco. There is nothing pretentious about it. Okay, maybe the bag description is a bit so. Just like spending a lifetime with a cane pole lazily dipped into a quiet little fishin hole somewhere, whiling away the hours, a person could spend the same time doing much the same thing smoking this in a corn cob pipe. In a cob this is simple, soft pleasure out of the mainstream (pun not intended). There is nothing wrong with that and at times I can envy someone who can be content with this combination.

I like a little bit more in terms of fullness and variety. As such, I'm spending time searching for the elusive, "just right" tobacco and pipe combination. To continue the fishing analogy, I don't need the ultimate fly fishing experience or the Bass Masters pro tour. Maybe something more in the realm of some nice panfishing/small trout work with a decent fly or spinning rig and a small selection of flys and lures. Taking a cane pole break now and then is a diversion that requires me to stop, breathe slowly, and appreciate the minimalist, laid back approach. Thus, Black & Gold Cavendish is an infrequent stop. It isn't fulfilling or really satisfying, just a minimal break now and then that requires you slow down and pay attention or you will miss it.

Dry it out some before you pack. Pack lightly at the bottom of the bowl. Use a corn cob pipe. Clear your mind, settle down and enjoy the subtle, mild smoke. Blink and you will miss the taste. There is nothing wrong with that. Just don't expect bold flavour and robust smoking experience. That isn't the song this one sings. It's more of a soft humming as one does simple, pleasurable things. There are worse ways to live.

If comparing it to similar tobaccos it is a 3.5 or 4 star. However, comparing it to the bigger pond, I give it a solid 2 stars.

While surveying budget blends of pipe tobacco, I weighed my options and settled on Admiral's Choice. It's manufactured by Sutliff, a brand I recognize and well regard, so I figured it couldn't be too bad.

Indeed, it met my (low) expectations. At first I found it utterly unpleasant, however, with time and some drying, as well as with vigorous smoking, I was able to coax some flavor out of it.

Heavily cased vanilla dominates this blend, which is perceptible even through the packaging. It's a bit like taking a whiff of vanilla extract. The tobacco itself is almost devoid of smell. At first, before I had dryed it, it was difficult to light and to keep lit without overheating. However, after drying, it burned well and stayed lit consistently. It arrives in the package almost sopping with moisture and needs a good few hours out in the air.

The cavendish is mild, and maybe even a little bit stinky, but nevertheless present. Nutty burley backs it up and provides a solid foundation for the blend as a whole. Despite how intense the vanilla casing/topping smells, very little of it comes through in flavor, but what little is present gives the blend a little bit of interest. Overall, not a horrible tasting experience, and somehow far better than my experience with Lane 1-Q.

This blend also had very little nicotine. Its mild flavor, combined with the paltry amount of lady nic, actually renders it a very competent all-day smoke. The room note is dessert-like and exceptional and will likely be acceptable to all but the most ardent of the smoke-averse.

Of the tobacco in the value category, you could do much worse than this, but don't expect too much out of it. This is like the Coor's Lite of tobacco. If you're in the market for a cheap backup smoke, then for the price, this simply cannot be beaten. If you're like me, and you're buying this simply for the sake of trying everything, including bottom of the barrel blends, it's probably worth checking out. It can get much, much worse (Borkum Riff, I'm looking at you.)

Even after aging, this didn't do much for my palate. Nice flavor. Nutty, cocoa, vanilla- typical profile in this genre. Just didn't excite me. Didn't like or not like ACBG. Blah is the best way to describe this. Noticed a slight bite, even after drying. Honestly, I find Blenders Gold to have better flavor, smoking qualities and higher quality leaf. Never get a bite with BG, but I do with AC. BG Burley and Black with a pinch more of their toasted cavendish is quite tasty. As far as AC, just not my cup of tea. AC Natural is the better option in their series IMHO.