W.D. & H.O. Wills Capstan Navy Cut Medium Ready Rubbed

1938 Version: I’ve smoked three bowls and have enough left for one more. I think similar tobacco varietals are used in today's production. Dark Virginias usually have a dried dark fruit note or two, depending on the processing, and CB is no exception. The 1938 version obviously had time to age, and the further fermentation of the earthy, woody Virginias caused the stewed fruit flavor to be more prominent and sweeter than when it is fresh. I thought it was slightly more sugary, floral and bready, too, which was also caused by the aging process. New CB has a couple of rough edges (not to the extent of FVF or similar Va.s), and they were smoothed out over time in the 1938. I thought the nicotine level was lightly higher in the 1938, too.

This 1940 Capstan almost tastes like a cross between the 1930s version and the current version. The Virginia has a few grass notes (a shade less than the '30s Capstan), but is more earthy, floral and woody than the new version, which I attribute either to the tobacco varietal or age or both. The dark fruit and citrus notes area little more pronounced than the '30s version and very close, but slightly deeper than the new version, though a shade less sweeter than the new manufacture. It has the taste of fermented sweet matured Virginia. I'd say this is slightly tangier than the others, and has a minute spice tingle not found in the others, too. This is just a little muddier in flavor than the other two as well as a little more nicotine. There was a very, very slight hint of cigarette near the finish of the 1930s version which I do not experience here or in the MacBaren version. The flavor holds to the finish. Frankly, I like this a little better than the '30s version - not by much, though - and I think it has a little more interesting character and is a little more complex than the new version.

Both burned cool with a very consistent flavor. No bite or harshness. Left little moisture in the bowl, and required an average number of relights. The strength and taste levels just reached the medium mark. The nic-hit was just past the center of mild to medium. They were most assuredly all day smokes.

-JimInks

The original Capstan Blue (Medium Navy Cut) was one of the finest Virginia tobaccos I ever had the pleasure of putting into my pipes. The richness of the leaf coupled with the mysterious topping employed, made for a rewarding smoke that was hugely flavorful, burned slowly and evenly, never bit and left me wanting more. One of life's true smoking pleasures.

This is one of those tobaccos that pops up occasionally so, when I paid a visit to my local tobacconist and saw this available, I thought I would give it a go.

The smell upon opening the pouch is a strange one, has quite a whiff to it, a mix of the very pleasant smell of cafe creme cigarillos and a dash of the disappointing aroma of cheap cigarettes. Packing and lighting are generally fine, there is a little dampness in here so the odd relight may be required but it's generally no problem. The flavour upon first lighting, though, is where it picks up. So long as it is supped rather than chugged, it gives a really nice buttery, creamy taste. Make sure to smoke slowly though otherwise it will develop a nasty, bitter taste. As the smoke progresses that creaminess does begin to fade and it's at this point it can get a bit funny. Sometimes in can change to something like a milder version of something like mellow virginia, taking on a nice leafy, oakiness, other times it can turn a little nasty and end up tasting like some cheap brand of cigarettes. It is also a disturbingly quick smoke, to concur with a previous reviewer, thirty minutes seems to be tops. The room note on this, however, is a pleasant one.

On the whole then, it can get a bit rough if smoked too quickly, can tail off towards the end and does, at times, give the hint of being padded out with cheap cigarette tobacco, but when it delivers, and does so quite often, it is very nice. For a nice, if mildly flawed and slightly neurotic, tobacco, three stars seems a fair judgement.

This is a very fine, unpretentious pure Virginia tobacco, available in the UK only in 50 gm pouches. It comes in a shag cut (it isn't really ‘ready rubbed') – and this is a slight disadvantage if you want a really long smoke. It's one of those pipe tobaccos that you could make rollups with if you wanted to. It burns comparatively quickly, and it'll bite you if you puff too hard. If you pack it well and take it slowly, though, it'll reward you with a pleasant, sweet, fresh-tasting, undemanding smoke that will exactly suit the all-day smoker who doesn't want anything too strong, or too strong-flavoured. To put it another way: anyone who liked the now-departed Player's Medium Navy Cut will like this. It reminds me a bit also of an old, long-gone Player's tobacco called No Name. A mild, pleasant and civilised smoke with no gimmicks. Highly recommended to the Virginia lover.

The re-introduction of flake versions of Capstan by MacBaren is to be applauded; but, for some reason, these aren't available in the UK. This is a great pity.

McClelland Dark Navy Flake

Tin Note - McClelland scent

Appearance - dark brown almost black broken flake

Texture - Very dense, fairly moist

Packs well as most flakes. On my first bowl, I allowed no drying time which was a huge mistake. My mouth paid dearly for it. It comes way too moist. I microwaved the rest for 10 seconds after seeing the successful posts pertaining to it. The second attempt was much better. I was tasting a lot of sour notes mixed with general VA flavor. I still had to deal with a good amount of relighting. Perhaps another nuke will fix it. As it stands now, this is too much of a hassle to remain in my rotation. It isn't a bad tobacco by any means, I just like to smoke more than I like to prepare.

As I know this is Tolkien's favorite tobacco... I want to test it ...Im scare about flovoring couse i dont like Mellow Virginia etc. But this blend its ok...

One problem its burn like a cigarette toboacco...In 30min your bowl is empty...

I like this tobacco but not too much...

As many have said, Tolkien's tobacco of choice. Being a Tolkien fan I wanted to try the author's fave leaf. However, as a fan of VA pipe tobacco, I also wanted a good leaf to smoke.

I bought a 50g pouch from my tobacconist for £11 and was met with a satisfying wad of light brown leaf.

Pouch note was hayish and sweet and there was a bit of moisture.

Packing was easy enough and as it is a VA I packed tighter. The taste was amazing. Sweet and summery and a buttery, creamy finish almost like sucking a butterscotch toffee. Half way down the bowl this changes to a sweet hay flavour but as has been mentioned, this is similar to Players navy cut but much smoother. It does burn quickly though although I tend to enjoy shorter smokes. It has a kick in the vitamin N dept but this is a smooth, cool and easy smoke best sipped and enjoyed with a cup of tea or a pale ale on a spring day in the sunshine. Only criticisms are the pouch as it is overflowing and leaking leaf (we need tins!)and a slightly underwhelming last furlong. That said, highly recommended and I would score a 90/100

Very pleasant, very simple and straightforward virginia tobacco. Quite full compared to many straight virginias, and burns cool and slow if you pack it right (quite firmly) and don't puff too hard. Like most virginias, "breath smoking" is the way to get the best out of this one.

The cut is a medium shag, not sure why they call it ready rubbed, as there is no sign that it was ever pressed. The colour is a nice chestnut brown, and the scent in the pouch is pleasant, hints of slightly fermented hay, very natural. Lights very easily and stays lit well, the flavour is very soft, pure simple virginia tobacco. I get hints of fresh hay, bready toasty flavours, and occasionally a surprising but unmistakeable hint of pale roast coffee.

Good tobacco for outdoors activities like gardening, it stays lit well and doesn't demand too much attention. You could smoke it all day, if you are an all-day pipesmoking kind of chap. Not too strong. The aroma is simple, rather like a good quality cigarette, but without the burning paper ruining the smell. Not too strong a scent, not all-pervasive as some "aromatics" can be, and much more natural.

The first pouch of this I bought had unfortunately gone mouldy, and smelt awful. I returned it to the address on the pouch, and was sent two fresh pouches and the stamps to cover my postage. Exemplary customer service from Imperial Tobacco.

This is a straight, mild and pure Virginia tobacco.

The cut is more shag than ribbon and it has a high humidity level, so I prefered to air it a bit. It packs very well and easy to light. Because of its shag cut properties it has a tendency to burn fast. This disadvantage can be fixed by a tight packing and slow puffing cadence, which also helped me to enjoy this tobacco much better.

It has a subtle Virginia flavor. The taste is cigarette like. It has also a nice dosage of nicotine. If you look for very tasty and sweet straight Virginia smoke this one can dissapoint you.

I am very fond of good virginia tobacco and I've tired quite a few. Capstan ready rubbed is the strongest virginia tobacco I've come accross so far. It is not overwhelming but has an extra kick that I've found other virginias lack. This is not my everyday virginia but I smoke it when I want a bit more of a stronger smoke. I always have a pouch of this around for when I require it. If you are looking for a good virginia tobacco with a bit more punch this could be the one for you.