Mac Baren Capstan Gold Navy Cut

Needed a little dry time . Slightly moist from tin . Flakes are easy to work with . Burns a little warm and quick for a flake even folded and stuffed . I taste mostly lemon with some bread hay and grass. High notes mostly . Has a tart tanginess . Good quality and no bite . 2 1/2 stars .

Much has been said of this Gold Navy Cut, and I just have to place my 4 stars rating for it being such a pleasant smoke early in the morning.

Yes, this is my morning tobacco now right after breakfast. I am an English Blend smoker by large and will have my fix of English 4-5 bowls a day before retiring to bed with a bowl of either FVF or Mac Baren Navy Flake. Initially I couldn't quite pin where this Gold Navy Cut would fit in, as I failed to find enjoyment like I did smoking the stronger FVF. But then just today, I was pleasantly rewarded with a very soothing and relaxing smoke, 30 minutes of bliss smoked using my Freehand Missouri Meerschaum Cob. And that sealed the deal for me. This Gold Navy Cut is a firm morning tabac for me.

To get the best out of it, I had mine already rubbed thoroughly (half content of the tin) and have them air dried for a few hours. Then I placed the unrubbed flakes into a storage container and kept the rubbed ones back into the original tin. And so, the ready to smoke pieces awaits me every morning now to deliver that consistent soothing and sweet smoking experience

PS: I prefer this over the Blue 🙂

Capstan Gold Navy Cut, AKA “Golden Snork”: This one is much like its older sibling, Capstan Original Navy Cut, meaning a range of VAs that are cold pressed and well fermented before being cut into flakes and tinned. CGNC has more lemon leaf, and little or no stoved leaf (red), and both blends include sweet, earthy, air cured browns. CGNC’s tin note is slightly less vegetal, more hay, grasses and orange, along with some dates and red currants over tobacco that’s centered on a higher frequency than CONC’s. I prefer to break, fold and loosely stuff a flake for a long, gratifying smoke. In a group 5 pipe it lasts for an hour. It makes tons of smoke, and light sniffing is where it’s at with this one. The smoke parallels the tin notes and it burns fine at a low enough temperature, at least it will do, once it’s sorted out. CGNC also “develops” down the bowl, becoming stronger (relatively speaking) and tastier and smelling more complex to the end, as long as it’s not overcooked. Although CGNC is, indeed, “lighter” than CONC, yet I find it a little more intense, generally, with lemon leaf predominating, but still there’s plenty coming from brown and maybe orange leaf that adds depth and further interest to the lemon. Strength is close to medium if you smoke as much at a time as I do. Likewise, tastes develop to medium. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste is the best of the smoke, only sweeter, as long as the ash is handled properly.

Despite CGNC is touted as “light” tobacco - and it is - it does have some oomph, and I can see where someone looking for a thoroughly dumb and easy blonde might be disappointed. OTOH, this ought to please most VA lovers, and I like it a lot; hence, 4 stars.

Upon opening the tin, the aroma of this tobacco is a strong bright Virginia scent, with hints of a citrus topping. Very pleasant, it smells gorgeous.

The appearance of the flakes is very uniform, they are somewhat thick-cut & long rectangles. The colour of the flakes is mid-brown to blonde tobaccos mixed fairly evenly.

The tobacco really needs to be roughly-rubbed. I tried it folded & stuffed a couple of times, but it was somewhat difficult to keep burning, due - I think - to the thickness of the flakes.

Once lit, the taste is exactly what one would expect from the tin-note. Bright & light, with a sweet lingering mild aftertaste of toffee caramel. The citrus note is somewhat more muted that perhaps anticipated. Once fairly rubbed, it burns well, the moisture content from the tin is pretty much perfect.

The room-note is also light & bright, with the citrus featuring a bit more heavily that the actual smoke itself.

Nicotine is mild/medium & the tobacco pairs well with light Pale Ales. The tobacco is of good quality, and some times it is just the thing when one wants to have a nice smoke without too much of a nicotine hit. I'll give it a 3, which I think is a fair rating, this won't knock your socks off, but neither will it disappoint. It can bite a bit if puffed too hard, and gentle regular sips are the way to go to keep it cool & flavoursome.

Tin note of stewed ripe figs, tart plums, and sugary Rasins. The yellowish-brown tobacco flakes easily rub out. Tobacco is moist, but no drying needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild to medium. Though listed with Fruit / Citrus flavoring, I couldn't discern it. Taste is mild to medium and consistent, with complex notes of sweet hay, earth, tangy orange peel, mildly spicy, tart lemon grass, floral, wood, a mildly sweet spiced bread background note, and a moderately peppery retro. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is great.

I don't have much to add to the positive reviews this tobacco has received. I'm probably one of the few who prefers the yellow label to its blue brother. The flavour is very similar, as others have noted. The slightly lighter blend suits my somewhat tender palate and casual smoking style just a bit more. I wish I liked the exact same tobacco as JRR Tolkien but this is close enough.

A sweet, citrusy, tangy bright colored Virginia flake. Tin note offers loads of citrus, fresh tomato almost like ketchup, grass and hay notes. Flakes are thin and wide. Excellent presentation inside the tin. Very easy to rub and load into the pipe. Can easily be folded and stuffed into pipe too. Flakes come a little moist. I would give at least 45 minutes of drying time before I smoke. Excellent burning characteristics for a flake. Requires average number of relights. Once pipe is lit, the tobacco offers lots of citrus notes with just a little spice that you get from Virginias. Fresh tomato flavor doesn't come a lot while smoking. No tongue bite or harsh spots. The blend is mild for me in all these categories: nicotine, strength, and flavor. Very easy going all day summer blend for me. I took 1 star away for rating because of price point. Other than price, I have nothing bad to say about this blend. A nice change of pace for me from other Virginia blends. 3 stars out of 4.

To get the comparison between the Gold and Blue Capstans out of the way: I get a different flavor profile than most others. For me, the Gold version is a bit harsher, a bit stronger, and far less sweet. That despite the fact that it's made 100% from bright leaf while the blue version has more matured Virginias. However, it's not necessarily a negative comparison. For me it's a slightly bolder blend that has its time and place.

The tin note gets some of that fruity Capstan essence, although much fainter and doesn't not overall carry on to the smoke.

Smoking notes: Dry fruit, salt, a bit of sour and a bit of stout. Wood, black pepper. The overarching sweet essence of Capstan blue is felt only slightly here. Unlike others, I get far less sweet from this blend, in general and compared with its blue brother. I'm not convinced that there's an actual topping. The fruity essence can very well be the natural Virginia aroma and flavor.

Not the easiest flake to rub out, but still fairly easy. Same goes for packing. Comes in a bit moist. If I leave the flakes in the tin after opening, as I tend to do with both Capstan blends, they get to their perfect moisture level after about three days.

Flavor remains fairly consistent throughout the smoke, although I did get more sweet fruity notes towards the half point.

Medium in body, mild-medium in strength. There's a little complexity between the stout and peppery flavors and the sweetness roles. However, the balance between the two edges is very well done. Smokes at medium-pace, cool smoke. Can be an all-day smoke.

To sum up, this is a great blend and as with its blue brother, my main problem is that I finish the tin too fast for its high price. If I rate it on its own, it gets four stars. If I had to rate it in relation to the Blue version, it'd get three or three and a half, as I absolutely love Capstan Blue.

I had tried the "blue" in the past when it wasn't made by MacBaren yet, and I remember it was juicier and more flavorful.

This is a nice slow burning flake, but a bit too gentle for my taste, quite monochromatic and unexciting. Delicate Virginias with just a hint of sweetness, grassiness, and citrusy twang. It's good, but I simply find it less rich and tasty than I was hoping.