Mac Baren Capstan Gold Navy Cut

This blend has a good flavour from start to finish. It is in my opinion quite similar to Capstan original blend, however milder. The aroma is pleasant and the flavor Nice. A good blend to enjoy with a cup of coffee in the morning watching the sun rise

Years ago I tried blue Capstan, and at the time I was not a fan of straight Virginia. Fast forward to now, having more experience with other Virginia blends, I thought I'd give this version a whirl. Besides it is listed as milder, and with fruit (landing in camp Aromatic I often play in).

The smoke is indeed milder, without deviating too much from the more popular blue tin product. Inside are 14 laser cut flakes that give off a sweet wheat germ scent with, yup, a tinge of fruitiness. The flakes are a bit moist and I'd let them catch some air before folding them up. Once lit, it performs much like a quality unfiltered cigarette, that I found myself wanting to inhale.

Don't be turned off by the idea of the fruit flavoring, it is mostly undetectable and helps to smooth out the tobacco taste, which was medium in strength and nicotine. As with other flakes or kakes, the product is quite dense and I tend to get less bowls per ounce than the same amount of ribbon cut. In this case I got roughly 12 bowls. Luckily the product tends to burn a little slower, so you get some mileage.

As an Aromatic fan, I will likely never rate a Virginia above 2 stars, but this was one of the best attempts they threw my way. An easy 3+ rating for non-Aromatic pipers.

Opening tin: The smell is sugary and fruity, some citrus and hay. Otherwise tobacco smell is dominant.

Lighting up is a delight, the same smells from opening the tin is converted to taste, except for citrus which i do not detect. I get some dried grass with strong hay notes, and some fresh soil mixed in there. Similiar to what one would smell if one rolled around in a patch of dried grass.

A perfect, light mixture that reminds me of the summertimes. Burns well, no bite, zero to few relights, fine ash after finish. Flavour becomes more powerful towards the last 1/2 of the bowl. Almost bitter towards the end.

Tolkien liked this. I like Tolkien. Ergo, i should like Capstan.

Sadly, i cannot say i did. I'm probably not experienced enough to fully appreciate those full virginia blends, but, i struggled to taste anything with this one. Only about mid-bowl did some flavour finally show up, only to disappear minutes later... I must be doing something wrong.

I also seem to have low tolerance to Virginia. NightCap, which has a reputation for being strong in the Nicotine department, sometimes makes me feel woozy, but never sick. Same for some dark flakes. But Virginia blends, and also VaPers, they just dont go well with my body chemistry... the sugar ?

The rather large slices of flake tobacco are neatly stacked into the rectangular tin. The tin note delivers the typical grassy, haylike, natural scents of a straight Virginia blend. Moisture is perfect.

To fill your pipe you can either rub out the flakes or use the fold and stuff method. I prefer the later alternative, because it gives you a cooler, more complex smoke, and crumble some broken bits on top. Either way, you need to take care not to pack your bowl too tightly, because the tobacco tends to expand upon lighting.

After the charring light I level out the ashes, before setting the true light. After that, it usually burns evenly.

Like any pure Virginia blend, the Capstan Gold Navy Cut needs to be smoked deliberately gently and coolly in order to develop its full flavor. If it burns too hot, it'll loose its complexity and might even sting your tongue. The mellow taste has a distinct tangy sweetness that rather comes from the natural aromas of the Virginias than a casing, which I can't detect. The tobacco burns down evenly and slowly leaving some dark grey ash and more moisture than expected.

The room note is unobtrusive and has a slight sweetness to it.

In search of a great VA, I recently sought recommendations. I got them. As a result, I ended up buying a tin of Capstan Gold Navy Cut nine days ago. Currently, the very last of it is burning in a reasonably large bent billiard/brandy BST. The tin code suggests this was tinned in 2013.

Simply put, this is a fantastic blend. It is everything I thought I was looking for in a VA: mild-medium body, super sweet, high quality leaf, easy to work with, easy burning, and delicious. It delivers all of these and more, and I can't overstate the sweetness. I taste little to no added aromatic quality to this blend, but this has to be the single sweetest non-aromatic blend I have ever smoked. Full stop.

The flakes arrived at the perfect moisture level to smoke with little or no drying. They look clean, crisp, immaculate. They are insanely easy to rub out, and work just great for folding-and-stuffing. I can get about an hour of smoke from a rubbed up half flake generally, or a much longer smoke by folding the whole thing up and stuffing it in a pipe. My longest smoke with this stuff was a whole flake at around two hours. And the flavor, sweetness, everything only got better as the bowl went on.

This isn't the mildest tobacco I've ever smoked, but it certainly has a crisp, light, bright flavor. It is closer to a medium strength tobacco in terms of nicotine than the very mild flavor would suggest, but it certainly isn't a full-on medium; it's just a touch stronger than one might initially suspect based on appearance and flavor.

The room note is pleasant as these things go, but again it's not an aromatic.

I was so smitten by the stuff right off the bat that I initially thought I might want to smoke nothing else until I was done with the tin. It turns out that while this is a fantastic blend, I couldn't maintain the discipline to do that. The sweetness is lovely with this blend, but it also is a limiting factor in determining how much of the stuff I can actually smoke. That said, in order to get a really good feel for this blend, I did smoke at least one bowl of this every day until I ran out - usually more. If smoked too much, though, the sweetness tends to start to fatigue me, and I start getting a touch of bite. I could see myself being content to smoke only this blend if I only smoked once every day or two, but as it stands I am not. Early in the morning, or after a long evening of too much tobacco, this blend isn't always actually what I want. That said, it is probably the best example of the kind of tobacco I was seeking. It's got really clear, light VA taste with sugar galore, and when I'm in the mood this is simply a breathtaking, stunning blend. But I am simply not always in the mood, and sometimes I need something less sweet or with more weight to it in terms of flavor if not in terms of nicotine.

This isn't a cheap tobacco, but neither is it prohibitively expensive. I could definitely see buying some tins of this to age, or to just keep on hand for when I want a special, sweet, plain Virginia. The only drawback to this tobacco, if it's fair to call this a drawback, is that I couldn't smoke this all day. It's just too rich in sweetness. Which is also it's great strength in terms of being a more occasional, special-treat smoke.

I plan on trying the Capstan Original next, having heard it has just a touch more body and a touch less sweetness, but I'm extremely glad to have tried this blend, and I imagine this won't be the last tin I ever buy of this.

This tin was smoked over the course of nine days from a variety of pipes, including a few different briar pipes, a brand new Falcon (which I have broken in with this), and a Barling meerschaum. I didn't find drying to be especially advantageous, but it did help with avoiding dottle in larger pipes.

For me, this isn't an all-day every-day blend, but I have to give it full marks on every front except price. It could be less pricey, but this is one case in which I think the quality can justify an extra two or three dollars per tin. Extremely highly recommended.

I smoked this flake side by side with it's more stronger brother, the original Capstan. This blend has a bit more sweetness to it and less nicotine than the original Capstan. I would best describe it as a very light Virginia flake with noticeable honey, fig, and natural Viriginia notes found throughout the smoke. Like its brother, I suggest letting it sit for 5 minutes before smoking it so it can dry a bit. This is definitely an easy-going and all day smoke. Highly recommend it.

Opening a 1 year old tin I was greeted with thin, wide pressed flakes in gold and brown colors. There was a fermented tangy odor as the tin was opened. A deeper sniff showcased grassy notes and a sweet lemon-like citrus smell. The moisture level was just about perfect for me, and an unlit sip brought a light sweetness through the stem. The initial light tasted of hay and a darker sweetness than before. Overall there were light citrus notes with a dark sweetness in each puff. Every so often I would get a grassy note or a hint of hay, a pretty straightforward Virginia I think. The aftertaste lasted a little while, and the room was left smelling pleasant and toasty. I enjoyed this blend and think it showcases everything I enjoy about certain Virginia blends. I’d recommend this blend to anyone who likes a straightforward and light Virginia flake.

Wow!....a straight Va. that smokes with sweetness and spiceness, I am pleasantly suprised.

Tin presentation is impeccable, more bright colored leaf than OGS, well pressed and uniform in cut.

Smell is hayish, but sweet- cant identify any casing myself, like say University Flake or Erinmore.

If respected my patience pays off with sweet sugary sips early to mid bowl. I do get peppeey spice toward.the end-not unlike I taste with perique in a blend.Of course it can burn and bite but I rub it out well and pack it firm. Highly recommended from someone not hyper-fond of straight anything in the baccy realm.