Lane Limited Captain Black Original (Regular)

I did not care for CBW. It was extremely moist and burned hot producing tongue scorching steam. And for as sweet as it smelled in the pouch it had next to no flavor but it did have a pretty good room note. At twice the price ($8.00) of other better OTC blends I will not be purchasing again.

This has got to be the goopiest, tongue-bitiest, PG-ist, nastiest aromatic tobacco ever. I like when people smoke this around me. Room note is fantastic. But the smokers themselves have got to be masochists. New smokers, for the love of God, try an aromatic from Boswell, C&D, McClelland, Lane. Anything but this chemical soup. See my other reviews for some aromatics that even a non- aro guy can appreciate. This stuff is junk-weed. I question as to whether it contains any actual tobacco, or is the pipe version of sheet tobacco. Get some 1Q. Throw this stuff in the fire.

This isn't as bad as borkum riff... but other than that I have nothing positive to say. how this is consistently recommended is completely beyond me.

For the life of me, I have no idea why this tobacco is so popular, nor why it is usually the recommended tobacco to new pipe smokers. Dare I even call this chemical goop 'tobacco'? It's very wet. Totally drenched in PG preservative. No amount of drying will revive it. And there's no tobacco taste. Instead, you'll get an artificial burnt-cardboard-dipped-in-marshmallows flavor. Blah. Also, it burns the mouth badly. Plus it has a horrible artificial/chemical aftertaste that took me 24 hours to get rid of. The only positive point is that the room note is nice. But that alone is not enough to save this infernal concoction. This so-called tobacco has probably turned off and driven away more new pipe smokers than any other blend in the history of pipe smoking. On top of all this, it's not even cheap. Others who smoked it back in the day claim CBW is not the same blend from the 1970s and 1980s (which was supposedly much better). I guess it's just another sign of the times- artificial, shallow, trendy, over-hyped, and flashy. As another reviewer said, you might as well stick a marshmallow in your pipe and smoke it. That would be a cheaper and safer alternative. Stay far, far away from this one if you know what's good for you. I strongly recommend Mac Baren's natural, smooth and tasty Seven Seas Regular instead. You'll thank me later.

Ok first off the Captain Black available today shouldn't even be considered. Many new to pipe smoking grab a pouch of this and say yuck ! There was a time when the Captain sailed, pre 1986 Captain Black was quite different v than the present one. It was exceptionally good back when it was sold in solid metal cans with the little pry lever built onto the can. I smoked this back in 1979 to about 1984 and it was different then, it was good ! The ratio of black to Burley was more Even. The black had a smooth velvety feel to it, it looked pretty in the tin. The smell was rum and vanilla evenly, and it was sweet and zesty, actually tasted good ! It was so nice and I heard the earlier pre 80s version was even better ! It's a shame newbies co guy lent smoke it the q at it used to be. There are tobacconist that will make the old version or close to it. I have a local guy near me who blends it himself using all stokebye tobacco and no Lane slop. It is as close as I remember to the old blend, fresh, sweet, colorful in contrast, cool, no bite, rum and vanilla flavor. As for the new stuff it is cardboard soaked in vanilla ! The new stuff is not even rateable!

I've dabbled in cigars for a decent amount of time and decided to try pipes. I got this and Borkum Riff to try out a pipe. This is less offensive than the Borkum Riff, in fact its not really much of anything.

Being used to cigars I expected some flavor, there isn't much to speak of. Now granted, I'm still learning the ropes of pipe smoking. I feel like each time I smoke I'm getting better at tamping and lighting. It just seems this is so mild I need something with more kick.

This smells wonderful, and it's something to puff on while I search for a tastier tobacco.

It's great for learning. It's not expensive either, so if you're trying to learn the pipe basics and want to do it on the cheap without being offended, try this. But know there's always a tastier leaf out there.

This is absolute S#@T !! In the world of pipe tobaccos available why would anybody smoke this stuff? It will burn your tongue to death, it tastes like pure chemicals, and its expensive! If your considering buying this stuff don't! Do yourself a favor and call Boswell's Pipes and Tobacco and get yourself some real pipe tobacco.

Well, I finally tried it. I suppose every pipe smoker must try it sooner or later. And now I can readily understand its iconic status: easy to pack, easy to light, stays lit without problem, has a pleasant room note, and gives off easy billows of accessible, pleasant, nondescript vanilla-ish smoke, with only an inoffensive hint of chemicals. (Or, in a less generous mood, as Countrygent puts it, "Think supermarket cupcakes; sweet, vanilla, burnt marshmallow, yellow spongecake somewhat cloying aftertaste. And about the same lack of character with overly-dominant, aspertame-like chemical notes.") I can see why it's considered a terrific "beginner's" tobacco. Basically, it wasn't bad at all.

I suppose there are good reasons why it's endured for so long: it's the quintessential, easy, inexpensive, decent blend that would make for a fine all-day tobacco for those who just want to smoke on auto-pilot without any fuss. A lot of people listen to nothing but top 40s radio, watch nothing but Hollywood movies, and drink nothing but Budweiser or table wines. It's a comfort(able) smoke for those lucky souls who don't have a desire to delve further into more refined pleasures, and that's just fine. (After all, the quest, once embarked upon, though fun, becomes interminable and expensive. How much simpler it would be to forego all that!)

As agentlemanfromindiana says, "Despite some of the review on here, it really is a pretty decent tobacco, aka its not great or awful." Ordinarily I'd rate this as a solid two star smoke, but, given its context, it warrants three stars. (Ie: you don't use the same scale to rate your son's wonderful recital performance of Für Elise as you would, say, Alfred Brendel's.)

The first tobacco I ever smoked and enjoyed in a pipe when I was a kid. My buddy and I acquired a pouch of this stuff when we were 13 years old, along with a corn cob pipe. I still smoke it till this day even though it is no longer my favorite it is still a good smoke and an excellent introductory tobacco.

The room Aroma is excellent it is very smooth & Mild as far as taste goes. It's affordability is almost unmatched for it's quality. It does have a tendency to leave the pipe a bit wet, it also tends to get a little bitter towards the end or if smoked too hot.

Now I see that this brand has gotten a lot of bad reviews and that is because it has not been judged fairly. It is important to keep in mind perspective and context any text without context is a con. It reminds me of a passage from the Bible with Jesus talking about John the Baptist asking what people went out to see when they went to search out John the Baptist, Jesus asked those who were gathered what did they go to see a reed shaken by the wind or a prophet and yay what a prophet for none born of woman has risen greater than John the Baptist.

Would you go to the drugstore and pick up a bottle of Aqua Velva, Brute, Old Spice, or Clubman and then turn around and compare it to Drakkar Noir or cool water Dusseldorf?

No, of course you would not!!!

Well you shouldn't do that with pipe tobaccos either. Like the drugstore brands aftershave and cologne they are trusted cheap and very effective doing the job they were designed for and most of our parents and grandparents used it and probably we first put it to the test when we became of age.

Captain black original to me is much like Old Spice it smells much better than all of its competition it's reasonably priced and if you're just going to be sitting around your house and you want something to enjoy, it does the trick and better than its competition. It doesn't seek to impress it puts on no Showmanship it is just simple common pipe tobacco.

It tastes good, it smells good, it's not ever going to be single malt scotch. If you bought it expecting that and wound up being disgusted and highly disappointed that it turned out to be Johnnie Walker red then it is you, who went in with your eyes closed and fooled yourself.

I recommend this tobacco highly for everyday use however I don't claim it to be the best on the Shelf in the smoke shop. However it is the best on the Shelf in the drugstore, where it was supposed to be bought and purchased by the everyday Common Man.