Lane Limited Captain Black Original (Regular)

The captain sailed back into my life after a long and not much maligned absence. Its nice to know in such a chaotic world that some things remain everlasting. Indeed the Captain is just as vicious of tongue and tastelessly boring as that girl I knew in college. A true bedrock of banality filled with not but regret and remorse.

There are only three reasons to smoke this blend; 1.You bought it and feel bad now that you spent so much on it and are obliged to finish what you started 2. You want OTHER people to enjoy the smell of your pipe and not ask you to smoke outside whilst you suffer in dumb agony wondering if you'll ever taste anything ever again. 3. Your into self degradation and have found this blend as key to expanding your choice of self flagellation.

There is no flavor worth commenting on. There is no Nicotine worth commenting on. The only way to enjoy this smoke is to cut it 50/50 with something that adds some kick and flavor and to use you nose to try and squeeze something of value from the vapid grey smoke.

The Captain will however teach you (with the alacrity of a cruel schoolmaster) to smoke 'cold molasses' slowly as you must remove yourself from all distraction and turn you full faculty to regulating your draw and burn temp such that you avoid suffering confusion as to whether you're enjoying your evening smoke or have in reality grabbed the business end of an acetylene torch.

Wow, smells like a candy store, always catches one admiration in public. Tastes like I've eaten a badly constructed chemistry set from the most dysfunctional RadioShack in the backwoods. Bleck...Double bleck!!

Smoke in peace, brothers and sisters of the leaf.

An American friend suggested I try this as a change from my usual non-aromatic English/Balkan and Virginia blends. He smokes aromatics and swears by it.

I was a little wary, because I've always disliked aromatics, but gave it a try.

What can I say? It's "tobacco" for people who don't like tobacco. It's like the "aromas" you can get for the "electronic pipes" that produce a mist of nicotine and assorted chemical-laden fake flavours, only without the nicotine or flavouring. If this were music it would be played in elevators.

Quite pointless.

You know the phrase "Garbage in; garbage out"? I think this is what started that expression, because this is definitely garbage.

Why not just fill your pipe with imaginary tobacco, instead of spending your money on this crap? The effects would be the same- i.e. zero taste and absolutely no nicotine. The only way you can tell that you are smoking it, is by seeing the smoke.

The one advantage the Captain has over imaginary tobacco, is that it smells nice- but the aroma quickly becomes obnoxious and then eventually, undetectable.

I hate to see people recommending this as a tobacco for beginners. I had tried this 30 years ago, in my late teens- along with a few other drug-store tobaccos, and quickly concluded that there was no point in smoking a pipe, as I got absolutely nothing from it, except for seeing some smoke in the air.

That experience turned me off of pipe-smoking for 30 years! But thanks to the internet, I am now an educated smoker, and gave the pipe another try- this time, starting out with some good English blends, and some of the stronger stuff, like Irish Flake and 1792- and now, I see what pipe-smoking is all about, and am loving it.

If your 3 year-old wants to take up pipe-smoking, that is something Captain Black MIGHT be good for....

Another reviewer said it best, and I defer to him: "It's tobacco for people who don't like tobacco"!

I'm still new to pipe smoking, so I'm trying out several different blends to see what I like. Captain Black Regular was one of the blends I saw recommended for beginners. so I gave it a shot. To my unrefined palate, it tastes a little like Lane 1-Q, but with less vanilla flavoring. It also left a really chemical, almost plastic-like flavor in my mouth, even stronger after I finished the bowl. I'm eating Altoids like candy to cover over the aftertaste. I'm either going to give away or throw away the rest of the pouch.

It did smell really nice in the pouch, though.

The fabled Captain, an elemental spirit of destruction- this was the guy piloting the Exxon Valdeez after downing a case of Meister Brau, both products which are ironically chiefly bought at gas stations.

To start. I imagine this is probably the best selling tobacco at least in America and Canada and possibly Europe, and if nothing else it is the most widely available. It was my first pouch and often seems recommended to new pipers. Why did I buy it? It was the only thing available. I also fell for its own labeling extolling its virtues. I also knew it smelled good. At least that part is true, unfortunately you, as the smoker, are working the other end of the pipe.

So, I issue a small craft advisory to new pipers. Avoid this stuff, stay in port. There are several major problems with this. First, it is a soupy mess and it smokes wet as hell. It will goop up your pipe. No doubt when I tried this technique was a huge part of those problems, but the product pushes you to it. Two, there is little flavor and little nicotine and as such you're going to lean hard into. Three, you now have a wet smoke made worse by its feableness, and you will have your tongue severely bitten by the captain's ill-tempered, featherless, and ancient macaw. It is not a forgiving blend. These three factors are a horrible combination for someone that's learning to smoke a pipe and should be the last blend that is first offered. As to the taste, what is there is quite sweet but it tastes of high fructose corn syrup. Imagine smoking Karo. The chemical odors and tastes are prominent. The room note is appreciated by those around you, but you're not smoking for their enjoyment.

This blend turned me off to pipes for about 10 years. Even the mention of cavendish in a blend still raises warning flags for me even though I know they come in a variety of styles, some of which aren't delivery materials for chemicals and sauces,and some of which are of outstanding quality. I would suggest another OTC blend that actually has some tobacco taste, is sweet, is softly aromatic, burns well, and is relatively available to a first-timer. Find Prince Albert in a can and let him out. Is that a 4 star product? No, but it's not garbage and you can begin learning how to smoke and build some appreciation of the art.

Captain Black White is an excellent smelling tobacco that offers absolutely nothing to the smoker. This stuff is all about room-note, and nothing else. Taste is somewhat like cardboard boxes – you know the smell, that's how it tastes. Little to no nicotine detected. Absolutely awful stuff that some high-profile supposed non-biased reviewers are singing the praises of on the internet. Hmmm, wonder if Lane Limited is paying them. Half a star out of five isn't possible, so I guess this is a zero. BTW, in Canada, this stuff is 35 f'in dollars a pouch!

I signed up for an account just to leave my review. How this has 3 out of 4 stars is beyond me. It is a complete dud. Rather than stuffing it in my pipe, I may pour this stuff in my wife's potpourri dish; or perhaps sprinkle it on my son's birthday cake. Perhaps I shouldn't go from smoking Nightcap to smoking a pure aromatic like Captain Black White. In either case, this stuff ain't for me. (I'm a newbie, too!)

I had to try this classic aromatic. The Black Cavendish is the ''dominant'' flavor for half of the smoke with some chemical casing that wants to be vanilla. After a while, the chemical enhancement is the only thing that I draw from my pipe. This is the moment I quit wasting my time and reach for a better mixture. I am sorry to say that not even nostalgia, as I smoked this tobacco 20 years ago, could save it from the one star rating. It was a sample from a fellow pipe smoker who now wants to get rid of it. I took it as a comic relief experience after trying so many amazing mixtures. I needed a reminder that pipe smoking is a privilege in these days of political correctness.

Virginia lover