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Captain Black has got to be one of the best mass-market distributed pipe tobaccos out there. If you like Cavendish tobaccos, then you must read on. I recently smoked 3 of the 5 versions and enjoyed them all immensely. I smoked Captain Black Regular (white package), Captain Black Gold (gold package) and Captain Black Royal (dark blue package). The other two versions that I didn’t smoke are Captain Black Light (light blue package) and Captain Black Cherry (red package). You usually find Captain Black at various chain stores that sell pipe tobacco such as CVS Drug Stores, Walmart and other chains. Don’t let the chosen distribution chain for Captain Black fool you. It is just as good, and even better than some specialty tinned pipe tobaccos.
I want to thank the guy that gave me some Maltese Falcon to try at the 2009 Chicago Pipe Show. I don’t remember his name, but Maltese Falcon has become one of my favorite pipe tobacco blends. I have been smoking it for the last three days straight and I am not tired of it yet. I have had it in the morning, afternoon and night. It is tasty and delightful at anytime of day. To describe this tobacco in a word, I would say "Flavorful". It’s like a rich strong dark coffee with a little bit of milk and sugar added to tame any sharp bite you might get.
Samuel Gawith Bracken Flake may have ruined me for all other pipe tobaccos. You better make sure you are sitting down when you smoke this one! You can even catch a buzz just from the tin aroma. The tin aroma reminds me of Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila. It is a rich sipping Extra-Añejo tequila aged in oak barrels. The tequila has a full, mellow flavor that combines floral, agave, vanilla and Cognac-like flavors. You can take this not only as a recommendation for the tequila, but for SG Bracken Flake too. Opening a tin of Bracken Flake and taking a whiff gives me the same experience as opening a bottle of Cuervo Reserva de la Familia and doing the same. Bracken Flake smells like it has this fine liquor in it.
I’ve heard of aged tobacco, but 200 years old is really getting up there. Ok, the tobacco isn’t really that old, but Samuel Gawith’s Commonwealth Mixture is a Bicentenarian - meaning this pipe tobacco blend has been around for 200 years. I’m not surprised it’s lasted that long as it is one of the best pipe tobaccos I have ever tasted. SG Commonwealth Mixture was recommended to me by PipesMagazine.com member John Gioannetti, aka "mate". I think I will take all of his recommendations from now on.
I was already anticipating something good when seeing the tin saying, "Full Strength Mixture", and I wasn’t let down.
Upon opening the tin, you see and smell a dark, smoky mixture. The tobacco in my tin was rather moist, but I just filled up a bowl and lit it up.
Even though it seemed too moist, I had no trouble lighting and keeping lit.
If you’re feeling nostalgic or old-fashioned, then pull out a tin of Mac Baren Club Blend. This tobacco was introduced in 1955, and it can bring you right back there with it’s traditional aroma, taste, and it’s roll-cake style and presentation. The tobacco is spun to create rolls which are then cut into thin slices. The slices are called "coins". Some say they are ugly, but I think the coins are very attractive looking. The tin aroma has just a little bit of sweetness to it, and reminds me of raisins. Club Blend has a mild-medium aroma and flavor that I enjoy very much. There are some people who claim that Baren’s blends all tend to smell the same and the aroma from the tin of this one seemed similar to several of their other varieties that I have smoked but once it was alight this tobacco had a very distinctive aroma unlike any other. The taste did remind me a little bit of another one of my favorite Mac blends, the Mac Baren Navy Flake. If you like that one, you will probably like Mac Baren Club Blend.
This smells like cake. No, not roll-cake tobacco. Rather sweet delicious, moist cake that is made from flour, butter, sugar, eggs and milk. Yeah, it smells pretty damn good. The other good news is that this tobacco is not the burn-your-tongue off stuff you find in drug stores, although it is obviously an aromatic.
Worth noting is in my last review of an aromatic, Peterson Gold Blend, I did not enjoy the tobacco blend. The point is that I do not just automatically praise every aromatic, but I have run across people that have a blanket opposition to any aromatic pipe tobaccos.
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If you’ve been trying some low-level aromatics and want to step up to the next level then this blend of Burley, Black Cavendish and Virginia may be the one that’s right for you and it might even be a good choice if this is your first aromatic but that’s definitely going to depend on you. This is one blend that I liked at first, but then did a complete turn-around on. I just stuck it in my "never open again" or "give away" drawer.
The tin aroma was nice the first time I opened it but it seemed to fade away over time. You certainly won’t find too many other people in the room complaining about the smell if you’re smoking a pipe loaded with Gold Blend for it does not have a very strong room note and some of the harshest critics that I know have found this one to be quite acceptable. It’s perfect if you like pleasing others before you please yourself.
Don’t let the name put you off this blend of tobacco. While Latakia is the major component of this blend it’s less than half of the volume and the Kentucky and Virginia components go a long way to making this a very acceptable smoke and one that I really like.
For some seasoned pipe smokers it’s a little too mild, and that means that if you’ve never been brave enough to try a Latakia blend then this is the one to start with. I’m sure that if it’s your first Latakia you will notice it although after a couple of tins of this tobacco you may want to move on to something a little stronger. Don’t feel you have to move on though … some of my friends have never wanted to move beyond this blend.
Here’s another tobacco that gets the description right on the tin. It’s described there as being very mild in taste and that’s what it certainly is … mild in just about every way. Even others in the room with you will find the aroma of this blend to be mild.
If you’re an aromatic smoker then you won’t be disappointed and if you’ve never tried an aromatic before then this is a good one to start with. It’s certainly a fine blend that leaves no unpleasant notes on your tongue.
Seasoned aromatic smokers may find that this blend is a little too mild to smoke continually but if you’re one of those who like to rotate through several different blends then a tin of Danish Mixture is something you may think of adding to your rotation.
If you haven’t smoked a flake tobacco before then Mac Baren Navy Flake might be a good one to start with. It’s a fine smooth smoke that will definitely have you coming back for more. I’d classify this as a high-quality slightly aromatic blend. This is far from a "drug store" tobacco. It is actually quite pleasant in many ways …
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