Capstan & Tolkien

[uzzi101]

I enjoy the Blue quite a lot. Recently acquired a couple of the square tins from 2013. Should I dump them in a jar or keep ‘‘em as is? I’d like to continue the aging process.

I hear the square tins may not hold their seal.

thoughts?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Green

 

[Winterreise]

Tolkien never confirmed it was is favorite, his son just found some tins of capstan , like i could have found some borkum riff in my grandpa drawer .

 

[bullet08]

Hmm.. I better leave better blends when I kick the bucket. Then again, that tub of Granger seems to last forever.

 

[smokeymo]

I prefer Blue; it reminds me of a very lightly sweetened English Tea. I'm sure it goes great with tea, tbh.
Gold is a little light for me. Would be a great all day smoker no doubt.

 

[fireground_piper]

I enjoy the Blue quite a lot. Recently acquired a couple of the square tins from 2013. Should I dump them in a jar or keep ‘‘em as is? I’d like to continue the aging process.

I hear the square tins may not hold their seal.

thoughts?

Just leave them.

 

[Cicerolepipero]

Tolkien never confirmed it was is favorite, his son just found some tins of capstan , like i could have found some borkum riff in my grandpa drawer .

But what if your grandpa was buying Borkum Riff by the pound?

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Found this from an article written awhile back - sounds like it was a thing back in the early 50s for him writing LOTR, so a long association with the tobacco.

"J.R.R. Tolkien wrote without an outline using only the thoughts gathered in his head over long hours of smoking his pipe and staring into a fireplace. Sitting at his typewriter, head wreathed in smoke, he pounded out a first draft of the Lord of the Rings mythos, and then discarded it, beginning again from scratch. As the story took form, it left behind a litter of empty blue-painted cans of tobacco.

The tobacco was Capstan Original Navy Cut. Members of his family remember the tins proliferating around the house and being used to store household items. When Tolkien and other members of his literary group The Inklings met, nicotine burned in abundance, and they could be found by following the trail of smoke. In his books, Tolkien inserted characters finding great comfort and wisdom in their pipes much as he did in his."

I agree he wasn't confirming anything after he was dead.

 

[Winterreise]

View attachment 108560
But what if your grandpa was buying Borkum Riff by the pound?

I have pounds of lot of tobacco it irrelevant

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Found this from an article written awhile back - sounds like it was a thing back in the early 50s for him writing LOTR, so a long association with the tobacco.

"J.R.R. Tolkien wrote without an outline using only the thoughts gathered in his head over long hours of smoking his pipe and staring into a fireplace. Sitting at his typewriter, head wreathed in smoke, he pounded out a first draft of the Lord of the Rings mythos, and then discarded it, beginning again from scratch. As the story took form, it left behind a litter of empty blue-painted cans of tobacco.

The tobacco was Capstan Original Navy Cut. Members of his family remember the tins proliferating around the house and being used to store household items. When Tolkien and other members of his literary group The Inklings met, nicotine burned in abundance, and they could be found by following the trail of smoke. In his books, Tolkien inserted characters finding great comfort and wisdom in their pipes much as he did in his."

I agree he wasn't confirming anything after he was dead.

Haha, looks like this needs a quick bump to keep the facts in order!

I confess to having never read LOTR and have a wife and two daughters still insisting I should, but want to make me read The Hobbit first. Seems daunting - maybe in the dark days of January, 2022 I'll try.

 

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

I really REALLY like the Blue. Gold is good too, but Blue is not just my favorite Capstan—it’s my favorite tobacco.
It has very pleasant hay flavor of course, but also a sweet malty bread-like flavor, and maybe even a spot of tea as someone suggested above. It comes out of the tin dry enough to smoke, but I often let it dry a little bit more for maximum user friendliness. I have dedicated my new Jose Rubio rhodesian pipe to this blend.
It’s the only blend i cellar deep.
I wish Estervals still sold those bulk boxes ?

 

[Cicerolepipero]

I really REALLY like the Blue. Gold is good too, but Blue is not just my favorite Capstan—it’s my favorite tobacco.
It has very pleasant hay flavor of course, but also a sweet malty bread-like flavor, and maybe even a spot of tea as someone suggested above. It comes out of the tin dry enough to smoke, but I often let it dry a little bit more for maximum user friendliness. I have dedicated my new Jose Rubio rhodesian pipe to this blend.
It’s the only blend i cellar deep.
I wish Estervals still sold those bulk boxes ?

How do you pack it? I cube cut and gravity fill in a nice big bowl and it’s a magically long and flavorful smoke.

 

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

How do you pack it? I cube cut and gravity fill in a nice big bowl and it’s a magically long and flavorful smoke.

Lately I’ve just been rubbing it out, but I used to do more fold & stuff. I’ve been meaning to try the cube cut method. In fact you just convinced me to do it now ?

 

[Cicerolepipero]

Lately I’ve just been rubbing it out, but I used to do more fold & stuff. I’ve been meaning to try the cube cut method. In fact you just convinced me to do it now ?

Lemme know how it goes! ?

 

[smokeymo]

I have pounds of lot of tobacco it irrelevant

For someone on a teacher's salary in the 1950-70s to have POUNDS of one type of tobacco, it would have to be their most smoked blend. Whether that is because it was a favorite or because it was the most readily available in Oxfordshire is up for debate. But it is clearly what Tolkien smoked the most.

 

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

I understand wanting to try this blend based on the Tolkien info, but obviously that info adds nothing to the tobacco itself.

@Cicerolepipero boy oh boy cube cutting this Capstan Blue certainly makes it more bold/flavorful. Almost into FVF territory. I’ll have to try it with Capstan Gold next, as that version could use a boost IMO

 

[JOHN72]

I love both of them...........Blue and Gold.....................

 

[Christos D. Tsatsaronis]

Gold for me.

 

[Es0teric]

I love Capstan Blue and I have several tins of it in my cellar. It's a fantastic Virginia. I have yet to try the Gold, my next order I will be ordering some to try.

 

[JKoD]

So, what does it matter what Tolkien smoked? If you like it - smoke it. I was going to hit the sack, but this made me want to try this again. First few times I smoked it, I felt meh about it considering the price. I still feel meh about it especially because OF the price. There is better tobacco for less. How much does the Tolkien marketing increase its value?

I don’t get It. Who cares who smoked it and liked it. Perhaps with the other options available today that weren’t then, he’d have smoked something else? Nobody knows, but it seems we try to care to much about what others enjoy rather than focus on what we enjoy. Personally, I think blends that cost about 50% leas than Capstan are better. Only an opinion, but think a blind taste test would demonstrate what is actually true. So, history and a trail of trash can leave clues, but not motive. In addition to being potentially light in income as a teacher, it’s possible the tins served as a resourceful use of items to reduce waste and minimize more costs to stay organized.

You also cannot underestimate the impact of going through the depression and how it influenced people’s behaviors. Saving and doing without are considerations. Maybe he got Capstan because of the price then. Bought by pound cause cheaper that way. Only bought that because exploring other blends was wasteful. Who knows. Who cares. Sorry. Just some extra thoughts on the topic.

End of day - none of it matters except what you like. Stick with that, and you’re good. ?‍