Capstan

[anotherbob]

Capstan Yellow is very similar to Orlik Golden Sliced. Some brighter Virginia with a bit of bergamot topping. Very classical Danish Virginia flake flavor.

Capstan Blue is a shade darker (but not by much) and has no bergamot. Instead it has something a little peppery (but not Perique) added. Wish I knew what it was. It's subtle. Some tins you don't even pick it up. Best aged. Jar it to allow some oxygen to hit the leaf and then come back to it a year later after it ripens and darkens.

That's weird because I distinctly pick up bergamot in the blue. Not really strong but that hint of it. Kind of like if you left a plain va next to a box of earl grey for a day or two. But even though it's faint I am pretty darn sure it's there because honestly it was one of the first things I noticed. Hey a little tiny bit of bergamot.

 

[anotherbob]

Glad you're enjoying it! I find it's 100% consistent which really helps keep it in the rotation for me.

hell yeah. It's a rarity something I like a lot but doesn't damage my socks at all.

 

[Ocam]

Not my blend. It's easy to get here in the tobacco shops and cheaper than average, so I've given it a few chances. But I find the Virginias meh and I don't like the topping.

 

[condorlover1]

@Ocam : But think of all the Hobbits and their admirers who smoke the stuff. I remember my late Father bringing me a load of the Capstan Blue over from Germany as a result of a business trip circa 1982. It came in this weird zip lock type of blue pouch. Most tobacco in those days came in tins or you could buy loose tobacco from jars at the tobacconist if you were of the adventurous type. I had seen Capstan before but never quite in the blue presentation style of the Germans! I wasn't enthused although for some odd reason I did like those square tins of Richmond with the Art Deco style painted label.

 

[futureman]

Never cared for the yellow. The blue is my shit tho

After smoking the blue, I'm finding the yellow to be underwhelming. Perhaps with some age it will improve.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

if we are speaking of straight viriginas, Capstan Blue, Yellow and Orlik GS are my favorite as of now,nontheless I do not smoke them on a daily basis, generally I prefer G&H Brown flake US, Mc Barens Original Flake(Formerly Walnut Flake(and Germain's Rich Dark blends where there is a bit of Burelys mixed

 

[JOHN72]

After smoking the blue, I'm finding the yellow to be underwhelming. Perhaps with some age it will improve.

Give it a little aging and you will think otherwise. When I smoked fresh yellow, it gave me a more bitter touch. Let it sleep for a few years and you will see what a rich chocolatey aroma, in tin. Then you smoke it and it is more intense, sweet and strong.

 

[BROBS]

I almost smoked through my first tin almost and somehow it was "meh" to me, but I think it's unfair to decide on that without having a not fresh tin of it being virginias. I have a tin of it left, I'm going to let that sit for 5 years. For a straight virginia I like Golden Sliced more straight out of the tin. And yes some say there is perique in it, I don't get a slightest hint of it.

So you prefer aros

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't see the comparison between Capstan Gold and OGS. They don't taste at all similar to me. One has toppings, one doesn't. One has Perique, one doesn't. I can agree both have a bit of citrus fruity flavors but there are a significant number of other differences.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

For a long time I've been trying to figure out what the topping could be in capstan blue, but now bergamot has been mentioned, I reckon I could go along with that, but there's also something else in there, a touch of cinnamon maybe ?

 

[fireground_piper]

Isn’t there a little rum in the blue?

 

[DanWil84]

So you prefer aros

Sometimes, I would not compare OGS to any aromatic, but each to their own. It also might be my taste that says "meh" to Capstan.

 

[markus]

Being a big Tolkien fan, I bought a tin of the blue Capstan and found it to be a bit boring, so I added about 12% perique to it and jarred it up for a few months!
It's much better now!

 

[cigrmaster]

When Capstan Blue and Gold Flakes came out I bought a test tin of each. I loved the Blue and thought the yellow was just ok. It had too much citrus flavors for my tastes. I quickly added over 150 tins of the Blue Flake to my cellar. A few years ago Smokingpipes found a batch of 2013 Gold Ready Rubbed in the back of a warehouse. I did my usual test tin and then ordered another 25 or so. It still didn't compare to the Blue Flake but it had lost that real citrusy thing I didn't care for. I like the Gold RR in a couple of my big group 6 pipes with my morning coffee.

 

[Ocam]

Being a big Tolkien fan, I bought a tin of the blue Capstan and found it to be a bit boring, so I added about 12% perique to it and jarred it up for a few months!
It's much better now!

Good idea

 

[Servant King]

And yes some say there is perique in it, I don't get a slightest hint of it.

Same here. There are a few of us folks who just cannot detect one bit of it, and I think we're all being gaslighted by the ones who say it's there. Speaking of which, Gaslight does not have perique, but seeing as such a tangent could easily derail Bob's lovely thread, I'll just shut my trap now. ?

 

[simong]

@Ocam : But think of all the Hobbits and their admirers who smoke the stuff. I remember my late Father bringing me a load of the Capstan Blue over from Germany as a result of a business trip circa 1982. It came in this weird zip lock type of blue pouch. Most tobacco in those days came in tins or you could buy loose tobacco from jars at the tobacconist if you were of the adventurous type. I had seen Capstan before but never quite in the blue presentation style of the Germans! I wasn't enthused although for some odd reason I did like those square tins of Richmond with the Art Deco style painted label.

Cute little tins they were, decent flake too. Still very popular now, albeit in round tins.

 

[anotherbob]

Same here. There are a few of us folks who just cannot detect one bit of it, and I think we're all being gaslighted by the ones who say it's there. Speaking of which, Gaslight does not have perique, but seeing as such a tangent could easily derail Bob's lovely thread, I'll just shut my trap now. ?

That's good cause I was about to get the shut up stick out. You know the one a.k.a. jaw breaker.

 

[Servant King]

That's good cause I was about to get the shut up stick out. You know the one a.k.a. jaw breaker.

Sounds good to me!

Seriously, though, I'll get it back on track. Capstan Blue is a great VA flake. Liked it much better than the gold one.

 

[anotherbob]

Sounds good to me!

Seriously, though, I'll get it back on track. Capstan Blue is a great VA flake. Liked it much better than the gold one.

great band. And unlike some people (insert murderous sideways glances) I like their old stuff and their newer stuff all of it. I don't care what kind of label they're on.