The Capstan Tobaccos, Blue & Yellow, Flake & Ready Rubbed

[carolinasmokes]

I posted in another thread I had ordered in all four flavors of the Capstan tobaccos to sample, well, I have sampled all of them now and my opinion of Mac Baren processed tobaccos has not changed. I simply do not like them, they all have that Mac Baren aftertaste and burn hot and steamy. They are definitely not for me, for you who enjoy them, carry on smartly!?

 

[workman]

I posted in another thread I had ordered in all four flavors of the Capstan tobaccos to sample, well, I have sampled all of them now and my opinion of Mac Baren processed tobaccos has not changed. I simply do not like them, they all have that Mac Baren aftertaste and burn hot and steamy. They are definitely not for me, for you who enjoy them, carry on smartly!?

Blue is my all time favorite blend.

 

[philobeddoe]

Dry them out more! Capstan Blue flake is sublime.

 

[elpfeife]

As for the Blue, I will carry on smartly. At least as smartly as I am capable of!

 

[cigrmaster]

I have around 150 tins of Capstan Blue Flake. In my opinion there are few flakes that can compete on a daily basis with Blue flake. It smokes soft and smooth. It never bites, the sweetness is just perfect. It always comes in perfectly formed flakes that just get better year after year.Almost all of mine is from 2013 when it came out. It comes in the perfect humidity to just fold and stuff the flake. I am a big fold and stuff guy so having a flake that just folds and stuffs perfectly for many sized pipes is quite handy. I have no idea how it could be hot and steamy. It smokes cool and dry for me every time. I have many flake pipes that I can use to smoke it in. I use group 4-5 sized pipes. All my pipes have a nice cake the thickness of about a dime.

 

[shanez]

I'm a huge fan of the Gold Flake. When packed right and smoked slow it's fantastic stuff.

 

[Casual]

Mac Baren definitely has a specific character to its blends. Luckily, I like it. For me it’s C&D that doesn’t agree with me. Blends that should be perfect for me on paper just aren’t. If the house character of Mac Baren isn’t for you, that’s a good thing to know, hopefully it’ll save you future disappointment.

 

[BROBS]

Dry them out more! Capstan Blue flake is sublime.

Yes
OP what tobaccos do you enjoy?

 

[rushx9]

I think it, and most freshly tinned VA flakes taste muted until after the seal has been cracked for a few days.
I'm prone to the infamous MacBite, but I only get it with ONC if I don't dry it enough and/or chief way too hard.
Or if I rub it out too much... ?
Per Jensen says his flakes and coins are intended to be smoked folded and stuffed, and that rubbing them makes them burn too hot. Watching his YouTube videos changed the way that I approach his blends, and I can now enjoy many that I couldn't before.

 

[americaman]

Mike McNeil said that Capstan Yellow from 2013 is one of the sweetest Virginias you can get, outside of his own stuff I’m assuming. Steve Fallon, @pipestud, seems to agree.

I have quite a bit of the ready rubbed from 2013, but I smoked through a tin of the 2013 flake and didn’t really get it. But Steve gives it high praise, and perhaps the ready rubbed version will smoke differently.

 

[carolinasmokes]

Mac Baren definitely has a specific character to its blends. Luckily, I like it. For me it’s C&D that doesn’t agree with me. Blends that should be perfect for me on paper just aren’t. If the house character of Mac Baren isn’t for you, that’s a good thing to know, hopefully it’ll save you future disappointment.

I agree, C & D is another blender I do not like, most of the Burleys and Virginias I tried were horrible smokes, except for Cube Cut Burley, I like that one. When McClelland went under I tried many different blending houses and didn't like any of them, especially Danish blending houses. Guess I'll stay an OTC burley guy for now, that's my current comfort zone.

 

[autumnfog]

Capstan Blue Flake is one of my absolute favorites.
Love the malty, bready notes.

 

[odobenus]

I was hitting Capstan Blue pretty hard for a while, and I still love the way it smokes (esp. after you dry the everloving shit out of it), but have lately found that I prefer VAs with more flavor, or more sweetness, or both. I file it under 'reliable, but not exciting,' along with OGS.

 

[danish]

Capstan is not a typical OTC Mac Baren tobacco. It is an old English licensed blend and more in line with the more pure, expensive and less cased/flavored HH tobaccos, which are also made by Mac Baren/Harald Halberg. Whether you like it or not, it is a still a favorite for many, who may sometimes prefer pure black chocolate of good quality than a Mars bar.

 

[pantsBoots]

Mac Baren definitely has a specific character to its blends. Luckily, I like it. For me it’s C&D that doesn’t agree with me. Blends that should be perfect for me on paper just aren’t. If the house character of Mac Baren isn’t for you, that’s a good thing to know, hopefully it’ll save you future disappointment.

Same here, generally. If it's a MB or K&K blend, it's worth a shot. I can count the C&D blends I truly like on one hand plus one or two of their Limited Special HTF hype releases

 

[kcghost]

I happen to like Per Jensen quite a bit but other than the HH series I just don't care for most Mac Baren blends. They just have a muted flavor that I don't care for.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I agree, C & D is another blender I do not like, most of the Burleys and Virginias I tried were horrible smokes, except for Cube Cut Burley, I like that one. When McClelland went under I tried many different blending houses and didn't like any of them, especially Danish blending houses. Guess I'll stay an OTC burley guy for now, that's my current comfort zone.

C&D makes the best VaOr blends hands down. I also like most of their Virginia blends.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Capstan Blue for me, not a fan of the Gold but can smoke and enjoy it. I do like MB overall, one of my favorite two tobacco manufacturers.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Generally I'm not big on plain Virginias but lately I'm starting to appreciate these two time tested classics,were I Virginia smoker I could imagine smoking these on a constant basis , another one is OGS and Reiner Long Gold which I do like ,very nice ,dependable blends indeed

 

[Worknman]

OP I was thinking the same thing the last time I smoked Capstan Blue it seemed to have an odd aftertaste and burned hot. Which is weird though because I had smoked it several times before that and thought it was pretty good.