The New Capstan Blue Flake

[brdavidson]

Harris, the weather suddenly changed here over the weekend with temps hitting close to 40 celsius with the humidex. The weather is supposed to break and become quite a bit cooler by this weekend.. I'll see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the advice!

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Yeah, it's pretty hot and muggy here. Thankfully I have a detached barn where my office and mancave is or I don't think I would be smoking at all in this weather.

 

[tbradsim1]

Got my 10 tins today, and in response to humidity, today I loaded up a bowl of Cap Blue and started smoking in my pipe room which is air conditioned, PMon started whinning that it was peepee time, hooked him up on the leash and went outside, 91 degs about 75% humidity , sat on glider underneath the live oak and smoke quality was not as good, so Harris you are on something.

 

[brdavidson]

Harris I think you've figured out some of my problem. Perfectly dry tobacco tonight, Shag cut, first quarter bowl perfect. I put it down to deal with my kids, came back to it and dumped the ash then relit. Got it going but couldn't keep it lit for more than a few puffs, started feeling a stem burn on the roof of my mouth so I gave up. Any suggestions from those used to humidity on how to deal with this? Aside from smoking inside, which I can't do with 2 small kids, I'm at a loss. And here I was all excited for my summer puffing, now I'm almost thinking of snow fondly!!!!

 

[cigrmaster]

Brian, there is nothing you can do with that kind of humidity. I stopped smoking outside last summer when I figured out it was affecting the flavor and burn. I used to like smoking at night on my lanai but it was not conducive to getting a great smoke.
Is there anyway you can use a room in the house for an hour or two and then, spay the heck out of it when you are done. If you get a can of Ozium, that will kill any smells. I have used that stuff since the 70's when I was trying to kill the smell of another type of smoke. I get it in the automotive department at walmart in the air freshener department. Just put a towel on the bottom of the door and no smoke should get out.
Bradley, In this weather I don't take my pipe outside when my dog has to go even for a quick pee.

 

[numbersix]

Thanks for an informative discussion everyone.

They find stashes the size of Peck's cellars they completely forgot about...

Wow!

There you go. I'm actually a model of restraint.

lol!

91 degs about 75% humidity

Ouch! Summers in VT are usually low in humidity. Lately it's been more humid than usual, but still no where near close to that. You have my sympathy Bradley.

 

[thesmokindragon]

Go-Blue-Go....and the bacci is good too 8)

 

[barleynbaccy]

Got my two tins in the mail today hopefully a trial tonight.

 

[admin]

I smoked the Capstan Blue Flake two nights ago, and the Yellow last night.
I think they are both quite good, and agree 100% with Harris' descriptions of both.
I have the ready rubbeds and Three Nuns as well, but didn't get to them yet.

 

[barleynbaccy]

My views from last nights smoke:
* I didn't get a extreme virginia sweetness that I think some of you got.
* My tin was way too wet. Im talking SG flake wet. So I gave it an hour to dry and it was still on the moist side for me.
* The taste did however get better and better as I worked down the bowl.
Im going to to smoke it again this weekend, but I will give it way more time to dry since I will not be in such a hurry to fill the pipe up. All in all though this was a very enjoyable smoke on par with other striaght virginias I have. I'm glad a bought extra to put away.

 

[lowfrequency538]

Barley,
In regards to the sweetness, it's all good, we all have different tastes and detect things differently than one another. I have been almost exclusively smoking Virginia's since January and have really ran the gamut of flakes. Capstan Blue is a full flavored, sweeter, and less grassy tasting flake compared to many of existing VA flakes out there.
I smoked mine right out of the tin, and have had no problems on the charring light, or on the regular light. Sam Gawith is way different. I can't do either right out of the tin, same with Esoterica blends.
Have you tried cube cutting the flake? This is also a great way to get a nice even and dry burn all the way through.

 

[barleynbaccy]

I might be the only person that doesn't like cube cutting. I have tried all my flakes both ways and I always lean towards rubbing them out. Im sorry if my review came off negative, I never ment it too. It was a good smoke just not an intense sweetness that I took from the first post. I did like it and will smoke it again. I am blaming the flake being to wet for some of the flavor not being there. I love SG Chocolate Flake and thats how wet it was in my tin. Its not a big deal just something I have to plan for because I leave my CF's out over night to dry them. The blue flake might have gotten little more than an hour.

 

[cigrmaster]

barleynbaccy, that is really weird yours was so wet. Mine was perfect. If you have a group 4-5 Dublin that is dedicated to VA flakes, give it a shot. Also you might want to try cube cutting it for this test, as rubbing it out will tend to smoke it hotter and you will lose flavor that way.

 

[bigvan]

"I might be the only person that doesn't like cube cutting. I have tried all my flakes both ways and I always lean towards rubbing them out. "
You're not the only one, Barley. I think cube cutting defeats the purpose of flakes in the first place.

 

[barleynbaccy]

Im not starting a packing method debate. My "rubbing out" method is really more of a roughed up fold and stuff anyways. 90% of what I smoke is in a flake form of some kind, and they usually taste better than the ready rubbed version imo. I posted my experience because for some weird reason I got an unusually wet tin it seems. It was good enough that im going to keep adding a couple tin to future orders to stock up some in my cellar. So please keep smoking.
Cheers ::

 

[cigrmaster]

barley, I used to use a method of breaking the flake apart into big chunks and then stuffing them in the bowl which sounds similar to what you are doing. I enjoyed that method for years and then once I read about cube cutting I tried it and found I got a more consistent burn and I am able to pack the bowl tighter. it really does not matter what you do as long as you enjoy how it smokes.

 

[jpberg]

I don't mean to either goad nor squelch the hoarders, but I personally know several pipesters who have cellars that are many times the sizes documented here. The reported rates of TADs here are at such a rate that they will never catch up.
hp

les

Imagine that

 

[rickpal14]

Ok Harris you got me with that sugar on your lips mumbo jumbo!!! :lol:
Just ordered 10 tins sight unseen. Although I doubt it will be for naught as I am a VA fan and the reviews have been fantastic so far. Can't wait to get them!

 

[lordnoble]

Rick, since I personally know your tastes, you'll enjoy it. I think you'll find 10 tins won't last long. Now, I didn't get any "sugar sweetness" on my lips, but it was a sweet smoke.
-Jason

 

[rickpal14]

Thanks for the input Jason!! I am thinking that the other tins are going right to the long term cellar shelf. After my first tin is empty I will repeat the process....... ::