Since I've been smoking a fair bit of Captain Black original lately, I figured I'd break out my trusty morning cob and give Mac Baren 7 Seas Regular a try. It's supposed to be Mac Baren's take on Captain Black original, so let's see how it smokes!
Right off the bat, the first thing that's apparent is that Mac Baren's offering is MUCH less sweet. Captain Black always leaves a sugary coating on my lips and tongue, whereas the sweetness in 7 Seas Regular is very mild and is something you almost have to look for to notice. The overall flavor profile is quite different as well, with Captain Black having what to me is a vanilla sweet cream coffee creamer flavor with a bit of roasted marshmallow, whereas the 7 Seas is very much a caramel flavor strongly reminiscent of those soft milky caramel chews that (depending on your age) your parents or grandparents probably had sitting in a dish on the coffee table. There's something vaguely fruity going on in the background as well, like just the faintest whisper of mixed fruit punch. It's a really different flavor from Captain Black, but quite good in it's own right!
As far as the mechanics go, 7 Seas is a relatively easy and forgiving smoke. It lights and stays lit easily just like the Captain, but burns much cleaner than Captain Black with little moisture left behind in the pipe. Unfortunately 7 Seas is a little temperamental when it comes to heat and can turn ashy and unpleasant tasting if puffed absentmindedly, so it's not quite the carefree "smoke it while you're working on something and not really paying attention to your cadence" experience that Captain Black is.
As far as the nicotine content goes, it's very mild to the point that I don't notice it's existence; which is a bit disappointing to me since one of the things I like about Captain Black is it's surprisingly satisfying nicotine content for a mellow aromatic that I'd consider to be right between mild and medium.
All things considered I don't think Mac Baren 7 Seas Regular is a bad blend at all, it's very pleasant and for those desiring a mild caramel flavored aromatic I think it would be a good choice. Personally though I think I'll be sticking with the Captain.