Contuining my foray into the fiery fiefdom of pipedom, I seem to be slowly moving up the food chain. I'm still experimenting with what the snobs call "drugstore" tobaccos, like Borkum Riff, and loving it. Those with more refined palates than mine may scoff, but I am a simple man and need only a simple smoke.
Captain Black will get you high tonight, as Billy Joel really meant to say. It's a tasty toasty golden blend, and it packs a sweet buzz for a novice like me. This here Captain Black Gold is my favorite one yet; it's surprisingly moist and far more flavorful than the other drugstore tobaccos I've tried so far.
It must have a good "room note" because when I was smoking outside Ernesto's a few days ago, a very drunk middle-aged woman came over to me and said "ohhhh, I looooove the smell of pipe smokers! It reminds me of my childhood when my daddy would always smoke his. Can I stand by you?" and then proceeded to indeed stand by my side, nuzzling up against me flirtatiously. I was sorting out the Freudian aspects of all this in my head when her husband glared daggers at her and said "let's go". She sniffed me once more with a mischievous smile before she trudged to the car with grumpy-boy.
Anyway. I found this review of Captain Black that says everything I woulda said, so go read it. Says here, "Captain Black has got to be one of the best mass-market distributed pipe tobaccos out there. If you like Cavendish tobaccos, then you must read on." I'm new at the Pipe game and will freely admit that I have no idea what a Cavendish tobacco is. I could run to Wikipedia and find out, then come back here and act like I've known it all my life, but in addition to being a simple man, I am also a lazy man.
Oh wait, the article I just mentioned handily explains it for me:
"Cavendish is not a plant or tobacco varietal: it is the name for (most commonly) Virginia and Burley tobaccos which have been put through a specific curing process and storing/cutting method. After their respective curing process, (Burley: air-cured, Virginia: flue-cured), Cavendish tobaccos are steamed, usually with sugars or flavoring in the water, in order to infuse the tobacco with moisture and a subtle sweetness. After steaming, the tobacco is stored under pressure (pressed) for an additional curing/fermentation period. Pressing can last from a few days to several weeks and flavorings and/or casing can be added at any stage throughout the process. The color and flavor of the Cavendish will vary between natural and black, depending on what flavoring is added and how vigorous the pressing is."
Well alrighty then.
I also appreciate the nautical piratey nature of the graphics, and makes me wonder who "Captain Black" was, or if he's just a made up name like Betty Crocker. (I'd like to believe it's named after my new favorite pirate, Black Sam, but I guess that isn't very likely.)
- - JSH
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