To my surprise, it hadn't dried out at all. The moisture actually seemed to be about perfect. A testament to the power of propylene glycol as a tobacco additive. I remembered the blend for the tongue bite it and Borkum Riff gave me. To all those that have negative reviews, your palette must be far different than mine. The smoking experience was pretty straightforward. It lit well, burned well, didn't require a lot of relights, didn't heat the pipe and didn't bite the tongue. I could still sense a slight taste of vanilla and I guess that, after aging a bit, the smoke becomes more rounded and balanced. Halfway down, the flavoring is lost and the more natural taste of tobacco comes forward, though it's still pretty bland. The room note is the best part of this tobacco, leaving a pleasant vanilla/chocolate flagrance that wouldn't disturb anyone. "This black and gold Cavendish smells of yummy vanilla and marshmallow or is it cupcakes?" - Vanilla and marshmallow... Not at all Whiskey flavored or scented. I still find the old Captain great to smoke. This is a very inexpensive tobacco and is easily found at the local drug store. Captain Black White is a good pipe tobacco. It also would be ideal for anyone smoking at say a family gathering or event, and is very unlikely to be offensive to anyone odor wise. This blend would also be suitable for blending. Captain Black Regular was the blend I first started smoking. It smells strongly of vanilla out of the pouch, and upon burning leaves a rather-quite-lovely fragrance lingering in a room. It's just your run-of-the-mill drug store blend. I cannot see it becoming a permanent addition in my tobacco collection, though I wouldn't mind smoking it from time to time, at least for the nostalgic value. Even after 10 months, the tobacco was pretty moist, though good enough to smoke. Nine years have passed until, when I walked into a tobacco shop, I saw it on a shelf. I felt a bit nostalgic, so I've purchased a pouch. I just finished smoking this entire pouch over the last few weeks. I found this to be a please smoke, I enjoyed it and its taste and others in the room enjoyed the smell as well. I have had many people tell me that they love the smell of this smoke. I have not tried too many other tobacco's so I'm not sure how to compare this to them, but I know it is a very simple tobacco. The flavor profile is not complex but it doesn't need to be. It's a great mix of plain black cavendish and tasty burleys, and it doesn't pretend to be more than that. It tastes of sweet vanilla with a nutty undercurrent at times , and then evolves into more of a toasty marshmallowy taste. It is best sipped with something sweet to accent it and not such a "coffee-paired" tobacco like say... Certainly an all-day tobacco though, never wearing on my taste and forming the backbone of my rotation of favorites. Great tobacco, especially for a more "common" selection. I highly recommend this for the new smoker who is looking for a smoke that captures that stereotypical "pipe tobacco" taste and aroma. And despite being pretty moist out of the pouch, it's not a blend that really bites, either. I'm still new to pipe smoking, so I'm trying out several different blends to see what I like. Captain Black Regular was one of the blends I saw recommended for beginners. To my unrefined palate, it tastes a little like Lane 1-Q, but with less vanilla flavoring. It also left a really chemical, almost plastic-like flavor in my mouth, even stronger after I finished the bowl. The smoke has a sweet, vanilla-esque aroma that is really something. I can definetely see how people would want to smoke this in front of company that might be traditionally hostile with pipe smoke. To my surprise, I had at least a few people comment on how good the aroma was. The room note is what attracts many people to this blend, it is a quite lovely creamy vanilla scent. Ladys love the scent of it, definitely the "old spice" of Pipe tobaccos. The room note tends to linger for quite a while as well.