The first impression is that it's too saturated but it still lit up easily. This improved after a couple of weeks, so repeated relighting was not a problem. Varied tones of burley and dark cavendish are distinctly visible. The cut seems a mix of coarse and ribbon. The aroma of this stuff is legendary and I , like many others started with this blend because those around you just loved it. It’s a nothing to write home about aromatic, which you’ll soon tire of, wanting a more complex and tasty smoke, but I refuse to beat-up on the old Captain. If your lucky enough to have a fellow piper with some years on the briar, you probably get steered into something more meaningful. I smoked this drugstore blend for 20 years till I was fortunate to meet the late Joe Harb, the noted reviewer who helped guide me into the world of English blends. So for the next 20 I learned to appreciate both the worlds of Aromatic and English. There she stood before me, fully unclothed, pleading with me to take her there in the Captain's bed; I gave in... 6 times on that moon's rise to be exact. I had never been with anyone quite like Isabella. What a different experience; very smooth and buttery taste with a great room aroma, nothing to call home about but a well rounded smoke non the less. I came across this brand and since i am a college student and i don't have much money. Plus in my whole home town almost nobody smokes pipes; consequently, i have no tobacconist in town. I was at rite-aid and saw this brand and then read all these reviews. I hate to say it, but I think this pouch is destined for the trash. So I figured what the hell and grabed a pouch CBW when I went out the other day. I think I may have smoked a pouch or two at the begining of my pipe smoking career back in the mid-late 80's until I was turned on to english blends in the early 90's. Well it's CBW I find it as a mild aromatic with some tobaco flavor. I like the way the burly peeks it's head out every once in awhile. I guess Pops knew a good thing after all. I finally stumbled across it on Smokingpipes.com, and as they do delivery here to me, I ordered a pouch. It's not bin-bound from the jump, but I wouldn't buy it again, for my tastes, which definitely do lean toward aromatics. I'm very glad that I landed on BCA and a BCA/1Q 50/50 mix as one of my regular choices. Guess I'll just have to go camp out near the mail box this week, and wait for the "BCA delivery gnome" to arrive. It's pretty mild and consistent throughout the bowl. A bit moist, but leaving it in the pouch slowly dries it out over time so it could be smoked straight from the pouch over couple of months. My girlfriend asked me "what is that chocolate smell?" before noticing that I'm smoking my pipe.