The umame is light but definitely not strong. Retrohale brings a mildly aromatic bouquet that is neither overbearing nor irritating. For many a year I smoked this, having been seduced by the room note. Has a tendency to smoke a bit hot, and bite some, but that could just be my inexperience as a pipe smoker. Either way, a good vanilla aromatic as far as I'm concerned. I don't believe it is a terrible, or even a bad tobacco. If it tasted like burning tires, nobody would buy it, no matter how gullible they might be. If sweet aromatics are your thing. I personally smoke an aromatic ones a day or two, mostly as my last smoke of the day. Upon lighting the pipe, the vanilla comes out much more. This is very much an aromatic blend. It's smooth and creamy, very similar to Lane Limited 1-Q. I hate to see people recommending this as a tobacco for beginners. With the passage of years I find non-aromatics more interesting and satisfying. No, this isn't very complex at all, but the beauty of this tobacco is the consistent quality of simple flavor, pouch after pouch, can after can. No matter where I get it from or when I open it, I know what I'm gonna get...a simple, honest, good-quality, old-fashioned smoke. It's a necessity in mixed company, and in my two decades of pipe-smoking, I've never had one complaint from CBW. It's by all means what every new pipe smoker passes trow. I have found this to be the case with just about every 'drugstore' blend I have tried. I have never had a bit of tongue bite from Captain Black . This is an attractive looking-tobacco. Room note is great - to me when somebody else is smoking it, I detect a 'toasted marshmallow' smell. I perfer this to any premium tobacco i have tried. If you don't dry it out a bit, it will leave a wet mess in the bottom of the bowl and it will only smoke halfway down. That being said, it has a very pleasant room note. I have a great time smoking this tobacco, but it doesn't have much taste, so I smoke it more for the room note than anything. When I used to think of pipe smoke before the word room-note meant anything to me, this is the smoke I would have imagined. For some reason, fall time is aromatic time for me. I have had nothing but great reviews on the room note. This blend is a must for ANYONE who enjoys a good aromatic tobacco. I think it is the better choice with the erinmore flake i keep both on my rotation. I also find it burns when pushing it out through the nose. The taste stays the same pretty much throughout the bowl, and I didn't detect any sourness. Overall, a decent smoke and something to try for a classic, flavorful pipe tobacco with an awesome room note . CB white was the first pipe tobacco I ever smelled from my friend's dad's stint with pipe smoking. When I picked up a pipe I decided to try it.