Sasquatch
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- Dec 14, 2008
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I'm going to post this in the review section, rather than the Tobacco Jar, because I do intend to offer a review. But I'd like to tie this in to Puff Daddy's "Dark Side" thread there, and particularly Aaron's plight (which is a common one) of being enticed by elements of aromatic tobaccos, but being consistently disappointed upon lighting up "Vanilla Viking" etc.
I will preface the review with the admission that I have a real soft spot for this style of tobacco - a lightly topped, virginia heavy blend, which is neither real heavy nor real boring. This is the realm of McClelland Virginia Woods, a multitude of Mac Baren offerings, maybe something like Sherlock Holmes by Peterson, Kendal Cream by Gawith. All very different tobaccos, but all in the same sort of vein - this not-quite-aromatic-or-is-it kind of thing.
To business.
Mac Baren Dark Twist
Presentation: Coins, jammed to the brim in the big 100g Mac B twist-off can. There are two distinct products in here. One is a uniform golden brown coin, complete with stemmy bits and all (whole leaf is used). The other has what I assume to be identical tobacco wrapped around a core of crumbly black stuff - the patented "Mac Baren Cavendish". Current can is about 3:2 for the all-gold stuff.
Tin note: A fresh tin has a sharp smell, with a lemony virginia punching through an almost molasses sort of base. I think part of the sharpness is the Mac B Cavendish, which I always think of as a sort of poor-man's perique - a punchy, fermented leaf. With some air, the tin note becomes more of a straight Virginia, with that raisiny smell so common to these kinds of mixtures.
Packing: I dry this a bit.... the coins feel more dry than they are. I get a bundle of coins, 5 or 6 for a big pipe, and just kind of crush them in my hand. You can rub this tobacco out, but if you do, you unify the flavor and lose some of the allure - the fact that separate tobaccos are present is important.
Lighting up is not super easy. 2 or 3 relights can be expected before this stuff decides it's tobacco and gonna get smoked.
Top of the bowl: The initial flavor is good, and very intense. In fact it can be pretty sharp, and anyone fearing "Mac Baren Bite" is going to be really scared. But it goes away in about 2 minutes, when you get a good burn and a few tamps in.
Mid bowl and after: After that initial sharp/spicy hit, this tobacco settle right down into a fairly sweet Virginia, with that lemony/molasses thing going on the whole time. Then you get to the Black Bits, and they add an earthy, spicy flavor that compliments the sweet top notes perfectly. The result is something like a Christmas pudding... sweet and spicy, heavy without being overpowering.
I find the tobacco seems smoother and smoother right to the last puff. But because of the cut, the flavor is always changing, ranging from the sweet, grassy virginias used to a real potent dark tobacco. This effect is lost with rubbing out, which yields a very pleasant mixture, but more "ordinary" in flavor.
The side stream smoke and anything exhaled through the nose are both beyond words. This aspect of Dark Twist is what makes it worthwhile for me. It leaves a flavor in my mouth that I just can't describe.... oatmeal cookies is the closest, I guess.
Nicotene is not real heavy, but it is enough to leave me WELL satisfied.
Recommendation: I suspect this is too complicated and too fussy of a tobacco for an inexperienced smoker to enjoy. Likewise, Grandad probably isn't going to like it as well as his Half and Half because certain elements are just really subtle, and the more you suck at it, the less it rewards you. But for a serious occassional pipe smoker, this might be nirvana. Pay it some attention and it shines. Ignore it and it will either bite you or leave you flat.
Room note is excellent, and similar to the oatmeal cookie flavor in some ways, so this one is wife-approved too.
FWIW, Club Blend is both spicier and sweeter, having I think more sugar in the casing and more of the cavendish. DT is more like a pure virginia.
For me, this kind of tobacco is just right, very often. I like Best Brown Flake for instance, but get kind of bored with it. Same with Scottish Flake, and many many others. The "more processed" Danish style offers me a more interesting smoke, without heading into the heavier oriental or latakia blends.
So for those who are looking for something that isn't really of the "Sweet Black Cavendish with a glob of x for flavor" kind of aromatics, but are still interested in a tobacco with something extra in flavor and a good room note, this stuff might just do the trick.
I will preface the review with the admission that I have a real soft spot for this style of tobacco - a lightly topped, virginia heavy blend, which is neither real heavy nor real boring. This is the realm of McClelland Virginia Woods, a multitude of Mac Baren offerings, maybe something like Sherlock Holmes by Peterson, Kendal Cream by Gawith. All very different tobaccos, but all in the same sort of vein - this not-quite-aromatic-or-is-it kind of thing.
To business.
Mac Baren Dark Twist
Presentation: Coins, jammed to the brim in the big 100g Mac B twist-off can. There are two distinct products in here. One is a uniform golden brown coin, complete with stemmy bits and all (whole leaf is used). The other has what I assume to be identical tobacco wrapped around a core of crumbly black stuff - the patented "Mac Baren Cavendish". Current can is about 3:2 for the all-gold stuff.
Tin note: A fresh tin has a sharp smell, with a lemony virginia punching through an almost molasses sort of base. I think part of the sharpness is the Mac B Cavendish, which I always think of as a sort of poor-man's perique - a punchy, fermented leaf. With some air, the tin note becomes more of a straight Virginia, with that raisiny smell so common to these kinds of mixtures.
Packing: I dry this a bit.... the coins feel more dry than they are. I get a bundle of coins, 5 or 6 for a big pipe, and just kind of crush them in my hand. You can rub this tobacco out, but if you do, you unify the flavor and lose some of the allure - the fact that separate tobaccos are present is important.
Lighting up is not super easy. 2 or 3 relights can be expected before this stuff decides it's tobacco and gonna get smoked.
Top of the bowl: The initial flavor is good, and very intense. In fact it can be pretty sharp, and anyone fearing "Mac Baren Bite" is going to be really scared. But it goes away in about 2 minutes, when you get a good burn and a few tamps in.
Mid bowl and after: After that initial sharp/spicy hit, this tobacco settle right down into a fairly sweet Virginia, with that lemony/molasses thing going on the whole time. Then you get to the Black Bits, and they add an earthy, spicy flavor that compliments the sweet top notes perfectly. The result is something like a Christmas pudding... sweet and spicy, heavy without being overpowering.
I find the tobacco seems smoother and smoother right to the last puff. But because of the cut, the flavor is always changing, ranging from the sweet, grassy virginias used to a real potent dark tobacco. This effect is lost with rubbing out, which yields a very pleasant mixture, but more "ordinary" in flavor.
The side stream smoke and anything exhaled through the nose are both beyond words. This aspect of Dark Twist is what makes it worthwhile for me. It leaves a flavor in my mouth that I just can't describe.... oatmeal cookies is the closest, I guess.
Nicotene is not real heavy, but it is enough to leave me WELL satisfied.
Recommendation: I suspect this is too complicated and too fussy of a tobacco for an inexperienced smoker to enjoy. Likewise, Grandad probably isn't going to like it as well as his Half and Half because certain elements are just really subtle, and the more you suck at it, the less it rewards you. But for a serious occassional pipe smoker, this might be nirvana. Pay it some attention and it shines. Ignore it and it will either bite you or leave you flat.
Room note is excellent, and similar to the oatmeal cookie flavor in some ways, so this one is wife-approved too.
FWIW, Club Blend is both spicier and sweeter, having I think more sugar in the casing and more of the cavendish. DT is more like a pure virginia.
For me, this kind of tobacco is just right, very often. I like Best Brown Flake for instance, but get kind of bored with it. Same with Scottish Flake, and many many others. The "more processed" Danish style offers me a more interesting smoke, without heading into the heavier oriental or latakia blends.
So for those who are looking for something that isn't really of the "Sweet Black Cavendish with a glob of x for flavor" kind of aromatics, but are still interested in a tobacco with something extra in flavor and a good room note, this stuff might just do the trick.
![[3-Size Set] Copper Pipe Cleaner for Drill, Clean 1/2, 3/4, 1-in Copper Pipes & Tubes for Soldering, 3 Tube Cleaning Brushes, Model InerLok050, 075, 100, w/ Stainless-Steel Wire Bristles & 1/4” Shank](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41QVxunlqML._SL500_.jpg)
ipe: 
