Mac Baren

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SpeedyPete

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I've smoked a couple of Mac Baren blends - Scottish Blend, Vanilla Cream, Plum Cake etc but can't say that I was impressed. I experience a bit of tongue bite and the flavours are nothing to talk about.

How do you, brothers of this congregation, feel about this product?
 
Haven't tried alot of mcb's stuff, but their navy flake is a must have for me. One of the easiest and reliable smokes out there in my opinion. Not overly complex or nuanced, but almost always enjoyable. The dark twist roll cake was ok...finished a tin with no complaints, but didn't really wow me much. The plum cake was poison...well maybe that's a little extreme. I just wasn't a fan of the flavor. I didn't really get bit much by any of 'em, but I generally don't get much bite from most tabacs. I've got a tin of va #1 sitting on the shelf. I'll probably wait until it's at least 5 years old to smoke it tho.

My understanding is that, in general, macb's stuff generally demands to be smoked very slowly or it will turn on ya in a hurry.
 
I like some of the McBaren stuff. Not all. The aros are just a step above the OTC faves IMHO. I don´t smoke them unless absolutely NOTHING else is available.

I´ve been working on a tin of HH Acadian Perique for a few weeks and it isn´t bad. Gets better as you go along. It´s my second 100g tin and I´ll probably order some more just to have it around. It´s a VaPer but it doesn´t make me say "that´s a VaPer " when you smoke it.

Va No. 1 is a love it or hate it proposition to most. Some people says it bites like hell, others love it. Again, I like it, but doesn´t make me say "that´s Va!" As I worked my way through a lb of the stuff I would find myself thinking "gee, I haven´t finished this stuff yet!?"

Burley London is nice. I had some of that on friday and really enjoyed it. Good Viatmin N content. My initial impressions were that this is one of their better offerings.

HH Mature Va is good. Has a dried fruit type of topping. Not a Va flake. I would not say it´s representative of Va tobacco as a genre. It is it´s own beast... I´ve only tried this in bulk so perhaps it might be different from a tin.

HH Syrian. My favorite of the HH series. It´s got plenty of Latakia in it, but not overpowering.

Navy Flake is great stuff. Nuff said.

Just my brief impressions on a few of ´em.

 
I bought a few tins before reading about "MacBite", then I knew what people were talking about. But...Navy Flake is a good one.
 
So far I havent had any bite frome the hh mature va ,I bought a tin of it. I am not fond of the smeel,but the taste is great!
 
The only MacB blend I can tolerate is the Navy Flake, which is pretty good. My views on the others are too rude to publish.
 
I've been enjoying Mac's Burley London Blend of late, just a real nice tobacco. Take your time and you will be rewarded with a wonderful flavorful smoke. I also like their HH Vintage Syrian. I've never experienced tongue bite with either of these fine blends.
 
Muddler":51h5k8r8 said:
The only MacB blend I can tolerate is the Navy Flake, which is pretty good. My views on the others are too rude to publish.
Ha!
 
The first tabaccos I ever tried were McBaren blends, and all were aros. I had really bad experiences with them and thought that horrible toungue bite was part of the pipe experience. Mind you, I had no idea how to pack a bowl properly either. However, I still have a 20g tin of the Black Ambrosia which I'm letting age.

It wasn't until I came to this board and started experimenting with burleys, vapers and latakia blends that I realized that tounge bite does not have to be part of the experience. To be honest, I had such a bad experience with the black ambrosia that I haven't touched it since I started smoking non-aros.

I'll have to try the Navy Flake however.

Question for the board: Does Navy Flake come in a screw top tin only or does it also come with a sealable tin with plastic lid? The screw top tins can't keep my baccy or let it age worth a crap. I'm thinking it may be time to buy some nice mason jars.

 
When I started to purchase tinned blends MacBarren's (Navy Flake and Plumb Cake)was one of the first. I too suffered from tongue bite (but I suffered this a lot on a lot of straight Virginia blends). Since then I think that my technique has improved and I enjoy both of these blends. I also smoke HH Syrian and Ambrosia on a regular basis. I smoke the Navy Flake, Plumb Cake and HH Mature Virginia on a not so regular basis but still enjoy them.
 
I've tried a number of the MacBaren blends & like most of what I've tried.
Overall they are of very high quality.
Symphony & Vanilla Cream are my favorites.
I don't have trouble with tongue bite - either lucky body chemistry or having learned to dry out the tobacco & puff slowly.
Glen
 
I've smoked Symphony, Scottish Mixture and several of the 7 Seas samplers from SP.

I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.
 

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