A Number One Virginia
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Kevin Godbee - Mar 19, 2015
- 4 min read
E. Roberts
Just a little while longer. Nineteen days, two hours, fifty-six minutes and a handful of seconds, to be exact. A little under three weeks, if all goes well, until we’re home free. We’re almost there … must … hold out … for … spring. In the meantime, I’m fortunate to have a tin of Mac Baren Virginia No.1 on hand to see me through to the end of the current ice age.
Perhaps I am overeager in my anticipation of the change of season; snow in March tends to have that effect on me. Virginia No.1 fuels that anticipation with its aroma promising long days, short nights, and all the smells and tastes of a hot, dry summer. This classic blend from Mac Baren’s venerable stable has been a mainstay of their lineup since its introduction in 1957, and one taste is all it takes to confirm the reason for its enduring relevance.
A classic that’s still going strong.
Beginning with a balancing act of a dozen different Virginias sourced from three continents, the mixture is pressed into massive bricks, left for several weeks before being sliced into flakes, and then partially rubbed out for packing. It’s a process that takes a lot of time, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. One may recall the unexpected sellout of the entire initial stock of their Old Dark Fired when it was released: rather than cut short the processing time in order to ship more, Mac Baren’s response was simply, "Sorry, you’ll have to wait for the next batch." So be it; the way the flavors meld and marry under pressure is part of the magic of the blender’s alchemy, and time is a variable that can’t be replicated by any other means. Mac Baren may be a blender on a massive scale, but their attention to process is what ensures their products maintain such a high quality and consistency.
Pressed tobacco ready to be sliced
Roughly broken flakes packed tightly in the tin release a dry herbal bouquet on opening. The smells of hay bales drying in a lazy sun immediately come to mind; transporting me back to summers spent Upstate, deep in farm country. The textures of weatherworn wood are there too, the hint of leathery oak barnboards and fenceposts. Grass and heat and the chirrup of crickets in the midday swelter are on the edge of the cloud of smoke rising from the bowl. Though lightly cased with the typical Mac Baren flavoring of a hint of maple sugar, it’s so subtle as to be entirely in the background of the flavor profile. No.1 is by no means an aromatic, nor is it on the dry, sharp end of the spectrum of simpler Virginia blends. For being an all-Virginia blend, sharpness on the palate is plainly absent, and tongue bite isn’t even a notion.
A warm pipe is like a portable fireplace; certain solace in the hoary winter.
On Mac Baren’s scale of strength, aroma, and room note, No.1 pegs a 2 out of 5 all around; a very fair assessment. The strength is certainly on the mild side, delivering a solid but refined smoke with just enough of a kick to satisfy one’s craving. The flavor is likewise mild yet fulfilling, and exceedingly well rounded for an all-Virginia mix. I liken it to a quality blended Scotch: exhibiting the best characteristics of its constituents in concert with each other in order to present a fuller profile altogether. It actually more resembles a traditional Virginia-burley blend in terms of its ease of burn, mild palate feel, and roundness of flavor. It is easy to recommend as an all-day smoke, either in the tin or the convenient pouch, and produces a faintly fragrant smoke of mild spice that bystanders can appreciate.
Ode to Smoking Pipes.
Smoking straight down to the bottom of a bowl with only a match or two isn’t something you can guarantee. After all, we each smoke with different pipes and different techniques, not to mention the constant variations in environment and time. What you can do, however, is to manage the variables to create a burgeoning chance of that near-perfect smoke being a regular occurrence. This is another one of Mac Baren’s fortes. It begins with the presentation, from the simple streamlined graphical art of the tin—another reminder of summer sunshine with its golden halo—to the perfectly colored and sized broken flake within, packed at just the right moisture. I find that more and more I look to Mac Baren tobaccos as studies in refinement, of a Zen-like practice in constant craftsmanship.
So easy it almost smokes itself.
So if you find yourself still swirling around with the winter doldrums, take heart. Spring really is right around the corner, at least on the calendar. Crack open your own tin of No.1, find a good warm spot to sit and smoke in, and have a daydream of the season to come.
Beware the ice of March.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Before we begin, I should tell you: this tobacco review is being written by an A.I. Not the fancy new GPTs or their ilk; no, this is last century’s meat-and-bone, all-organic model. To be fair, a large part of what we call knowledge is merely the accumulated perceptions and impressions gathered from a life wandered through, synthesized into a spongy mass of what-it-is-that-we-think-that-we-know. The algorithm for this prompt is simple enough: pump thousands of bowls of smoldering plant matter into a gaping maw, cross-reference the chemical sensations with all other matter previously ingested or inhaled, sieve it all through the diffuse and fractal twin lens of memory and emotion, and churn out a panoply of adjectives that attempts to convey the sensations to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. Odds are that a diligently trained monkey could succeed half the time; if this reviewer nears fifty-one percent then that would qualify as an unrivaled success. There must have been some similar musings perambulating through the mind of Per Jensen when he began his mad scientist routine at Sutliff with the Pipe Force project, which brings us to the current mixture under the microscope—Sutliff’s Pipe Force: Episode I. Here again are the unusual ingredients that engendered the series, with the stoved Rustica being the defining voice in this composition. From the tin: The Latakia-forward English mixture offers plenty of smoky flavor from the fire-cured leaf, which is artfully harmonized with floral, earthy Stoved Rustica. A mixture of high-grade Virginias imparts a natural sweetness. Katerini, the sole Oriental component, offers herb and spice notes bringing complexity and nuance to the flavor profile. It’s certainly Latakia-forward, with the stoved Rustica doubling up on the rhythm section like a second bassist. A first whiff from the tin releases the aromas of shoe leather and hide glue in a base of clay soil with a campfire wafted over it like last night’s beach party. Once it’s been accustomed to oxygen again, subtle hints of sweetness poke through from the Virginias: lemon rind, light milk chocolate, the dregs of a peaty Scotch, and muddled cherry. Old regulars like fresh-sawn oak and tilled earth are there, of course, with distinct notes of truffle, creosote, damp peat, and pine bark mulch. As an aside, I’ve been re-potting my camellias and the similarity of aroma to the ericaceous soil mix is notable; the Katerini really brings the unique depth of its vegetal complexion when supported by the Rustica and afforded more voice in the mix. The smoky Cyprian Latakia, in turn, is backed by equal earthiness from the Rustica, which overall exhibits a profile similar to dark-fired Kentucky; it leans more toward the woody and vegetal end of that spectrum, echoing and amplifying those traits of the other constituents. The tobacco is presented pressed and cut into a couple of thick, hearty flakes in the tin, lightly moist and easily crumbled to prepare—I prefer mine with a bit of drying time. The out-of-this-world tin art for this episode in the series is Major O’Meara smoking a cavalier. In the absence of confirmation, I’m going to hazard a guess he’s of the Ithklur species. The first taste from the light is sweet, with hints of that milk chocolate dancing around the edges. The Virginia leads the smoke through the top of the bowl, and orchestrates it well. Thoroughly smoky with lemony, grassy highlights from the Virginia spectrum, it soon segues into the mid-bowl profile: heartier, smokier, with the flavor leaning to the mildly acrid and tangy tinge that is the campfire-esque signature of English blends. Caution advised, it can turn overly bitter if pushed—this is where one’s sipping technique is required to maintain the fullness of flavor through to the heel. I did tend toward a lot of relights, though it may have as much to do with technique as with the blend. Pacing is also important as the nicotine starts to manifest; though the Rustica’s contribution has been tempered well by the stoving, it can certainly upend an empty stomach. At the end of every bowl, the mouthfeel somehow gets better. The balance of sugars in the tobaccos would seem to be spot-on in this regard. I started out my tasting in cobs, then cut short an unpleasant bowl in a meer, and finally landed on my best instrument with the lovely Dunhill 4427 pictured, a quaint group 4 shell briar with a gentle curve and Cumberland stem supporting a perfectly executed acorn bowl. It surprised me here, as I’ve learned through the years that I generally have the best experience with English blends in large, wide bowls. With this blend it seems that to get the best out of the Katerini’s somewhat diaphanous influence the smaller bowl fared much better. Room note is very English, so the company you keep will either love it or hate it, and it doesn’t linger too much. I find it paired best with a strong coffee; Sumatran beans complement the flavors well, as do Ethiopian if a lighter brew is preferred. Overall impressions of the blend are that it’s a curiously interesting take on the English genre, almost a reductive reconstruction of the theme using the unique components. 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Great write up! That’s one I’ve been meaning to try. Have to add it to my wishlist on smokingpipes and include a tin in the next order!
My condolences on living back east. I’m in Vegas and it’s in the 80’s right now lol.
After only a year I can see my Va #1 turning darker in the jars.
I enjoy the light honey flavor in this blend on a hot summer day with a cold drink.
Good article.
I tried this blend some years ago before I developed a love of Virginias.
I need to try it again.
Cool to see the photo of the pressed blocks. Interesting article…thanks.
I have a sample of this blend on this on the way and I’m looking forward to trying it just as much as I am looking forward to the arrival of warm spring days.
The cart full of pressed tobacco bricks some how resembles a cart of gold bars when I look at it. 🙂