In Mac Baren’s Secret Service
-
Kevin Godbee - Apr 30, 2014
- 5 min read
E. Roberts
The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success. In the high-stakes, cloak and dagger world of tobacco blending, it’s the one who holds the most secrets who has the hand to beat when the cards are laid out on the table. After the smoke clears and the dust settles, it’s the dashing fellow in the three-piece suit that walks away with the self-satisfied grin, calmly extracting a classic black billiard—Dunhill, of course—from his breast pocket, filled to the brim with a luscious ebony flake. The aroma it exudes is exotic and flirtatious, perfectly balanced on the precipice of sweet, overlooking the valley of mystery below. Content that his adversaries are thoroughly vanquished, he climbs into his bespoke Aston Martin Centenary Edition and speeds away into the sunset, intent on blending another day …
Well, sort of. The world of pipe tobacco blending could perhaps be more accurately described as medium- to moderately-high stakes, and it’s not really all that "cloak and dagger"—it’s more of a "comfortable sweater and Czech tool" vibe that prevails, actually. Bridge and penny-ante poker are far more common than baccarat, and a cold brew is preferred over vodka martinis by a wide margin. Tobacco recipes are certainly top secret and closely guarded, naturally; if they weren’t, then any old Harris, Peck or Kevin would be blending up batches of 759. To my knowledge, though, no one has ever been killed for the formula of his VaPer mixture. Other secrets are rather out-in-the-open, such as the key to Mac Baren’s latest triumph: steam pressing in the (olde) English style, which shines brilliantly in HH Latakia Flake, to be debuted at the Chicagoland International Pipe and Tobacciana Show 2014.
Steam presses aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and Mac Baren has really capitalized on their competitive edge with the technology and blending expertise to produce world-class flake tobaccos with releases like the HH Old Dark Fired, reviewed in March. Producing flake tobacco this way, in the "English style", coupled with Danish technique and sensibilities, is a Mac Baren signature to be sure. Dozens of their more than forty offerings are flakes or contain portions of flakes in the mixtures, and they tend to have a very particular quality about them in the color and texture that is recognizably Mac Baren. They’re among the few companies producing steam-pressed flakes as well, which deepen and marry the flavors a considerable amount in a relatively short time. It’s a bit of shorthand for aging, to some degree—it hastens the melding of flavors and intensifies the earthy bass notes, as well as lending fullness and a mellowed quality to the mixture. Therein lies the arcane mystery of the blender’s art, coaxing a synergy of flavor from the confluence of time and technique.
From Mac Baren With Love
The effect that all this effort produces in HH Latakia Flake is nothing short of spectacular. Inhaling deeply from a fresh tin reveals no sharp edges; rather, a creamy bouquet that evokes rosewater and campfire, with the leather and clay notes characteristic of Cypriot Latakia. It has a definite floral quality to the aroma, but not in a perfumy or Lakeland style sense. Imagine being at the farmer’s market and nibbling on some freshly fried flores de calabaza—that’ll give you a better sense of the slightly herbaceous fragrance. Once the tin has a chance to breathe, there is an even more pronounced aroma of rose, sweet and supple. The charring light draws out the familiar dance of Virginia and Latakia, briefly sharp and peppery, settling quickly into a remarkably soft and rounded top third of the bowl. The mid-bowl is where Latakia Flake really shines, letting the deep and complex flavors really open up. The interplay runs from a bright forward vegetal sweetness, offering highlights of honeysuckle and rose, turmeric, and a lightly tannic oaky edge, all the way down through to the bass notes of the smoky, salty burnt edges of a well-marbled steak. In this regard the apportioning of the leaf is masterful, as it allows the Virginia-burley framework to be molded expertly with the Oriental and Latakia components to express the complete spectrum of flavors. Above all it smokes smoothly, with not even a hint of bite to cloud the experience—the steam pressing really shines through here, all the way down to the heel with a very uncluttered, pure tobacco taste.
The Flake With The Golden Tin
The tin art, too, reflects the luxury feeling of this flake, with its sable field, filigreed with gold lettering and the Mac Baren crest, a black-on-black image of the Mac Baren lion’s head subtly screened behind it all. The precisely-cut flakes are stacked three-deep inside the gold foil wrapper, and rub out to a fine angel-hair consistency, which is my preferred preparation for this particular blend. It plays well in both large and small chamber sizes, and I found a particular affinity with a rather dainty "new old stock" straight prince shape recently acquired.
License to Smoke
What else but a blind singleness of purpose could have given focus to their genius, would have kept them in the groove of purpose. Mania … is as priceless as genius. Mac Baren’s genius will be on full display this year at the Chicago show, where they will unveil this delectable treat to the public; and in fact it is only being offered in the US, at least initially. The niche of English style Latakia flakes is decidedly small, steam-pressed flakes smaller still, and I think it’s a safe bet to make that HH Latakia Flake will be received with the same enthusiasm from the eager pipe community as their 2012 effort, the instant classic HH Old Dark Fired. With my double-0 designation as PipesMagazine.com’s resident tobacco reviewer, I was afforded a generous sneak preview of this delicacy—and didn’t even have to kill anyone for it. In my job, when I come up against a tobacco like this one, I have a motto: "Live and Let Cellar."
For Your Pipe Only
 |
 |
Written by Kevin Godbee
18 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Thanks for the review. I’m looking forward to this one!
That was quite a mouth-watering review. Can’t wait to try some.
OK, I’m sold. Now off to the B&M and ordering some.
I will be sure to pick some of this up while in Chicago.
Ah, wish i was going to Chicago, but I just will have to be patient and order this from my online supplier. Sounds like a winner!
I’m looking forward to trying this blend.
It is one of many wallet openers I hope to hit in Chicago. Excellent review.
Great review. I wasn’t going to read it at first, because I don’t do Latakia (more for you, I know…) But how can a reader resist an opening line like: “The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.” Great writing — all the way through! Thanks
Great review. I enjoyed my first bowl very much and have three tins newly added to my modest cellar.
Gotta get some! MB does have a way with flakes, and if the quality of this flake is as good as Old Dark-Fired, I can’t wait!
I did pick up a couple tins at Chicago. The aroma of the tobacco in the tin is as Bill described it. The flakes crumble very easily so there are no need to go through a “rub it out” process. The tobacco was rather moist so it might be best to leave it opened for a few days to get the moisture content down to an acceptable level.
Unlike Bill I have three taste buds (good, indifferent, and bad). I can’t taste flowers, nuts, leathers, herbs, etc. While the tobacco produced a nice volume of smoke I didn’t really get a lot of flavor and it is definitely on the mild side. So I am going to dry this stuff out for a few days and come back to it.
@Cotez–I can’t claim credit for the opening line, of course; I’ve just been on a Bond kick lately. Glad to know my tactic worked though!
.
@KC–It is a mild flake, for sure not a powerhouse smoke. Take it slow, maybe even take a day or two off of smoking to come to it with a refreshed palate. The flavor’s definitely there. Incidentally, my favored preparation was a full-blown roll between my palms rub-out–I found the fine threads really released the fullness of the smoke better than cube cutting or fold & stuff.
Thanks Bill – great review. I can’t pretend this interested me that much before I read your piece, but now I don’t know. Perhaps I should give it a go. You only live twice.
Andy
“The mid-bowl is where Latakia Flake really shines, letting the deep and complex flavors really open up. The interplay runs from a bright forward vegetal sweetness, offering highlights of honeysuckle and rose, turmeric, and a lightly tannic oaky edge, all the way down through to the bass notes of the smoky, salty burnt edges of a well-marbled steak.”
When I read a review that is so nuanced, highlighting resemblances between the tobacco and chosen tastes and aromas in the world, I conclude that the reviewer must possess a palate far beyond mine or that he is trying too hard; and I lean toward the latter.
We received a sample of this from Sutliff / MacBaren at the last meeting of the “Hudson Valley Pipe Club”. All in attendance, sample this offering for the first time. Everyone was quite impressed to say the least! I loved it! I will be buying lots of this, if it doesn’t sell out for the next six months!
If you like Latakia, you have to try this right now…….
Looks absolutely delicious !! Wish I had it right now ,,,,
@4nogginsMike– I’ll definitely agree that I’m reaching. I do my best to parse out the flavor of blends and with reasonable accuracy relate them to tastes that the audience may be familiar with. It’s no magic trick, or insubstantial fluff; if you’ll re-read my article about the process of taste testing (“How Do I Taste?”, from December of last year, http://bit.ly/How2Taste ), and pay special note to sections 2 (The Importance of Time) and 5 (Putting It All Together), and apply them to your own tasting, then you may even find yourself reaching for flavors like honeysuckle, turmeric, and steak—and enjoy the satisfaction of finding them. However, if you’re among the approximately 7% of people who suffer from chronic dysfunction of smell or taste, then perhaps you won’t. But it would still be worth the effort, as you mentioned.
OK I’m sold, can’t wait to get a tin or two.