Mac Baren Virginia No. 1
-
Kevin Godbee - Apr 3, 2018
- 5 min read
Kyle Weiss
Mac Baren: simply mentioning the name sends guys into hyperbolic fits. Lengthy tales of warning then get uttered, especially to newcomers, like talking about a dangerous, abandoned house with a vengeful spirit inside. Other guys sheepishly shrug and say they like the stuff. Mac Baren has a lot of aromatics in their lineup, and not surprisingly considering how the Danes feel about their sweet tobaccos. Needless to say, when I first started my relationship with the briar, well-meaning fellas were giving me all sorts of tins to try. It was a test of grace, as I found myself less and less enamored with aromatics (and aromatic-loving guys think everyone smokes aromatics) I realized at times I was the recipient of the “I hate this stuff, you smoke it,” re-gifting kindness that’s bound to happen. I’ve mostly learned enough manners to say “Thank you,” or “No thank you.”
Virginia No. 1 is a Mac Baren product that came to me this very way. Before I even worked at the Tinder Box in Reno, I spent plenty of time there. The tobacco selection was passable, and they were the only game in town. A patron tossed me a half-opened tin of VA#1 and, without pause, gave me the tale most who have been offended by it at some point or another gives, “It’s disgusting!” “It’s shit!” “It’s typical Mac Bite!”
(“…here, Kyle, you have it….”)
The tin reads (or at one point read)
“In 1955 Virginia No. 1 was introduced to the world’s pipe smokers, and today Virginia No. 1 is one of the Mac Baren Classics. The natural sweetness from the carefully selected Virginia tobaccos, are to be enjoyed every time you light up this magnificent blend. In addition to a slow, cool smoke this ready rubbed blend gives you the slightly sweet smoke. Try the Virginia No. 1 and find out for yourself why Virginia No. 1 is reckoned as a Mac Baren Classic Blend.”
Opening a tin, you’re greeted with, as the motto says, “Golden Sweet Pipe Tobacco.” It’s rather apt, as little stacks of lightly-colored oaken ribbons lay compressed next to one another. The smell in the tin is fig-like, with a hint of orange–a wonderfully natural smell at that. Tin moisture levels are nominal, I haven’t had any burn or packing issues, you shouldn’t have many, either. It’s easy to break apart and stuff into a bowl.
The first light of VA#1 consistently had a gentle delivery of honey-toast to my senses. Especially at the time I first tried this tobacco, I was getting away from aromatics as quickly as I could, and this one made me think trickery was afoot. I didn’t want to enjoy it, but hardly a prideful liar, I didn’t mind what it was giving me. The first quarter of the bowl stays in this realm. The Virginia leafs produce plenty of smoke, and even a truffled-fruit quality at the very nasal top of the palate. It’s very important to say if you’re a fast or a hot smoker, don’t do this here. Heat builds up in this leaf rather quickly.
Halfway through, I’ve learned if I’m going to have a problem with any Mac Baren product, this is where it happens. If problems do indeed arise, it’s likely because the tobacco was more “cooked” than smoked in the first half. This leads to a breakdown in some combustion-chemical process in the leaf that I’m not going to profess to understand, but the flavor can get tarry and ashy fairly quickly. This is also where I’ve noticed a bit more tongue-tingle leaning to discomfort than I’d like. Smoked slow, even rested, and ye shall be rewarded–sometimes. A more savory aspect, chicken-like and raisin bread can develop if treated nicely, and careful tamping has been employed here at the halfway point. That is, if everything has gone to plan. If it does, you’re in the clear for the final stage of smoking.
I will never stop crowing about my love for the end and finale of a bowl of pipe tobacco that I’m smoking. I believe that is where the true soul of the leaf resides, after it has been pushed and punished, heated and tamped, and if it can show any resilience and character despite all adversity, this is where it will happen. Mac Baren’s Virginia No. 1 still impresses me here. It is consistent, and there was no roaring comeback. Simple and stoic, it smokes a treat, in fact even with a bit more moisture and heat tolerance, than in the beginning.
Overall it’s a tobacco that probably won’t earn a true following these days, and there’s good reason. It’s largely basic, but that could be part of its charm. No matter what I write here, the pipesters that can’t stand Mac Baren will never give it a chance, nor is that my point. Perhaps I’m a riskier or dangerous sort, more open-minded, or less concerned about how I’m viewed in a public and social standpoint. Most likely it’s because I smoke what I like, and leave alone what I don’t, which is subject to change. Whatever the case, heed my following words, because these will help you navigate this part of the world of Mac Baren. Use larger-chambered pipes with broken-in briar–don’t ask me why, but cobs and other materials held in too much heat and made things dangerous. Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry–pair beverages carefully. Tongue “bite” and tongue “burn” are two different phenomena for a pipe smoker. One is chemistry, the other, temperature from hot smoke. Your natural body chemistry may vary and is likely the culprit behind bad experiences, if any, with smoking certain tobaccos. Adding refreshments to an already tense situation might be your temporary undoing.
Is Mac Baren Virginia No. 1 worth walking on eggshells, balancing spinning plates and juggling hatchets to enjoy? Possibly. I have spoken to a few rare individuals that say they have zero problems with Mac Baren’s non-aromatic products. All day smokers of the stuff they are, and they don’t much care who knows it. As for me, I found it fun I was able to operate VA#1 like a quirky old vehicle. It has its flaws, characters and nuances. Yes, it may break down on you and offer up little solutions but to walk away and try another day–but I enjoy a challenge. There’s days I can’t get this tobacco and the handful of others in the Mac Baren line to work for me. Other times I load up and smoke them and they’re a joy. This in itself is a healthy satisfaction.
“Can it be done; should it be done?” I ask myself this in many areas of my existence, and this happens to include pipe smoking. Travel and enjoy at your own risk.
Written by Kevin Godbee
18 Responses
Smokingpipes.com Updates
3 Fresh Micah Redmond Pipes |
2 Fresh Tine Balleby Pipes |
6 Fresh Savinelli Autograph Pipes |
48 Fresh Nørding Pipes |
8 Fresh Claudio Cavicchi Pipes |
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonightâs show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
Thereâs a pipe in my collection that I cannot bring myself to smoke, though Iâve had it for more years than I care to recall. Itâs old, or shall I say, well experienced; that experience, that oldness came to it long before it was in my possession. The pipe is an old Comoyâs Grand Slam from the 1940s. The shape (#93), a slightly canted, stack billiard (sometimes referred to as a Belgian) is right up my alley, and itâs a beautiful example of it. It came to me with some wear and tear; nothing unusual for an old pipe, but more the signs of one that has been well loved, smoked a lot, treated as a favorite tool, cherished, in a sense, by frequent use. Itâs the pipe equivalent of a vintage car thatâs been driven a lot, enjoyed fully and maintained adequately, rather than one kept in a spotless garage, dusted and detailed weekly, brought out only for leisurely Sunday drives, or to be ogled behind the ropes at the next Concours dâElegance. When it arrived, those uncounted years ago, it wanted a little restoration. Nothing dramatic needed to be done to it, but the stem was oxidized, the finish a little dingy. The cake was even and fairly thin, and the airway was relatively clean, both signs that its previous owner cared for it, but the bowlâs surface was a little drab and dull. It took little effort to reveal its beauty, to show the lovely contrasted stain and interesting grain beneath the old wax. I often think I should do before and after photos of pipes that I work on, but those thoughts always come after the workâs been done. This one would have been a great illustration of how years of handling that can sometimes make a pipe more beautiful, can other times make it just look grungy. Once Iâd cleaned up the externals, it was time to address the inside bits. I approach this a little bassackwards, I realize. It would be more sensible to take care of the inside before addressing the outside, but itâs how I roll. If an old pipe isnât pretty to look at, itâs unlikely that Iâll care much about it, and cleaning is usually the hardest part, or at least the most boring part of any restoration for me. Alcohol and pipe cleaners. Lots of pipe cleaners. Thatâs why I leave it for last. Sometimes, Iâll even give a pipe a test smoke before a deep cleaning, just for a point of reference. I gave it a sniff to get an idea of what I was up against, and it stopped me cold. There in that bowl was an aroma that I had not smelled in decades. My head was instantly filled with memories of being in the back room of a fabled Berkeley tobacconistâs shop where I stumbled upon a few jars of long discontinued blends. One of them, a blend called Forty and Eight, had the most engaging and unusual scent of any tobacco Iâd stuck my schnoz into. It was sweet, but not in a candy store way. There were none of the usual vanilla, cherry, berry or anise notes of typical aromatics, nothing that could be compared to aftershave or deodorant soap, but something almost musky, a little earthy, something exotic. The shopâs owner couldnât tell me what was in it, how, or where it had been produced. The old blend had been retired before heâd bought the place. The printed catalogue gave no clues, either, other than being overprinted with the word âDISCONTINUEDâ in bold, rubber-stamp type. (And, I donât recall it as being âhighly aromaticâ as the description indicates.) There was still quite a bit in the jar. Being, at that point, an intrepid explorer of all kinds of tobaccos, whether I thought Iâd like them or not, I had to give it a try. It was burly based, but also comprised a good measure of virginia leaf, and maybe some other varieties; I didnât have enough experience at the time to really pick it apart. But, that aroma was unlike anything Iâd experienced before or since. It was something now completely lost to time. Until it wasnât. Memories are powerful things, and there is no sense more tightly bound to memory than our sense of smell. One whiff was all it took to carry me back in time, conjuring a vivid recollection of something long submerged in the inky depths of a subconscious mind. Look, I know as well as anyone that pipes are meant to be smoked, and that many feel it almost sacrilegious to have a pipe and not set it to its intended task. In this case, I simply canât. I wonât. Ever. Rationally, I am fairly certain this pipe would probably be a great smoke. It was too well loved by its previous caretaker to be anything less than that. My choice not to smoke it is an emotional one, not something rational. Of the thousands of pipes that have passed through my hands over the years, this is the only one to create such a singular and vivid, almost Proustian recollection of temps perdu, of lost time. It revivified a long dormant memory that is mine, and mine alone, and thatâs enough. I keep it in a drawer with other old English pipes. In some ways, itâs nothing special, just a nice old pipe. I donât lavish it with any particular care that arguably befits the hidden treasure that it holds. Itâs not in a special box, or displayed preciously in a glass cabinet. Every once in a while, I take it out, point my nose bowlwards, and every time, those memories return just as powerfully as they did the first time. I have no idea how long itâs been since its last owner smoked it, but in the years Iâve had it, there seems to have been very little degradation of the aroma, and thatâs […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 635. Our featured interview on tonightâs show is with James Ravenwood. James is the boutique tobacco blender of Ravenwood Blends. His blending started out as a fun hobby, and he now has professionally packaged commercially available products with some great tin art. Part of his interest in pipe smoking goes back to fond memories of a retired Navy Veteran that lived on his street while he was growing up that would sit in his driveway smoking a pipe all day. Later, in 2011 he began smoking pipes and soon after started experimenting with mixing different tobaccos. His other hobby, that he has been doing for 30 years, is photography. He takes wonderful photos of outdoor spaces, and still life pictures of pipes and tobacco. You can see them on his Instagram @thebriarfellowship. At the top of the show we’ll have an Ask the Pipemaker segment with renowned pipe artisan Jeff Gracik.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonightâs 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, letâs just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. Thatâs better, isnât it? Whatâs 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 oneâChristmas. 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. Itâs in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. Itâs 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 Pipedomâs 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, âI believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.â Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Punditâs way of summing it up. You just donât 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. âI am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,â 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 ainât easy to turn on the lights in Punditâs rock pit head. Now itâs 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 itâShelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. Thatâs 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. Weâll 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.
I actually like Mac Baren Virginia No. 1 myself!
It’s one of the more bizarre relationships I have with tobacco.
Wait until I do a write-up of “Plumcake.” đ
Every MB blend I’ve tried, 3 or 4, has been bites; on the other hand my technique is piss poor. In sum, I don’t even try to smoke any of their blends, though I find the tin art and prices attractive.
I wish they didn’t come in such large tins…it probably is why they get passed on to other guys so much if they’re not a hit. The tinned stuff is a little easier to dive into versus the bulk. Something about that initial pressing and packing that makes a big difference even after just a little shipping time. After a year, even better. Five years, it’s quite tamed by comparison.
Mac B is expert grade tobacco, and expert quality as well. Learn to smoke this, and other blends and blenders will suddenly also blossom into flavor. It is a life-changing experience for the pipe smoker if he/she can master these.
I’ve had all the HH line, and like all of them. The only other MB I’ve had is The Solent Mixture, which I like. I’ve bought a few of the MB flakes, but have not smoked them yet. I’ll have to try VA#1.
Great review. Kyle,Thanks for the info think I will stop by the tinderbox and buy a tin. On another note. It looks like the pictures of your pipe is posted with a tomato seedling? . They are very susceptible tobacco mosaic virus.here is a little more information about it.
https://extension.psu.edu/tobacco-mosaic-virus-tmv. thanks Randy
Thanks for putting a tin of MB on the front page. Happy to say I’ve got a tin of Virginia No. 1 in the cellar and this article will help me enjoy it even more, as soon as I’m ready to delve into straight Virginias.
Thanks for a nice write-up, Kyle. My experience with Mac Baren Virginia #1 is entirely with the bulk form. For someone who has been smoking a pipe since the late 1960’s, I’m a relative late-comer to the Mac Baren line. Because of Mac Baren’s reputation for tongue bite, I denied myself half a lifetime of Elysian pleasure on the basis of hearsay! The lesson learned: never trust authority or consensus in matters of taste; sample it for yourself.
Sas: I will accept my “mastery” as I would drunkenly operating a moody old tractor and not killing anyone–as long as I’m having a good time. I’ll leave the Formula 1 cars to the true masters. đ
Randy: Too late now. I use tobacco tea and tobacco compost frequently as bug abatement. The poor little tomato plants were mystery seeds we sprouted anyway, we’re not farmers. This is the desert, what doesn’t kill them may make them stronger. C’est la vie.
Cortez: Yessir, empirical evidence in the hands of the ridiculous might suggest the earth is flat, but it is a deciding factor for intelligent personal enjoyment…haha.
Everyone Else: Happy smoking.
Criminy, I almost forgot to mention:
To those who are readers local or close to Reno, it is sadly the end of an era.
Over four decades ago, the Tinder Box in Reno was an institution that established the standard of pipes and tobacco for the area. It has come to my attention it will be closing its doors permanently in April 2018. Rising rents, increased product cost, and an influx of Californians have taken its toll on the bottom line of the store. I haven’t worked there in nearly eight months, but I am not surprised by this. Unless someone buys out the stock and the fixtures, perhaps takes over the lease, it will leave Reno with no true place for pipe smokers. Being the wealthy investor I am not, there is little I personally can do to keep it going.
It’s a sad day when another B&M store closes. Enjoy them while you are able.
Also to mention, the Tinder Box in Reno is closing its doors at the end of this April. Over four decades of serving the area and Reno’s only pipe store, it’s the sad end of a troubled era.
It’s going to be a changed landscape when the effects of deeming roll out in 2021. One thing will affect the other, and those two will affect a third, and so on.
Well written article. I’ve never had issues with MacBaren’s blends. I don’t smoke their aromatics so I can’t say nothing about that department. Once been bitten by MacBaren’s blend but it was my own fault. Smoked too fast in a pipe which was not cleaned properly. HH series is nice bold Kentucky is favorite and from classics Plumcake and Golden Blend are top notch. Virginia No.! is used to smoke it more when I was younger
I always liked VA Number 1. It could bite if you weren’t careful, but was very good if you took it slow and easy. Smoked particularly well in a Meer.
I’m a fan of Plumcake, Navy Flake, Mixture: Scottish Blend, and Golden Extra, though this last one is bit mild for me. It’s a great company that aromatics a good name. Thanks!
I meant to add that I find Virginia No. 1 lacking in flavor.
Nice review. Thanks. Funny things going on here, at least for me. I started smoking MacBaren tobaccos way back when i was involuntary working for the US Army. The first tin I bought was Virginia #1 at an Army PX..For a few years I rambled around the entire MB lineup, finally settling on #1 as my go to tobacco about 1975. Probably 90% of the tobacco I purchased for the next thirty years was this stuff. Hmm…sure, it bit me at times, but I don’t recall ever having had any serious problems with it, or for that matter, any other MB tobaccos. I haven’t tried them all, but have smoked most of them at one time or another. My tastes have changed, but my current favorite is the Vintage Syrian by MB. I also like the larger tins. Perhaps I am just a naturally slow smoker, as I have never thought much about my technique. i also tend toward larger bowls and haven’t owned a cob in forty years. Maybe now is the time for me amble on down to the local brick and mortar shop and grab a tin. Thanks again.