Nobody likes a cellar measuring contest...Speak for yourself.
I got 20ish pounds of plumcake
Jim's STG Versions of Mac Baren Blends Reviews.
- Thread starter JimInks
- Start date
Probably just younger tobacco with no age. As far as I know, STG hasn’t even begun selling Capstan from their facility. All that’s changed is the sticker on the back of the tin saying it’s imported from STG rather than MacBaren, as MacBaren doesn’t exist anymore. I’d expect new production will no longer use square tins.Yea thats why its wild to me its so much different this time, what are they doing
I only tried St Bruno for the first time very recently and was struggling to understand what all the hype was about. But maybe this explains it.
It seems mine was made in May '25.
Maybe they should change the name to "Ain't Bruno"
St. Bruno was one of the few things I threw right in the garbage after smoking the first bowl for about 15 minutes. The tin was 2018, I smoked it somewhere around 2020.
So don't worry, you may not have liked the previous version either! There's only 1 or 2 other blends that got tossed faster than St. Bruno for me.
So don't worry, you may not have liked the previous version either! There's only 1 or 2 other blends that got tossed faster than St. Bruno for me.
One man’s trash is truly another man’s treasure
I've still got around a dozen pounds of it and The Solent Mixture when they both had Syrian Latakia.Speak for yourself.
I got 20ish pounds of plumcake
FFS how pathetic. I wasn't paying attention. Old Dark Fired and Dark Twist Roll Cake were/are two blends I could smoke forever. Got about 500g of the first, a few coins left of the second :/Yes, only blue "Original Flake" survives:
Thanks for the reviews Jim, looks like even what's left is not worth my money.
Edit: generally it's been my long-held belief that cigars will live on, and may become the last place one will be able to find good smoking in the future :/
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This list is for the US only. There's a different list of surviving Mac Baren blends in Europe and it differs by country. See this thread: 200 MacBaren Blends Will Be Kept in Europe According to STG. :: General Pipe Smoking Discussion - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/200-macbaren-blends-will-be-kept-in-europe-according-to-stg.108551/. Looks like Old Dark Fired and Dark Twist remain available, at least in Germany.
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Sad. So basically, there is no MacBaren left. Not really. Not surprising, but still a shame.
Thanks, I'll have a look. They currently look sold out in some German shops I am looking at (not just Estervals). Dark Twist is quite commonly found in Swiss B&M shops (aromatics/semi-aromatics are very common here), but not ODF.
Buying fresh tobacco on the way to my cigar store has been one of my most beautiful and rewarding passions. So, don't save it for aging, smoke it, damn it.
I revisited the St Bruno on a fresh palate today.
I still found it very lacking. Almost like they took away 80% of the topping.
I’m hoping it’s because this was a fresh tin with no age on it.
I still found it very lacking. Almost like they took away 80% of the topping.
I’m hoping it’s because this was a fresh tin with no age on it.
Mac Baren Svendborg facility up and running through end of this year. Just because it says "imported by STG" and has the STG logo does not mean it was produced in the Assens factory. The real tell will be flakes in round tins. Until then you could be smoking Mac Baren stock and not realize it.
STG made Capstan up until about 2010 or 2011 before Mac Baren took it over. I have a bunch of old Capstan Blue from STG production. It was very close to the Mac Baren version, perhaps a bit stronger in nicotine and with a slightly McClelland-like vinegar aroma.
I would urge people to try the blends and decide for themselves. You never know what might work for your particular taste. Meanwhile, beware of speculators trying to convince you a tin of Dunhill Flake from 2018 is any better than Peterson Flake from 2021. They are the same except time in the tin.
STG made Capstan up until about 2010 or 2011 before Mac Baren took it over. I have a bunch of old Capstan Blue from STG production. It was very close to the Mac Baren version, perhaps a bit stronger in nicotine and with a slightly McClelland-like vinegar aroma.
I would urge people to try the blends and decide for themselves. You never know what might work for your particular taste. Meanwhile, beware of speculators trying to convince you a tin of Dunhill Flake from 2018 is any better than Peterson Flake from 2021. They are the same except time in the tin.
I hope for all our sakes you are right on the St Bruno I opened and it was simply because I opened a fresh tin.
Ooof, they really gutted those blends. New pipe smokers coming into the hobby now are going to feel the same as those that started after McClelland closed up shop.