Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving to all of my friends here at pipesmagazine.com. It’s the long weekend up here and as such I have a bit of extra time to tackle some reviewing that I’ve been meaning to punch out for a while. The wife and son are already out cold from the turkey so now’s the time; I felt it was also particularly apropos as I just finished one of the most enjoyable bowls I’ve had in recent memory – Club Blend served as my “desert” after a nice big meal earlier and really hit the spot.
The purpose here is that I wanted to share and encourage others to dip their toes in the classic Mac Baren line as I feel it gets overlooked, despite having several classics that can hold their own against other more “premium” lines.
Speaking of premium lines, it’s no secret that the Mac Baren HH line contains masterpieces of blending such as Old Dark Fired, Acadian Perique, Burley Flake and more. Per Jensen has proven himself to be a genius once again recently with the release of Rustica (I’ve not actually tried it but many members whose opinions I hold in high regard have given us a lot of rave reviews). The theme of the HH line is to present the tobaccos in their most natural state, without casings or toppings, which as most of you know is almost the polar opposite to the classic Mac Baren line which tends to embrace casing and topping without shame. After a couple of years in this hobby I feel like there is a clear demarcation between the HH line and the normal line, not just in marketing but in review results as well.
Now that I’ve been doing this for a few years as I say, I think I’m in a much better position to provide my feedback on the classic Mac Baren tobaccos. Not only have I had the opportunity to sample a great deal of them, I feel like I am at the point where my technique has achieved a level where appreciating these tobaccos is not only possible, but downright consistent.
And this is where the first caveat comes into play here – I think that amongst all the tobaccos that I have tried these past few years, the Mac Baren blends are the ones that I would classify the most as “intermediate to advanced”. Simply put, if you are not able to slow yourself down yet at this stage in your smoking career, you are not going to get 100% out of these blends; you may find them inconsistent, bland, or you may flat out dislike them, you could even end up injuring your tongue. If you don’t find they do much for you now, I would encourage you to put them down for a year or so until you have worked up a bit more experience and try again. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be glad you did.
Although this is meant to be an “omnibus” review of the various blends, I thought I would start first with a few comments that I feel are applicable to all of these tobaccos:
First, I generally dislike aromatic tobaccos. That is not to say that there are not exceptions to this, but they are often few and far between. The thing is that the Mac Baren line toes the line between aromatic and non, in a way that I think is unlike any other blender. There are classic style aromatics in this line, and I think you’ll see that my reviews bear out this dislike for the most part where the topping/flavouring goes over the top. That being said, none of these tobaccos lacks a casing or topping of some sort. For the most part, its subtle and adds to the enjoyment in my opinion. From what I’ve read this is mostly just maple sugar and it really gives this line a distinctive and enjoyable theme that runs through the entire line.
Second, I’m not generally a huge fan of Latakia. Those that follow the TAD thread may recall that I thought I had redeveloped a taste for the leaf recently. Turns out I was incorrect, and Latakia will likely remain a very rare choice for me. This is not much of an issue in the Mac Baren line, and where it is used it is used very sparingly and tastefully.
Third is in reference to my comment above that I consider these to be more advanced tobaccos. While the general advice of “slow down” should always be adhered to with these blends to avoid singing your mouth, I’ve actually found that playing around with the cadence while smoking some of these blends in particular helps to tease out the most flavour, as you’ll see in the Plumcake review below.
Fourth, I don’t tend to smoke bowls all the way to the bottom. I’ve found I just don’t have the patience, and that some blends turn bitter/ashy at the end, so I generally just avoid that part of the bowl as a matter of course no matter which blend I’m smoking. All to say that there will be no comments on the colour or consistency of the ash, as I’ve usually dumped it by the time it gets past a certain “warmth” that tells me a bowl is coming close to the end.
Finally, I’m going to post each review in a separate post in this thread for those who would prefer to skip my introductory blathering, and if and when I do actually smoke my way through the entire “regular” line, I’ll add new reviews as I go.
So, without further ado, and in no particular order, please accept my Mac Baren Omnibus review for your consideration. I hope you enjoy.
The purpose here is that I wanted to share and encourage others to dip their toes in the classic Mac Baren line as I feel it gets overlooked, despite having several classics that can hold their own against other more “premium” lines.
Speaking of premium lines, it’s no secret that the Mac Baren HH line contains masterpieces of blending such as Old Dark Fired, Acadian Perique, Burley Flake and more. Per Jensen has proven himself to be a genius once again recently with the release of Rustica (I’ve not actually tried it but many members whose opinions I hold in high regard have given us a lot of rave reviews). The theme of the HH line is to present the tobaccos in their most natural state, without casings or toppings, which as most of you know is almost the polar opposite to the classic Mac Baren line which tends to embrace casing and topping without shame. After a couple of years in this hobby I feel like there is a clear demarcation between the HH line and the normal line, not just in marketing but in review results as well.
Now that I’ve been doing this for a few years as I say, I think I’m in a much better position to provide my feedback on the classic Mac Baren tobaccos. Not only have I had the opportunity to sample a great deal of them, I feel like I am at the point where my technique has achieved a level where appreciating these tobaccos is not only possible, but downright consistent.
And this is where the first caveat comes into play here – I think that amongst all the tobaccos that I have tried these past few years, the Mac Baren blends are the ones that I would classify the most as “intermediate to advanced”. Simply put, if you are not able to slow yourself down yet at this stage in your smoking career, you are not going to get 100% out of these blends; you may find them inconsistent, bland, or you may flat out dislike them, you could even end up injuring your tongue. If you don’t find they do much for you now, I would encourage you to put them down for a year or so until you have worked up a bit more experience and try again. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be glad you did.
Although this is meant to be an “omnibus” review of the various blends, I thought I would start first with a few comments that I feel are applicable to all of these tobaccos:
First, I generally dislike aromatic tobaccos. That is not to say that there are not exceptions to this, but they are often few and far between. The thing is that the Mac Baren line toes the line between aromatic and non, in a way that I think is unlike any other blender. There are classic style aromatics in this line, and I think you’ll see that my reviews bear out this dislike for the most part where the topping/flavouring goes over the top. That being said, none of these tobaccos lacks a casing or topping of some sort. For the most part, its subtle and adds to the enjoyment in my opinion. From what I’ve read this is mostly just maple sugar and it really gives this line a distinctive and enjoyable theme that runs through the entire line.
Second, I’m not generally a huge fan of Latakia. Those that follow the TAD thread may recall that I thought I had redeveloped a taste for the leaf recently. Turns out I was incorrect, and Latakia will likely remain a very rare choice for me. This is not much of an issue in the Mac Baren line, and where it is used it is used very sparingly and tastefully.
Third is in reference to my comment above that I consider these to be more advanced tobaccos. While the general advice of “slow down” should always be adhered to with these blends to avoid singing your mouth, I’ve actually found that playing around with the cadence while smoking some of these blends in particular helps to tease out the most flavour, as you’ll see in the Plumcake review below.
Fourth, I don’t tend to smoke bowls all the way to the bottom. I’ve found I just don’t have the patience, and that some blends turn bitter/ashy at the end, so I generally just avoid that part of the bowl as a matter of course no matter which blend I’m smoking. All to say that there will be no comments on the colour or consistency of the ash, as I’ve usually dumped it by the time it gets past a certain “warmth” that tells me a bowl is coming close to the end.
Finally, I’m going to post each review in a separate post in this thread for those who would prefer to skip my introductory blathering, and if and when I do actually smoke my way through the entire “regular” line, I’ll add new reviews as I go.
So, without further ado, and in no particular order, please accept my Mac Baren Omnibus review for your consideration. I hope you enjoy.
