Classic Mac Baren "Omnibus" Review

[hawky454]

Modern mixture is also one of my daily smokes, does anyone else taste a slight floral note or is it just me?

Well damn it, now I’ve gotta try this one! Is it really light in nicotine though?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Well damn it, now I’ve gotta try this one! Is it really light in nicotine though?

Oh no, another one. Where will it end?

 

[hawky454]

Oh no, another one. Where will it end?

It never seems to end does it?

 

[Seamaster]

Interesting snippet on the latest Pipes Magazine podcast that Scottish Mixture is the Sutliff CEO's favourite blend.

 

[Casual]

Interesting snippet on the latest Pipes Magazine podcast that Scottish Mixture is the Sutliff CEO's favourite blend.

That’s good! i want this to be popular enough to survive any future catalog cuts.

 

[Seamaster]

I shouldn't worry. It's supposed to be among the top sellers in the world (and THE top seller duty free, though I've never seen it yet in any European airport).

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I shouldn't worry. It's supposed to be among the top sellers in the world (and THE top seller duty free, though I've never seen it yet in any European airport).

My mom used to travel alot, and the only tobacco she brought me (I never included that one on my wish list)was the Scottish Mixture in 100gr Duty free tins

 

[eslavs]

After reading this, I bought a pound of Plumcake blind. Your review is spot on, it's fantastic and rivals Scottish as my go-to now.

 

[gastro]

Symphony

I consider this to be somewhat of a “sister blend” to Golden Extra. Its very much the same cut and looks almost identical. The tin note is much more Virginia focussed than its sibling, but it shares that nice Mac Baren maple sugar note that tends to make your mouth water in anticipation.

On lighting is where things deviate. I don’t get nearly the enjoyment out of this one as I do Golden Extra. I find this much more Virginia forward, with the burley reduced to a support role, and the Virginias seem much more citrusy than any of the other entries in this line. Citrusy Virginias are not my favourite and the burley tends to fall just below that nice nutty threshold and so becomes more of a tease/distraction for me. All in all the combo just does not work for me.

I find this blend to be redundant more than anything, as Golden Extra is along the same lines but vastly superior to my taste. Still, it is more enjoyable than Burley London Blend, so I’ll rate it at 2/4: Somewhat enjoyable. If you like codger burleys you may appreciate this one more than I did, so by all means give it a try.

Thanks for the reviews! I've been dipping my toes back into Mac Baren. Last week I rekindled my appreciation of Acadian Perique and recently opened my tin of Symphony and was blown away. It's a definitely a sipper, but the flavor is amazing. I'm going to get back into some Golden Extra to have myself a Mac Baren bulk shootout to see which blend I'm going to buy the big bag up once my TAD kicks in, hopefully a few weeks after the chicago show.

 

[chopper]

After reading this, I bought a pound of Plumcake blind. Your review is spot on, it's fantastic and rivals Scottish as my go-to now.

Plumcake has one of my favourite tin notes. Simply delicious.
At 15yo I somehow convinced my ultra-religious parents to allow me to smoke a pipe. Back then Plumcake was my favourite smoke.

One of my lifes biggest regrets is switching to cigarettes for their convenience.
When I switched back to a pipe over 12 years ago, one of the first blends I sought was Plumcake [could not believe that 'tobacconists' {cigarette shops} here in Oz no longer stock Plumcake and eventually ordered a couple of tins from America]

Never had a problem with Plumcake biting back in the 70s.
Either my body chemistry has changed or MB has tweaked the recipe.
It bit me like no other blend.

Since I was determined to enjoy it I persevered.
Eventually I found that a meerschaum lined, new old stock 50's Heibe Dublin with a small-medium bowl did the trick.
Now I'm able to enjoy a bowl of an old favourite without scorching my mouth.

Since I don't see others mention tongue bite with Plumcake, I guess that it must come down to my body chemistry.

 

[anotherbob]

Dark Twist

My first foray into the world of coin cut tobacco. I thought that I would dislike the cut, but I actually find it endearing in its way. Easy enough to break up, though requires a bit of tearing unlike a straight flake. The tin note is nice and sweet with that Mac Baren signature sweetness, but with a spicy and slightly smoky edge to it. Some of the coins have dark centres some do not, I try to pack each bowl with a mixture of both types, though this gets increasingly difficult as you get to the bottom of the tin.

When you light this one you get that signature maple sugar Virginia flavour, but its tempered by what is clearly a type of dark fired Kentucky tobacco. You would think there would be a dissonance between the smoky spicy flavour of the Kentucky and the sugary topping but they play well together and create a nice mouth-watering savouriness that fades in and out as you work your way down the bowl. I liken it to “sweet and salty” popcorn in that the opposite flavours serve to buttress each other in a surprising way. The flavour does not seem to grow in intensity as you progress unlike some of the others in the line.

All told a very good blend. I have my 2nd tin on the way currently, with a break of about a year since I last tried it. I got the craving, but after a long absence. I would therefore rate this one a 3/4: Recommended. Its actually more of a 3.5/4 and I think you should do yourself a favour and give it a go.

Dark Twist is great. It reminds me of buckwheat pancakes. Buy this one in bulk always. It's that good.