I find it the opposite to my tastes. The Pure VA is light hay and the VA flake is sweet baked goods... with stronger nic IMO
Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia at 5 Years
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Kewl. Taste is subjective. I like them both and inn fact am smoking through things of both right now. Just got a tin of Original Choice. Have you tried this one? I'm not much of an artistic can but it's quite tasty.
Yeah it’s pretty decent. Really cool smoking. The Danish Mixture Modern is really good too but very low on nic.
yeah totally is subjective I just find the regular VA flake much more full than the HH Pure VA.
HH Pure Va is one of my favorites. I have a few tins put away, but I also worry about them being in those square tins. I had some Freibourg &Treyer tins, and some others that popped after a few years on them, never had problems with round tins. I'll have to try the regular VA flake. I love Mac Baren blends overall. VA #1 and the HH Pure VA are regulars for me, but never tried the VA flake for some odd reason. I'll have to do that.
I hadn’t either until recently. Then was surprised how I’d never heard anyone talk about it.
I also wouldn’t worry about the Mac Baren tins... they are much more robust than Gawith tins from my experiences.
Yes! I do get that from time to time as well but didn’t want to mention it for fear of making the blend sound sweeter than it is.
I recently opened a comically large jar that I had purchased to age a 1lb order of HH pure Virginia in (if you dig you can find a little thread I did on this - bottom line I’ll be using smaller jars in the future based on feedback I got). I opened it to transfer to some smaller jars on its one year anniversary and kept one flake out to try.
It was not my favourite Virginia new, but one year of age improved it a noticeable amount. I actually got a fairly strong hint of red wine from it so I’m hoping a few more years will make it a winner. My suspicion is the red wine flavour has something to do with fermentation as the flakes had also turned noticeably darker in colour.
I agree with BROBS in that I prefer the“normal” Virginia Flake - it has a topping of sweet/sugar/honey but this smooths it out for me and makes it a lovely smoke straight out of the tin. I would recommend a comparison “taste test”.
It was not my favourite Virginia new, but one year of age improved it a noticeable amount. I actually got a fairly strong hint of red wine from it so I’m hoping a few more years will make it a winner. My suspicion is the red wine flavour has something to do with fermentation as the flakes had also turned noticeably darker in colour.
I agree with BROBS in that I prefer the“normal” Virginia Flake - it has a topping of sweet/sugar/honey but this smooths it out for me and makes it a lovely smoke straight out of the tin. I would recommend a comparison “taste test”.
I am going to have to buy more HH Pure Virginia. I have gone through a lot of the straight Virginia's and HH is one of my top 5. Just started my first tin of FVF, which is also great.
Have to disagree with @BROBS, do worry about those tins. I transferred all of my HH Pure VA to jars last year, roughly 3000g mostly in the 100g tins from 2015. While none of the seals had failed, they all popped very easily and had visibly begun to corrode from the inside out. I doubt they would have lasted much longer.
This blend is a good one, especially in the warmer months. I find it falls a little flat in cold weather, but “pops” when the weather is around 80 degrees and up.
I've got some 2012 MacBaren Virginia #1 and it doesn't do much for me. Believe I've tried the flake when I first started smoking but should probably revisit it. Personally HH Pure is the winner. I will say its compares more favorable to FVF; similar profile but I picked up some different nuances in HH like hints of toasted nut and those burnt sweet notes. Presentation and ease of smoking shouldn't be overlooked for a Virginia in this class. Compare it to others with the same profile. Also yall are making me very weary of my tins?
That’s funny you say you get toasted nuts, as I do too. Like toasted almonds. The only thing that makes HH pure from being in my top 5, is its overly sweet for me. Unnaturally sweet.
It is amazing how Virginia's of all kinds just keep getting better and better with age. One of God's neat little hidden blessings. 
I'm susceptible to tongue bite [I love the taste of MB Plumcake for e.g. but have to smoke it in a meerschaum lined Dublin to avoid the tongue bite] but MB Virginia No.1 I don't get even the slightest hint of bite.
What don’t you have several pounds of? You’re an animal!
I have no idea. All I know is that he has been very generous with a number of forum members over the years, and I am fortunate to have benefited from his generosity.
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