I love Vanilla Cream Flake, Club Blend, and Dark Twist, so this new blend sounds very interesting. Can't wait to try it
Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake
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I got one problem with it. Which is that I'll probably end up eating some of it. 
That sounds awesome.
That sounds awesome.
Sounds like something you ought to put on your Cheerios.
Feeling a bit ambivalent about this one at the moment, but excited for something new to drop. Can't wait to read some reviews about to hear just how aromatic it is.
Mac Baren Cheerios? That's just sick...
How long have you been putting DFK on your Cheerios? That sounds unappealing
I haven't been smoking aromatics all that much lately but when this came out I had to give it a try; I'm glad I did. If you like vanilla aromatics, then, in my opinion, this is probably the best one out there.
The tobacco comes in finely cut coins that are easy to rub out or stuff them in your pipe as-is. Mac Baren states that they use "a subtle casing of premium, Madagascar vanilla". I will attest that the tin note is a sublimely rich deep vanilla. It smelled natural and not artificial. The tobaccos used are whole leaf Virginias, with additional Virginias and partially cavendished, whole leaf dark-fired Kentucky. I like dark-fired Kentuckys, and cavendished dark-fired Kentucky is something I really wanted to try.
The tobacco came at the perfect moisture content (i.e., on the edge of being slightly dry) and I didn't need any drying time. I chose to rub out a several coins and lightly stuff my pipe. It was easy to light, burned well, I only needed a couple of relights.
The smoke has a sweet rich vanilla flavor from beginning to end. It never faded away or burned off. There really was a nice sweetness to the smoke, which was likely from Mac Baren's traditional application of maple sugar. It really didn't have a maple taste, just a warm sweet taste that complemented the vanilla. The Virginias provided their usual sweet grass/citrus/tobacco flavors. The cavendished dark-fired Kentucky added depth to the smoke, as a condiment, and provided somewhat of a brown sugar flavor to go with the vanilla.
Not knowing if this is going to be a regular offering from Mac Barens, I decided not to chance it and bought several tins to keep it in my rotation when I want a warm sweet rich vanilla smoke.
The tobacco comes in finely cut coins that are easy to rub out or stuff them in your pipe as-is. Mac Baren states that they use "a subtle casing of premium, Madagascar vanilla". I will attest that the tin note is a sublimely rich deep vanilla. It smelled natural and not artificial. The tobaccos used are whole leaf Virginias, with additional Virginias and partially cavendished, whole leaf dark-fired Kentucky. I like dark-fired Kentuckys, and cavendished dark-fired Kentucky is something I really wanted to try.
The tobacco came at the perfect moisture content (i.e., on the edge of being slightly dry) and I didn't need any drying time. I chose to rub out a several coins and lightly stuff my pipe. It was easy to light, burned well, I only needed a couple of relights.
The smoke has a sweet rich vanilla flavor from beginning to end. It never faded away or burned off. There really was a nice sweetness to the smoke, which was likely from Mac Baren's traditional application of maple sugar. It really didn't have a maple taste, just a warm sweet taste that complemented the vanilla. The Virginias provided their usual sweet grass/citrus/tobacco flavors. The cavendished dark-fired Kentucky added depth to the smoke, as a condiment, and provided somewhat of a brown sugar flavor to go with the vanilla.
Not knowing if this is going to be a regular offering from Mac Barens, I decided not to chance it and bought several tins to keep it in my rotation when I want a warm sweet rich vanilla smoke.
Got my tin today. Smoked my first bowl in a new Savinelli III 806 Canadian. Wasn't a good experience, but I'll blame it on a new pipe with no cake buildup. I'm smoking my second bowl in a cob and it seems to smoke better. The tin note is fantastic, even better then the Vanilla Flake. The Vanilla Flake has a more intense room note, but the VRC is light in room note, but still noticeable. No complaints from the wife, who is very critical. She even thinks that Vanilla Flake is too strong in room note. I can taste the vanilla on first light, but as the bowl progresses the vanilla taste seems to fade and the DFK takes over, but the vanilla taste is still there. I get an acidic taste with this blend when smoked in a briar, but it could be just the briar pipe I chose. In the cob the acidic taste is there, but not as strong. This blend burns slow and I get no bite. The finish, in the cob, was not ashy or cigarette like, as it was in the briar. My next tries will be in a meerschaum, Falcon and a different briar. although smoking it in a cob seems the best. In my opinion this blend is pipe sensitive, although that could change in time. BTW I rubbed out the coins. The blend does take more then average relights. At this time I like the Vanilla Flake a tad better, but the VRC is worth buying for those who favor vanilla aromatics and want to taste the tobacco. I'd rate the nicotine strength as medium, as least for me it is. For those who don't have a very high tolerance for nicotine this blend would be in the strong range due to the DFK. I'll give it 2 stars out of 4 for now.
My first smoke of this was just 'okay' but it has grown on me over the past three bowls since. I am going to smoke this tin and then try to figure out if it's /the/ new vanilla blend...I smoke a lot of vanilla cream and kinda go with 'if it ain't broke...' that said, it's top notch as far as quality and really 'behaves' well imo, especially for an aro with that pronounced of a flavor.
I am probably gonna cave an pick up a tin of this to try thanks to you guys...
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