MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian

[atboth]

Stockpiled forty tins of it in the year it first came out. But I've been too busy with other blends to smoke any recently.

 

[matchstickman]

I have a small sample of this somewhere that I tried to smoke a bowl of when I had a pretty bad head cold (stupid mistake on my part). I might have to dig in to this in the next couple of days and see if I can start picking it apart. Sounds like a winner.

 

[auspipe]

Lots of good reports for this and the price is right. Just placed an order at 4noggins for a tin of this, orlik golden sliced and 2oz of Catamount.

Got to love the Macbaren blends for value.

 

[ram74]

Has anyone compared the tin version to the bulk? I recently bought a tin and it is great; almost sticky and burns perfect. I was thinking of buying an 8oz bag.

 

[hfearly]

I have to admit that I'm quite fond of Mac Baren HH Vintage Syrian. It's unfortunate that Syrian latakia is so rare to find as it seems to be a slightly smoother smoke than its Cypriot cousin.

Oh it absolutely is. Let me elaborate
For one, it's a different leaf varietal (Shekk-El-Bint) versus the Cyprian which is a descendant of Turkish (Smyrna).
Second, Cyprian Latakia is harvested from the top leafs which are low in sugar and high in Nicotine, while Syrian is harvested from a much smaller plant due to the less rich mountain soil, and is not topped.
Third, Cyprian Latakia is first sun cured for about 14-20 days and then fire cured over a mixture of woods (MASTIC: 90%, MYRTLE: 4 %, STONE PINE: 4 %, CYPRESS: 1%, KONISON : 1%) for about 20-30 days.
Syrian Latakia is dried in the shade (hung between trees)for 14-20 days and then fire cured over a different, more fragrant mix of woods (PINE Aleppo pine 70%, OAK Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) and Vallones oak 15%, SHRUB/HERBS Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), Cilician fir (Abies cilicica) and juniper (Juniperus excelsa) 15%) for 60-90 days (much longer than Cyprian!), and thus retains a much more floral, resinous, incense-like taste.
Fourth, the smoking huts for Cyprian are larger, and had a much larger fire pit than for Syrian, thus most likely also creating more heat, and adding more smoke.

 

[misterlowercase]

Awesome info hfearly!
Thank you.

::

 

[hfearly]

Video on the HH series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U04iyB57xx8

 

[judcole]

Has anyone compared the tin version to the bulk? I recently bought a tin and it is great; almost sticky and burns perfect. I was thinking of buying an 8oz bag.

I've smoked both. Same stuff. You can't buy an 8 ounce bag, AFAIK, just by the pound.

 

[easterntraveler]

I normally buy it in the 8oz bag. I have atleast 4 pounds now. It smokes, burns, and stores great.

 

[ram74]

Yeah my bad, I see the bag is one pound. Quite the deal for a pound.

 

[ram74]

You know buying a tin of HH Vintage Syrian has gotten me on a Syrian binge! I have ordered 8 other blends that contain Syrian. Currently enjoying a bowl of McClelland Wilderness. Too bad G.L Pease does not have access to Syrian Latakia. They would be able to make great blends with it. Syrian Latakia is really enjoyable. I am going to stock up before it is all gone but I wonder how it will hold up over time since it is aged and has not been produced for years? 5-10 years from now will it lose it oomph?

 

[sparroa]

My personal experience confirms that latakia mellows - either that or my taste buds are completely shot...
The latakia blend you cellar today WILL NOT be the same in one year, let alone five.
Keep that in mind with any aging experiments featuring latakia.
Tins that are hititng 2-3 years old might be a bit long in the tooth for someone who prefers the fresher, smokier side of latakia tobacco...

 

[lordnoble]

Thanks, hfearly for the info. I knew they were different plants, but I didn't realize just how different they were based on cultivation, curing, and processing.
-Jason

 

[hfearly]

I'm still hoping some US company will eventually take up the "traditional" process of creating Syrian Latakia. It might not be exactly the same (soil conditions/climate/seed mutation), but they might come reasonably close to the original, which would already be a big hit of the jackpot with regards to preserving our pipe smoking enjoyment

 

[auspipe]

Really like this MacBaren HH VS. It has been a good change after finishing tin of nightcap and it is definately on par if not better.

 

[cjshelton875]

Hello, I purchased a tin of HH Vintage Syrian just about 2 wks ago, it just arrived, I took one smoke and couldn't finish it. I thought it awful. Would anyone want to trade for something?

 

[cjshelton875]

Didn't know I wasn't aloud to trade on here, but if you want to PM me that is cool.

 

[mustanggt]

This, as with all HH series, are outstanding tobaccos. If I had to smoke only one blend with latakia in it, it would be this no quesiton.