Sorry I'm so late to the game here, but I was called on very short notice for a couple of out-of-state jobs that I couldn't turn down, and I'm only home for the weekend as it turns out there is more work lined up --- I don't own any portable electronic devices so when I'm not at home I'm totally offline.
Anyway,
I was very excited when ODF first came out because I love Vaburs and especially darkfired Kentucky, and reading the blurb that said Mac Baren was making it according to the "English tradition" made me even more excited!
And it was a huge hit in N. America, so much so that the demand could barely be met --- Mac Baren actually delayed the worldwide release and diverted the stock over here to satisfy the intense demand.
Pretty amazing!
How they called it an English blend caused some confusion because in N. America we're used to using that term to indicate Lat blends, so just think of it as a traditional British style tobacco and it's easier to grasp the concept.
Mac Baren went above and beyond when developing this particular blend, going to the great lengths of acquiring some steam-jacketed presses from England and importing them back to Denmark --- and I'm sure those presses will play a role in future releases as well...
...perhaps when they finally make a plug it'll be with the magic of SJpresses,
http://mac-baren.com/forum/f/1-pipe-tobacco/t/49-mac-baren-tobacco-plug
The use of SJpresses in England go back as far as at least 1874,
here's a short article from 1878 which gives a good mental picture:
The Meadow Foundry Co. Improved Tobacco Press
This pic from a Wills brochure circa 1934 shows what a SJpress looks like:
In an interview with Pipes&Tobaccos magazine Spring 2012 issue, Frank Blews of Mac Baren said some things which are worth quoting here in excerpt:
"Mac Baren is a great company to work with. This is a tobacco company. Tobacco people make decisions here, not some financial person who doesn't know anything except for bottom lines..."
...and that's true I think, especially in regards to doing something right.
The beancounters at Imperial only seemed to have the bottom line in mind when they reintroduced 3N, although Mac Baren makes it for them, they have to make it to Imperial's specification, and Imperial chose the late version recipe which excludes Perique due to cost concerns, Perique is expensive, but without it I'd say 3N ain't really 3N --- it shouldn't say Bell's on the tin because the current recipe deviates too far astray from J&F Bell's original formula for the blend, but Imperial doesn't care.
Rant over.
Here's a bit more from the same interview:
" I have been involved in tobacco manufacturing around the world -- there are different processes throughout, although the tobacco itself may be the same. The English-style manufacturing process in general uses steam presses, which were predominantly used only in the United Kingdom, and many (if not most) of those old English tobacco houses are gone now."
"The project on our plate is to come out with a brand of tobacco made in the English style -- whether it be a readyrubbed or a cake -- made to the standards of the old-time English tobaccos from the 1940's and 1950's. This is a process of understanding history and manufacturing and then looking at products that were manufactured at that time and seeing what we could do to make that product properly today."
"Even if the English-style tobacco was a 1,000 percent hit, you're still talking about 2 to 3 percent of the total U.S. market. What influence would that really be except to say that we're able to produce that tobacco and distribute it worldwide."
"While most of the other tobacco companies look at the entire pipe tobacco market as an unprofitable niche that's more trouble than it's worth, Mac Baren's personnel are so dedicated to their tasks that they get excited about filling the niches in that niche market. They are, by and large, pipe tobacco geeks who eagerly seek new ways of expressing their professionalism and expertise one puff at a time."
"I'm just one little tobacco peddler in the U.S." he explains. "Only real tobacco people can see the long-term benefit of what we are asking them to do today. A new upstart business or a tobacco business that's run by finance people wouldn't do it."
Per Jensen from MB sometimes posts here on the forums and that also shows their enthusiast streak, that they're actually listening and responding is a great thing indeed, in an old post he said this about ODF:
First of all the tobaccos in the HH line is made under a quite different concept than all other Mac Baren tobaccos. This concept is of purity and as natural as we possibly can make the tobacco. This means that only a few things are added to the tobacco as a slight casing, and no top flavor at all. One of the few things added are vinegar, which is used for taste but also as a preservative.
Damn long preamble there, apologies for the length.
Finally now I can offer my impressions. I like the idea of this thread because it'll help me refine my reviewing skillz which are next to nil, but by reading and attempting I hope to get a better grip on the whole process.
The tin nose note of ODF smelled of barbeque mixed with worcestershire sauce and very much reminded me of how the current iteration of St. Bruno smells in the pouch.
The tin I'm smoking is from March 2012 and I can say that it ages very well --- I smoked some when I first got it from the same batch when it was only a couple of months old and it had an astringent sting on retrohale and the spicy elements were very much at the forefront --- after a couple of years it smooths out, both by losing the astringent sting and the spiciness is more subdued.
Like many VaBurs, it ain't exactly what you'd call complex, but it offers a solid flavor profile consistently down the bowl and not really changing too much. I get a woodsy barbeque taste and I love it. The room note smells just like it tastes to me.
I'd say it's a medium strength, but the body or mouthfeel is a bit mild, I would like it much more if it had a thick dense body.
In a way it reminds me almost of St. Bruno without the famous topping, and this makes sense because St. Bruno pretty much had the same base ingredients --- I think if MB offred ODF or something similar with a topnote flavoring it would be most excellent, especially if it was a dark fruit flavor.
Overall, I love ODF and I'm glad it's available.
It definitely fills a certain niche.
