What Is Mac Baron Golden Extra Like?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

Wellington

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 31, 2012
531
576
Burley with a bit of virginia, sounds like most OTC's, is it like Carter Hall/ Half and Half? Anyone here smoked it?
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
70,450
810,469
Here's my review of it if it'll help:

The burleys offer earth, wood, nuts with light sharp notes, molasses and a moderately more obvious chocolate as the lead component. The Virginia provides a bit of grass, tart and tangy citrus, and light bread and sugar as a secondary player. It acts mainly as a cooling base to contrast and smooth out the burleys. The light honey comes from the Virginia. The chocolate and sugar toppings tone down the tobaccos just a little. The strength is mild, and the taste is a couple of steps past that mark. Has very little nicotine. It needs to be puffed moderately to avoid a slight warmness to the tongue, but it won't bite. Has a few minute rough edges. Burns fairly cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent flavor. Leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. An uncomplicated all day smoke that does the job you require with a short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. Three and a half stars out of four.
 
Jul 28, 2016
8,594
52,821
Finland-Scandinavia-EU
Pretty nice uncomplicated blend ,slow burning burley blend with moderate strength I like this better than that of Symphony/Harmony which if I understand right, is supposed to contain some black cavendish , the strength is about the same, both these are Mc Baren basic tobaccies which been around for decades now ,and are still popular at least here in the old continent
 

troyniss

Can't Leave
Jul 8, 2018
473
1,256
Michigan
I think I'll have a bowl of this later tonight. I've been working through burley blends lately and have really come to liking them. Had some NewMinster Light Burley last night and it was a great smoke.

I'll have to compare the two. I've only smoked but one bowl of Golden Extra.

I can however say that NewMinster Light Burley is just that. Not a huge presence of the typical cocoa and nutty flavors, but it's there "enough". Light on the nicotine too. It's like Budweiser 55 of the burley genre.
 

mikefu

Lifer
Mar 28, 2018
1,976
10,383
Green Bay
I like Golden Extra quite a lot. Solid Golden Grahams sort of flavor with some nutty chocolate in there. I do prefer Burley London to it, as I like the extra chocolate and the extra rough edges And strength that it has. If I were to choose one of the McB codger style Burleys I’d have to pick Symphony though. It has a bit of smoky spiciness that the Extra and London don’t have, I reckon from the dark cavendish, a la Dark Twist. I really like the nuance there that Extra and BLB don’t have. But I’d still take any of the three to smoke on a desert island. All top notch.
 

Casual

Lifer
Oct 3, 2019
2,579
9,317
NL, CA
This thread prompted me to pull out my jar of golden extra. It’s such an unpretentious smoke.

A bit of mild nutty burley flavour, and the same with the Virginia. Any topping is quite mild. A bit sweet, but it doesn’t taste sweetened. There aren’t strong flavours from perique or Latakia to take it over. The pressing has melded the flavours so you don’t get pockets of one leaf after another.

I tend to like old blends (like Golden Extra, Scottish Mixture, and Symphony) that were designed in an era when one smoked throughout the whole day and wanted a consistent, unchallenging, pleasant experience. Many modern, more extreme blends remind me of the bitter, hoppy IPAs that seem all the rage these days. More of a dare than a pastime.

If the tobaccopalypse left one with only a few old Mac Baren blends, one would be deprived only of novelty, not of substance.
 

BROBS

Lifer
Nov 13, 2019
11,765
39,863
IA
I tend to like old blends (like Golden Extra, Scottish Mixture, and Symphony) that were designed in an era when one smoked throughout the whole day and wanted a consistent, unchallenging, pleasant experience. Many modern, more extreme blends remind me of the bitter, hoppy IPAs that seem all the rage these days. More of a dare than a pastime.
well put.
there's a reason a lot of these Mac Baren blends have been around since the 50's and it's not because they suck. ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.