Mac Baren Golden Dice

The cut of this tobacco blend really isn't all that unusual, but cubed Virginia? That's certainly different. The black cavendish is also chunky in nature. The best way to pack Mac Dice is to just gravity feed it into the bowl and then press very lightly before firing up.

The flavor sensation will not knock you over, but will address itself as a light, quality blend worthy of attention. One bowl can easily be an all day smoke if the smoker sips slowly. I can't recall smoking a slower burning blend.

I found the taste to be similar to Club Blend, but not nearly as intense.

Well, for sure Golden Dice has not met so great success in the Mac Baren family. I don't know if it's really discontinued or not, while I'm sure that it's very hard to find at any local tobacconist.

For sure GD belongs to the family of the Modern Cavendish. A blend of cubed Virginia and loose BC. Not easy to load into the pipe, and I agree that it needs gravity fill and light tamper. It's bit dry in the modern cardboard pouch, but it doesn't burn hot nor steamy. Better in medium-large bowls and greater.

It offers a mild to mild-to-medium smoke with traces of vanilla, caramel and fruit. Faintly sweet, leaves a nice tongue feel. Slightly piquant to the nose, no great aromas offered, some sweet smokiness. At mid bowl I experience some sensation of anise & liquorice.

GD is nothing to write home, but also nothing to toss. I guess this kind of blend works fine for the morning pipe of who likes everything is mild in his pipeful. Something to taste once in a while.

A friend gave me this tobacco. I usually don?t buy Mac Baren blends because I find them a little on the mild side, a sure sign of eventual tongue bite. Golden Dice comes in a ridged cardboard pouch, quite original, lined with a kind of golden metallic paper. Once the seal is carefully broken, the tobacco inside presents some interesting characteristics. By no means it?s a ribbon cut blend. It comprises wild or rough cut chunks of typical Danish Black Cavendish (probably Virginia), and small cube cut golden Burleys. The tobacco is moist, but not goopy, and heavily cased with a nutty vanilla essence.

The aroma is nice: sweet and fruity, but not exceedingly so. It is difficult to pack, especially in small bowl pipes. After a number of trials?in which I clogged the bowl?I finally got it right. Lightening was a bit of a problem. The initial puffs surprisingly reveal a very cool smoke (cube cut Burleys?), tasty but not especially sweet. The aroma is only moderately present in the flavour, which turns out to be very, very mild and smooth. There really is nothing complex about Golden Dice. As one progresses through the bowl, there are no surprises: a palatable Burley & Black Cavendish blend, simple and nice.

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By the end of the bowl, however, the sweetness of the Black Cavendish is more noticeable and if you are not used to aromatics, it can become rather syrupy or sugary, saturating your taste buds. One good thing: no tongue bite!, and the room aroma is very pleasant, even to non smokers. I wouldn?t mind smoking it every now and then, but perhaps it is best suited for those that want to take up a pipe. A very good introduction to aromatics.

It has been discontinued and I can see why. As with Danish Truffles and Truffles Mix of Stanwell, this cube cut does not sem to burn well... One would have to rub and shred the pieces to make it work. The aroma is okay, reminiscent of plums mixed with nougat caramel, but it burns hot and has almost no taste. I will not miss it.

The sole redeming quality of this tobacco is the attractive presentation, both the gold pouch and the pretty gold cubes contrasting against the black cavendish. This is, by far, the most tasteless tobacco I've tried. No aroma, no burley flavor, no VA flavor, no topping flavor, no sweetness, no bitterness, nothing. Golden Dice came out of the pouch pretty dry, so maybe you could puff it up really hot and get some bite out of it and call that flavor. If you have a fake fireplace DVD that you like to watch, then this is the perfect tobacco to smoke while you pretend that you are sitting next to the fire. Sip a glass of amber-tinted water and pretend it's brandy, too.

Well, this was one of those tobaccos which I picked up not knowing anything about it except that it was by MacBaren and I tend to really like MacBaren products, so buying the $3.50 packet was a no-brainer. I must say that at the time I was deeply obsessed with virginia flakes and so the type of tobacco more than it's quality was off-putting at the time, I think I smoked one bowl and put it away, concentrating instead on the orchestral ebon majesty of Dark Star...However, I've been revisiting some of the aromatics recently, and I found this lurking around the other day, completely dried out in it's funky cardboard wallet, and I figured "What the hell...". After a little delicate reconstituting with distilled h20 (I consider the fact that it actually dried out at all to be a good sign--no PG) I tucked it into my coat pocket along with a no-name billiard/chimney knockabout pipe and went about my day. My first smoke was in the morning outdoors waiting for a train in a fairly stiff breeze but out of the direct wind, and I must admit that I was rather suprised by it's mildness and lack of flavor. Unfortunately I only had time for half of the bowl before I had to do the old knock out and board the train. Later, after dinner, I decided to give it another try, this time in a nicely broken in cob in which I usually smoke "domestic" burley. On first light there is the unmistakable aroma of vanilla, but not cloying or hot, plus a bit of the grassyness of the virginia. As the bowl progresses, there is a subtle melding of flavors and I swear that at one point there is almost a sort of chocolatey spicey thing going on that reminds me of chai tea. This is a silky smooth smoke that tempts you to inhale. The virginia starts to really come into it's own at this point about half way in as it starts to get stoved by the heat of the fluffy burning cavendish, and this blend definately benefits from judicious tamping to keep the burn layer tight enough to burn through the virginia chunks and not leave them lying on the surface. Towards the end of the bowl, though, I was a bit disappointed as the flavors so prominent in the first two-thirds fade away and the whole thing becomes a bit bland and somewhat ashy. To be honest, I knocked it out at this point, not wanting to ruin the experience. No bite at all, making it a good tobacco for the beginnner, in my opinion. Generally, the room note is pleasant (as per resident tobacco-hating female) and as someone mentioned earlier, this would make an excellent "party alternative" to Captain Black as I can't see it being offensive to anyone. I'll probably try and smoke a bit more of this over the next few days because I felt that the quality of the leaf was excellent and it was an enjoyable, easy smoke. Could be a decent all day smoke if this type of tobacco was to your liking exclusively. All in all, this is a mild aromatic type tobacco without the goop and bite typical of the genre. As always, MacBarens tobacco is of high quality, and the actual consistency of the tobacco is unique (oh, be sure to follow the instructions and MIX WELL before using). This blend very much reminds me of Stokkebyes Optimum Bulk in some ways.

I'd recommend it for what it is: a quality leaf aromatic type without the PG, smokable and well packaged as well as relatively inexpensive.

This tobacco is so extremely mild, that it is boring, kinda like smoking air. If you want a super extra mild smoke this one is it.

It is traveling at in the same vain as the Mc's Original Choice. Except this one is taste flatter, harder to stay lite, wierd to fit these little cubes into the bowl, less attractive room note. I'll stick to Original Choice for social smoke anyday.

I have only smoked a couple of bowls of this brand, however, I've been very pleased and anticipate smoking much more of it in the future. This may well become my "all day brand" as it is very easy to smoke, and, while it is not the most complex or "dynamic" smoke, it certainly stays consistent and flavorful throughout. Yes, it's on the mild side but, if you're like me and don't want to be inebriated with nicotine, then this may be worth a try.

I came across this tobacco after seeing it in my local cigar & pipe store and then looking it up at various commercial and "review" websites, including this one. My tastes tend more towards woodsy, tobacco-y and meaty/subtley sweet smoke, so I was initially intrigued by the ad copy that described this tobacco as "bite-free" and "natural Virginia" flavored. While I do enjoy experimenting with different varieties, I prefer a "low-maintenence" smoke and usually puff away mindlessly. Needless to say, I lose interest in tobacco that bites or requires a lot of re-lighting or clogs easily through wetness.

I have tried various McClelland blends in the past, as I found their all natural virginia tobaccos very appealing. However, this MacBaren's brand has some of that naturallness but without the tendency to bite or clog. So far, I've found this brand to be very resiliant to my (sometimes) careless packing & tamping and my need for a good, solid all-day, all-purpose smoke that won't knock me down with overly strong nicotine (like burleys!!) and give me night sweats!

Do yourself a favor - ignore the "beginner's" tobacco label...I think MacBaren's have created a good, all-around smoke that deserves to be enjoyed by even experienced smokers who just happen to be looking for a nice mild smoke.

Enjoy!

I fail to understand why legions of party goers force themelves to endure Captain Black in order to puff a pipe without horrifying the other guests. Perhaps tis the "chick pull" factor. None the less, GD is superior in every way. Smells great, tastes good and you can find it everywhere. Yes, it is very mild and yes it is lightly flavored, but a change of pace is good for anyone. Recommended for any type of smoker.