Mac Baren Mixture: Scottish Blend

Because it's a complex medium blend aromatic with a variety of flavors, I had to smoke a lot of it before gauging how to describe this one. Sometimes, the spicy, woody, earthy, lightly nutty Kentucky in the blend is more evident than other times, but no matter how present it is or isn't, it relays that spice note that contrasts nicely with creamy flavors. I don't know what kind of liquor topping it has, but it's pleasant and compliments the mild sweetness of the blend with fruit and sugar toppings. The burley is a little nutty with a mild earthy, woody and molasses touch as a supporting player. The Virginia is mildly tart and tangy citrusy, grassy, earthy and woodsy, and creates a solid base for the other flavors. In the background is the matured Virginia, which adds a little fermented lightly sugary tangy dark fruit, wood and earth. The sugary black cavendish helps tame a few of rough edges in a small way. The gold cavendish hints of a mildly sweet honey taste that works well with the topping as a condiment. The nic-hit is a couple slots past the mild mark. The strength is a step past the center of mild to medium, and the taste level barely touches the medium threshold. Often, one bowlful will taste a little different from another and vary during a smoke -especially in a big bowl - but that's due to how you pack it, and whether or not one component is more present in your pipe than other times. Needs to smoked at a slow pace as fast puffing may result in some tongue bite. Burns fairly cool and very clean at a reasonable pace. Requires few relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. Has a pleasant room note, and a lightly lingering after taste. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Dear Pipe Smokers, my name is Mark ... and I am a pipe tobacco fanatic.

When I say my cupboards contain over a hundred different pipe tobaccos, I'm not bragging. I've been at this hobby for a long time. Things just accumulate. No wizardry involved.

I can honestly say that I LOVE all these tobaccos. But one of them--and only one--holds a special place.

Every once in a while I go on a Mac Baren Mixture binge. I'm on one right now. For a solid month or two I smoke nothing but Mixture Scottish Blend. It's the only tobacco I can do this with.

Mixture is the perfect pipe tobacco for me. It smokes well in every single pipe I own. No other blend can make that claim.

Having smoked 10,000 or so bowls of Mixture thus far in my lifetime, I've finally been able to narrow down why I like it so much. Basically, it's the complexity of the flavor and aroma combined with perfect balance. No attribute of Mixture is either too little or too much. Which means that it wears well over time. I never regret lighting up a bowl, day or night.

For me, the foundation of Mixture is the Virginia, which gives it a fresh mellow character and mouth-filling flavor. The Burley adds depth, with all the roasted nut, cocoa, and chocolate notes you read about. Finally the dark-fired Kentucky, which wafts in and out over time, punctuates everything with an intriguing, mysterious spice.

These Mixture binges are profoundly relaxing. Day after day I simply work my way from one end of the pipe rack to the other. Each time taking a single clump of tobacco from the tin and loosely twisting it into the bowl. Two quick lights bring it to a slow, steady, fragrant smolder. What could be simpler?

The room note is heavenly when it burns slowly and coolly. Per Jensen summed it up perfectly: pipe smoking is all about temperature. It took me decades to fully appreciate this bit of wisdom, but no truer words have ever been spoken when it comes to the enjoyment of pipe tobacco.

Danish style, temperature is everything, learn to smoke it.

Mixture is good. If you don't know how to smoke a Danish tobacco, it is probably going give you trouble at first. Plain and simple. Stop pulling for flavor. Slow down. Learn how to moderate the temperature of your ember. If you do not do these things, Mixture will bite, taste like rolling tobacco, and overheat your pipe. If you can learn to smoke Mixture, it will open for you, stop biting, amaze you with a complex merry-go-round of interesting flavors, smell fantastic enough to make locals smile guiltily, and run perfectly cool for long, unchallenging, delightful pipes. Mixture is a social blend because of its great aroma and the fact that it smolders unobtrusively. You won't be the person billowing clouds of dense white fog into the room, with Mixture in your pipe. Yet it still tastes fantastic and rich. The quality is very high in presentation, appearance, feel, and taste. These things are the basis of the Danish tobacco style. Delicious, classy, unobtrusive. Mixture nails it.

I keep reading these reviewers who have marched out and purchased a tin of Mixture, tried to smoke the hell out of it, hated it, and then marched back here to rate it poorly, usually with some pointless jab at "Aromatics" and Danish-style tobacco in general, and explain with delight about how they have dumped it into the garbage, as if to exact some backwards revenge on Mac Baren. That is ridiculous. Welcome to the internet.

Here's a check, before you dive in: If you are looking for a head swimming nicotine experience, Mixture is not your answer. If you want fuming, blatant flavor intensity, Mixture is not your answer. If you have no idea how to smoke Danish tobacco, even though you've smoked everything else and consider yourself quite well versed, but you do not hold any interest in learning a new cadence, then Mixture is not your answer. Mixture is not for the impatient. Mixture IS a great and rewarding blend that deserves much respect and delivers a ton of enjoyment. It will love and sweeten any pipe that you dedicate to it. I have a Peterson's Flame Grain XL02 dedicated to Mixture and it's the happiest pipe that I own. That pipe smells amazing because it smokes Mixture for a living. I usually smoke much heavier and stronger tobaccos, but Mixture is always a favorite change of pace and one of my all-time favorite blends, in general.

It does get richer towards the end; right now, I'm getting a deep plumb-y semi-sweet flavor with lots of pepper in my nose and a quick woody finish as I coax it through the heel of the plug.

The toe-dip reviewers make the ratings on this site irrelevant, imo.

Cheers and many happy pipes.

***Note: I have already reviewed this blend, but when the changes were made here at tobaccoreviews, my name somehow was removed from my review below (is there a conspiracy going on? LOL!) Anyway, this is simply a cut/paste job.***

Mac Baren's Scottish Blend is totally different than what one might expect -- unless of course, you are familiar with Danish tobacco blenders. If, for instance, you have tried McCranie's Murdock's Pipe, which is touted as a Scottish blend, and then sampled this one expecting a similar taste sensation -- well, you are going to receive a surprise. Murdock's Pipe has Latakia and Oriental tobaccos located within the blend. You will find neither here. Scottish Blend is a typical Mac Baren in that it is sweet smelling when you open the tin, and sweet tasting upon lighting. The flavor here is delightful, but keep that puffing rythem down or you will get tongue blisters. Unlike most other Mac Baren blends, this one actually has several layers of differing flavors as you work your way down the bowl. I found this to be a nice change of pace tobacco, but it is far too mild for me to consider it as regular fare.

The tobacco in the tin smells of honey. There are a few chunks of mostly rubbed out flake, but most of it is ribbon. Moisture level was very good. My tin was 12 months old according to the date on the back of the tin.

Smoked, I get a remarkably good VA/Bur with subtle citrus and honey flavors. The topping is mild, and the tobaccos themselves sing. It smoked cool for me and was easy to keep lit. There is a creamy quality to the smoke that is very pleasing. This is not an "in your face" blend, but more of a pleasant smoke that would be easy to have in the pipe all day. It is described as an aromatic, but it is only mildly aromatic.

This one is a sleeper. I have never paid any attention to it before and am very glad I tried it. The description on SmokingPipes says it is one of the best selling blends in the world, and I can believe it. It comes at a great price point. I think everyone should try this.

My dad turned me on to this blend recently and boy am i glad he did. Neither of us are big on aromatics and we both tend to prefer Latakia blends. This is the only cavendish blend that he likes, and now I know why. In short, this is one of the most complex and interesting blends I have ever had the pleasure of smoking!

It smells sweet and earthy from the tin with the top dressing showing itself a bit. The cut is a combination of ready rubbed Virginia and ribbon cut burley and Cavendish. I like to break up the ready rubbed Virginia just a little to aid in packing. It packs easily and tastes amazing if packed just right, but it is very unforgiving if packed too tightly.

This blend is like a chameleon throughout the bowl. It changes character every few puffs and different flavors jump out, sometimes just for a second. At different times throughout a single bowl I've tasted flavors verging on: citrus, chocolate, caramel, licorice, ice cream sandwich, snickers bar, and I swear I tasted Latakia, but that was probably the dark fired Kentucky.

This is a must have blend for me and will have a permanent spot in my rotation from now on. If you're on the fence about whether to try it or not, get an ounce or two in bulk for a few bucks and give it a whirl.

This is my go to blend. It never gets boring and burns great. Just stuff a few ready rubbed pieces in the pipe and light up. No bite, if smoked slowly. Only then the flavors really shines. Smoke it hot and the smoke will become bitter and burn your mouth.

I have read some of the other negative reviews concerning this tobacco, and I think the main problem, people have with it, besides a different taste, is the packing. If you pack to tightly, the tobacco will burn hot and without taste. It needs a little space to expand and develop, so keep the draw slightly open.

I received my first tin of this as a Xmas present. The first Xmas I had after meeting my wife she gave me one of this as well as a tin of Irish whisky. Myself being of Scottish descent, and her being of Irish she felt it was somewhat symbolic I think. I thanked her for it and it was appreciated. I came to like it so much it became my daily for about 6 months.

When I opened the tin, I was greeted by a wave of heavenly aroma. Sweet, earthy goodness. Hay, a good amount of raw clover honey and something almost like wildflowers or maybe just a open 20+ acre field in the springtime. Removing the paper top, the smell intensified. This is what an aromatic should be in my opinion. The presentation in the tin is wonderful. This being my first ready rubbed mixture, I had never seen something like before. Chunks of folded tobacco with streaks of browns, black and pale yellows. Little ovoid spots like birds eyes in wood grain here and there.

I first tried to just basically stuff into my pipe a fire away. This was a very serious mistake. It smelled great, unfortunately the burn was so bad I didn't get the chance to enjoy the flavor. I couldn't smoke again for nearly two days after! I tried it in every pipe I had at the time. It gave the same results mostly. In a cob it worked out so I could taste it. It IS delicious. It took me awhile to figure out that I had to smoke this slowly.

It has a wide range of flavors to it. It tastes like tobacco as well as whatever they may have put into it. The real magic to it is the marriage of the various tobaccos coming together in harmony. I can say that the most dominate taste to it is honey. It is a most sophisticated smoke in that it has impressive depth for an aromatic.

On the other hand... This is not what I would call an aromatic. It is neither what I would call a Scottish. It's like a crazy girl you can't seem to stop dating. Some manner of an identity crisis, and seems to love hurting you. Also she's smokin hot, very pretty and smells great every time you see her. She's so inviting, but if you come on too strong she leads you on and then gives you blue balls. You end up having to ignore her a bit when you're together. You have to let her come to you, and then you get the sweet, loving side to come out.

I would most definitely recommend this to an experienced smoker who can take the time to treat it right. Not something that would play out well for someone new to the art. It does have a decent nic content to it. It mans up a bit in the second half of the smoke. This is one of my favorite blends.

Boy, is this tobacco a vicious cycle for me. The thing is I really like the flavor, I like it a lot. I like the packaging, I like the aroma, I like the cut, I like almost everything about this blend. The thing I don't like about this blend is the fact that it makes my mouth feel like I have been chewing on glass. Talk about bite. I am not a person that is usually very susceptible to tongue bite, but something about this blend just does not agree with my body chemistry.

I have read somewhere that this is one of, if not the most sold pipe tobacco blends in the world. If this is true I can understand why. Quality product, great taste and pretty light and smooth. I feel any pipe smoker at any level can enjoy this blend, if it does not remove the inner lining of their mouth like it does mine.

Every year or so I say to myself "gee, I really like the taste of that Scottish blend, and even though last time smoking it was akin to corporal punishment, it has aged another year and it has probably mellowed and become as gentle as a lamb" I then proceed to light up a bowl and have my gaping maw feel like the bowels of hell.

If you can smoke it, you will most certainly enjoy it, but don't buy a pound of this innocuous little blend until you have given it a test run first.

Mac Baren's Scottish Blend is totally different than what one might expect -- unless of course, you are familiar with Danish tobacco blenders. If, for instance, you have tried McCranie's Murdock's Pipe, which is touted as a Scottish blend, and then sampled this one expecting a similar taste sensation -- well, you are going to receive a surprise. Murdock's Pipe has Latakia and Oriental tobaccos located within the blend. You will find neither here. Scottish Blend is a typical Mac Baren in that it is sweet smelling when you open the tin, and sweet tasting upon lighting. The flavor here is delightful, but keep that puffing rythem down or you will get tongue blisters. Unlike most other Mac Baren blends, this one actually has several layers of differing flavors as you work your way down the bowl. I found this to be a nice change of pace tobacco, but it is far too mild for me to consider it as regular fare.

If you are a slow puffer and like a little flavoring in your tobacco, this MacBaren blend may be a home run for you. I couldn't make it past 2nd base.