Mac Baren - HH Old Dark Fired pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 39 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
nitekrawlr	05/18/2013	Medium	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
MMMMMM.....MacBaren. Another high quality offering from MacBaren. Best smoked in long, slow puffs, to appreciate the nutty flavor of the high quality Burley tobacco. Similar in nic level to MacB's Navy Flake (still my favorite), as it gives me the hiccup's, indicative of a good nic hit......enjoy.
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Yorgo	05/13/2013	Medium to Strong	Strong	Very Full	Pleasant
This is a review for a tin with a manufacturing date of “Nov 2012”. First, I am a non-apologetic burleyphile and was curious to try a blend incorporating the dark-fired variety. The tobacco smells like vinegary raisins with a very faint wood smoke aroma (reminded me of Jack Daniel’s) that disappears after the first 10 seconds of opening the tin. A cayenne pepper tingle takes over your mouth and nose at first light. Although this blend is not supposed to contain perique, it wouldn’t be the first time a blender keeps some ingredients undisclosed…. This “perique-like-peppery-wanna-sneeze” sensation disappears after a while letting loose the strong Virginia flavor. The Virginias dominate throughout the first half of the bowl. So much so that I was starting to think that someone at MacBaren screwed up and put some Acadian Perique in the wrong tin… Then, towards the end of the bowl (just when the nicotine kicks in), appears an earthy clove flavor which I presume is the dark-fired. Unfortunately, just as this spicy aroma makes its appearance, so does an ammonia aftertaste on the exhales. To be fair, ODF is made with good quality tobaccos but “where´s the burley?”. The blend is called ODF so why aren´t the burley´s up front instead of being used as spice??? I guess I was hoping for a Bur/Va instead of a Va/Bur. I also love the cigarish room note (Insert comment using the word “wife” HERE). As a side note, after seeing the YouTube video on the making of ODF http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U04iyB57xx8 and the fact that Mac Baren´s HH series is, in part, dependent on its limited stash of vintage dark-fired burleys (it may even have less than its Syrian Latakia!) one is left wondering that perhaps the dark-fired leaves are being “stretched” and the blends are slowly being diluted. It would be interesting to compare early tins with these latest ones. I will now buy and smoke some pure dark-fired burley and verify if it´s my palate or perhaps the Virginias are too overpowering for moi. UPDATE: I just smoked another folded flake in a cob and WOW, burley city! So what gives with this stuff??? My only explanation for such a turnaround in flavor is that, perhaps, the pressed cakes were not as homogenized as one would wish and my first flakes were Virginia-rich. So mea culpa for being such a conspiracy theorist. Will definitely be getting more if the following flakes tastes like this one. Will overlook the ammonia hoping it’s a natural byproduct of the leaves. 4 stars ****
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Phantom55	05/03/2013	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is the first MacB tobacco I have been able to enjoy. Doesn't seem to have the house casing, which bites the daylights out of me. A nice dark flake of medium body and strength. I rub it out and don't dry it at all. No problems with lighting, or keeping lit. Nicotine not particlarly strong to me. Has the typical smokey flavor of a dark fired Kentucky. Kind of a letup version of GH Kendal Kentucky. I'll keep some around, but prefer the Kendal Kentucky for a regular smoke.
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Hurrian	04/27/2013	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

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SmokeKing David	04/23/2013	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This is a pretty stout flake. Yet it seems, to me, more sophisticated than similar blends/flakes such as Jack Knife. I find more nuances in HH than I do in Jack K. Despite its strength, it does not bite. This stays lit really well, too. I like most MacBaren blends, so it probably is no surprise that I give this four stars, though three and a half is what I would give this if I could. Govern Yourself Accordingly.
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jacques1960	04/21/2013	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
As others have written, Mac Baren has fallen short of its promise many, many times. HH Old Dark Fired is a notable exception. This reminds us of what they are capable of delivering, among the best conceived and executed tobaccos available. Anywhere. Huzzah !
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manno	04/20/2013	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I've had a few tins of ODF and it is a consistent and excellent product. Well cured, well blended, well cut and, well, very enjoyable. Packs and burns with ease and to my most important criterion, totally satisfying. I love the taste that seems to swirl around in my mouth between sips and puffs, and the fabulous aftertaste (if that word can be used to connote an asset and not a liability). This tobacco is why I have smoked a pipe for so long now. ODF, and feel free to laugh, makes you feel like a man (and not in the "I just set the record for consuming a gallon of habenero sauce in 6 minutes and now I'm going to puke" kind of way. Along with a few other HH offerings (Mature Virginia comes to mind) MacBaren has come in from the cold and raised the bar. Good for them (and us).
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Pipeliner	04/06/2013	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I`m really surprised about Mac Baren. With the Old Dark Fired present MB an absolutly unusual product. But let me say, it is really a very nice surprise. The look of the Old Dark Fired is really great, dark stoved Virgina Flakes cut accurately. The pipe is easily to pack with and the taste is creamy, malty without any tongue bite or sharpness. The taste is not complex but the taste is constand till the end of the pipe.The Old Dark Fired is in my opinion not as strong and more creamy as the Ilsted Dark Fired Plug. But both tobaccos presenting the same kind of taste. Personally smoke not much such kind of tobaccos only sometimes, but when I smoke the Old Dark Fired I always enjoy this tobacco. Only 3 stars from me,because I`m not a fervent admirer of such tobaccos.
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Roy Odhner	03/03/2013	Strong	None detected	Very Full	Strong
If you like the full, rich flavor of Peterson Irish Flake but find the Vitamin N content just too dang strong for your candy azz (like I do), then this just might be the blend for you. Upon opening the tin, you nose will be greeted by the smell of sweet BBQ sauce... much like when you open a tin of McClelland tobacco. I find that the flakes need to be dried for about 15 minutes or so. The fold and stuff method doesn't really work for me, so I just fully rib them out and then fill the pipe. The initial light-up is a bit tricky, as is keeping the stuff lighted. The room note? Well, you might not have to outrun any angry mobs, bit it's not gonna win any popularity contests either. So, what's the pay-off? Bold, full, manly, VaBur flavor, bay-bee! I love MacB blends, but this is not your typical MacB flavor profile. It's got some resemblance to their wonderful Navy Flake, but the HMS MacB is running at full ramming speed with this blend. The only thing that I've smoked that comes close to this is Pete Irish Flake, but that's way stronger than this stuff. (So if you've not tried IF, then let this be a warning to you). This is a full, rich, and bold VaBur blend. However, it is not so bold that you need to smoke it in a small bowl. Quite the contrary - go with a bigger bowl so you can experience the full measure of this truly brilliant blend. Do I like it, and would I recommend it? Yezzir.
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NEWMAN	02/28/2013	Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
Nicely prepared dark flakes with some yellow stripes ~ 3"x7/8" and slightly thinner than many that I smoke but this just makes for easier packing with my fold technique. I thought the moisure content right from the tin was high and led to a harsh and bitter smoke. However, with drying, that improved although this is still the strongest McB that I've tried and I'm not sure if this is the result of the dark firing/pressing or high Burley content. I didn't sense and missed any of the sweetness of the VAs I normally smoke but this was probably designed to this end. High test nicotine so I'd only recommend for an experienced puffer.
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WeCamps	02/03/2013	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is my stranded-on-an-island blend. I found this to be surprisingly tasteful and I really enjoy the after taste it leaves when the bowl is gone. I prefer this rubbed out and in a shorter wider bowl. The tin smell is unusual and dark and the flakes seem damper than most flakes right from the tin. After rubbing it out and waiting to pack it for 10-15 minutes, it loads easily. Lighting takes a couple (strong) attempts but stays lit fairly well with only a relight or two needed if the tamping or puffing isn't controlled and consistent. I have a 50/50 love/love-not with Mac Baren tobacco but this is one I go to more often than any of the other Mac Baren blends I have tried.
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Clive Moses Apikouris	01/18/2013	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant
Savory, smokey, tangy, spicy, robust and delicious. I can see why some who might sample this would assume that it contains Latakia. On opening the tin you are greeted by nice rows of of dark mottled flake, the welcoming aroma is slightly sweet and smokey, a bit of a muted dry fruit scent, perhaps a bit like brown sugar but also a bit like the whiff a Maple smoked cheddar cheese with a hit of black pepper. Nothing funky though, actually quite mouth watering. The flakes rub out easily, they are not overly wet or sticky. Like other Mac Barren products I've tried they have a perfect moisture content. I pack my pipe with a kind of a Frank method and once lit it burns perfectly until you don't want it to. I've smoked this marvelous tobacco in a variety of pipes, right now I'm pleasingly puffing away on it in a Barlings Garnet Grain and the experience is always just as enjoyable. HH Old Dark Fired has the signature Mac Barren Maple sugar in the background,and by the way I've never experienced the infamous "MacBite" from any of their blends I've tried; you just need to understand how to smoke them. I've already touched on the delectable flavour. It is very complex and while robust it is smooth in the manner of a fine Corojo cigar with not a single unpleasant note. As for the "N" level, it is a bit potent but not a knee-knocker. This is a tobacco that I crave smoking, not a blend I'll go to for the sake of variety in my rotation. HH Old Dark Fired pairs well with a variety of beverages from an old fashioned Johnny Walker Black and soda to what I'm sipping with it now, unsweetened Chinese Oolong tea. Most highly recommended.
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oregonpipe	01/06/2013	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Wow! Is this really from MacBarens? Smoked a lot of their blends 35 years ago. Never very impressed except for maybe Navy Flake. The past two years of pipe smoking (after a 35 year hiatus) have been spent mostly with VAs and VApers. My only ventures into VABurs have been 4Noggins Weybridge and ET's Tilbury. Oh, and 2oz. of Stonehaven I happened to score by being in the right place at the right time. Never been a big burley fan, but VABurs are another story. Read the reviews of ODF and thought I had to give it a try. An English style VABur flake...and from MacB...with 4 star reviews. So here goes. Nice square tin with 3 rows of 3"x7/8" rather thin distinct flakes of dark brown with lighter stripes. Tin note: first sniff, teryaki beef jerky. Second sniff, heavy red wine. First bowl right from the tin, rubbed out, was way too moist and smoked way too burley-forward and very harsh. (Could this be the reason for a couple of negative reviews?) Advise to rub out and let air dry for at least a half hour, minimum. Whole different world! The VAs come out and play in that very smooth, round burley body. Nice stuff! Burns like a dream. Treat it right and it will give you a very satisfying, natural tobacco smoke. The flakes also lend themselves to fold-and-stuff, if that is your preference. But I will stick with the rub out method. OK. Fantastic smooth, round, rather stout VABur flavor. The balance of burley and VA is extraordinary. Very nice flakes in a handy tin. And it's from MacBarens. I hope this is a harbinger of great things to come in the future. Oh, and the price...3.5oz for what you can easily pay for 50gr. 4 stars ! Enjoy!
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Oldman	12/28/2012	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Makes a great smoke. I found that drying it out a bit helps in cutting it into small cubes helps in packing it into your pipe. No bite noticed and the taste is quite good. I plan to make this a regular addition to my cellar. I don't understand the terrible one-star review but everyone has their right to an opinion. I just really don't understand this one.
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cigrmaster	12/27/2012	Medium to Strong	Strong	Full	Tolerable
This beautiful flake has a very complex flavor profile. It is sweet, smokey, dried fig like and just all around one tasty blend. The presentation is first class and the 3.5 oz tins represent maybe the best valued tin on the market. It is a very high quality blend that lends it self to my favorite preparation of cube cutting it. It smokes extremely cool with absolutely no bite. In regards to people who give this a one star review, I submit these people have no idea what constitutes a quality blend. It is one thing to not like a flavor of something, but to state in public that this has no flavor, means the person who says this has no idea what flavor is. There is so much flavor to this that you would have to be dead not to recognize it. As said before, it looks like a troll is just dissing this for the sake of taking a shot at Mac Baren. It makes all the other reviews by said persons not worthy of consideration.
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chaplikc	12/25/2012	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
I can not say enough praise about this blend! This is in my top 5 all time favorite flake tobaccos. It has been a while since a blend has commanded my attention such as this one has. I am a sucker for a good burley Virginia flake and this one seems to hit everything just right. The flavor is wonderful leaning towards the burley but the Virginia is there and is very good. I have found that this blend smokes better for me on the dry side so I like to let it air a bit before smoking. I highly recommend this blend and my hat is off to Mac Barens for this one! I never thought Mac Baren would make one of my all time favorite blends!
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SteelCowboy	12/22/2012	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
My comments on Old Dark Fired are based on far less than I would usually smoke before forming an opinion. But I was gifted it a nice size sample and it is one of those rare tobaccos that was full of enjoyment right from the very first puff. I almost always receive an ample amount of tongue bite from Mac Baren blends, but not with ODF. I allowed the flakes to fully dry to the point that they crumbled, but were still just moist enough to prevent them from turning to dust. The nicotine hit for most of the bowl is a bit less heavy on the throttle than similar offerings from Gawtih Hoggarth and Sam Gawith. But it isn’t weak either and the flavor is full and delicious. As others have pointed out, it is earthy and to my taste, slightly sweet. While I do taste the similarity to GH and SG blends, I don’t quite find the similar flavor in Old Dark Fired to Peterson’s Irish Flake, but it could just be my taste buds. I have only smoked about a half dozen bowls of this, but find it to my liking in a medium size bowl, such as a group four. The burn is clean and dry. ODF will find a spot in my cellar. Highly Recommended!
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Sir Claude	12/14/2012	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable
This offering definitively remains the best from Mac Baren. I love DFK and seek every opportunity to buy tobaccos conatining this leaf. But, in the case of ODF, the tin note and its taste do not agree with my tastebuds. I smoked about 8 pipefuls and cannot stand the taste. I find this really unfortunate but there is nothing I can do about it for now except revisit in a year or so.
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II Stormy II	12/06/2012	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable
Great smoke. Charring light is a little harsh but it soon smooths out and is very enjoyable. I use cube cut for this flake.
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radioisotope	11/07/2012	Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
First off let me start by saying to the guy that threw this away, next time before you get rid of tobacco, please send it to me I'll pay your shipping. I hate to see tobacco thrown out. Now to the review... I would say this is tobacco at its best. I love most of the hh blends. This is just good strong old fashioned tobacco. This tin note its grand. Recommend drying and then rubbing out this one, it's hard to get lit. The aroma is awesome and enough nicotine to give the seasoned smoker a good time. It really does remind me a lot of Irish flake. In fact I would say buy this over Irish flake. On smoking pipes you can get 3.5oz of this for 11 bucks but with Irish flake you pay 9 for 1.78 oz. It's a real bargain. If you love a good strong flake you gotta try this.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 39 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >