As with a lot of Mac Baren's blends, the flavor was a mixture of dumbed down hot air and tasteless sweetness, kind of like adding sugar to water. Very bland. The pastry-sweetness of some of the Mac B blends was subdued a bit, but it was still very annoying. The sweetness was not natural tasting, as with a lemon virginia, but was "cavendish-y" for lack of a better word... very contrived instead of natural. But it was simple sugar - the sweetness had no backbone. I tried smoking this in a crispy state, as in so doing, I was able to get Stockton to an enjoyable level. Not so here. This tasted like "Scottish Mixture Light" - syrupy, and with a definite lack of true tobacco taste. If I had to choose between this and the Velvet pouch I just finished, I'd take Velvet everytime. This isn't a bad tobacco, and I can see where it would have it fans. But to me, it highlights all the things I find problematic with most Mac Baren blends. If you like the typical Danish style or Mac B's Dark Twist and Mixture, you'll probably like this one. If not, it's probably best to avoid.

All in all a pleasant smoke, but if you are a medium paced puffer, or require a bit of nicotine, give this a miss. Definitely not for ex ciggie smokers. I won't get more.

I do detect some perique'ish components in the tin note. It is probably something in the cavendish process giving it that sweet 'n sour/spice note. There's a sweet, sugary intensity to the note and latakia is, as far as I can gather, present in the tin note, but not to any great extent.

For a Mac Baren, it is in the expensive league, but as a premium blend among others, it fares well. And worth it, I might add. In the usual Mac Baren way, the tins are filled to the rim, so you're getting your pennies worth - the moisture content, which is a bit high, has been frowned upon by my predecessors, but that is the least of my headaches. I've had Mac Baren blends hold up for years in perfect smoking condition in simple Tupperware containers. How can that be anything other than good? Perfect for those of us that simply can't stick to anything less than 20 opened tins at any given time. I do find it smokes better when aired out a little, and I'm never in such a hurry that I don't have time to let it rest in the pipe before lighting up; an hour or so is just about right for me.

Taste is predominately that of smooth and creamy burley, and the "periqueish" cavendish make its way through in the taste if sipped very gently. There is a faint note of latakia spice and smokiness melding in and out also - but hard core latakiaphiles probably do not need bother on the premise of the latakia; although there, I doubt it will be enough for those hopelessly lost latakia junkies... unless they are open minded and want a little change of pace, or perhaps find it amusing to play detective to find the latakia. Like many Mac Baren's, you're not doing yourself any favours if you smoke only a few bowls and then give up. I symphatize to some degree with the "Weak, and insipid...warm tasteless air" remarks, but my sympathy only goes as far as saying: Do it again and do it right. It takes a little getting to know and pacing is key. Although Roll Cake is very forgiving when smoked, if you're not getting any taste, you're smoking too fast. With the right tempo the flavour is very pleasant - almost like a mild and sweet va/per; and like with va/pers, the side stream is an especially pleasant aspect.

Roomnote is quite unobtrusive, and pleasant to a smoker - you'll possibly get away with it amongst non-smokers or better halves (but don't take my word for it).

In conclusion, although Roll Cake in general can be considered an absolute top quality blend, it just lacks that intensity in flavour and nicotine punch that I crave. It's typical for Mac Baren in that it's a tiny bit too cumbersome to smoke and enjoy effortlessly. Every Mac Baren that I have smoked have all been needing some degree of coaxing in order to lure out those elusive flavours that hide in there somewhere, and unfortunately Roll Cake is no exception. But even so, I can definately recomend it, because once you hit its sweet spot, you'll be glad you stuck with it.

For whatever it's worth: I smoke Roll Cake in a (to Mac Baren spun cuts) dedicated Vauen White Dot, which is filtered, but usually smoked with an adapter. The production code on the back of the tin is 08102991, which translates to october 26 2010.

This is a fun tobacco to experiment with, as far as the coins are concerned. But other than that, no excitement here. As one reviewer stated, it does smoke like hot air.

It's worth a try, but don't expect something spectacular.

Now to the surprise. My tin of this says that, in addition to the virginias, cavendish, and a little burley, this has a touch of Syrian latakia. I taste none, and none is noted on the Mac Baren website. I would also point out that no perique is noted on either my tin or the website as a constituent of this blend. I detect none, it is not spicy in the least, and I believe that this is simply an error to be found on the blend description above. So the first surprise was expecting a little of that smoky latakia background, and finding none ( if I really try, I think I can detect something, but I wonder if I am just trying to convince myself). It may be that there is some small amount of latakia in the mix, but it is so lightly used as to be almost non-existent.

The second surprise was how mild this blend is in every sense, except for bite. Mac Baren describes this as medium in strength. It is not. I can find no appreciable nicotine. As discussed more herein, I am smoking a pretty good size bowl of this, and really and finding nothing in the way of strength. With respect to the flavor, it is again mild, and really just a sweet virginia type of mouthful with every puff. That is not really a bad thing, but as this is rated medium by MB, and that is was I was expecting, I was let down.

I will say that the second half of the bowl is much tastier than the first. While the overall flavor remains the same, it develops into a richer and more well rounded and fuller version of that sweet flavor, which is very enjoyable.

I find this to burn a little hotter with more bite than Club Blend, which has a similar flavor. Bite really is not a fair description. Smoking it slowly and with care, as I am, provides an experience which, while not "cool", does not bite. It is clear that if this was smoked with a higher moisture content, and with more force, it would feel like a thresher across your tongue. I am smoking it presently in a wide and deep bowled Neerup, and I think it would benefit from the more narrow tobacco chamber found in one of my Ashtons, for example. I am going to give that a try, and update with my impressions.

I was torn with respect to the star rating. If you are looking for a very tasty, albeit mild, sweet virginia smoke, than this is a solid three star blend. If you are looking for a richer, fuller smoke as MB represents it to be, than I think they missed the mark a little. I can say that I am truly enjoying this now that it has gotten going. It definitely has the MB "roll" flavor going on, which you just have to try in order to be able to relate to. The quality is very fine, and I think many suffer and do not give these blends a second look because they are both cased lightly with sugar, and very moist, which in my experience creates the tongue bite so many complain of. It is a different animal when you get rid of that moisture. So 2 stars for now, but we will see what magic one of my Ashtons can work on this slice of cake.

Weak, and insipid. Like smoking warm tasteless air to be honest. Reminded me of a watered down version of MB Scottish Mixture (and that is weak in itself)

I certainly won't waste my time with this again. MB's biscuit'y taste that seems to exist in most of it's blends is really starting to turn me off..

The beauty of their rollcakes would make a monster cry,touched by sensitivity.

problem is, they lack a decent level of nicotine...

i can't taste the perique at all in this blend. if you like perique go with Old Gowrie or Bayou Morning Flake instead.

Rub it out completly and pack medium firm, and it really brings out all this blend has to offer. This is one blend that I will continue to smoke and enjoy.

I've found that it is very important to fold and stuff this spun cake, not tear it to shreds. I fold about 4 or 5 coins stacked together and place the "end" (where the fold meets) in line of the draft hole so as not to clog up the pipe. Then I lightly rub 1 or 2 coins out to fill out the bowl, lighting with ease. Burns much cooler and much tastier. This really is a solid "natural" flavored tobacco.

Also I would recommend to completely rubbing out the tobacco disks in order to get a consistent smoke, and finally, an extremely loose packing and slow puffing is the only way to avoid tongue bite and to enjoy this beautiful tobacco.