Mac Baren - Symphony pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 38 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
JimInks	04/07/2013	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I'd prefer to give this two and a half stars because that's the rating it deserves (in my opinion anyway). I taste almost no chocolate from the burley, but I do get some of its natural sweetness. The Virginia is a minor player in the drama, unlike the cavendish which makes its presence constantly known, and amplifies the other sweet notes. There's a very, very light spice note, too. It burns well and even for a broken flake, and doesn't need much relighting. No goop or bitterness either. It's pleasant, but not outstanding. Lately, I've smoked both a fresh sample and a thirty-five year old sample. The ageing effect is simply amazing. It's much more spicier and sweeter, like the fresh version on steroids. If you can be patient and give this blend some ageing time (you don't have to wait 35 years), you'll be rewarded with an even better smoke.
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Gus Tation	02/15/2013	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant
Many tins in the MB line seem to taste similar to me, and they smoke in the same fashion as well. They taste bland...are HOT/Tongue-Biters...and smell like potpourri. I cannot recommend this product. Love all, as Christ would, and peace to my brothers and sisters of the leaf.
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chaplikc	12/25/2012	Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
The first time I had this blend was many years ago and I hated it. I then bought a tin that was 30 years old and thought I would do a comparison . The first tin I tried I hated because I got a lot of tongue bite. The 30 year old ton can still be pushed to bite but was definitely better. Will I ever order more of this - no. If you are able to get your hands on an old tin it might be worth a try.
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Bluefox	10/10/2012	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This sounds like a nice blend but unfortunately the bite is to much to enjoy. I could not distinguish any of the flavors in this because the bite was so bad. Also had a bit of a chemical taste to it. I tried this and scottish mixture at the same time and it seems as though they are basically the same blends with the same tobaccos. They tasted exactly the same to me with the same bite and chemical taste. Do not think I will be buying any more Mac Baren products.
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hiplainsdrifter	07/25/2012	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
This review is for a 7 oz tin of Symphony from the late 1970's that I just opened. My tin had a few little dents and dings, but fortunately Macbaren packaged these large tins with the tobacco in a plastic bag, so the contents were in fabulous shape with no drying or damage. Very dark brown broken flake makes this a beautiful tobacco. Tin note is very sweet, mostly a honey smell. After 30 years, the flavors of the toasty burley, the dark cavendish, and the sweet virginias truely do combine to make a symphony on your taste buds. The burley is at the forefront, but I like this blend a lot better then other burley dominants that I have tried, e.g. London Burley. Flavor is sweet as expected, but you taste more natural sweetness from the virginias aging so long, rather than any syrupy sweetness. Flavoring is mostly drowned out by the fabulously mellow combination of tobaccos. Hearty smoke and good ashing. It seems that most of the neutral reviews of this tobacco hinge on tongue bite. Well, nothing like 30 years to eliminate that! I found that tongue bite was minimal even when pushing my pipe hard. A truely fabulous treat and an excellent every day smoke.
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Trippwire	05/06/2012	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I found this to be similar to Burley london, and Golden extra, but significantly sweeter. It goes ok in a cob, but seems a bit sweet for my liking. If you prefer softer blends, get into it,it's very cheap and not a bad smoke, just not for me. Everyone complains about toungue bite from these MacB blends. I am 6 tins into their selections, and have not been bitten once. Must be a body chem thing. Take it all with a graain of salt and see what works for you. I won't get more of this, I'm gonna stock up on its brother, London burley.
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JustOneforMe	04/26/2012	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant
I have now smoked several Mac Baren offerings and will not review them any further since they are extremely not to my liking. If interested in my thoughts about their line of tobaccos then just see my review on Burley London, it pretty much sums up this vapid weed give or take a slight aromatic difference (vanilla, cherry etc...).
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musicman	01/30/2012	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I like this tobacco. I like it so much I bought a pound and put it down to rest. The mixed reviews seen here do not surprise me at all. As with all Mac Baren pipe tobacco this stuff can really sizzle your taster. A gentle approach of this blend fully rubbed out and smoked in the right pipe can be a real pleasure. There is a flavor there but I do not get chocolate, I would call it just sweet. I like this blend because it does not taste like vanilla or cherry or honeydew like other aromatics, it just has a sweet tobacco taste. Kind of like the old school american OTC blends in a tuxedo. I really do like it. If you smoke it fast you are wasting your time, and I am beginning to think that there is a way Mac Baren cures their tobaccos that does not agree with some people. Some cannot smoke any Mac Baren blends, others never have a problem. Give it a shot, you never know. This one fits me quite nicely. Highly recommended.
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Henry Mars	01/28/2012	Medium to Strong	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
Tongue burn in a can. What flavor? Over the years I have smoked several tins of this stuff and it always comes up the same way ... pain. I find this to be true with most (but not all) MacBaren blends. Pass on this especially if you are a beginner. I don't know how this company says in business .... unless I a girlie man.
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MrPiper	01/27/2012	Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant
Straight forward pipe tobacco. It has nothing memorable. Seems to be a little heavy on the burley to me which adds to the the very very mild taste. Any pipe smoker should enjoy Symphony. A pleasant, sweet danish tobacco. If you are looking for a mild relaxing smoke with no surprises, this is nice.
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kongsdad	08/13/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I purchased this in bulk about 5onths ago . At the time I had only ben piping about 5 months. It torched my tongue and I left it in a mason jar until I got up the nerve to try it again. I tried it in a peterson 307 that I had recently cleaned and sweetened.I got this nice flavor play when I first lit up and about 1/4 down the bowl this horrible chemical taste took over. I couldn't go on and dumped it. I blamed the alcohol that I used to clean it although I swabed the bowl and stem after the cleaning with 151 Rum and never had a problem before. So I packed a mer lined hilson. lit up same nice start and then halfway down tha bowl a terrible soap taste took over to the point that I dumped that bowl. I don't know maybe I got a bad batch or a contaminated mason jar but I won't be smoking it again unless someone gives me some maybe from a tin. It smells fine in the jar. I Don't have a clue but I don't like it
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TK Pipe	08/08/2011	Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
McB Symphony; I found this tobacco’s taste too thin, and is very slow in its flavor development when smoked straight from the tin, I was ready to put this one down as another Mc dud. So as a last try before giving up I fully rubbed out a bowl, what a difference, it now had a nice rich flavor from light-up to ashes. And that ever present tongue irritation this stuff IMO is plagued with, now seemed less annoying. The tin says “ready rubbed” it should say “ready to be rubbed”. In the fully rubbed state I found no real tongue bite, plenty smoke, instant flavor development and naturally a faster burn, but not so fast as to cause any serious heat problems. Still not my first choice, but IMHO this simple change now made Symphony worth smoking. 2 1/2 stars
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kalob cayton	08/08/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable
could taste the burley and the virginas balance it out but didnt detect and cavendish..............could get some unsweet chocolate notes out of this blend if its smoked slowly this blend can bite so it is ideal to smoke it rather slow
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florissantti	06/30/2011	Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable
I was initially disappointed with this tobacco. It was my first tin and I felt I had made a bit of a mistake. It was too mild and burned really hot. It seemed like I always had to set the pipe down to let it cool. After a long while, though, and going through other tobaccos, I kept coming back to the Symphony. Now that I am through with the tin my feelings have changed. It's a nice blend, nothing fancy, and it requires care when smoking. But once you get the hang of it it's a nice, cheap, go-to smoke. I'm not going to be buying another tin anytime soon, but I'd smoke it if I had it.
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Ducksbreath	05/31/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I used to like this, maybe 12 years ago, but either the blend or I have changed. Burley, honey, and cardboard. Can burn hot and the taste is as elusive as a bobcat.
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skychasernyc	03/23/2011	Strong	Strong	Full	Strong
I bought this tobacco with my first pipe from Barclay and Rex in NYC, along with a tin of Dunbar from Esoterica Tobacciana. The description underneath the tin said that this was the "aria" of aromatics. Upon opening the tin, I was very pleasantly surprised by the wonderful odor. It is nothing like what I'm used to as a cigarette and occasional cigar smoker. That being said, I didn't enjoy it at first. It seemed very strong and harsh. Later that day, I smoked some of the Dunbar and thought it was more mild and pleasant. My girlfriend agreed that the smoke from Dunbar smelled "smoother". However, I must say... it's been about 3 weeks since my purchase, and I've come to love this blend. You have to smoke it slowly and patiently, plain and simple, and it gives off the most delightful flavors and aromas. When I'm finished smoking it, I like to have a good wiff of the empty pipe bowl. It's really nice, and I now prefer it to Dunbar, so please give this one another try! It really deserves a better rating. I did notice it was pretty moist on the first opening, but I assume it's the same with all tobaccos and you can either dry it a little or fluff up the tin and let it sit for a bit. Eventually the tin dries out a little, and it's easier to smoke. I love this stuff and I will definitely be buying more Mac-Barren blends.
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caddad	02/11/2011	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I bought this from my local tobacco shop this fall while shopping for some Dunhill blends they were out of at the time. I recognized this and had always wanted to try it. I now have finished the tin after several months of rotating it with other blends. Upon opening the tin I found it needed to be rubbed before smoking and this is fine with me. After rubbing it packs very nicely. It appears to have more than a little Virgina in it and has a nice aroma and flavor. I was worried about tongue bite as I have that problem with Danish blends however this smoked very well with great flavor. What can I say, its all gone and if I had more I would surley smoke it. Very good. Many more blends to try however this is one I would retrun to given the oppertunity.
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RyeWhiskey	02/08/2011	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I purchased this in bulk from JR's and then read the reviews. I was expecting some tongue bite, but honestly it didn't get me. I sipped it a bit slower than I usually do and with some even tamping it rewarded me with a pleasant aroma and a nice scottish blend taste. It has this nice middle to it, I can't really put a name on it as this is my 1st review and I am new to the pipe. I liked it, and have smoked it 4 or 5 times now and each time it is just as pleasant as the last. I picked up three oz. so I have plenty for now.
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Arkie	01/06/2011	Very Mild	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable
It is as though someone repackaged some PA into a tin and tripled the price. It is flat, hot burning, biting, overpriced and disappointing.
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19volks71	12/26/2010	Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
There's a tin of this under the seat of my car. I keep it there always. I know it's there. Should I ever find myself away from home and having forgotten one of my preferred blends, Symphony is there under my seat. This 'reserve' Symphony never gets smoked because I never forget my preferred blends. Should some strange chain of events cause me to leave my rotationals (sic) at home, I still wouldn't smoke Symphony. It burns too damn hot and really doesn't carry a lot of flavor. This can be said for the majority of Mac Baren's blends, or at least every one I have tried. At half the price per gram compared to quality English and Balkans, you can be assured, you get what you pay for. The one thing I do enjoy about Mac Baren is that they still paint their tins- this being their only redeeming factor. These Mac Baren offerings never really develop. In fact, they never really offer a thing. I hate to be this negative about anything in pipe culture, considering our dwindling clout. I am always more than willing to band with anything pipe-wise in the name of carrying on our ancient tradition. As long it isn't Mac Baren.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 38 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >