After trying several pipe fulls in various pipes, I could only detect a slight hint of chocolate and honey flavor. Also, as others have mentioned, after smoking this stuff, I concluded that this concoction must have either some perique (which does not agree with me) or burley tobacco, because each bowl, from start to finish, irritated my throat and sinuses.

I am therefore gifting the rest of this tin to a fellow pipe smoker, who once enjoyed cigarettes and so might enjoy this blend. If he doesn't, I suggested that he give it to his girlfriend to use as potpourri. Too bad, I really wanted to like this tobacco. My wife enjoyed the room note, but if you don't enjoy smoking something, why torture yourself?

The tobaccos are partially broken flakes, very dark. Probably an all double fermented VAs, also known as Black cavendish, mixture.

Smells like semisweet dark chocolate with honey in the background.

Tastes like 85% dark chocolate, so not very sweet.

There is some strength of character to it as well, which makes it a fine balance within cased tobaccos.

The best cased tobacco I have tried and my favorite so far. I smoke it regularly.

At the flame...not honey sweet or tasting in any regard, and only a very faint bitter-cocoa taste. Something was there that masked the chocolate flavor in the smoke...Perique? Whatever it was...the combination of constituent tobaccos and casing was terrible.

Not Recommended, and would not order again.

A companion infusion: a brown cow...or black russian.

I've been smoking some of the naturally sweet Mac Baren blends (Dark Twist Roll Cake, Mixture Flake, Navy Flake), and had smoked one of those in a pipe that I'd smoked aros in back in the day. The ghosted sweetness of the old aromatics I'd smoked whetted my appetite for aromatics, and since I was having good luck with Mac B blends, I decided to give this and "Vanilla Creme Loose Cut" both a try.

There are several qualities of the tobacco in the tin that struck me: 1) the aroma of chocolate and honey is very full and rich, but not artificial. This tobacco really does smell like they've sprinkled high-quality dark chocolate powder on it; 2) unlike most of the aros I remember from my early years, this tobacco doesn't feel sticky or greasy. If you pinch the tobacco between your fingers, it doesn't stick together, it stays loose.

It packs very easily, and takes to the flame well. After the first char light and the second full burn, the tobacco burns evenly and stays lit. The rich flavors of chocolate and honey are very evident, but somehow not cloying. Remember, I've been smoking strong Latakia blends like "Krumble Kake" and "Artisan Blend", so my palatte is accustomed to strong, spicy tobacco! I disagree with some reviews that claim that the flavors burn off quickly. It seems to me the flavors become a bit more subtle, but the sweetness remains and lingers.

I no longer consider myself a non-aro snob, and if you're looking for a high quality aro that delivers sweetness without the sticky, gooey mess in the bottom of the bowl, this might be worth your consideration.

I hate to blast this one. I had very high expectations reading the reviews here.

First, at the tin: The aroma of cocoa leaps out of the tin. The mixture is quite dry for a MacB and fairly dark.

At the bowl: This tobacco packs easily and lights readily. It is not at all goopy and burns cleanly.

At the match: Um...

Almost no room note. No real flavor, either of cocoa or honey. Wife (a fan of tobacco in general and pipes in particular) says she can't detect any aroma at all even sitting right next to me.

The bowl actually gets a little harsh about halfway through. Unusual for a MacB blend for me.

I am only about a quarter of the way through the tin. Perhaps my tin is off. I will wade through the rest of the tin, but I don't expect it will get much better. I won't be buying it again.

This may be a good blend for beginners. It burns easily, stays lit, is very pleasant at the tin and entirely inoffensive in the room. As an aromatic fan however, I prefer to have some aroma (and some flavor). This one just isn't hitting for me.

September 26th I have to say that after 4 or 5 bowls of this one I changed my opinion...unfortunatelly to worse... There is something wrong with this blend... It burns like pepper fromth first char of light stricken into the bowl... If you smoke a bit faster it will bite for sure.. The aroma is not very pronounced and it made me a bit dizzy and dried my palate a bit... It is not a lid strenght tobacco. And I will not be getting it again...There are much much better Mac Baren blends... My fave is Vintage Syrian

Even though the chocolate is prominent and the tin smell strong the flavoring does not overpower the tobacco flavor, it actually enhances it. It is NOT "perfumy" or "soapy" or overwheelmingly sweet as some have said. The tobacco isn't sticky to the touch and it burns really good without leaving any goopy residue at the bottom of the pipe.

Further, I should mention that this blend is very well crafted. There is a great deal of complexity and it really captures the essence of dark chocolate, which is sweet but also has a touch of bitterness. And finally, although the nicotine content isn't off the charts it satisfies and the flavor is very full (the tobacco flavor).

I highly recommend this blend to anyone who is still looking for that "perfect" chocolate blend and has not found one with enough flavor to satisfy. Now, if you've never liked aromatics then stay away from this stuff since it's not the "miracle" blend that will change your mind.