Having no idea what any pipe tobacco is supposed to taste like, I tried this stuff, hoping to satisfy my taste for just plain tobacco flavors. I now have been smoking it mostly in combination with some other tobaccos, primarily Peterson Irish Flake. I put a couple pinches of this with one rubbed out flake of IF. Holy nicotine......, but that is another story.

I had never read any reviews of the LBB, so I never really ever thought about or noticed the topping, so now I am interested in trying it again solo to see if I can identify it. It must be quite subtle. I know that Prince Albert is also quite subtle with its coffee infusion.

All in all, I like this stuff as a straight forward burley, and I like to blend with it, by adding pinches of other stronger flavored tobacco.

After my first bowl I immediately ordered another 100g. It's become my most often smoked tobacco. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys burleys, and especially to someone who is looking to try their first true burley blend.

Overall, not a terrible blend, but at $5.71 an ounce, I was expecting much more. I'll stick with $1.78/ounce Mild Kentucky Club.

BLB is a great smoke - nutty, with a subtle sweetness. It burns well to a white ash without getting bitter as so many Burley blends do. It is very well balanced top to bottom without any bite. It did heat up my briar from time to time, probably due to my packing it too tight at first.

Top shelf!

No tongue bite unlike many/most other MacBaren blends I've smoked. Burns easily but slowly and typically stays lit.

Tastes slightly nutty, slightly sweet, slightly chocolaty, very subtle overall, really good mild-medium tobacco flavor.

Satisfies the craving for nicotine.

Smells like good plain old pipe tobacco in the room which others (including non-smokers) typically don't mind.

For the newcomer to all Burley blends, the lack of any taste can be annoying at first. And trigger the "Why are there so many people enjoying all Burley mixtures?"

With some patience and a lot of attention to it, subtle tastes will start shining trough. And reveal a decent level of nicotine.

All Burley blends are not bold in taste. You need to dedicate yourself entirely to your smoke in order to get rewarded.

The tin aroma is delicious and is reflected in the smoking.

This has a superb pouch / bag aroma -- real tobacco smell. It looks like a rubbed out flake, so the pieces are fairly long and thick. I shredded mine before packing.

The taste is real tobacco, with a very slight lemony / honey note. Overall, I would rate the topping as unobtrusive, and in some of my pipes I really didn't notice it. Just a fine tobacco flavour, all the way down.

Surprisingly for Macbaren, no bite with this one. It could be a little darker and rougher, but no complaints. A very good all-day type of blend, and a great price.

The only drawback I've found is towards the end of the bowl, where it sometimes gets a bit bitter, lacking either little more virginias or a sweeter casing. This problem only appears with certain pipes and only in very large bowls. A medium to large pipe will deliver all the flavor of a great tobacco from top to bottom.

There's not much to add, except that it's a solid burley, and if it weren't for that single detriment to an otherwise terrific blend, this would rate 4 stars from me.

As it stands now though, LJ Heart Burley is just as tasty, and it's a much smoother smoke.

That same bitter chocolate is evident in the smoke, to me it was a harshness bodering on bitter. I also found out why Mac Baren is known for biting.

PA over this, but neither on a regular basis. My bane could be your blessing. Not for me, perhaps for thee.

By the way, the tins are cheap and rust out after a while.

The semi-rubbed burley smells great in the tin. It is a real tobacco smell and has a perfect moisture degree. Packs and lights easily. It is burning fast but with a well controled puffing cadence it offers a cool and nutty smoke. The casing is very light so that you can enjoy a pleasent sweetness as well as the burley's characteristic true tobacco taste.

It is a good choice for me between my regular Virginia smokes.

Ordered this in bulk and it arrived, as remarked by others, only partially rubbed out. My initial problem, I believe, was with the seller: the stuff was so dry that when I started rubbing it out, it crumbled into fine grains almost the size of table salt. After re-hydrating it a bit and being more careful, loaded up a bowl and went at it. Man, for a Burley, this stuff was STRONG. Started to get a few nips that felt as if it was going to bite. Went to the computer and reread the reviews and saw Traderbob and Creeper's recommendation to pack this very lightly and tried that with a fresh bowl. Made all the difference in the world. It now offers an extremely satisfying, tasty smoke with no more problems.

When properly hydrated, packs very well, lights easily and gets going with just one light, easily stays lit all the way down and leaves a dark charcoal ash with no dollop. Smokes cool and with no hint of a bite (now), extremely honest and pure tobacco flavor, and leaves no objectionable taste in the mouth or pipe.

Thoroughly enjoyable smoke that never pulls your chain. Don't know that I'd recommend this for a beginner; it certainly does not qualify as an aromatic and is a really serious baccy that IMO only a seasoned, serious pipe smoker would enjoy.

It took me a bit to figure this one out, as I'm still a noob, but I've smoked it mainly in the same pipe from day one. I tried it in a few others, but noticed this blend is very prone to intrusion from ghosting. As Pipestud said, it also likes to be packed very light. I trickle fill the bowl, then push in just a small pinch to finish.

Overall, I love it. It's a hearty burley, but sweet. The "mocha" flavor I get with other burleys isn't overpowering, and once in a while I get a nice taste of pepper. Just a nice easy smoke, with no worries.

I've been smokin this blend for a year and a half now. It is my go to blend.