Mac Baren - Dark Twist Roll Cake pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 132 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
JakeJones	05/04/2013	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
MY FIRST experience with this was not a great one. hard to light and keep lit, and harsh bite, but it had some great moments when a nice thick puff would draw in with good flavor and strength. I did dry it out a little bit but not enough. MY SECOND experience was a really good one. It simply needs a good drying out. As I like to make coffee through a coffee siphon to drink while I smoke, I had a grand idea that worked great. I pre-heat my water in a tea kettle and when I turn the gas stove off and pour the water into the siphon, I lay the tobacco on a paper towel on top of the cast iron grate above the burner after it has cooled enough to not burn the paper. While the coffee is heating back up over the flame of the siphon, the tobacco is slowly drying out with the leftover heat from the burner. By the time the coffee was done brewing, I had perfectly dried out tobacco. it lit easily, it stayed lit well and it smoked quite well. There isn't a ton of flavor, otherwise I would have given it full stars, but it was a very pleasant smoke with little bite and good strength. Earthy and full, I will keep this around with my Sutliff Charlemagne for 2 nice pleasant smokes of different types.
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Taraban	01/29/2013	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable
Nothing to add, excellent tobacco.
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Torben	01/19/2013	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Hi, I'm danish. I grew up with MacBaren in the 60's and Dark Twist became my favorite blend. Like my father, my uncles and lot of relatives. It bites our tongue, yes, but when you have the right light in your pipe and smoke slowly, little puffs, smal inhalations, it's the best ever. It has an acidity, a sweetness and a no nonsense flavour about it, that's second to none. I smoke Dunhill blends, Balkan Sobranie, Germains etc...but i always come back to Dark Twist. It is sad. When I was a heavy smoker in the 60's, 70's and 80's, we had about 465 different brands here in Denmark to choose from. Every part of town had at least one tobacconists. I've recently started smoking a pipe again and I'm shocked to see how all the great brands have faded away. My favorite pipe maker brand: Stanwell is now being manufactured in Italy. Still, we have Savinelli, Dunhill, Peterson and other great brands. Let's rally up behind those. Paul C. Olrik, a great man in danish smoking, made a book in the 60's called: Tobakskrukken (The Tobacco Jar), with reviews of over 100 tobaccos. I'm trying to get the book, because my own copy has vanished, and I will poste some of his reviews on different brands. All the best to you, rare breed of pipe smokers out there.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
puss n' pipes	12/29/2012	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
Well, First time, First serve and I choosed McBaren's Dark Twist to be the ONE to do so and I must say I'm not dissapointed at all. For a neophyte just like me the experience was quite pleasant. Opening the can was a mesmerizing experience, the aroma of chocolat with rum and brandy turned into some kind of Moka with hints of leather and little halo of BBQ behind. The slices were moistered but considering the fact that I was told & retold to be patient just about anything going into this newborn ritual, I simply took the time to spread the slices in a paper and let the fair breeze and the heat of the day to do the rest. After a while they were dry and ready to be packed layer by layer into the bowl. Now I'm not sure if the overall experience was enhanced by the use of a Meerschaun calabash but it packed really smooth and clean with not so much difficulties. I left the smallest cuts and debris on the top and proceeded to light up. It lights slow and takes some sips to burn, its a tobacco that requires dedication, if you sip moderately it may stay but after a while it diminish the combustion and you'll have to light again, so it requires dedication and patience, intense pipers beware, if you demand too much it will bite you, but the calabash protected me and the warning was taken for granted in my case. the first kick pervades the mouth with the blend of cavendish, sweet and delicate, backing up with a bitter note probably from the virginias and alternates with notes of chocolat, strong coffee and hints of liquor. The purity of the tobacco its all what makes this blend special, the nobility of the elements, not the chemistry masking everything, so it shows its pedigree for maturation and flavour making. Dark Twist its an overall very good experience, could be good for beginners but you should be slow and meditative considering the aromas devoloping while you sip, otherways you'll get your tongue punished.
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PC Plod	12/29/2012	Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Perhaps the best balanced among the Mac Baren spun cuts. Most likely called Dark Twist because it suggests the character of black Irish twist tobacco, both of which contain dark-fired leaf. This gives the flavour a slight smoky tarry quality that combines nicely with the mellow sweet fragrant Virginia tobaccos. The aroma resembles freshly baked German black bread with sourdough. The key to enjoyment is getting a slow steady burn, which is difficult when it's moist fresh out of the tin. So dry it out a bit. But don't rub it out. Just pinch the coins into rounded shapes, insert loosely into the bowl and even off the top. Your patience will be rewarded.
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Peep Saint Joan	08/29/2012	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Bass-ic like a tuba symphony, things going bump in the night...many twists in the dark and beasts ready to bite, BEWARE... mwuhahaha!
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sentientchimp	08/04/2012	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
This tobacco looks lovely when you first crack the tin. The small roll cake or discs of tobacco are a hearty looking golden color, and the smell suggests that a great, full- flavored smoke is to come. Unfortunately, like several others here, I was not greeted by a flavorful smoking experience, but rather with a fairly bland one. Occasionally, chiefly towards the end of a bowl, it feels like something brilliant is peeking through, but for the the most part the flavor is pretty light and elusive. I did not get much tongue bite, but certainly a lot of tongue burn, like the sort of sensation you get when you eat something like a lot of cinnamon on it. Finally, I'm not sure if it is due to the high humidity of the air these past few days, but this tobacco is taking forever to dry out and lose a little of its moisture. Coming straight from the tin it was quite damp. Overall, I'm not too crazy about this stuff. If you dont have a lot of options, give it a shot I suppose, but I'm sure nearly any tobacco shop has a better alternative.
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vespa	02/11/2012	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
I was gifted 5 tins of this over a year ago. I smoked maybe 3 or 4 bowls and gave all the tins away, even the one I was smoking out of. I did'nt experence any bite, but damn where's the flavor at? It was like smoking hot air. This has got to be the worst rendition of a Va, well maybe not, but not the Va experence I was looking for, so for each his/her own. I have found most MacB blends just that VERY BORING. If it's to your liking smoke away I'm done with all MacB products.
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Kyohan	02/11/2012	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I picked up a tin of this on the recommendation of a friend and must confess that I was not very impressed with this blend. I smoked a few bowls and things didn't get any better, so I put this one down as an "I tried it, didn't like it" blend. I set the tin on my tobacco shelf and pretty much just forgot about it. Fast forward about a year. I saw this sitting on the shelf the other day and decided to give it another try and wow, what a difference a year makes. This is now a wonderful mid-day smoke and I am very glad that I didn't just toss the tin after the first couple of bowls. I am putting this down as recommended, but for my taste only after it has rested for a year.
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BaconandTobacco	10/12/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
This tobacco is sweet and spicy at the same time. While it is quite tasty it will bite the tongue. Well worth a try.
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Mr. Big	10/05/2011	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Too get an idea of this tobacco, fill a pipe and give it three charring lights. Tamp each light with the tip of your tongue! How does that feel? Well that's what you get with DARK Twist. Believe it or not, my tin is over 15 years old and I have opened and resealed it every 5 years, hoping for a different result.
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kalob cayton	08/08/2011	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
for a virgina this blend is pretty strong i didnt like it at first but like most tobaccos you wait a while and try again then u develop a taste for it........the compressed tobacco really burns slow and consitant but sip or it will bite you cant really detect and flavor except unsweet natural tobacco and maybe a hint of molasses but without the sugar
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Hardly Novice	08/03/2011	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
This particular tobacco blend was my first experience of pipe smoking, setting a good example of a Virginia blend. The blend creates a supple taste that comes with only a little bite on the tongue. The flavor has a hint of sweetness, yet is not overbearing. This is definitely a blend worth trying.
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pipes1990	07/11/2011	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
A good smoke, have to break apart the rolls to smoke it. I have never tried a roll cake tobacco before. I also intend to try some flake sometime soon as well. Looking forward to getting more used to the pipe world.
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Patryk	06/20/2011	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Please, would anyone out there help me out by sending some link or by actually describing how to correectly fill the pipe with the rolls? thank you.
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PastorPipe	06/08/2011	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I really like Dark Twist Roll Cake, but it does give me one heck of a tongue bite. It lights well first off, but I find I have to relight it fairly often--it might benefit from a short drying. It's nice and sweet, particularly the first half of the bowl. Then the sweetness is less pronounced and a peppery note takes the floor. I taste a lot more Virginia than Cavendish. Its an enjoyable tobacco over all; but ooh does it bite. Even if I puff slowly my tongue hurts for a few hours after.
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Cobsmoker	05/31/2011	Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
This is a wonderful smoke. At times spicy and other times sweet. Also detect a "buttery" something from time to time. A good "sipping" smoke. Smoking it just on the edge of going out produces the best flavor for me. Have not experienced bite from it, but at times the spice is very prominent and will tingle the mouth. The roll cake is very easy to pack and doesn't require many relights if packed well. I don't rub it all, just fold a few pieces and settle them gently into the pipe, then rub a small amount for the top to get an even burn. This is my first experience with Mac Baren as I am a relatively new pipe smoker, but I sense the beginning of a long friendship.
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Kilmarnock Piper	05/17/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
I've tried a few MacBarens. I get the dreaded MacBite from a couple which I will not name, but this isn't one of them. This was sent to me as a sample, so this review is not based on very many bowls, but I can already see that this is one that I could buy again. This is a fairly young sample, from 2009, and despite this, no nip whatsoever. One negative is that it seems to be about impossible to dry out unless put under a lamp, suggesting PG or a heavy topping, but somehow in the smoke, I do not sense a heavy topping. There is the usual MacBaren "Bit O' Honey," but it is not overbearing in this blend. The Virginias seem to be of good quality. This is a roll cake similar to Roll Cake Spun, but that is one of the MacBarens that bites me (ok, so I named it?), and this one does not. Which one will I buy again? 11-17-12 I have had a chance to try some of this that may be as much as 30 years old recently, and Mac Baren ages better than its reputation suggests...
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nicotiana	05/12/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant
looks and smells great in tin. smells complex, some honey very subtle and not easily explainable. upon lighting there is rich smoke...i like that and the overall quality of the tobacco is outstanding. tastes are complex but very very subtle. there is spice and there is sweetness and it does linger for quite a while...i like that. should be smoked slowly..and does not bite extremely disappointed about the strength of the taste but admire the complexity. it feels like the enjoyment of a mature smoker both in experience and age. i will keep my eye on it.
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SmoothSmokin	05/02/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Not so much a fan of this blend. For me it burns pretty hot and with a lot of bite. I must admit i tend to push my tobacco a bit too hard but this one really stings. There definitely was a dark earthy flavor to this blend that i enjoyed at first but overall it did not leave a positive lasting impression. The room note is decent, nothing great, nothing bad. I can't say a whole lot about this blend...it definitely wasn't bad but there are tons of other tobaccos i'd reach for before this one. All in all, going through the 100g tin had minimal pleasure at best; it didn't offer me anything enticing...maybe it will for you.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 132 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >