It's not perfect I admit, it takes a lot of matches to keep it going, and it will bite if not handled gently. I prefer to break the cakes into ribbons and gently fill my pipe, light and then tamp after a few minutes. My wife and children did not comment or complain about the aroma as they have with some of my other aromatics or strong English blends. I can honestly say I do plan on getting another tin when this one is done.

CAUTION: DO NOT smoke this in a clay pipe! The propensity for tongue bite increased when I tried it in one of my clays.

And yet...

There was a toastiness to the whole experience that was satisfying. So satisfying in fact, that some days later I found myself inclined to have another go. This time, I just dropped a couple of discs into the bowl and lit them without packing. I drew regularly, almost constantly, but ever-so-gently to avoid burning, and the experience was much better. Towards the middle of the bowl it gets a bit sweeter, with the distinct MacBaren Cavendish taste becoming apparent, and towards the end you begin to notice the latakia. Just a hint.

It still tasted like cigarettes though, and I went through half a box of matches just on one bowl.

And yet...

That satisfying toastiness remained on the palette for hours afterwards. Well now I've just finished a bowl of this awful stuff that I thoroughly enjoyed for the first time. I smoked it in a very wide and shallow billiard, with a tapered bowl at the bottom of which I left the remnants of my last bowl of Frog Morton. It's also useful to note that I smoked it immediately after breakfast, with a cup of espresso still in my hand. I can still taste it, and it's only good. I smoked outside, so the room doesn't stink, and overall I think I'm quite happy that I didn't throw it in the garbage.

Folks, the secret here, I think, is: 1) smoke it in a wide, shallow bowl. 2) crumble apart the discs a bit, but don't rub them into ribbons. 3) just drop it in lightly. don't pack it at first. It will twist and turn and almost leap out of the pipe when you put a match to it, just gently coax it back down with your tamper. But don't compress it. 4) draw very VERY gently, or it will hurt you... bad. 5) draw fairly constantly to keep it lit, and occasionally give it some quick, sharp, backwards puffs to stoke it a bit. 6) smoke it outside.

Hmm, turns out a bit of a healthier dose of latakia made it much better, too. Maybe mix a bit of the Frog in? Definitely smoking it in the same pipe you use for aromatics is a mistake.

But... there is a hint of something different, just a minuscule variation on the usual Mac Baren theme. Think of this as something like Club Blend or Stockton, but with a hint of an extra smokiness and fragrance. Yes, there is very little latakia, but its presence adds a subliminal ghost: if it weren't there, it would probably be missed.

Frankly, I usually prefer either having no Latakia at all or having lots of it. I usually find "medium" mixtures rather bland and dull. In this case, though, Latakia is used as a condiment in the strict sense of the word. It simply enhances the smoke without becoming noticeable (almost). So, I am not left with a Latakia craving: I simply consider this one an excellent Virginia/Cavendish blend, and as such it smokes better in my Virginia pipes than in those dedicated to Balkans and English mixtures.

Overall, a very balanced blend. Cool, slow smoking, just a little astringent and mouth drying (but not bitey!) like all the other Mac Baren roll cakes are. If you love the other ones, you will love this one too. I have already reviewed Club Blend, Stockton and Dark Twist, so please go and read my reviews for those blends because the difference in this one is absolutely minimal.

But I persevered with the blend, and now that it's half gone, I'm glad that I did. The blend, in a way, is nothing to write home about. Your typical MB honey-flavored VA. But it does have a little something extra that elevates it above that status... sort of a smokey/toasty flavor that plays against the honey, while simultaneously enhancing it. Could that be the Latakia? Must be.

I'd be lying if I said this is the most complex tobacco I've ever smoked. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bite. But it's still a very pleasant smoking experience. I won't have any problem finishing the tin, and when it's gone, I'll probably pick up another for occasional smoking.

Great Tobacco with great typical Mac Baren flavor along with the honey/toasty background, I am not fan of Latakia therefore was so happy that it tastes no Latakia at all. the taste is mainly like brown bread with honey, Absolutely delicious!.

If you dont like Latakia but like the Mac Baren blending and casing style, try Latakia Blend.

Not recommended for beginners.

I'm lousy at describing taste, but I will say that this blend has a number of little activities going on in it. The key to preparing one's self to enjoy this fellow is to put some electrical tape over the label and accept it for whatever it is on its own.

Having done that (figuratively speaking) and having aged some about 6 months, it soon become my morning blend and remains so.

I like it dried just a bit from the tin (15 to 20 minutes) and shredded and rubbed. That alone produces a delightful aroma and tactile experience, and puts me (at least) in a receptive frame of mind.

Mac Baren did themselves a great disservice in naming this one.

I went in to Latakia Blend having read the reviews below. I was fully prepared to not actually taste one iota of latakia. However, I was hoping to actually taste something....but all I got was hot air. Even if you really like mild tobaccos (an I do) DO NOT purchase this. You will be left disappointed.

If you stuck in the unlikely scenario of having this be the ONLY pipe tobacco available to you....go buy decent cigarettes and smoke them like small cigars - at least they will have SOME kind of flavor.

The only nice thing I can say about Latakia Blend is that it has a nice, mild room note. But seriously...if all I wanted was a nice room smell with out a taste in my mouth or nicotine I would burn incense.

Like most Viginias, this blend improves with age. It is sweet and smoky and it will put a hurtin' on your tongue if smoked too fast. So be careful, and you'll enjoy a decent smoke.

For you of those patient enough to smoke this blend to the bottom of the bowl, you know where the name "Latakia Blend" comes from. We are the privileged few to enjoy the Latakia in this blend.

As kppeterson has said, there is also a difference between Syrian and Cyprian Latakia. After the fire of the main warehouse of the Syrian Latakia and the reduction of its export from Syria, the use of Cyprian Latakia in the blends has increased and most people are more familiar with the taste of Cyprian than the Syrian, now. This may explain why some people don't detect the taste of Latakia, at least one to which they are accustomed (unless their taste buds are simply not sufficiently developed or destroyed by long usage of too hot aromatic tobaccos ...)

Original review 03/11/2008:

It's possible that some people compare to usual Latakia blends, in other words, with a slight percentage of Oriental. Thus, it does not remind them of the taste of Latakia which they are accustomed, the kind with a touch of Oriental, but it ain't the real aroma of the pure Latakia.

In the same way, they must certainly think that Commonwealth (Samuel Gawith), despite the 50% of Latakia, doesn't taste as Latakia, given that it doesn't contain Oriental.

Coming back to Latakia Blend, the most remarkable is the sugary softness of Virginia. It resembles a VA aged in a cellar. The presence of Latakia is low, but just like garlic in a recipe where it must only raise the taste, the taste of garlic should absolutely not dominate. The kind of presence that you only can guess in the recipe if you forgot to add it and that makes you say that something is wrong, the recipe is not as usual.

As said, ordinarily, in a Latakia Blend, it's often the Oriental whom dominate, therefore, it's this Oriental taste which could miss for some people in this tobacco blend, I think.

Mac Baren Latakia Blend is not a bad stuff, due to its sweetness. The taste is rounded by this thin presence of Latakia and change the pace in a straight Virginia smoking.

Maybe not a blend for the real Latakia blends lovers, due to its very slight percentage of Latakia. But absolutely not a blend for the "Latakia with a slight percentage of Oriental" blends lovers.

Honestly, I rather prefer these Latakia blends:

- Commonwealth (Samuel Gawith);

- Squadron Leader (Samuel Gawith), when I need a touch of Oriental;

- Celebrated Sovereign (Ashton).

Mac Baren Latakia Blend is not in my regular rotation, but it was necessary for me to write this note, due to the bad reviews that I read and, IMO, wasn't correct due to the difference between Latakia and Latakia+Oriental.

In fact, Mac Baren "HH Mature Virginia" is more Latakia flavoured than "Latakia Blend". The name (HH Mature Virginia) would more correspond, IMO, to "Latakia Blend", because it reminds me of an aged VA. In the second hand, "HH Mature Virginia" could be named "Latakia Blend", due to the Latakia taste.

Is it possible that the blenders from Mac Baren had made a mistake, when they named those different blends?

At last, please forgive my English level, it's not my usual language, I read it better than I write it. ;)

Now let me strengthen you with my words of adoration and ardor. Upon opening the tin your beauty and presentation consumed me, I had never seen a tobacco of your kind with beautiful sweet Virginias wrapping themselves around a wonderful core of Black Cavendish and Syrian......yes I said it Syrian Latakia. Your fragrance allured me, the perfume of a very subtle top dressing was present but it didn't cover up the natural smell of the high quality tobacco of which you are made. Easily packed into my finest pipes by slightly crumbling your wonderful little disc of tobacco and then at the match you are wonderful, fragrant and just slightly sweet....but not to much. You are everything I have ever wanted or thought I would find in a straight Virginia tobacco. Wonderful and cool, pipe after pipe and bowl after bowl even back to back my tongue is never left burnt or fatigued. I could smoke you all day and in fact..... I have, right down to the perfectly dry bottom of the bowl without the hint of bitterness I have come to expect. You are wonderful anytime of day, your flavor is not diminished by a flavorful meal and yet it never overwhelms my palate either. I cannot say that of other mixtures I have enjoyed.

But you have another secret for me, I could just hear you whispering it. Ah yes, I hear it again. You have been teasing me but as I become accustom and loyal to you, finally taking in all your splendor, I can finally taste it...the Syrian. If one was expecting it's cousin, the more brusque Cyprian they would be fooled and they would never see in you what I see. It has taken me bowl after bowl and even I did not think you truly had it in you, though ashamed to say it now and I loved you all the same. The Syrian is sweet and melds with you and you with it effortlessly. Yes it suits you very well and I notice it more and more each day especially when we are spending time outside with one another. My dear Latakia Blend, you suit me very well(very well indeed), may my palate be forever smitten with you.

ORIGINAL: It is hard to find Latakia blends in my area, so when I came across this I reached for it without reservation.

Latakia is known as a formidable wife repellant, but I was disappointed to find this blend did not work with my wife. I was intending to return my wife for a refund - but after reading here I probably must return the tobacco.

On a more serious note: The smoke is pleasant enough, and the room note is OK and does not linger on for ages. I have reached for this repeatedly - however, it is not what it promises. So, two stars only.

Taste was something akin to dried leaves. I think I enjoyed the taste of the match more than the weed, and I sure tasted the match enough times. I sucked so hard on my poor pipe that my tongue has been useless for the better part of a week, now. I am actually afraid of this blend.

I will stick to a "somewhat recommended" because I intend to keep the tin around, open it and look at the fabulous rolls every few months.

Medium-bodied, one has to pay attention to the smoke else its subtle complexity imparted by the Latakia and a floral element are lost. The Latakia is used as a subtle flavoring agent and gives the blend a darker hue; beyond that there is a continuous, subtle hint of the taste of Latakia. Also, the blend has a subtle florality, but this taste element also remains in the back round

The Cavendish, I suppose, imparts a sweet note, but then again the sweetness could just as easily be derived from the VAs. But given the inclination of Danish tobacco manufactures to sauce their blends, the sweetness probably derives from the Cavendish.

Back ground subtlety aside, the foreground is dominated by the round, subdued taste of the Virginias/Cavendish with the darkening of the Latakia.

If you want a curly that is a bit different, give this blend a go: you won?t be disappointed.