Paul was raving about how good English tobacco was, but he was also raging against Danish tobacco as being mass produced inferior tobacco that would only please the mob. Mac Baren took a big hit in the sixties, and a "war" between independent literature and the industry raged across good 'ole Denmark.

That made me avoid Mac Baren for quite some time.

Olrik was very wrong in some aspects, because Mac Baren makes some outstanding blends nowadays as well as some rather unfortunate concoctions. (see my other reviews if I should manage to tickle your curiosity).

This one is good

For me Navy Mixture could consist of half rubbed out Navy Flake and half MB Mixture, but I don't think one would get Navy Mixture if one did a half 'n half IRL. It's just a way to illustrate that there is more burley in this one and less honey.

And somehow Mac Baren managed to go easy on the PG for once.

Not very complex - since 35 different tobaccos are bound to equalize into something rather simple - but nice and easy with friendly butter cookie notes.

I like it but I don't love it, and it will never even get close to beating Mac Baren's Roll Cakes.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

Supposedly 30 odd different raw tobaccos in this mix which I can't help but think makes it a floor sweepings special, and if this was such a great idea why slather them all in a sweet topping, but that might just be me.

If you are not sensitive to bite and you want a pleasant, sweet, easy mash-up mix then you could do a lot worse.

I've never been so much as nipped by Navy Mixture. I suspect that complaints about tobacco bite are often caused by unartful packing of the pipe which leads to heroic efforts to maintain a burn which leads to the dreaded bite.

And here's my secret about Mac Baren Navy Mixture -- It takes very well to being augmented with a bit of Latakia, which is of some consequence during the indoor smoking season here in New England. I'm now IN THE HOUSE smoking a 40/60 mix of Navy Mixture and 10-year-old Dunhill 965 in a 40-year-old Petersen. I'm enjoying it very much and hear zero (as in 0.00!!)complaints from the rest of the family. If I lit up a full-strength bowl of 965 they'd be in here clutching their throats, wheezing pitifully and staggering about, you can be sure.

Sip don't puff.

The aroma emanating from the tobacco in the pouch was flat. No hint of a topping or casing, as reported in the other reviews.

I would suspect I would have a very different opinion if I bought a tin.

But do I want to chance it, in these conditions?

Also if you're looking for something light, looks good on the web, there is much better!

My advice is to search for quality, find it so beautiful is smoking a pipe!

Now, in the nineties I used to very much enjoy a mixture called "Montrose blend 47", also blended by Harald Halberg (stated on the tin) and this Navy Mixture is almost indistinguishable. Under the honey flavour there is a very tasty blend of mainly Virginia and Burley, but with a tart note that could be added to mimick Perique. The "small pieces of flake" could be Navy Flake for all I know. More strength than either Mixture or Plumcake, but not quite in Navy Flake territory. Very soft and smooth on the palate, very satisfying. Deserves wider recognition in my opinion. Rob

It came in a navy blue 50grms pouch. At the opening notes of honey, liquorice and rhum. Colours range from bright to medium brown, with occasional darker flecks. The cut is called mixture, and I actually find ribbons and rubbed flakes, some of larger size, probably coming from the Navy Flake itself. Humidity is perfect for smoking.

NM lights perfectly and behaves very much well. The smoke is undoubtly parent of the Flake cousin, just less honeysh. Compared to Scottish Mixture is a bit stronger, full bodied and the "aromatic" notes are less pronounced. Less earthy than Golden Blend, and more Virginia oriented, NM has more honey and the "Navy" note.

I'm just working it in a couple of "Il Duca Pipe", produced by a young Italian artisan of Ferrara, which seem to bring out the best from all the three tobaccos. Navy Mixture produces a rounded but very interesting and lively smoke.

We all know that talking of McB is all about the minimal variation in combining Virginias and Burleys (HH's are a different story, though), and very seldom their tobaccos go further the medium strength and body. Neverthess the quality of the employed weed and the blending skill are very good. I'm keeping studying theirs.

I register Navy Mixture in the list of my tobaccos in regular rotation.

To the latter, I must say I consider it a beauty. MB Mixture meets Navy Flake about half-way, making for a cool, highly VA-ish smoke with a wonderful, light, fragrant room note. It also packs easily and does not need much maintenance.

This is a mild-smoking aromatic; the leaf may benefit from a little rubbing action but that's about it for niggles. You may try to stone me to death for being a habitual filter smoker; (you won't succeed -- I'll throw filters back at you until you give up...), but for me, this tobacco tends to be nicely mild, aromatic and it still has a good amount of taste.

I recommend highly to the beginner. Not a complex blend, but easily palatable and well-behaved. For me, Navy Mixture burns down coolly and easily from the top of the bowl to the very bottom. These days, I crave more strength than this blend provides, but I can still enjoy it -- and I believe this would be a great blend to introduce a beginner to Virginia-dominated blends.

Update 2010-03-30: As has been noted by a few other reviewers, the blend I remembered from the late 1980s was quite a different beast and obviously only offered for a short while. I still have one of the elaborately printed tins it came in, last seen by me in a tobacco store in 1991. Fond memories... still, the current Navy Blend remains very much recommended by me.

As I have already noticed with all Mac Baren blends; their tobaccos in pouch (and bulk) are much inferior in quality and flavor than their tins or the plastic containers, I have tried many of their pouchs and bulk blends and was wandering if they are really using the same tobacco or it is just a packaging problem? e.g. while Virginia No.1 is fruity and tasty in tin, it is bland, harsh, bity and tasteless in bulk and pouch.

This review is based on the 100G tin pack.

This is between Mixture and Navy Flake, the tin aroma is exactly same as Mixture therefore, I used a pipe already dedicated to Mixture, the flavor start similar to Mixture and this during the first half bowl, the second half is very nutty, the rum casing start to show up and I find myself almost smoking navy flake.

Since I am an all-day smoker of Mixture, I am very happy with this one and will add it to my daily rotation.

Happy Puffin!

Like most Mac Baren's blends, this can heat up a bit if not appreciated at a modified smoking pace.

I am puzzled by previous review that found it to be cased. I can hardly notice anything, and the blend was quite dry, burning clean to the end with almost no dottle.

--hemlock