Mac Baren - Plumcake pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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Tee-dub	04/26/2010	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
This is too mild for me, but nice enough. The aroma and taste of rum are subtle but quite evident, and nicely complement the sweetness of the tobaccos. Latakia is harder to detect. It smacks of figs or raisins, and has a pleasant mellow quality. It is sweet, but not sugary. The rum topping makes the bowl want to overheat, and threatens to burn the tongue if one isn't careful. Sweet and easy.
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ELF	02/23/2010	Very Mild	Mild	Full	Very Pleasant
This tobacco is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find here in Canada///The last 5yrs in Canada..Our Federal Government has put so many 'Hoops' for Tobacco importers to jump through...Bad Deal for us Pipe Lovers;and i'm truly not interested in smoke sail green,or.amphora brown 24/7.....Anyway,Back to the program....MacB's Plum Cake is Fantastic Out Of The Tin;Brutalty Sad out of a Pouch.P-C ages beautifully in the Tin due to the high quality Virginia Base of this mix.The blend is Macb's-Ready Rubbed...i pack my pipe as-is;unless i'm fill'g my Meer,i rub it out ultra fine..If you can get your hands on some tins(100gram{North America}/unless you have some friends living in the UK,you can get 50gram tins)...The closest replacement I've found is McCl's Navy Cavendish...Which I can still get(THANK GOODNESS)in Canada.***P-C smokes best in a small-medium size pipe. :-))
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BingCrosby	02/01/2010	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
After reading all the negative reviews of various macbaren products, complete with various scare tactics like 'mac bite', 'flame thrower', and 'tongue scorcher' I was hesitant to try this despite positive recommendations from several reliable reviewers.. Finally, I gave in - and I am glad I did.. plumcake was a surprise, especially since I usually do not care for aromatics.. it is surprisingly, very natural tasting with a very nice addition of syrian latikia.. the rum is present and tasty.. virginia and cavendish supply a solid (though some might say monochromatic) core.. I did not find any tongue bite.. and I even puffed harder on occasion to see if I could see what people are referring to.. nope nothing there... so 4 stars for a nice change of pace blend for the experienced piper, or a nice introduction to something closer to an english blend for the beginner.. this blend trends delicately accross a few different genres and succeeds.. hey it has been around since 1957 for some reason! So while you are free to review based on personal taste.. I would just like ask reviewers to try to be a little more objective (and I do realize that it is impossible to be 100 percent objective).. A tobacco might bight you- but to give it 1 star might scare away people who may enjoy it.. review on flavor! if the smoking characteristics are not to your liking then maybe deduct 1 star.. but to slam a tobacco simply because you cannot either smoke it properly.. or your own personal chemistry does not happen to correspond well to it - is no the fault of the tobacco or the macbaren blending house.. feel free to express your peronal opinion - but keep others in mind. update: although i still defend the tobacco and the blending house against some of the short nasty reviews it receives.. I have to deduct a star.. simply because this smoke is no longer very interesting to me.. it is good.. but to me not special enough to warant 4 stars.
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Uncle Arthur	01/30/2010	Medium to Strong	Medium	Full	Very Pleasant
This blend is my personal treat tobacco. I keep a couple tins on hand for those times I am feeling real proud of myself and think i need a treat! I have loved the flavor and texture of this cool smoking wonderful smelling blend since the early seventies. I recommend to to about any pipe smoker. The only caveat is take it slow and easy this is like good moonshine. Made for sipping! If you get in a hurry it will bite your tongue like a rabid weasel .
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pipealicious	01/05/2010	Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant
Tin aroma is strong but difficult to describe. It has something to it of fresh wood shavings.The rum aroma is also present. I find this tobacco difficult to pack as the cut is a mixture of broken flake and small/medium ribbon cut. Packed too loosely it will smoke wet and hot, too tight and it will clog the pipe and leave crusty dottle. It always leaves some dottle in the pipe, no matter how I pack or smoke it. The taste is dominated by the Burley component and I noticed I'm not much of a fan. It's overall a very high quality blend, but you must like it. I find that smoking it outdoors makes it more enjoyable. Nice for cold winter trips. 3/04/2010 UPDATE: I noticed myself wanting to try another tin of this tobacco, despite my previous mixed feelings about this blend. The aroma and taste make this quite unique. After being halfway my second tin, I really start to appreciate this tobacco. I learnt to pack it lightly and smoke it slowly. The taste is full and delicious: a real treat. After smoking a pure Burley (Golden Blend by McB), I also learnt to appreciate a high quality Burley and I love it. I will always keep a Plumcake at hand from now on, it's delicious and special, but it takes some time to appreciate, remember that. Upgrade to 4 stars.
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South Mantis06	11/27/2009	Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Plumcake has an awesome aroma to it in the tin! It smokes well, if packed right. Too loose earns you the dreaded curse of Mac Baren, too tight causes it to smoke very poorly. It seems to be a hot burner no matter what. Always do get somewhat of a cottonmouth after this one. Once this bad boy gets hot, put it down to cool or be cursed. Not one to fool with. Learn to dance with it and it's great. Kind of a tough Tango to learn though- and not too forgiving. Perhaps best smoked in a larger, thicker pipe. Taste wise the flavor comes through nicely, but again it depends largely upon how well the pipe was packed. I've had instances where I derived a lot of flavor, and others where there was very little. It seems to have a tight window to get the best taste out of it. I do recommend it though, but it requires some experimentation to get it right.
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stoked	11/27/2009	Very Mild	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I like it. Looks like typical McB ribbon with layers of colours and good density. Nice deep dried fruit and rum scent in the pouch. It burns fine right from the store, but after a couple of months the flavours come out in spades. I filled the bowl of my pipe with moderate pressure, tamped around the edges a little and lit it up. No problems. Latakia off the top - but just enough to play hide a seek with for the duration of the bowl. Has a spicey, woodsy aspect that remains for the entire bowl. With slow sipping there's a nice mild fuitiness, very slightly sweet. Near the end it does get more peppery as someone else observed - but still quite enjoyable. I get caught up in the exploration of layers and find myself at the end of the bowl - "finished already?" I haven't been disappointed by McBaren's yet - I recommend Plumcake.
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Fly ticky	11/15/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong
I love the tin aroma ,The only thing is the tongue bite is unbearable.I still have tin that has not been opened.Maybe in ten yrs.or so I will try it again.It is not in my rotation and I don,t think it ever will be.It,s worth trying if you want to try new tobacco's .I know every ones taste is differant and maybe you will like it. Good Luck
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Hopkins1	11/08/2009	Very Strong	Medium	Full	Pleasant
I put this as recommended for one reason and one reason only. I usually like stronger blends, but for some reason this on my palate is plum yuck. However, some people do really enjoy the blend. As the reviews state, and its hard to refute someones taste, the blend can be cool smoking and flavorful. I will however warn against smoking this blend on an empty stomach as you may turn green. 2-3 stars. 1 star for my tastes, but 4 for others, so the blend fits into the "if your interested, try it category"
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Boomer-Z	11/03/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Having smoked my way through the bulk tobaccos at my local store I decided to try this based on reviews here. I like it. It goes into the pipe easily, lights quickly, and stays lit. I find the taste changes as it smokes and 1/2 through it really tastes nice. It is now in my rotation and I look forward to it. Give it a try!
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k_pip_k	10/20/2009	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I really like this blend. I really like the name too. After smoking this blend, and a plethora of other "Navy" blends and flakes, this is my gold standard. I hold all other Navy blends to be as good as this one. I just have to be careful, and to go slow with this one. It won't bite, but it can have a pretty good Nic kick. K
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strawalker	10/14/2009	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I love the smell of this tobacco when I open the bag. Its not overly moist and is a little chunky, so I like to rub it out a bit. The flavor and aroma are gentle and sweet and I count this tobacco among the top five Mac Baren offerings. Its nice and easy and easily ties with Mac Baren's Scottish Mixture.
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RxMan	08/28/2009	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Plumcake, along with Baby;s Bottom, Bengal Slices and numerous Dunhill Mixtures was my first exposure to pipe smoking over 40 years ago. I still keep an opened tin of Plumcake for smoking on occasion (daily to every other), and gladly so. It is not for the newbie or some proclaimed "seasoned fast puffers" by any means, but is a wonderful, flavorful, relaxing blend of superbly blended tobaccos if smoked slowly (isn't that what smoking a pipe is about?)-enjoyment!.
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dk-piper	08/24/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
I love it! Case closed. Lit up, it really tastes like a sweet rumcake. can't get enough. As mentioned before, very well balanced blend. Doesn't get boring till the end. i recommend you to use a pipe with activated carbon-filter to avoid tongue bite! ...just a conclusion i came to, because i only use filter-pipes and i've never experienced any tongue-bite yet. DO IT!!!
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JESTRAB	08/24/2009	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Fully agree with the previous review, this tobacco really needs a practice. But then it is rewarding experience. Excellent blend of high quality tobacco with very little latakia and so incredibly well balanced casing. Once practiced, the burning behaviour is great and the taste simply fabulous. This blend has been made over 50 years now and obviously proved its top quality. To me this is one of the best (if not the very best) blend from Mac Baren. Highly recommended!
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doc'spipe	07/31/2009	Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
First I would like to say that the current Plumcake is not the same as what I remember from the late 1970s. There was a much stronger, and very appealing, tin aroma that was one of the main attractions for me. This always translated into the smoke as well, but less so with the current fare. Although a good smoke, the present incarnation pales by comparison. According to Mac Baren, they have not changed the recipe, but something sure has changed. Very similar to Scottish Mixture but a bit more stout in strength and flavor - and that wonderful tin aroma and roomnote that makes Plumcake stand out from other Mac Baren offerings makes it a winner (although not as good as from tins of old). I think the "plum" in the description is meant to represent the Latakia present in the blend. I tasted the Latakia upon lighting and it remained very much in the background while smoking, However, it presented itself in a very nice, musty-pipey sort of way. Not like the typical Latakia taste so common to English mixtures. This ever present subtlety acted as a very nice "tease" that leaves you excitedly waiting for more. As a result, the Latakia presence is so different, yet subtle, that I am sure it would not offend (a good thing as I am not a fan of Latakia). It is truly used as a condiment here and not as a key player. It mixed exceptionally well with the light honey casing that I detect. I honestly could not taste any presence of Rum, but I am sure it added to the overall flavor as well. The Cavendish is very spicy tasting and provides for a nice tingle while exhaling the smoke through your nose. My experience with this tinned sample (stamped 2008) was a good one. Not too moist, loose cut, packed and lit without incident, and burned to a light gray ash requiring no re-lights. By way of comparison to other Mac Baren offerings, in spite of the changes I detect in the current manufacture of this tobacco blend, I think it still has one of the nicest of all their tin aromas. It can bite if smoked too quickly and is best enjoyed with easy puffing. Letting it air dry in the tin with the lid off for a day or two helps with the bite problem. However, you can smoke it right out of the tin and if you take your time, you will be rewarded with a very tasty smoke. I wouldn't recommend this to beginning pipe smokers, however. I remember when I first smoked this over 30 years ago, my inexperience in the art of pipe smoking resulted in a hot, bitey smoke. Why did I keep coming back to it over the years? The tin aroma for starters, and it smelled fantastic when others smoked it. I was determined to get it right. With patience and perseverance, I believe I have. For those new to Plumcake, if you practice at it, I believe you will come to enjoy it as much as I have. With gentle puffing, the flavor really develops as you smoke through a bowl. No gurgle or moisture accumulation. Just a fine, gray ash is all that is left. Perhaps not the same Plumcake of old, but still very good indeed. I am grateful for Mac Barren products being so readily available. The portions are generous and you can't beat their price! Plumcake is a solid, tasty, and dependable smoke! UPDATE 1-23-10: I like Plumcake best with some age on it. Others have said that it loses something when not smoked fresh. True, its weaker, and the (newer) tin aroma does dissipate quite a bit over time, but what I have experienced is that aging brings out that subtle Latakia mustiness I commented on previous. Try it and see for yourself.
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Alguhan	07/30/2009	Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable
When I was not a fan of pure viriginias, this was on the top of my favorites. I've smoked tens of tins of 100 gr. The smell and smoke of this tobacco is like a true tobacco. For a few years I prefer to smoke this blend only in the evenings and especially in autumn and winter. It may be overhelming if you smoke it all the day. I would like to recommend a slow burn for the best results. A fast smoking can hurt! I had also opportunity to smoke aged tins. The burley and latakia flavors become bland, and yes, you feel the rum aroma better.
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viscfab	07/25/2009	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
First off, let mw say my pipes are all 9mm system pipes and I always use activated charcoal filters on my smokes. So, a tobacco must really be a pitbull to bite my tongue or to bur it anyway... The filter maintins almost all the nasty parts of the smoke trapped - say moisture, tar and nicotine levels and delivers a drier, more aromatic and pleasant smoke. So, albeit reading all biting reviews below, I cannot say the same... It never bit me. It is a very good tasty tobacco, with nice aroma and very rewarding. Not my fave MB blend, but not the least favorite as well. update oct 3rd 2011: Been a while since I last smoked this blend... Gave it a new try this weekend on a small sample I had on my stash and I felt the tobacco albeit good, now lacks more of the latakia contents for me... I guess I became a fuller English pipster... Not bad, but won ´t be getting it anymore, since HH Vintage Syrian is much more on my satisfaction realm for sure right now.
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UberDelegate86	07/19/2009	Strong	Strong	Full	Pleasant
First impression: Wow! When you open up the tin, you are hit with that smell of rum (real rum and not that phony extract rum smell) and then the smell of some spicy latakia underneath that. Very interesting smell. And two of my favourite flavours! What's not to like? The flavour when it is smoked its more latakia and less rum, which I am find with. The rum, to me, adds more to the room note and not to the overall taste. Mind you, there is a rum flavour. I know many people consider this an aromatic, but to me, with the latakia, it taste more like an English with some rum added (which works well together) than an overly cased rum aromatic. I guess this is a crossover? Anyway, definitely worth trying if you love aromatics, rum, English or latakia. If you love all of them, as do I, you may find this one amazing!
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Beer	07/16/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
Weird blend, with so many different opinions from the various users! Compared to many other Mac Baren blends, I didn't like its cut: very stringy and thin ribbons, so it took me a while to find a correct packing method. Press it too much, and it will clog the airhole and form a "plug" which will become even tighter when expanding during the smoke. It's OK to form a sort of pressed sausage and then carefully inserting it into the bowl. Don't simply load the pipe with the "three pinches" method, or by gravity feeding and then pressing, because it will end up in disaster (hot and wet smoke). And, most important, don't press it too much. Personally I don't find it too bitey, if you have a good technique. Actually, very little bitey: my tongue and gums are perfectly fine after smoking this. BUT it has rather high chances of scorching my palate, go figure... What I find this blend rather lacking of, is flavor and flavor development. Bland, very bland. Pleasant and with never a bad flavor (it's very smooth, never bitter or harsh or acrid), but i want something more from a pipe tobacco. It has a very delicate sweetness, you can feel a pleasant hint of rum, and there's a very slight smokiness. Again, very rounded and refined. Some of the sweet smokiness and the rum clearly remind me of GLPease's beloved Mephisto... but the intensity is infinitely lower. Which is even more weird if you think that it actually has body and it doesn't feel like you are smoking air. Yes, it is even more delicate and subdued than other Mac Baren blends. Overall it's not a bad tobacco, and I wouldn't mind smoking it again once in a while. What it has to offer is good... my problem is simply that I would like MORE of it.
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