That being said, this Vanilla Cream blend is my absolute favourite blend of tobacco. This is my every day smoke. Very smooth, full of flavour, and not over-powering. The highest quality Virginia-base tobaccos can be tasted under the light high-quality Cavendish. This is such a high quality tobacco, that I have devoted one of my Jacopo's specifically to this blend of tobacco.

The room note is most excellent, sweet and very aromatic. It is like tasting a dish of vanilla bean ice cream. But it is not over-powering. This is a very pleasant tobacco that you can smoke all day long.

I daresay that many of the reviewers who have given this a 1-2 star review are those who either are not keen on any type of flavored tobaccos, or who are smoking this tobacco in a cheap, low-grade pipe, or in a pipe whose cake is that of a different type. You need to have a fully clean and sterilized pipe of high quality in order to get the most of this blend.

Also, my wife had already gone off to bed, so I wasn't able to get her thoughts on the room note. However, the "aroma" that I smelled was anything but pleasant. Certainly nothing that smelled like vanilla, just as there was no vanilla to be detected in the flavor.

At the rate I'm going with these tinned aromatics, I'm thinking of just sticking with English blends.

The vanilla scent upon opening the 100g tin is very distinct, yet not overwhelming. The tobacco itself has exactly the correct amount of moist in it, and consists of a nice mix including some parts flake which containt the highest concentration of vanilla.

It lights very easy, and rarely requires a relight. Throughout the bowl it smokes very evenly and is hard to smoke too fast. This tobacco has absolutely no tendency to smoke wet and tongue bite-wise is the mildest tobacco I have smoked so far.

While rather mild, the taste is complicated enough to keep you interested, even after tens of bowls. The vanilla is easily found in the taste, and is very natural (I really dislike chemical vanilla taste).

A recommendation to all new pipe smokers and due to it's pleasant room note also recommended to smokers with housemates who dislike pipesmoke!

|Smoking it was another story. It quickly became bland ans the pouch aroma was gone.

I bought the Vanilla flake in a tin, recently. I can't wait to find out the result...

This blend is better than that- its good tobacco, with good flavor, and a subtle (okay- medium subtle) addition of pleasant vanilla flavor. I also consider this an excellent "entry level" smoke. Its got enough tobacco flavor for new smokers to know what's going on, but not so much flavoring as to be overwhelming or to completely disguise the tobacco either. A much better choice than some of the drug store blends.

I find this smoke especially relaxing. The room note is completely adored by family and friends around me.

The can I got was a little over-moist, so I've found letting it dry a little makes for a better smoke.

I usually smoke 3 different bowls in a row: I start out with something mild, then step up to medium (a virginia or a Vanilla-flavored?), then end with something stronger (usually MB Mixture), once my palate is more involved. MB's Vanilla Cream is often the first thing I smoke to get started.

I really enjoy this blend.

It was not. My search for a legitimate and consistent aromatic continues.

I will stretch and give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars. Here is what I had to do to get Vanilla Cream to be a 2.5:

My best pipe. Loose pack. Minimal draw on lighting and relighting (no gulping during lights). Sipping and savoring during the smoke. Small bowl of it. Didn't smoke the last 10%.

I will now cellar it, and come back to it later. If I find an aromatic that is better, it will never be in my cellar again.

UPDATE: Since last review i have a new packing method i learned, Macbaren and most ribbon cuts require very loose packing. It smoked great and didnt burn so hot, I actually had a great vanilla aftertaste AWESOME TOBACCO

Now this is how I like my tobacco. While the vanilla is present, it's not overwhelming, and the balance is just perfect. It's sweet without being sickly sweet or gunky. The smell out of the tin is awesome. It's easy to pack, easy to light, stays lit, and burns to a nice fine ash all the way down to the bottom of the bowl.

I don't get why Mac Baren is associated with tongue bite. Granted I've only tried this and Black Ambrosia from Mac Baren, but neither have bitten me, ever. Just take it slow and it's very rewarding. I smoke it in a small bowl and it seems to be perfect. It doesn't burn too hot, and there is no gurgle, either.

I think I could pretty much smoke this all day and not complain about it. The balance is perfect for me.

Update : I still enjoy this tobacco, and it's probably my favorite aromatic, though I primarily smoke Virginia flakes. However, I found 2 pouches of this the other day, so I bought them. Quite different from the tinned version. Way more black cavendish in the pouch, different cut, no broken flakes, and quite a bit less flavor. I was disappointed. Stick to the tin - that's good stuff.

Also, the tins are cheap and rust out quickly.

Dissapointing. Wanted more vanilla essence than I got..

It is a nice looking black and ginger tobacco perhaps a little on the dry side to the touch.

My first bowl was a real disappointment. There was no taste of Vanilla. Indeed I could detect no taste at all. It did not burn particualrly well either, until about halfway through when it became a good slow-burner alas without taste.

I thought my taste buds had deserted me at this point, and now after several bowls of this supposed aromatic it's actually started to bite me leaving me with a mouth drier than my son's toothbrush.

Mrs RH has made no complaint about fragrance but hasn't declared it foul either.

In conclusion, a good looking though totally tastless smoke, promising and great deal yet failing to deliver.