Mac Baren - Virginia No.1 pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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Henry Mars	09/24/2011	Medium	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable
Over the years I have tried several tins of this straw. I really wanted to like it. There is just one or two problems. It burns as hot as a gas furnace and it bites like a rabid dog. It may be my body chemistry, I can't say for sure. It takes a week for my mouth to heal after smoking a third of a bowl. It is so painful that I can't really taste a thing. It is like trial by ordeal. I'll pass on this one. I really can't rate the taste unless there is a category for pain and discomfort.
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TK Pipe	09/23/2011	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
McB Va. No 1 … Danish style Virginias were never my first choice, but of the ones I’ve tried Va. # 1 is pretty good, especially it’s reasonable cost. I found this stuff can get harsh and irritating to the tongue if not smoked sloowly, and for me a bowl or two, once in a while is about the extent of my use of this tobacco. I don’t see myself buying any more of this stuff, when I finish this tin. There are too many other VA’s I enjoy more. IMO this would not be a good choice for a beginner. My personal rating, 1/5
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asmoke	09/03/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
This was one of my first introductions to "tobacco". The first time I smoked this I burned the living daylights out of my tongue. My fault. After I managed to slow down it was very pleasant. This was a frequent smoke for quite a while for me. It is a bright virginia with both sweetness and occassionally a sharp flavor. Not unpleasant, but sharp. Room note is fairly normal, nothing too exciting. Anyone looking for a good bright gold viginia should give this a go.
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strawalker	08/26/2011	Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant
A nice toasty sweetish Virginia blend that burns a bit hot and bites if you over puff but very nice all said. Has a honey sweetness at times but it's not too complex. An excellent base for blending or stoving. I like it when I want something simple and relaxing.
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SiChange	08/21/2011	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
The treat is the last third of pipe, reaching oil-rich tobaccos, which is very sweet and rich. I am able to smoke this to bottom of bowl with two relights after initial light. Smokes well and long in small pot. If I sense a difference from long ago (1980s and earlier) it is that the fruity tin note may be less intense and perhaps the overall experience not quite so stellar. Mac Barens is one of extremely few brands that tobacconists of 30 years ago (and more) stocked that have genuinely survived to the present in the sense of unchanged manufacture. V. good value for high quality.
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NedF	07/12/2011	Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
I really like the young, honey, grassy virginia taste of this one. I don't like the tongue bite.
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Mr. Big	07/06/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Well after 45 years I tried this again and it's still nice. This was the first non "drug store" blend I could get back then and it was my favorite. Now I realize how much Mac's bite , but this one is somewhat of an exception considering it is straight Virginia. Upon opening the tin you can smell the strong honey topping over the light Virginia. The taste is wonderful , sweet honey hay. You do need to sip it or you will get some bite. I find the price very reasonable in comparison to other straight Virginias and is worth keeping around. For something extra special, blend 50% Virginia #1 with 50% 5100 Red Cake. This seems to make the Red Cake more interesting and at the same time eliminate the bite from the V#1.
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Ryan Brutus	05/28/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a mild virginia, it is quite enjoyable but does burn hot, alson not much of a tounge bite.
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wosbald	05/21/2011	Medium	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant
In the tin, the heavily broken flakes smell distinctly of honey, toast, and grains. This is basic. Well-aged, clean and sprightly golden virginias are topped with a gentle coating of honey and, seemingly, nothing else. I suspect that there is the tiniest touch of oriental in this. The finish is, expectedly, clean. Virginia No. 1 is an easy-to-use and immeasurably tasty bright virginia flake which eschews subtlety in favor of ingratiating simplicity. A classic. This went best in a narrow to medium gauge chamber.
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Kilmarnock Piper	05/17/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Aged sample, from 1985. HONEY! Yes, this is one of those honey-cased MacBarens. I get it even in this 25 year old sample. Even so, it is a nice, albeit honey-cased Virginia. I really don't know if newer production would bite me (I have noticed the infamous MacBite with about half the MacBarens I have sampled), but this doesn't bite me, at least. I find it a pleasant (though not sublime) Virginia in the Danish style. Quality all the way, and I seem to remember it is a good value. Since it is not nipping me too much, and is a nice Virginia even if it is not the best I've had, I recommend it! Edit 12-6-12: I've now had two other vintages of this blend. One is a 1999 3.5 ounce tinning, and it was a bit different, but as good as the 1985 I originally reviewed. I think that 1985 I had first was from a 3.5 ounce tin as well, because when it comes to aged Mac Baren, the 3.5 ounce tins seem to be quite different from the 7 ounce cans that were sold in the same time period... I avoid them like the plague! I think they have some kind of additional humectants added, because I get bite from the late 80s 7 ouncer of VA #1 I recently aquired. It's not enough to make it unsmokable, but it's there. Not as bad as the 7 ounce tin of Symphony: I considered that blend the worst biter I had ever had for quite some time, because I tried it from an aged 7 ounce tin first. When I got a tin of the very same blend from the very same time period (mid to late 80s probably) in its 3.5 ounce version, the bite wasn't there, and I enjoyed the blend enough to seek out another three tins!
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DaveA	05/03/2011	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This was my first pure Virginia tobacco and I found it a very pleasant smoke. It has a sweet taste that stays with you throughout the smoke. It can burn a little hot if you are not careful, but a slow steady pace will reward you with a good tasting smoke. I bought this in bulk and the bag had a nice smell when I opened it. The room note is not overbearing and clears out pretty quickly once the pipe is out. I found it easy to light and it stayed lit without much effort. Because it can burn hot, it is not the greatest choice to smoke outside on a windy day, but other than that I have no complaints. I will continue to explore other Virginia tobaccos, but for now this has a place in my regular rotation.
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bence	04/15/2011	Very Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I used to dry, and crush it when i open a new pack. A star minus because of the added aroma, and its lightness. (The flake version a bit sronger and more natural.)
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Peppino	04/09/2011	Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant
From the first light to the last puff, this is a good Virginia that burns well with a natural sweetness. The flavor gets better as the bowl burns down to a medium grey ash. The honey flavor is in the back ground but is a perfect balance with the sweetness of the Virginia. I did rub it out quite a bit to get the cut the way I prefer it which I would recommend to anyone trying this out.I see where it could be difficult to light and keep from over heating if you don't. Keep the tobacco smoldering or sipping it as others have said and you will be rewarded with a great smoke!:) UPDATE: The more I smoke this the more I enjoy it. 4 stars for sure and a great value!
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NapaWineLover	03/26/2011	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This Virginia falls into the category of exquisite for me. It is all VA of the highest quality and it's cavendish cut provides easy loading and lighting. This blend had been in my regular rotation for months now and it is my go to blend for lighter fare. Smoking less than days of yore - I've been moving back to milder blends that still deliver satisfaction. That may very well be good way to describe a good deal of the MacBaren line-up. Since it is a relatively mild blend, pipe selection for me, is very important. It is not unusual for this to be completely unsatisfying if matched with the wrong pipe - my choice generally is a large bowl billiard (Savinelli Hercules) or similar. Because this is not particularly mature VA - it can burn fast, so respectfully, it needs to be sipped. Best enjoyed just above a smolder.
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Rever	03/24/2011	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This was my absolute first pipe of tobacco, recommended by the local Havana House on my request for a good Virginia for a complete novice. I have to say this was an entirely enjoyable introduction and I am looking forward to the next bowl! I was left wanting for a bit more flavor, but I may be jaded as I've smoked full-flavor cigarettes for ten years. My initial thoughts on the flavor are honey and hay with the tiniest hint of vanilla. The honey flavor is not strong but is persistent, lasting hours after the smoke. As a first-timer I was a bit wary of tongue bite but experienced almost none, only a bit when I forgot myself and nearly drew as I would on a cigarette. I also had no trouble keeping the bowl lit and smoking it to the bottom with only the initial lights, though not entirely to clean white ash as I'm sure I should have. Once the bowl was nearly finished it did go out, and the final flavor didn't leave me wanting to relight. Overall I'm neither disappointed nor thoroughly impressed, but I am satisfied and hopeful! This has been a great first experience, if somewhat less robust in flavor than I'd have liked. I've tried many times to quit cigarettes, and now that I've tried this blend I'm thinking pipe smoking just may do the trick! I'll post an update once I've had some more time to reflect and compare with other blends.
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fireball	01/31/2011	Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
It does exactly what it says on the tin: 'golden, sweet'. Initial tin note: honey. Or rather: 'HONEY!' Nice looking and feeling thick rubbed strands, came a bit moist or rather 'sticky'. I was initially delighted by this mix. Smooth, sweet, all VA taste. But them I smoked a bowl too quickly out on an early morning walk. It bit me hard and made my stomach growl with hunger. We fell out because of this, and on my next smoke I wasn't feeling so generous. It was thin, too sickly HONEY monsterish, no depth. I could taste the honey for hours afterwards. We reconciled our differences by my throwing in a tin of black cavendish, with the Va 2:1 dominant. Bite has gone, taste is filled, honey has taken a back seat. Now that mix is one of my regular evening aro mixes.
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rewozz	01/25/2011	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

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John Offerdahl	01/08/2011	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
People often complain about the aroma of McClelland’s tobaccos when they open the tin. To me, the tobaccos to complain about are MacBaren’s. Why? Their tobaccos always have a sort of rancid, fermented smell to them. But as I’ve said to those who complain about McClelland’s blends, hold your nose and try it. Virginia #1, unlike other MacBaren’s tobaccos I’ve smoked, is almost dry when freshly opened. It is ready-rubbed, but coarse. Because of that, it can be difficult to pack until you get used to it. It’s been a number of years since I’ve had to repack a bowl, but I had to with one or two of this blend. I learned to rub it out a bit more before packing. Virginia #1 has a strong initial flavor to it. It lights extremely well, though. The charring light holds, and while I used a second match there was probably enough fire in the bowl without it. After the initial strength of the light, the tobacco develops a rich sweetness typical of good Virginia tobaccos. But smoke this slowly, because it’ll bit the end of your tongue right off if you get aggressive with it! Overall, this is a good, sweet Virginia. The somewhat fermented aroma comes through, to me, in the initial lighting, but adds a nice flavor once through the first third or so of the bowl. Like most Virginias, Virginia #1 DGT’s well, becoming even sweeter after sitting overnight.
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WmZiggy	11/08/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I don't know why I waited so long in trying this rubbed out VA Flake. It is wonderful. It has a nice level of sweetness and measured spice. It burns well, difficult to get hot, and does not bite. I find myself craving it. It has a light casing, but who knows what it is, unique to MB. Highly recommended to the VA lover.
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Bulldog Jeff	10/28/2010	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
A good Virginia. I bought it on recommendation from the lady at the tobacco shop. Mild but good. My new favorite morning smoke. If I don't get a pipe of this before work, I crave it and have to have it as soon as I get home.
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