Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia

Great tasting tobacco. Tin smell is awesome. Reminds me of fruit leather and fresh cut grass or hay. Tastes is great, with layers of flavours to consider. Can be peppery on the retrohale but I like that. Beautiful smoke. Can't go wrong with this one!

Straight Virginia above average. Good quality pure Virginia without any doubt. I do not perceive any topping, but sure there is a little bit of sugar (casing). Opening the tin, the smell is typical: Virginia, caramelized sugar and a little note of chocolate. While smoking, the taste is extremely natural, low sugary and slightly grassy. A little bit salty and bitter. Some spicy notes: a little peppery, earthy, woody with some sweet notes. However, there is little evolution and the taste is quite flat. But natural. High strength and medium to high nicotine level. In my opinion this straight Virginia is only for experienced pipe-smokers and it is recommended only after meals. Well, it is not a “must” but a good experience. If you are looking for a pure, natural, straight Virginia this is for you. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 8 and three stars.

The tin note is deeply of dried grass/hay, with notes of citrus in the background. As for the smoke, the VA's are very earthy, lots of grass/hay with some tart notes of citrus that can be a little zesty at times. There was a little flower note that reminds me of clover in the field with just a hint of spice and wood. Unlike others I really don't get any dark fruits in this one. There is more than just a hint of honey here maybe not as much as Dunhill/Peterson's Flake but it is there. It does linger for a while as well. The nic is firmly in the mild to med. range as is the overall strength profile of the smoke. It does not bite but was not an all day smoke for me, although I did find myself picking it up throughout the day. Not really complex and it did not really develop at the bottom like I hoped it would. Still, a solid three stars.

3rdguy

Solid blend with a few years on it. Capstan and Reiner Golden Flake are similar but both have a nice sweet topping applied up front. HH Pure Virginia does not have that, it is as pure a Virginia you can get. With age however you will get that sweet note and more. That is why I like this blend over those 2. You get a pure,natural sweet tasting straight virginia with time and this blend is cheap compared to just about anything out there and comes in bulk. Smokable as it comes but it doesn't truly shine above all others until it has some age IMO.

Fresh : Light in nic . Little to no sweetness. Retrohale was uninspiring. Pure tobacco taste. Good smoke but nothing that would make me long for it.

Aged: Light in nic. Sweetness. Retrohale has some dimension of flavor that can easily be picked up. Tobacco has some body to it, does not leave you wanting for something you can't put your finger on. Pure tobacco taste. Very satisfying and a rewardingsmoke.

Highly recommended and easy to obtain. Cellar down on this one.

Let's face it, yeah we all have our preferences with Virginia's, but most Virginia's are the same basic profile. This being said and from my own experience,HH pure Virginia is in a different class of its own.

For starters, at least the 50g tin no longer has the US warning label anymore! The FDA failed again! My tin is from November 2020. The tin aroma has a very fermented stewed fruit aroma. The flakes are a little moist but not enough to need drying time. Like most Virginia's I've had, the flavor is very consistent from being to end but its pretty complex.

I wouldn't say its has grassy notes but their is a slight vegative note to it here and there. It's has a very dark flavor profile. Just enough caramel like sweetness to know its there but doesn't show that much, it's very nutty, has some very light bready notes, and a floral note every now and then, but mostly it's very earthy and musty like very well aged tobacco. No spice at all. Very smooth with no harshness at all. Burns cool and very well with no tongue bite.

As far as I know, I haven't had anything with with air cured Virginia's. It's very good with a va quality I haven't experienced before. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this good. I can see this as a excellent all day smoke and not be tiring.

6-26-23 Cracked open a 3 year aged tin. The flavors diminished to the mild range. I dropping it to a 3 star for that.

Very nice tin presentation as is typical of MacB; flakes are evenly cut and have an ideal moisture content and are very suitable for my fold and pack technique; steady burn rate with no relights; cool smoke with little condensation; pleasant tobacco taste that is consistent from start to end

This is undoubtely among the finest Virginia Flakes produced. The MacBaren care and packaging is always outstanding on their flake products. Crack the tin open to find wonderfully cut and pressed matured Virginia into beautiful homogeneous flakes of pure hot pressed Virginias absolutely and flawlessly stacked inside the tin. Amber in color, with a fresh citrusy smell that reminds me a bit of marmelade. I fold a flak and stuff into a medium or larger bowls evening out the top which sometimes exceeds the bowl limits. Takes 3 or 4 charing lights to get it going but then will not need many relight if you keep a steady and relaxed sipping cadence. Oh the flavour is grand! Tangy citruses and sweet grassy notes from top to bottom. I get no bite and I am presented by a wonderful and satisfying aroma of high quality processed virginias, Sweeteness is not excessive but present all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It is somewhat similar to Amphora Virginia blend also produced by MacBaren. Delicious and indulging. Makes no mess on the bowl and burns at a slow comfy pace.

One of the best straight Virginias in my opinion , more earthy than sweet but with some sublime fruit notes. Medium nic and excellent burning qualities!!

AP

In the can it has a sweet aroma, while in the smoke it is toasty and acrid, slightly sweet and peppery, the same in flavor. The aftertaste is the same slightly sweet toasted aftertaste, which does not last long, tends to heat up and its smoke is harsh, it is not a snuff tobacco