Tobaccos Mac Baren - HH Burley Flake

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2018-05-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The nutty, earthy, woody, lightly molasses sweet, mildly chocolatey burleys take the lead over the other components. They also sport a touch of spice and light dryness. The tangy, ripe dark fruity, earthy, woody, bready, slightly grassy and sugary, light tart and tangy citrusy dark Virginias play an important condimental role. There’s also a strand or two of tangy ripe dark fruity, earthy, woody, bready red Virginia in the mix. The lightly spicy, woody, earthy, vegetative, floral, nutty, mildly sweet dark fired Kentucky is a background player. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste level falls just short of medium. The nic-hit is a step or so past the mild threshold. No chance of bite or harshness, and has no rough edges. The flakes are a little moist, but I saw no need to dry them. They easily break apart to suit your preference. Burns a little slow, cool and clean with a fairly rich, mostly consistent, woody sweet predominate burley flavor from start to finish. I recommend a wide bowl to enhance the range of nuances this blend has to offer. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and does require some relights. The very pleasant after taste and room notes lightly linger. Can easily be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

83 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (242)	2018-05-12		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

After I saw JimInks post on pipesmagazine.com that Iwan Ries had this for sale I immediately purchased 2 tins. I'm primarily a Burley fan with Burley Slice (BS) and Aged Burley Flake (ABF) favorites, and with their respective availability these days in question, the Mac Baren offering was a must for me.

I've always been a fan of the late Mac's Burley London Blend (one of the first tobaccos I ever smoked over 40 years ago) and Golden Extra in that order; always hoping for a Mac Burley done as a flake. Opening the tin reveled two neat rows of flakes ala Mac Baren that were medium brown in appearance. The tin note had a faint cocoa smell with a bit of sour and a very mild fruitiness which I assumed was from the Virginia in the blend. I've always found the moisture content of Mac Barens ready for smoking. Interestingly this Mac flake was sturdier than their Navy Flake and Mixture flake; not crumbling apart as easily. Loading and lighting were easy as expected. The smoking experience was superb. I didn't find any similarity to Burley London or Golden Extra. There was always a faint cocoa taste while smoking with a dryness and minimal sour I've come to experience with good Burley leaf. I feel the cocoa presence was a combination of the inherent quality of Burley and perhaps what the Burley was cured with; it wasn't a top dressing to me. I couldn't pick up any Virginia per se, but along with a subtle sweetness (probably from the Virginia) throughout the smoke and you have what this is all about. It has way less cocoa presence than ABF and didn't detect molasses as with BS. It smoked clean and dry to the heel with a minimal of relights along the way. The room note was that very comforting, pipey smell you get from a good Burley. All excellent across the board. Not as strong as ABF or BS and no appreciable nicotene effect with fast puffing. There was never any bite whatsoever and this never smoked hot - at all. If ABF and BS vanished from the USA market, this would satisfy completely as my go to Burley flake. A GREAT offering from Mac Baren and my favorite flake of theirs to date, one I will be smoking daily. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Stanwell sandblast half bent Dublin

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: Amphora Original (brown), Aged Burley Flake.

52 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	oldermanpipe (25)	2018-06-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The late, long-time Master Distiller of Heaven Hill Distilleries, Parker Beam, used to scratch his head when reviewers of his bourbons would comment that they tasted apricots and leather in his whiskey. "I don't put any apricots and leather in there. I put corn and water into an oak barrel; and that's all I taste: corn and oak." Well...rye (or wheat) and malted barley go in there also...and a closely guarded yeast...but definitely no apricots or leather! Parker, an old customer of mine, had as sophisticated a palate as there ever was, but his only criterion was: Is this good bourbon or bad bourbon?

Burley, like bourbon, was originally a Kentucky product. And, in fact, the two still compliment each other marvelously.

HH Burley Flake is a fabulous smoke. In the tin, it has the faint cocoa aroma that all good Burley has, although it comes through in the smoke only incidentally. There is no discernable top dressing, nor is there anything to caress the senses besides the exelent Burley, along with a bit of Virginia and Dark Fired Kentucky. Mostly, the taste is earthy and "summery," as in summer in the Ohio River Valley, where Burley first was grown.

Having been a longtime Burley lover, there is nothing to fault here. The smoke is cool and bite-free; whether folded or rubbed out. To me, there have always been two types of Burley pipe tobaccos: Edgeworth and Granger. This is more on the Granger end of the spectrum, a darker and stronger tobacco. This is not as brutally strong as Solani ABF, but it is fuller and tastier than Wessex Burley Slices. Though in character more like the Wessex. This is by no means a mild, nor medium smoke. But for ANY Burley lover...a must-try.

UPDATE

I won't say this is the best Burley smoke I have ever had; that still goes to the Larus and Brother Edgeworth Slices of 1972. But I was 19 then, and the memory of a 65-yr-old man is bound to be a bit suspect. Though the first couple of puffs of Sutliff's Edgeworth Match bring back just what was so great about it. After that...eh, not so much.

HH Burley Flake grabs the basis of that late, lauded smoke, and provides a wonderful Burley satisfaction for the whole bowlful. There really isn't a wrong note to be had. I might prefer a bit more cocoa, but that is by no means a criticism. This stuff is fine...just fine.

The original Edgeworth is gone. Just like the Original Balkan Sobranie, and the original Brush Creek. Or the original me. But for what's left of me...this will do.

48 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2018-05-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is quite a departure from what I have come to expect from Mac Baren with their burley based HH series blends. When smoking this, don’t expect the bigger presence of Old Dark Fired or the spiciness & enormous low notes of Bold Kentucky. This one is designed to be a mild, yet flavorful all day kind of smoke, and in HH Burley Flake I think Mac Baren has created exactly that.

The tin note is unassuming; it’s dry and earthy in a vegetal kind of way, with a hair of sweetness coming from the Virginias along with a faint trace of hard wood smoke from the dark fired Kentucky. The flakes are evenly cut and perfectly pressed. The moisture content is spot on and any method of preparation could be applied here. Whether rubbed out, cubed or folded and stuffed, I found that Burley Flake burns easily and smokes slow and cool regardless.

When lit there’s a subtle sweetness that comes forth which quickly gives way to the woodsy, nutty, earthy mineral notes of the burleys. As the bowl progresses there are a few subtleties and the overall flavor develops into a balanced and moderately complex smoke that’s mild to medium in flavor and strength. The most unique aspect of HH Burley Flake is a light, yet pervasive cigar-like note that comes into focus at times, especially on the finish. I say “cigar-like” because it’s not a dead ringer for cigar, but rather something in the ballpark. I have never noticed this particular aroma or flavor attribute in either of the other HH burley blends, so I am going to assume that it’s coming from the Indonesian grown burley which adds a certain something that’s quite foreign to my senses. The uniqueness of this flavor alone makes HH Burley Flake an intriguing tobacco to smoke.

Overall this is an exceptionally smooth, high quality milder burley blend with a sweeter tone and absolutely no harshness or bitterness. It's an honest & unpretentious product. For now I am rating this as recommended. But I have a feeling that I might really grow to appreciate this flake even more down the road.

31 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mikefu (20)	2018-05-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Nice, wide easy to pack flakes with the typical MacB attention to uniformity and aesthetics. The pound box is really a thing of beauty, with its line of beautiful dappled brown flakes standing side by side like soldiers awaiting orders. I prefer the fold and stuff method over rubbing them out, and in doing so am rewarded with an easy to light and easy to maintain flake smoking experience. They start out just a touch too moist, and I dry them for 30-45 minutes before folding. At initial light, I am greeted by a nice nutty burley flavor with a touch of sweetness and a hint of vanilla flavor. Not from a topping, I don’t think, but just from a well executed treatment of quality leaf. The vanilla fades into chocolate notes after the first third, and the spice from the dark fired begins to kick in, giving occasional hints of Mexican chocolate on the retrohale. The molasses notes remain light and subdued throughout, and while present, are definitely akin more to light molasses than blackstrap. As the bowl progresses, it develops a minerality, akin to a dry old word white wine, almost a flintyness. The grassiness of the Virginia comes and goes for the latter two thirds of the bowl, rounding out the increasing spice of the dark fired. Not a terribly complex smoke, but one that doesn’t wear out its welcome with monotony either. Burns well, I only need a couple relights. Burns cool and slow, and you have to really try to get any bite out of it. Has a little moisture left over, but nothing serious. Overall a very good flake that I highly recommend.

Pipe Used: Various Briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

22 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	B&D Pipes (9)	2020-05-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

HH Burley Flake - Part 1 of 6 - MacBaren HH Flake Reviews

In honor of the just released MacBaren HH Rustica Flake (that I ordered three tins of) I will be reviewing the five previous HH Flakes leading up to a final review of that new release. I feel all tobacco needs a “Cool Down” period after you open the tin. A minimum of a month so the prior five HH Flakes will give me enough time to get Rustica ready for my liking. With that said: here is Part 1 of 6 . . . of my MacBaren HH Flake Series Reviews.

Burley and I have had a troubled past to say the least. For the longest time I simply couldn’t find a taste for it. I understood it’s burning properties and ability to take on other tobacco’s flavor’s with ease, but due to this and what I thought was my personal distaste for the tobacco on its own, I always found it as more of a condiment tobacco than a base. One of the guys at my Pipe Club is a local historian. He loves his Burley and is always eager to explain the origin of any Burley blend that he frequents or how Burley was a key player in our society’s tobacco history as a whole. I would look at him sometimes and think: “I love his passion, but dislike his taste in tobacco.”

Fast forward to October 2019. I was at Sutliff for their excellent Pipe show. I had the honor of talking to Per Georg Jensen. MacBaren’s head blender and the man responsible for many fine tobaccos on today’s market. I was in a bit of a rut at the time. My palate was burnt out due to taste testing too many LAT-bombs while trying to perfect my Full English Blend: 2B. I showed Per my recipe and asked him for any advice. His response: “Have you thought about trying a little Burley in it?” I looked quizzically at him and simply said: “no”. He recommended adding about five to ten percent of Burley in my blend while cutting down on the oriental. I did as he instructed and finally got 2B to where I wanted it to be. But that is a story for another time . . . this story is about how taste testing various Burleys to add to my blend has caused me to find a very wonderful craving for the leaf.

During taste testing Burleys, I came across HH Burley Flake. When you first open a tin of MacBaren’s HH Burley Flake you are greeted with . . . well . . . next to nothing. It is slightly earthy and very dry on the nose. It reminded me of smelling dry ground possibly with an added sweetness to it. Packing the flakes are a synch with Per’s own fold and stuff method found here: Pausing the review for a moment; I have personally found that all of MacBaren’s flakes are made perfectly for the fold and stuff method. If you have not had success with that method in the past, I highly suggest you watch that video and use MacBaren flakes to remedy that failure and find out for yourself what I consider to be the best way of smoking flake tobacco. Continuing with the review; when you first light HH Burley Flake you are met with a mild sweetness. It is a very mild and nuance smoking experience throughout but at the start a little too mild. It quickly picks up and you will notice that “Herbal Note” that I use to describe the taste of Burleys always present throughout the smoke and getting deeper in its richness and tone as the bowl proceeds. If you have conquered your smoking cadence you will notice a nuttiness and even a mild chocolate note here and there. If you’re a master piper you can even catch the Virginias with their grass and citrus. The Dark Fired Kentucky is always in the background and barely noticeable at all, but will tap you on the shoulder every once in a while, with a touch of spice.

MacBaren’s HH Burley flake is an exquisite all-day Burley. Low on nicotine, but high on flavor and nuance if you allow it to be all it can be by smoking it slowly and as cool as you can possibly keep your ember. I decided to not HH Burley Flake in my personal English blend. Not because it wasn’t suitable. I never used it because it is simply too fine of a tobacco. Smoking any other tobaccos with this fine piece of blending art would simply be a travesty to me. MacBaren’s Golden Extra may be my go-to all-purpose tobacco, but HH Burley Flake is that fine reward that I give myself when I accomplish something. It is that lure used to keep me running on my track day after day.

In closing, HH Burley Flake is my favorite of all the MacBaren HH Flakes. And the reason why I wanted it to Kick off my six MacBaren HH Flake Reviews. Due to MacBaren and Per, I now agree with my Pipe Club’s local historian about Burley tobaccos. Not just merely about their importance but also their ability to be enjoyed as a main component in a blend. It is a wonderful thing indeed to have your mind changed on a subject that you thought you were starting to fully understand.

~ Barry

Pipe Used: Multiple

Age When Smoked: Fresh to 6 months

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars, Local B&M, SmokingPipes, TobaccoPipes, TheStoryTellersPipe

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stan (179)	2018-06-14		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am surprised some rank this as mild. Per (the blender) on PM radio talk show cautiously said the Indonesian burley component alone is powerful. It is "tempered" with Malawi and Brazilian burley and DFK. It is perhaps milder than the ingredients themselves would suggest. It is strong enough to satisfy someone who likes OJK by C&D IMO, but just not as heavy.

A burley lovers blend for sure. Earthy yet with a slight dark fruit note from say the Virginia. A cigar mouth feel due to richness but no cigar leaf is involved.

Easy to rub out and burns easy no matter how packed. Not hot, wet or biting, but straight tobacco.

Not as "coco-ish" or as strong as ABF but stronger and not as Virginia forward as burley flake #5.

A fine, fine repeatable smoke. Smoked near full 3 1/2 oz. tin, save a couple of flakes yet.

Pipe Used: Tim West TPC '18, Mark tinsky bulldog

Age When Smoked: new tin

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Solani ABF, C&D Burley Flake #5.

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J. Ward (71)	2018-08-10		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren’s HH Burley Flake exceeded and shattered my expectations. The smoke is delicious and phenomenal. The flakes break apart easily and really require no dry time, and I smoked 3 bowls in succession after cracking the tin. There’s a light hay and honey sweetness that accompanies the nutty, cocoa, and earthy notes of the Burley. The dark Fired lingers in the background contributing the slightest bit of wood to the blend. By the last 3rd of the bowl there’s more earth, nuttiness, and cocoa than hay and honey, but it remains slightly sweet. I’m inclined to believe there’s a very lightly and expertly applied topping of honey to this blend, but if there’s not, I’m blown away! This blend slightly resembles Mac Baren Golden Extra in the first 3rd (but better!) and Solani Aged Burley Flake in the last 3rd (but better!), yet this blend is a uniquely delicious, top notch Burley Flake. Strength and flavor just a hair below medium. Easily 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Mac Baren Golden Extra , Solani Aged Burley Flake.

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GabrielCRT (115)	2018-05-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I'll be smoking a lot of this flake this summer. The "HH" series is full of home-runs and this is a great addition. Lots of hay and earth in the tin note. The Burley is very smooth with chocolate, molasses, and an elusive cinnamon note. The grassy Virginia helps provide balance. I find the Kentucky leaf most evident at the end of the bowl. It's mildly woody with a little bit of spice. Faint cigar notes pop up occasionally. This is definitely designed to be a mild-medium all-day smoke and it delivers bowl after bowl.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2019-03-26		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I will cut to the chase with this review. HH Burley Flake is very good. If you like burley, you should try this.

The flakes are a medium dark brown, and they are a long, wide flake - 4 3/4 in by 1 3/4 in. Mine were in a large sample and not straight from the tin. Moisture level was good. I rubbed mine out and smoked it without drying time. I smoked one bowl folded and stuffed. The flakes are not so firmly pressed that they are challenging to rub out properly. The pouch note is slightly earthy-sweet.

Smoked this is a wonderful burley-forward VaBur. There is no sour or bitter edge. The Kentucky provides a little spice. There is a little cocoa and I tasted a few sweet notes from the Virginia. It was slow burning and easy to keep lit. The taste was very consistent, although the Kentucky may have been a little more forward in the second half of the bowl.

This is a solid 4 on the scale. For my smoking dollar, it is not going to replace ODF, but if this was all I had, I would be happy and grateful to have it. If ODF is a little "much," I claim this might be just right.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2018-05-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

First impressions, first bowl. The flakes are perfect moisture level and rub out perfectly and easily for loading, the tin aroma is pleasant and in no way overpowering. Lights easily and delivers a nice consistent smoke that burns easily. By far one of the best Burley blends I have smoked, not sweet, but the Burley chocolate note shines. No worry of tongue bite. I would call it a must try.

Update- After a half dozen bowls or so the only thing that I have to add is that this blend has a fair nic hit. Some have suggested that it might a good all day smoke, I find it to be more of an after dinner smoke, not well suited to early morning on an empty stomach. I am not one that tries to review a blend with lots of nuiances but with this blend there are not a lot anyway, it is a consitent flavor throughout the bowl, that being said, it is overall an excellent blend and, as before, I stll say that is a must try for most any pipe smoker that like to have varity in their rotation.

Pipe Used: Savinelli

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2018-09-09		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

When Mac Barenn announced a Burley Flake I got quite excited.. when I read that it was part of the HH-line my anticipation arose to the max..! And it did deliver what it promised!

The tin note is very nice and natural. Vegetative, natural tobacco aroma, with a slightly sour-fruity undertone to it. Rich earthiness, some tart nuttiness, even hints of dough and bread can be found in the tin note. Only slight notes of cocoa and (dark) chocolate, you can tell by the smell that this blend wasn't overly cased, nor flavored! Classic Mac Baren presentation.. golden wrapper, uniformly stacked and shaped flakes.. very classsy, as usual, I appreciate a blend coming in a appealing wrapper - doubles the pleasure, doesn't it!? ;-)

In the smoke the Burley offers full-bodied and warm, natural tobacco goodness. Rich earthy foundation on which delicate notes of (tart) nuts, wood, cocoa, dark chocolate and even some dough-y notes linger and melt into a perfectly harmonized smoke. The Virginias straigthens the rudder of the Burleys feral nature, adding a very mild sweetness, and I also attribute the slight dark fruit note to the Virginias. The dark fired leaf is only a whisper in the background, but enough to add a pleasant spice and a hint of smokiness to the blend.

Full-bodied and rich in aroma, yet very All-Day-suitable in terms of strength! It's not too far fetched to compare this to Solani's Aged Burley Flake, yet the HH Burley Flake is much more natural. Whilst the ABF is obviously cased (I'd even say flavored!) with a cocao and milk-chocolaty aroma, the HH-Burley flakes only has a hint of a dark coaoa and chocolate casing. I chose flavoring "extremely mild", but it's not flavoring, but a casing I suppose! If you like ABF, but prefer more natural smokes, you'll love HH Burley Flake.

Thanks Per, as a Burley-Bloke this blend is a wonderful enrichment for my rotation and that of any Burley-Aficionado!

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gr8tefuldawg (87)	2019-11-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

HH burley flake

This blend, comes in thinly cut flakes, that need little drying time, although I did let the three flakes I smoked sit for 10 minutes just to ensure it was ready.

Upon first light I got a slight hay like taste, that soon morphed into a full on burley nuttiness assault, wow this tastes amazing, I smoked two bowls of this in my MM general which fit two flake inside. The taste is out of this world, a general and even nuttiness that continues to grow deeper as the smoke progresses, never harsh or overpowering.

This blend stayed well lit and I needed little re lights I think two max, I did not get any cocoa taste from the smoke, more crispy toast. I bought this blend in bulk from the b&m liberty tobacco. I immediately placed it into a jar upon purchase around mid may.

This blend is a medium strength blend, that I can imagine with age will sweeten slightly. Great fall going into winter blend, perfect accompaniment to a nice cup of coffee.

This is a blend I can see myself adding to the rotation.

Pipe Used: MM general

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Liberty tobacco San Diego

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2018-12-18		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Just a disclaimer right up front. To everyone except the newbies, we all know our individual tastes well. This is burley. If you know you do not find burley agreeable, it's probably not likely that you will be reformed by this blend. As a burley man myself, this stuff is a virtual gift from the gods. Disclaimer done.

It has been nearly a year since being able to obtain Solani ABF, one of my burley staples. So a pipe friend (one whose advice I actually trust) suggested MB's HH burley flake as an alternative. Being an avid MB HH smoker, I was startled at first that this one had slipped under my radar. No surprise, really, I live in rural Arkansas with the nearest tobacconist 2 hours away. Anyhow, I quickly ordered a 100g tin as a sample, seeing as how the 1lb box is currently backordered. The tin arrived yesterday and I cracked it this morning.

Some of the previous reviewers have nailed the aromas and tasting notes, notably to me JimInks. I totally underestimated the depth of this one! Nuts and molasses abound, with a delightful lingering aftertaste of dark tea coming from the fraction of DFK it contains. I agree wholeheartedly with previous reviews with the one caveat that I would put this one down as a bit too complex and hearty for an all day smoke. That is my personal inclination, however. I save the all day puffing for cheaper, less crafted blends that I can puff on without devoting much thought to flavors. Back to my friend's recommendation, this is no ABF, but it does not try to be. And it fills the gap just perfectly.

I have just finished my second bowl, and I am resisting a third (but only because I have finished half a pot of coffee and my bladder will thank me for stopping now). Thoroughly impressive! Mac Baren has done it again. As soon as supplies are available, I will be adding a couple 1lb boxes to the old cellar most assuredly.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Caramella, MM Dagner Poker

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - HH Old Dark Fired.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2018-11-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mostly darker flakes with a bit of light mottling and a rich, slightly pungent and deep burley tobacco scent. I've come to love Mac Baren as a company. Not only do they produce quality blends, but they also present their life's work to show their pride. Mac B always gets an A for presentation and that speaks volumes to me about the care that went into the blend and the care they have for their customers.

I always tout drying flakes for best results. You simply have to reduce the moisture content so it doesn't subdue the flavor of the tobacco. Not so this one. I smoked the first bowl at tin moisture and I was as disappointed as I knew I'd be. My next step was to dry a bowl to crispy. VERY much a mistake! This one preferred a moderate drying time so that the flakes were still pliable and felt moist. Even then it produced a dryer smoke than I preferred, with a bit more of the burley bitterness than I liked. I kept thinking that if they had included a hair more Virginia to tame that bitterness, I would prefer it, but it's a burley blend - what did I expect? The Kentucky was evident most of the time and it reminded me of a toned down Old Dark Fired. But where that one had some sweetness to round it out, this one tasted pure burley. As I'm sure was the point! It does compare favorably with Solani's Aged Burley Flake in some ways but it lacks the creaminess ( a weird way to describe burley but when comparing the blends, it's all I can think of!) of the Wessex Burley Flake and the old Edgworth Slices. Those two are rounder and more complex. This is a very worthy blend and I'd be shocked if it didn't generate tons of fans. So while I'm smoking Wessex instead, I'll not look down my nose at anyone puffing contentedly on this, a very good representation in its genre.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillBrown (137)	2018-08-18		Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

This is every bit as good and flavorful as the Solani Burley Flake. I really loved sipping this one! When a burley is good, it's nutty. This blend is both nutty and relatively smooth. It lit well, after a single char, down to the bottom. I folded it into my bowl rather than breaking it up. I feel flakes should almost always be smoked folded and not broken up—flakes are flakes for a reason. This was another Chicago Pipe Show sampling (I got five full flakes), and, I suppose it was worth the price, even in spite of some of the other blends that were part of the sampler. My only downside is the strength, but, hey, what do you expect? It's a burley!

Keep on Pipin'!

Purchased From: Chicago Pipe Show

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ducksbreath (125)	2018-06-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is something like the current University flake but without the plum topping and toned down perhaps a step further.

I can see a number of people liking this natural, creamy, slightly spicy flake, but for me it is not robust or interesting enough.

I loved the original University flake of yore, and I occasionally smoke the current version. This is even more refined, though, and very nice on the palate in body, just not enough in flavor for me personally. Presentation and quality are impeccable, as to be expected.

Out of all these HH flakes I find ODF to be the sweet spot for me. YMMV.

Similar Blends: University flake without the plum topping..

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pip'n'Piper (54)	2022-04-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Wow. Quality. Where else to start but the burley. It's that toast/bread-like burley, malty, woody and lightly nutty. A barely noticeable cocoa note. The virginias compliment and sweeten the burleys, bringing depth of flavour. I'd guess they comprise about 30-40% of the flake. They're very sweetgrass, leaning more on the sweet side of things, but there are some earth and hay notes. Extremely light citrus at times. The dark fired kentucky is merely a seasoning, maybe 10%, providing a savory background. I get some of the hayloft or barnyard smell others have pointed out. The main focus here is the bread, sweet grass and woody aspects of the burley and virginia. It's not a sharp dark fired va-bur flake, nor is it a basic, nutty, mixed burley blend. It has strength, depth and versatility. Firm, yet gentle. Smooth. Just so comfortable, like bacon and eggs, it's hearty. Perfect for late summer sunsets on the porch, good books, walks in the woods, waiting out the rain in the shed, or just driving, listening to the radio. This is what pipe smoking is all about, right here. Blown away. 4 stars.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BonyTony (4)	2022-01-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I consider HH Burley flake to be one of the finest burley tobaccos I have ever smoked. It is beautifully presented with brown flakes lined up in the tin. When first opening it, I find that it does require some drying time. When smoked you will find the tobacco to be on the darker side of the flavor spectrum. The most prominent flavors I find in the blend are a dark fruit note and a cocoa note, both of which are very prominent in the retrohale as well. You can also expect to find a slight smokiness and meatiness, which I believe is from the small quantity of dark-fired in this blend. The blend can waver in its sweetness but is never overwhelmingly sweet or dry. Overall this is a delicious flake that can satisfy you but does not wear out your palate. It smokes slowly and cooly both rubbed out and folded. I would suggest this to any burley-lover.

Pipe Used: Numerous

Age When Smoked: Fresh and 3 years

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LiterarySmoker (143)	2020-11-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm new-ish to burley blends, I know that I like them mixed with Virginia's and I know I really like Haunted Bookshop, which I should get down to reviewing sometime. I also have a cellaring tin of Night Train that I need to crack open. But anyways back to the review. I am curious to see how this tastes, since I haven't had a bad tin in this whole series so far.

When you open the tin you will notice right away that these flakes are a little wider than the other offerings in this series. But otherwise they are the same well pressed flakes that we have gotten from the Pure Virginia and the ODF. Tin note is bready, chocolaty, and dark fruit. Call me crazy but it sort of reminds me of Nutella or chocolate covered raisins. The flakes are easy to fold and stuff or rub out to your preference. Lighting takes a little longer than normal, but some dry time will significantly improve that.

The Burley here is sweet in a molasses sort of way. I taste chocolate, bread, earth from the Burley. I get some hay and sweetness from the Red Virginia, it is also dark fruity and a touch herbal. There is some dark fired in here but I don't really notice it, every now and then I can taste some of it smokey spice. I want to call the taste a medium here. It isn't as full as ODF but it feels a touch more complex. The strength is also a medium.

This taste is great and I would gladly buy another tin. If you haven't tried burleys this might be a nice balanced place to dip your toes in. If you do like burleys and you like nice long complex smokes this may be for you too. All in all another great blend from a great line. I'll be posting again on Wednesday with a review of HH Acadian Perique.

Pipe Used: Kaywoodie Birkshire Large Billiard

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2020-06-22		Medium	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Another tasteless flake, this time from MacBaren under the guise of the HH range.

Oh no not another moan about tasteless tobaccos and Uk tobaccos prices surely ?

We've done all that.

Yes we have, but I want to award another medal to Dan Pipe for keeping the spirits up (pun in there if you want it) with regular supplies of tobacco from Germany despite the epidemic sweeping the world. In fact, they even delivered FASTER than an English tobacconist. Incredible. Lets add that to the list of my grievances against the UK tobacco industry/Government and move on.

So...(why are people starting sentences with this preposition now ?) we have a lovely tobacco flake giving off a gorgeous hay/grass/chocolate scent from one of those silly little square tins. Handy I suppose for slipping into a pocket when you are banished to the corner of the garden behind a delapidated shed in the pouring rain to smoke in peace.

The smart dark brown soldiers of flake are arranged geometrically correctly and indeed are such that a single slice can be withdrawn that fits exactly into a medium volume pipe. Rubbing out is so easy with this one, it doesn't crumble into dust like some I've come across, but unpicks into neat strips that are effortlessly broken down for loading. One of these days this old twit will learn to stuff a pipe with a flake instead of rubbing out.

This flake is that utilitarian that both methods will lead to a fine mild, smooth, smoke, that is alas, tasteless. It also burns at an alarming rate too (probably down to the idiot who packed the pipe in the first place). Smoking time is short therefore and this silly little tin will, likewise, diminish in similar fashion.

It is a well-behaved blend that certainly satisfies in the same way the excellent Capstan's flakes do. Recommended ? Certainly, as the positives far outweigh the negative, but don't look for anything different or out of the ordinary ; you won't find what you seek, grasshopper.

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Dan Pipe, Germany

Similar Blends: Capstan flake blue, Gawith's best brown.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2019-02-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren - HH Burley Flake.

This has reminded me just how good Burley can be!

The presentation is second to none. Inside the tin sits a VERY shiny, gold wrapper which conceals two rows of wide, thin, medium brown, flakes; I see a few yellow flecks but nothing major. My moisture looked great when the tin was initially opened so I never had to allow any airing time.

My first bowl was prepared by fully rubbing a flake. Because of the thinness this was easy, fine rubbings can be achieved with a gentle touch. But fully rubbing, although making it easy to light, causes it to burn too fast. So, I recommend folding a flake, instead. This gives a slower, cooler, smoke. And because of the thinness of the flakes lighting up is still simple! The flavour's an impeccable Burley-lead one. The sweet, slightly smooth, Burley's running the show, with the others taking a clear support slot. I find the Burley doesn't taste as rustic as is often the case. The Virginia remains the lighter of the three, all the way through, whilst the Kentucky seems dormant until a quarter of the way in. After the first quarter has passed the Kentucky joins in and supplies a touch of potency, and fills out the flavour. Because of the moistness, many relights, etc. aren't a requisite. Once lit a bowl burns steady and independently.

Nicotine: medium at a push. Room-note: not great.

HH Burley Flake? Four stars:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Vauen

Age When Smoked: Four months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2022-02-21		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I really enjoy all of the HH series and how each of them bring something different to the table. I purchased some Burley Flake in 2019 and cellared it and decided it was time to give it a try.

The jar note after 3 years is very mild. Just a little earth, but not the usual barn yard of many burley forward blends. The moisture was perfect on the flakes now and they are easy to deal with, either folding in larger bowls or breaking up for smaller chambers. Lighting was easy and it burns really well.

The primary taste range in this one to me is mid-range. There is just a little note of sweetness on top, but mostly nutty/bakery flavors to me. Not much on the low-end. The nic level seems just right as this is one of the few flakes in the series that I could really see coming into my rotation as an all day smoke.

The tobacco shines to me in a larger flatter bowl where you can use the fold/stuff method, it slows down the burn and this is usually one of the longest burning blends that I smoke. There is no tongue bite and it burns cool unless really pushed.

The room-note is tolerable to the wife's judgement especially compared to the darker versions.

Pipe Used: various

Age When Smoked: 3 years

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pip (80)	2020-03-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very nice burley flake indeed. The tin note is of semi-sweet cocoa with an earthy/woody aroma. Mixed in is some brown sugar with a hit of smoke and very subtly tanginess, probably from the Virginians.

The flakes were all uniform in size and color. I broke up all the flakes up at once and then jarred them all up. The moisture level was spot on. This is a very smooth light bodied smoke and will not overwhelm your senses. No bite or harsh spots to be found.

I get mostly the earthy cocoa notes and some Kentucky once in a while. The Virginia flavors are hard to pick out for me although I know its there from the tin note. I like Solani Aged Burley Flake better as I find this offering to be less sweet more earthy and not as deep as ABF. If you can't get ABF this is a fine replacement.

Similar Blends: Aged Burley Flake.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2019-04-29		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bang! Another Instant Classic! No sooner is it released than Mac Baren’s HH Burley Flake joins Old Dark Fired and Bold Kentucky at the head of the class! Though it’s not so easy to find these days, BF is easier to find than Stonehaven, and it’s a fine substitute!

I actually watched and waited for this stuff for some time, finally found it in bulk at my “local” tobacconist’s (only 45 minutes away…). Bag note is subdued dark chocolate over dark fruit leather. The well-formed flakes are mostly dark brown with lighter striations and flecks ranging to blonde. It handles, loads, lights, and smokes down evenly and easily, like a fine cigar, when it’s folded and stuffed loosely, right from the bag. Initial scents and tastes are rich, sweet, fermented, air cured brown VAs, possibly some stoved red, and darkly fermented Burley, with just a brooding hint of Ky. I suppose the lightest flecks in the blend might be a smidgeon of flue cure VA, and this could account for the “open” nature of the smoke, especially at first. It starts out soft, like a caress, then it gets richer and more focused, and it winds up more like a deep, full body massage. Right nice. For all the Burlley, and the rich, deep and deepening tastes, BF is pretty darn sweet, top to bottom. But don’t worry, Burley lovers, there are bitters aplenty, as well. Scents and tastes run parallel, top to bottom. A #4 bowl lasts me a good long while, and I am pulling for the last ¾. Strength is more strong than medium. Tastes are more full than medium. Room note is nice, Aftertaste is the best of the smoke.

Based on experience, you'l probably have to search it out. IMO, it's well worth the effort. 4 stars.

Pipe Used: 3 - 4 briars preferred

Age When Smoked: 4 1/2 mos?

Purchased From: Liberty Tobacco

Similar Blends: Compare/contrast to Esoterica Tobacciana Stonehaven.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2018-10-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I have to agree with my esteemed colleagues before me. This is a very good tobacco, full of nutty flavors, rich in taste, very straightforward in its structure and composition (Burley being the predominant taste, with a discreet yet eloquent support from the Virginia and Kentucky). It's smooth, harmonious, easy to pack as it is (folding the flakes or rolling them up), but it can also be broken up with no hassle. It's a medium strength smoke, not as sweet and nutty as Golden Extra and not as dry and formal as London Blend (both, by the way, excellent Burley smokes). Perfect for an autumn evening, when the wind starts to get cold and crisp. A highly recommendable, natural tasting smoke.

Pipe Used: Big VBen Champion

Age When Smoked: N/A

Purchased From: Joshua Ward

Similar Blends: Burley London Blend; Golden Extra.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nathaniel (39)	2021-12-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

Excellent presentation, with its neat square tin containing a bright gold foil that holds two neat rows of dark brown tobacco. Looking at the slices, even the least practiced smoker knows what they’re going to get: dark brown burley, a few streaks of tawny and golden Virginia. The scent from the tin is understated, even faint; just the merest suggestion of figs. Perfectly typical of tobacco, and I detect no topping at all. The mildness of the scent might be attributable to the tobacco’s youth; my tin is dated March of this year.

I smoked two bowls back to back (during a long-ranging conversation with a friend), which tells you something about this tobacco’s strength. Both fold-and-stuff and rubbing it out produce a nicely smokable bowl, even with the minimal drying time I gave it. The array of flavors quickly presents itself, and it is classic burley. This is the dark, earthy type of burley, not the nutty taste of lighter burley. Hardwood and earth, a little smoke, but nothing like the floral, complex smokiness of latakia— rather a clean, salty smoke that takes the fore on the retrohale. I associate a certain citrus flavor with burley, almost like an orange peel, but here it cones through only in the tingle on the tongue that you get from squeezing orange peels, and a little bitter pith.

Flavors remain consistent from the top to the bottom of the bowl. That’s about it. For all the boutique presentation, this is a simple and straightforward smoke, easy to handle and simple to enjoy— if you like burley.

If you don’t know whether you like burley, I think this would be a good place to start for an idea of what a classic burley tastes like. I liked it, although the sourness and citrus tingle were a little too much. Burley will never be my favorite tobacco, but this scratches the occasional itch I get for it. I would probably cube-cut this and sell it in bulk for a fraction of the cost, but I’m sure the quality wouldn’t make that feasible. I will stash this tin away and put some age on it. It has the makings of a good smoke down the road. As it is, it’s merely decent.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimPM (155)	2021-02-14		Medium	None Detected	Very Full	Strong

As to my present sojourn over the landscape of Burleys, the path travelled, being wide and diverse, has presented some interesting geography along the way to say the least. The road now leads me to yet another milestone stop. This time, with pipe in hand, I opted to bring my tastings wagon to a halt at the door front of the great house of Mac Baren.

First and foremost, the Mac Baren Tobacco Company is worth admiring, in my opinion. With its core operating philosophy and customer-centric values, Mac Baren has established itself as a brand of choice for countless discriminating fine tobacco enthusiasts. Worth noting, Mac Baren is the largest independently owned, family-operated, and successful tobacco firms in existence today. The inception of the company goes way back to 1887. A long-standing Danish-based company, whom we find operating behind a Scottish Gaelic moniker, is somewhat puzzling. Being of Scotch origins myself, of course, I personally show no prejudices.

Mac Baren professes to be unhampered by your typical heavy-handed corporate governance. Generations of the Halberg family (the owners) have created an environment that is postured to be inventive while supporting investments in researching and developing products that appeal the great masses of discriminating pipe smokers. Most importantly the firm is renowned for its canny ability to source and integrate supreme blending tobaccos from every corner of the globe. Housing perhaps one of greatest modern day blenders, Mac Baren presents it’s highly successful HH product series on the laurels of its creator Per Jensen.

The HH Series of blends pride themselves on being unadulterated mixtures prepared with the top-notch natural elements, free of the tainted influences of independently applied toppings or casings. Per Jensen’s ultimate vision for the HH Series line, for which Mac Baren undertook extended development time and experimentation, was to create a collection of pure, original, high quality, blended tobacco offerings.

For all practical purposes, one from this series, HH Burley Flake is typical of the subject genre. A natural mix comprised of assorted Burley leave which impart the essential rich cocoa, woody flavors, choice sweet citrusy Virginia stock, and a hints of Dark Fire Kentucky for spice and lower notation. Although practical it is not. This finely pressed flake is exceptional with respect to the major markers. Mechanically pressing tobacco allows the inherent flavors to ferment and blend together more harmoniously. The science or art, if you will, regarding how much tonnage and time to apply is a matter of pure experimentation. HH Burley Flake is a classic example of tweaking the process to perfection.

The flakes themselves can be easily folded and inserted into the pipe bowl or rubbed out into gorgeous pillow of rich tobaccos. My personal preference is the latter, given that the tobacco packs nicely; sitting dense and snuggly within the cavity of the bowl. The moisture level fresh from the tin, in this case, was ideal for a pleasurable session of smoking.

Tinned in a handsome square container, wrapped in a golden envelope, I found rich, beautifully formed strands characterized by an array of variegated brown Burleys, golden strips of Virginia and selectively placed chards of the DFK. Visually I could easily discern that this was a quality tobacco. In specific, the blend configuration appeared to be Burley dominant @ 80%. The Virginia, the second primary ingredient, is placed uniformly across the pressed pieces at @ 15%, while the DFK takes its place in a sparsely scattered pattern. I have to believe the final ratios were played with intensively to arrive at this distinct recipe. The ensuing taste experience, as I was to discover, proved that to hold true.

The resting tin note of this HH Burley Flake blend is exquisite. An all natural bouquet characteristic of delicious earthly woody Burley, mellow tangy Virginia hays, dark prune-like fruit notes, with just a tinge of remarkable spiciness. The prevailing room note upon smoking is unquestionably bold and strong; almost cigar-like to my estimation. Characteristically, the aroma is a thick, deep and robust, a heady perfume of sweet, soured wood with a touch of pungent tartness. It’s reminds me of that old classic pipe smell that smacks one rather smartly upon entering a typical cigar/pipe establishment; delightfully enveloping the senses.

The note utterly permeates the room being longstanding and eminent. The hang time is, like I said, reminiscent of a cigar-like presence. In smoking this blend, gently sipping, one can’t but help savoring its lavish character. The nose on HH Burley Flake brings a deep satiating feeling that any discriminating tobacco enthusiast will thoroughly relish. Frankly, the fragrance of the blend simply “wowed” me.

I conducted three individual tastings all from within a larger capacity briar pipe. A fine blend like this, in my opinion, naturally bids to be burned in such as manner to truly and experience the inherent richness and nuisance of optimum flavor. The taste of HH Burley Flake moves around beautifully and is simply a delightful experience. The smoke produced is a heavy thick cloud of zesty brilliance.

The delicately sweet but staunch woodiness of the Burley takes front stage on this one as one would expect. There are constant light cocoa over notes, with deep, dank, earthy tones of dark fruits folding nicely in the center. I wasn’t getting too much of the standard heavy nuttiness one typically finds in Burley, however. Furthermore, there is a lovely incensey, floral, spruce-like spirit also dancing around in a lovely pattern with this one. To state that the smoke has character would be an understatement. It has charisma.

A Burley is a Burley is a Burley; right? Not so. By comparison to the comparable blends, Mac Baren’s leave is truly superb and stands out among its peers. Granted that the essential and common Burley attributes are there, HH Burley’s elements are unique in a very pleasurable vain. It has a compelling and magnetic nature. As my present tasting expedition has crossed over land of several matched blends from different manufacturers, I can honestly say Mac Baren’s Burley strains sit on the high road above others.

The use of the Virginia is an interesting one. It is presented on the very bottom underneath the dominant Burley producing a balanced, elegantly sweet woody, tangy hay like progression to the extended taste. Occasionally the Virginia does show proud, but for the most part is kept consistently at a well metered presence. The very spicy top note from DFK moves in a lovely manner as a precise trailing accent persistently in attendance draw to draw.

There was some mouth dryness that I experienced with this particular blend as I mulled the smoke around in my mouth rolling over the taste. Nonetheless, the flavor had an enduring effect long after the smoke was exhaled; a dry sweet woody essence. This was remedied by having a cool glass of water handy to offset and refresh. Nothing too obtrusive or detracting by any means, but the dryness I consistently noticed.

HH Burley Flake burns cool, very slowly, and evenly. Neither bite, nor sting whatsoever subsequently. It’s long lasting smoke, one that I was able to unwind and truly savor. And let me tell you, this was wonderfully pleasant and indulging experience. I did note that the smoke seemed to become thicker and therefore the much more pronounced about 2/3 the way down the bowl. A few relights and very light tamping are required even so. Overall, the cake was well centered and burned uniformly to the very bottom of the pipe bowel.

I suppose one could smoke this blend casually all-day long. For me, however, it begs of a shoeless relaxed sit back in my favorite recliner; a slow sipper. Partaking of HH Burley Flake in such a manner, this top-notch mix will definitely tantalize your senses with its smooth, full and rich character. Accordingly, one must be thoughtful and respectful of the quality of this recipe. Give it justice and smoke it suitably; truly experience what it has to offer.

Indisputably, Mac Baren HH Burley Flake a fabulous quality crafted blend overall. In retrospect, I am delighted that my navigation over the lay of Burley brought me to this particular bend in the road. I simply loved it and suspect any Burley enthusiast would as well. I highly recommended you make this particular stop along the way. With confidence, I can assert that at the end of my travels, Mac Baren HH Burley Flake will finds it’s well earned place in my standard rotation of favorite Burleys.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh - 1 week old

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

Similar Blends: HH Dark Fired, Peretti Mix DD.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cherry picker 1779 (52)	2020-05-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Tannin would be the closest thing I could associate with the flavor in this blend. It’s not so much complex, but rather mysterious in an odd way. It’s a blend that you need to really focus on. And it always has you “ on your tippy toes trying to see just a little more into the window, but there’s also a glare in the glass when you get there”....

This is a very nice looking flake and it can be enjoyed fresh out of the tin, even if it’s a little moist, but drying it made it taste better to me.

The flavor takes a little bit into a bowl to develop - at the halfway point it gets better in my opinion.

It’s mild and light in flavor and strength but there is a little nic hit if you retrohale it enough.

I find that there is something woody about this blend. I know people often describe tobacco as woody- and this one takes the cake! It’s a flavor I’d say akin to smoldering bark . It burns nice and slow and although I do get some deep notes and a very slight sweet spot here and there, it still leaves me wanting more of something. Bold Kentucky has deep tones and sweetness and a nic hit other tobaccos could only dream to achieve. Burley flake is maybe quite bland, possibly can be a little bit flat sometimes. It’s very woody with a rough tannin walnut flavor.

I personally would take the other hh offerings any day over this one. I can’t decide weather I hate this blend, or wether it will grow on my as others have in the past. I’m not jumping on the band wagon to give this 4 stars. When I read the reviews before I packed this for a smoke, I was thinking I hit the jackpot. I was sadly taken back a bit, and I was shocked so many 4 star reviews on this 2 star blend. And keep in mind, I really do want to like this blend , and I’m trying my best to search for the good things here. Every time I pack this, I think “ maybe this is the bowl that I’ll finally get to see through the window clearly”.... but it hasn’t happened yet !

Update- I don’t hate this blend. It’s become evident that it’s just a mild burley treat that I can puff on and enjoy. Being so mild you would think to maybe use a bigger pipe for this blend. But this really was much better to me being smoked in a small little thin stemmed bent briar with a bowl that’s about 1 1/4” deep and maybe 3/4” wide. It makes a big difference in a good way for me at least. Definitely growing on me as I become more familiar with this new blend. I am actually satisfied after having a small bowl.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nkulk8r (90)	2020-01-29		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I, like a few other reviewers here, had my own preconceived notions about what a Mac Baren HH Burley Flake was going to taste like, how it would smoke and feel in the mouth. With the char I immediately recognized Sutliff's Ready Rubbed Match (which I had just recently put to the test). It was only after I finished the first bowl that I went back to re-read previous reviews of this blend and found oldermanpipe's review to be spot-on with his comparing this blend to Edgeworth Slices as well as Sutliff's Ready Rubbed Match (not to mention his mention of Heaven Hill Distilleries, from which my new, favorite go-to Bottled in Bond Mellow Corn whiskey flows at less than $11-a-bottle). In any event, this soft, mellow, Burley with the cocoa essence, cocoa taste and smell was not at all what I was expecting from an HH Mac Baren.

Handsome and pliant, thinly sliced flakes are elegantly presented. With maybe 15 minutes of dry time (it sat out on my tobacco mat for 15 minutes -- I really wasn't drying the stuff because it really didn't need any real dry time, though it probably benefitted from the 15 minutes of aeration) there was no need for a re-light following the char; it lit well and remained lit. Smoked cool and dry for the whole bowl. This Burley Flake is yet another phenomenal offering from Mac Baren's HH line, along with other legendary HH offerings, such as Bold Kentucky, Old Dark Fired, Latakia Flake, Acadian Perique and Vintage Syrian -- all of them Hall of Fame blends (IMHO).

HH Burley Flake is an exquisitely sumptuous, modern-day codger blend that I will surely stock up on so as to never be found without.

Similar Blends: Sutliff's Ready Rubbed Match (only better).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Phil Potwell (10)	2019-05-20		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Over the last week, I was very much anticipating the receipt of a recent 1lb order of HH Burley flake. Three days ago, the figurative Wells Fargo wagon finally turned the corner on my Long Island street, and I walked out consciously restrained to meet it, hands clasped behind me. It wouldn't do to skip at my age, would it? Then the routine - I tried to seem calm as I was handed first the light bill, then the AT&T bill, yes and then cable, before a few brochures and other odds and ends, and finally a large - and heavy - envelope. This is the one for which I was waiting! Fast forward 1 hour, and I was so impressed from the nice smoke I had enjoyed, I knew I wanted to get some thoughts down when I had time. Stay with me for a moment or two and I will tell you what I liked...

Parcel securely in my paws, I was surprised at how compact and densely packed the box was. Tearing away the shipping envelope revealed a thick paper Mac Baren box, and inside it, a large rectangular clear Ziploc with a foil paper bundle within. Unfurling, opening, and uncasing revealed several rows of flake - a very nice presentation.

Digging a bit, I pulled out three very long flakes that were also quite wide and substantially thick, and dropped them into a jar I had handy for two reasons: 1. Peeling them away from the slab would help to get a bit of air around them, even if the jar was sealed, and 2. Planning ahead - it was a bit of a production to get into the box, then open the Ziploc, then unfold a few layers of foil paper – all this just to get a single flake (or really half-flake) serving, before reversing the process to re-seal the bundle. I say half-flake, because I estimate at first glance that for an average-sized pipe, a single large flake would easily fill two bowls.

I used a “fold, 4 light rubs, and screw in” method to pack this into a wide Ed Burak Connoisseur billiard. In the “fold” step, the flakes were actually snapping, so the tobacco was a good bit drier than I first thought - ready to smoke straight away. All the better. A charring light actually had things lit reasonably well, but for evenness, I followed up with second true light and we were going strong. This flake contains Burley, and matured and red VA, and Dark Fired KY, and I would say the components present themselves in that order. The earthy burley brings a dry roundness, sweetened by the VA poking through, which to me is less tangy than I sometimes expect from red VA, but more of a darker sweetness. Sweetness may also be contributed by the darker shadow of KY – it is not significantly spicy IMO. DF is a condiment here and not the main attraction. This is not HH Old Dark Fired or even HH Bold Kentucky, but a lighter Burley flake, peppered with a light hand of KY. Taken together, the three components blend to give a medium strength obviously Burley flake, with some subtle sweet chocolate molasses notes as the bowl progresses. I thought the bowl was quite consistently lovely from start to finish. Nicotine was light at the start but moderate to medium and readily noticeable in the middle and last thirds.

Mechanically, this burned to a fine white ash, without any fuss whatsoever. The combination of what turned out to be a perfect moisture content, and some luck in my filling treatment, made for a worry-free low maintenance, and for me, a very enjoyable and slightly unique smoke that I highly recommend.

I think English smokers that typically look past Burley should give this a try - just for the experience of what a fine Burley flake can do. My father comes to mind – he pretty much exclusively goes in for the standard triad of VA and Orientals and heavy helpings of Latakia, and I am excited to hit him with this one when we are next together to see if perhaps the brow furrows, the eyes cross, or -as I predict- the gray moustache twitches before gradually upturning in recognition and appreciation of this fine flake. A Maverick and Goose high-five may be too optimistic, but I don't want to rule it out prematurely... Very nice! Four stars!

Pipe Used: Ed Burak Connoisseur billiard

Age When Smoked: New from Box

Purchased From: 4Noggins

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RoyOdhner (7)	2018-10-29		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant

I love MacB blends, and I don't think I've met one that I don't like - at least I don't remember any MacB blend that I don't like. When I heard that MacB was coming out with a burley flake blend, I got all excited. Golden Extra in flake form? The return of the beloved BLB, but in flake form? Two awesome buley blends to be sure, but when I read the ingredients and saw "dark fired Kentucky" I knew this was gonna be different. I figured maybe it was a burley companion to their ODF blend, and thus it had to be awesome. I ordered five of the big tins on the assumption that it was gonna be awesome.

Guess what? It's AWESOME. I fished the package out of the mail box, ripped it open, and cracked a tin: burley goodness mixed with hay and...smoke or ketchup? OK, the burley companion to ODF seemed likely. Rubbed out one of those beautiful brown flakes - a classic MacB flake to be sure - filled my pipe and fired it up. Tobacco Nirvana!!!. So many similarities crossed my mind: Granger in it's heyday, the new ERR, Solani, Wessex - but so many differences. The burley companion to ODF? Sorta. More seasoned tongues and more experienced reviewers may get a similarity to another blend out there, but I mostly get a fantastic burley blend that is different than any other.

The spice of the dark-fired bridges the cocoa nuttiness & molasis of the marvelous burley and the soft & pleasant hay/clover quality of the Virginias, but that bridge doesn't stand out like some post-modern monstrosity - it's an old ivy covered bridge that blends in with the Virginia hay and clover fields. The burley goodness takes the forefront, but the Virginias and dark-fired refine it. I get a little of the MacB honey topping (which I still say is some version of mead)...but not as heavy as some of their other blends. MacBite? At one point I began puffing like a freight train and not even a tingle on the tongue. Presentation? Classey: that embossed golden MacB liner lovingly cradles the traditionally perfect MacB flakes.

I've only smoked three bowls of it, so I'm still wrapping my mind around it. Still, I'd easily give this four stars. An all day smoke? For sure. Will it hold your interest? Yezzir. Is the room note nice? Yezzir, very pipe-like... but also a wee bit cigar-like. If you've never been able to cozy up to burley-based OTC blends, give this a shot cuz I think you'll appreciate the refinement. If you're an old-school burleyphile like me I think you're gonna love it cuz it takes burley tobacco to a whole nuther level. In short, a monster blend well-worth every penny. I'll be buying a lot of this over the years.

Pipe Used: Sav sandblasted bulldog

Age When Smoked: Right out the tin

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars.com

Similar Blends: Not sure.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WolfmanSam (37)	2018-06-22		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Upon opening the square tin, I’m greeted with three rows of perfectly aligned dark brown solid flakes. They feel slightly damp, but do not need to dry. I usually fold and stuff, but rubbing out works well if that’s your preference.

When smoking, I taste nuts, some earthiness, and chocolate, at times. It’s spicy but has some sweetness (molasses?) to it. It’s never harsh, even if I take quick puffs. It smokes well in various briars and cobs. It’s a slow burning tobacco, so set aside at least an hour to smoke.

This is an exceptional all-day burley. If you love burley, this will make you happy.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.James (39)	2018-06-06		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dried out a bit and packed in the the traditional flake folding method, these hearty flakes are easy to work with. Upon first light and throughout the first quarter bowl the sharpness of the burley is offset by the sweetness of the Virginias in the blend in a somewhat off-color sort of way highlighting a slightly perfumed and musky steamed fruit nuance. As the bowl progresses more of the grassy aspects of the Virginia harmonize with the nutty barnyard qualities of the burly and earthy cocoa nuance is brought to the foreground after which the flavors remain relatively consistent as the tobacco burns to a off-white ash leaving a little moisture behind. Leaves a somewhat pleasant aftertaste and has a decent room note. Strength is medium, a nice change of pace for the burley lover.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Anthony Caridi (30)	2022-12-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Vary bready. Very earthy. Vary nutty. Very mushroom like taste. Has an Oakey nose type profile with no harshness nor bite. An amount of subtle sweetness. Excellent smoke!

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: 1year

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FilipPruncu (89)	2022-11-22		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

What can I say that hasn’t been said already? Not much. First of all because I’m not a burley fan and burley connoisseur, but if I, who am not a burley fan, did enjoy this, then most probably the burley fan will love it. Again, I don’t have the necessary knowledge and experience with burley because it’s not my cup of tea, so I can’t get too complex with the review. But this is good. Better than what I’ve tasted so far in the VaBur area, but I still wouldn’t be able to have this as a daily smoke.

This is closer to Dunhill’s 221B Baker Street than it is to Peterson’s 3P’s and University flake, especially when it comes to strength. It also doesn’t get your mouth dry. But still, I recommend this to be smoked after eating. Every time I smoke a burley blend, I get a strange feeling in my stomach and throat.

Anyway. Cocoa and nutty notes right from the start. You can say about this blend everything that you can say about a burley, so its nutty, hazelnut to be more precise, it’s cocoa and dark chocolate, it’s sweet and spicy at the same time, and everything that JimInks said, like “a touch of spice”. Indeed it has some spice, and you can feel it well, which I think makes this blend more interesting. Tangy ripe dark fruit indeed. Lots of dark fruit actually. There are some wood notes, but I wouldn’t say this has earthy notes. Floral? Maybe a bit. As you get past the middle of the bowl, the sweetness fades and you get more nutty flavor, cocoa, wood and spice. It gets rougher. From hazelnut it gets to raw walnut and cashew. Starts to get a bit bready.

Strength is medium, taste is mild to medium.

It burns really great as a slow burner, doesn’t bite, doesn’t get hot, stays lit and delivers a cool and thick smoke.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ahmad Othman (51)	2022-08-17		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This one was tricky to pin down, I had a couple of bowls before I could get nuances out of it. Starting with mechanics, as expected from HH blends, it is a lovely stack of flakes. A bit moist but can be smoked - though to get most of the flavours I had to dry it - the smell out of the tin is a bit grassy and light. The flakes rub perfectly into almost ribbon shape and packs easily. No issues there. It lights up easily and evenly, it might need a few relights but nothing annoying. First third of the bowl I had nothing but the nutiness of the burley (which I enjoy) but it was really mild, to the point I had to swish my mouth with water to rinse my palate. However, the rest of the bowl starting opening up more flavours, first some faint breadiness from dark virginias I assume and then as the bowl went down, there was a lovely attack of molasses that complemented the other flavours. It burns down completely to a fine ash. No gurgle, no moisture in the bowl and it doesn't bite at all. Overall one of my favourites now

Pipe Used: Peterson Donegal Rocky XL02

Age When Smoked: 4 years

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Thepipehunter (43)	2021-08-04		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

From the tin, HH Burley Flake is at a good smoking moisture. It is a typical Mac Baren flake and holds together well. It is easy to rub out into a ribbon cut but Lao folds well. The tin aroma is nutty, earthy, molasses, woody, spices, and sweet.

The blend is composed of high quality of Burley, some Virginias, and a little Kentucky leaf. The Burley is very earthy and nutty, with a touch of molasses. I also get a touch of spice that I attribute to the Burley. The Virginias add a touch of sweetness, as well as some grass and brighter citrusy notes. They also add a touch of dark fruit/dried fruit that is somewhat along the lines of the prune/plum flavor perique has. There is also a touch of Kentucky present. It offers dry and woody notes, with a touch of black pepper. There is a floral note that reminds me of Orientals but I believe it is just the Kentucky.

HH Burley smokes cool, required few relights, but left a touch of moisture behindIt doesn’t bite but can have a little sharpness is puffed too fast. The nicotine content is medium but not too strong. It left me satisfied but not overwhelmed. This blend is repeatable throughout the day. 3.75 out of 4 stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2020-04-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

UPDATE: I got my hands on a 4 year old tin of this stuff. It actually aged quite well and is now even smoother and a little sweeter. Still a highly recommended blend.

If you like high quality unadulterated burley-forward blends, this one's for you!

HH Burley Flake is quite subtle, but still offers enough taste and body to keep your interest throughout the bowl. It reminds me of dark unsweetened cocoa, with plenty of nuttiness and a hint of spice. The dark fired kentucky is never obtrusive or overpowering and only makes itself known every once in a while. The virginias add a tad of sweetness and depth to this blend. No tongue bite or rough edges whatsoever.

8/10. Highly recommended for all burley lovers!

Pipe Used: Several briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: new - 6 months & 4 years

Similar Blends: Solani - 656: Aged Burley Flake, Mac Baren - Golden Blend.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Abuzer (4)	2020-01-16		Medium	None Detected	Very Full	Pleasant

absolutely fantastic burley flake without too much smeetness, but a lot of dark chocolate and nuttyness - need a bit drying out of the tin but is truely amazing. never burns to hot, absolutely great!

Pipe Used: Bruyere

Age When Smoked: freshly bought to about 3 months

Purchased From: https://dein-tabak.de/

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2019-12-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

My previous experience from burley flakes were positive so i anticipated this blend.once the tin opens a sweet citus and vinegar smell comes out.the dark brown flakes are a bit moist,very manageable either to rub or to fold as they are.some drying time is needed for an easier lighting with fewer relights.while smoking you instantly realize that burleys have the lead.lots of sweet molasses,dried fruits,cocoa,sugar notes and spices come out.virginias offer lots of fruity and grass notes making the experience smoother.kentuckys are mostly sour with strong vinegar notes making the whole flavour one sided most of the time.generally i think kentuckys could be a little toned down.burns cool and at slow speed to perfect ash with some moisture left at the end of the bowl and a lot at the filter.the room note is heavy with no tongue bite though some harsh spots are detected is puffed fast.nicotine level is almost medium.i would prefer some more nicotine from these deep flavours.generally i likes this flake but i have tried better ones.recommended.

Age When Smoked: New

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2019-12-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

This was easily my least favorite of the HH line and really the only blend in said line I can honestly say I did not like. To sum up my primary problem with this blend, it is just too mild and flavorless. What I don't know is whether it is because that is just how burley is or whether this is just a bad one.

Burley leaf being as low as it is in sugar inherently has less sweetness than any of the other varieties of tobacco. This much is fact, the question I wonder is how much sugar has added to all of the burleys I prefer over this one. And that is a long list of tobaccos to be sure.

The HH line is a line of tobaccos that have no toppings or sugars added. This was the reason for dropping the wonderful HH Matured Virginia from the line as it did contain a topping. Some of my favorite burleys are ABF, Uhles 00, 300, PPB, Pegasus, Burley Flake #2. 1931 flake, Golden Extra and Stonehaven. These are all that immediately come to mind at the moment. With the exception of ABF, every one of these has a topping or contain a portion of Sweetened Cavendish to assist the burley. As far as ABF, I really don't know what Solani does to make that one stand out above all other Burleys. YMMV.

Ultimately, I think it is entirely necessary to add something to burley to bring out its inherent nutty sweetness and I think this is where HHBF fails for me. It just has very little sweetness and in a seemingly direct contradiction to burleys that aren't sweet, it is also kind of weak. Very little backbone and it doesn't even get that harsh if you push it, which is kind of a plus for a blend with so many negatives.

If Burley can't taste well without tinkering, then I applaud MB for bringing out a blend so that people can truly experience this, but I would rather smoke tinkered burleys, so this ones rates pretty low on the subjective scale. I will give this two stars for those who like tobacco that hasn't been tinkered regardless of how crappy it may taste. lol

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DirtyD (3)	2019-12-03		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Just started smoking pipes 4 months ago. Smoked cigs for 20 yrs, quit 2 years ago. Wish I'd been smoking pipes the whole time because it's way mo betta. Anyway ordered some hh burley flake since i loved macbaren odf already. Always have rubbed out all flakes until tonight... My 2nd bowl of hhbf i decided to finally try the fold and stuff method.... Serious tobacco religious epiphany... Had to light and tamp a few more times but now i get it. Fold and stuff gives a whole new experience. Wow. Wow!! I see what the fold and stuff thing is all about.! Forgive my noobness but with this tobacco - perfect dryness out of tin- fold and stuff is the way to go i think. Getting to taste all the flavors instead of just a slam to the dome. Can't wait to try this method with all flakes from now on.. Anyway- macbaren burley flake is friggin sublime in my savinelli lumberman - 1 flake folded and drilled into bowl( thanks to Bremen pipe smoker for the how-to) produced an amazing religious experience... Tasting cigar flavors in a good way, nutty, a hint of good sour(odf maybe?) And unsweetened cocoa. Unreal. Will buy again, amazing. A lil bit strong for all day, but I am only smoking 3 to 4 Pipes a day for now anyway. 4 stars. Fold fake in half shortways then longways, lightly drill while pushing into the bowl.. Way diff smoking experience .Buy some of this, my first burley and I'm in love. Cheers to all, D.

Pipe Used: Savinelli unfinished s.III, 814 LUMBERMAN

Age When Smoked: Straight from tin

Purchased From: Tobacco pipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cakeanddottle (105)	2019-12-02		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I have witnessed many tobaccos go away and had a chance to do something about it before they were gone. I learned my lesson after Kentucky Club and Burley London Blend disappeared and I didn't load up. Then Denmark stopped shipping tobacco to the USA and I kicked myself for not having more Singleton. Tired of living with regret, when McClelland was exiting the market I bought enough of their blends to last me to the end of days.

Discovering Amphora Original kind of softened the Burley London Blend blow. I still wished I had more BLB. Until I smoked HH Burley Flake.

HH Burley Flake is definitely in the Mac Baren Burley spectrum. It's lighter, refined. However this one I wouldn't classify as thin at all. It's meatier than BLB and Golden Extra, while retaining their mild sweetness. The Kentucky is deftly added, not making the blend too savory or overwhelming the flavor profile, while providing backbone and depth. This and the newer Amphora Burley are similar, but I far prefer this one, which has more sweetness and a smoother presentation. I don't get nut. I don't get chocolate. I get no added topping from HH Burley Flake beyond a sweetener, and it's a crazy good Burley. Honestly it's kinda sorta like Uhle Blend 00 with added Kentucky, as a flake. As Burley flakes go, it's the best I've smoked.

This one is a four star for me. Every time I smoke it I feel like I should go buy another pound. When I think of all the Burleys I have in my cellar that I have more than a couple pounds of, I can only think of three, maybe four, that I like more than this. If you like Mac Baren Burley, if you like codger Burley, if you like Burley flakes, this one is going to be a home run for you.

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Amphora Burley.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_german (43)	2019-07-26		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Another HH blend, and of course I have to get a tin ASAP. I guess you can guess I'm a fan of this relatively new line by MacB. Anyway, the 50 g tin was waiting list only with all of my usual sources, so I trusted the Halberg family enough to get the 100 g tin instead, without trying it first. No regrets.

The slices are half the cross-section of the tin, good to fold or rub out. Both approaches give me about the same overall experience. The tin note is of cocoa (though not as strongly as Solani's take on the same theme), some coffee, meat, dryness.

Rubbed out or folded, lighting is no problem, the burn out of the freshly-opened tin is good, hardly any dottle at the end. Good sweetness. Cocoa and chocolate define the flavour, with enough sweetness to make it a repeater. The room note is remarkably good. The choc topping that I believe to make out is not obtrusive, and more constructive than detrimental.

Before I go into too much detail that nobody wants to read, four stars already.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh from new tin, up to 6 months old.

Purchased From: House of Smoke, Lingen, Germany

Similar Blends: Solani - 656: Aged Burley Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2019-02-17		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

All hail Mac Baren, king of the perfectly cut and packaged flakes! Seriously does anyone make a more perfect looking and enticing flake than Mac B? This is a strong second place to Aged Burley Flake by Solani. At times it is first... depending on my mood. The big difference for me, and this is odd coming from Mac B, is that HHBF is "purer" flake for me. There is not topping I can detect and the flavors all come from the tobacco's. I really like how the DFK and VA's support the Burley ( I know DFK is a Burley but it is a condiment here). This is a great representation, for me, of how Burley has the cocoa, nutty and woody qualities but none of the flavor here comes from an additive. The flavors are subtle and crisp. The VA provides an underpinning of sweetness that enhance the Burely flaovrs and the DFK adds a slight tang/sour earthiness that I really like. The smoke is cool and dry, even from a relatively moist, folded and stuffed flake with no drying time. It burns slow and leaves a great, clean and bright aftertaste. I do not get any nuance but it is a great smoke from top to bottom. I only put this second most of the time because, well, I guess I like toppings on my Burley just a pinch more...most of the time. This is also a great Burley for the nicotine wimps out there (like me). Not much of a kick and no bite (unlike most Mac B blends).

Pipe Used: Briar’s and cob’s

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Adam T Valleau (21)	2019-01-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I wanted to get to this blend to try it for a long time. I finally got a nice 100 g. tin as part of my winter stash. Upon opening the tin, you'll see the gold paper flaps, and within layers of beautiful dark flakes. Very nice presentation. The tin note is earthy and a little nutty, as would be expected of a burley blend. There is Virginia in this as well as some Dark Fired Kentucky. I cannot really detect either of these in the tin note, but my nose for tin/pouch/baggie notes has never been that good. You may be able to separate these better than I can. The flakes have just about the right moisture content for me, but others might find a few minutes drying time is in order. I always use the fold and stuff method and the flakes load and pack easily. A char-light, tamp, re-light, and it's off to the races. I could immediately taste burley and the Dark Fired. Lots of nuttiness and something rather dark in flavor, which I find hard to describe. Maybe a bit like bbq sauce and beef. Must be the DFK. Nice, mellow, full-bodied smoke. Wonderful mouth feel. Very creamy. The Virginia becomes more evident as the bowl progresses. It provides that little bit of sweetness which gives this blend very good balance, but the Virginia is very much in the back seat. This blend is never harsh. In fact, it is surprisingly mild. Surprisingly, the nicotine seems moderate to me, and I have a medium nicotine tolerance. I could really smoke this all day long, if I wanted to. This blend requires few relights and is very well-behaved. I use the sipping method to smoke this one. Go easy with it, and it will provide lots of burley flavor. I experienced no bite whatsoever. I've smoked this in a MM Country Gentleman corn cob, a Nording, and my small, thin-walled meerschaum. Very good in all of them, but it really shines in the cob for me. Excellent blend and I recommend it highly to everyone. Even if you aren't crazy about burleys, give this one a try. Well done Mac Baren!

Pipe Used: Nording, MM Country Gentleman.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: SmokingPipes.com

Similar Blends: Solani Aged Burley Flakes and Wessex Burley Flakes..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ATW (110)	2018-12-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

After my not so good experience with 3 of the HH blends over the years, this one has completely restored my faith.

For starters, I love how Mac Baren hasn't changed over their square tins. I hope they never will. The tin aroma is like raisins. My tin is a touch on the dry side but it's perfect for this blend. I have smoked it using the fold a stuff method and rubbed out. With the fold and stuff method, it is very consistent from start to finish. It is a nice and soft burley flavor with hints of cocoa, brown sugar, and cream. With it rubbed out, it is still very consistent with more of a light black pepper spice coming in from time to time. Has a decent nicotine hit. I have tried my best to hot box this stuff. It will not bite or get hot at all. And the flavor does not change if you set it down for a while. When you come back to it, it picks up right where it left off. Burns very cool and clean with absolutely no tongue bite.

This is an absolutely wonderful Flake. I have been searching for a smooth and consistent blend for an all day smoke and this for me is it. 1 pound boxes will be ordered for sure.

Update 10-17-2021

I'm dropping my rating down to 3 stars. While my first Only took me 5 or 6 days to go thru, my second tin is taking me 3 years to get almost thru. For the most part, it's become dull.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Quiggifur (99)	2023-02-27		Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant

20230313 edit: I may have been reaching during that last review. It is excellent, but as an autopilot smoke it's mostly coming across as an uncomplicated burley blend. A lot going on up front, but it settles down quickly. Almost through a full flake on an empty stomach over the course of maybe 2 hours, and I'm finally feeling a decent nicotine buzz. This would probably be a decent option for an all day smoke, with a mild to moderate nicotine hit. I think i have to take away a star because it's lost some points as an autopilot smoke, just not as interesting as some other options.

Spiced, floral, grassy, dark fruit, perfume, must. Mildly sweet, nutty. I almost get a rose geranium in here somewhere. Exceptional. If this has no flavoring, I'd be shocked. There's a depth of florality which i have trouble believing comes from the tobacco alone, but maybe it does. The nicotine won't kick you in the face, but it is present. Giving this less than 4 stars would be criminal.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	wool (1)	2023-01-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

As a new Pipe smoker, I tried 39 kinds of grass in one month, and I couldn't experience the rich taste like the old Pipe smoker, but my eyes lit up when I tried it for the first time! The roasted woody aroma, nutty aroma, a hint of sweetness I could taste, it was very delicious! I can smoke 4 buckets a day without being bored, and a box of 1.75OZ is definitely not enough! I'll get another 2 pounds, current favorite!

Pipe Used: Caminetto EVENT 2014 POT

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: SP

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (563)	2022-12-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin date Nov 2019 has note of bitter nut, plum, and mild hay. Tobacco flakes are a reddish-brown with a little black and tan. Moisture is good to go. No drying needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of bitter nuts, dry earth, very woody, molasses, spice bread, tangy citrus, moderately spicy, mild sweet dark fruit, mild sweet grass, floral, a lemon peel background note, and a peppery retro. Burleys is leading over Virginias most of the time, Kentucky supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is outstanding.

Pipe Used: Wally Frank Limited White Bar Sandblast 128

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: Cup O' Joes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	raybrown55 (46)	2022-10-14		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Many burley-based blends are sweetened by the Virginias and/or the sugar topping, so to soften the potential harshness of the main leaf (think of Golden Blend or Navy Flake from the same vendor). Not this; here the Virginias are lurking in the background, while the topping is declared absent (though it appears obvious a little bit of chocolate, that can't come entirely from the leaf). So what you get is a straight burley taste with a bit of chocolate; the burley is first choice, good tasting and with almost no harshness, but if you like me prefer a little more sweetness, this blend isn't the top. Anyway a good tobacco, that I can easily recommend...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tobaksrøg (54)	2022-09-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Beautiful natural chocolate smell right off the tin and consistent flavour throughout the bowl. Great wide flake presentation along with the always high quality of MB leaf.

Age When Smoked: New

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Frank27 (14)	2022-07-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

A good representation for HH about Burley , I found it very similar to Solani 656 . I am not actually a super-lover of Burley tobacco in general but the flakes presents in a perfect shape, more dry actually than the Solani ones . It smokes well, with a good taste, and burns well inside the pipe. I would give it a 3 stars because I'm not a fan of it , but I found it more pleasant than the 656 version. Not sure if it will be in my rotation, but a plus from time to time.

Pipe Used: W.O. Larsen flame grain model #62

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Solani 656.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokolier (21)	2021-12-12		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren's HH lineup lives up to its reputation. This flake is a perfect representative of the nuances of burley, which many pipe smokers -- including myself -- have unfairly decided is "boring." If the prospect of smoking burley makes you roll your eyes, then I recommend trying this blend out -- you might change your mind, at least a little bit.

The burley itself is very forward, and it's backed up by a small amount of Virginia and Kentucky dark-fired to give it some body. On smoking I tasted notes of cocoa, nuts, light roast coffee, a "fresh" sort of vegetal tone, sweet and earthy hay, and a bit of a woodsy flavor from the Kentucky. The flavor was mild but complex. It pairs perfectly with a quality black tea and a little bit of milk, but maybe won't stand up to sugar.

The flakes are easy to fold, rub, and pack. I decided to roll mine up into plugs -- cut flakes are surprisingly fun and satisfying to use. On top of that, it lights very well and burns very slowly, giving you plenty of time to savor the flavor without interruption. No matter how hard I smoked it never bit my tongue, which is highly unusual for burley and a testament to this blend's quality. Burley can pack quite a lit of nicotine, but this variety is actually fairly weak. If you have weak nicotine tolerance and easily become dizzy,, then this flake might not bother you. On the other hand, if you like burley due to its strength, then you might be left unsatisfied.

That being said, it is still burley. If you absolutely hate the stuff then this flake will not radically change your opinion. But, if you're on the fence, then give this a try. You might open up your palate just as it did for me. If you love burley then this is a total shoe-in. I recommend trying this out.

Pipe Used: Crown Manola Sandblast 608

Age When Smoked: 1 Day

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PaulMcCoy (78)	2021-10-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Love the presentation of the HH line. The flakes rub out easily. Folding, and stuffing worked like a charm. It’s nutty, earthy, woody, and everything you’d expect in a good burly blend. The Kentucky, and Virginia’s play well in the background. Great all day smoke.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Porto Cervo 122

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Michael D (34)	2021-08-26		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Have a cigar... that is what I get.. but in a nice way. The burley is pleasant and present on opening the tin, as is the Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised the Virginia faded to the back once lit.

The flake itself is moist, yet dry enough to stuff into the pipe without waiting. it will take me a few lights to make it to the bottom. On the journey there, I am presented a very nice tasting Burley with a sweetness coming through. At moments I get the cigar like flavor, with sugars & spices pleasing to the taste. A very enjoyable burley flake for me.

If there is anything to complain about, for me, it would be the tin. Those squares just don't like to seal again. Get your mason jar ready.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Poodlejuice (51)	2021-07-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Took a chance and purchased the 16oz box. This is how much I trust in the HH line. Nice and mellow cocoa and earth smell. Pretty moist and needs a little dry time. 30mins-1hr seems enough.

Lightly sweetened Cocoa, lots of wood, bread, earth, a little smokiness, and a nice bit of floral-ey spice that reminds me a lot of oriental leaf, but alas, there is none. It must be the Kentucky I'm guessing. There's almost has a bit of a nutmeg-ish baking spice quality I can't put my finger on. Relatively mild at first but builds to a solid medium body, with nice rich, sweet, savory, smokey wood notes and a rich chocolate that's almost creamy. Will bite a bit if provoked, but not egregiously. Burns just a tad hot, but nice and slow. Mild to medium nicotine content.

I imagine even some of the biggest burley-phobes would likely find something to enjoy in this blend. Its surprisingly smooth and we'll rounded, and very unlike most burley blends out there (although I should mention I haven't had any of the classic burley flakes such as Wessex or Solani) it's much more inviting that the standard C&D/OTC offerings. A go-to solid all day blend.

Pipe Used: Billiards, cobs

Age When Smoked: Fresh

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipesINpairs (19)	2021-07-09		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

There are a couple burley flakes worth their salt: Solani's Aged Burley flake is probably the most sought after, also Wessex Burley Slice. This eclipses them both. (Yes, I think this is better than ABF. Sue me.)

The flavor is rich, nuanced, and balanced. Read Jim for the litany, I'll only add that there is a crisp starchiness (a word we should use more often for burley) that you find in good burleys, which is softer than the more acrid quality of say a Haunted Bookshop. Another thing - like all the HH flakes, this one is mechanically perfect: perfect moisture, easy burn, behaves really well no matter how you prep and pack it.

Finally, a top-tier burley flake that is both excellent and readily available. What joy.

P.S. The general easiness of the blend makes it an excellent crossover for Virginia people.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2021-06-27		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Summary: the mildest blend ever tried by this reviewer, tasting like white Burley with a touch of Virginia.

Many people search for blends by negatives: they want something which will not make them sick if they smoke it all day, will not make the room stink too much, and will not sting their tongues. As the mildest blend ever smoked by this reviewer, "HH Burley Flake" qualifies in avoiding all of these negatives. It smells like a dry prairie in autumn, and lights immediately with a faint fruitiness that quickly goes away, replaced by the flavor of white Burley. This leaf tastes like a Connecticut wrapper in a cigar, a light roasted almond flavor with a touch of barley, and periodically reveals natural vanilla and light chocolatey flavors. The added Virginias here give some sweetness, and the dark and dark fired Burleys add a slight fermented and dark roasted flavor respectively, but are here to direct the mass of white Burley flavor. During the second half of the bowl, the leaf caramelizes and the whole thing tastes a little bit like sugarcane with a touch of white pepper on it. Since there is no nicotine to speak of, you can smoke this all day, and the vegetal and sometimes "bitey" bitter green flavor that Burley sometimes has is minimized. Unlike most flakes, this one lights easily and stays lit, making this a convenient and flavorful smoke.

Similar Blends: Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Sir Walter Raleigh, Peter Stokkebye - Cube Cut, Newminster - No. 702 Light Burley, John Middleton, Inc - Carter Hall.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Go Corinthians (2)	2019-12-27		Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Well, I will not put more descriptions - there is plenty of good ones here. I like it, but I prefer (just a little more) C&D Burley Flake #3 and Solani ABF. Strong taste of good Burley, and much Nicotine. The point is: may sons said "is smell like marijuana" (!?!), and I wonder how they could indentify it... Well, one of them study Medicine, and the other was in a Military Academy for 3 years, so it get a little more calm. Or not... 3.5/4 stars

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: C&D Burley Flake #3, Solani Aged Burley Flake, Peterson Irish Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2019-09-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Unnoticeable

I bought a couple of ounces of this from bulk in July. Tried it once, liked it and now am revisiting this blend. This is a long narrow strip of dark brown tobacco with a slightly sweet tin note. I took a narrow strip of 'beef jerky' and folded it, twisted it and stuffed it into my corn cob. I have a fondness for flakes, seems you get a richer taste of tobacco when smoking. This is definitely one smooth blend, mostly all-natural tobacco with a slight cacao taste in the background. The taste of this blend remains consistent from start to finish which kind of surprised me. Did not appear harsh toward the end like some blends can do. Though I do not identify as a Burley fan, I am sure those who do will greatly appreciate this blend. Goes good with my afternoon coffee. Did not detect a strong nicotine content in this either.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lager (53)	2019-09-16		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren has really impressed me with there H&H series line. There isn't one that I have tried that I didn't like. The presentation of the flake's in the foil is well done and the cut of the tobacco leaf is superior. Moisture level was just right but you may prefer a little drying. I again am normally not a Burley fan but this could well change my mind. Enough has been said about the taste and flavor here so I'll leave it at that. If your a Burley fan, give it a try! Smoke in Peace- Lager

Pipe Used: Peterson 120 flame grain

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Cigars International

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AL (26)	2019-09-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

MacB hit a homer with this one. Have tried these flakes stuffed and rubbed out. Smoked early morning and late evening and throughout the day. This is an excellent smoke at any time a day. I could make this an all day every day choice no problem. Smokes nice and dry for me and is a nutty taste throughout. Does not seem to gain in strength. Light-Tamp-Re-light and its good for go to the bottom. Real easy to like this Burley flake.

Pipe Used: Castello's

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Just-smoking (7)	2019-06-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Great tobacco, so full of taste but mild... I could smoke this all day. Right moisture, easily smoked to the bottom. I'll order more of this right now...

Pipe Used: Stanwell

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ithian (18)	2023-04-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Excellent burley-forward blend with a tanginess that unfortunately doesn't agree with my body-chemistry. This acidic, slightly sharp tanginess (probably from the Virginias) is very evident in the first third of the bowl but later diminishes and gives room to the darker, nuttier body of the burley and kentucky in a relatively gradual transition. Given that it's not a straight burley, there's more complexity here than to Solani Aged Burley Flake. The Kentucky adds an every present albeit subtle spiciness.

The blend is skillfully crafted, the flavor profile is interesting and pleasant, with fruity notes, raisins, cocoa shining through in addition to everything stated. However, I find the Virginias distracting. At times I wish the Virginias weren't added. However, I trust that Per Jensen knew what he was doing.

Like stated, this blend is masterfully crafted. But it just doesn't agree with me. Maybe if someone smoked the first third of a bowl for me and took the burden of the tanginess upon themselves. But by that time a feeling that reminds me of heartburn has already set in for me.

It's often compared to Solani Aged Burley Flake but I find that misleading. There's very little resemblance in flavor between the two. Solani as a straight burley is more mellow with a more evident "body". HH is brighter and more complex. For me the Solani is the clear winner. But each palate is different.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kingsqueak (6)	2023-01-24		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A Goldilocks of an all day smoke.

A very nice burley flake with no heavy toppings, natural balance in the sweetness of the VA and depth from the dark fired.

Nicotine is a medium so it's a nice all day staple, satisfying.

The flavor is easy on the palate allowing for smoking up against or even during meals without coating the mouth. I like this with coffee quite a bit.

Lights easily, burns smoothly and cleanly to a fine ash.

I rotate blends all the time for the variety, this one is likely to be my first "order by the pound" as my baseline staple.

Availability is good and the price is a good value for the quality.

This is a simple and well balanced, all tobacco flavor smoke.

Pipe Used: A variety

Age When Smoked: recent production

Purchased From: Online retailer

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HeadmasterOfHerf (25)	2023-01-03		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I’m used to my burleys consisting of SWR, H&H, Haunted Bookshop, and the occasional Granger. These are all very much codger blends (save for HB, which is codger-adjacent).

I recently acquired a tin of HH Burley Flake, tried it, didn’t like it much, and threw it in a jar to think about some other time. Today is another time.

It had been sitting in my cellar for about four months. When I opened the jar up, I got notes of dried fruit, sweet tobacco, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on.

I shrugged, I folded a flake up and stuffed it in my pipe. I got in my car and left for work. The pipe (and stuffed tobacco) sat in my car while I worked until lunchtime.

It lit up like a dream and needed no babysitting, no relights, just a light tamp from time to time.

It tasted close to my classic codger blends, but there was something else there from the Virginia (the sweetness I had detected, maybe?) and the DFK gave it a smokiness that complemented the nutty notes of the burley beautifully.

It wasn’t quite a codger, but it wasn’t not a codger either. It’s like an elevated take on the codger blend. An homage, even. Like someone wanted to show us what those blends could be if taken to the next level.

Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum Dagner Poker

Age When Smoked: 4 months

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2021-07-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The first blend I smoke from Mac Baren's HH line. Fingers crossed that the other tobaccos in that series are as rich as this one.

As an anecdote, I will tell you that once, while smoking this tobacco, a sweetness similar to that felt when you bring the tip of your tongue to a sugar cube came over me. But those who don't have a sweet tooth shouldn't be scared, because this only happened to me once. That sweetness, coming from the virginia (or a slight cover?), Combined with the bitterness and earthiness of the burley makes it a very rich tobacco for me. Other times its flavor evokes that of a cigar leaf, especially when smoked with a faster cadence, something typical in many burley blends and the most obvious example of which could be the famous tobaccos from Tabac Manil. Kentucky seems like a stone guest who is sporadically perceived as a background player, but who plays his role by attenuating those burley cigar notes a bit and giving the flavor a nuance that differentiates this mix from others where the burley is also the protagonist. It is quite soft for a burley but is still medium strength. I have tried to load the entire flake, folding it, and other times turning it into ribbon, without significant differences. But either way it burned perfectly.

I want more of this ...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RAV (12)	2021-04-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Really love it. All the earthy, nutty, chocolatey burley notes are here but in a soft and comfortable way. The small amount of dark fired adds nuance and a slightly sour floral note. I love dark fired in condimental proportions and I view it as an important component in this blend. My palate is not sophisticated enough to describe the Virginias but I suspect they are responsible for smoothing things out and taking the bitter edge off what I generally get from unflavored burley. Nic hit is totally manageable which I wish I could say for the C&D burley flakes (even #5 is too potent for me). Smells great in the tin and room note is pleasant. Terrific with morning or afternoon coffee. One flake more than fills my Dunhill group 5 apple. Love the square tins. Four stars for sure.

Pipe Used: Briars, cobs and meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kingdom Danimalia (13)	2021-03-15		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

In terms of pure flavor, this might be my favorite Burley blend. It's just a delightful blend, one that perfectly captures the essence of quality air-cured leaf. I do detect a bit of added flavoring, perhaps a casing, but it just adds a dash of sweetness and roundness to the flavor profile, and complements the leaf perfectly. If I had one bit to pick, I could use a bit more nicotine, but that will be an asset for many smokers.

Age When Smoked: Mostly fresh

Similar Blends: Solani 656 Aged Burley Flake, Watch City Slices, Cornell & Diehl Burley Flake #5.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Olivermac (19)	2021-02-05		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am generally not a huge burley based blend fan, but this tobacco is one I do love. A lot of burley blends tend to be too harsh(as I enjot inhaling my pipe smoke from time to time), but this one is just right in that regard. This blend is one of the most flavorful I've ever had. It's got a lot of smokey, earthy flavor without being overbearing. It's a very nice looking tobacco in the tin with that medium brown color that's so nice. If burley blends generally put you off due to their harshness(i.e. big and burley), you still definitely need to give this a try! 4 stars plus.

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	glamchowder (2)	2020-10-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Enjoyably sweet and nutty with a nice tin note and good looking flakes. Sometimes I feel it tastes too simple or sweet - perhaps the nuttiness is too prominent - but I quickly go back to accepting the blissful deliciousness. It requires a few relights for me, but I cherish my time with this tobacco. Smooth, not wild but with just enough complexity, and cool.

Not to be overlooked - I love the Mac Baren packaging. Opening a tin feels regal and special; you fold away the "gilded" paper with the debossed logo and it is as if the sun is shining on you when the tin note hits.

I really enjoy this. I'm giving it 4 stars but really it sits at 3.5 for me. I would recommend this to somebody as an example of what really good tobacco can be without trying to knock their socks off with something too idiosyncratic.

Pipe Used: Savinelli La Corta bulldog rusticated

Age When Smoked: A few months

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (225)	2020-01-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Unnoticeable

MB Burley Flake-. It has a fine cocoa flavor . . It is nutty and hearty and a little spicy . The Virginias and Kentucky are in the background. The moisture from the tin is perfect and it burns with ease . It has a nice sweetness throughout the bowl . Not too strong and could be for any time of the day . This blend has buttery feel to it and the way the white burleys sit in the background throughout with the nutty slight sour notes is just perfect. A nice simple and delicious smoke . . 4 stars 👍Perfectly blended and is my favorite all day burley at the moment with orders by the pound .

Age When Smoked: 16 months on tin date

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	3pipeproblem (28)	2019-09-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I've been looking forward to trying this since it came out, and very glad I finally did.

This is a great Burley flake- not quite as outstanding as Solani, perhaps, but terrific in it's own right (and cheaper). Lovely flavor with just a hint of spice from the Dark Fired; rubs out and burns easily; zero tongue bite.

It will definitely be in my rotation if the FDA doesn't ruin it for us in the States. 4 stars, no question. If you like Burley, you'll love this.

Pipe Used: Briars, corncob, clay, meer

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes.com

Similar Blends: Solani Aged Burley Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Falliver (42)	2019-06-17		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Opening the tin, the flakes are neatly presented and delivers a tin aroma that you would expect from a burley-heavy tobacco blend: sweet and chocolaty.

It is of perfect working-moisture right from the tin, but I found the tobacco to deliver a much too hot smoke to be thoroughly enjoyed - even with a slightly longer stem than my regulars. Somehow, a bent pipe worked better for this blend. Storing it it a day or two with with a moisturiser help cool the smoke down, and for me to focus on the flavours of the blend. This helped bring of the creamy almondy marzipaniness I have come to enjoy from burley, and play down the spicy sweetness of the Virginia, and the musty tanginess of the Kentucky.

The flavour is consistent throughout the smoke, and the ashes are pale gray, and easily removed from a tap to the bowl, upside down. I still find it, however, to smoke a little too hot for my liking. It is easy work with, wether cube cutting or rubbing, and due to the low nicotine hit, you can much easier focus on the flavours, if you can look through its hotness. All in all, a good smoke, but it is not perfect.

Pipe Used: Mesna Lillehammer 1254; GL Lillehammer.

Age When Smoked: From the tin

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Voyaging (80)	2019-03-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

The presentation is fantastic as usual for Mac Baren's flake tobaccos. There is a kind of bready, grainy, fruit smell upon opening the tin. Kind of buttery with a touch of honey too.

The flakes are thin, even and uniform.

I have smoked this rubbed out, slightly rubbed and stuffed, and just plain folded and stuffed. I prefer to fold it and stuff. The flavor is great no matter what, but it seemed to burn with far less heat when folded and stuffed.

I got mostly woody taste notes, and sometimes a sweet wood, some barbecue woody sweetness. There is some spice in the mouthfeel. There is a cinnamon or nutmeg-like note I picked up. There are some mineral notes I find hard to describe, some bread notes, cereal notes, then toasted bread, hint of dried fruit. It also made me think of raisin bran cereal at times, with a molasses note. I had this aftertaste like I had been drinking red wine at other times. There are cigar notes and coffee notes as well, some nuttiness. For me, this has been one of the closest things to achieving a mild to medium cigar-like taste in a pipe tobacco, and I enjoy that about it. It has elegance.

The combustion and moisture of the tobacco was perfect for me. I didn't really have to relight much.

I would say the strength is mild to medium, and the nicotine level is medium. I don't think it's weak, nor do I think it strong.

The smell that comes off the pipe is of strong tobacco, like a cigar of some kind, but not a cigarette. I can't imagine a non-smoker enjoying the smell. However, if you're careful and sip this, you'll get the Virginia, burning sugar smell. Sweet.

I would recommend this to someone looking for a burley-dominated tobacco, anyone that likes burley tobaccos, someone who likes cigars, and even the Virginia-lover. It's just good tobacco. It could be an all-day blend.

Pipe Used: Billiard,bent apple,lumberman

Age When Smoked: ~one year

Purchased From: Iwanries

1 person found this review helpful.