Mac Baren HH Burley Flake

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.