Mac Baren St. Bruno Flake

Nice tin note…I mainly smell the dark fired and some suggestion of “sweetness” likely from the toppings and maybe from the Virginia too. There is something in the tin note reminiscent of Erinmore Flake to me.

Takes the flame reasonably well. Some relights required but nothing excessive. The flavor is unique to anything I had ever smoked to this point. There was the barbecue pit, smoky sweetness from the dark fired and the virginias are sweet and a little grassy. To me the tonquin and the floral toppings get along very well with the base tobaccos. They never beat you over the head but instead seem more to suggest their presence. While the virginias and the dark fired are fully present the vanilla-ish tonquin and the floral rose geranium float around in the background, not fully present and giving you just enough evidence to form an impression of them rather than fully grasping them. Consistent flavor and smoke all the way through the bowl…

Will be stocking up on this…this very well may be my desert island smoke.

This is my gut feeling and I may be wrong but after tasting 150- 200 blends approximately.I am no expert . It seems almost all processed tobaccos have some kind of flavoring or casings . Some tobaccos listed as flavoring - none . Others listing what it is flavored with and others that make you try to guess . Some blending tobaccos actually do taste like they have no flavoring at all and I don’t see anyone raving about them myself included . This flake tastes alot like Old Dark Fired to me with different “flavoring “. I prefer ODF a little bit but I like this just fine . The Tonquin and fruit stands out to me more than the floral essences . It may be I am just getting used to them from Sam Gawith and GH blends ? The Dark fired leads here with the Virginias making the Burleys better as usual . I like the Mac Barens that aren’t the more Danish Style blends . I used to think I don’t like flavored tobaccos - wrong . I thought I didn’t like Burleys - definitely wrong . I thought I didn’t like stronger blends - wrong .I just like what I like and everyone else likes what they like . Kind of like food or beverages. Reviews do help one find what they would probably like though . You have to try this one for yourself . It satisfies in the nicotine dept. I admit I like the substance after the taste which comes first . Highly recommend.

When I first tried this tobacco, many, many years ago, I thought it was quite strong. The flavor was just to bold for my taste. I believe, as we age, our taste buds change, or mature, because these days I enjoy St.Bruno. This tobacco is probably not for the beginner, but perhaps the beginning pipe smoker should try it to mature the palate. A robust blend of Virginia tobaccos, both dark and light with a sprinkling of wood fired Kentucky, and a dark fruit essence added to make things more interesting. Plenty of deep Virginia with a smoky edge. The added fruit essence is never up front, but floats along mid stream, combining the Virginia and the smoky Kentucky leaf into a stew of pure enjoyment.

I was highly curious to try this blend! Somehow unavailable in germany I had the luck to get ahold of a 50g pouch of St. Bruno today. Even tho it has a german revenue stamp and even the pouch description is in german, yet no german shop has it, not even online. Strange (and a pity)!

The old ads made me wanting to try this classy blend even more and when I got my pouch I instantly opened it! Inside there's plastic container sealed with golden aluminium. Opening it I was greeted by two rows of small (~1,5cm) and long flake slices. Thinly cut (~1mm) there are 10 slices per stack, so 20 in total.

The scent is sweet, fruity, slightly floral, and somehow remind me a tad of Erinmore Flake (this juicy-fruit-ish aroma that I love)! Medium- to dark-brown in color with very few bright speckles in it the slices are very appetizing in both scent and appearance. Really can't get enough of this lovely aroma.

As usual I packed a bowlful of it in my clay for the first smoke to get the most defined tasting experience. The moisture is not moist, but a bit too moist to fold&stuff it fresh from the pouch. Pretty well conditioned for a flake cut - not too moist, not too dry. Excited and therefore impatient as I was I rubbed it out for my first smoke, like this its smokeable right away.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from the taste. I've read some reviews in forehand, but still I was unsure how it would actually taste. First light instantly got me hooked! Unobtrusively floral aroma that's underscored and harmonized by citrus the topping is leaving enough room for the tobacco to shine and is underscoring and enriching the tobaccos aromas. Rich stoved fruits, slightly bready and sweet aroma from the Virginias. Earth, wood and gentle, but satisfying spice to it. from the Kentucky. I think the Kentucky is dark fired as it adds a mild smokiness and sports a very delicious spice to the blend that's harmonizing very well with the fruity-sweet Virginias to create a unique, rich and full-bodied smoke!

Here comes the "problem"....I like this blend so much so that I am desperatly looking for ways to get more of it!!!! 😛 It's a real pity you can't buy it anywhere over here, as this is a classy, characterful and very satisfying All-Day smoke that will appeal to any Burley/Kentucky lover just as much as to Virginia fans who like some spice to their blends by times.

A outstanding(ly good) blend that deserves to be a classic that's been around for decades, I have nothing more left to say but: 4/4 stars and a instant favorite of mine! Try it, or you'll miss out on a exceptional smoke.

A pleasant and very relaxing smoke. The natural tobacco flavors are mostly Bright or Golden Virginias with a light Kentucky backing. The Kentucky does bring a little more to the table toward the end. The topping is citrus/floral and has nearly an equal influence with the natural flavors. I think there may be another fruit flavor other than citrus, but it's lighter and less identifiable. A fairly smooth smoke with only a little sharpness here and there. Burns cool and burns well. Has all the strength you would ever need. Great tasting flake.

Medium to strong in body. Medium to full in taste. Flavoring around medium.

Users have rated this highly. I think I reviewed this sometime ago here too. I am not surprised, as this brand was very popular over the counter pipe tobacco during my childhood in the 1970s and has been produced for ages in the UK. It is a strong tobacco but for the experienced pipe smoker an easy medium smoke. To me this brings back fond memories of the old stalwarts down the pub, or some of my school teachers gently musing on this stuff on their lunch break, or my late grandfather watching the cricket on the box. Yes it goes without saying then I enjoy this, and it goes so well with a strong mug of tea! This is to me one of those quintessential pipe tobaccos of its time and a regular stand by. For me this is a late afternoon smoke, after work or in the garden at home. Sip it gently and enjoy.

For the record the late great Tony Benn MP smoked St. Bruno in his pipe whilst debating politics, or as a guest on TV or chat shows.

Although a bit pricey, the two tins I ordered arrived today. Both had a Jan 2016 production date. Upon opening a tin, there was no "rush" of any aroma as with some tobaccos. Mild sniffing brought out the vinegar preservative used (an insert inside the tin explaining the reasoning for this), and not as prominent as with Mac Baren's ODF. Deep inhalation of the tin contents was the mild vinegar presence and a subtly sweet, fruity presence. If I had to say what fruit, I would choose apricot, and certainly not over the top. The tin note and ultimate smoke reminded me of Erinmore Flake; although I get no florals from EF as with SBF. The flakes were arranged in three neat layers and very thinly cut ala Mac Baren. I like to fold, twist, and slightly break my flakes before packing. This was very easily done with such a thin cut flake, making the packing easy. Lighting and keeping the bowl lit was no problem. Definitely a Virginia forward blend with a spice note I feel is from the Kentucky. I like some body in my smoke, and for a Virginia it has more body than what I'm used too. I'm sure that's due to the Kentucky presence and a good thing by me. I would not consider this a Lakeland in a GH or SG way. GH is definitely more flowery whereas SG is more incense like in their respective presentations. There was, however, a mild hint of what I would describe as a light (emphasis on light) rose flavored soap, very enjoyable for me and unlike Condor, and fading away to nearly imperceptible by the bowl's end. A mild and agreeable sweetness was present with every puff. Perhaps due to its freshness, there was a slight bit of moisture present during the first half of the smoke. It didn't smoke hot nor was there any bite, just a mild tingle to my tongue that I find when I smoke Virginias. Only toward the end of the bowl did I experience any nic hit. As I mostly work from home I'm puffing on a pipe all day long and am used to smoking much stronger tobaccos (Irish Flake, Stirling Flake, Aged Burley Flake, Wessex Burley Slice, GH Brown Flake, rotating through them on any given day). Nice fine ash at the end without dottle.

All in all I enjoyed smoking St Bruno Flake. Mac Baren has done a nice job with its manufacture and presentation as can be said with all of their pipe tobaccos. I do, however, find it to be too expensive for 50 grams. It is a very nice and satisfying smoke for every day use, but the price point is too high to do so. As I prefer a flake cut I most likely will pass on the St Bruno Ready Rubbed.

UPDATE 2-11-17: For me, as with most flakes I enjoy, smokes best when bone dry (crumbles into small pieces but not tobacco dust).

For a cheap convenience store blend you can still buy at Tesco's, this is one of the best all-rounder full-bodied every-day smoke I have ever had so far. These flakes comprise of virginia/burley tobaccos, and the room-note is something to die for. In the description above it says this is an aromatic tobacco, but it is not. The Lakeland casing does not smoke, nor feels, like aromatics at all. For one thing it does not bite, and the Lakeland essence is only there to compliment this blend, not to exonerate it. I don't see much of a Danish potpourri here. Secondly, as the Lakeland casing starts to wane, you will be greeted with some baccy that is good enough to be had on its own. I am finding this smoke very fulfilling and pleasing to pass through your nose. It reminds me a little bit to GH Best Brown 2, but this one is probably more sort of an everyday any time blend. It gets stronger and sweeter the more you smoke and, if smoked properly, a couple of flakes will keep you busy for a few hours. The moist content is about right, so I don't recommend drying these flakes for too long. In the strength department I'd say it is medium, but its flavour is more akin to that of stronger blends. In my personal opinion, and this is one of the reasons why I like this tobacco so much, the burley is this play's main character giving this blend its own signature and character. I can detect earthy undertones from the virginia, but the floral essence is more in the foreground. This blend is going to get a four star rating.

Oh, sweet lord this stuff is good!!

Rumours say that this wonderful tobacco is on its way out of the market (it is long gone here in Denmark); well not in the UK that is. It is as common as baked beans and Guiness are in the same country, and it is still produced by Ogden's of Liverpool. Indeed! It is available in every newsagent in London but only in pouches.

I've found a place on the internet where it is available: www.uktobacco.com Enjoy!

I recently went to London to look for pipe tobacco not available in Denmark. I stumbled over St. Bruno and bought a pouch, and boy am i glad i did! This overly matured VA flake reminds me of that certain smell of dark pine forests in the springtime; moist, swampy, earthy, deep and with a very faint scent of stinkhorn* (yes, I know it's crazy but it is not meant as a bad thing!*).

It will never bite you, it may knock you out, but if you are gentle on the puffing action it will reward you with a strong, deep and very complex aroma.

Yes, there is some light soapy topping added, but it tastes very natural and very good as well. I cannot quite seem to put my finger on it, but it is unique, delightful and discrete.

This is on my top 5 list of flakes; a worthy competitor to the esteemed Marlin Flake and Astley's No. 44.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark