Mac Baren Three Nuns

Notwithstanding the magnificent House of Balkan Sobrainie, Bell's Three Nuns, in every likelihood, remains etched in the memories of those of us so fortunate to have experienced its' greatness. I promised myself I would not subject my fellow reviewers to a lamenting preamble of a tobacco that is no more but I find it necessary, at least in short, to protect the integrity of arguably the best Virginia/Perique blend ever created. In saying that I ask for the forgiveness and indulgence of my fellow pipe smokers, I'll be brief. Bell's Three Nuns was a blend that would simply tranquilize the smoker with it thick creamy Virginia sweetness and pungently spicy Christmas pudding like aromas. It was in all accounts a medium to strong blend ever so satisfying as an early morning offering or a nightcap choice. I would catch myself opening the tin throughout the day and smelling the tobacco between smokes just to make sure it hadn't lost any of its flavorings, absolutely silly I know, but when you find something so special in a blend you subconsciously want to protect its greatness from ever going away. I would pray, upon return visits to my tobacconist that the next tin would contain the exact same tobacco as before and it always did right up until it finally disappeared from Canadian Tobacconists' shelves sometime in late 2002. No other Virginia/Perique blend ever came close to taking its place and I tried many. MacBaren's Three Nuns 2013 recipe has no perique and I knew that going into it. What I was hoping though, was that everything else might be the same or at least very similar. Same or similar Virginias, same Brazilian leaf, same casings etc. The presentation does bring back great memories as the discs remain quite similar and equally attractive. Of course it smells nothing like the original due in large, I suggest, by the absence of perique and in sampling a bowl it tastes nothing like the original but I had no illusions it would. It is a well balanced blend but does carry a hefty tin price compared to many other blends in the same genre which are equally good or in many cases much better. MacBaren's Three Nuns does not meet my needs in its current state and knowing the original contained 22% perique, a working maximum for this condiment, I rubbed out the discs of a full tin and added 22% long cut blending perique. I've been sampling small bowls of this mixture, off and on, for a couple of days and by God it's coming around to something quite special. I don't expect this effort will yield the old Three Nuns by any stretch of the imagination but I must say it's turning out to be a very pleasant experience and it does have some moments of greatness during the smoke but they are fleeting moments at least for now.

Update: I must tell you this experiment is quickly proving to be extremely worthwhile. I would say, with subjective confidence of course, that this hybrid mixture is, in my opinion, exceedingly close to the old Bell's from Imperial prior to the removal of perique. If you should try this, please keep in mind that a 50 gram tin is only 78% of the total. You'll need to add 22% perique which equals 14.1 grams to give you 100% total mixture. Let it sit pressed tightly for about 48 hours prior to sampling. For me, I'm one happy feller today, I hope you eventually arrive with similar results.

Final Update: I recently opened another tin to blend in perique to find this tin had a distinct perique-like aroma. This was not present in my first tin and I have no idea why. In any event I will be adjusting the blending in of the perique in efforts to achieve a similar result. I also smoked a bowl of the second tin and it did have a perique-like taste as well.

Very Solid replacement. I too was concerned when I saw that the perique had been replaced, but the new formula is well balanced and delivers a solid smoke. I find the little coins very user friendly and they seem to have the propper moisture level. Taste for me has been fantastic, if you take your time with this one it can really dance around your taste buds delivering different experiences with every puff. Since acquiring I have made Three Nuns my all day smoke and have been very pleased and have experienced 0 tongue bite. Well done and glad to see this one make it back!!

I have finally had the opportunity to taste this famous classic, and in the coin version this time.

I have never tried the original with PER, only the Ready Rubbed version still available in the UK, but that was years ago, so i do not know if it was with PER or DFK.

One thing is certain. This is one solid offering. I am wondering if that is why Orlik has replaced the PER with DFK. To make Three Nuns even better than it was.

Golden Va coins with some darker core, the smell is sweet with barely a touch of smokiness.

I was a bit concerned when I saw the light coloured tobacco, but this barely bites and, when it does, it is because I have puffed too hard.

The flavour, and its increase in richness, builds as I smoke down the bowl with great pleasure and satisfaction.

This is good tobacco, mates.

I bought a 50g pack from my local newsagent, nice to see something other than the usual suspects on the shelf. Easy to pack and smoke - very enjoyable, and a nice and possibly more subtle alternative to St Bruno. A pity that you can't but a 25g pack, though. One I'd buy again for sure, and I'm going to search out the tinned version when I've got through my pack.

as I'm writing this, I'm only on my 4th bowl since opening the tin. yes, it's a 50g tin of curly cuts (now made in denmark by orlik). here in germany, where I live, these tins cost about 20 dollars, which is pretty much on the high side. it's definitely my most expensive tobacco yet.

so, like I said, 4th bowl, so I might have to come back and re-do this in a month or so...

I don't care if this is still the three nuns that everyone is claiming it isn't. it's good. I usually smoke almost nothing but english/balkan blends a a few kentucky flake things. and this is a change of pace. I find it to be real mellow on the tongue, no bite at all, and I'm trying my best to "sip", but it's not that easy all the time. my first smoke of this was in a field, a walk with the dog and it was windy as hell. it still didn't get too hot and the flavor was still great.

the tin aroma is somewhat grassy and woody and a little TINY bit ketchup like, in a good way. maybe it's the perique?

it has a nice subtle sweetness from the virginias and it's spicy, in a good, not overwhelming way. I really like it. taste is great throughout. gets a little more spicy toward the end of the bowl, but still not too overpowering for my taste.

the coins are easy to pack, just stack them in my cherrywood shape stanwell (no filter), put some loose tobacco from the couple of broken coins in the tin on top and I'm ready to go. a couple of relights, but nothing I care about. it might also take a few matches to get lit, but it's worth it.

it smokes extremely well, slow, cool, tasty, down to a grey to dark grey ash. there's no dottle whatsoever. it can get a little moist at times, but I just go through the pipe with pipe cleaners every 20 minutes or so, to get some moisture out of the pipe and it works just fine. when I pack that stanwell, I get 2+ hours of pleasure from this tobacco. usually I feel like I need more, but not with this here.

RECOMMENDED!

sorry for anyone in the states and elsewhere, where the tins aren't available. it's worth it.

bit pricey, still.

I used to smoke this back in the day when I could buy it in a tin, cut and packed in nice wee rings it was too. Alas! Here in the UK those days have long gone.

Bought some recently. It came in a pouch, not a tin. I was horrified to find it was no longer cut in the nice wee rings but appeared ready rubbed.

After removing my rose-coloured spectacles, I found the flavour was still there ( this used to be a tobacco I smoked back in the 80's on a regular basis ) but it didn't seem as fine as I remember it to be!

Call it nostalgia if you will, but I'd still recommend this tobacco. Not as good as "back in the day" but still an excellent smoke.

I'd recommend it.

Coin cut version, square tin. Slightly sweet, herbal flavor. The Perique is used as a spice that rounds up this tobacco. The strength and taste grow with time. The flavors are subtle, velvety and you tend to forget that there is strength in this tobacco. Good morning smoke with an espresso or at any time of the day. To be enjoyed slowly.

Virginia lover

I?m used to examine the reviews before mine with the most attention, and found some confusion. Some fellows review the TN Original (tinned, VaPer, curly cut, for the ?discriminating? smoker); others seem to review TN Mixture (pouched, mainly Va with traces of Per, ready rubbed; it was told to be the ?scraps? deriving from the spun process, very much cheaper than TN Original, or the ?common? people).

TN (both Original/tinned, which was maybe the more expensive tobacco sold in Italy, and the Mixture/pouched, half the price of the Original) disappeared from the Italian tobacconist before the advent of the EURO, i.e. in 2001. I guess nobody cried loud? VaPer?s have never been considered on the top list of preferences of the Italian smokers, who rather prefer English Mixtures.

My review is for TN Original (tinned version).

I?ve got a couple of tins coming from Haejenius in Amsterdam, alongwith a small number of other tobaccos which I have commissioned to a friend in his yearly visit to the grandmother in the Netherlands.

The tin is quite the same of old, just the colours have bit changed, and obviously half of the lid?s surface consists of the usual compulsory warning label. At the opening I smelled blind and rack hard my brain to do the comparison: no, the current TN is not the same of old. As Hagen observed: Kentucky has replaced Perique. The tones are much darker and woody. I smell a liqueurish note (liquorice?) suggesting a topping. Also, seems to me that TN places itself in some way between McB?s Burley London Blend and Peterson?s Irish Flake, stronger than the former and milder than the latter. Since I appreciate both, this is a good point of depart. After unfolding the inner packing, I can notice that the size of the coins is quite the same of old, but the colour is darker. TN is soft and moist, not wet; needs some airing.

I?ve worked through a small number of pipes, and found the best ?smoking tool? for TN is a straight Mastro de Paja bought in 1990, medium bowl, apple, which I got back from restoring. Always filled the pipes like this: a couple of coins rubbed for the bottom, four or so unrubbed at the middle, then a rubbed couple for the top. Let the pipe sitting half an hour or more, then light/tamp/relight/retamp. It goes its way for one hour or even more.

The smoke reflects the tin aroma: moderately sweet, woody, non-spicy, liqueurish. Starts medium and goes to the strong side. Needs the usual careful sipping just to avoid it turns bitter, but no risk of bite at all, the smoke is always cool. Pleasant but nothing to go really crazy. Not for the morning and not an all-day smoke. Think like as You would enjoy a brandy. Again, I think it may be placed between the BLL and IF, but it also brings to my mind TOI?s Limerick, completely lacking the vinegarish note this latter has but keeping the same woody tone. Since Limerick is declared to contain 5% Perique, should I think TN is still a VaPer ? Bah, who knows ? Oh, yes Hagen, from mid bowl onward it gurgles, I also think it?s due to the topping (Perique syrup?)

At the end: three stars because it?s a hystorical tobacco, of the same league of Escudo and basically a good an honest tobacco. But anymore the TN of old? I will review the TN Mixture soon or late.

Three Nuns is a fine Vaper with high quality leaf and a must-try for lovers of this class. It starts as a sweet mellow smoke and developes into a full Vaper throughout the bowl, sometimes a bit too strong on Perique for my taste.

Not a regular in my rotation (this is second to Escudo, Anniversary Kake and a few other masterpieces in my list) but a pretty good smoke nevertheless.