Mac Baren Three Nuns

After reading a lot of positive reviews I thought I would purchase a tin of this tobacco. I opened the tin to a nicely packed coins of tobacco. I really didn't detect much of an aroma from the tin. After reading these reviews, I feel as though I smoked a different tobacco altogether. It was acrid from the start with a pepper flavored casing. I usually smoke a tobacco for the flavor or for the Vitamin N, and this tobacco doesn't fall into either one of those categories. If Dark fired is what you like I would recommend HH Macbaren Old Ready Rubbed Dark Fired tobacco any day over this! For all of the pompous pipe smokers burning this in a $300 pipe and trying to articulate a description of this in the most eloquent way, I laugh at you. Just because it comes in a tin doesn't make it good and this is clearly an example of that. I had heard of a pipe lasting all day and didn't understand that concept until I smoked this. The fact is everyone's palette is different and this tobacco was a very unpleasant experience for me. For those of you that actually enjoy this smoke up, but you can get a bag of bulk that is a lot better for a couple bucks....

This is not Three Nuns. Nor was the Orlik version. The original Three Nuns was sublime. A ten star hall of fame blend. So why call this 3 Nuns???? WHY WHY WHY? Call it four nuns, call it drunk Nun, call it Forty Seven Nuns...I dont care. But do not put a classic label on a blend that bears scant resemblance to the original. That old blend was a piece of history. And i find it really problematic to make money off that legend. So ONE STAR.

There is a reason so many tobacco blends exist on the market. Not everyone gets the same experience. I was excited to smoke this tobacco because of its legacy, and regardless of its newer blend, enough positive reviews to try. This was another Backwoods for me. Alot of reviews I vehemently disagree with. This tobacco was tasteless (except for an aftertaste that reminded me of my cigarette days), did not burn well, and smelled horrible. My wife, who does enjoy the room note of most of my english blends, asked me not to smoke this around her. To explain my taste, I usually enjoy english blends with heavy amounts of Latakia, or aromatics that taste like aromatics. Only recently have I found some straight Virginias that I enjoy (Marble Kake for one). So I am not object to various blends...but this was HORRIBLE. My recommendation is to find someone in these reviews that has similar taste as you, and see what they say. Don't go by the volume of positive reviews.

I find many of the Danish made Virginia blends have their pH too alkaline and it's the same case here; tongue bite this one does not agree with me.

After smoking even a few puffs it leaves an awfully dry acrid cigarette taste in my throat . . . I despise cigarettes ! ! They have nothing to do with smoking and everything to do with addiction plus they taste awful and smell worse.

I cannot recommend it and no more purchases shall be made . . . sorry sister's you do great charitable work but this, this is the inquisition.

I really wanted to like this blend. Kentucky - check, Virginia - check, should be right up my alley. Nope. Based on all the positive reviews maybe I got a bad tin, I'm more inclined to believe it just didn't agree with my body chemistry. I smoked this in a number of briar's and used a cob for this review. I know this new incarnation is blended by Mac Baren and in due diligence their blends really disagree with my palette so take that for what it's worth. This is one of the few blends I will relegate to the circular cellar.

Beginning:

Right off the bat I get an intense acrid taste, no indication of Kentucky that I can detect. What I do taste is an intense sour perique like pepper. No Virginia tanginess anywhere to be found. There is also a distinct burnt rubber smell when exhaling through the nose.

Middle: Overpowering acrid taste moves to the background, blend settles down to a boring smoke with no depth no body. Most of the smoke is like puffing hot air. My throat was really getting irritated by the middle of the bowl.

Finish: Acrid tastes moves forward again and remains for the rest of the smoke. I had the worst sour after taste on the pipe finish, took a while for my tongue to get back to normal.

Well, what can I say... This is some rotten stuff, and it's a crying shame really.

I had some of this about 7 years ago. I honestly cannot recall if it was the curly/coin cut back then, but it was a lot better than the current incarnation that I ordered, smoked and immediately binned yesterday was.

The stuff I had back in 2005 was from a 25gm packet and consisted of a much darker leaf than that of today's mixture, which is a very bright looking springy ribbon cut. Back then it smoked like St Bruno without the soap, and with a hint of musty spice.

What I tried yesterday was awful. In the packet it smelt promising, sweet raisins and figs. It came at a dryish consistency which packed and took to the flame very well. Unfortunately that's where the positives end.

In short Three Nuns 2012 in a 50gm plastic packet smokes like a cigarette. The smoke is very voluminous, but not in the nice thick/silky way pipe smoke should be. It's more like the consistency of cigarette smoke, and behaves in exactly the same way.

It's true that there is little to no bite, and it doesn't burn that hot. But neither does a cigarette. I had bought this from the memory of what I had smoked in 2005. Whilst that may too have been ready rubbed, it was certainly nicer and darker than the god awful stuff it is now.

I can only assume that there have been even more changes to this once hallowed blend since it was changed from curly/coin cut (whenever that was).

Don't waste your money.....

Have a few tins from trips and gifts. I dedicated a Savinelli to this blend as it is sooooo mild I couldn't taste anything. In trying to get some flavour I was stung by the virginias - save your money and try something else. If the old version was something, ( I never tried the old version), this is not what it was. Tin aroma is nice if nothing else.

What is this? I can see why this tobacco was popular in the UK; it smells like malt loaf and taste like malt vinegar! Maybe the massive dose of nicotine it delivers has something to do with its popularity as well? Enough to tranquilize a donkey. Anyway, the nuns come in really pretty small curly discs. Works well both to stack or rub; I find it smokes a bit better rubbed out, slightly more flavour comes out. And about the flavour, surprisingly little sweetness for a Virginia blend. It reminds me a bit of ketchup. I found it rather thin and harsh. Room note is smoky, sour and harsh as well. Such a shame on such a pretty tobacco.

I never had a chance to try the Perique version, but I'm rather happy it's because of my relative youth, which I wouldn't trade for any Perique. This one, the Burley version, I loved first but now I find shallow. Between love and indifference, along the way came Perique. An old friend used to say that you just can't love these two - Perique and Burley - at the same time. He was an older and wiser gentleman, and now I see what he meant. In french, all the words above translate into : Bof.