Mac Baren Aromatic Choice

It's definitely a neglected blend in my eyes. One should not be smoking it through the pouch because what I experienced is it's usually excessively humid blend that has a heavy smell of liquor or of other chemicals in it. What I certainly suggest is letting it dry a bit, for let's say 3-4 hours at room temperature, then give it a try with no rush.

Please Note: I am trying to work off my back log of tobaccos i have tried years and years ago. In most cases i have no clue anymore when. Or who produced it back in the day. Also my memories are faded by time and those reviews are based mostly on my notes but sometimes i have a current tin for comparison as well:

I first tried this when it came out and still was named Mild Choice. Back in the day the pouch design was the only thing that made me courious about it. And since i recently got a large sample of this blend i thought its time to revisit it.

Mostly black tobacco with some very few brown sprinkles in it. The pouch aroma is rather off putting even tho i couldn't exactly tell why. There is some artificiality to the smell so maybe that's why i dont like it. In any case it smells like something trying to emulate fruit. Maybe like some fizzy powder or realy cheap bubble gum.

Packing and lighting are easy enough. Burning properties are excellent with only little maintenance needed.

The first light revealed why i had to toss out most of the pouch way back when i first smoked it: it has that incredibly bad taste like peach iced tea. And i hate peach iced tea, especially the cheap brands that taste exactly as this blend does. There is no tobacco taste involved here either. The flavouring lasts throughout most of the bowl and only the very last of the bowl has to be tossed out.

Aftertaste is just what you tasted in the smoke and lasts long enough. Tongue bite is no issue unless you puff away too hard and/or too often.

Room note is nice but on the heavy side and the kind that non smokers identify with pipes.

So, do i recommend this blend? Nope. It just doesn't cut it for me but if you dig peach iced tea this might just float your boat. I am just no fan of the new Mac Baren blends and think they are redundant at best. Except of course for the marvelous HH series. But all the choices and cubes and 7 seas and mild that and modern here velvety blends in my opinion are just pointlessly buggery blends no one waited for. And yet i am a huge Mac Baren fan for their classic line of blends so giving them bad ratings really does pain me.

I am totally new to pipe tobacco so ordered a few samples and they arrived today. Tried this one first. It has a pleasant smell in the packet and packed very, very easily. It lit no problem and stayed lit all the way to the end. As mentioned I have no idea about blends, tobacco types etc, but all I know that although there was a ton of smoke, it didn't taste of anything? It burned very hot and felt like I was smoking steam? Along with the steam, it nipped a bit, not just on the tongue but in the mouth as well. I have enough for another couple of bowls, but I won't be rushing to smoke them........I hope the other samples are better!

Its my first tobacco, so I connected this tobacco in full of emotion. But, its really unnecessary and average tobacco to smoke, maybe only smell. 😀

This is another aromatic I can locally find.

It smells like lemon, it tastes like lemon, it burns like lemon. But why, wife loves the smell.

You can find a better aromatic I am sure.

This is an ultra aromatic mild and heavily cased tobacco with very good aroma and room note but without any memorable taste or flavor, other Mac Baren blends are much better. Try Mixture

Just as a starting side note I am reviewing the "Mild Choice" version of this. I bought this because I went to the tobacco shop and they did not have what I originally went there for and so as I was browsing around I saw this and having heard mixed things about it I decided to see for myself, it also saved me a few bucks which is helpful to a poor college kid. When I first opened it the tobac seemed dry but I packed my pipe and puffed away. After a couple of bowls Ive decided this is pretty good stuff as far as aromatics go. In my opinion the casing is done right, not too much, but its still there. Definately not my favorite but good for social situations or a change of pace. It also doesn't really bite and I was puffing pretty hard. Pretty good stuff overall.

A nice enough aromatic blend, fruity in taste, similar to Larsen's No 50. Very Danish, smooth, no tongue bite, not particularly exiting (I much prefer Original Choice), but a definite crowd pleaser. In a way it's Cube with the sweetness toned down to a palatable proportion. Smoke it slowly, without thinking too much about it. An aromatic fan should very much enjoy this. Other folk might find it just OK.

PS Hate the cardboard pouch color!

Smoke the corrugated pouch instead of what's inside it. At least it will have a taste.