Mac Baren Cube

the smell of the losse tobacco is just waaaay too much for my nose. Orange, banana, caramel, some sort of plum... Just so overwhelmingly busy and overpowering in almost a chemical way. The cut is just weird, I find it slightly odd that they mention the cut itself in their own product description as it comes across as lazy and messy when you actual go to pack your pipe. I'm smoking my scone or third bowl of the weekend now and I'm having great difficulty trying to articulate the flavour palet... I think it's fair to sy that it is way too busy, they've crammed so many different floorings into it that in the end it almost just tastes of nothing. Now I enjoy Virginia based, light blends when they are unflavoured (or at least only semi-aromatic) but to put this much into a blend just serves to destroy the natural sweetness of the tobaccos themselves. To be slightly more impartial I will say now that this isn't a complete write-off of a blend. I may in fact buy some more as time goes by as there are occasions (when I have guests, a young lady perhaps, or am introducing someone new to the joys of pipe smoking) when this type of very soft and over-easy smoke is ideal. Also, when I have smoked this outside a cafe I have actually had several very attractive women come running up to me to strike up conversation over the enticing aroma... On that note: the smell when smoked is far more pleasant than the smell of the loose tobacco, I would consider smoking a bowl simply to give the house a nice summery vibe 🙂

So, on the whole it's not something to be smoked if your looking for a true tobacco experience (or an interesting aromatic one for that matter). However I would advise you to get a small amount just to try yourself and have around for those ocassions that call for an over-sweet room note.

I'm a newbie pipe smoker, but I'm no stranger to pipe tobacco. Family members were traditional pipe smokers, sadly no longer with us or have succumbed to "giving up the weed". I started the pipe as an attempt to give up my cheap cigarette habit. Now that was a revelation - cured within days. Cigarettes are rank to me now!

I realise there are some serious tobacco connoisseurs here, far be it for me to disagree with current reviews of CUBE. But, I thought I'd come at this from a different angle.

1/ Is this likely to discourage a first time pipe smoker - no. 2/ Is this too strong for a newbie - no 3/ Will the room note and general smell be offensive to others - no

Advantages then. First and foremost, I live under a smoking ban - in all public places. Second I live in a country where smoking is second only to genocidal murder in the public eye.

This tobacco then (I've personally found) is the most singular magnet for women of almost any age. It's appreciated by my peers and offends no one (yet) I can happily smoke this in any company and it's perfume is so intoxicating that I've even smoked it in a pub and it's taken 10 minutes for anyone to realise what was going on! I've lost track of the women (!) and men who have wanted a toke. Coupled with a 9mm charcoal filter (yes I know) this is a revelatory mild and sweet draw to those expecting the "Tarboiler" of their grandparents.

Yes it's like smoking a sweet shop. Yes, a heavy aromatic, Yes, caramels and vanillas and butterscotch. But I've never found it hot or had tongue bite. There is ample nicotine or it wouldn't have cured my cigarette habit.

Innofensive and can be smoked in public. That's mostly where I am! And women love it - what's not to like. Keep the Latakia for home. Or try blending a little of your favourite through CUBE if it's too sickly for you. Want to smoke a pipe and not be run out of town? "CUBE" - job done!

As with any rating system on matters of subjective tastes, it can be difficult to describe things so far from the ordinary; and The Cube is definitely not an ordinary blend. I smoke predominantly Virginia blends which is what attracted me to this blend in the first place that it apparently is primarily composed of. Is it sweet, oh yes, but it is a really complex taste. And if Mac Baren?s claim, that there are 27 component tobaccos is true, complex is what you?d expect. Obviously with that much going on, it?s tough to pick out a single piece of the puzzle. One very attractive quality that I?ve found, after burning the better part of a pound, is it?s fairly consistent in taste from the top of the bowl to the bottom; and after relights, though I don?t find myself relighting that often. It leaves a nice aroma in my office, and my wife really digs the smell of my goatee.

One downside, if you don?t like a sweet smoke, this is really sweet. But you should have known that going in! English fans, don?t even bother. And please don?t write reviews complaining about Cube?s sweetness; we all know it?s sweet. Another downside is that the taste is really sensitive to humidity changes. I live in a very dry environment year ?round, and managing the proper humidity can be tricky. The quality of the smoke definitely suffers with these fluctuations. Also, be very slow, or your tongue will take a real beating.

***** Update

I had to knock this one down a star, simply because of the afore mentioned bite. I still like the taste, but my tongue can use a break.

Ordinary strong flavored aromatic mixture. You will feel like in a candy store. No tobacco taste at all. You can mix it with other tobaccos and it will add a nice flavor.Not all day smoke.

When I first took up smoking a pipe I visited the last remaining tobacco store in Belfast and asked if they had any recommendations for beginners. The lady behind the counter pulled a jar of Black Cherry and a jar of Kentucky Nougat from the shelf and advised me that a home blending of these would produce an excellent aromatic. Dutifully, I took her advice. Well. It smelled beautiful, but I didn't think much of the mix, being much too sweet and pungent for my taste. It burned hot and quickly and was the smoking equivalent of candyloss.

I find that MacBaren Cube seems to be almost exactly the same mixture, and is equally sweet and pungent, and wholly transient. I wouldn't recommend this to any serious smoker, except one with a severe case of sweet tooth; or as a scent for a non-smoker's room. However, if you like a heavily cased experience, this is as good as any. A word of warning - this will ghost your pipe with a sugary taste for a while. This is perhaps the only point in its favour, as it adds a little sweetness and difference to subsequent tobaccos.

This is one extraordinary cased/aromatic pipe tobacco!

I fully agree with Beer and Pipestud who have summarized what I think.

Cube is a combination of loose cut and beautiful, long dark flakes. The tin aroma is, without any doubt, the best I have ever smelled for a pipe tobacco. Rich, sweet fruit with something close to vanilla. It is just fantastic.

To top it, the taste of tobacco is definitively present in Cube, as where it is not in offerings such as Signature, Nutty Cut, etc. They make me feel as if I am smoking something flavored that is not tobacco. When I smoke Cube, I smoke tobacco with an exceptional tasting aroma.

Like Beer mentioned, Cube is probably better suited for the experienced pipe smoker who can pace himself and smoke Cube gently. He will then be fully rewarded by this georgeous, magnificent creation.

There is no chemical taste or aroma to this one. I have smoked Celtic Talisman and realize the huge differences between both. I only now realize how the casing in CT was chemical in taste.

I would recommend you let the tobacco dry before filling in your pipe.

If you are an experienced smoker seeking an exceptional aromatic, then Cube is for you.

I will rebuy Cube regularly. It will have its place in my regular rotation.

I agree entirely with PokerSmoker and Meerkat. The chief weakness of this stuff is easy to identify. It's blindingly horrible: gimmicky, over the top, hot as hell and comprehensively weird. Blecccch! To my mind, it beggars belief that anyone would smoke this for pleasure. This is a Lenten tobacco: smoke it if you want to meditate on all your sins and punish yourself for them.

To try to be a little more objective: the sweet, fruity casing is far, far too heavy. Yes, of course aromatics are supposed to be aromatic, but Cube is so aromatic that it hardly tastes like tobacco at all. Some people love it, I guess; but, to my mind, it's ghastly.

"For nearly a quarter of a decade, Henrik Halberg ... has been selecting the ... tobaccos used to craft this outstanding blend." So that's two and a half years, then.

With all respect to aromatic lovers, I can never understand why blenders feel it so necessary to introduce peculiar flavours into natural tobacco. In this case, "peculiar" is the understatement of the decade (or at least a quarter of it). "Objectionable" comes a little nearer to conveying what this rubbish tastes like. Smoke it, and death will lose its sting. It will also leave a very tenacious ghost. Decidedly not recommended.

My review is based on a 40grms pouch of what is the Cube Silver (just to distinguish it from the new Cube Gold).

CS is produced with high quality leaves, that's for sure. The fact is that talking of Virginia or Burley or whatever else is simply a non-sense, what matters here is the flavouring. It's a heavy flavouring: I taste exotic fruits, vanilla, spices, a very complex stuff. A comparison comes to my mind from the very past (they tell that the sense of smell is very much more potent than the others): Sunday Fantasy by Thomas Radford.

Yes, sometimes You taste some tobacco, too.

The smoke is mild, cool and non-biting. It taints the pipe.

Smoking Cube is a different philosophy, just like tasting a fruit juice. It's very refreshing and relaxating. Cube leaves a pleasant sweet after-taste, something not common in the aros.

All in all a pleasant experience, to repeat once in while. I don't think I will buy it again.

I usually don't like aromatics, but this is one of the best I have ever smoked, for several reasons:

1) the quality of the leaf is excellent

2) it smokes very regularly, not too fast nor too slow

3) it doesn't produce too much moisture

4) it tastes fresh, sweet and slightly fruity/sour

5) it never gets bitter, unlike other aromatics

6) the flavoring actually complements nicely the tobacco taste (yes, it DOES taste of tobacco, not of flavored cardboard), although it certainly is mild

7) the taste is delicate even if the tobacco feels rather sticky and over-cased at the touch

8) it does not bite at all, on the contrary it's very soft and never aggressive

Sure, it will leave a permanent mark on your pipe because it is VERY flavored. And the room aroma is very intense and sweet, which means that it's a matter of taste (my wife for example doesn't like the smell of very sweet aromatics).

Personally I feel that it's a tobacco that will be appreciated more by experienced smokers who can puff at a relaxed pace and enjoy both the nice fruity/chocolatey flavoring AND the underlying delicate tobacco background. But I would suggest it also to novices because, even if it costs more than the cheaper aromatics, it is actually in a league of its own.

Oh, and a recommendation: pack it loosely, because if pressed too much it tends to clog the bowl!