Mac Baren Cube

The only reason this gets two stars instead of one is that I am not an aro smoker so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. Tobacco taste is why I smoke a pipe, and this stuff just doesn't have it. It's all casing and not very good at that. I'm giving it two stars because I think aromatic smokers will like it.

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.

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.

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.

Actually, this isn't bad. Very sweet, and fruity indeed. I'm picking up on (what reminds me of) gummy bears and some coconut and toffee notes in between, not very satisfying, but for casual leisure puffing it's alright. I bet regular smokers of aromatics will enjoy this. I got this as a sample when I last stocked up on tobacco, not sure I'll buy a box in the future, but I certainly don't regret sampling it.

Good burn, easy on the tongue, easy to pack and leaves the pipe reasonably clean when done.

2/4

This along with other tobaccos is getting 2 stars to start because of my limited testing time with this one.

Great tin aroma, good packing, good lighting.

This is a room pleaser no doubt about it. For me, not usually being able to detect the room note when I am smoking, and especially in the smoke shop smoking, this one punched through all the aromas in the shop.

Taste.... well, what to say about that. It is sweet almost to the point of being noxious, but not bad. I enjoyed the smoke... and for something so obviously heavily cased... no tounge bite if you smoke slow.

I will try again, but being in the stage of wanting to stray from aromatics and find tobaccos with more body and depth, this will not become a regular. Overall, if you like sweet, you will like this. Would probably make a great apertif, and good choice for holiday "people" smoking.

It should be compared with others, of similar type. Cube of MAC Baren, is for the lovers of aromatic Virginia. I am not sure but it must contain a bit of Latakia.

Cube, is a combination of Burley/Virginia which contains black Cavendish. Surely, it is the best packing that I have ever seen. By smoking it, it remained on and dry in the minimum point of the bowl. It has to get a bit dry though, before you smoke it. It is a tobacco that does not bother; I would rather say that it is preferred by strange women.

I certainly do not agree with those who support that MAC Baren had some leftovers of tobaccos and has thrown them all inside a Cube.