Mac Baren Cube

You know what they say about one man's meat being another man's poison?

Well, I reckon they probably invented the saying to fit MB Cube. I know what the previous reviews have said, but I am willing to be the odd man out in writing a positive review. I like this stuff!

Call me a big girl if you wish (awaits accusation), but MB have hit a fruity, sherbety, candy-floss coated winner here. Having (in vain) attempted with numerous telephone calls to source an alternative to Skandinavik Mixture here in the UK, I saw this new and untried blend on the shelf whilst chatting to the shop assistant in my local and fairly decent tobacconist. It caught my eye because I had seen it advertised on the 'Net in a German store, and I fancied something different to relieve my frustration at being unable to get any of the aformentioned Danish blend. Having stomped in frustrated, I walked out intrigued.

You know what? Glad I went for it. It is everything that the other reviews have suggested - very sweet, bizarrely Juicy Fruity, but really interesting. Not a traditional pipe tobacco. Nope, not even a bit. Yes it is cased extremely heavily. No, it has no latakia. Smells a lot like a sweet shop, or for our American reviewers, a candy store - sherbet, apricots, Pear Drops... and tastes like it too.

Clearly, most of us couldn't treat it as an all day smoke - or even as a 'every other day smoke' maybe - but it has merits. I have a house full of people asking me what the great smell is, and I reckon I could smoke this whilst wearing one of those T shirts with the yellow smiley face on the front. Burned hot, no tongue bite, and the bowl was quickly gone with a dry and mottled ash remaining.

It is what it smells like - fun, zesty and youthful... it is to pipe tobacco what alcopops are to a Friday night out when the Real Ale taps are dry.

Give it a try, but accept it for what it is!

Shame it is a loose tobacco here and not in a fancy box, but you can't have everything.

Cube is a wonderful aromatic tobacco for pipe smokers who knows how to enjoy Heavy Aromatics, Cube tobacco quality is excellent, tastes delicious, room note is simply magic.

Cube is naturally flavored, means there are no chemical agents or sweeteners usually found in most cheap drugstore brands, it ages very well if left opened for a year or more, it taste natural tobacco (Va/Br) with exotic fruits.

As a smoker of any good quality tobacco(aromatic or not), I love this tobacco and I have a churchwarden dedicated for it, I buy it in bulk, I enjoy it especially when I am with the girlfriend.

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!

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!

Well then. I come to the Cube at last. Although I don't think this tobacco is hotly debated, the opinions on it do swing wildly. I am a non-aromatic smoker. I do have some aromatics, but they never leave my cabinet really. My favorites would be mellow Mack, best of show, and talk of the Town. All of those produced by the late McClelland tobacco company. I guess I do have some of their holiday blends too which are also aromatics. But I bought quite a bit of their aromatics because I was afraid they might go out of business, and they did. However for many years I've read about the cube. How it was the most heavily cased tobacco out there, it had a ridiculous combination of flavors added to it. How the flavoring was overpowering. It sounded like something I would be embarrassed of but I had read the description by Mac Baron, and they reassured me that it was a serious blend for the connoisseur. I always hope to find some at a reasonable price, but I couldn't find small containers. And that was that. Time passes. Many years later (now), I started to read some reviews here, about the cube. Reviews from members I tend to agree with. And I was convinced. I had to try the cube. I had forgotten about it for many years but now I found that I couldn't find it anywhere. Some places even said it was out of production. So I wrote a lengthy email to Mac Baron, chronicling my search and desire to try the cube. They sent me a response. They told me it could be found at smokingpipes.com. They had it, sure enough. But you had to buy a whole pound! And it was about $70. I splurged. Life is short and all that. Today my package arrived in the mail. I must confess I was sitting on the porch in the lawn chair waiting for the mailman. The box was heavy. I had bought a lot of other stuff too, strong tobaccos from Gall with Hogarth. But it also contained an entire pound of the cube. First off the smell when I opened the bag was rather incredible. Unlike any tobacco I've ever smelled. All at once I could absolutely define tropical fruit, chocolate, fresh hay, and something else. Something smooth but I don't know what. Maybe liquor. It packs very easily into a bowl. It lights easily and it stays lit quite well. It can burn your tongue. You definitely want to sip this and have the mouthpiece shooting the smoke at the roof of your mouth if possible at least for the first half of the bowl. It doesn't taste exactly like it smells. That's pretty normal. But it's flavor is eye-opening. Yes there is definitely tobacco flavor, decent Virginia. But avery pronounced fruity note also maybe mango. I believe there is also a coconut flavor hidden in there with the Coco. It sounds weird, I know. But it works. All those flavors mixed together into something that is kind of a treat. The casing lasts throughout the entire smoke. However it does diminish at a rate I would say was equivalent to the amount of tobacco left in the bowl The first half of the bowl was a little more harsh on the tongue, but the second half everything came together. It really turned into a very mellow smooth delicious smoke. The room note is spectacular. Very different from what most would expect in an aromatic pipe. This tobacco has been a real unicorn for me, I'm so pleased it is still in production. I am thankful that I read some good reviews here about it first. I am thankful to Mac Baren for continuing to produce it and helping me find it. I plan on having another bowl later on tonight. Maybe it's a good thing they only sell it in 1 lb packages. Scratch this one off the bucket list.

Definitely three stars. I don't think I could ever give any aromatic four stars. And this is probably one of the finest aromatics I've ever smoked.

This blend seems to be frowned upon by most smokers.

Coming from a background of being a cigar smoker who moved to pipes, i generally prefer a sweet Va or a robust english mixture, Dunhill early morning being my go-to blend.

Saying that, Cube seems to fill a certain spot for me - When i feel like something sweeter and flavoured. Yes, it may not be the most complex blend. Yes, it is ridiculously flavored. Yes, it isnt going to satisfy most people who want to ponder the mysteries of the universe while dissecting the different flavors coming from the mix. But it tastes great when you want what cigar guys call a 'dessert stick'... nice sweet tobacco which tastes to me like toasted marshmallows.

Sometimes there is nothing like it, and im not a flavored guy..

I Am new to pipe smoking however, i must add that i am a complementary therapist and i regularly use essential oils. scent is important to me and i am somewhat sensitive to odours and scents.

This tabac was show to me by my local tabac shop in Newquay cornwall, and i must say i was delighted by the fruity undertones of berries and the back note of vanilla. I am limited as to comparisons as this is my first pipe tabac but i enjoyed the experience and would order this again.

Luckily I purchased this before reading too many reviews, or I might've been discouraged. I'm not terribly experienced with any tobacco, but this is one of the better aromatics I've had. Honestly, I bought this more for the cool box than anything, but the tobacco turned out alright.

Smokes well enough for me; easy to pack, stays lit fairly well, and I've had little tongue bite if any. It's a bit fruity, pleasant room note, etc. Not the best thing I've ever had, but definitely better than a two-star rating. If you don't like aromatics, just enjoy the box or stay away from this completely.

Note, I usually smoke this in my Brigham with the rock maple insert. Perhaps that smooths it out a bit.

Three stars because it's a good tobacco. Mild, sweet, pleasant smoke. Still, I almost gave only 2 stars because it was overpriced. I suppose you pay a few dollars for the cool box.

More time was spent in advertising and packaging than creating a winning tobacco blend. It's a good blend and smokes well, but just not worthy of the hype, packaging and cost. The tobacco does not differentiate itself from the crowd.