Mac Baren St. Bruno Ready Rubbed

Absolute classic. One of the handful of old school OTC tobaccos that are probably better now than it had been for a while. I stopped smoking it a few years back, because every time you got a pouch you never knew what you were getting, would it be dried out, raggedy fibers? or poorly cut chunks? maybe it had some of the Lakeland essence or maybe you got some recycled cigarette butts... this was obviously after the Ogden's period but before whoever is making it now. This is a nice change of pace from the inevitable "it's not as good as it used to be" we pipe smokers seem to be prone to (and as a side note, I do think the newer Peterson's Royal Yacht is better than it had been for a while, a lighter hand on the plum sauce, and a better quality of tobaccos...)

St Bruno smells exactly like A1 steak sauce in the pouch, which on reflection might actually make a tasty tobacco.... however, the A1 aroma does not translate to the smoke. A perfect balance between that clean soapy Lakeland flavor and the decent quality Virginia and Kentucky tobaccos. I don't understand how more companies can't get that balance of flavors together; so many overwhelm the tobacco flavor, or have the top note fade out before the bottom of the bowl. Best if rubbed out a little further, and spread out to dry for a couple of minutes. Requires a little attention to the packing, and may need a few relights. St Bruno can gurgle a bit, and leave a little dampness in the bottom of the bowl... I reserve a Savinelli (sans balsa filter) for Saint Bruno's and other aromatics. This is an ideal smoke for those that may be allowed to smoke a pipe in decent company, as it has an pleasant room note, and by God, there's actually some nicotine in it!

Recently had a Skype call with a old friend who lives in Manchester, and we shared a smoke separated by an ocean, him with a Peterson full of Condor, and me with a Pete full of St Bruno. We determined there are two kinds of people in the world: those that like Condor and those that like St Bruno... like those that prefer bourbon and those that prefer single malt scotch... never the twain shall meet! Can't really get Condor over here in the US, and personally, I've always found Condor to be just a little too strong for my tastes. St Bruno is not an everyday smoke for me, but like Laphroaig Scotch, I always keep some on hand, for when the inevitable craving for that exact flavor comes up. Plus the old commercials on YouTube for Saint Bruno are pretty priceless.

St Bruno was originally made by Ogdens of Liverpool and was available in two-ounce tins, also one could always buy this loose in rather long ribbon of slices, all the latter is now just a distant memory.

St Bruno conjures up memories of old men smoking this in Falcon Pipes and playing Crown Green bowls at the rear of many a pub, their pipes smoked and eagerly refilled in a continual kind of eternal flame. The distinctive, delightful room note was the backdrop smell of many a taproom and snap cabins in the steel mills of Sheffield and beyond. I hadn't smoked this blend for over twenty years but returned to it by sheer chance in that it was the only tobacco that I could source whilst out and about. Anyway such is the moreish delight of this very delightful blend, I soon smoked up the packet. I was delighted to find that St Bruno had not changed much and it was a very much savoured in my new pipe, a Sir Douglas pipe from Mike at Blakemar Briars. The smoke was sweet, cool and slow-burning, the room note was exactly as I remembered it. I devoured this iconic blend with a kind of relish and it delivered a long-lasting smoke, that burnt down to the last shred of tobacco. The nicotine hit is moderate, but the tasting is full and satisfying. I can see now why the old boys of my youth greedily consumed bowl after bowlful, such is the sheer smoking pleasure of even this latest variant of St Bruno. On opening the pouch one is overcome by the floral tobacco nose, that you cannot load your pipe quick enough, to sample its mythical casings. This an aromatic tobacco that is worth smoking slowly, but even when puffed at the rate of the express train the Mallard, no tongue bite do you get. All that said, it's worth running the odd pipe cleaner through whilst smoking as it tends to be overly moist, leaving the dreaded gurgle. When I smoke this I always pre-pack the pipe an hour before as when bought fresh it always seems overly damp, but the tobacco reward is worth the hassle. All things considered, St Bruno is still the legendary smoke of yesteryear and a must-try for any one seeking the contemplative pleasures of pipe smoking. I highly recommend this tobacco to other pipe smoking aficionados and I do not think you will be disappointed, you may even become addicted to this traditional English blend, such is St Brunos hypnotic lure.

Well, what took me so long?! I think I was afraid that this blend was super heavy on nicotine (so I was a little intimidated by it) but it ain't really so.

My pouch revealed mostly dark, sticky, thickly-shredded flake strips with a wonderful smokey BBQ pouch note and small sugar crystals scattered about the blended Virginias.

I take a clump, further rub it out and let it dry for about 4 hours.

In the smoke, there's great dark Virginia notes with a lightly sweet casing. The aroma is classic pipe smoking 101 with burnt wood notes from the DFK mingling with the sweet topping. Very nice.

This is definitely not a sugary, cloying American or Danish aromatic but it is an aromatic. Some reviewers report tonquin and rose toppings but I don't detect either of those. To my tastes it just has a nice, non-descript sweet topping that compliments the Virginias and tames the DFK a bit.

Interestingly, in the tin and room notes, there's some genuine similarity to MacBaren Scottish Mixture, one of my favorite aromatics. That said, both blends are decidedly unique and St. Bruno is a much bolder blend.

At the end of the day, this is a great blend and an excellent choice for the warmer Summer months when the Latakia urges wane.

I have smoked through more than a few flakes of St. Bruno over the years, but this was my first go with the Ready Rubbed version. I must say I greatly preferred this to the flake. I find it more palatable from a strength perspective and just much easier to smoke form the get-go.

St. Bruno is strong, there is no doubt about that. In flake form the compression of the leaf multiplies that strength and I find, more times than not, that I am steamrolled by the strength of the flake; whereas, the ready rubbed version never really did that to me. It also allowed me to appreciate the topping more. I find the topping to be perfectly applied to my tastes as it is there adding floral touches and sugary sweetness, yet it never overpowers the underlying leaf. Both the Virginia and Burley are always there asserting themselves.

Performance wise it also outperforms the flake. At least if you use flakes as I do, that is. I tend to fold and stuff. If one diligently rubbed out the flake and allowed it to dry some, then that person would end up with the ready rubbed St. Bruno. I really don't have that kind of patience or time, particularly when I can just buy it that way.

Four stars and I wish I bought more of this when I was building the cellar. I might look to do some future trading to get more.

St. Bruno RR was a pleasant surprise for me. I am not normally drawn to blends that have dark fired Kentucky as a component or that are considered an OTC, but St. Bruno has changed this. The flavor profile is deep and rich with earthy, leathery tones and a slight incense tone on the snork. The side stream adds to the incense sensation. The strength, flavor and nicotine are medium, but the mouth-feel is full; and St. Bruno will not bite no matter your cadence.

St. Bruno RR has easily made it into my rotation and I can’t wait to try the flake version when my pouch is depleted. Highly recommended.

My favorite tobacco of all time. I could write a novel. This is my favorite in the states and when I go to Antarctica. I’ll smoke this and that and a lot of Peretti Burley, but it’s like coming back home when I smoke St.Bruno. I’m quite pleased that the broken flake has come along years aback. The broken flake is the very same as the flake, just saves me time. This is the mellow of mellow of dark fired and virginy. Slowly sipped it just hits the right spots.

Much of what I said in my review of St Bruno Flake applies also to the ready rubbed version. It's a dark, predominantly Virginia, tobacco with a full-bodied, fruity fragrance in the pouch and a strong, pleasant and instantly recognisable room note. It packs, lights and burns well. After a bland start, the flavour fills out and remains uniform all the way down the bowl. Sip it, or it'll bite your tongue and you'll miss the depth of flavour; it's also fairly strong in terms of nicotine content. There is a distinctive fruity/nutty/woody taste that defies description; there's a casing of some sort, but I don't know what it is. I can't detect any appreciable difference between the flake and ready-rubbed versions; though the ready- rubbed burns more quickly and hence is inclined to be hotter. Perhaps the flake is also a wee bit tastier or more full-bodied; but there's not much in it.

St Bruno in either of its forms is a worthwhile and satisfying smoke, though perhaps not one for the beginner. I find, incidentally, that DGT is very rewarding with St Bruno. If you come back to a partially smoked bowl, you find that the casing has gone and you're getting a very full and rich pure Virginia flavour.

St Bruno is in my view the best of the everyday 'supermarket' tobaccos. If you don't have a specialist tobacconist nearby or just want to walk to the corner shop for some baccy, St Bruno (either flake or ready rubbed) is about as good as you can do. Because it is packaged in a plastic pouch that might have sat on a supermarket shelf for weeks, it can be pretty dry when you buy it; but this is a common problem: a nuisance, but easy enough to remedy, when all's said and done. Good value for money; recommended.

St Bruno Ready Rubbed is now the only tobacco available in my local B & M. Even Condor and Gold Block have gone the journey; there is, I'm told, no demand for them, though cigarettes are as popular as ever. That St B should be the sole survivor in a market the bottom of which seems to have fallen out says a lot for its quality/popularity, I guess. In the years since I wrote the first version of this review, St Bruno has become a favourite of mine, if only because so many other favourites have ceased to be available. As (in the UK) we move slowly but inexorably towards prohibition, you have to learn to be content with what you can get.

Pipe Used: Various billiards and bulldogs

Age When Smoked: Usually straight from the shop

Purchased From: Local corner shop; St Bruno is readily available everywhere in the UK

With the recently upcoming hype and a special issue of the Ready Rubbed for the German market (only the flake to purchase regularly) I got two pouches from my local tobacconist. Knowing St. Bruno Flake very well as it is permanent part of my rotation I really didn’t expect much difference - as you may guess ..I was wrong!

The look in the pouch is very wild, with all kinds of dark fermented leave, bigger and smaller flake parts and loose ribbons. Smell is the same as the flake - sour dough with citric notes almost like a smooth vinegar with floral nuances just slightly detectable when searching for it.

It contains much more moisture than the flake so I had to dry a long time but then it packs just wonderful. I always decide for a wider bowl with flakes and RR and pack a bit more loose than with other cuts to provide enough space for the leaf to unfold. Took some relighting and slightly tamping back the tobacco at the start to get an even burning bowl but when it’s lit properly it burns very slow and steady.

The taste really surprised me at first, however, it’s the typical Bruno but stronger in taste. Smooth and sweet Virginia is building the base with a bit of spice supported by the Kentucky (I can taste it in every puff) on top of this comes a most beautiful arranged floral and lime like saucing that never overpowers the true natural tobacco but gives an ornate spectrum of sweet to sour notes. It also leaves a nice aftertaste of cola nut in my mouth.

Well selected tobaccos and their natural tastes are supported by a great topping that doesn’t bore me and isn’t too artificial also. For me this is quite the right change of pace for a day full of Latakia and the RR provides an even wider range of flavors imo.

I had a unique experience with St Bruno, chiefly that it was my first purchase of pipe tobacco 6 months ago and I almost quit there and then. It smelt of my worst memories of cheap rolling tobacco. It was full of stems. It didn’t taste of anything but peaty earth and it had no nicotine to mention. I couldn’t even give it away due to it being OTC here in the U.K.

6 months later I’ve smoked upwards of 20 tobaccos and consider myself relatively experienced. I’m a huge fan of G&H Lakeland blends and I could never understand St Bruno’s reputation as a classic Lakeland. I couldn’t take it any longer so I threw out the old pouch and ordered a 25g pouch to see if I was mistaken.

Boy was I mistaken.

The only explanation I can offer is that my first batch must have been on that supermarket shelf for 100 years. This new pouch smelt divine. Sweet virginias and the heavenly mix of rose geranium and tonquin. Reminded me greatly of my Bosun Cut Plug with the casing turned down and the tobacco amplified. Vague vinegary essence from a possible preservative and a little sinister Condor essence too, both delivering a satisfying tingle on the sinuses. No abundance of stem and very visible broken flake. Interesting.

The taste was exceptional. I frequently mix Condor and Bosun to reach this flavour profile, but the blend gets busy. This is it - minus the busy. It’s the perfect balance of Kentucky, bright Virginia sweetness and complimented by that winey mix of Lakeland and tonquin essences.

It smokes a little damp and a little hot, providing a sort of aggressive smoke which threatens to bite yet never will - reminds you you’re smoking. The nicotine hit is present and a tad over medium.

Unlike a artisan flake, this leaves little to no dottle despite its dampness. Like Condor you can tell this has been perfected for centuries and will burn to a fine ash.

In conclusion it is every bit the smoke it is claimed to be and immediately crowned itself my desert island tobacco. It may be a little too aromatic for those who like clean smokes, but for everyone else it truly is a hall of famer.

God forbid you get the same batch I got first time around, but persist!