Mac Baren St. Bruno Ready Rubbed

I was curious to try this and compare it to the St Bruno Flake which I happen to enjoy. While this is said to be the same tobacco as the flake, only rubbed out, there are noticeable differences to me. First, the pouch note isn't as strong as the tin note of the flake and is harder for me to keep lit. The flake is sweeter to my palate with a fuller taste and a more noticeable side stream. It also has the tendency for more tongue bite for me as compared to the flake smoked fresh from the tin. The main similarity to the flake is that it does smoke down to fine gray ash. The price point is better than the flake for the same 50gm at $4 less (although still pricey at $11/50gm pouch. A good smoke, but I think I'll pay the higher price and stick with the flake as I enjoy it over the Ready Rubbed.

To paraphrase an earlier reviewer, In Britain the the smell of pipe smoke was synonymous with St. Bruno. Unfortunately, whatever essences that used to be added to it are no longer present. It still tastes pretty damn good though, and has a good helping of vitamin N. I prefer Condor however.

A nice OTC tobacco I bought from Tesco in a 25g pouch. Wasn't expecting much but it has a pleasant, mild taste and makes for quite a relaxing smoke.

I'll be keeping a pouch of this handy for when I can't decide what type of tobacco I'm in the mood for.

UPDATE (15/06/2011): St Bruno Flake has been changed so it's no longer super-fine but very much thicker (1.5mm). The new batches all come in this thickness. There is no marking on the packet to indicate the change or the reason for it. It's a different product now, and the flavour is a bit unevenly distributed throughout the tobacco. It rubs out to a substance just like the Ready Rubbed.



I usually smoke St Bruno Flake but this is being phased out in the UK because of new EU laws (pipe tobacco now has to have a minimum 1.5mm width), so I was forced to buy the Ready Rubbed as that's all the (supermarket) tobacconist had. The flavour of this one is not up to the St Bruno Flake, and it burns cooler and tastes milder. Having said that, it's perfectly acceptable and does have taste somewhat characteristic of St Bruno, and a reasonable amount of nicotine. However it's not worth really seeking out this ready-rubbed version as you won't get the famed St Bruno experience from it. The room note is fine but it has less subtleties in it that the Flake.

Interestingly, I didn't find it too moist to smoke right out of the packet. The Flake does benefit from being left out to dry a little, and improves a bit after a few months of being kept in a jar. This one probably is as good as it's going to get, straight out of the packet. I thought this one had a very slight vanilla note too (at first it did, then it vanished), so perhaps the mixture/formula has been changed slightly. Overall it's enjoyable and worth smoking, but I would prefer the flake again.

Even though it's ready-rubbed, it's somewhat gummed together sometimes and benefits from a little further rubbing. However the convenience of this is offset by the loss of the experience of rubbing the Flake, which becomes springy and fluffy due to its extremely thin cut. Although unlike the Flake, there will not be a dearth of crumbs near the bottom of the supply when it's running out.

Quite good, not at all bad and you could get a lot worse tobaccos than this. But the Flake has the edge over this one.

A good everyday tobacco. The last time I was home in the UK I bought a 25g pouch - yes it's sold in that size of pouch too - and thoroughly enjoyed every bowlful. The fact that you can get it in almost any newsagent (drugstore) is a bonus too.

When I went to Vitoria elias_62 asked me to bring in - if you find – a pouch Why don't I get one for my shelf I thought. I had heard very good things from several people who have had the chance to smoke this blend of Kentucky and Virginia, from the time it was made by Ogden's of Liverpool, because now it is made in Madrid. Has excellent moisture even though it is in a pouch, easily fills the bowl, easily lit and kept alight easily without much effort. Maintains the characteristic flavor to the end, leaving a clean white ash. Strong nicotine. Unfortunately no longer placed in tin. Too bad cause I would easily buy 4-5 tins to store.

I've not been smoking a pipe for very long so not a connosieur, but here goes.

Pack smell: a smokey, peaty smell. Reminds me of a peaty malt like Isle of Islay. Lacks the rich plum/fruit pudding fragrance of flake.

Flavour & Taste: Pleasant when smoked by sipping, and can taste the malty peatiness - very enjoyable, especially compared to Mellow Virginia. Not as rich as flake though - no fruitiness.Great with a glass of whisky to chill out with.

Room smell: Quite pleasant. I often smoke in the entry/utility room. So I return to the entry after smoking and check the after smell.

This tobacco is (to my tastebuds, at least) a (slightly) poor relation to the flake variety. It is ostensibly the same as the flake but lacks a bit of the strength and (a tiny, tiny bit of the) taste.

It is still a very good tobacco and anyone who really hates rubbing out flakes will do well with this one. I smoke it when the flake is unavailable and I don't feel cheated but in a back to back comparison the flake just has the edge.

I don't know if it's because the tobacco stays fresher in a flake or if (Heaven forefend) the blenders take the opportunity to sneak something else into the ready rubbed or maybe it's psychosomatic.

Anyroad, this is a great tobacco which doesn't earn my top rating purely so that I can draw a distinction between it and my preferred version. Unfair? Possibly.

It's still a British institution.

You should still buy it, smoke it and love it.

mmmmmmm,ST BRUNO...yes....the second best pipe tobacco you can buy at the newsagent,i must say that i do like this pipe tobacco a great deal...burns well..and tastes very nice..a little to finely cut if you ask me,but having said that its easy to pack the pipe,never had any stalks in the tins/pouches that i bought..so maybe im lucky..i remember the tv ads...the young chap walking down the road with lots of young woman trailing behind him,it always made me laugh,but its an honest pipe tobacco and easy to get on with,if 'condor'was not on the shelve at the newsagent i would always buy a tin/pouch of ST BRUNO.yes..a good pipe tobacco.one to enjoy anytime...ok time for a review i think, after buying other brands of tobacco i came back to ST bruno wow..was i dissapointed the cut of the tobacco is now more like branch twigs and putting the tobacco in the pipe is not so easy now,its far to thickly cut (EU regs again) still smoked ok..but due to the thicker cut..its hard going..so i will not be buying this so much.