Mac Baren St. Bruno Ready Rubbed

This is perhaps one of the most popular tobaccos in Great Britain. It may be similar to the flake version, but I believe the ready rubbed edition is milder. You can get this tobacco almost at any newspaper agent and convenience shop.

Easy to pack and light, it does have a certain industrial flavour (unfortunately common to many Imperial Tobacco blends), but it burns pretty well. Essentially a Virginia & Burley (Kentucky) blend, it is easy to smoke, with a rather subdued and dull sweetness (nothing artificial, mind you). Not a bad nose, it doesn't really bother those around you. Mild to medium, it is a rather uneventful smoke, but other wise quite agreeable and reliable. Someone once told me "This is what grandfathers smoke by the chimney, in winter evenings".

Not a bad choice.

Bought this as a trip down memory lane. Pouch note smells like rope soaked in oil with a deep plummy note underscoring the whole thing. Reminds me of how shipyards used to smell back in the day. I don't get any floral notes at all. Had to rub out a few chunks here and there, gave it 15 minutes of drying time and lit it up no problem. First thing I notice is that this is a stout blend with a full, pleasing flavour. Deep, dark and very dank quite similar to a Barley Wine. And it stayed lit from the top to the bottom of the bowl for a full 40 minutes. I did notice that it made my mouth dry in the same way that a strong cup of tea does. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this one by the pouch note but by golly this is a fine smoke! I found the nicotine above medium. I'm glad I bought it because although I can't see me smoking it all day it should be a good morning smoke and also useful for beefing up any light aromatics that smelled better than they smoke. I don't think I would recommend to a novice as it could be a bit of a baptism by fire. The pipe I used has a long, narrow chamber and I wasn't sure it would stay lit but I had no problem there and found it a good, satisfying smoke overall. I've given it 4 stars because I would have preferred it to have a much, much heavier floral casing. Deep, rich and sweet. Edit: this makes an epic blend with a pinch of perique, some bright Virginia and a pinch of Izmir leaf!

I was impressed. It was sweet, heavy and tart. The strength grew as the bowl progressed. I wanted another bowl when the first one was done. This is one of those "not readily available" tobaccos in the US, since you have to order it from Ireland I think. I enjoyed it a lot, and if you can get it locally, I recommend it.

Note: This was my first "Lakeland-style" blend.

I'm not sure what aroma the tin note is, but I love it. So much so that after I put the tobacco in the jar, I kept the pouch in my kitchen and would just pick it up and sniff it at various times throughout the next few weeks. If a woman wore this scent as a perfume, I would follow her around like a lost puppy.

The flavor when smoked matches the tin note. Again, my dull palate and nose can't recognize exactly what it is (reviews of St. Bruno say things like rose, geranium, and tonquin--I have no idea what tonquin is, but I don't really get either rose or geranium). However, I love the flavor too. The solid Virginia is just under the "Lakeland." It smokes dry and clean. Has a pleasant room note and aftertaste. I love how the aroma lingers on my mustache for a couple of hours after smoking.

This is such a unique and distinctive smoke compared to what I'm used to that I find myself reaching for it again and again. This is a blend I am definitely going to keep on hand for when I need "something different."

I am giving this 3 1/2 rather than 4 stars for one pecadillo: towards the bottom of a bowl I get an ever-so-slight irritation in the back of my throat that I don't get from straight Virginias or the English blends I usually smoke, but often will get from aromatics. Although the amount of irritation is considerably less than I get from most aromatics, and only appears once I am nearly at the bottom of the bowl, it still warrants a half-star penalty.

I wish I had a richer vocabulary to describe the aroma and flavor of St. Bruno. "Floral/citrus" is probably the best I can do. For me it will probably just remain "St. Bruno" flavor.

Edit (January 11, 2023): After smoking through a second pouch of this, I'm dropping it down to 2 1/2 stars mainly because the floral essence I enjoy seems to dissipate very quickly even if jarred, leaving almost no "Lakeland" effect. This is replaced by a predominantly vinegar flavor which, while not altogether unpleasant, isn't the taste I initially enjoyed with this tobacco. This happened with both pouches I smoked.

This is a review of the pouch version of St. Bruno. Opening the pouch... I smelled the unmistakable smell of... A1 steak sauce. Yep. It smells exactly like it. Really odd. I've never smelled a tobacco quite like it in my life. I heard it's supposed to be a floral/citrus aromatic, not a "steak dinner" aromatic.

First few puffs... flavors are meaty, tart, heavy, smokey, vinegar-like. All of this, plus the steak sauce scent, are coming from the Kentucky tobacco, of course. Kentucky is usually a bit vinegary and smokey, but this has the most curious flavor profile. I'm really not tasting any floral or citrus at all... just a strong umami, meaty flavor. It doesn't actually seem like an aromatic at all. And there is a pretty hefty nic-hit.

Halfway through, and it's mellowed and evened out some. The steak sauce flavor is mostly gone, but it's still tart and smokey with the taste of the powerful Kentucky. Some Virginia is coming through now with a bits of sweet citrus tang and some grassy/floral notes.

Bottom line: Strangely interesting blend. First half is a strong, tart, smokey and vinegar-y steak sauce flavor; Second half grows sweeter and lighter. Nicotine is strong in this one. Two stars... but I could see myself growing to appreciate this more.

*==UPDATE==* I was confused that no one really had the same experience I did with this blend, so I decided to give it another chance. This tobacco is pretty roughly cut and moist, and the last few times, I put it into my pipe and smoked it without really breaking it up much or drying it. This time, I broke up and rubbed the tobacco into much finer bits and let it dry for a while. There was a definite difference. There was less of the A1 sauce taste and it was mellower and sweeter. The nic-hit, however, was nearly immediate. This stuff is strong no matter how you prepare it. Halfway through... it's smoking like a more normal blend now. The Kentucky still makes for a heavy, smokey flavor, but the sweeter grassy Virginia's shine through easily now. The tartness isn't gone completely, but it's definitely a more enjoyable smoke when it's broken up more and allowed to dry. I've upgraded it to 3 stars.

I recently received my one and only 50g of St. Bruno Ready Rubbed. My review of St. Bruno Ready Rubbed is nearly identical to my comments regarding the flake. The only real difference that I found was regarding the ease of use. This, as with my comments on the flake is from the Ogden era, as I have NOT smoked the Mac Baren version, so this should only be considered for purchasing it already well-aged. There is an underlying sweetness that I found very similar to Dunhill's MM34596, but where that tobacco fails to deliver, St Bruno brings along some great tobacco flavor to boot! It packs well and burns to a white ash. There is plenty of Lady Nicotine in St Bruno as well. I truly enjoyed this historic blend. My only reason for 3 stars instead of four is simply because I found the flavor to be one dimensional. However, I would strongly suggest trying this grand blend.(if Ogdens can be found)!

Not as strong or tasty as the flake, but when the flake is not available, as it often is not unless you go to a real tobacconist, this will do the trick

Very good Virginia tobaccos, with floral aromas. The Virginias, however, are the dominant flavours, with the Kentucky asserting its character. It is strong, smokes real well and tastes just great. A must-try classic. Recommended.

As a young man, just leaving his teens, St. Bruno was the apex and quintessence of my first pipe smoking experiences. Together with Condor, Erinmore and Mellow Virginia, it was a staple of thousands across the land. And the TV adverts (yes, you could watch youthful men puffing away on their pipes accompanied by myriads of young ladies all admiring the unique aroma) only helped to reinforce the notion that a pipe was the way to go. Dutifully, I followed in its wake and S.B. was the first pipe tobacco I ever tried. 41 years later, it remains a joy to smoke, though latterly in flake form. Its unique taste, flavour and aroma still captivate me. The smell of unlit tobacco straight from the pouch, the feel of the shreds in the fingers and that heavy, sweet, fruity smell in my hands, still entice me on every occasion and I always get that wonderful anticipation that, each morning after waking up, I'm going to have a cracking first smoke of the day no matter what that day is going to bring. This might be described as a love affair with St. Bruno, and I think that you would probably be right. I smoke other tobaccos and there are some that I love mightily. I've had a tobacco renaissance of my own in the last twelve months and have bought and stored more blends than I ever did in the previous forty years of pipe smoking. But St. Bruno is the one I adore the most. Perhaps it is the memory of those youthful days as I remember fellow students or my tutors lighting up in college, the heavy, rich fug that descended in our seminar room when the tutor would fire up, great clouds of creamy smoke billowing like a volcano and as he deeply inhaled the stuff and with a flourish exhaled enthusiastically into the room. Nostalgia plays its part. For me, St. Bruno is comforting, dependable, engaging and utterly engrossing. Not until the cut shreds were increased in width in recent months did I contemplate giving up my beloved ready rubbed in favour of the flake. The smoke wasn't quite the same, the rubbing out (yes, I rubbed out the ready rubbed) proved to be hard work at keeping the tobacco in the bowl, lit and burning brightly and the taste just wasn't the same feel either. So, my years of plentiful delight have been tragically cut down and allegiances have been switched to the flake, an even better taste and enjoyment as I head for the fifth decade of my own particular pipe mania. There are many wonderful, encapsulating and quite enthralling tobaccos out there and I cannot wait to try some of them, but my simple, straightforward, adorable and faithful St. Bruno will be my daily companion throughout.