Mac Baren Honey & Chocolate

Having read the previous reviews I was curious when I opened the tin I received. It was very dry--not moist at all.The tin smell was mostly dark chocolate with a waft of sweetness (honey).Like the smell of a dark Toblerone bar. And there it ends---- The light- no flavour, not even a hint of chocolate, or honey. The smoke --nothing developed- except an irritated throat. I think this was akin to smoking straight burley tobacco, unflavoured. I am a fan of Macbarens but to be quite honest this was awful, I tried it in numerous pipes including corn cobs but nothing helped. It sounds like there is different qualities at least in the tin & maybe I got an off one, but based on what I smoked I cannot recommend this tobacco. A great disappointment

Mac Baren blends have always been a delight for me. Honey & Chocolate is no exception. The tin aroma is definitely a combination of honey and cocoa. I love honey and I love chocolate so I figured I had a winner here. Upon opening the tin there is the aroma of rich dark chocolate with an almost incense-like aroma from the honey as it mixes and wafts through the chocolate. A positive note with regard to this Mac Baren offering, is that I can actually smell what I am smoking, it tastes as it smells, and I can always taste tobacco along with the flavoring. I can't say that about many aromatics.

My experience with this blend is that it packs well (it is a dry tobacco in the tin and typical of a Mac offering), doesn't need more than 2 lights for me to get it going, it burns cool and even throughout the smoke, and I never experience any moisture accumulation. Never cigarette-like. All Mac Baren blends that I smoke are dried out beyond their already dry feel in the tin beforehand, and this certainly helps to achieve an enjoyable smoke. I have found the tobacco to be quite sweet tasting, not cloying, perhaps bitter-sweet is a more apt description. At times it seems to have a BO like smell in the side stream, but surprisingly, never off-putting. It seems to smoke best in smaller bowl briars, and I have never had a hot smoke. It has a nice spiciness in its flavor without any nibbling at the tongue. Reflecting on the "spiciness" I mentioned, I would add that it is an incense-like spice. There may be Perique in this blend (most likely similar to their Acadian offering)as it is a bit pepper-like at times, but I believe the incense-like spiciness may be attributed to some Oriental leaf. I have had the most enjoyment smoking it in several small-bowled Dr. Grabow pipes. Too large a bowl and I get agita - similar to when I smoke a very heady Burley or with Irish Flake. It also goes exceptionally well in a meer-lined Dr. Grabow I bought many years ago (no longer produced - too bad as the two I have are great smokers). Not a light smoke by any means. If you would like a good aromatic with solid tobacco flavor, you can't go wrong with Mac's Honey Chocolate. It was originally listed on the Mac Baren website but has been removed, since, according to Mac Baren, it's only available in the USA.

Whenever I smoke it, my kids think my wife is baking brownies! It's that good. A nicely done cavendish type tobacco that retains its tobacco presence with a little something extra, Honey & Chocolate is sure to satisfy.

UPDATE 2-18-13: Now listed on the new MacBaren website. Just cracked a 5 year old tin - simply delicious.

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I don't know. I feel about like Pipe4ever on this one. I love Mac Baren. Favorite brand, etc etc. But this one is just too much.

Tin note is incense-like - yes, chocolate and honey. Sweet and heavy like Grandma's perfume.

In the pipe, this isn't hot or bitey - a very easy smoke. But the taste is too much like smoking chocolate milk for my tastes.

The one redeeming feature is that it leaves a really delicious smell in the moustache.

Not for me - a delicacy I do not appreciate.

Now, where's my Club Blend...

One of the best chocolate flavored blend available, it has a Dark chocolate flavor with dry and cool smoke, strong flavor of bitter cacao and some honey flavor, the smoke is NOT sweet

If you enjoy strong dark chocolate flavor in your tobacco, try this blend.

Ive smoked many MacBaren tobaccos, Some have been great, some good, others hotter than the lid of a potty bellied stove. This is by far MacBarens best offering. The chocolate aroma is prominent upon opening the tin and is there once the match hits. It stays there throughout but what is also there is the most impotant Real tobacco taste as well as the aromatic elemnet. Never harsh and no tongue bite.Dry bowl bottom at the end Truly a marvel and the best Macbaren has to offer

Got Chocolate ?

Well here it is. Upon popping open the tin you are immediatly greeted with a bitter sweet chocolate aroma like no other. But wait, it gets better. When Mac Baren says this is "a very special kind of Cavendish" they're not kidding. This stuff has great body, again like no other. I've never had a straight Cavendish with such substance and flavor. The aroma is chocolate but the flavor is tobacco, sweet and rich.

What a concept ! What a smoke !

It has that tang that all Dutch tobaccos seem to have in it. Each time I smoke it, and from the same tin, I find it different. Not complex different, but some times I find more honey and buttery flavor other times more dark chocolate and mushroom flavors. Starting to drift into English tobacco as I enjoy the spicy flavors and more complex smoke this remains a nice flavored alternative. I find that the chocolate is most pronounced post smoke when you're sinus and mouth are experiencing the residuals. Will enjoy my allotment of this product but will probably pass on it in the future.

So this is my first review and i've been smoking pipes no longer than a couple of years (not regularly mind you). So i've been trying tobacco left and right to really find one that "sweeps me off my feet". I came across this not too long ago and from the few reviews it had, it looked like it could be the one.

Upon initial light (charring step), I got a pretty full taste of tobacco w/ hints of chocolate. I didn't taste the honey much at all and the absence of the honey flavor continued through the entire bowl.

About mid way through I was beginning to taste the chocolate more and more. I wouldn't describe it as "smoking" chocolate, because to me it was more like hints of chocolate that i could pick out.... very very dark chocolate. To me, this was a surprise due to the STRAIGHT chocolate smell that came from the tin. I'm aware that tin aroma rarely replicates the taste of the tobacco, but I was still expecting more. My taste buds are picky.

Toward the end of the bowl, i found that if i pushed this blend i could get it to taste like a cigar (good?). Again, very full dark chocolate flavor w/ a heavy tone. By this time i was getting a buzz. Now, i don't inhale nor did i inhale this blend... so I don't know why this one made my head spin, aside from the fact i hadn't eaten in several hours.

So overall, this was an alright blend. Nothing special, nothing terrible. I just couldn't get that outstanding chocolate taste I've heard everyone raving about. And to me the honey had taken a rain check on the taste bus where it only lingered in the lovely room note. Again, i dunno if it's because i'm still a new smoker and i don't have a "trained" tongue yet or what, but all tobaccos have that same universal taste and it is tough for me to distinguish the small nuances among all them. This blend I would recommend as a sampler but for me it is too rich to come back to all the time. Just make sure you do not smoke this on an empty stomach.

My highest recommendation!!! This new offering from Mac Baren is simply amazing.

The minute I opened the tin I got a buttery chocolate smell. Upon first light my nose tickled with a smell similar to chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.

Mid bowl I got a honey/caramel offering and the chocolate lingered in the air.

Last part of the bowl was a hit of hard chocolate. So much chocolate. I actually tamed a sweet tooth with one bowl of this amazing tobacco.