Mac Baren Mixture Flake

I came into possession of this tin from a dear friend. Unfortunately the experience of smoking this tobacco was nowhere near the quality of our friendship. Nicely formed flakes, burned well, had a nice tin aroma. This blend was devoid of taste and the aroma was harshly flat. In addition this had the typical MB bite that worsened the experience further...if that could be so. I have found very few MB blends that agree with me and this one is added to the list of "not to smoke again."

I'm still working on this stuff. On opening the tin, it's aroma is really odd. I can't describe it's scent. It's not too moist and not too dry. It smokes quite differently, depending on which pipe I'm using. In a H.I.S. straight pipe, it's not worth mentioning, but in my Willard Adjustomatic straight pipe, it's quite a pleasant smoke. Also, with the more that I smoke this blend, I keep detecting new undertones. I also don't rub this one out too much. It burns well, and doesn't leave any noticable residue. In the H.I.S. it burns a bit hot, and can give your tongue a bit of bother, so puff this one slowly. When I'm halfway through this tin, I'll come back and do a further evaluation...

2/3/08 OK, I don't buy tins of tobacco very often, so I've suddenly discovered that tobacco packed in tins, goes through some kind of magical change, after it's had time to sit for awhile. So far I can only refer this theory to Mac Baren products, but so far it's a theory that holds some credence. This blend - Mixture Flake - can still put a bite on ones tongue, but if puffed gently, it's a pretty good smoke.

This is a new tobacco from Mac Baren and is a flake version of their world famous (Scottish) Mixture. It thus has the same flavour as that blend. But whereas Mixture can and will bite, this flake won't! It is a very well balanced flake of Virginia, Burley and some cavendish tobacco, what Mac Baren refers to as "The original Mac Baren Cavendish" which is a fire cured tobacco Kentucky, adding some smokiness. While not overtly as sweet as Mixture, it would nonetheless mostly appeal to aromatic smokers wanting a nice, sweet and mellow smoke from a flake.

The flakes are neat and uniform. My tin was a little old and the flakes were mostly dark brown. It smelled of honey, but not so much that it masked the tobaccos. I always praise Mac Baren's flakes.

The taste is easy going when sipped. Also letting it air out a bit before smoking will help prevent bite. It is a creamy sweet and earthy, slightly floral blend. It is floral in the way that honey is floral sometimes. The sweetness is fruit tang and bread, pastries. Further down the bowl you get the creaminess, earthiness, some nuttiness, and some spice.

The strength is smooth and mild. The nicotine is maybe mild to medium.

I would buy this again. It is an all day smoke that's flat out enjoyable to work with. I would recommend it to aromatic smokers, Virginia/Burley-lovers, and Mac Baren-lovers. I don't really consider this an aromatic. It's tobacco flavor enhanced by flavorings.

a typical macbaren blend, which is not a bad thing. But it is a bit too sweet for anyone used to Gawith or McClelland. It can also get a bit hot, so puff slow. Not unlike Scottish flake by the same company. Or symphony. All of the standard classics by Macbaren are pretty close to each other in their intent. Good stuff if you want mild and monotone.

Mild, good tobacco taste and smells, but the sugar water additive makes it smoke hot and can give bite. Very little nicotine. An okay smoke for those who like mildness and can smoke slowly. Won't buy it again.

Mixture Flake is a good looking flake in the tin and many will find the moisture level ready for the pipe. The scent is a bit medicinal and fruity. I prefer to break into larger pieces and fold and stuff them. The first half of each bowl offers up a tasty flavor that didn’t bite me, but did burn warm if pushed at all. The flavor is constant without any real complex flavor showing through which was a bit of a surprise considering the number of tobaccos used. When pushed, the flavor tends to become mottled. When it comes to food comparisons, they are often very subjective, but my stab at it would be a bit of browned white toast with a little bit of jam with each playing a noticeable role. The strength is mainly mild for the first two thirds of the bowl and jumping to medium at bowl’s end. The Cavendish and topping offer up most of the noticeable sweetness. If I were to base my experience on just the first half of each bowl it would be a top notch aromatic flake. But the second half of each bowl became a bit acrid for me. It’s not quite a three star blend for me and I wouldn't seek out more than just the 100g tin I purchased. Two and a half stars.

The aroma is, well, I guess I would call it non-descript, even if it really isn't - but just saying "sweet" is pretty non-descript. But it is. If pressed, I suppose I could go on, calling it slightly perfumy (which in my mind means it has floral notes), but dominated by vanilla/sugar. I really can't detect anything in the aroma resembling tobacco. But overall there is little here which distinguish it from other Mac Baren aromatics. Hard not to like, though.

The colour of the flakes are on the lighter side of brown and have no shortage of birds eye, further more they are quite broad and uniform in appearance - which is very common with Mac Baren, I'd be more surprised to pop a Mac Baren tin and not finding a perfect presentation. In short, it's as good as can be expected from people who are in the tobacco business for a reason.

The flake was folded and gently rubbed, which is how I usually pack flakes, into a bent Mastro da Paja, which serves as my primary aromatic pipe. It takes light easilly enough and is very well behaved in the pipe - another testament to the crafstmanship behind the flakes, I'd say. Tastewise we're dealing with a dominant burley force, which I had anticipated. The mouthfeel I get from this reminds me a bit of cognac backed up by the drier burley notes, with a bit of that Mac Baren honey signature wafting in and out. I had expected the honey character to play a larger role, but it did not, which I find is a good thing. Overall it stays pretty much the same for the duration of the smoke, only becoming a little harsh towards the end, which is a sign for me to let the pipe go out and move on with other things. All in all, not a bad smoke at all. Surprisingly flavoursome for a Mac Baren in my opinion. The room note is unobtrusive and dissipates rather quickly, and isn't likely to cause any trouble.

Drawbacks then - too mild, way too mild. This is not really a fault of the blend itself, as it doesn't tout itself as being strong (quite the opposite in fact). So this drawback becomes a case of preference on my part. But this review business is of course a subjective matter at the core. Some like it mild, some like it strong. I fall into the category of those who like it strong. But I'm sure there are many in the other camp, and there's no reason why we all can't get along.

In conclusion I would recommend this to people looking for a tobacco that is mild in taste and nicotine, but doesn't become bland or boring. Even though I have smoked quite a few pouches of the regular ready rubbed Mixture, and I definately wouldn't call myself an expert in the matter, but to me this is worlds apart from its supposed scottish sibling, I'm not sure why, if it is in fact the same apart from the pressing, but I know I prefer this over the ready rubbed any day. The only thing that comes to mind that is similar between the two is the tin aroma. But even there I'm actually not quite sure, memory may not serve since it was a few years since I had the RR around.

I found it to have manageable bite tendencies. Nowhere near as extreme as its counterpart, or many other Mac Baren's that I've tried (Hell hath no fury like a Mac Baren overpuffed, isn't that the way the saying goes?). Here I find no such fatigue on the palate, which chalks it up to one more reason to come back to this blend some time in the future, when pace requires changing.

I have smoked Mixture Scottish Blend off and on for years and was ready to try Mixture Flake. A similar presentation to Navy Flake in the tin, but a tad lighter in color with a very prominent sweet, honey aroma (although less than with Navy Flake). As with Navy Flake, these flakes were at the right moisture for immediate smoking and all went well with packing and lighting; however, letting it sit in its tin after opening for a month or so seems to bring out the flavor more. I like it better than the loose cut version as there was no bite whatsoever. It smoked cool and retained its sweetness to the end of the bowl and was without moisture. Overall, I would classify it as a milder version of Mac's Navy Flake and with a bit less body/smokiness. If you want a nice tasting, easy smoking flake; and one you can smoke all day long, Mixture Flake should fit the bill!