Mac Baren Mixture Flake

What's not to like? Balanced, pleasant, well constructed. A room note that won't send the ladies running for the door if smoked indoors. A good after-breakfast smoke, or with afternoon tea and cakes.

I find this flake version tastes exactly the same as the usual "ready rubbed" Scottish Mixture. (So read the reviews there to get a range of opinions on the taste of this tobacco.) If you find regular Scottish Mixture too hot, these flakes burn slightly cooler. For those who are new to smoking flake, this is a good one to start with as the flakes burn very nicely if "folded and stuffed" into the pipe bowl, and also rub out easily if that is the method you prefer. I find that it doesn't need a lot of drying- opening the tin is really all you need to do.

If you like your pipe tobacco to be made of strong defined elements that boldly announce their presence, this gentle mixture may not appeal. Or, if you are a dedicated Virginia smoker and enjoy finding subtle nuances of flavor, this is likely to be too cased. But, if you just like a pleasant mild smoke, give this "near aromatic" a try.

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Update 6/11/2009 After smoking this regularly for nearly two years, I enjoy it even more. I would now give it 4 stars, and it is contending for my "desert island" pick. The flakes burn very well, whether rubbed out or casually folded and stuffed into the pipe. (As before, I think this is the PEFECT flake for a beginning flake smoker to try. You just can't go wrong....) I have smoked bowl after bowl in one sitting, and each bowl offers a somewhat different experience. I have been complimented by both men and women on the room aroma- yet it doesn't seem like a sweet or flavored aromatic when smoked at all.

Scottish Mixture Flake.07/03/07. If you have read my review about Scottish Mixture,then you'll know how highly I regard it. Well,when it come's to the flake version,it to has also won my heart totally.Why you ask? Because it smoke's even smoother and very much cooler.(Not that I am a fast puffer) The flavour is delicious right through to bowl's end,and very smooth without becoming bitter.When you finish your smoke there is next to no goop and your left with a very clean light grey ash at bowl's end."Highly recommended"

Aye, this is just as good as its non-flake brethren (somehow my previous review of the other Scottish Mixture has disappeared) and that should come as no surprise. This is a mild, mellow and sweet smoke that may be too mild for some but, on occasion, it can put me in ?the zone.? I experience no bite with either of the Scottish Mixture cuts unlike some others. This is not an everyday smoke for me because of its mildness but I can?t completely forget about it either; sometimes it just really hits the spot.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 9.90 out of 10.

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Beautiful, mostly golden brown flakes, that smell sort of like honey and hay that come in a beautiful and classy square tin. This is Danish!

Packing and Lighting: It worked best for me to pack it just like the instructions that come in the tin explain: fold and stuff until pipe is full. Lighting is surprisingly easy. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: It starts out a little bright and grassy, the aromatic agent is there from the start too.

Mid-Bowl: Much better. Nice round flavor from all three leaves. The casing mixes well with the leaf flavor and is nicely balanced. The room aroma is pleasant. You must puff this gently or else you will get nipped.

Bottom of Bowl: If you puff gently, it ends with a decent amount of strength with no bitterness and the ash is dry, fine and grey.

Overall: I was first introduced to this blend by a friend who didn't tell me it was an aromatic, but that was ok due to the fact that this one was delicious! It is a well balanced blend in that the leaf and casing are both tasted without much fuss. The burley in this blend is wonderful as well. It does burn hot, though. You must start slowly and follow through slowly in order to get the most of this blend, otherwise you'll end up with a burnt tongue and wet pipe. This is the only aromatic I smoke regularly these days and you must dedicate a pipe because the casing will flavor the pipe. I found it worked well in pipes sized group 3-5. Give it a whirl!

This one goes out of produkćtion and I can find nothing sad about this. I recently bought my second pouch(in Germany the 50gr package is a pouch with a little plastic tray) . The first one I bought was overly dry and I reclaimed it and get atin of Navy Flake instead because I supposed the other pouches not to be fresher. My recently experience is exactly the same. Don't know whether it is concept to deliver it bone dry or the very poor kind of packing do not work. It falls appart as soon as you take a flake out of the plastic tray. If you smoke it as it is, it tastes very bland and a little hot. But the most reason for this blend to be redundant: It is worse than the Mixture . And it is no flake in the common sense. You can not rub it to ribbons as long as a sliver. It breaks to really short crumbs much smaller than these in the Mixture. And the taste is... yes like Mixture but a little toned down because of the dryness Rest in Peace and never come back NOT RECOMMENDED

An interesting mélange of a blend; seems to have a little of everything (well, not Latakia), not a lot of anything, other than solid flavor. Just enough Kentucky or dark fired to make it interesting. Not quite an aromatic in the sense I think of it at least, this is pleasant, solid, a little sweet, with a pleasant aroma. Not quite my preferred flavors, but I could see many enjoying it. A somewhat generic review, for a general (and generally good) blend.

It is quite fruity from the tin and sweet . When smoking the fruit taste is not noticeable except a little citrus . Cavendish dominant from the start which I don’t care for much . But this diminished as i got about a third down . Then it was the sweet bright Virginias and a little spice and brown sugar on down . The burley I Get a lot of on the bottom of the bowl . Changes a lot in a nice way . Sweet and citrus with spice and a wee nutty with vanilla and brown sugar , honey sums it up for me . No bite at all burns slow and steady . I stuffed this right into a large pot right from the tin with no problem. Perfect moisture . The aromatic topping is more medium than mild . 3 stars

I prefer flakes and was glad to find that MB had offered their Mixture, that I also enjoyed, in this form. That change alone rates another * since it results in a cooler, longer smoke with ~ taste. The flakes were well prepared, undamaged in the tin and with ideal moisture content. As my tobacco dried out, the smoke got harsh so keep it humidified. The burning rate was fine and relights not required. Although the Cavendish flavoring is evident, it is very subtle and you still feel that you're smoking tobacco and not candy.

I'm not that sure what's going on for my tobacco, but I finish the whole tin, and every bow shows the same problem...over steam, over heat. I don't really know about the tast cause it bite me at the very beginning, so...I'm not going to have an other try before I can't buy any thing else.