Mac Baren Symphony

Delightful blend: round nutty flavor, faint hint of chocolate, and just enough of the MacBaren cavendish to be present without taking a nip at the tongue.

In the tin, this has a slight fermented aroma which comes across nicely in the smoke, particularly halfway through the bowl. In bulk, that fermented note is absent but it's still a fine smoke. In either tin or bulk form, it's a chunky broken flake that I find best to crumble before smoking. Generally a full brown color with just a little tan here and there.

This can smoke a bit warm, and the MacBaren spicy cavendish has a tendency to nip in every blend I've had it in. It is much less pronounced than in the roll cake style blends, so it's a little easier to live with Symphony than say Dark Twist. And like all the blends with this MacBaren style cavendish, the tingle is strongest on initial light then blends in after a few draws. But still, it requires a little discipline to not over-puff.

I can see how the burley base used here turns into dark fired Kentucky for MacBaren Old Dark Fired / Bold Kentucky, there's a familiarity - without all the punch of the dark fired varieties. Just an interesting observation I suppose.

All in all, a great blend that I enjoy almost daily.

much like Golden Extra, this is the quintessential MacBaren burly blend. It is what it is. And on occasion I quite enjoy a pipe full. There is not a lot to separate this from Golden Extra. I think I prefer GE because i love the room note but mostly this is much the same sort of smoke. Different flavors, but not THAT different to be honest. Must be smoked slowly or it can heat up. But its high quality as is always the case with the often maligned Macbaren product. Im glad they still produce this because as I say, its of very high quality. 2 and a half stars.

This is an above average blend of Burley, Virginias and some Cavendish. The Burley is the star here, bringing on some nuttiness and some earthiness. Sweetness from the Virginia helps to balance everything out. I love the spice element that the blend possesses too.

Burns well, easy to prepare and leaves very lil moisture or dottle in the bowl. Pleasant room note.

Solid blend. Worth the coin.

I just got through reviewing Golden Extra and I have to say, these blends are incredibly similar. If I had to choose....well....come to think of it, If I had to choose, I have no idea which I'd prefer.

The tin smells strong of fermented raisins. I don't know why, but this smell is not my cup of tea. I find it offputting, but always enjoy the blend smoked. Weird. Anyways, the flavor is pretty solid in the medium category with the nuttiness of the burley shining through. As the tin suggests, the nuttiness has a certain dark chocolate characteristic. Perhaps only noticeable when you see that the tin suggests it. Suddenly you think, By George! It DOES taste like chocolate! Not heavily or aromatic in the least, but naturally done.

This blend is definitely in the same family as Golden Extra, so if you liked that blend, you will enjoy this one, and vice-versa.

This is a solid blend. Again, nothing spectacular, but smokable, enjoyable, and repeatable.

I really enjoy this blend. It's very natural and 'woodsy' to me. It tastes fantastic in my custom briar pipe. The wood/tobacco flavor is very enjoyable.

The aftertaste is also enjoyable and it has gone well with whatever I have after smoking. (Gummies, chocolate, coffee)

Enjoyed this blend so much I've stocked up. Look forward to trying it out after aging.

Excellent burley aroma/flavor predominates, as would be anticipated. Semi-sweet chocolate background flavor noted, particularly when sipped. Slight pepper/spice on retrohale. Quality product alone, makes a great blending tobacco. Stays lit and burns well. 3+.

I found this to be similar to Burley london, and Golden extra, but significantly sweeter. It goes ok in a cob, but seems a bit sweet for my liking. If you prefer softer blends, get into it,it's very cheap and not a bad smoke, just not for me.

Everyone complains about toungue bite from these MacB blends. I am 6 tins into their selections, and have not been bitten once. Must be a body chem thing. Take it all with a graain of salt and see what works for you.

I won't get more of this, I'm gonna stock up on its brother, London burley.

Straight forward pipe tobacco. It has nothing memorable. Seems to be a little heavy on the burley to me which adds to the the very very mild taste. Any pipe smoker should enjoy Symphony. A pleasant, sweet danish tobacco. If you are looking for a mild relaxing smoke with no surprises, this is nice.

McB Symphony; I found this tobacco's taste too thin, and is very slow in its flavor development when smoked straight from the tin, I was ready to put this one down as another Mc dud. So as a last try before giving up I fully rubbed out a bowl, what a difference, it now had a nice rich flavor from light-up to ashes. And that ever present tongue irritation this stuff IMO is plagued with, now seemed less annoying. The tin says “ready rubbed” it should say “ready to be rubbed”. In the fully rubbed state I found no real tongue bite, plenty smoke, instant flavor development and naturally a faster burn, but not so fast as to cause any serious heat problems. Still not my first choice, but IMHO this simple change now made Symphony worth smoking. 2 1/2 stars