Mac Baren Golden Extra

After a long, dry spell without pipe tobaco (due to the stupidity of Mexican government regulations), I got hold of this one in a recent trip to Cartagena de Indias. Very much surprised by the quality, craftmanship and balance of GE.

Similar to London Club, but with the added touch of matured Virginia leaf, this is truly a classy and a classic smoke. Smooth, flavoursome, dense, with an excellent room note. I much prefer it to Mixture because it has a more defined tobacco structure. It does not pretend to be fancy.

Who ever designed this blend knew perfectly well what he/she was doing. A no-nonsense smoke for any time of the day, with a very traditional Burley aroma, inviting, not entirely sweet and not at all flat (something I do get from other Burley blends).

If found, try it. This is very good stuff. Should deserve better publicity and marketing.

I was lucky enough to find a well aged tin of this fine burley/virginia blend.. I'm not sure of the exact age but based on the rusty weathered nature of the tin I would guess it had at least 5 years on it.. Not being much of a Macbaren or burley smoker I was slightly hesitant.. but how often do you get the chance to experience something with age on it without the need to wait patiently - so I jumped at the chance.. The tin popped easily but was a little tricky to get open since it was slightly fused together.. The smell that was released from the tin was amazing.. very sweet fermented bliss.. almost too sweet but overwhelming in a pleasant way.. The same sweetness came accross in the smoke along with an old musty flavor that was curiously intoxicating.. this is a light blend but aged it seems almost heavy.. a little chocolate comes through but deffinately a natural tasting smoke.. It does bite a lot when you first open it.. but after some drying it mellows.. beautiful smoke.. I prefer straight virginias but this is a case of age making the difference.. I would say 4 stars with age.. maybe 2 or 3 otherwise in my opinion.. but a gorgeous old tobacco.

This blend is an old friend from my undergraduate days at Oberlin College, in the days when we could smoke in our dorm rooms, and the local "drug store" carried some amazingly high-quality blends, including this one, Mac Baren Scottish Mixture and the black and white label tins of Balkan Sobranie, all of which I smoked.

This is another nice, mild blend that can be smoked casually and often with no fear of bite or harshness. It is packed tightly in the tin and presents that quintessential "Mac Baren" tin aroma of figs, raisins and pastry. While I remember pulling it out of the tin and packing it "as is" when I smoked it back in the day, I now rub it out really well, despite the "ready rubbed" legend on the label.

It takes to the flame nicely and once the second flame is applied, it stays lit and burns slowly and evenly. This tobacco wants to be sipped slowly and will bite back if smoked agressively. A large-bowl pipe that's carefully and firmly packed will provide a long, slow and pleasant smoke with subtle flavors that don't get too strong or complex, but stay mild and even from start to finish.

I have fond memories of this 'baccy, and will keep it in my rotation for a good long time.

This is another hide and seek blend for me.

A hide and seek blend is a tobacco that every once in a while presents these fantastic flavors, that are really enjoyable, but it seems to come and go. Then I have to spend time slowing down and focusing to find it again. If that great, full round sweetened burley taste was consistent the whole time? This would be a four star tobacco for me.

I have a love hate relationship with burley. For me, burley is all or nothing. I am mostly a Vaper lover, and about 90% of the time, I know if I will like a Virginia blend, just from reading the tin. This is not the case for me when it comes to burley blends. Sometimes I love em, sometimes they are pretty flat for me. This makes trying burley blends exciting, but sometimes leading to disappointment.

This is a nice blend. It is like the gentrified version of Carter Hall (which is a favorite of mine). The taste characteristics between this blend and Carter Hall, are slightly similar. This tobacco is slightly fuller and richer than than CH, but it is also a bit more temperamental. Smoke it slowly and with concentration, and it produces great flavors. Take your eye of the ball however, and it can be a little harsh and lose its pizzazz. Carter Hall requires less supervision.

This comes in a broken flake. The tin note is fantastic. Sweet and Bready. It rubs out easily and behaves well in the pipe. It is good stuff. The topping is a background compliment, not a in your face flavor.

This is a nice pleasant tobacco. Easy to enjoy, not complex, smooth and burns with ease even when fresh out of a new tin or bag. Tin note is not natural tobacco. Anyone that says that ( way too many here) must be smoking something else in their pipes. I can’t pinpoint the top note but it’s on many blends, particularly the same top note as orlik dark strong Kentucky and backwoods natural blend. 3 different blends, 3 different qualities, 1 similar top note. The top note is very clear and present and it masks to natural tobacco in tin note and it also takes over most of the tobacco when smoking it. This makes it hard to distinguish the natural tobacco flavors. That being said it’s still a nice top note. The room note is nice, and the side stream smell is great. Low nicotine, mild smoke, with a medium flavor. Zero complexity. I consider it a putter around blend to not focus on. The flavor is consistent from start to finish. I’m very happy with this blend however I’m Very unhappy with reviewers trying to claim this may not be topped and that they can taste the natural burley and Also the Virginia. It’s not possible. You taste the top note with a quality tobacco smokiness underneath.

I wish I had bought a pd of this instead of sampling 6 or so different burley blends ! GE is a fairly sweet , nutty earthy , toasty , cocoa and honey flavored burley with a little bright Virginias to add to sweetness and round it out nicely . Old school Mac Baren burley with no bite . If you like Burley it is worth a go . Bought in bulk and it had great hydration. 3 1/2 stars .

I give Golden Extra 2 stars, but only because Burley London Blend, Amphora Original and Amphora Burley are 3 star, and I don't find Golden Extra as good as those three. For that matter you could proceed straight to 4 star HH Burley Flake.

Comparison to stablemates aside, it's a good smoke. It needs a relaxed pace or the tobacco can zing your tongue a little. It's smooth, mild and sweet Burley, with Virginia to add some high notes. It is totally devoid of rough or sour notes. Problem is, for Burley smokers who smoked prior to 2014, you're always going to compare this to BLB, and it just isn't as good as BLB. I will never understand why Mac Baren kept this and delisted BLB. It just doesn't make sense.

26June2021 updating to reflect that after getting my hands on some Burley London Blend I can smoke both and compare. The memory of BLB does not live up to the experience of Golden Extra. Turns out Mac Baren was right all along. Both good tobaccos, but GE gets the nod from me. Always willing to admit when I was wrong, one star added.

First take:

To me, this tastes like a mild burley with some milder Virginia. Maybe golden burley with a little Virginia extra.

I get a little grassiness in the finish at the back end of my tongue from the Virginia. Mostly, I thought this was a very pleasant easy smoking blend that couldn't be overpowered by puffing incessantly. Get it too cool, and it almost disappears. Definitely a blend that shines with big, full clouds of smoke.

The aftertaste is a little bit of hay and a teeny touch of campfire, making this a great blend to pair with a crisp fall evening.

2022-12-09 Update - 3 Years:

Recently, I've been making a concerted effort to pick the jars in the back of my cellar, and I tried Golden Extra again today. I gotta say this was more enjoyable than I remembered, but I have to conclude that this is still a pretty forgettable smoke.

It takes a bit of work to get it right. In order to find the Chocolate, I've got to get a lot of very cool smoke. If I just have one small ember going, I'm not going to find the Extra. If the bowl gets even a little hot, that Extra is gone as well. But when I get a good puff, it's very good. You know you hit it when you get a nice chocolate overtone to an otherwise flavorful smoke. It's hard to chase, though.

I don't believe that 3 years in the jar did that much for this blend. I think it's good to smoke new, and it's slightly better to smoke aged, but definitely not one you need to pack away to unlock.

Overall, the taste is mild, the chocolate is milder, and when it works, it's great. But most of the time the chocolate gets blown out. It's a decent Va/Bur in its own right. However, I am not going to re-up when I empty this jar. Happy to have tried it, though.

It's just OK for me. Nothing stands out. Perfect moisture, lights and burns well. Doesn't really bite, although it teased my tongue like it wanted to. I don't get chocolate at all. MAYBE a teeny bit nutty, and sometimes peppery. Not grassy. Room notes are mild, but not really aromatic, more of just a lack of anything strong. They kind of remind of old school Camel cigarettes, non-filter. I guess this would be ok to smoke all day to pass the time, but the stuff is way too expensive to use that way.