Mac Baren Golden Extra

MacBaren golden extra is a reasonable option for those in the market for burley. I am neither enthusiastic about it, nor do I have any real serious gripes about it. GE is a fairly dark brown partially rubbed out flake tightly pressed into the tin. There are a few obvious bright VA ribbons that course through the flake. Drying time is a necessity. I will typically leave it out for 20+ minutes after rubbing my selected portion out to ribbon consistency. The tin aroma is sweet and identical to Burley London Blend. The first few char lights and the sidestream that waft off are delicious, and the only semblance of cocoa that I appreciate during the smoke. After the true light from top to bottom, it’s all white burley, earthy, sour, rich tobacco. It has the classic MacBaren bite if pushed. I compared GE side by side with another open tin of BLB dated November 2011. They are identical regarding appearance, smell, color, cut, leaf ratio, flake size, general taste and body when smoked, and odor left in the room. I could not tell these apart blind, though I’m sure others out there have indeed conquered this particular challenge. If one reads the descriptions on the tins, it would suggest that possibly the only difference is the time the food grade additives are applied. It would seem that GE uses burley that is cased and then pressed with VA into the flakes which are further topped? BLB makes no mention of a cased burley, but does admit the chocolate top note, a “special top note.” I almost exclusively use this tobacco to break in new pipes. It burns cool, neutral, and does as fine a job as any in developing a cake until I decide what particular genre of tobacco I’d like to dedicate/enjoy in said new pipe. If you want a gentle introduction into the world of burley tobacco, there are plenty of worse choices. It is mild, inoffensive, and consistent. Also tends to burn wet, even if it is near crispy dry. I dunno, I’ll presume this is my fault and I will own this one. It’s ok.

Whelp.... this is what it is. I will say I do keep a tin or two around because its maybe the best room note in all of pipedom. I smoke at xmas when guests are around. Nobody complains because it smells terrific. That said, its a pretty mild blend. Its very pleasant though and as burly blends go....of this sort...its top notch. There is a nic hit...but mild. Some burly....drugstore blends or the old Pipeworks & Wilke stuff has virtually no nicotine. This has some, but its mild. It does taste nice, smokes clean, too. Nothing to dislike, just not a memorable smoke. Two and half.

MacBaren Golden Extra is a pipe tobacco which pleases burleyphiles but has a somewhat limited allure for the rest of the pipe smoking contingent. (Golden Extra is the marketing name in the US; in the rest of the world it is Golden Blend; reviews on this board under either rubric are for the same tobacco.)

A medium brown broken flake, Golden Extra is easy to pack and light and does not present a challenge in keeping the light. Most will find a little drying time helpful upon first opening the tin. The tin sniff presents the same slightly fermented smell characteristic of MacBaren products.

The taste is clearly burley although this does have a little Virginia in it. The nutty chocolate flavor of good burley has a boost from added chocolate flavoring in my judgment. As with other MacBaren products there is the omnipresent taste of maple sugar giving it a honeyed characteristic. It is not quite so sweet as its sibling Symphony/Harmony (which has some cavendish) but a bit more than its now discontinued stablemate Burley London Blend.

A tobacco predominantly composed of burley offers a pretty stout nicotine kick, and Golden Mixture is more than medium in this regard, but a little short of being a nicotine bomb. The room note is pleasant if undistinguished, not notably different from such offerings as Prince Albert and Sir Walter Raleigh.

Although MacBaren is one of the world's best selling pipe tobacco makers it elicits quite a lot of complaints concerning tongue bite. Golden Extra avoids this complaint, at least it will for a majority of pipe smokers, as it has only a smidgen of Virginia, and when packed loosely it burns slowly in a manner that tends to protect sensitive tongues. It burns dry to a light grey ash and leaves no goop in the pipe.

If memory serves me correctly, Golden Extra has a taste not unlike the long gone and lamented Edgeworth Sliced. But as with Edgeworth Sliced the kudos come mostly from smokers who really like burley. Those who prefer latakia/oriental, aromatic, or Virginia smokes will find Golden Extra too monochromatic. For me (and I smoke burley blends about a quarter of the time), this is on the border between three and four stars. I suspect most others who appreciate burley will rate it as highly. But for those who who grumble "meh" over burley, the appeal is far less.

Don't worry about the pipes you use. This tobacco does not ghost, and I find it appealing in briar, cob, and meerschaum.

To add to the confusion regarding the nomenclature of this tobacco, I bought mine as bulk under the Sutliff name from SmokingPipes.com. I assume it is the same tobacco, if not then the mods can do their thing.

This is a mid brown broken flake, very broken as I received it. The bag note reveals some fairly heady topping/casing in play. Notes include vanilla, caramel and anisette. There are nutty aromas I assume to be natural to the burley, but I wouldn't bet my left nut on it.

My purchase came quite dry, and it takes and holds a light fairly well. It is a sweet and nutty smoke. I would consider it a borderline aromatic in the same way Royal Yacht is. This tobacco is lighter in all regards in comparison to RY.

Its an inexpensive but unremarkable, flavoured, VaBur.

Mac Baren Golden Extra (or golden blend) is a fine burley tobacco blended with aged ready rubbed burley. I like burley blends i.e., London Burley Blend but this one doesn't have a lot of flavor. It can be smoked all day. It is subtle and not overpowering. I particularly like the straightforward tobacco taste of this smoke and I detect just a lite sweetness as an undertone flavoring. I do not pick up the chocolate taste others have experienced. If you're looking for a good, quality, affordable burley that's about medium all the way through (strength, taste, flavor), this is it.

This tobacco, as with most Mac Baren tobaccos, bites my tongue. It is a chemical reaction that I just can't get past. I have tried different methods of packing, different pipes, extreme slow smoking: always the same, ouch. It is too bad for this tobacco has a fine flavor of sweetened burley and is always priced nicely at the tobacco shops. A 100 gram tin is usually about the same price as most other brands 50 gram tins. Try this tobacco if you like burley blends with a slight sweetness and see if your chemistry is suitable for Mac Baren tobaccos. Mine is not.

Bag note is pretty good. Almost a honey wheat bread odor in a hay loft to me. Certainly attractive. Initial light was good, considering the coarseness of this cut. Although it was delivered quite dry. Flavor? Milder than almost anything I've ever smoked. Maybe the bottom of a tin of Velvet, where it's dried out? Over the course of several bowls, I can get only occasional hints of anything. Just a mild honey flavor, and a sugar sensation on my lips. I can feel myself increasing pace "looking for something", which is a certain recipe for tongue burn. I did notice a tickle or dry spot on the very back of the roof of my mouth smoking this one. Simply put, there is just nothing there on this one. Room note is I quote: "its ok, kinda plain". To me this is sub-OTC brands that you know.

Edit: While trying to find a way to knock down the pound of this that I purchased (doh!), I found that 50/50 with PA, is a pleasing smoke. Its not making PA better so much as making it "different" enough to catch your attention. Its a good blend to use this up in.

This is a good blend....a solid blend. Perhaps not groundbreaking or an everyday smoke for most folks, but a general all-around nice smoke.

The tin note doesnt do anything for me. I'm not quite sure why. But I've learned not to judge a tobacco by the tin note, and that's a good thing (for more than just this blend).

The virginia comes through nicely and blends well with the burley. It seemed to have a hint of spice that was not unpleasant which is saying something from someone who does not care for perique. Not that there is perique in this blend...there isnt. But it has a spiciness nonetheless. It becomes particularly noted when blown through the nasal passages.

The room note is pleasant but I wont be finding my wife asking me to smoke it inside anytime son. It takes on an almost perfumy aroma....almost, but not quite.

I break my tobacco tastes into simple categories: hate it, would smoke again but not buy it, like it and would purchase, and must keep on hand. This blend is just slightly north of would definitely smoke again but perhaps not purchase again. I would easily smoke the whole tin and enjoy it, but when your wallet is limited, you might not find yourself handing this one to the cashier. But it is SO CLOSE to that range, I have to recommend it for others. I could see many loving this blend, but it just doesnt reach those heights with my tastes.

As a side note, the moisture content is perfect. I have come to expect that from MacBaren blends. No airing out needed for their tins. Load 'em and smoke 'em.

This aromatic tobacco is slightly pre-rubbed, but does require a bit more rubbing out. It is on the dry side, burning hot and fast and leaving a dry bowl with no dottle. There is no real body to this aromatic tobacco and it is somewhat one-dimensional, but the sweetness of the pouch does translate to the smoke. It is simple and unpretentious, providing a nice sweet honey-cocoa respite from the busier and more complex blends out there. My taste buds keep asking for a malt-like backing to provide some depth and give balance to this blend, but alas, no, so that shoe never hits the ground. There can be a bit of a sweet-chemical flavor from the casing and pure tobacco taste never really makes it to the forefront. For packing, you need to keep the bowl somewhat loose and tamping to a minimum. Pull carefully and with rests to avoid overheating your pipe. Also, careful smoking will reward you with no bite. Once you get the pace down and play by its rules, it is a very easy tobacco to smoke and an enjoyable classic all-dayer. Retrohale is pleasant and sidestream offers up a wonderfully aromatic aroma. No detectable nicotine. Post smoke can leave you with that sweet chemical-like aftertaste. Despite the negatives, it is still a blend I would buy again for its honest simplicity, all-day usefulness, easy burn, and Danish-sweetness.