Mac Baren HH Acadian Perique

One of the more intriguing blends in Mac Baren’s HH series. The tin note is sweet, briny and slightly sharp. The moisture level is just about perfect. However, I prefer giving it a minimum of 10 minutes dry time. This improves the burn rate and helps to decant some of the finer flavors that don't seem to want to show forth otherwise.

Despite the even ribbon cut I found this to be a fairly complex smoke. The Virginias are dark tasting, the perique is mellow and never sets much of an edge. Overall the flavor is anchored by the smoky, bittersweet taste of dark fired Kentucky which becomes fairly intense as the bowl progresses. At a slow sip I taste a cast of subtle flavors, most notably the light honey influence of the Cavendish, the dark fruit quality of the perique and the fragrant scent of the Turkish leaf.

If there were any surprises, it is how exceptionally smooth this blend is. The tin that I am smoking from is a little over two years old, but already the tobacco tastes well matured and quite refined. For what it’s worth, I had the most pleasant experiences smoking this in my wider, shallow-bowled pot & prince shaped pieces. In my smaller pipes the flavor was more intense and at my normal pace the bowl wanted to overheat.

Without a doubt Acadian Perique is a far departure for Mac Baren. Intriguing? I’d say so. Worth trying? Most definitely. Altogether an enjoyable medium strength mixture with good flavor and a crisp delightful finish.

I don't get this blend, it doesn't remind me of a VaPer ? I opened the tin and it has a great tin note of raisins but the taste is bland, cigaretish and boring. Has an almost Cavendish/Burley taste. Not only won't I buy again, I gave the tin away to a friend who RYO cigarettes. This is flavorless "muddy"smoke

Summary: A Virginia-Perique flavor balanced with earthier tobaccos so the Perique can shine, this blend is flavorful but dominated by that condiment.

This take on the venerable Virginia-Perique mixture adds Orientals, Cavendish and Burley to warm up and balance the resulting flavor, which owing to a strong Perique presence tilts toward that flavor. It lights easily and smokes consistently, with the spicier and sweeter sides of the Perique flavor coming out in turn. While this is an admirable concoction, the Perique dominates other flavors, and so it recommended only for those who desire getting closer to that condimental tobacco. The end result has a distinctive sweet but Burley-forward flavor, tasting not so much spicy but like wine and a cigar; this is, consequently, the blend I would recommend for cigar smokers to try first.

Tin note: Sweet. Figs. Raisins. No peppery tingle in the nose.

There doesn't seem to be any relationship between tin note and flavor: all I taste is pepper. The subtleties of the other tobaccos are lost. I believe this blend has at least three times the perique of Elizabethan Mixture, which I smoke every day.

The pipe ghosting here is enormous. Much more so than with other perique blends, such as Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls or Escudo.

Leaves behind a tarry perique residue that coats the nasal passages like superglue, flavoring anything that comes after it.

My theoretical ideal blend would be the one described here: "Virginia, Burley, original Cavendish, dark fired Kentucky, Oriental and of course a fair amount of Perique," but for some reason this one by MB just doesn't do much for me. It's kind of boring, and the tobaccos whether individually or corporately don't make a statement. More of one tobacco would mean less of the other, that's where the blender's discernment is scrutinized. Should MB have used more than 5% Perique and less Kentucky ? Is the quality of the Virginia there? Would a sweet Cavendish balance the profile? We are only privy to the end result and don't know what transpired back in Svendborg, what sort of consensus was reached when the accountant(s), marketer(s) and blender(s) decided on an end product. Fortunately the MB tins are dated, this one "JUN 2013" printed on the back. Soon after opening this tin, sealed the tin back up in a "FoodSaver" vacuum sealer and will see if time gives this more character. Incidentally this blend pairs well with Port, but maybe that's just me trying to substitute for the sugar missing from the Cavendish.

The first impression is good, the tobacco looks and smells nice. But regrettably, this kind of taste just isn´t my cup of tea.

Tongue taste (the taste you feel on your tongue when you first get the smoke into your mouth): mildly bitter with a touch of green pepper.

Snork taste (the taste when you roll the smoke around in your mouth and out of your nostrils): old leather, with green pepper over it.

All together: The tobacco gives an impression of quality and fine blending. However, the result is a taste that goes between bitter and peppery. And that isn´t really my thing. For people enjoying those kinds of taste (and are fans of, for example, Gammel dansk bitters) this is probably a winner.

This new offering (well, from last year or late '09) is a stronger and tastier take from MacBaren.

A bit of a puzzler at first, because of the numerous types of tobaccos into it, one can still make out the plum taste of the perique.

After a couple weeks that it is opened, it will develop into something that is ok, but not more for my own liking.

I have 2 more tins. I will smoke as much as I can from both, but I will not buy again.

I received a nice size bulk sample from the MB canisters at the "RTDA" show. Only opened a few days so still fresh. Rest still in shipping but the tins and bulk will be here in a few more weeks as of this writing. Be patient, unlike me and a few others.

This is a ribbon cut, not a coin cut. Not a roll cake.

Cool, mild, and tasty with no added flavorings. No dampness. Hans said it's MB's strongest rated tobacco, as the perique can sneak up on you it smokes so mild.

Hadn't caught me yet, but I have just smoked small bowls (10 at this time, with about an ounce of tabak to go). Still not as strong as something like P's Irish Flake or not as spicy as SG's St. James Flake. Of course, this is not a flake at all.

You can definitely taste the perique note in the blend and smell it in the room note. I can't say this is heavy or a big flavor blend, but a very nice one.

I feel you must like perique to appreciate this fine blend; again not too strong but probably not for a beginner. May be suitable for one venturing into the perique domain though.

The burley and virginia tobaccos are there and used to be a light-medium support for the perique note, which is the star. Not terribly complex at this time. Sorta simple.

Can't imagine how much this will age -- will the perique take a little more charge or meld in with the other tobaccos? Time will tell. (e.g., B's Kingfisher, similar compostion but ckae cut, gets stronger with age.)

Hans said the bulk and tinned tobacco are the same; just open the tin up for an hour or so and let it hit the air. We'll see. (Some tins of the MB earlier HH Matured Virginia had different strengths to me -- from the best out there to sub-par.)

This is a not so preliminary review, as 10 bowls is a fair try but not the usual ounces I taste test before reviewing. This is so new, that I thought I'd do a service by interesting folks at the get-go (I don't even have the full tin description but I wrote up what Hans has stated.). I'll update as I finish my sample perhaps in another pipe. Hopefully, we all can get lots more.

A natural, and relatively mild way to smoke perique. Recommended to English and VAPER puffers.

Update; Finished last 10 bowls of my sample in a medium large Ries pipe (first 10 was in older, small Comoy). Still smooth with a note of perique. Just got tins (autographed by Hans so it may be a little more aged -- few months -- than regular tins) a couple of weeks ago, and smoked through 1 1/2 ounces in the Comoy and Reis. The tin does take a few days of opening and closing (maybe leave open a while) to release the flavors. Yep same tabak. Still smooth with a definite perique note. Not too strong. A lot going on here, but a melange of soft, natural flavors with a Perique note as the key. A steady smoke. May become "My Precious" blend. I just updated review with tin description, so that will be posted soon. Highly recommended now.

Every now and then there are some tobaccos that are not only enlightening, but also funny to read the reviews. This is one of them.

It happens that when one has smoked many mixtures and tries a new one, he does not contemplate the possibility that it does not resemble any other. We all look for references in what we already know. Thus, here I have been able to read comparisons of AP with Old Joe Krantz, Bayou Morning, Cairo etc... When it came time to open my first tin of Acadian Perique I crossed my fingers that it was something different from what I have already tried and what more importantly, that it didn't look like the ones in my rotation right now (my “rotation” is several dozen tobaccos, including some of those already mentioned). The tin note did not give me much to know if my fingers crossed had been effective or not. Once the pipe was lit, the first thing that came to me was the burley, which made me agree with those who believe that the name Acadian Perique can be misleading. In the next few puffs, the flavor provided by the set of ingredients made me evoke a familiar flavor, which at first I couldn't identify... I thought the reviewers were somewhat right in their comparisons, but that there was a mixture that reminded me much more. Then, eureka!, I remembered “Warped: Cloud Hopper (Cornell & Diehl)”, a mix that is also in my current extensive rotation, but with added cigar leaf, as well as more perique and no orientals. (although in AP I do not notice the oriental ones). There I was with a stupid face, immersed in these reflections, when my wife, who usually notices when I'm thinking because I turn red from the effort, looked at me and said: "that tobacco you're smoking looks like a cigar". For reasons of survival, I don't usually disagree with my wife, so I am convinced of the similarities between Acadian Perique and the aforementioned Cloud Hopper, although I think that if she had smoked these tobaccos she would have reached that conclusion long before I did.

For the rest, Acadian Perique has seemed to me one of the best Mac Baren tobaccos that I have smoked to date. Of course, you have to like burley, since this is a Va/bur/per. For those who miss that this mixture has a little more perique, in Cloud Hopper they can find their cup of tea. To me, who am a lover of perique, between the two I would stay with AP because it seems to me that it has a better balance between its ingredients and because it does not have what is left over from CH and that makes me a bit saturated and that is why I smoke it less often. On the other side, even more balanced and smooth than Acadian and without perique, would be Burley Flake No. 5, by C & D.

For illustrative details about the AP features, I recommend you read the rest of the reviews, since I have spread too much and I do not want to be thrown off this page for to be a bore...