Mac Baren HH Acadian Perique

really like this one. it's start with a plum or raisins sweetness and evolve trought the bowl to become more smokey and woody. i"ve had severeal bowl of it but there is just a line of flavor that stay'S the same ( has described earlier) the rest of the flavor around that line seems to change from bowl to bowl... curious blend and good one.

This was the first tobacco that I've ever ordered and had out of a tin so I wasn't sure what to expect. When I popped the lid for the first time I was greeted with a wonderfully balanced aroma. Starting off just a little sweet, maybe just a slight hint of chocolate and finishing off with a very pleasant tobacco scent. There is nothing that stands out clearly from the rest yet it does not have a "muddy blended" scent to it.

I read a lot of people age their tins before really digging into them, however the smell of the Acadian blend completely did not allow me to wait longer than 2 days after receiving my tin.

Pulling some of the tobacco out and fluffing it to try and dry it a bit before packing it, I was probably a little anxious and moved too soon. The smoke was a mix for me. The flavor was everything promised, balanced, full flavored with no strong front runner in the medley of different tobaccos - just balanced. However with it being so fresh, it was a little too moist to keep lit without a consistent pull making a conversation near impossible. Even so, after multiple relights the flavor stayed fairly constant, adding some spicier notes as it burned hotter.

The end of the bowl reveled white-grey ash that burned all the way down.

This blend has grown on me tremendously over the course of a year. I love Perique. I enjoy it in large doses like many of the C&D blends; Bayou Morning/Night, Old Joe Krantz, and Chenet's Cake. This Mac Baren blend uses Perique sparingly which leads to a very refined and nuanced blend. The Cavendish adds a rounding subtle sweetness which pairs wonderfully with the spicy Turkish leaf. The Burley is nutty and the Kentucky is bold. The Virginias are earthy and hay-like. The Perique is the "best supporting actor." It is dry and gives a hint of spice and a green vegetal like note. The smoke is very thick and creamy. I really enjoy the smell in the tin too, a green olive aroma. Age melds all the components together beautifully and adds some sugar.

I bought this one after venturing into my local B&M for some supplies. After picking up three tins of stuff I wanted and wasn't sure what else to buy, the guy who was good enough to serve me brought up the subject of Mac Baren. After trying the god awful 7 Seas Cherry and the passable Navy Flake, I was minded not to try any of their other stuff. He was good enough to mention their HH line of tobaccos and said they were popular amongst those who preferred a purer smoke. Given that his previous recommendations were solid, I plumped for a tin.

The tin aroma is one hay with hints of stewed fruit and the tobacco itself is dark with lighter flecks of gold. Packing and lighting are easy. The smoke itself is gorgeous. There are wafts of hay, chocolate and stewed fruit, the flavour is clean and there is no hint of any kind of topping or casing. The perique certainly doesn't hold back here, and I'm tempted to think it's in there in greater quantities than the 5% or so quoted, but that could just be me. Nonetheless it's a really nice smoke.

This is such a nice blend that it's made me think twice about Mac Baren, especially their HH tobaccos. I can't recommend it enough save to say that it is now one of those tobaccos that I endeavour to keep a good supply of come hell or high water. Top Marks.

Upon opening the tin you will be greeted by a strong smell of figs and maybe old apples. The tobacco is a little too wet and needs some drying, but keep in mind this is a 100g tin, so do not overdo it. Towards the end of the tin the blend might get too dry and then it looses most of its flavour and gets snappish. However it is very nice on the tongue and provided you do not smoke it hasty, tongue bite will not occur.

Packing and lighting is of course easy as with almost all ribbon cut blends.

The taste is *very* interesting and far from being boring. And it is unique enough that no other comparable blends comes to mind. What you smelled out of the tin is pretty much what dominates the taste plus there is some very slight rum note to it. Also the Perique comes along very tangy, almost like some carbonated drink. However i do not agree that this blend is complex in any way. To me its a robust, straight forward blend that does not develop much over the course of the bowl. And this is a good thing! Again, it is far from being bland or boring.

Towards the end it gets very strong, especially for a Mac Baren blend. It is not overwhelmingly strong but packs a surprising punch should you not be used to stronger blends. But since this is only true for the very end of the bowl you can unscrupulously empty the bowl by then.

Room note is nice and has somewhat of a classic appeal to it for its lack of sweetness and its spiciness.

Do i recommend this blend? Yes! I very much do so. This is one of *the* most unique blends around and i had given up all hope that a mass producer like Mac Baren would ever gift us which such a marvel again. In times of all those weak-tea, aromatics that bore the hell out of us this is a revelation. And it begs to hope for more to come. Get this blend and lots of it, show the makers that we *do* wait for such unfashionable blends and are thankful for them!

One word on the side to be said: it is disputable if this blend is unflavoured or not. They did not add anything to it but you really have to keep in mind that Perique in itself is *heavily* aromatized during its making. So, seen that way this blend *is* aromatized even tho nothing has been added to it and it is as natural as can be.

If I was to open a school for young pipe smokers (actually, now that I mentioned it…), this blend could be subject in the fist class: What pipe tobacco can taste like before treated with aromas, heavy casings and toppings.

MB HH Acadian Perique smells like ripe plums or figs out of the tin making you believe in some kind of fruity additive at first. Well, at first I also thought this was just another VaPer mix… it is not! The Black Cavendish (of course cased somehow in the process of making it) really adds another dimension to an even more enjoyable experience. User friendly in handling, absolutely pleasing and soothing, with a refined taste that is interesting, developing but not overly complex. It doesn’t bite or need much attention, rather deserves the attention of the smoker at all times for being so good.

Late last year when I was visiting family in VA I ran out of my C&D Bayou Morning. I usually travel with that blend as my first smoke of the day, with Old Joe Krantz for later morning, early afternoon, and Engine 99 for later in the day. Over the last few years the predominately cigar B&M at Pembroke has increasingly increased their pipes and tobacco offerings and I took the chance they might have something to fill in for my Bayou Morning. Did they ever...

Among the BULK jars was Mac Baren HH Arcadian Ribbon. I had never heard nor seen it sold in bulk. Without benefit of these reviews at the time I speculated that this might be similar to McClelland's Blakeneys' Best Arcadian Ribbon. I bought a couple of ounces. I should have purchased the entire jar. This is far more than a standard VaPer.

This is delicious, period. Now, I know my friends (and others) will think I have lost my mind but the closest flavor profile I can use to describe this is...Prince Albert with Perique. Crazy... I love it.

Some have noted the situation that Mac Baren is held in the same sort of contempt that a brand like Captain Black used to be. I chalk this up to the affordability of the brand; very many people are beyond convinced that there is ALWAYS a direct relationship between price and quality. That this is true is without question for very many, but some know it for the canard it is.

Acadian Perique is an odd duck in the pipe tobacco world. Some have likened it to a kitchen sink blend, but anyone who enjoys it knows it wasn't just "thrown together". It is however an acquired taste, and those interested in the permutations of perique beyond Navy Blends would do well to give it a shot, while treating it exactly as if it was a flake while smoking it. It's not a shrinking violet.

Some have remarked on its sweetness; but that is something natural which can only be due to the Virginias, because there are no toppings. Initially, I found it lacking in sweetness as I've long created my own blend of black cavendish, virginia, perique and lately dark-fired Kentucky, which probably constitutes a quasi-aromatic, if anyone sought to label it. And then there are those that find perique to exude a sweetness all its own, so maybe it is there.

Acadian Perique does require a little drying time, so fill a bowl and let it sit a bit first. This should be a must-try for perique freaks; it was only a matter of time before I tried it. I think it's nice stuff although I prefer my own perique blend, which is a tad lighter in the nic dept. Three stars.

Edit: This tobacco is an acquired taste. It will grow on you if you give it a chance. The other morning I noted some indescribable flavors which made me want to come back here and note that. I wasn't however going to add another star; evidently that was done for me already! Is this the curse of "the venerator"? 🙂

11/12015 Edit

The other morning I had a small cob load of this with perhaps only the same amount left remaining in the tin. It'd been a while since I've smoke any, and as I relished the bowl, the thought hit that this is a standout fave of mine, hands down. I won't however be ordering anymore due to the recent price raise. Just recently I'd noted that the tin price went up, and shortly after telling a friend I might share a pound. with her, she brought to my attention that the pound price also had gone up significantly.

Mac Baren has been a brand I've previously championed for its quality as well as its price. Now it will be only the former. Other similarly priced tinned tobaccos I'm also swearing off for good although I confess I do have a few of those unopened which I will be reviewing. I know there is simply no substitute for some of these quality-wise, but that's not at all to say that I still won't be smoking and enjoying more inexpensive tobaccos- because they are out there only if that means buying in larger bulk. Not every pipe smoker has unlimited disposable income, and the tobacco companies need to know this.

I enjoy this one for what it is but I can think of a dozen other blends I would smoke before I reach for this one. It' a great middle of the road smoke and I enjoy it when I'm mowing the lawn or doing other outside chores around the house. It definitely ain't a thinker so you can just light up and go about your business and for that it is great. Once my tin runs out I doubt I will restock it. If you are looking for something that isn't too complex than this might be right for you. Just a basic ribbon cut VaPer.