Mac Baren HH Acadian Perique

Perhaps the best unflavored Va/Bur/Per out there today, and certainly among the best values. A complex blend with layerings of unflavored , unadulterated tobacco flavors. An excellent blend for the true lover of tobacco (rather than casings). Don't let the Cavendish in the list above fool you: this is not a sweet blend. Firm Virginias with a more Perique-forward taste than the blend notes (5%) suggest. The Kentucky and orientals add to the complexity and make shoe-horning this one into a category more difficult. The best I could do as a comparison is to GL Pease's Cairo without the light top-noting. Think an English/Perique blend without the Latakia. Love this one, a regular in my rotation, and highly recommended to VaPer smokers.

Dark and strong Virginia and Burley dark fired combine with a minimal but noticeable amount of Perique to provide a smoke for the ages! No artificial sweetness added or tasted in this one. Just a bold and highly flavorful compilation that makes it hard to keep stocked on the tobacconist's shelves. One of Mac Baren's finest-ever blends as far as I am concerned. I have many tins stockpiled for aging and future enjoyment.

Pipestud

Why do some (many) folks get so violently antagonistic towards MacB products? It's just freakin' tobacco after all. In any event, I really love a few of these HH offerings, with this great blend being among them. The tin note is in your face but pleasant to me -- reeks of fermentation and perique but, together with undertones of fruit/wood, it is a bouquet that I very much enjoy. Great moisture (4 tins of experience thusfar), color, cut and overall texture. Packs, lights and smokes like a Bentley. Name aside, this is a well-conceived VaPer beautifully accented with Orientals (personal favorite) and some Burley, Cavendish and a kitchen sink I suspect. A top-shelf product. Again, the name is misleading -- the perique is judiciously used and the orientals and other tobaccos make it almost a Bayou English. But it's to me a great VaPer made even better with the oriental component. Very cool product.

Mac Baren - HH Arcadian Perique.

I don't find this as one sided as the name implies. I'd anticipated a smoke consumed by Perique, too sharp, maybe a bit of vinegar, but it's a lot fairer with flavours.

Right from the start the smoke's even-handed with the constituents. I can taste formidable Perique, for sure, but there's a lot more to the smoke: aside from the stronger leaves, Burley, Turkish, Kentucky, I get a soft sweetness from the Cav'. The only negative can be the heat and bite, so I employ a gentle technique to ensure optimum enjoyment.

Nicotine: medium to strong. Room-note: I like it.

The name doesn't fit, it should be called something which doesn't suggest as much Perique. But, it deserves four stars:

Highly recommended.

All of the HH blends from Mac Baren are unique and worthwhile. This, however, is my favorite. This I believe is destined to become a classic blend for two reasons. First, there is really nothing else like it that I am aware of on the market. Second, it has very fine smoking characteristics. These two qualities set it apart from the morass of blends available today, and make this something special.

The tobacco, as indicated by the blend description above, is a mixture of a number of different tobaccos. I am not sure why some reviewers gripe about this. It may be an issue of palate, but I do not think this tastes like floor sweepings or any other mishmosh of tobaccos. To my taste it is balanced, nuanced, and interesting. I also think the various condiment tobaccos, The inclusion of more than one being the thing that some find offputting, are actually complimentary of one another and create harmony. This is not, for example, one of those burley/VA blends with a little cavendish or perique thrown in to give it any flavor at all. Here the base of burley and VA's give it a well rounded and sweet flavor which lights and burns readily, and does not bite the tongue. The perique adds spice, and the orientals give it a smoky, complex flavor which is reminiscent, but distinct from, latakia. I am not sure what the dark fired kentucky does - I admit my ignorance in not having taken the time to learn about or familiarize myself with this tobacco, so that is for another day. This tastes good though, so it is ok in my book for now.

The tin aroma of this is incredible. It smells so good that it is hard to believe that it is not an aromatic. I love the cut, which is a chunky shag, and since it is not gooped up with toppings or humectants, it is not too moist, and is ready to smoke with just a little drying out of the tin. It packs easily, and, as noted above, lights up quickly and burns evenly with few relights. The flavor is fantastic, and offers layers of taste. It is spicy, and has one the strongest perique components that I have encountered. it is not overwhelming though, and the va's and oriental's continue to mingle and make themselves known throughout the bowl. It is not without nicotine, and will get to you if you smoke a large pipe's worth in one sitting.

This mixture is singular. You are not going to find a bunch of other blends that taste like this and burn as easily and smoothly. If you like perique, then this is going to blow you away. You have to be open for the addition of the orientals, however, which really do give this an additional flavor component unlike most other perique blends. This is wonderful offering from Mac Baren, and I play to lay up a number of tins for the future.

With the addition of burley, Kentucky, Cavendish and Orientals this is more an old English blend of pre mid-nineteenth century before Latakia became a popular addition...If you would care to smoke the type of blend that Chas. Dickens smoked, then this is it--and it is fantastic!...I don't know if this is what Mr. Halberg was shooting for, but he sure hit it on the nose.

A wonderfully spicy smoke with a full array of rich flavors. I agree that there are no added flavorings, but am fairly certain that there is a very mild added sweetness. It shows itself plainly in a cob. A near full spectrum of fruit flavors as well as earth. A little smokiness and a hint of nuts. This baby has it all. A truly fine smoke with plenty of oomph!

Medium to strong in body. Medium to full in taste. Added sweetness is very mild. Burn is near perfect.

Acadian Perique is an orchestra, multiple quality tobaccos masterfully blended to bring all and sundry to the table for a feast of flavor. Pack your bowl, light a match, and pay attention: wood, slightly musty (is this the Turkish?); the virginias provide a bit of grass and earthy quality; rich and full bodied, nutty burleys and kentucky; smooth with an undercurrent of sweetness from the cavendish; the perique allows the others to shine and intertwine and contributes its own bit to the symphony: raisin and a light touch of pepper spice. This blend is nothing short of impressive. I cannot think of a single blend I'd compare this to. Complex and compelling, this ambitious blend easily achieves 4 star status. Highly recommended.

Aside from the "fair amount of Acadian Perique", this blend also contains MB's Original Cavendish and Dark fired Kentucky, all of which are black and fairly strong tobacco's. Blended with Virginia and Burley and some Orientals, this goes towards a very rich and satisfyingly thick and creamy smoke with a unique character and depth of flavour. The absence of a top flavour gives the blend a very pronounced all-tobacco flavour. Some parts of the smoke can be quite strong, presumably when a concentration of perique is encountered in the bowl of your pipe. Best smoked after a lengthy airing of the tobacco. Well done Mac Baren!