Mac Baren 7 Seas Royal Blend

I received a pouch of this stuff with a pipe order. It starts off with some tastes of maple syrup, and gradually picks up faintly the taste of caramel. This second note was actually quite pleasant, although it only lasted a small fraction of time. The bowl burned too hot for the 2nd half of the smoke, and it developed a bitter/acrid bite. Quite disappointing, even though it was free. I'd bump the review up a star had that pleasant caramel flavor lasted. Alas, this novice gives the review he has.

"A soft and exceptionally mellow smoke. Delightful, aromatic taste. A true pleasure journey." So say the folks from MacBaren. Now, let me correct them, "A harsh and exceptionally non-descript smoke. Disgustful, aromatic taste. A real nightmare." My throat was sore for three days after smoking this blend, and it ghosted one of my pipes.

Why couldn't I find a better pipe/tobacco shop in Paris, France? It's not that I didn't try (the one I went to was recommended by several people. To protect the innocent, I'll leave it nameless, but will say it was located very close to the Louvre. Their pipe selection was fine, but not so with their tobacco, a real disappointment on that count). I purchased a pouch of this stuff because of MacBaren's generally good reputation for quality pipe tobacco—this is not one of them.

Upon opening the pouch this stuff did smell similar to Regular blend (Chocolatey/vanill'ish) , however there was a very slight hint of aniseed, spice and 'Old fashioned Clan' (Not the modern day toxic waste abortion that is currently peddled out by Theodore Neywhatshisname). It should be noted though that these latter notes were very subtle. To me at least.

The contents of the 40gm pouch contained a rough cut ribbon mixture of quite dry tan and dark coloured leaves.

When I do somke Macbaren's blends I usually smoke them with a 9mm carbon filter, as I find this generally can round off the harshness that can come with a lot of Macblowtorch's blends.

Initial light was relatively mild and pleasant, again there were similar notes to the 7 Seas Regular blend that I have previously tried. For example there was again the chocolatey aroma, however there was also this little spice that I cannot recall from regular blend. The initial 'Old fashioned Clan' note disappeared from all senses after lighting, though there did remain a wee trace of aniseed.

Unfortunately Royal blend seemed to come with a heavier hit of harshness than the Regular blend which at times could be harsh but only when puffed aggressively. Even with the filter, Royal blend seemed more inclined to misbehave.

Taken for what it is, and the price market it's aimed at it's an ok sort, but I wont buy it again. I do prefer 7 Seas Regular if given the choice, and I'm yet to try 7 Seas Gold.

I never buy the same aromatic twice, and this is no exception. I'm not sure why I bother sometimes. As with any aromatic, the room/car/air around you smell fantastic throughout your smoke. But as you churn on: -the flavorings coat your tongue -the moisture saturates the lower half and really heats up -after the quarter of the bowl, the only ones enjoying your smoke are the people around you.

Beginning pipe smokers, Do not shy away from nor be intimidated by English/Balkan/Virginia blends. Do not let anyone convince you that aromatics are where to start. This stuff belongs in Black and Milds. Any time I buy a cliche aromatic such as this, I'm cleaning my pipes with alcohol the next day and vowing never to try them again.

This is the third Mac Baren blend I have smoked and disliked. Very disappointing.

Head for G.L. Pease or Cornell and Diehl if you want to find out just how delicious tobacco can be on its very own without the help of flavor and casings. Thank me later.

The tobacco in pouch looks and feels like captain black royal. it is even as damp. Why would you copy crap? I wonder.

Recommended by an old chap who looks and sounds exactly like Uncle Albert in 'Only Fools and Horses.' Non-UK readers probably won't get the reference.

Only had two pipefuls, straight from the pouch, but would like to convey first impressions.

A brilliant aromatic, the best I can remember. Smells molasses sweet. Not too moist or too dry in this pouch, and the tobacconists had just had a delivery. Lights well, smokes evenly and slowly. A pipeful will last you a good 30 minutes at least. Delicious taste and aroma. I usually prefer non-sweet tobaccos, and haven't much liked MB products in the past, but they've come up trumps with this one. Will give update later.

A delightful blend indeed, 7 Seas Royal is pleasant surprise. Nutty burleys with a touch of cocoa sweetness upon a foundation of sweet hay and citrus virginias. The cavendish smooths the blend and lends a touch of sugar. The topping is difficult to discern, but I get something like honey, sugar, and something more. The fact that this blend is expertly flavored to allow the natural tobacco flavors to shine is definitely something to appreciate. An all day smoke that might be appreciated by the experienced pipe smoker looking to indulge a hankering for something sweet. I can see how this blend might fall short for the Lane BCA smoker. This one is just shy of 4 stars. Recommended.

I like to smoke non aromatic tobacco because the first aromatic I ever smoked gave me such a fright. I still wake up nights thinking that my tongue has frayed. However, this one is almost pleasing to the tongue.

I've bought 4 pouches because they were old stock and old price, half of today's price. I planned to blend it with some semois but as it smells good enough to eat I decided to smoke it pure first.

I first packed a billiard and did not get any pleasure out of it. Then tried it in a wider and shallower conical bowl and experienced a very mild smoke albeit without much taste to speak of. I now reserve a very wide and shallow bowl for it to wrestle some taste out of the tobacco.

I don't see much aroma here. It's a very smooth and easy tobacco and if dried a bit, very gentle, too. I can see an all day though not so inexpensive smoke that doesn't require any attention and doesn't distract.

The reason for my experience might be the age of the tobacco. It came fresh and just a bit moist out of the pouch. I did notice that it's very dark, all of it. Deep dark brown with black Cavendish, impossible to tell the Virginia from the burley by their colour. Apparently, the blend has merged and mellowed.

As I'm writing it occurs to me that I might try it in a large pipe. I'll try that and update the review.

UPDATE: a Big pipe isn't a good idea at all. Condensation accumulates in the bottom of the bowl causing at first unpleasant sensations on the tongue and then a taste of a wet cloth that has been lying around for too long.

I'll try a bit more in bowls around 20mm wide and no deeper than 33mm. A Falcon perhaps? And I'll try to trade it against flakes. Perhaps the stuff doesn't age well, in spite of the Cavendish.

A Small Half Bent gives the best results, lots of creamy smoke and a tiny bit of taste.

Bought 2 oz of this blend. I was surprised about the quality.The pouch smell was great.The smoke tasted very good, and the room note was very pleasant.The tobacco reminded me of a very elegant Captain Black Royal.The tobacco was of better quality and it did not bite like Captain Black Royal which was a surprise also.I highly recommend it and can not wait to try a few other of the seven seas blends.