Mac Baren 7 Seas Royal Blend

The Royal blend has notes of rum, vanilla, raisins, perhaps a little cranberry. The flavours linger to the end of the bowl. It is very sweet, and leaves a wonderful room note. Mild on the nicotine side. This flavour was not my cup of tea, but this is a fine quality aromatic tobacco for anyone seeking out something rich with flavours.

I’m on the home stretch of the bowl I just packed of this blend to review it. Seven Seas Royal does smoke alright in my jumbo Chinese pearwood number - this is actually my favorite aromatic pipe. That I feel so impressed with the pipe right now speaks volumes.

What you get with SSR is a wallop of Danish casing. It reminds me a bit of Newminster’s Danish Black - a fruity sweet cocktail of essence and chemical. It won’t leave your mouth a total wreck, except for perhaps the dry twang indicative of additives, but it doesn’t always taste good. The ashes are disgusting. Where is the tobacco flavor?

It seems a harsh review considering what it is, but I have to be honest. This blend is terrific compared to other OTC blends of similar styles (I’m not even sure I prefer Newminster, although I don’t remember it leaving any chemical film on my tongue.) In my big “briar”, SSR stayed lit all the way down straight from the tin and only got a little hot. The smell is OK but doesn’t linger. Overall I have to recommend it for its price and availability, not for my enjoyment.

Este tabaco es para mí una especie de golosina. Bastante similar al captain black royal, seguramente un poco más atenuado. Todo es casi perfecto en este tabaco, la humedad un poco por encima de la media. El corte una cinta fina. Los tabacos black cavendish, virginias, burley, con tono licoroso dónde predominan las mieles y azúcares, las frutas pasas, los cítricos y alguna terrosidad. Repito, una verdadera golosina para fumar hasta hartarse. Quema rápido por lo que e deseable la fumada lenta y tranquila. Buen volumen de humo, untuoso. Buen aroma de habitación. Un suave y agradable tabaco.

Pivoting on the subject of royals, sashaying forward is this week’s featured aromatic dignitary of seemingly regal proportions. On parade or afloat, if that suits you better, comes Mac Baren 7 Seas Royal, a handsome Black and Gold ribbon cut collection of select Burley, Virginia and Black Cavendish prepared with a refined dressing of anonymous flavorings. I’ll get to that here in a minute.

Carrying a tin note that is extremely reserved, the fragrance nevertheless sedates with soothing effects. Mainly, the mix projects a blissful forward embellishment of delicate vanilla, honey, light maple, as if just kissed by a mocking of caramel. Swirling underneath this inviting aroma resides a body of complementing natural leaf characterized by submissive earthen tart, sugared nuttiness, and some spiced citrus essences.

Unlike other aromatics, this one really had me sitting back to take in the celebration of taste streams that were coming at me. From the perspective of aromatic tobaccos in general, 7 Seas Royal is delightfully involved and colorfully refined by comparison. There is obviously a lot transpiring here within this particular Mac Baren recipe. In pursuit of this trial, I thoroughly enjoyed untangling the charming medley of flavor that was coming through the pipe for the extended smoking session.

As I suggested, 7 Seas Royal overall is a polished creation, and it does well in exemplifying classical Mac Baren quality. This mixture to be suitably tame in terms of rambunctious aromatic vibrato. Although possessed by an inherent sweetness shaping its prevailing character, the degree of concentration of the same is decidedly posh in makeup. Subsequent, ample opportunity is given to relish plenty of the natural tobacco flavorings is properly facilitated with this one. In the end, I deem the mild temperament of this blend as a feasible crossover for even the most fastidious pipe smoker’s simple enjoyment.

What you get is a nice buttery undertone in the composition that accentuates the gentle sweetness of the blend. On the whole, this blend counters as delectably toasty and mellowed in mood for a typical aromatic. As I have suggested the native tobacco element is a critical feature. In fact, they are nuanced quite splendidly as their flavor attributes move about in a stimulating fashion. This latter aspect really comes into the folds as one gets further into the bowl.

So, what is 7 Seas Royal’s celebratory taste you are wondering? The principal feature rotates forward as a lighter vanilla cream stylishly melded with deliberate warming honey, sugary maple overtones and drops of fleeting buried caramel. Additionally, leading top note accenting renders a graceful fruity melody. To me this registration is suggestive of a mix between a citrusy melon-like mango and a type of sweeter berry that falls somewhere between a blackberry and a blue one, not sure exactly which.

Finally, something coyishly circulates within the trailing highlights that is reminiscent of a subtly sweet vintage, you know like a delicate thin white table wine; sweet, tannic, and florid. Call it Gewurztraminer, Riesling or what you may there is definitely a touch influencing the background quality. Naturally, this intriguing mélange of variable taste representations, endows a blended base flavor note that is quite imaginative.

As a formality, the primary base obviously is the Virginia, which distinguishes 7 Seas blends as uniquely European in origin. Mac Baren claims that this results in a softened registration. Nonetheless, the Virginia’s character is quite readable and presents itself as habitually tangy citrus with a lesser chase of grassiness. It tends to grow more floral and sprucy as the bowl progresses, which serves to enliven the smoking adventure. However, there is a low grade of Red leaf woodiness that marginally emerges with supporting darker ambience as well.

Riding mid-stream, the Burley shows its presence in a not too overly aggressive manner. The complementing effect of the strain enters with a basic sugared almond like humor. Furthermore, there is an introduction of passive sourly tart and darker herbal tones that resonant within the chording harmony of the extended flavor. Last, as the bowl does progress, a dimmer ornamentation formed by deep cocoa notes pops quite noticeably as a final delectation of the varietal’s assisting effort.

And last but not least, the Cavendish being Cavendish enters with a bit of charry wooded zest and traces of sugared casing. With its very smoking constitution the leaf provides an ideal medium for generating added thickness to the body of the mixture while fusing the smoothness of all the different elements converging within the recipe. One of the nicest aspects of this particular blend is that Mac Baren’s craftmanship affords an ideal containment of the Cavendish as it can often present an overriding influence that flattens the bowl ending taste profile.

As expected, the room note shows a sophisticated air. Its urbane fragrance delightfully fills the chamber with just a lovely nose of mixed butter sweet seasonings supplimented by a pleasant line of darker native tart and tempered wood. As the perfume is not so bold, I judge that its influence would be accepting to most. Furthermore, the smoke plumage is quite beefy due to the Cavendish content. No bite and no rough edges. Give this Mac Baren delight a try as it is a model little aromatic treat. I score it at 3.0 Pipes.

Another fairly basic aromatic in the Seven Seas series.

Just like the others, this doesn't cause any "wowszers" feelings either. The pouch note is probably it's best feature, it's very nice without being over the top with the toppings (the amount of Cavendish seems to have been held back enough that it's clearly detectable, yet not dominating) The smoke is smooth, mellow and OK, but that's about it; there's nothing bad about this blend, but nothing at all that would entice me to buy it again either. It's a run of the mill basic aromatic, a little bit old-fashioned even; no more, no less.

Would buy again, but only for want of a better/more interesting alternative.

EDIT: Still curious to try the other two as well, whenever I get the chance, especially Black which seems to be a pure Virginia blend.

For me a little , but noticeable step forward from the regular 7 Seas.. It has a more "right-oriented" sweetness, tending much more to cocoa and a just little vanilla (while the regular has honestly too much vanilla taste).

It's enjoyable smoke to be an aromatic, looks a newbie good choice for after breakfast or after coffee time.

Compared to the Mac Baren Scottish Mixture it burns much less and while is a bit less creamy as well, it offers a good general satisfaction while smoking. It needed to be relighted a few times. No tongue bite detected , even if smoked quite fast. Smooth.

I am not usually an aromatic smoker, and I tend to gravitate towards heavy Latakia mixtures or Va/Per flakes. But once in a while, I get a sweet tooth, and for those occasions I am VERY picky. You see, I find most aromatics to be harsh, cardboardy, and that the pouch aroma rarely translates into a taste that's more than hot and bland steam.

Well, as it often happens with Mac Baren, this is one of the GOOD aromatics. Quality tobacco base (with reasonable body, no harshness, and actually quite enjoyable as a background even if the flavoring dominates), nice flavoring that actually translates to the taste, and good combustion: no goopiness, no wetness, few relights.

Ok, this is definitely for those who like candy-flavoured smoke: fruity, creamy, good interplay of peaches/apricots/plums with a touch of sourness, and of a chocolate/vanilla/whatever. I consider it a slightly toned down and less extreme version of Mac Baren's own (excellent) Cube. So if you are looking for something that tastes of tobacco with just some minor flavoring, stay away and choose for example something else like Mac Baren's Classic Roll Cake (which strikes a great balance between vanilla and tobacco). If you like it sweet and pastry-like... well, this is a very good choice, probably one of the best.

A decent pouch aromatic.

Smokes cool, doesn't need relighting often. Smoke slowly for the most flavor. Quite smooth with a pleasant honey and vanilla taste.

There, now it's over 25 words.

First, this is not a clone of Captain Black Royal. The 7 Seas Regular fits that description better. This blend is intended to stand on its' own. This is one the few aromatic that does not rely on flavors like cherry, vanilla, caramel, or rum to make it an aromatic. The Virginia based Cavendish and some Burleys do the job. Now, there is a slight honey/vanilla topping, but it is applied with a very light hand. The wife says that it is nice, but not one of er favorites to smell. The taste is mellow and really needs to be sipped to enjoy the complexity. When pushed, it just tastes bland. As you go through the bowl, the sweetness fades even more and the quality tobaccos really shine. This seems to me to be a Summer smoke, though I am trying it as Winter is approaching. There is almost no after-taste. And, the ash is fine and jumps out of the bowl. Everything I have listed above show the quality of Virginia tobacco. The nicotine level is low. Sometimes, when I smoke this I feel I could really go for a smoke when this is over. It goes great with tea, but coffee drowns the taste out. In all, if you want an aromatic, but do not want confections, htis is worth a try.