Mac Baren HH Highland Blend

I love a lot of the Mac Baren offerings and I'm still scratching my head over why HH Highland Blend passed the company's taste test but was then discontinued. Did their brewery shut down causing them to lose their pipeline to Glenfarclas Whiskey (whatever the heck that is?) Nice overall presentation of Whiskey that was misted sparingly, but enough of it to enhance the balance of the blend. Provides a unique smoking experience.

Pipestud

I just recently finished a sample of this I got a few years ago. I remember tasting it once, thinking to myself "meh", jarring it and putting it onto a shelf where it got buried. Recently I have been on a mission to finish most of my open containers, so I revisited it and was much more impressed with it this time.

I have found I am not a big fan of blends flavored with whiskey even though it is always my first choice of adult beverage. That said, a couple do stand out, notably Peterson's Irish Whiskey and McClelland's 35th anniversary. I would put this above those two which is odd as Scotch is usually my last choice of whiskey. A whiff of scotch usually brings back ill memories of raiding my dad's bar when I didn't know what I was doing as a kid. These adventures invariably led a to vomiting.

So with that said, I was actually very pleased with the tin note of HHHB. It is funny as it is undoubtedly a scotch aroma, but mixed with the various tobacco leafs it is a very pleasant aroma that I could sniff for hours. The blend smokes nice, albeit a little hot if you are not cautious. It has a very sweet aroma with a touch of smoke, which I had assumed to be coming from the scotch, before I realized there is a touch of Latakia. It is added condimentally. The star in this one is certainly the scotch and maybe the burley.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed the bowls I had and am now disappointed I didn't stock up on this one before it got discontinued.

I really like this, and am sad to hear they are discontinuing it.

It deserves to be in the HH line, its much higher quality than the Classic or 7 Seas series.

Quite rich, its VA forward with the Lat in the background, and the Glenfarclas casing is very nicely done. It smokes cool, very rich aroma and I would call this crossover rather than full aro as the tobacco components are more of the draw than the casing.

The Lat adds creamy and rich consistency, but the smokiness is kept at bay, the VA's warm up and bring some sweetness into the fold, the whiskey also warms up and comes across as deep and peaty.

Delightful, all round.

Don't know why it gets such visceral dislike from some quarters. I didn't think it was chemical or cloying at all.

The HH blends are truly a different animal from other Mac Baren products, and this is no exception. Reviewers which are lumping this in with other non-HH Mac Baren products are really not giving these blends a fair or objective look, because they are distinctively different and Mac Baren makes no bones about that. I am not saying that they are inherently better or worse, but they are not prepared in the same vein, and it is simply inaccurate to review them as if they are. The HH blends focus heavily on the flavors of the constituent tobaccos used in the mixture, and have little to none of the typical Mac Baren casing which flavors many of their other blends, and gives them their Mac Baren character, for better or worse. As a result, the HH line is nothing like other blends such as Roll Cake or Club Blend.

Both within Mac Baren, and in general, I would urge everyone to take each review with a grain of salt and try things yourself before you write something off based on the palate of another. Sometimes the difference of a pipe or humidity level can make a world of difference in the smoking experience and taste, and this should also not be forgotten. My experience are that Mac Baren blends are not for the beginning smoker, meaning someone who has not learned to control their rate of puffing, moisture level, packing, and relighting. Many are very good blends, but if you take them straight from the tin to the pipe, and light and puff heavily and frequently, you are indeed likely to get some, or a lot, of tongue bite. If you take your time, however, and dry them to a lower moisture level before lighting up, you will be rewarded.

This is not my favorite HH blend - that accolade goes to the Acadian Perique, which I find both delicious and wonderful to smoke. This mixture, like all of the HH blends, is a blend of several tobaccos, and is only lightly cased with the whiskey. It packs easily in the bowl without much tamping, and lights and burns readily. I find it a little spicy at the beginning, and mellows as things move along. As others have noted, I do not taste the whiskey as much as I smell it in the tin. It does offer a nice rich mixture of virginias and latakia, with something extra, perhaps from the whiskey, perhaps from the dark kentucky. It is a cool smoke, but is more likely to bite in my estimation if you are careless than either Acadian Perique or Vintage Syrian.

I do not find this an out of this world, best of the best blend, but it is a very fine quality and enjoyable smoke. The HH blends really show what Mac Baren is capable of when it steps away from the usual cased virginia and burley offerings. Both Acadian Perique and Vintage Syrian are "better" in my estimation, but this is a good study in contrast, and definitely has its own flavor.

*** I just wanted to offer an update and say that, now that my tin is a million years old it is so, so much better than what it used to be. The blend originally to me had a sharp flavor (not tongue bite, but just an sharpness that detracted from the flavor) and did not seem cohesive on my palette. That has all changed. It is now much mellower and richer, the sharpness is gone, and it offers a well rounded tobacco flavor with a hint of whiskey. I am going to smoke more of it now in various pipes to see how this holds, but It seems like good things are happening. of course, one could argue that if you have to wait 6-8 years for a blend to become truly tasty, then that is not worth the wait, but it is, trust me it is.

Overall Highland Blend is a pleasant tobacco. Even if it is flavoured with scotch whiskey, I cannot help but compare it to Plumcake; the basic tobaccos are rather similar, for the exception that HB has more backbone in terms of richness, strength and tobacco taste. HB is well balanced, smokes easy and offers a combination of sweet, spicy and smoky tasting experience. I will buy again when I seek a milder tobacco as a change of pace.

I see this has some mixed reviews... I have to say, I am a fan of this. I have not tried everything in the MacB lineup, but this is my favorite so far. I prefer this to Club blend and Dark Twist by a long shot. Not to mention its way cheaper in bulk than those two highly regarded tins. I find this to be very complex, not overbearing with the casing and just a nice change of pace. Room note is a bit of a problem with the wife, but I love it. Just put your nose down in a pouch of this and it gets the blood flowing. A really nice blend that is a keeper for me.

I was really keen on trying this stuff and i am glad i did.Afther 150 gramm I can say , this baccy entertaint me very well ,but I have no decision about it. First i have to say, i have seldom tongue bite and also HB bite not really but it is a bit harsh, I smoke it sometimes with filter which i never do with my favourits. But the mix of an english blend in addition with the whisky give a delicious smoke.Let it air for a few minutes and sip it and you get sweet spicy event which i was looking at for long. The only minus is the harshness due the flavour. 3 Stars

Like PipeNosher, I too got a sample pack of this blend when i ordered a Brand New Peterson Kapet pipe from smokingpipes.Opening the packet,the aroma just hit me.A little Musky,smoky and smells like a forest early in the morning in the summertime.I'm not really particular on English blends + it's not really my cup of tea but since it came in w/ my pipe free,Hell why not try it? I had a past experience tasting an English blend namely Northwoods when i ordered some from J.M.Boswell and i almost coughed trying to smoke their stuff!Smoking this MacBaren, It's a lot milder than the Northwoods and More tolerable. I smoked it a little bit more and i have to say:I'm really starting to like this blend! So far, it's in my tobacco line up rotation whenever i have the mood to smoke an English.Good tobacco i must say after 3 bowls & now keeping a 2oz. In standby. If you like Aromatics and curious to try an English blend,here's the stuff to start.

I am in fully agree with marosi, the HH series are unlike regular line MacBarens. The flavoring in this tobacco is wonderful and compliments the tobacco well. I really admired the cut of this tobacco; a very rustic consistency. I found it tangy and robust without being overbearing. Unlike regular line MacBarens I have no problem with tongue bite from this tobacco. Would really recommend this. Great change of pace.