Mac Baren 7 Seas Red Blend

The cherry topping has some richness and a mild tartness, but also a mildly distracting syrup note. By design, it sublimates the tobaccos, but I did get a light toasted nut, earth and molasses from the burleys. The gold Virginias are a little grassy with a fair amount of citrus. I barely notice the black cavendish, so it must be unsweetened, and used to add some smoothness to the blend. Has just a little nicotine. Won’t bite even if pushed. Moist out of the tin, it needs just a little dry time. Burns slow and requires some relights. Despite that syrup note, it’s very smooth as it burns cool and a little creamy with a consistent flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no goop. Has a pleasant after taste and better room note for those who love the smell of cherry.

-JimInks

If you've smoked Middleton's Cherry Blend, then you will get the comparison here because 7 Seas Cherry is similar. The flavor is not overpowering and the smoke is cool (especially for an aromatic). The strength of this blend surprised me, probably due to the Burley (and Mac Baren's Burley is always top-shelf). Like Middleton's Cherry, this is not an overly sweet cherry flavor and frankly, struck me as a little on the tart side. Good smoke.

Pipestud

This isn't your grandpa's cherry. It's a more tart tasting wild cherry flavour instead of the ever popular sweet marachino cherry flavouring. Definately a change of pace for the flavour. As with a lot of MacB blends it was a bit on the moist side in the tin. It packed wonderfully and burnt very well however. The wild cherries flavouring came through at just the right amount. Not overly powerful or completely unnoticed. Didn't get any tongue bite. Just a wonderful change of pace from the usual cherry blend. A good anytime smoke that should please both you and the Mrs.

This tobacco isn't your typical cherry cough drop flavour variety. I get a woodsy, natural tart cherry flavour when smoking it. Yes, it actually tastes like it smells. It's a bit sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. The cherry flavour remains throughout most of the bowl. About halfway through the bowl, the woodsy flavour starts to come through more prominently- complimenting the cherry flavour nicely. Room note is a bit more subdued compared to Seven Seas Regular and Royal, but is still very nice. Interestingly, one can still distinctly smell the pleasant cherry room note the next day after smoking. You will also get a nice little nicotine hit at the bottom of the bowl. If you are looking for a nice cherry blend that tastes natural and isn't too overpowering, then this tobacco is for you.

**Minus two stars because this blend really isn't an all-day smoke. Even after proper drying, it still starts to burn my tongue after 3 or 4 bowls. It would be better if they put less propylene glycol on it like Amphora Red and Rich Aroma blends. Hey MacBaren, lay off the PG!**

Proper dryness and air flow is the secret to getting the most out of this tobacco (and most aromatics). Here's a step-by-step guide on how I recommend smoking it:

1. Properly dry it out. Upon first opening a new pouch, the tobacco will be quite moist. It should be dried some before smoking. I dump the full pouch out on a large plate and spread it thin. I then microwave it on high setting for ~30 seconds. After that, I remove the plate from the microwave and let it air cool for about 45 minutes (more humid conditions will require a longer drying time). Then back into the pouch it goes. This drying out process only needs to be done once for each newly-opened pouch.

2. Gravity fill your pipe just below the top of the bowl. (I recommend unfiltered half-bent pipes for a cooler and more flavourful smoke). When I say gravity fill, I mean dumping the tobacco into the pipe. No packing or pushing. None. Zero. Now after the first gravity fill, lightly tamp the tobacco using only the weight of the tamper. Now gravity fill again a second time to just below the top of the bowl. By filling the pipe this way, you will get maximum air flow. The tobacco will burn better, and the smoke will be cooler and more flavorful.

3. Light the bowl. It will require two or three charring lights. After the second or third charring light, lightly tamp the tobacco down only using the weight of the tamper. Don't push it. Now light it again and it should stay lit for quite a while. I find that matches work best for the charring lights.

4. Dump ash as needed, but don't push down hard with the tamper. Only use tamper weight.

5. Stir it. Near the bottom of the bowl, you may need to stir the tobacco up a bit to burn the last of it.

This pleasant tobacco does ghosts pipes badly (as do all cherry blends). A pipe dedicated specifically to cherry blends is the way to go.

I'll keep this short and sweet. Upon opening the tin, you get very lovely notes of berries. I didn't detect anything I would classify as cherry however, more of a tart cranberry smell to be honest. The moisture content straight out of the tin is really quite dry for an aromatic, but I let it dry on a paper towel for 15 minutes before packing my corncob, using Frank's method. After having done the charring light and 2 more lights with a gentle tampering between them, the first thing I noticed was a buttery pancake syrup kind of taste with some tart berry flavour making a subtle appearance on the middle of the tongue. I had no issues with bite or having to relight the tobacco again until the end of the bowl. It burned very clean and dry for an aromatic. It had a mild but assertive tobacco flavour throughout the bowl, and the sweet buttery pancake syrup flavour remained consistent throughout the entire bowl. Smoking this blend slowly will allow for the tasty underlying flavours to come through. All in all, I recommend this tobacco. It is a very solid, beautifully burning high quality aromatic that will please the crowds as well as your sweet tooth. Happy smoking!

The best cherry blend I have tried out of - borkum cherry cavendish (ugh - bitter low quality very weak topping but the new version is better than the old), borkum cherry liquer (not bad but very weak topping), SG black cherry (not bad), mcKlintock wild cherry (not bad). This one gets 4 stars because I want to taste cherry. Every other cherry I have tried just doesn't give me the sweet fizzy strong cherry blast I am looking for, which 7 seas delivers, all the way to the bottom of the bowl (more like raspberry actually), while still being able to taste the above average quality tobacco. What all aromatics should be modeled after.

My only criticism is that it comes in a 40g pouch instead of a 50g tin.

Wow a first review!

Don't worry, I haven't got a lot to say about this new 7 Seas Cherry blend. I will say it doesn't bite or gurgle, it tastes ok for what it is, and it isn't overly pungent in casing or topping.

I suppose you could call it a 'bland' cherry aromatic which isn't overly offensive. The room note wasn't as pleasant as I thought it was going to be, and I was informed of this by a nearby passive observer.

There are better cherry blends out there if this kinda thing is your bag.

(2.3 out of 5)

Mac Baren - 7 Seas Red Blend.

Note: an early review which needed rewriting.

Contains much less black Cavendish than Virginia and Burley, and the aroma's potent with cherry. The ribbons are quite coarse.

The tobaccos are mainly VaBur, the black Cavendish is 'subtle' to say the least. Regarding the cherry topping, the words sugary and false spring to mind, especially when retro-haled. It burns ok providing it's well maintained, but darn, it bites me. A big dollop of vanilla would be an amelioration to 7SRB.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: pleasant.

7 Seas Red Blend? Not particularly good. Somewhat recommended:

Two stars.

I've been trying all the 7 Seas blends and reviewing them.

I'm a Mac Baren fan, and I love aromatics. I've never been much for fruity aros however, preferring good vanilla blends. That said...

I have been working on this tin for about three months. "Working" on it, as in, I am not sure if I can finish it. The tobacco lacks character and flavor. Usually MacB uses some very good toppings, but this does not seem to be the case here. It seems to taste more of chemicals and harshness than of cherries. The tobacco is passable at the match, but as the bowl wears on, the flavors get muddied and harsh and leaves a hot and sour taste in my mouth. Room note is inoffensive, but not worth working your way through the bowl. I'm not a fan of this blend, will not buy it again, and would not recommend it. It's rare for MacB to miss the mark this badly.

I have a huge amount of respect for this Seven Seas range. What I am now calling the UK version of Captain Black.

Be interesting if CB do a cherry...

Cherry blends can be ghastly.

They range from the strong, harsh and hideous like Borkum Riff to the insipid and indigestion-inducing of Gawiths' Cherry.

This is somewhere in between I suppose. It has the usual fruity pouch aroma you'd expect and the first draw promises much.

The taste lingers throughout but it's an absolute sod to keep lit so it ends up getting a little sour.

I had no comment on the room note which surprised me.

Certainly well worth trying if cherry's your thing and definitely worth having in your collection. The best cherry I've tried so far.