Mac Baren Three Nuns (pouch version)

Before I start this review this NOT the spun cut version available in the U. S AND Europe. This is basically a fluffy shag cut.

Opening the pouch I swear this smells exactly the same as borkum riff bourbon. It has that same maltiness, biscuit sweet over tone

Packing is easy enough and takes to the flame readily. What you get at the start is what you get at the end is a nice slightly sweet smoking experience. Nicotine is quite mild so it won't put you on your back and the Virginia's burley and kentucky pops up from time to time to add a different dimension but it isn't complex by any stretch of the imagination, I would even go as far to say it will be a nice Introduction to a new smoker.

Stays cool and doesn't bite unless pushed, room note is fairly decent my other half didn't turn her nose up and it shouldn't do with most.

All in all its a pleasant enough tobacco, I can't see me stockpiling it, but it is a decent enough otc. If I was out and about and no tobacco I would certainly pick this over the current incarnation of condor but I wouldn't pick it over st bruno or ennerdale.

Don't get me wrong it's not bad by any stretch it just doesn't get me jumping for joy when k smoke it.

Glad I tried it though.

I would say two and a half stars but would be unfair to only award two stars so I'll give it three.

Edit to add 8th April 2020.

I have to say the more I smoke this the more I enjoy it. While it isn't the most complex , smoking it in a dedicated pipe really brings out the nice flavours, biscuit sweet, a slight maltiness and a nice whiskey overtone. While I won't stockpile it I will definitely buy again.

Having the best opinion about the tinnned blend i purchassed the pouch version.once the seal breaks a nice arοma combined from spices,nuts molasses and fruits comes out.the blend moisture is low so packing and lighting is easy.while smoking the flavours are nice and pleasant.the virginias are citrusy,fruity with some bread notes.some sweet and dark fruit notes also pop up rare.the kentucky burleys are spicy,nutty with some molasses and florall essenses.the compoments combine well and and there is a balance between them.burns cool and fast to total ash.the nicotine level is almost medium and a bit moisture is being created at the end of the bowl.the room note is ok.no tongue bite appeared for me.an all day blend.now in comparison with the tinned version i found a lack of taste,the nicotine level is lower,the burning quicker and generally a less satysfying blend.i recommend it and i will rate it as a different tobacco.

50g UK pouch.

Contents: Mottled tan, brown, black ribbon/rough cut ready rubbed. Moisture is about right and on the dry side; this doesn't need to be wet.

Have been smoking this on and off for about 4-5 years.. I have never tasted the tin version or the past incarnations.

Three nuns pouch is quite a brash smokey smoke; great indoors or outside in the dreariest cold weathe;r it comes through full in taste be it fog or frost.. I wouldn't recommend it for windy conditions though.

Takes light easy and gives a full taste smoke. Nicotine is medium to full.

Taste: A woody cedar, malted digestive biscuits, Black pepper, Brown sugar , Chickory /natural liquorice root (the twigs not the confection.. Has a kind of red Virginian tang with a french mustard hotness meets leather body with the darker treacle-esque and burnt malt condiment.. This is quite a spicy smoke ,almost latakian but in a different way.. Once into the sweet zone it developes a toasted fruit malt loaf and hazelnut / nutmeggy buttery creaminess. On the smokey character which is the Kentucky; it has a latakian way about it but its more of a peated smoke; like a natural tasting property of the leaf, slightly like Laphroaig single malt. Its a kentucky like a peat smoked latakia..

Its a hottish burner and also quicker than some but not by a massive margin. It will only extinguish if you don't pay attention..

This is one of those tobacco's that taught me the art of pipe smoking more than any other because I really wanted to like this one but had difficulty in the beginning of taming it.. It can bite if abused, but also I have found that the bite is not immediate but arrives at the end of the day after smoking many bowls..

I tried every gimmick pipe to get it right; clays, pyrolytic graphite and bakelites, meerschaum lined etc : I was breaking in many pipes at the same time with different tobacco's at the time, and so it took me a while to realise the virtues of a caked bowl because I hadn't been able to generate one yet;- Three Nuns pouch likes a well caked briar bowl because it seems to neutralize most of the potential bite factor..

I am now able to enjoy this in my favourite falcon pipe with a regular briar bowl.

Three Nuns pouch smokes just as well dry or moist really.. I found in the early days that drying the pouch removed some of the propensity to nip without sacrificing the integrity of the smoke.. Its convenient that you don't have to jar this one to preserve it.

I don't detect any applied casings or topping,i feel that what you get is basically the tobacco.. If there is any humectant at all it is not really detected.

I have to concur with somebody below about the magic way in which this Three Nuns pouch although a new recipe, conjures a feeling and vibe that it has been around for decades already.. It tastes so much like an old school classic no nonsence british OTC; kind of like clan meets walnut flake and condor or something. The old woody meaty aroma evokes a real sensation of false nostalgia which doesn't really make me wish to try the old recipe in case it disapoints me. This Three Nuns pouch tastes like an original even if it isn't.

I have mixed in a pinch of some Gawith & Hoggarth blending perique a few times with this blend to kind of invent in my imagination what I imagine the original recipe was like ; no doubt the original was probably different than my attempt at creating my own nostaligia for the untried original but;-

But i will say though;- that adding perique doesn't do anything significant to enrich this blend; it only changes it ,thickens it with a slight plummyness but muddies and mutes the malty properties that I like so much in the standard pouch.. Although the UK pouch has no perique in it, it has quite a black peppery aroma that is more pronounced than many aged vapers I have smoked.

Aging doesn't seem to change much in this blend really; that is partly because I leave my jarred stash open 1st to dry it anyway, but even in the pouches I have opened a year later it doesn't taste noticeably different to fresh ones.There isn't really anything wrong with the recipe where I feel it warrants any deliberate aging.. Its like condor; its ready to go.

Goes really well with a simple cup of tea and a biscuit.

Totally worth 3 stars for what it basically is and what it magically imitates in my false nostalgia syndrome whilst smoking it..

I spotted this when buying some Marlin flake at my local tobacconist so decided to give it a go. When I got home my heart sank. As I took the pouch out of the bag it felt like it contained Shredded wheat, goodness knows how long it had been on the shelf. I pressed ahead and tried it expecting the worst.Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find a perfectly acceptable smoke with a subtle sweetish flavour. Of course it burned down the bowl a little too quickly owing to the dryness but I was impressed. " I must get a fresh pouch of this to compare" I thought and duly ordered one online. It arrived, moisture content as it should be, and I fired a bowl up. Hmmm, no nice sweet tones greeted me this time and though it behaved itself bite wise it offered nothing that would make it a regular purchase. I even dried it out hoping to recapture the glory of the previous pouch to no avail. I'd say this is not too bad "cooking" tobacco, a step up from Clan but only just. It certainly got me thinking about how the nature of tobacco can change due to ageing, moisture content , which pipe is used - there are so many variables and that is part of the fun of this hobby.

oh dear i took the plunge and bought a 50g pouch of this and i wish i didn't, where the idea of 'none nicer' fits into it i will never know, the aroma is quite nice in the pouch but that's it. its tasteless to me but its easy to keep lit, i wont be buying this again, but i do enjoy going through tobaccos and finding the bad ones and the nice ones but this for me is a bad one, i will finish the pouch and move on.

Very nice smoke. Lots of tastes and defiantly one I would recommend. Not very good at staying light but I may of smoked it a little to wet so make sure it's dry before smoking it.

One I smoked years ago and never came back to, I've stumbled across my notes from 2007 so will share my thoughts. It was something you used to find in corner shops, not seen it in years now though.

It's mostly ribbon cut, pale and medium browns, with a few flake fragments and a smidgen of darker leaf. It had a nutty, natural tobacco aroma and I couldn't detect any flavourings. It lit and burned with great ease, and offered a dry, cigar like flavour which developed into an astringent, nutty taste. It didn't offer any more complexity and the flavour was the same throughout the bowl. It did tend to become a little ashy towards the end.

I wasn't very enamored of it and never bought it again.

Before I start this review this NOT the spun cut version available in the U. S AND Europe. This is basically a fluffy shag cut.

Opening the pouch I swear this smells exactly the same as borkum riff bourbon. It has that same maltiness, biscuit sweet over tone

Packing is easy enough and takes to the flame readily. What you get at the start is what you get at the end is a nice slightly sweet smoking experience. Nicotine is quite mild so it won't out you on your back and the Virginia's burley and kentucky pops up from time to time to add a different dimension but it isn't complex by any stretch of the imagination, I would even go as far to say it will be a nice I troduc5ion to a new smoker.

Stays cool and doesn't bite unless pushed, room not is fairly decent my other half didn't turn her nose up and it shouldn't most.

All in all its a pleasant enough tobacco, I can't see me stockpiling it, but it is a decent enough otc. If I was out and about and no tobacco I would certainly pick this over the current incarnation of condor but I wouldn't pick it over st bruno or ennerdale.

Don't get me wrong it's not bad by any stretch it just doesn't get me jumping for joy when k smoke it.

Glad I tried it though.

I would say two and a half stars but would be unfair to only award two stars so I'll give it three.

I remember when this famous blend was available OTC in corner shops and supermarkets.

Indeed I won't be the first reviewer to say that the aroma coming out of this pouch sends me way back to the 70's when I remember old codgers smoking this.

It's an interesting brew that seems to fit snugly between the plain virginias and the lighter aromatics.

An excellent satisfying smoke with plenty of sweetish caramel/butterscotch taste, which stays fairly constantly throughout. It needs quite a few relights and is best in a bigger volume bowl. I have also found it burns down very quickly, so a 15-20 minute sitting will see off a bowl quite easily.

I will certainly pick this up whenever I come across it, even though it gets a bit samey towards the end of the pouch.