Mac Baren 7 Seas Black Blend

Apologies for the longwinded review, but this blend means a lot to me.

This was the first blend where I finally "got it." I started smoking a pipe in college but never really stuck with it because I didn't know what I was doing and therefore had a pipe always going out with a burnt up mouth.

Years would pass. I held onto my pipes for that off chance I'd smoke it on a camping trip, but I'd go through moments telling myself to sell them off. Eventually I bought a house and thought a good way to celebrate would be to sit on the back porch and burn some Mac Baren Mixture flake on a summer's evening. Hey, this is actually pretty nice! I forgot how pleasant this could be. Maybe I'll head to the tobacconist and pick up something new.

Since first trying the pipe, I've always been chasing that smell of when my dad would fire up a bowl of Argosy Black once in a blue moon. That first day I bought a pipe, I went from jar to jar smelling to see if I could find that comforting aroma but didn't find it. Each time I bought a new blend I'd be searching for that smell. It wasn't until some 10 years after that first time - when I bought the house - that I found that smell. It was inside a jar filled to the brim with 7 Seas Black.

The blend is chunky and can be a little troublesome to pack, but it smokes easy no matter what. I can usually get it going after 3-5 matches with no relights. It's easy to puff on, doesn't get too hot and never bites. The smoke is thick and satisfying with a pleasantly sweet licorice/anise flavor but is not overpowering. The room note is warming and nostalgic for those around you.

In summary, this blend was the first that I had that was easy to smoke and full of flavor. It helped me understand and appreciate the hobby better. Despite that, I only give it three stars as there's one downside: it's a pretty wet blend and the bottom of your pipe will be a sticky mess so good luck getting a full bowl's worth of enjoyment. It's still one of my favorites, though.

This was my 2nd wholly underwhelming experience with a Mac Baren tobacco & it will probably be my last. I wish I could get 1% of what's described but there's just nothing there beyond a wonderfully full, mouth watering aroma when you first open the bag. Then, nothing but disappointment. I wanted very much to experience all of the great things that describe this blend & in an effort to do so I tried it every way I could think of. I smoked it fresh & moist, dried & stale, barely lit & burned to death. I smoked it tight packed & lose packed in cheap cobs & nice Savinellis, filtered & unfiltered. I puffed like a freight train & slow smoked it all day long with the same results...a pleasant but mild room note & a tasteless disappointing smoke that I could've gotten from a bag of budget tobacco bought at my local gas station.

I thought that this was the worst of the 7 seas blend. The taste was just flat to me. I also got a mild tongue bite from it. The tin and room note are awesome. It just does not translate to the smoker.

Bought this in order to try out something other than the 3 different English-style blends I initially bought when I decided to try pipe smoking (S&G Squadron Leader, Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, Peterson's Old Dublin).

Opening the pouch, I was hit with the smell of raisins and plum. The smell of the "raw" tobacco is very strong and honestly, quite delicious. The tobacco itself is a uniform black, decently ribbon-cut, and my pouch was quite wet initially. Even now, 6 months down the line of pouch storage, the tobacco is a bit damp and sticky.

Lighting up the tobacco, it becomes readily apparent that while it had a very rich pouch aroma, almost none of that sweetness and fruit flavor carries over into the smoke. The tobacco tends to smoke hot, it leaves an acrid aftertaste on the back of the throat (none of the 3 blends I mentioned above do that for me), and it leaves a sticky mess in the pipe bowl after smoking. There were also a few instances of water buildup in the bottom of the pipe causing gurgling and at least once case of getting condensation into my mouth (it might have been more than once, but my brain has blocked out the traumatic memory, bleh!).

All in all, this tobacco is really more well-suited to working as an air freshener than for smoking, in my opinion. It smells great in the pouch, but smoking it has, every time I've tried it, been disappointing for me.

A very pleasant aromatic. Stir up the tin and leave to dry for a few days. A bit of chocolate, rum, light tasting liquors. Very pleasant room note as you’d expect. Take your time with this one. You get the tobacco taste halfway into the bowl. Sweet but not cloyingly so. Without drying there will be a need to re light often.

Come sail away, ye crusty dogs and sissy-pants lubbers! Lock the golden ear hoops, fasten them tartan bonnets, and for heaven’s sake lash those fancy boy kerchiefs tightly about, ye ill-mannered scallywags! We ride out the rolling swell aboard the sloop Mac Baren. Make merry the halyard and steady the capstan (oops that’s a Virginia) our charter takes us into the abyss of the 7 Seas Black, a dainty coarse cut bounty dark as midnight upon the rocking crests. Yarrr!

Now that Roger has been made jolly, entering the port, a smoking cob full of Mac Baren 7 Seas Black a steely 100% Black Cavendish wonder buried within a treasure chest of flavorful additives. A palate’s share for the looting featuring Italian Amaretto, chocolate, spicy licorice, vanilla, and a few other hidden jewels, make this blend a lonely mate’s seafaring sweetheart.

The tobacco itself is highly pliable yet pouch-ready dry for immediate enjoyment. Carrying a somewhat cultured essence, 7 Seas Black musters a general feeling spicy refined sweetness. Central to its aroma is an inviting fruity liqueur eased with a congealed bitterness. Prominent accenting perfumes motion forward in the form of soft cocoa/vanilla, dark coffee, placid licorice, a bit of soiled nuttiness and very remote native sour tart grass. A very gracious presentation by comparative aromatic standards.

Objectively this mixture has a smooth tooth and well-manicured overall taste profile. Mild with respect to intensity yet rich in delighting presence. Principally the additive flavorings dominant the registration for the entirety of the smoke. Nothing overbearing or ruttishly tacky by any means, but rather polished and balanced with consistent precision; impressive to say the least.

Drink up me hearties, as the leading Amaretto note endows the classic taste of a fine matured liqueur. Namely, a cordial-like presentation of sweet creamy fruitiness and dulled alcohol spice emanates. Nuances of gentle buttery almond, peachy-apricot, and passive cherry finish the leading characterization. Further amorous embellishment is favored by the bittersweet spice of licorice, medium-roast coffee, diluted chocolate/vanilla, and some basic sugar. On the bottom, one can anchor traces of native Cavendish in doting tones of earthy tart and tangy wood/grass. Ahoy!

As tobacco burns, this one is comfortably cool, silky, and level in its consumption. Ample clouds of prosperous blue smoke are emitted offering an amiable sweeter spice that catches the fancy. Tis certain Blackbeard would have yo-ho’d this one with his bottle of rum. No bite or chemical poisoning nonsense is experienced making 7 Seas Black a noteworthy aromatic indulgence. So, follow the bowsprit and climb aboard the poop deck if ye favor a hardy roost on a lively and charming aromatic excursion. 3.3 Pipes

In a word, excellent! MacBaren cavendish has few if any rivals. A brown sugar sweetness that is not so overwhelming that it steal from the other components. A melange of flavors going on here make for a flavorful experience. Can you taste the tobaccos as well? Yes indeed, grassy, nutty and citrus notes only serve to enhance this selection. Not a power bomb of Nicotine, but enough to keep you interested. Mild to medium blend that burns well through the process. Little dottle and not a goopy mess in your bowl! Great aromatic from MacBaren.

2023 EDIT: I will be leaving my original review bellow the dotted line. My original review was taken when I was in-experienced and only tried a handful of blends, this is my review with the blend as I re-purchased some.

The tobacco smells of licorice and vanilla, the vanilla comes through when burning but not the licorice, although if you put this mixture on the bottom 1/4th of your bowl when smoking an english or light-flavoured blend then some of the licorice un-burned does come through; as the smoke passes through it. The cavendish doesn't burn hot but it does give a lot of "hot air" in the mouth, just very humid smoke with little flavour. I'm not a cavendish expert, this may very well be a 10/10 cavendish blend but as of now, compared to all other tobaccos that I've tried, I have to change my review from a 4 to a 2.

The room smell is one of the most pleasant I've ever experienced. It barely smells of tobacco and smells like you lit a vanilla incense. However, as with most mac baren blends, it is very tongue-bitey. Extremely low nicotine content, if you smoke due to addiction you're going to hate this blend. It mixes very well with vapers/vaburs, I personally mix it with chopped up high quality cigars to up the nicotine content. I do not recommend this blend unless you do not like nicotine or are trying to add some vanilla flavouring to another blend you own.

---

This is very much one of my favourite blends. The flavour is not very complex, just kind of "one note vanilla". However, the tobacco burns cool and is smooth, and the room is filled with one of the best aromas I have ever smelled, got lots of compliments from non-smokers about how the room smells like vanilla. Does not burn hot at all and burns very slowly.

This is not the most "complex" blend out there but it is extremely pleasant and one my favourite aromatics!

Finally a winner from the 7 Seas line! After trying and being disappointed by Gold, Regular, and Royal, 7 Seas Black finally gave me what I was looking for. Smooth smoke, mild, but pleasing flavor, and a satisfying bowl.