Mac Baren HH Old Dark Fired

These flakes are beautifully presented in typical MacBaren style - they are a beautiful dark colour like Irish Flake, but seem to be a thinner cut and break apart more easily.

The aroma is a fresh rich earthy densness that just invites you to breath in deeply, hold, and very slowly exhale, before hurrying back for more. This is a quality tobacco, oozing class, but not afraid to rumble if the company requires it.

First bowl I did a fold and stuff in a beautiful Danish acorn, fairly loosely packed (as is my preference). Charring light produced a good quantity of smoke of a fairly solid consistency, full of flavour - a good tobacco honesty, with a healthy dollop of what I think was a virginia sweetness. Let it go out. Sit for a bit and admire the pipe, letting the tobacco rest.

True light and good, dense smoke, with huge amounts of flavour, deep tones, with what I can only describe as a fizzy sweetness coming through. A few draws in and it's out!!! Turns out it's a bit of a devil to keep lit. May be my packing, my smoking technique, the moistness of the flake, or a combo of all three. But, I never fight it, and don't care about having to relight.

The flavour seemed to be fairly consistent all the way down - a beautiful solidity that I can't quite put my finger on, with the sweet virginia singing gently along in accompaniment, maybe a little more softly towards the end.

A beautiful, smooth, strong smoke - immensely satisfying. Absolutely no bite or harshness, even when pushed a little. In fact, it was so good I loaded up immediately and set-to again.

Second bowl was rubbed out fully. It took light very easily, still needed a few relights, but fewer. Again, maybe packing, moistness or method. Reckon it was a bit moist, and I do pack light. I also like my tobaccos to get barely smoldering - gives me more flavour - so I tend to relight a few times anyway.

Fully rubbed out produces a sweeter smoke - but not vastly sweeter. The deep tones are still very much there, just the virginia is a little more forward. Just as smooth, just as gentle as the folded flake. This is completely at odds with the impression the flake gives when removing it from its packaging - it looks strong (it is), rough (nope), harsh (never), ready for anything (I think it is, y'know). This is a smoke you could use all day. Perpetration method produces enough of a difference to suit varying moods.

I think I have really fallen for this tobacco. I like dark, strong tobaccos, but have been getting into light, bright VA's lately. This has definitely drawn me back to the dark side - Irish flake didn't quite manage this and it's a beautiful tobacco - a good glass of mature, full bodied port after a heavy meal - ODF is the Christmas Ale you wish your local brewery made available all year round.

Fantastic burley blend here. I picked up a tin of this on my way to Florida when a fortuitous potty stop brought be within striking distance of a Strauss tobacconists shop. My wife had to let me go in. I purchased a tin of this based on all the good things I had heard about it, but perhaps the most influential part was that many forum friends said it was like Irish Flake. I got this response when asking for a less expensive alternative to IF.

Well other than being in flake form and containing similar leaves, I would say it is not too similar to Irish Flake, but it is very good in its own right. I still like Irish Flake better and am coming to the conclusion it cannot be cheaply replaced. But enough about that. This a review of ODF.

I have tried Burley London Blend and liked it, but I like this one much better. This is a deeper earthier blend. It gives off a chocolatey nutty taste, but not in the cheap topped aromatic sense. It is a very natural tobacco taste. The amount of body in this blend is perfect to my tastes; whereas, I find BLB a little light in that department. This is likely the dark fired Kentucky.

The use of the DFK is great. It doesn't choke you with spice or gum up your mouth requiring a jug of water to get down a group 4 bowl. It can be enjoyed in a contemplative setting on the porch or while doing the busy putzing stuff many of us do with a pipe hanging out of our mouths.

In summary, I will repurchase this often. While it doesn't supplant Irish Flake it is welcome in the rotation and worthy of four stars. I encourage everyone to try it and fill a big jar of it.

To date, this is finest blend of Virginia and Burley I have ever smoked and I couldn't imagine a future Virginia Burley blend improving upon this beauty. The Virginia and Burleys are so well blended they work in PERFECT HARMONY side by side like the rails of a train track transporting the piper to destination Tobacco-topia. You get the warm cocoa buttery Burley and sweet flu cure Va at the same time throughout the whole smoke and not in rotation like other blends.

This is a marvel and as well as a triumph for Mac Baren. This get a 5 out of 4 stars. Walk off home run…. turn out the lights… Highly Recommended.

Update of 2014-12-07: Sitting with my laptop in front of me smoking a bowl of this and feel compelled to say that this is simply GREAT tobacco. Rich, tasty and unobtrusive yet with a very strong and confident personality. Incredibly satisfying and tastefully rich. Damn it's good stuff. So glad I went totally OCD on my orders a few years ago.

I've had a few tins of ODF and it is a consistent and excellent product. Well cured, well blended, well cut and, well, very enjoyable. Packs and burns with ease and to my most important criterion, totally satisfying. I love the taste that seems to swirl around in my mouth between sips and puffs, and the fabulous aftertaste (if that word can be used to connote an asset and not a liability). This tobacco is why I have smoked a pipe for so long now. ODF, and feel free to laugh, makes you feel like a man (and not in the "I just set the record for consuming a gallon of habenero sauce in 6 minutes and now I'm going to puke" kind of way. Along with a few other HH offerings (Mature Virginia comes to mind) MacBaren has come in from the cold and raised the bar. Good for them (and us).

when i saw dark fired i thought of orlik dark fired kentucky. i should have though of toilette paper. opening the tin, there was no aroma what so ever. reviewers complain of the mcclelland virginia "ketchup" smell, not realizing that virginia's ferment and that is the "smell". this tobacco was a zero. no aroma, no taste, zero. i threw the tin in the trash. and i do think mac make some great tobaccos.

Mac Baren has hit one out of the park with HH Old Dark Fired. I recently received two 100gm tins from Iwan Ries. The tin note is pure tobacco and very similar to Irish Flake and Highland Sliced as the flakes are earthy in their smell. They are very dark and tightly pressed as with IrF and HS (tightly pressed flakes is new for a Mac Baren flake) and similar in size to Ir F. They are stacked into three neat rows. They are cut a tad thinned than IrF which makes for easier packing.

The flakes were at a good moisture consistency for packing and lighting. In a blind smoke, I would never ever guess this was from Mac Baren. This is one fine smoke. IrF and HS are two of my favorite tobaccos ever and now I have a third in the same genre. HH ODF has a very rich, natural flavor profile with solid, pure tobacco taste. It exhibits a nice spiciness while smoking. Unlike the spiciness of Perique, there is no pepper notes at all, which is a good thing for me as I don't care for Perique. I don't think there is any casing, and if there is, I can not detect it. It has a healthy dose of nicotine that takes an immediate front row seat. By the way, this offering is a smoother smoke as it doesn't seem to have the harshness I sometimes experience with a bowl of IrF.

I have quite a bit of IrF and HS but I can see myself reaching for this new offering from Mac Baren when I want a rich, pure tobacco smoke. It is simply fantastic in my book. If you like IrF and/or HS, you will not be disappointed at all. I enjoy other Mac Baren tobaccos, but this one is way ahead of the pack and is a major player in the pantheon of fine smoking tobaccos. My hat goes off to the blenders at Mac Barens for introducing such a winner. 10 stars across the board!!

UPDATE 6-9-12: Close to finishing the first of two tins, I will have to ration this as I read on the Mac Baren's website that due to the overwhelming positive response to this new HH blend, Mac can't keep up with demand. They say it is not a question of increasing production, but ODF needs a long time to store. The end result is they don't expect any more supply at the earliest until 2013!

UPDATE 3-6-15: I've been smoking this from a tin that's just going on one year old. It's dried out sufficiently to pose no problems with lighting, staying lit, or other issues that moisture brings to the pipe. The tin note and pre-draw taste through the stem is that of a freshly opened box of yummy raisins - very delicious. As much as I enjoyed this when it was first released, it is just superb with some age and drying on it.

It just seemed that the whole quote from Per Jensen should be included:

According to Per Jensen, Mac Baren Product Manager, the steam press makes it so that the "tobaccos marry faster and in a completely different way than what we normally produce. In short, they alter the taste. This blend is a heavy/strong tobacco with a lot of vitamin N."

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My turn...

I ordered a tin as soon as I heard about this one, as I'm a fan of Dark Fired Kentucky. Everything I had read and heard sounded right on the money for my tastes. Was I disappointed? Not in the least. I took 4 of the small thin flakes out of the tin to dry them. Interestingly they REALLY dried. When I rubbed them out the flake 'fractured' into smallish thin brittle shards. Oh great! I thought. Well, I tried them anyway...and even though they were totally dried out they smoked really, really well. Then I mixed some fresh rubbed with the dried, about 50/50...and it also did really, really well...same burn, same flavors.

So...what did it taste like? It was deep and full and had that 'dark fired Kentucky' character. It wasn't sweet, but it wasn't bitter. To me, the dark fired essence was moderate...and didn't overwhelm the fullness of the Burley or the VA background. In other words there was a good balance and I would suggest this as a blend that might be enjoyed by those who appreciate any one of the components...as a change of pace from their usual fare.

The initial claims as to its strength I found to be a bit overstated...it's nowhere near the Gawith ropes, twists, etc. P's Irish Flake is stronger. But this is definetely above medium...on a 10 scale maybe a 6.5 or 7. On the scale they use here, that makes it "strong".

Though not one to make comparrisons very often, the best way I can describe this one is that it's like..."Gawaith Dark Flake Lite"...a bit lighter in flavor, in N and in overall impact. This doesn't make it any less of a blend, as that 'less-ness' allows its flavor profile to be more round, which I would call and asset. All in all it's absolutely excellent! Quite an achievement for MacBaren in my humble opinion. And lastly, as the tin is 3.5 oz. (100 gm) you get a decent handfull of the stuff, for which I'm very glad.

Very highly recommended.

Authentic, old timey, for the mature crowd. I imagine there were Mississippi riverboat captains that kept the pipe full of this. I love tobaccos that harken back to yesterday year. I love tobacco remind me of America. I love tobacco's with a full rich taste and lack complexity, they just get down to business.

Well, old dark fired fills the bill. This is a Virginia and Burley heavyweight. And the Burley tastes the way you want it to, not like haunted bookshop...blech! (Smoke enough crap and it starts to taste pretty good)

Sweet, smoky, fruity, spicy, with a constantly good tobacco flavor. Also, enough nicotine to keep a snuff user satisfied. I can't think of any occasion that this tobacco would be a bad choice for. This has been a go-to of mine for years. It delivers. Sometimes I know I want to smoke a pipe but I can't make up my mind what to put in it. Old dark fired is often my choice. Almost too good to smoke while working on a project. But I do it all the time, and feel like I really have it made.

Because I have plenty of Bold Kentucky, I never bothered to buy this one but was able to sample a nice size bowl at our pipe club meeting. I smoked it in a Cob no less and this batch was dated Jan 2016. 6 years of age on this baby. I can’t really remember exactly what Bold Kentucky tastes like but this seems to me to be a little milder and maybe somewhat weaker in the nicotine department. A good smoke but since I also have Rustica, I see no need in buying another somewhat clone.

Im a little late to the party with the HH line, call it a case of post mac-bite aversion, but I had heard and read many good things, particularly about Old Dark Fired, so I gave it a try. To start, the tin note is among the best of any tobacco Ive come across... maybe the best. Aromas of vinegar, ketchup, black pepper, hickory, a touch of smoked paprika. It's like ripe meat smothered in barbacue sauce that's been slow roasted on charcoal briquettes with a healthy side of ketchup. As mouthwatering as Chazz's mom's meatloaf. The flakes are moist, firm and leathery; they handle and pack well. I like to rub these ones out, rather than fold, and would recommend a quick drying of 10 minutes or so. Now, I am ashamed to admit, but I was once a cigarette smoker and, as a result, must confess to being a fast puffer, and with this toby I really have to force myself to sip slowly in order to bring out the flavours. If I smoke my usual quick cadence the flavours dilute and the delicious tin note gets lost behind the heat, almost to the point of being bland. When smoked patiently the flavour is more pronounced, yet I still wish it was more potent! The nicotine isn't the strongest Ive smoked, but it's no wimp and has potential to sneak up on you. To much relief, there was no bite whatsoever. A very good tobacco. I liked it alot. 3-3.5 as the flavour could be stronger. I would certainly recommend and will be perusing the rest of the HH blends.

*Edit - I'm upgrading to 4stars, because it is just that tasty. I took the advice of several other reviewers here, a wide bowl and open draw helps to get the fullest flavour out of this one. Thanks to all those that suggested it! Highly recommend. Cheers.

Imagine you are wearing a comfortable flannel shirt that you had on the night before at an outdoor bonfire and you walk into a small, artisanal bakery where they're making fresh raisin bread. That's what it smells like when you open a tin of this gem. Can't speak highly enough about it. Smokes easily even if you puff like a proverbial steam engine. I've only smoked it rubbed out with a quick dry time of 5 mins or less but will experiment with smoking as a full flake. Great, great stuff!

Not as racy as the Kendal Kentucky, HH Old Dark Fired brings a more graceful mix of finely pressed Burley, Kentucky, and Virginia.

The pouch greets you with a thrill of earthy wood BBQ spice folded with tenderly sweet-grassy tart tones; strong but not brutish. This is a very attractive looking blend if I must say. Ebon-brown strips of rich cultured tobacco. And the taste, wow! Superbly balanced and deliciously amalgamated as one would expect from Mac B. ODF offers a full base tethered in a buttery toasted nuttiness and spiced deep wood.

The Virginia wraps around the overall bottom registration a sweet tangy charm. Smokey and very herby this one. Reminds me of the essence of basil and thyme combined. Mellow and highly enjoyable. This stuff is fine with a capital “F”

These flakes come a little moist and smell like bbq. More precisely they smell like lays bbq chips/crisps. A short dry time is needed for my tastes (30mins). Ive rubbed out and folded and there seems to be a little more earthyness and longer burn if folded, at the expense of more relights.

Sweet smokey bbq, tomatos and ketchup, a bit of brown sugar & molasses, oak & misquite, a bit of mole like chocolate/pepper notes in the background & a rich earth develops towards the bottom of the bowl. Sweet & Savory notes abound. This is like smoking a pork butt, but in your pipe. Delicious. When I smoke this one my SO says that I smell good, but kind of like bacon. And she's a vegetarian. That's not important though...

What is important is that you consider putting some ODF in your rotation. It's strong, savory, and smokes slow and cool. Much like a good brisket. Strength-wise it's on the strong side, but I recommend a big bowl if you handle it. The build up at the end is worth it. Doesn't bite much at all, in fact probably the tamest flake of the HH line. This is by far my favorite Mac Baren blend. Might be in my top 5 tobaccos ever depending on the day.

Well, with all of the many fans of this tobacco, I had to try it. My impression when opening the tin is "WOW BBQ". To me, it really smells of east coast bbq sauce - like something someone would put on pulled pork. It's the dominant flavor in the tin, the smoke, and the room.

Compared to some flakes that I've tried, mostly Virginias, I found this one to be too brittle, making it hard to pack. It was so brittle that you could almost pick your teeth like a toothpick. I never got it to burn through well and threw away many second halves of bowls.

Personally, I found the flavor stronger than I wanted to smoke alone, and I preferred mixing with other, uniform flavor tobaccos. At first I tried it 1:3 with a mild Burley like Prince Albert - making ODF a condiment rather than the main attraction. That was quite enjoyable.

Then, I remembered a pouch of Smoker Friendly Classic Black that was going to waste, and I mixed them. Home run! That was awesome. It had the smokey bbq flavor without being overbearing, and it had the sweetness of a mild aromatic. I loved this combination.

Update October 2021: I bought another tin and put that in a jar with two bags of black cavendish. Can't wait to open it. One difference was that this tin was properly humid, definitely not brittle. I think the first tin was overly dry for some bad reason.

This is by far the most solid blend I've smoked. The rich smoky almost sweet bbq smell you get right of the tin is a delight ! Once lit, though, you are with a rich, not strong – but definitely not soft – very well balanced taste. Here and there, the smokiness of the kentucky (?) takes the front but the burley is the core of the blend. I suppose it is that good because of the genuine quality of the baccos it contains. Sold at the very right moisture level and burns cool from top to bottom. It is one of my regular smokes and to me, the nic hit is just like any other blend, so don't fear the burley.

Nice tin. Shame it's square. I hate square tins.

Once opened with the usual crowbar and thus allowing the contents to dry in this late summer heat, you will discover very dark coloured,soldier-straight little bars of dark brown tobacco flakes that gives off a subtle, but slightly sweet, tangy, aroma of quality tobacco.

The flake breaks up easily into slimmer strips (the way I like to do it) which you can then break down for loading. The first draw offers a grassy, malty, a little nutty, yet with intriguing, enticing little nuances yet to be discovered. I found I was getting hazelnuts and something alcoholic after the first few bowls. Whisky perhaps ? There is a fleeting latakia-like or maybe perique in here, but this dies away to become virtually undetectable several bowls in.

Good though this is, I found it a bit of a plod halfway through the tin, and think it would be better as part of a rotation, rather than an all day tobacco otherwise it can get a little bit bland. Certainly, several years ago when I was in that aromatic phase, I would have discarded this as yet another tastless, characterless, virginia-based blend. But then I didn't know any better.

Nice unique Barbecue sauce aroma and taste with smoky flavours from start to finish. So much barbecue-esque that you can even taste the tomato paste and the vinegar, awesome really. I can feel some cigar like feeling here and there too. I ended up amused by the way this Vi-Bur's robust flavours put more in line with more dense mixtures like a english or a cigar leaf added blend. I do think too that this must be a nice adding to make some deep harmonization including a specific meal and beverage based in it's almost "food" like flavours.

I've smoked this on and off for a few years, nicely presented cleanly cut flakes which mostly remain intact when jarred. Lovely deep and bold, sweet bbq-sauce tin aroma. When lit, the notes others have described can be found if you pay attention to the blend though I don't find it very complex.

This was one of the first tins I smoked, and absolutely loved it. What's strange, the last few years it doesn't have the same impact it once had on me. It is certainly a blend that you need to smoke slow and cool, fresh out of the tin to fully enjoy. A bit of drying I believe helps. I have noticed after jarring, the bold flavour tends to dissapate, so I would recommend to smoke the bowl within a few months at most post-jarring. It becomes a more mellow smoke over time though I think it loses the character that makes this blend great.

Freshly open the tin, a fruity, earthy, and a bit of plum fragrance jumped out and dissipated into your nose. Very smooth smoking trip with heavenly meety, sweety, earthy texture on my tongue. Can be an all day smoke when you want something tasty.