Mac Baren Halberg Red

(3.17)
Bright cross-cut Virginias, brown, earthy burleys, rich black cavendish, and a dose of broken flake are here combined into a hand-blended smoking mixture, before finally being topped with a flavorful aromatic to produce a balanced, complex blend that is utterly unique to Mac Baren's Halberg series.

Details

Brand Mac Baren
Blended By Mac Baren
Manufactured By Mac Baren
Blend Type Aromatic
Contents Black Cavendish, Burley, Virginia
Flavoring Fruit / Citrus, Other / Misc
Cut Broken Flake
Packaging
Country Denmark
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.17 / 4
4

6

2

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 12 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 17, 2013 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
The Virginias have a some citrus and dark fruit, and some earth and grass notes as the base of the blend. The toasted, nutty burley plays in the background. The black cavendish chips in with an very mild sugary vanilla that compliments the fruity sweet toppings, which sublimates the tobaccos to a fair extent. Has little nicotine. Moist, it's a ribbon cut with broken flake that burns smooth and creamy, cool, clean, and a little slow with a very creamy, consistent flavor. Won't bite or get harsh even if pushed. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no dottle. Needs a few relights. Not one hint of a chemical taste exists here. Presented within one of the classiest boxes ever designed for a tobacco product, it's almost an all day smoke that doesn't wear out your tongue or senses with a full flavor that never quits. Has a great after taste and room note.

-JimInks
14 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 04, 2013 Very Mild Mild to Medium Very Mild Pleasant
I got a brick of this at the Chicago show. It's a very luxurious presentation, and the tobacco is very good quality.

In the bag, it smells terrific, the red is a lot more mellow smelling than the others, less fruity.

In the pipe, it packs fine and lights easily, but I can't get either a tobacco taste or the aromatic flavor out of the burn. So it leaves me a little flat. Smoke-able stuff, no bite, no kick. But if you want an outright aromatic, there are certainly better choices. In fact I prefer Black Ambrosia from the same blender.

EDIT: bump this up to 3. I think I was expecting too much, but smoking this head to head with other aros leads me to think that it's pretty good within the category.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 15, 2017 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I was given a samples of each of the Halberg Color themed blends a few years back. The samples came at a time when I was overflowing with samples, so I tried a bowl of each before jarring them. As I recall, none of them stood out as noteworthy. In fact, I really didn't like them at all, except one stuck out as decent. It must have been this one.

Fast forward to now when I finally finished this sample and I must reassess what I had earlier thought was decent. I find this blend to be fantastic. As with most aros, it is mostly about the topping and this one just suits my tastes perfectly.

I really don't know how to describe the topping, but I will start with a fruitiness, that may be cherry. Although this assessment may be coming from the name red which is so often associated with cherry in other blends. In any case, the fruitiness does not clobber you over the head like so many of those other blends. There is also, what I will describe as a cinnamon taste, kind of like big red gum that I get from this. There are other times where I tend to pick up a little nuttiness, but this could be the play between the Virginia and burley base leaf mixture.

It is odd for an aro in that it actually does shift in flavors throughout the bowl. The topping does hold through to the end of the bowl, but never overwhelms. It is also a cool smoking blend that will not bite. Just a well done aromatic that could easily be enjoyed all day long. I took this sample with me during one of those workdays that require a lot of driving. I probably had 3 bowls that day and it never got old to me. The last bowl was just as enjoyable as the first.

In addition to everything above, I will add that the sidestream off the bowl was sublime. Many a time while smoking this I would just take a whiff of the smoke curling from the bowl. This blend was a pleasure to smoke. I will definitely add this to the TAD list.
Pipe Used: Mastercraft Pot
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 24, 2017 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Medium Pleasant
This tobacco is a fine aromatic with natural flavour and hight quality tobacco.the package is luxurius and prepares you for a unique smoking eexperience.when you open it you get citrus dark dryed fruits and nytty vanilla.comes out a bit dry with a lot broken flakes.beware not to pack the flakes in the top the lighting becomes tricky.burns cool and slow with right moist.the flavours are mixed in a nice way.the citrus and dark fruits come out most with a nice backround with nutty vanilla.leaves proper moist at the end of the bowl.this blend is a must try for all day smoking as the nicotine level is from low to medium.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 10, 2016 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant
Mac Baren - Halberg Red.

As others have mentioned, the packaging is unique and superb! Once I have opened the sealed inner tinfoil pouch I see a blend that meets with the often ambiguous description 'Broken Flake'. I'm not too sure as to what description would best suit it? There's some massive leaf like pieces, some tiny flakes, some medium flakes, ribbons of all sizes and some shag: mixture maybe?

There isn't much of a scent emanating from the bag, there might be a very slight citrus touch but there's not really anything 'aromatic'.

The hydration's perfect, so on with the smoke:

This lights brilliantly, and for the initial few puffs I get a very buttery taste; creamy and satisfying. This butter note seems to calm down after quite a short while; it's still notable, yet it's not AS creamy; more of an extra taste as opposed to the being main one.

Once the burn has settled it becomes quite a relaxing smoke; the tobacco flavours work great together: the smoke has a very full burley nuttiness to it and the vanilla-esc quality of the Black Cavendish gives the smoke a delicious sweetness. The Virginia is more like the foundation for these two ingredients, it's present but nowhere near the front of house.

One of the few low points with this, for me, is the heat of it. This, sadly, is a bit of an antithesis to the relaxing flavour; for full enjoyment sip it gently! It also causes a fast burn, again, spoiling the relaxing qualities.

There are some wonderful features of Halberg Red: the packaging, the flavour, the nicotine, and the room note but for me the heat spoils the blend.

Somewhat recommended.
Pipe Used: Rattray's The Cave
PurchasedFrom: The Danish Pipe Shop
Age When Smoked: New
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 12, 2016 Mild Very Mild Medium Unnoticeable
I asked my pipe store proprietor for a mild tobacco that can be smoked in the morning and halberg red was his recommendation. i was not diasppointed. i have reached the age where i need a lighter tobacco and have had to forgo the latakia blends that i smoked. i find the tobacco enjoyable to the end of the bowl and mild enough to smoke in a large pipe. i surely would recommend this blend to the elder smoker who needs a lighter less nicotine smoke.

please add a new catagory to "room note" smoked only out of doors. the program demands that i choose something so i wrote unnoticeable . . because out of doors it is unnoticeable : > {
Pipe Used: aldo morelli 300
PurchasedFrom: Hagit Pipes, Tel Aviv
Age When Smoked: new form the tin
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 02, 2015 Mild to Medium Medium Medium Pleasant
Nice solid cross-over in my opinion. I don't find the topping on this one as strong as in the green and yellow. It has a lot of tobacco taste. It took me a while to warm up to it but I was sad when the bag was finished.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 15, 2015 Mild to Medium Medium Medium Pleasant
Halberg Red is in the same spirit as the Cube line. The tobacco is undoubtedly of very high quality; and it's not sticky despite the fact that it's very aromatic. The aroma is of dried fruits with some sweetness that seems to be vanilla. It's not chemical smelly like most of the OTCs. Halberg Red contains various cuts - flakes, broken flakes, ready - rubbed and Loose Cut. As my sealed pouch is 2 years old, it's ready to smoke right out out of the pouch. It lights up easily, burns even, does not bite (when I appropriately pace myself) and tastes like the aroma, which is never intrusive, but like tobacco as well. This is what makes me like this type of tobacco so much. The nicotine is not very high - more mild than medium - but, like the Cube line, the marvelous casing mixed with tobacco flavour is fully worth the experience. My pipe is left dry afterwards and it does not produce moistness while i am smoking. If you're looking for a high quality cased tobacco that tastes like tobacco and is light on the nicotine, then try this one. Happy smoking! JD.
Pipe Used: Various Stanwell
Age When Smoked: 2Y 2M
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 30, 2022 Mild Mild to Medium Full Very Pleasant
Having smoked a pipe since 1962 and in the past five years smoking over 150 "aromatic" blends....having blended and published recipes in 1970 (International Cotiere of Pipesmokers publication) some as good as Dunhill by reviews received back then)....this is an excellent tobac pleasant blend in most all possible regards....puts many in the dust! In my top 20 for that type of smoke.
Pipe Used: Prebem Hallmark II
PurchasedFrom: S,Pipes/other as available in the past
Age When Smoked: 77
0 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 17, 2018 Medium Medium to Strong Medium to Full Pleasant
Actually it reminds me 3 tobaccos: peterson st patrick day 2015 , macbaren scottish blend and mcbaren orginal choice . but better than all of them. it contains high quality tobaccos. burns hot but i couldn't find any tounge bite. aroma is nice. and a combination of dark fruit and honey. medium level of nicotine. you can feel tobacco in that. aroma is not overwhelming . good one as an aromatic tobacco.
Pipe Used: meerschaum pipe
PurchasedFrom: local shop, iran
Age When Smoked: fresh
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