Mac Baren Halberg Green

I just recently finished up a generous sample of this I got a few years back and I liked this alright, but not as much as I liked the Halberg Red. I will say this, that in contrast to the aromatic I just reviewed before this, the topping seemed as strong as the day I jarred it. The topping also stayed with you from beginning to the end of the smoke albeit with less intensity as it reached ash.

The leaf is high quality as would be expected from Mac Baren, but it is not highly perceptible as the topping is pretty strong. The topping itself kind of reminds me of a sour apple jolly rancher, which is probably my favorite hard candy to eat. It is alright to smoke, but I wasn't raving over it. Sometimes it really hit the spot and other times it was just too sweet for me. In any case, I think heavy aromatic smokers could easily put four stars on this blend and I will put three on it since it delivers as a good aro should.

This is a lovely aromatic offering from MB. very similar to my taste to Sillem's Blue. I am going to conduct a side by side taste test to see the differences, but at present they seem very similar. That is not a bad thing at all, because in my estimation the Sillem's line of aromatics are simply the best european style aromatics available.

You can readily see the VA's here in the blend with nice chunks of broken flake and cavendish. The box aroma is wonderful and I smell berries and vanilla. It requires some drying to get the best experience as it is somewhat moist. It dries readily, however, due the high quality and lack of PG, and is ready to go in 15 in 20 minutes (this is from a very newly opened bag). It is a chunky ribbon cut with broken flakes, and it packs nicely in a medium to largish sized bowl.

It takes a little effort to get going, but once it takes a char it burns steadily. It opens with VA and fruity spice. I get a lot of lime personally, and the fruit is nowhere near as prevalent in the bowl as in the bag. The flavor is medium in body, with a spicy citrus element. It does not bite unless puffed far too quickly (which after 30 years of pipe smoking remains a bad habit of mine) but really opens up and becomes very pleasant and tasty when smoked slowly. There is no real nicotine to speak of, and the flavor remains consistent throughout the bowl.

I need to smoke this more to get a better handle on it, and may upgrade it to 4 stars after I do so, and compare it to Sillem's Blue. It burns a little hotter and requires more attention than the 7 Sea's american style aromatics. This is a good blend to practice your slow smoking with, because while it does not bite generally, you can experience immediate feedback and rewards if you slow down. Very nice, and definitely among the finest aromatics available from anyone.

Great presentation with this blend. The tobacco comes in a nice bag, and is pretty nice, moisture-wise. It could use a little drying time fresh, but its good none-the-less. In the bag, it smells to me of chocolate and dried cherries and cranberries, and my girlfriend agreed. The taste is similar, with the cherry/cranberry flavor dominating. About mid-way through, I started tasting the actual tobacco, which is very rare with an aromatic. The room note is excellent, and really hangs in the room. The blend burns cool, but can bit a bit bitey i pushed...especially when fresh. This is an excellent blend.

Edit: I smoked this blend last night around 9pm. Today, at about 2pm, I can still pick up the aroma of this blend in the room. It has a definite lasting aroma...and that isn't necessarily a bad thing...

The Virginia really stands out in this blend and the casing is mild enough to let it do so while still providing a wonderful citrus room note. The tobacco was not too moist, ready to smoke. Burns to nice white ash. A first rate smoke in a class by itself!

The pouch note is intensely fruity and nears the realm of artificial grape (a la Purple Passion). The initial light and first few puffs confirm the pouch note, but soon calm down to a pleasant, but sweet, fruity flavor. Although it still hints at "grape," the MacBaren base flavor of real tobacco is very present. It offers no tongue bite, burns clean, and doesn't fatigue the tongue. The flavor and sweetness are consistent throughout the bowl and provide the same excellent aromatic qualities that Kohlhase and Kopp blended aromatics (in my experience) are known for.

The room note, I've been told, is strange, but not unpleasant. The nicotine level is a shade above mild. In the realm of aromatics, this is a fine one and well worth trying.

Mac Baren - Halberg Green.

The appearance of the blend is easily the most charismatic I've encountered so far: I can see nearly every size, cut, and colour that's imaginable!

The berries are strong in the un-lit note, just like the forthcoming smoke.

As well as the unique packaging being a treat for the eye, it's also spacious; this lets the blend breathe, giving it just the right amount of moisture.

Of the three Halberg's, I've only had the Red up until now; I wasn't impressed, it burned far too hot, I wonder how this will smoke?

When I put fire to my first bowl it took the flame well, it only needed a short blip with the lighter. And then I sat back, to try and decipher the taste: it's strongly flavoured, but not too gluey nor false; the fruit's seem 'real', instead of resembling a bag of sweets.

At the beginning I wondered how this would burn. Well, after ten minutes I had to switch to a cob as I was worried the bowls finish on my Erik Nording was going to blister and bubble due to the heat; I think that answered my question!

In the cob, it's a much better smoke.

The nicotine quantity is just a little more than I like: medium, whereas I like my N more on the mild side; that's not an issue though, I just don't inhale any smoke!

Although the topping has been added in a large quantity, it doesn't ruin the tobacco flavours; these can still be enjoyed, with the fruit 'enhancing' the taste, rather than smothering it.

After switching to a cob, it transpired that this is a good smoke; I wish I'd have tried the H' Red in a cob!

2 stars an a briar, four in a cob: 3 stars over all.

The tin smell is extremely sweet and chocolatey. The smoke is very sweet too.

If you like your tobacco sweet this is the one for you.

From three different continents Mac Baren has gathered the best bright Virginias and ripe Burleys to press into cakes, before then cutting them and hand-blending the results with exclusive ribbon cut and slow-burning cross-cut Virginias. Finally, it's all carefully topped with a complex aromatic of berries and exotic fruits, to produce a fine balance with the natural tobacco flavors.