Tobaccos Mac Baren - Mixture: Scottish Blend

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2013-10-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Because it's a complex medium blend aromatic with a variety of flavors, I had to smoke a lot of it before gauging how to describe this one. Sometimes, the spicy, woody, earthy, lightly nutty Kentucky in the blend is more evident than other times, but no matter how present it is or isn't, it relays that spice note that contrasts nicely with creamy flavors. I don't know what kind of liquor topping it has, but it's pleasant and compliments the mild sweetness of the blend with fruit and sugar toppings. The burley is a little nutty with a mild earthy, woody and molasses touch as a supporting player. The Virginia is mildly tart and tangy citrusy, grassy, earthy and woodsy, and creates a solid base for the other flavors. In the background is the matured Virginia, which adds a little fermented lightly sugary tangy dark fruit, wood and earth. The sugary black cavendish helps tame a few of rough edges in a small way. The gold cavendish hints of a mildly sweet honey taste that works well with the topping as a condiment. The nic-hit is a couple slots past the mild mark. The strength is a step past the center of mild to medium, and the taste level barely touches the medium threshold. Often, one bowlful will taste a little different from another and vary during a smoke -especially in a big bowl - but that's due to how you pack it, and whether or not one component is more present in your pipe than other times. Needs to smoked at a slow pace as fast puffing may result in some tongue bite. Burns fairly cool and very clean at a reasonable pace. Requires few relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. Has a pleasant room note, and a lightly lingering after taste. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

127 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TabacFanatic (6)	2014-10-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Dear Pipe Smokers, my name is Mark ... and I am a pipe tobacco fanatic.

When I say my cupboards contain over a hundred different pipe tobaccos, I'm not bragging. I've been at this hobby for a long time. Things just accumulate. No wizardry involved.

I can honestly say that I LOVE all these tobaccos. But one of them--and only one--holds a special place.

Every once in a while I go on a Mac Baren Mixture binge. I'm on one right now. For a solid month or two I smoke nothing but Mixture Scottish Blend. It's the only tobacco I can do this with.

Mixture is the perfect pipe tobacco for me. It smokes well in every single pipe I own. No other blend can make that claim.

Having smoked 10,000 or so bowls of Mixture thus far in my lifetime, I've finally been able to narrow down why I like it so much. Basically, it's the complexity of the flavor and aroma combined with perfect balance. No attribute of Mixture is either too little or too much. Which means that it wears well over time. I never regret lighting up a bowl, day or night.

For me, the foundation of Mixture is the Virginia, which gives it a fresh mellow character and mouth-filling flavor. The Burley adds depth, with all the roasted nut, cocoa, and chocolate notes you read about. Finally the dark-fired Kentucky, which wafts in and out over time, punctuates everything with an intriguing, mysterious spice.

These Mixture binges are profoundly relaxing. Day after day I simply work my way from one end of the pipe rack to the other. Each time taking a single clump of tobacco from the tin and loosely twisting it into the bowl. Two quick lights bring it to a slow, steady, fragrant smolder. What could be simpler?

The room note is heavenly when it burns slowly and coolly. Per Jensen summed it up perfectly: pipe smoking is all about temperature. It took me decades to fully appreciate this bit of wisdom, but no truer words have ever been spoken when it comes to the enjoyment of pipe tobacco.

Pipe Used: All

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Everywhere

91 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	aphexafx (3)	2017-01-18		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Danish style, temperature is everything, learn to smoke it.

Mixture is good. If you don't know how to smoke a Danish tobacco, it is probably going give you trouble at first. Plain and simple. Stop pulling for flavor. Slow down. Learn how to moderate the temperature of your ember. If you do not do these things, Mixture will bite, taste like rolling tobacco, and overheat your pipe. If you can learn to smoke Mixture, it will open for you, stop biting, amaze you with a complex merry-go-round of interesting flavors, smell fantastic enough to make locals smile guiltily, and run perfectly cool for long, unchallenging, delightful pipes. Mixture is a social blend because of its great aroma and the fact that it smolders unobtrusively. You won't be the person billowing clouds of dense white fog into the room, with Mixture in your pipe. Yet it still tastes fantastic and rich. The quality is very high in presentation, appearance, feel, and taste. These things are the basis of the Danish tobacco style. Delicious, classy, unobtrusive. Mixture nails it.

I keep reading these reviewers who have marched out and purchased a tin of Mixture, tried to smoke the hell out of it, hated it, and then marched back here to rate it poorly, usually with some pointless jab at "Aromatics" and Danish-style tobacco in general, and explain with delight about how they have dumped it into the garbage, as if to exact some backwards revenge on Mac Baren. That is ridiculous. Welcome to the internet.

Here's a check, before you dive in: If you are looking for a head swimming nicotine experience, Mixture is not your answer. If you want fuming, blatant flavor intensity, Mixture is not your answer. If you have no idea how to smoke Danish tobacco, even though you've smoked everything else and consider yourself quite well versed, but you do not hold any interest in learning a new cadence, then Mixture is not your answer. Mixture is not for the impatient. Mixture IS a great and rewarding blend that deserves much respect and delivers a ton of enjoyment. It will love and sweeten any pipe that you dedicate to it. I have a Peterson's Flame Grain XL02 dedicated to Mixture and it's the happiest pipe that I own. That pipe smells amazing because it smokes Mixture for a living. I usually smoke much heavier and stronger tobaccos, but Mixture is always a favorite change of pace and one of my all-time favorite blends, in general.

It does get richer towards the end; right now, I'm getting a deep plumb-y semi-sweet flavor with lots of pepper in my nose and a quick woody finish as I coax it through the heel of the plug.

The toe-dip reviewers make the ratings on this site irrelevant, imo.

Cheers and many happy pipes.

83 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2005-08-13		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

=Note: I have already reviewed this blend, but when the changes were made here at tobaccoreviews, my name somehow was removed from my review below (is there a conspiracy going on? LOL!) Anyway, this is simply a cut/paste job.=

Mac Baren's Scottish Blend is totally different than what one might expect -- unless of course, you are familiar with Danish tobacco blenders. If, for instance, you have tried McCranie's Murdock's Pipe, which is touted as a Scottish blend, and then sampled this one expecting a similar taste sensation -- well, you are going to receive a surprise. Murdock's Pipe has Latakia and Oriental tobaccos located within the blend. You will find neither here. Scottish Blend is a typical Mac Baren in that it is sweet smelling when you open the tin, and sweet tasting upon lighting. The flavor here is delightful, but keep that puffing rythem down or you will get tongue blisters. Unlike most other Mac Baren blends, this one actually has several layers of differing flavors as you work your way down the bowl. I found this to be a nice change of pace tobacco, but it is far too mild for me to consider it as regular fare.

54 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2014-07-18		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The tobacco in the tin smells of honey. There are a few chunks of mostly rubbed out flake, but most of it is ribbon. Moisture level was very good. My tin was 12 months old according to the date on the back of the tin.

Smoked, I get a remarkably good VA/Bur with subtle citrus and honey flavors. The topping is mild, and the tobaccos themselves sing. It smoked cool for me and was easy to keep lit. There is a creamy quality to the smoke that is very pleasing. This is not an "in your face" blend, but more of a pleasant smoke that would be easy to have in the pipe all day. It is described as an aromatic, but it is only mildly aromatic.

This one is a sleeper. I have never paid any attention to it before and am very glad I tried it. The description on SmokingPipes says it is one of the best selling blends in the world, and I can believe it. It comes at a great price point. I think everyone should try this.

52 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cavendishes (7)	2014-12-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My dad turned me on to this blend recently and boy am i glad he did. Neither of us are big on aromatics and we both tend to prefer Latakia blends. This is the only cavendish blend that he likes, and now I know why. In short, this is one of the most complex and interesting blends I have ever had the pleasure of smoking!

It smells sweet and earthy from the tin with the top dressing showing itself a bit. The cut is a combination of ready rubbed Virginia and ribbon cut burley and Cavendish. I like to break up the ready rubbed Virginia just a little to aid in packing. It packs easily and tastes amazing if packed just right, but it is very unforgiving if packed too tightly.

This blend is like a chameleon throughout the bowl. It changes character every few puffs and different flavors jump out, sometimes just for a second. At different times throughout a single bowl I've tasted flavors verging on: citrus, chocolate, caramel, licorice, ice cream sandwich, snickers bar, and I swear I tasted Latakia, but that was probably the dark fired Kentucky.

This is a must have blend for me and will have a permanent spot in my rotation from now on. If you're on the fence about whether to try it or not, get an ounce or two in bulk for a few bucks and give it a whirl.

Pipe Used: 70's Meerschaum Billiard

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: pipes and cigars

41 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Piepensmöker (17)	2014-02-07		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is my go to blend. It never gets boring and burns great. Just stuff a few ready rubbed pieces in the pipe and light up. No bite, if smoked slowly. Only then the flavors really shines. Smoke it hot and the smoke will become bitter and burn your mouth.

I have read some of the other negative reviews concerning this tobacco, and I think the main problem, people have with it, besides a different taste, is the packing. If you pack to tightly, the tobacco will burn hot and without taste. It needs a little space to expand and develop, so keep the draw slightly open.

34 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	musicman (131)	2013-12-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Boy, is this tobacco a vicious cycle for me. The thing is I really like the flavor, I like it a lot. I like the packaging, I like the aroma, I like the cut, I like almost everything about this blend. The thing I don't like about this blend is the fact that it makes my mouth feel like I have been chewing on glass. Talk about bite. I am not a person that is usually very susceptible to tongue bite, but something about this blend just does not agree with my body chemistry.

I have read somewhere that this is one of, if not the most sold pipe tobacco blends in the world. If this is true I can understand why. Quality product, great taste and pretty light and smooth. I feel any pipe smoker at any level can enjoy this blend, if it does not remove the inner lining of their mouth like it does mine.

Every year or so I say to myself "gee, I really like the taste of that Scottish blend, and even though last time smoking it was akin to corporal punishment, it has aged another year and it has probably mellowed and become as gentle as a lamb" I then proceed to light up a bowl and have my gaping maw feel like the bowels of hell.

If you can smoke it, you will most certainly enjoy it, but don't buy a pound of this innocuous little blend until you have given it a test run first.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Trevi 320

Age When Smoked: Purchased in 2008

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jevverrett (107)	2014-08-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I received my first tin of this as a Xmas present. The first Xmas I had after meeting my wife she gave me one of this as well as a tin of Irish whisky. Myself being of Scottish descent, and her being of Irish she felt it was somewhat symbolic I think. I thanked her for it and it was appreciated. I came to like it so much it became my daily for about 6 months.

When I opened the tin, I was greeted by a wave of heavenly aroma. Sweet, earthy goodness. Hay, a good amount of raw clover honey and something almost like wildflowers or maybe just a open 20+ acre field in the springtime. Removing the paper top, the smell intensified. This is what an aromatic should be in my opinion. The presentation in the tin is wonderful. This being my first ready rubbed mixture, I had never seen something like before. Chunks of folded tobacco with streaks of browns, black and pale yellows. Little ovoid spots like birds eyes in wood grain here and there.

I first tried to just basically stuff into my pipe a fire away. This was a very serious mistake. It smelled great, unfortunately the burn was so bad I didn't get the chance to enjoy the flavor. I couldn't smoke again for nearly two days after! I tried it in every pipe I had at the time. It gave the same results mostly. In a cob it worked out so I could taste it. It IS delicious. It took me awhile to figure out that I had to smoke this slowly.

It has a wide range of flavors to it. It tastes like tobacco as well as whatever they may have put into it. The real magic to it is the marriage of the various tobaccos coming together in harmony. I can say that the most dominate taste to it is honey. It is a most sophisticated smoke in that it has impressive depth for an aromatic.

On the other hand... This is not what I would call an aromatic. It is neither what I would call a Scottish. It's like a crazy girl you can't seem to stop dating. Some manner of an identity crisis, and seems to love hurting you. Also she's smokin hot, very pretty and smells great every time you see her. She's so inviting, but if you come on too strong she leads you on and then gives you blue balls. You end up having to ignore her a bit when you're together. You have to let her come to you, and then you get the sweet, loving side to come out.

I would most definitely recommend this to an experienced smoker who can take the time to treat it right. Not something that would play out well for someone new to the art. It does have a decent nic content to it. It mans up a bit in the second half of the smoke. This is one of my favorite blends.

Pipe Used: Various Dr Grabows and cobs

Age When Smoked: New tins and bulk

Purchased From: Most tobacconists or the net

Similar Blends: Nothing else I have tried.

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-07-26		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren's Scottish Blend is totally different than what one might expect -- unless of course, you are familiar with Danish tobacco blenders. If, for instance, you have tried McCranie's Murdock's Pipe, which is touted as a Scottish blend, and then sampled this one expecting a similar taste sensation -- well, you are going to receive a surprise. Murdock's Pipe has Latakia and Oriental tobaccos located within the blend. You will find neither here. Scottish Blend is a typical Mac Baren in that it is sweet smelling when you open the tin, and sweet tasting upon lighting. The flavor here is delightful, but keep that puffing rythem down or you will get tongue blisters. Unlike most other Mac Baren blends, this one actually has several layers of differing flavors as you work your way down the bowl. I found this to be a nice change of pace tobacco, but it is far too mild for me to consider it as regular fare.

If you are a slow puffer and like a little flavoring in your tobacco, this MacBaren blend may be a home run for you. I couldn't make it past 2nd base.

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pop pops pipe (28)	2014-06-27		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I smoked this back in the 80s and had it again in the early 2000s. It was richer and spicier before! Its not a bad blend now however, actually it's quite good. Its mellow with a nice room note. Has a dark taste to it, kinda n d of like a vanilla spice with rum or whisky in the mix. Not overly sweet, just right. Burns clean and don't leave a goofy mess in your pipe. It gets sweeter about 3 to 5 min into a bowl and finishes stronger with more kick. I like this blend. It smells good when smoked, and out of the tin, has Inc color and variety. Looks like a typical Danish blend to me and is even lightly sweet like a real Danish. A real Danish would be the old Skandanavk in the blue tin. That was so pretty and good! This reminds me of that without the cherry note. Don't power puff this or any Mac b blend it will bite! These type blends are for an experienced palette! Most va, va per, and anything shredded or sliced will bite and get hot if rushed. This is no different, although it don't heat up like dark twist and plumcake does. If you been smoking over a y ear and are tired of syrupy aromatics, and want an all day sweet smoke with a nice sweet aroma this is it!

Just a few add ons about this blend, it stays cool if smoked a bit slower and packed tight. This is a good tobacco, has many flavors and is quite rich. It's not too sweet and it's very enjoyable. It has good nic kick too and almost borders a straight medium in strength.

Pipe Used: Italian no name and Saseni 4 dot natural.

Age When Smoked: 4 months

Purchased From: Holts

Similar Blends: Scandinavik Blue Aeromatic, , Wessex Mellow aroma..

21 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2020-09-06		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Summary: a masterful blend that uses dark fired Kentucky Burley in place of the Latakia in an English, subbing Cavendish for the Orientals.

The backbone of this blend comes from the Virginias, but these are balanced by a dark fired Kentucky Burley and mediated by what looks like white Burley, with Cavendish added for natural sweetening that turns the citrus-honey flavor of brighter Virginias to a sweet-sour taste, and mixes in the weighty, almost fruity sweetness of red and brown Virginias, creating a Perique-like fermented flavor. On top of that, the blenders spray some kind of floral and sugar mixture. I think the honey flavors come from bright Virginia and white Burley, and the citrus from the orange Virginia, with the fruit flavors coming out of the Cavendish and red Virginia. Like an English, this tobacco has a sweet flavor with some sourness, spice from the dark fired leaf, rolling creamy bulk from the Cavendish, and a warmth from the Burley. As others have said, you have to breath smoke this slowly or it turns into blazing napalm from the sugar topping, but every time I reach for this blend and have a nice lazy smoke, I come away from it thinking how pleasant that was and how glad I am to be alive.

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2018-07-10		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

A wonderful tobacco that smokes dry and smooth and is mild to medium in strength. It has plenty of flavor and a great room note as well. So if you have to smoke in mixed company, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Mixture Scottish is on the sweeter side of the spectrum but the sweetness is delicate at best. However, it’s a nuance that becomes more palpable each time you smoke it, and this is especially the case with a dedicated pipe. The brown sugar and honey like tone of the casing blends well with citrus peel & hickory smoke high-notes of the base tobaccos. The finish is clean, somewhat complex and a bit spicy.

As far as mechanics go, I prefer airing this blend out until it feels dry to the touch. Since Mixture Scottish benefits from being smoked in a series of gentle puffs, starting out with less moisture makes the task of going slow much easier to accomplish as you'll need fewer relights along the way. A bit of dry time also wicks some of the casing away, allowing for a more robust tobacco taste to come through. Don’t worry though, even in a drier state there’s still plenty of sweetness to go with the dashing room note.

A classic.

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2015-11-15		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

One of the first things you notice about Mixture is the quality of the components - a wonderful ready-rubbed Virginia and Burley mix, loose cut Cavendish, and loose Virginia. I only wish more blenders would take a lesson from this: the tobacco is of the absolute highest quality. As to the flavoring, it's mild, pleasant, and changes a good deal.

This is one of the founding fathers of Danish aromatics, and one of the best examples still.

Age When Smoked: fresh

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TN Cowboy (5)	2015-01-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is currently my favorite tobacco, and I can see how the other reviewers go months without smoking anything but Mixture. Regardless of what your go-to smoke is, every pipe smoker needs to give this at least 3 bowls before moving on. It’s an incredibly satisfying smoke with good body and smooth mouthfeel. I know it’s technically an aromatic, but I have a hard time thinking of it that way, since the topping is almost indiscernible to my palette. It's more like a celebration of tobacco. I’d liken the experience and aroma (not necessarily the taste) to freshly baked whole grain bread. The Virginias in the ready-rubbed flake are the star, but the burley and cavendish give it warm, toasty undertones. The balance of bright and warm is perfect with the faintest hint of sweetness, spice and creaminess. It's subtle, complex and satisfying all at the same time. You definitely have to smoke it slowly to get the full beauty of the flavor. Like everyone says, you get something slightly different each time depending on how you pack, and different flavors come into the foreground as you smoke through the bowl, which is just enough variation to keep it interesting, yet the flavor remains unmistakably distinct--this is one you could smoke blind and identify (in a good way). I purchased it in bulk and it came at perfect smoking moisture with no drying time needed. It’s unfortunate others have experienced some bite—it hasn’t bitten me once, but then I’ve been smoking it in smaller, narrower bowls and have used the Frank Method to pack it (not loose by any means, but not overly tight--the flake needs room to expand). It burns well to a clean, fine, white ash all the way to the bottom of the bowl, but won't leave the taste of ash in your mouth. Can't recommend it enough! It deserves a higher rating.

Pipe Used: Peterson Aran B10, MM Legend, Grabow Grand Duke

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes And Cigars (where else?!)

Similar Blends: Stands on its own.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-02-26		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Je fume la pipe depuis 12ans. mixture scottish blend est un tabac journalier merveilleux qui est mon tabac numéro 1 depuis tres longtemps de part sa richesse et sa facilité ,un tabac subtilement aromatique au goût miellé avec une odeur de thé ....Virginie Macbaren , au gout de tabac doux et naturel .Je recommande fortement se grand tabac meilleur en 100,ou 250 grammes .

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-06-02		Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

I smoked this from a tin labeled Scottish Mixture. I'm glad they changed the name because there is nothing Scottish about this. True Scots would laugh at this.

Not much to add to the other reviews so I'll highlight:

- Bland taste with a hint of sweetness

- Smokes very hot unless you're extremely careful - more careful than this blend warrants.

- No goopiness in pipe after smoking.

- Boring. Aside from the tongue bite, there's nothing inherently wrong with this, but there's not much to recommend it, either. I give tobaccos 1 star if I absolutely detest them. This gets 1.75, rounded up to 2. But if you like mostly bland, slightly sweet Danish blends, give this a try... SLOWLY!

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeDawg (82)	2014-12-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I'm glad I've smoked over 60 blends before I decided to try this one. In the past I became somewhat of an aged Va pipe tobacco snob and probably would have gave this a "boring mild blend" review. Experience really matters.

This is a great blend. Mac Baren's description of different Virginia tobaccos resulting in different flavors at different times rings true. It's a mild to Medium blend and has a wonderful sweet va med body flavor that rotates. The tin smell as well as the room note is a divine smell of raisins and is quite tasty to boot. This tobacco is a great all around smoke. I like it when traveling in the car and when I'm working in the yard. But it's deep enough and complex enough to enjoy on the porch for a longer smoke with a fine drink or when you are grilling out. A true Va aficionadio or seasoned pipe smoker will enjoy this one. It hasn't been a leading blend since 1958 for nothing. Smoke it up!

Pipe Used: chimney style. An Peterson 314

Age When Smoked: June 2013

Purchased From: Jr Cigars

Similar Blends: Reminds me of Va. No.1 but with more body and aromatic flavoring..

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pops Pipe (19)	2018-09-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is my absolute favorite blend. I love it for it's balance of flavor, strength, and sweetness. The aroma is great like honey toast. If you smoke this gently it rewards you with one of the most pleasant smokes. It always suprises, sometimes it's sweet, sometimes nutty, sometimes spicy and sometimes all the above. Smokes dry and cool. I love it.

Pipe Used: Various Savinelli and Peterson

Age When Smoked: Both young and up to 6 years age

Purchased From: Tobacco pipes, smoking pipes

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Redd (117)	2013-06-17		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I remmeber smoking SB back in the 80's the blend was a bit richer then newer version. I think it contained a bit of Oriental and a dash of Latakia. The newer version only rates three stars as where the older version rated four stars. This is best in a small bowl is tends to smoke hot. I find this is the type of blend that is better with shoter and few puffs. You the smoke will get more sataitsfaction from the room note. A good warm weather blend. Overall enjoyable the nictoine level is right and the cut will burn better with a quick rubbing. Still a good smoke Very close to Ed Burak Scottish Ribbon but SB has more aroma and flavor. And Scottish Ribbon bunred much hotter. If I had a choice I would choose SB

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2002-07-23		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren is one of the few brands you can find commercially in my country. I have always found its blends prepared with top grade tobaccos, but quite mild and sweetish (even its Latakia mixture tends to taste like truffles!), hence almost always leading to different degrees of tongue bite. Mixture-Scottish blend seems to be an exception. Slightly above the mild line (though not quite a medium strength tobacco), and not really sweet, it is composed of a variety of tobaccos and cuts that make it intriguing. There are, of course, small strands of black Cavendish with little or no flavouring at all, different types of Burley (an element which undoubtedly will dissuade the highly esteemed Eulenburg from trying it, or liking it!), and matured Virginias, some of it in broken flake form.

The tobacco texture is soft and pleasant to look at and, at least in the pouch (there is a tin version I have not yet tried), it has a slightly honey-on-toast aroma, a peculiarity that wears off if allowed to air for a few hours. I believe there could be some PG in it, but the tobacco is not at all moist or goopy. Rubbing it out a little, it facilitates the packing. I tried this in a Stanwell Golden Danish free hand.

The first few puffs reveal a slightly sharp taste, albeit rather sweet. Drawing very slowly for fear of tongue bite, the mixture burns dry and smoothly. By the ¾ bowl mark, the initial sweet undertones are replaced by a toasty flavour, a little bitter, but not at all unpleasant. No need to relight. By mid bowl, the different components seem to be better integrated, yet there is still a certain amount of competition between the black Cavendish and the Burleys, keeping the Virginias on the background. By the end of the bowl, there is the full flavour of a well balanced tobacco. Nothing extraordinary, definitely not an all day smoke, but a good pipe tobacco for a change of pace. It is a little bit harsh on the palate, but not terribly bad.

I think this is a mixture that would be enjoyed by those who want to break from strong cased aromatics without standing up to pure Virginia or Latakia based mixtures, or else by former cigarette smokers who would like to venture into the pipe experience.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2018-07-03		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Unnoticeable

A really tasty tobacco blend this. It also sends me back to the 70's and 80's when this famous livery was seen on shelves unimpeded with spoilsport metal doors at corner shops and newsagents' the length and breadth of the country.

I'm still amazed that this one has remained under my radar for so long. It's possibly because I was intent on trying the entire virginia range of Dan Pipe. And, of course, my general ignorance of MacBaren's blends.

The pouch aroma is one to die for. It reminds of Rattray's Terry Red (can you still get this?). The sweetness of this made me suspect it might be one of those blends (like Dunhill's Royal Yacht for example) that promises so much in the opening fragrance yet delivers none of the enticing aroma in the smoke.

This does however and I have found it best to smoke one whole bowl in one go if possible and the flavours remain constant throughout. Like some alcohol flavoured tobaccos this does have a tendency to burn off the casing and smoke hot if pushed. Certainly a fair comment in this regard from one of the other reviewers here. You are greatly rewarded if you can smoke this one as slowly as possible wih as few relights as possible, so a small to medium filling volume seems the best bet.

The citrus-like honeyed character of this blend shines through, bowl after bowl and, again, as previously mentioned, there is no shortage of complexity here. It's certainly a friendly old blend, no bite unless abused, and a welcome addition to anyone's cellar with a firm nod to the past.

Incredibly, and perhaps the only downside to this blend, is the lack of room note. The aromatic qualities have remained unremarked by Mrs RW. It could be that she has been assaulted by so many different tobaccos over the years she may be immune to the allure of this one.

This is a tobacco I intend to have in stock as often as possible and one that bridges the gap between plain virginias and aromatics very nicely indeed. A worthwhile all-day smoke to come back to time and time again.

Pipe Used: All

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Gifted by son from Spain

Similar Blends: Ashton's aromatic range, especially Winding Road. Rattray's Terry Red..

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bigterr (21)	2017-08-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I first started to smoke this blend in the mid 70's after a few months of smoking Borkum Riff whisky. This was much better and I would have sworn it was not an aromatic blend. It became pretty much my primary tobacco for a number of years and only when I had moved away from University (actually could buy this in large cans at the University bookstore) and could not seem to find it where I was that I tried Mac's V#1 and due to its easy availability and the slight sour citrus flavour that reminded me so much of Mac's Scottish blend became my go to tobacco. Now, some 35 years later I have returned to Mac's Scottish blend once I discovered it is readily available via P&C. The current rendition is not quite the same as I recalled the blend - either some changes to composition, topping, or more likely the inaccuracy of my memory. I still am very hard put to call this an aromatic as whatever top dressing there may be has been applied with a very expert hand as it does not overwhelm the fine, yet subtle, tobacco flavours present in this mixture. Intermittent hits of sweetness, some heavier notes, a slightly sour citrus, all these flavours and more grace every pipe load. It seems to smoke easily with only one or two relights required to finish a large bowl. The ash is somewhat mottled while predominantly producing a fine white ash. Like V#1 it is best smoked slowly to get the multiple nuances of the complex blend and to avoid the tongue bite that many Macbaren blends reward (punish) vigorous puffing with. Unlike some of the VaPer blends I have been smoking this can be smoked all day without one ever being overwhelmed by the peppery aspects of the perique in those offerings. The only negative is that when you have finished a bowl it is difficult to resist having another one right away. I believe two things contribute to this conundrum; one it really has a real kaleidoscope of subtle flavours and a relatively mild amount of nicotine both of which might make you want more. I highly recommend this to both the novice, as it is so much better than the vast majority of aromatics as to be a nice bridge to non-aromatic blends, and to the diehard smokers of non-aromatic virginia based offerings as a delightful change of pace.

Pipe Used: MC canadian, Brigham 1 dot bent, MM

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: P&C

Similar Blends: Macbarens Virginia #1, Symphany,& Golden Extra.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Viscfab (36)	2019-06-04		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

A staple blend for me. Golden virginias and some cavendish on a fairly coarse cut offer you a pleasant smell from tin cracking. It does smell like honey and maple for me... It packs well, lights and burns well. Must be savoured slowly to produce a profound relaxing taste and aroma. Puffing hard will over heat and make it lose the best of its flavour profile. It gives good tingling on retrohale and it is a very satisfying smoke. It gets better towards the end of the bowl. I like to smoek this one on larger and thicker walled bowls. It is certainly a pipe tobacco that stood to its time given the greatness of the achieved blend.

Pipe Used: Vauen, Stanwell, savinelli, Brebbia

Age When Smoked: about 2 - 3 years

Purchased From: Duty Free

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Navy Flake.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	thesmoggypipester (77)	2018-03-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

One of the pipe worlds most best loved stalwarts, in fact I remember when this was sold at my local co-op, yes, Scottish blend was an otc, about 25 years ago, unfortunately I wasn't a 5 year old pipe smoker.

Anyways that's the anecdotes out of the way, i must say though Scottish blend is the biggest chameleon I have ever came across.

opening the pouch, you are greeted with mostly beautifully light chunky golden broken flakes speckled with darker tobaccos and loose cut Cavendish.

Aroma straight away, is almost like honeyed lavender, a nice chocolatey/hazelnut wisp here and there and a slight fruity over tone, a little cinnamon like spice and some nice hints of fresh Virginia.

packing is a doddle, whether you choose to rub out or pack as is, it won't give too much trouble.

lighting is also just as easy then settle back and enjoy the myriad of flavours that come to the fore, some are fleeting visits others hang around a touch longer.

during the smoke I get sweetness, wildness, hints of leather, that honey slightly floral taste, fleeting visits from citrus fruits, some nice chocolatey burley, grassy/hay like Virginia notes along with a host of others.

performs well in any pipe you put it in although I find narrow and wider chambered pipes work best personally.

Now anyone reading this would be forgiven for thinking that with all these nuances that it would just end up as a convoluted mess, but somehow, Mac baren have made it work superbly. It is a delight to smoke from start to finish and when finished, you are left with that fabled "fine white ash.

it's a tobacco I have skirted round for a good number of years and finally plucked up the courage to try it. Boy am I glad I did.

oh and room is one of the nicest I have encountered, shouldn't offend the majority although it may raise an eyebrow with ardent none smokers.

As a side note I would not recommend to the total novice, as fast puffing will lead to tongue bite, gain a little experience and when you can sit back and savour a fine tobacco with the correct cadence then you will enjoy this and savour it whole heartedly.

4 stars easily earned and already looking at buying a 5 pack.

Pipe Used: falcon Dublin and Apple hunter

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Mysmokingshop.co.uk

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2017-03-18		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Another classic Dane by Mac Baren.

The tin note has indeed some honeyish qualities (I wouldn't know how to decribe it otherwise) as well as a subtle alcoholic note (due to German government information, 5mg of rum are used for 1000mg of tobacco).

Loosely packed (esp. bacause it's nearly a ready rubbed tobacco) and smoked VERY carefully, the aroma can be enjoyed during the whole smoke. The tobacco can burn slow and cool but smokes hot quite easily (to then transform into a fierce Tongue Gremlin).

The taste is round and just nice, without any particular aromas to be detected. On the other hand it is also complex, with changes from grassy undertones to almost earthy qualities to the end. All the time it keeps a dominant sweetness, also in the roomnote, which is not really a crowd pleaser but also nothing to get banned to the balcony.

I recommend to smoke it without a filter, with a 9mm charcoal filter it tastes strange to say the least.

To be honest, I don't know exactly why I like this tobacco so much, and why I keep buying it. It just finds its way into a pipe almost by its own, almost as if it sneaks into the bowl.

I enjoy every smoke, every time of the day every time of the year. And then, suddenly and by surprise, the tin is empty again and I hadn't noticed that I did smoke it so often. I then think I will lay of a bit and after e.g. a visit to a gas station or after buying grocerys I spontaneously buy another tin and the same begins all over again.

Pipe Used: Danish briars, unfiltered

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: local shops and local gas station

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-03-14		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Mac Baren - Mixture Scottish Blend.

This is a blend I reviewed a few years ago, one of my first reviews, but when I re-read it I thought it was a fairly inane attempt. Take two, lol:

The pouch contains an aesthetically pleasing blend: black, gold, and brown, tobaccos in many different shapes and sizes. The note from the pouch has a touch of fruit and spice to it, a bit like a mince pie! Moisture's perfect.

Getting a bowl lit is a simple task, and it gives a steady enough burn. The only problem with the burn is the heat from it, there's way too much. Regarding the tobacco tastes, I find them fairly pleasant. Yes, it's a busy flavour, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's too tricky for me to label any one of the tobaccos as being the most imperious, they all pop in and out, sooner or later! Like the aroma from the unlit blend, the topping comes over in the smoke as being mince pie like: spicy, fruity, sweet, with maybe a drop of alcohol. Unless I'm delicate with my cadence it can issue me a bite, so have to I puff it with care.

The nicotine's medium, and the I'm not exactly a fan of the room-note.

I feel this is a more accurate review than my first, but can't increase my rating much. It goes from 'not', to 'somewhat'.

Two stars.

Pipe Used: Peterson # 68. My first Pete'!

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: My Smoking Shop

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gtclark (12)	2014-08-10		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is a very tasty blend that reminds me of eating warm wheat toast with butter and honey. This blend does not produce billowing clouds of smoke, but rewards the smoker with small, fragrant wisps.

The wife likes the room note more than any other aromatic tobacco I've smoked. She says it has a distinctive incense-like aroma. Despite the room-note, I only detect a very pleasant tobacco flavor.

Smoke this blend slowly, as it will bite if pushed. However, with good technique, this blend can be enjoyed all day.

Pipe Used: Various briers

Age When Smoked: New

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-10-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this blend a few months back. It's a curious blend that I almost passed without spending more time understanding. For me, this tobacco has different impressions. It can be mild and sweet if smoked very slow. It can be more robust if smoked faster. The flavor changes along with it's intensity depending how you smoke it and how one packs the pipe. It's better for me if broken up some, spread and let to dry a spell for about 30 min before loading the pipe. I find it more enjoyable smoked in a MM Diplomat cob. Lately I've been reaching more for this blend. It's become a favorite. It's, in my opinion, one of the best smokes available. You will miss how good this tobacco is unless you invest a good bit of time smoking Mixture. However, the time invested may convince you why this blends has become one of the "all time" favorites of pipe smokers. A real classic. I smoke it at least once everyday and has become one of my favorite "go too" tobacco blends. It's lovely tobacco. I always of late, keep this tobacco readily on hand.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2020-09-14		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have only tried the pouch version. I have learned from someone who smokes it daily that it is advisable to buy the tin version since it is better in taste and lasts longer wet. I have also seen many comparisons with the Mac Baren Mixture Flake and there are those who say that it is the same tobacco, only here in the Mixture Scotish Blend that flake is crumbled. In some of these comparisons it is said that they first pack the flake and then crumble what is left over to make the Mixture Scotish Blend, leaving it somewhat drier and with a slight loss of flavor.

Returning to the mixture that concerns us here, it is a tasty, sweet tobacco, with a certain honeyed touch (although as you can see in the heading the mixer claims that it does not contain honey), creamy and full-bodied. It is not tiring or cloying despite its sweetness, so it can be smoked at all times and even repeated on the same day. But beware! If you smoke it carelessly the pipe will become red hot and your tongue will be in danger. Thanks to the advice on this page, I have managed to smoke it several times without getting itchy at all, and as people here say, it has no secret: smoke slowly and if the pipe gets hot, let it rest. It is worth some discipline in this process to enjoy this tobacco. I also add a filter to the pipe when I smoke any aromatic and with this I do not make an exception. The result has been a series of very pleasant and tasty smokes, although I take a star from it for the excessive heating that occurs in the pipe. Anyway, I will repeat, and next time I will buy the Mixture Flake to see if it is true, as some say, that the flavor remains more intense and lasting during the smoke.

Its qualification as "aromatic" can lead to some misunderstanding, since its topping seems so natural that if it were not for the warning, some of us could have gone unnoticed. I also want to mention the good relationship between its quality and its price.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Padra (1)	2020-04-27		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Purely an English blend. It was very pleasant for me when it's lit up i can't put down my pipe. taste is got a light bourbon whiskey note. it can be smoked without any drinks at any time of the day.

Pipe Used: Angelo Briar

Age When Smoked: 40

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DavyCrockettwashere (33)	2019-12-24		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I remember back when Walgreens sold this in the tins. It’s probably hard for the younger pipers to believe, but Walgreens used to sell quite a large variety of pipe tobacco and cigars. Mac Baren Scottish Mixture was the one tobacco I really learned to smoke a pipe with. It’s a real tasty tobacco blend that requires one to slow down and take it easy. Smoke this mixture faster than a sip and it will nip at your tongue. Mixture has a handsome aroma, and the taste is grassy sweet Virginia with the roundness of Burley. It seems I may taste a wee bit of liquor added. Could it be Teacher’s? This tobacco mixture satisfies with good medium nicotine level, a rich tobacco taste and flavor.

Pipe Used: Ashton Canadian

Age When Smoked: Fresh

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Peterson314 (43)	2019-10-17		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

First take:

This blend is just excellent but I couldn't figure out why it's labeled as an aromatic. It's a very complex blend that is excellent from the first light to the end. I had to re-light this often because it made itself known as a slow burner. Slow and low. I tried the breathing method and still couldn't go slow enough. It's definitely one I plan on keeping in my rotation. It has a lot going on except for the "Aromatic" flavors that I'm used to in my aromatics. That's not a bad thing at all, just something I was searching for while going through the bowl.

Nutty, full but not overpowering, complex. Every draw had something a little bit different until I got it too hot. Too hot and the nuances get hidden. Aftertaste is a bit like unsweetened chocolate, but I didn't taste any chocolate at the time. I can't wait to get back to it.

2022-08-06 Update: I brought this same jar out of my cellar, so at this point, it's almost 3 years old. After going through a catalog of English blends, I can now tell why this blend is technically called an aromatic. There is something sweet in this blend. Maybe it's just regular, white sugar. But whatever has been added to this blend makes it an absolute pleasure to smoke. It has just the right amount of sweetness--just a hint. The rest of the tobaccos in this blend play off each other so well. Not one of them looking for center stage. This blend is mild and approachable enough to recommend to someone new to a pipe, but good and interesting enough for an old codger to enjoy. I will keep this blend on hand for as long as I own a pipe.

Pipe Used: Peterson 314

Age When Smoked: 1 month

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2017-03-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As smoking habits change, pipe smoking declines in popularity and more and more 'traditional' tobaccos go out of production, the market has tended to swing towards heavily cased aromatics. My heart sinks regularly to see yet another old-fashioned savoury tobacco vanish from the shops. Well: Mixture Scottish Blend is an aromatic, but not in the worst and most violent sense. I bought a couple of small samples out of curiosity because I had heard many good reports of it. I was a bit skeptical at first because my taste doesn't usually run to aromatics; but I was immediately won over by its pleasant, mellow taste and agreeable room note. It's a well behaved and civilized Virgina, Burley, Cavendish mixture put together in such a way that the natural flavours of the tobacco are enhanced but not swamped by the added topping. (Despite the 'Scottish' name there's no Latakia.) It burns slowly and evenly all the way to the bottom of the bowl, and leaves behind only a clean white ash. One very strong point in its favour is its ready availability in a world where the range of pipe tobaccos on offer is so rapidly dwindling. The only thing I would say by way of warning is that Scottish Blend is a tobacco that must be taken very slowly or it'll bite you hard. This tendency is a common feature of MacBaren tobaccos and here, as elsewhere, a sensible pace is essential. Smoked sensibly, Scottish Blend is a classy tobacco that will certainly find a regular place in my rotation. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Dr Plumb Lumberman

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the shop

Purchased From: Green's of Leeds; then My Smoking Shop

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	panduji68 (28)	2013-07-21		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Watch out for this one, she's a biter!

Decent room note, the flavor was quite good, and it did provide a slight dose of nicotine, which I don't mind. I would have probably given it three stars, but it bit my tongue like a rabid dog. I realize tongue bite can differ from person to person, but I can't imagine this one not biting all who smoke it. Decent tobacco, two stars.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-02-27		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Like all the aromatics I've tried, the aroma off the tin is great but the real proof comes at smoking time.

After a couple of horrible experiences with some other MB aromatics who's bite was too much for me, this one was somewhat smokeable due to a pleasant coating effect and dense smoke at the beginning of each draw. There's bite in it too and that's a no-no.

I'm left wondering how many people give up the beautiful world of pipesmoking due to the bite and hot temperature of your average, readily available aromatic tobacco.

I can't help but think that if a mild cool burning english mixture was as common as a mac baren vanilla, we'd see more people enjoying the pipe!

in the end perhaps it's worth a try for a soft entry into aromatic tobaccoes.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	wbradk (16)	2020-08-19		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

I am one of those who smoke Mixture too fast. Thus, I get a strong peppery taste, which I really enjoy. Some may call this tongue bite, but perhaps I have the mouth of one of our Florida gators, because I just get an enjoyable experience out of it. I tell myself that I am going to slow down with this one and explore it as it should be enjoyed. We'll see what happens. In any case, this is one of my all time favorites. Having been a pipe smoker on and off since the 1960s, I do have a large collection of tobaccos, and this is certainly one of the best of them.

Pipe Used: Peterson from the 1920s

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Can't remember

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old Shrink (21)	2020-08-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant

Mac Barens: Mixture Scottish We are a patient & contemplative lot... aren’t we? This is how I would suggest you enjoy this sublime tobacco. I’ve delighted in its mysteries since the 1960’s & enjoy it today. It is a mild & vintage blend from MB that offers a splendid mild aromatic & complex smoke! It arrives in a ready rubbed & ribbon cut; with aroma & smoke of woodsy, citrus, nutty & creamy smoke. The mixture presents as a proper quality tobacco, well aged & blended. It smokes as a mildly sweet & creamy quality leaf; the Nic-hit & strength are moderate. It requires few re-lights, has little moisture in the briar, & leaves a proper white ash. It has essences of honey & a liquor I can’t identify as a casing... maybe whisky. This is a superior tobacco that for me smokes like a well-rehearsed choral group... in Harmony & a pleasure to be able to experience! It comes at a reasonable price & has been around since the 1950’s. I easily can recommend it to you! Treat yourself!

Pipe Used: Briars: Dunhill, Vauen, Comoys, Ashton

Age When Smoked: Various: Bulk & tins

Purchased From: Various; SmokingPipes

Similar Blends: MB: Symphony, Golden Extra.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	North State (72)	2020-03-22		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another good one from Macbaren.

This is basically an aromatic, but a very inoffensive one - already opening the pouch the sensation is that of good, solid pipe tobacco mix with few superfluous frills attached. The smoke is smooth, even and full-bodied and won't bite your tongue unless you make it to. Funnily enough, the main sensation that I got from this was actually lemonade - as in squeezed-from-fresh-lemons, topped-with-sugar. Since this is a blend of so many varieties though there does seem to be quite a lot of variation depending on what you happen to get in each individual bowl and how.

While I won't climb a mountain to get more of this I will definitely buy again when I happen to get the chance.

Pipe Used: various

Age When Smoked: Fresh from pouch

Purchased From: Kiosk in Visby, Gotland Sweden

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HeavyTrees (70)	2020-01-09		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

There’s another one that I’d probably never tried if I wasn’t gifted a pouch. From dry smell and due to other MB blends that I know i expected a high aromatic with heavy honey topping. Cut is very raw rubbed VA flake and small shares of different loose tobaccos as BC Burley VA probably also some Kentucky; very neat looking mixture.

Rubbed it out a bit more (as I don’t like big bowls of VA and aromatics) for medium sized and smaller bowls. Stuffs well and takes flames well and for the first few puffs I don't recognize much aroma neither artificial nor natural; then as the smokes continued I began to taste the tobacco first and then some sugarish molasses like topping though much more subtle than expected. Surprisingly mild and mellow blend with the sauce supporting natural flavors of the leaf that comes grassy sweet and light with little spice here and there. Not loosing any flavor until the last puff and not getting harsh when pushed a bit.

Pretty much one of the best aromatics that I’ve tried yet. Solidly blended.

Pipe Used: Various briars

Age When Smoked: Dried for one hour

Purchased From: As a gift

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gerry P (39)	2019-09-14		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This one has a very complex flavor. It's subtle and mild, and I can't begin to identify all flavors. Sweet, creamy, spicy, musky, fruity, nutty, and citrusy are the first things that come to mind. Different aspects of the blend's character can vary from one puff to the next. It does this in a way that makes it interesting, not inconsistent, if that makes sense.

I don't find this to be a particularly bitey blend, but if you're going a little fast it will get hot both in the bowl and on the tongue. I like the room note, the gf doesn't. Smoking it at the recommended slow pace means an occasional relight, but doing so can open up a new set of flavors and aromas.

I can see this as a blend that one could smoke all day. I haven't done that, but I think it's a great first-thing-in-the-morning blend.

It might help to think of this as a blend that rewards the lazy pipe smoker. The less effort you put into smoking it, the more you'll get from it. You can't say that about many things in life.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Unknown bulk, purchased 3 months ago

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Larry427 (2)	2019-07-26		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

Grassy, delicious, somewhat savory, but with just a hint of honey sweetness. A delicate smoke, but an intricate profile. A daily smoke for me. Highly recommend.

Pipe Used: Various Cobs, Savinelli Alligator.

Purchased From: Online

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NeoPolis (12)	2019-07-25		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

File this one under “extremely pleasant surprises.” If you are a new pipe smoker or looking to advise someone starting out or to make a “pipe kit gift” this blend would be an excellent choice. It is sweet enough to enjoy as a true aromatic, but lets the natural flavor shine enough that I suspect even hard core English fans will enjoy it. The strength is on the medium side of mild, the room note is very pleasant but not as immensely “friendly” as a super fruity or super vanilla aromatic. The pouch note is lovely and approximates the “good tobacco smell” you get from walking into a very fine old fashioned tobacco shop. The moisture from the bag may be perfect if you don’t demand it too dry, but I strongly recommend drying it to bring out the burley flavor and avoid bite, especially if you live in a place that regularly has humidity above 70%. Unlike most aromatics, I have NOT noticed the drying reducing the flavor, which puts this in the “green light aromatic” zone for me. This is a complex and subtle blend that is fairly forgiving and non-fussy and low maintenance, quite a feat.

I bought this when I had run out amphora full and wanted to explore a new blend that fit a similar “low cos, full flavor naturally sweet aromatic” profile. I’m so glad I did! This is in the same neighborhood as amphora full but more complex, slightly sweeter, much more complex, and from where I was buying it, exactly the same low price.

I like my tobacco on the dry end, especially if it is a burley blend. The lovely natural tartness of a burley only comes out when dry enough. This blend benefits from significant drying, though you don’t need to desiccate it as much as say, Kentucky bird. The flavors are persistent in a touch of humidity, even if when packing, you wish you had taken sightly more time to dry it. The flavor is fairly forgiving to a small bit of dampness, but for best results, dry until consistently tart to the taste.

As with most good blends, there is an evolution of flavor through the bowl. At the start, there is a natural but sweet flavor that will seem completely natural if you’ve are used to heavily cased and topped aromatics. It is like a Virginia honey that edges slightly to an amphora full chocolate area. But the natural flavor of the burley takes the lead.

As the bowl develops, spice comes more to the fore with a hint of licorice or amaretto.

The broken flake cut helps slow the burn and add complexity (slight bit of dampness) and variety to the flavor. This blend is full of surprises and I lately find myself coaxed away from the English blends I also love to enjoy this one perhaps for several days in a row. This is not a tobacco that one would easily get bored with.

I did not find this prone to bite, though if this blend is speedily pushed, the flavor would scorch and I can see that bite potential is in there.

Unlike some burley-heavy aromatics like Kentucky Bird, that benefit in flavor by being treated very gently with a slow smoke to the heel on zero relights, this blend benefits in the last third of the bowl from a good, strong ember as long as it stays cool enough. Resist the temptation to ash out early. This is not like a cheap aromatic where the casing is the only good part. This is made from truly high quality leaf. The bottom third has amazing flavor, if your smoke gets wispy and weak at the final third, relax, let it go out and cool, and then relight to a good, thick, warm draw. You’ll be rewarded with lovely spice balanced by some persistent sweetness.

I’m giving this 4 out of 5 only because I was not TOTALLY blown away at the start like with early morning pipe or LJP’s black cavendish or Brebbia Opera, But this is really amazing and I may revisit this review in time to add that’s extra star because I fully expect this blend to continue to deliver pleasant surprises.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 313 (prince) unfinished no filter

Age When Smoked: Fresh to 2 months

Purchased From: OTC in Italy

Similar Blends: Amphora Full.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2019-07-12		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

50 years smoking a pipe and I’m still not certain what makes for a “Scottish” blend! Oh, well… Mac Baren’s Mixture Scottish Blend is rough, broken flakes ranging from golden tan to medium and darker brown, and reddish brown, reflecting a wide range of VAs, Burley (including KY), and some Cavendish. I smoked it a couple of times before deciding to let it sit in its bag for a while. “A while” became a couple of months, until I deemed it acceptable. Mine was a bulk purchase, and the bag note was/is a sort of earthy spice cake, with faint vanilla and barely discernible smoke. It can be stuffed and smoked right from the bag, and it burns fine after some patience getting it well lit. Tastes are slightly earthy, nutty, “bright”, toasted Burley with (so Mac Baren say) a lot of slightly earthy, sweet, grassy and grain-y VAs that average out to air cured orange and brown, and very little smoky, slightly spicy, slightly bitter KY. I guess the Cav accounts for much of the sugar and some vanilla. It smokes down fine, and there’s plenty of smoke. Overall I find that the plethora of varietals used here makes for decent but rather nondescript aromas and tastes, with well restrained, sweetened vanilla and faint mango (or possibly apricot) wafting above the tastes throughout the smoke. The additives fade considerably after a month’s rest, and SM is not so “aromatic” as many other aromatics I’ve smoked. Strength is just shy of medium; likewise the tastes. Room note is nice. Aftertaste is a trailing off of the end of the smoke, so how it’s smoked at the end determines the aftertaste.

Mixture Scottish Blend might be the best selling duty free pipe tobacco, but IMO it is good rather than top flight. I can see where beginners, especially, would take to it, also codgers who “need a break” but won’t actually stop smoking; but IMO there are plenty of better blends available. 3 stars.

Pipe Used: various briars

Age When Smoked: 2+ months in a jar

Purchased From: Liberty Tobacco

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gustaw223 (1)	2019-02-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Excellent for 30 years. Slowly, slowly, and the taste is fantastic and never gets bored. I love to smoke it in the evening when I have a lot of time. I've been smoking for 40 years, I've tried a lot of tobacco. If I was told that I could choose only one tobacco for the rest of my life - I would choose a Scottish mixture.

Pipe Used: Stanwell

Age When Smoked: 60

Purchased From: Poland trafica

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hans im Glück (1)	2018-07-04		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

One of the tobaccos I "grew up" with as s pipe smoker. 25 years ago this danish blend was recommanded to me by my local tobacco store while being a new smoker because I couldn't deal with aromatic tobaccos. It is with me since than. After I learnd how to smoke scotish mixture (slow and gentle) I went to the world of english blends. But MB Scotish Mixture is still in my tobacco cabinet. A pleasant mild medium strong blend that screams ! all day smoke! A pouch of MB is on my desk anytime next to two trusty Savinelli 320 pipes. My family calls this "think tank". If I have to solve a work problem... My dear friends are there for me. MB scotish mixture is like a marriage. Gentle trusty and forever there.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320, Stanwell, Relief 11,

Age When Smoked: 48

Purchased From: local store

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Artyom (12)	2018-05-19		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Good mild aromatic with honey, floral, grassy flavours. Doesn't need a second relight. I heard that it can strongly bite. Since I was smoking 7 years old tin it was quite soft. I'd say it is medium biting. Perhaps aromatics are just not for me but I get quickly bored without feeling any deep flavors.

Pipe Used: MM Corn cob

Age When Smoked: 7 y.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PuffPuffLive (32)	2018-01-10		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I've been smoking this stuff all day and still can't figure it out.

My confusion with this blend started when I popped the tin the other day. While inspecting the contents, I saw every color and almost every cut available on the market. Ribbons, broken flakes, cube cut, shag, bits, and quite a few dusty specks at the bottom of the tin. The color is mostly light brown, with bright streaks, reds, and a bit of dark.

The tin note is very pleasant, sweet Virginia's lead the way, combined with a sugary topping. I get fruity citrus notes, along with a bit of a nutty chocolate smell. There also seems to be a touch of something alcoholic in the background. Every sniff brings out something different. Again, I find myself confused.

The smoke is mildly sweet and pleasant (but it will bite if you puff like a madman). I mostly get a Virginia and burley flavor, but the toppings show up from time to time. The flavor changes quite a bit from bowl to bowl, and even puff to puff. The room note is sweet and non-descriptive.

Not much to say about this blend, good or bad. It is a flavorful smoke that borders on an aromatic, but maintains a natural character. It's the kind of smoke that you can reach for when you don't really know what your in the mood for.

Pipe Used: Moonshine Poker

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dalarchone (3)	2017-08-16		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

MB Mixture is an underrated tobacco that everyone should try at some point. Aromatic lovers and natural fans can both enjoy this one. The complexity is mindblowing, starting from the tin note which is so good I nearly ate it instead of puffing it. Needs some drying when you first smoke it, though. Otherwise burns clean, little moisture, leaves white ash behind, nothing else really. It tastes really good, as you can enjoy the sweet aroma and the natural flavours of the tobacco at the same time- and this is a great example that they can work really well together. It won't bite you even if you push it, however, it the taste will decrease; so try to puff it at a moderate pace. Now this one can be an all day smoke, and, as others have pointed it out too, you can smoke this for months and you will never tire of it. Highly recommended for the starters and experts as well.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Freshly bought

Purchased From: Bunös élvezetek kicsiny boltja, Pécs, Hungary

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2017-03-06		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

I really can't understand why this only has a average rating of 2.8 stars! I was expecting this to have a much better average rating tbqh!

Great tobacco taste and a decent, well done flavouring.

As I opened the 50g pouch today I was very pleased by the smell. It has a spicy (almost Perique-ish peppery) and soft honey-ish sweet note to it. Also a bit citrus-/hay-ish smell to it, which i guess is owed to the excellent Virginas used for this one. At first I thought there were Orientals in it, due to the spicy character the tin-smell gives. But it's just VA/Burley/Cavendish as the description says. The mixture is filled with a lot of ready rubbed Virgina, accompanied by a bit burley and speckled with little bits of Black Cavendish. The appearance is very appettizing, as well as the smell.

The taste is pretty sweet compared to the spicy smell. It's a typical MB Aroma I guess. Honey-ish - very natural, but easily noticeable flavouring, that almost appears to be "real honey". Smoked in a clay, I could make out a taste remind me of butter-cookies, but just a whiff of it. Very pleasant!

Even tho it comes along pretty sweet, you can still clearly taste the delightful tobaccos in there. It has got a decent spiciness and very little peppery tang to it especially towards the end of the bowl, but the VAs dominate the rich taste. Honey, bread, some grass and hay. I personally can't taste the burleys as those, but I guess they play a supporting role to this tobacco, giving some nutty backbone and perking up the spice. Cavendish adds a slight toasty-ness to the flavor and makes the smoke creamy and full.

"35 diffrent tobacco leafes were used" - and that is noticeable. With every pinch you take out of the pouch there is a chance you get a few different nuances to the smoke. Interesting, but may be bothering people who want a consitent smoke. I don't mind it, I find it to make this blend unique

A excellent blend, which is easy to find (you can get it nearly everywhere; even the small tobacco shops who only sell 2-3 pipe blends often have it here in Germany), easy to smoke and - most importantly - easy to enjoy. Even if you don't have time and leisure for conscious tasting, it will reward you with a nice, fresh and not overly, but decently sweet smoke. If you take your time it's a even bigger joy. Due to it's high percentage of VAs you shouldnt smoke it to hastily or rushed, or it will just become bity and the tasty flavour will hide.

3-stars, not the "eye-opening" smoking experience, but solid as rock and may as well be a 4-star blend for lovers of more aromatic tobaccos!

|| Personal rating: 3-stars | Rated for what it is: 3,5-stars! ||

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Digger'76 (2)	2016-01-05		Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Being so highly praised, I had to try this one for myself. I have to say it didn't work for me at all !!! It's a week, hot burner and it bites hard no matter what I tried (I later noticed that this tobacco gets a bit better when aged). Has nice aroma actually of something not tobacco related but rather like some natural aromatic spices. It was quite cheap, so I bought 4 pouches of it. Grave mistake!

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New (dried for 1/2 hour)

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	rushm1n3r (20)	2015-08-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Great taste. Great room note. Deep flavor. TOO DAMN HOT. Tongue burn ("bite" is too nice) kills this blend. Smoking it is like kissing another woman...it may start off good, but in the end, you'll get burned..

Pipe Used: MM Diplomat

Age When Smoked: Fresh Tin dried for half-day

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Telling it how it is. (73)	2015-06-02		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I don't know what i could add about this tobacco that has not been said before. This is one of the tobaccos that i have a dedicated pipe for. And it is one of my go-to tobaccos in all walks of life. Its always satisfying, around the clock and in all seasons.

Pouch aroma is dominated by honey flavour.

Its a moot point trying to describe the actual taste of this blend as it changes over and over during the duration of the smoke. You will discover so many different tastes in it that it is really, really hard to even begin keeping track of them. And not only that, it also varies, often times alot from bowl to bowl. Which of course stems from the sheer mass of different tobacco used. Also this is not a heavy aromatic so tobacco taste is a plenty.

Burning properties are as excellent as can be, very smooth and slow. However you have to pack it right or it will not taste well and you might get tongue bite from it. If you do pack it right its an entire universe of different tastes and very forgiving on the tongue.

Room note is neutral pleasing, its more of a sweet, spicy slightly honey smell than an actual room note. And non smokers love it.

Do i recommend this blend? Hell yeah. I do recommend this blend to anyone. It is one of the oldest mixtures around, you can get it literally all over the planet, its affordable and one of the true need-to-know tobaccos. I especially recommend this as a beginners blend even tho you should already be able to correctly pack your pipe.

Pro tip: as with most Mac Baren blends the version that is sold in denmark is alot richer and deeper than the export versions.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Years Pipe 1997

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kaywoodiecanuck (14)	2012-07-07		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another Mac Baren I thoroughly enjoy. I smoke this in a rotation with Plum cake, and its a nice treat. smells good, in the bag and lit, though others around me are not as fond of it as I am. can bite if puffed too hard or if its not been given some time to air (I found, that is).

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2021-09-03		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

35 different tobaccos from around the world. Dang thats intense!

I ordered 2oz in bulk, as I like to smoke a good amount to understand my selections. different pipes, different weather, indoor/outdoor, in the car, different seasons, etc.

The aroma from the pouch is grassy and hay, with a forward dark fired aroma. The mixture comes in at the perfect moisture level. This blend is not only comprised of several shades of tobacco ranging from light Virginias to dark Kentucky, but it also has several cuts of ribbon and broken flake.

On the drying mat I broke up the remaining small flakes before I load up. This initial light you can hear the tobacco crackle and start to expand The first portion of the bowl is a muted spice and majority dark fired. It is fairly complex, but I figured this blend would be a bit more complex than it is, considering the sheer amount of different leaf involved. Further down the bowl, the peppery spice intensifies, but it still keeps that signature Danish flavor and aroma. The vegetal characteristics also get muted, and make way for a more charred woody flavor.

One thing is for sure. Smoke this blend slowly, and you'll be rewarded. Puff even a bit too fast, it's gonna bite. I learned this blend requires a lot of attention from me to make sure I keep my bowl cool. I think this is going to make a terrific fall morning blend!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cap'n Lev (19)	2020-04-19		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren - Mixture: Scottish Blend is an interesting aromatic that I like to smell when it burns in my pipe. The floral notes and woody, slight nutty spices reminds me kind of a spring pie with a mild sweetnes of it coming nicely together. Needs slow puffing as it burns rather hot if pushed. Ιf you are in for light aromatics I suggest you give it some time to unlock the flavour profile. I give it 2,9 stars, recommended for occasionally smokes.

Pipe Used: Briar, Corn cob

Age When Smoked: New

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	On Dutie (4)	2020-01-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This one is a winner in my opinion. This tin from my cellar is 2 years old. when I popped the tin, moisture level was perfect. I just aired it out for 15 minutes just to wake it up. If you like burley blends, you should give one a try. Due to the 4 ingredients of the blend, to me this one is best enjoyed in wide bowl. it's a complex smoke. Spicy, creamy, woodsy. Really enjoy smoking this blend and easy on the tongue, plus a dry smoke. No top flavorings detected. I give this 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Peterson XL-02, dunhill LB

Age When Smoked: 2 years old

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Italian_Piper (4)	2019-02-23		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

There is not much to add to my previous speakers! This a great tobacco that has a special spot in my heart. Upon opening the pouch you are greated with a honey like scent but you can can detect the other tobaccos too. This baccy is not you're average goopy wet aro stuff that you mostly find. This a A+ danish aromatic and it needs to be smoked slowly than it rewards you with a variety of complex taste notes but if you puff it like a mad man then it will bite n scratch you! So treat it like a lady my friend!

Pipe Used: Cobs, yellow bole, briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh, aged 1 year

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Precious Paul (20)	2018-10-15		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The venerable aromatic, a choice tobacco in the pinch, an ace in the hole, a terrific change of pace. So many superlatives. All fitting. Yes she will bite like a snake if you pull for flavor but you don’t need to. This is a pretty damn nuanced smoke especially for one being cased. A lot going on here and well worth the exploration. This was one of the first aromatics I genuinely enjoyed and find myself still doing so though this is the first time I’ve had it since I finished my bulk way back in 2006 or something. Current tin was a gift from my late father in 2004. I just opened it a few weeks ago. So here’s a tobacco that’s been vacuumed sealed for nigh 14 years and frankly it’s better for it and quite different than a fresh batch as to be expected. However didn’t lose any aroma from the casing now it smells strangely of grapes and mature Virginia tobacco. A true joy. Buy some and age some.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Tevere 320

Age When Smoked: 14 years

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hawky454 (107)	2017-03-06		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Wow, I'm actually enjoying this one much more than I thought I was going to. I was gifted it and had I not been I probably would have never come around to trying this one. The dressing has a very nice floral note in it not unlike what you would find in St. Bruno or Velvan Plug, it's very faint but it's there and very satisfying in my opinion. I love how florals go with tobacco so I am always looking for a blend that incorporates that into the mix and this one surprisingly does this very well. The one fault that I do find with this blend as I do with many Mac Baren blends is that it has the tendency to bite so you have to be very careful with it, it seems to be more in the topping than the actual tobaccos. The tobaccos used are obviously of high quality and the topping is not over the top so this is not one of those ridiculous goopy aromatic tobaccos, you can actually taste the tobaccos! I'll definitely be getting more of this once my gifted sample runs out.

Edit* The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 4 is the lack of nicotine. While this blend is absolutely delicious, unfortunately I'm still wanting more once I've smoked it all the way down. If Mac Baren would put this topping on a more stout tobacco like Walnut Flake or St. Bruno it would probably be my number 1 blend. As it stands I still love it and I'm happy to have a large stash of it on hand. I like to smoke several pipes in one session and this one almost always makes those sessions.

I'll say it's still essential, just wish it had more nicotine.

Pipe Used: Stanwell, Savinelli, Peterson

Age When Smoked: Fresh

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Matsutake Slayer (11)	2017-02-08		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

It has been noted that in theory, theory and practice are the same, while in practice they are not. In theory, I assure myself that I do not enjoy smoking aromatic blends, nor for that matter any blends dominated by Virginias. But this blend has again proved my theories wrong. I recently came upon a six-year old tin of Mixture Scottish Blend as a side bonus with several other tins and thought I might as well try a bowl. What a surprise! From start to finish, each bowl has been a delight -- creamy, abundant smoke, wonderful flavor, and a steady, easy light. Quite pleasing!

Age When Smoked: 6 yrs

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LannarkGent (145)	2016-12-17		Mild	Medium to Strong	Full	Very Pleasant

This blend is like attending a food tasting party. This mixture has the flavor of scotch citrus and four or five other aromatic components that creates a wonderful ensemble of flavor. The basic tobaccos are good, and when properly smoked,provides for a delightful experience for the experienced smoker. There is one big warning with this mixtur. IT MUST BE SMOKED SLOWLY. When liquors are added to tobcco, the result is often the the combustion point of the mixture changes. I have experienced the same problem when creating my own mixtures and rum or scotch have been added as flavors. Smoke this one very slowly an you will be rewarded. Smoked any other way and this blend will cause endless tongue and mouth bite.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2016-10-18		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

While away on a Greek island for my summer holidays I run out of ammo. So I checked at the local store for replenishment. The only makes available were Captain Black and some McBaren’s from the 7seas and Mixture series . I checked a little on the internet and saw that Scottish Blend was probably the less aromatized, so it was this I chose to buy. Upon opening the pouch I was appalled by the mess I saw. Dry and very untidy mix of broken flakes and loose ribbons of several hues of brown. Pouch note was good though, quite natural despite an obvious topping which seems to me to be a fruit liqueur. Not difficult to pack although messy and easy to light. Actually I was surprised by how good this tobacco was given my expectations. It’s fairly mild but flavorful and complex without being complicated. By this I mean it’s easy to understand but probably because of its messy packing and the presence of quite a few different tobaccos it offers slight variations on its sweet nutty theme with almost every draw and in no way is it monodimensional. It tastes flavored but only mildly so, has to be cocoa with some fruit sweetness and a few things besides that. But you can also taste the tobacco, is this a tobacco flavored tobacco? Actually it’s quite good! Burns easy, stays lit and produces a nice powdery ash. Does not bite if smoked gently - otherwise it did bite me at least...- and not repeatedly. It’s not a premium tobacco, but it is readily available at a good price and what’s best it’s quite enjoyable. 2.5 stars.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ronnstein (29)	2016-08-13		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

In Per Jensen's words: "Without Mixture, no MacBaren". The company was built on this blend and for good reason. Packs well, burns well, stays lit, tastes wonderful, VERY reasonably priced blend. I love Danish tobaccos in general, MacBaren blends especially and this is a classic example of how good Danish blends can be. No reason not to at least try this blend unless you don't care for this type of tobacco or if you don't know how to smoke Danish tobacco.

Pipe Used: A variety

Purchased From: smokingpipes

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AppleJack (8)	2016-03-02		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

This might just be one of my favourite blends. It smokes well and the cut is excellent, but where it really shines is in the flavour. Sweet and earthy, this tobacco just fills the air around you with a comfortable aroma and atmosphere - like sitting by a warm fire on a winter night.

It's not heavy on the nicotine, so if that's what you're after I might go for something else, but if what you want is a nice relaxing evening smoke then this is the blend for you. Would recommend highly. Smoke well my friends.

Pipe Used: Aztec Briar, MM Cob, Falcon (Briar bowl), Meer

Age When Smoked: New

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ducksbreath (125)	2016-03-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This really is a sublime, complex Danish semi-aromatic. And this coming from a regular smoker of stronger stuff (Bayou Night for example).

I think the overriding characteristic of this is the complexity, as has been noted. I wish it were stronger and did not demand such restrained puffing cadence.

I think this is the quintessential classic Mac Baren blend, and all the other classics are spin-offs. The new, more robust Mac Barens (ODF, H&H etc) are all smoother, stronger, but lack this one's sweetness and complexity. IMO, they should try to blend a more robust version of this (they already have a milder one), if that's possible.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Markus Heinrich (2)	2016-02-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

MB mixture is one of the quintessential MacBaren - blends of old, some of the others being Navy Flake, Golden Bend (a burley), Dark Twist (as example of their roll cakes) and Plumcake.

It's maybe the closest thing Germany has to a codger blend, being available at least in one place in every small town - a true OTC, still being sold at many newspaper agents and gas stations. The taste is sweet-ish due to the honey /maple topping, but also spicy from the small amount of fire cured leaf. MB mixture tries to satisfy all tastes and succeeds surprisingly often. The wild cut mixture with a nice amount of broken flakes leads to quite a lot of changes over the course of a bowl - sometimes you hit a piece of smoky kentucky, followed by a stretch of mild virginia taste, then suddenly it turns sweet.... and then the other way round.

It's the all-day-smoke of many German all-day-smokers, the kind that never heard of (or cared for) online pipe communities. Almost every smoker over here tried it at least once because of its good availability.

The reason I'm reaching for it again and again (apart from obvious nostalgia) is its versatility, it shows a different aspect of its personality on every occasion, indoors, outdoors, big or small pipe, cob or briar, and it satisfies most of the whims and cravings this pipe smoker is known to develop.

Pipe Used: All of them.

Age When Smoked: Never tried a really old tin...

Purchased From: Everywhere ;-)

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kunsan (76)	2014-10-22		Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I'm new to pipe smoking. I tried this blend and it wasn't what I was expecting. No typical pipe aroma and a fairly bland taste. It burns quite well and leaves a neat white ash. No liquid deposited in my pipe. After smoking a pipe full I'm left unsatisfied and really wanting something else.

The flavors gradually disappeared as I worked my way through the tin. As the tobacco dried so the flavors experienced at the beginning gradually disappeared. The last few smokes from the bottom of the tin were bland, uninteresting and disappointing. But probably the worst thing is the incredible tongue bite and throat burn. Not just this MacBaren - I got it with their Black Ambrosia too. I won't be buying any more of this or any other MacBaren blend - not with all that tongue burn that lasted for several days.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Right Reverend (36)	2013-08-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Was stuck in the hinterlands on vacation without anything good and stopped by a bookstore that stocked some dusty tobacco tins. While looking through a rather uninspiring group of Mac Barens I decided to try a year old tin of Scottish Mixture. It had to be better than the Captain Black I picked up at the drugstore the day before right? Well, it was. Opening the tin (which took 5 min to figure out the coin under the lid trick) it had a nice tobacco/alcohol smell. I let it breath and found it fairly dry. It lit well and burned okay, but needed a few more relighted than I am used to. It had a steady tobacco flavor throughout the bowl and enough of a spice to keep me interested. Not much bite, but it will nip you of you puff away, as another review said, sips not gulps. The ladies in my life found the room note to be pleasant and 'manly' like an autumn day. Which I find is a minor triumph, something good enough to smoke, pleasant to observers, but not fruity smelling. I took my pipe for a long walk each day with this in it and I am keeping it in my rotation at home.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (218)	2012-11-03		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a great aromatic blend. I really enjoy the complexity of this blend. It will not bite and is one of a very few aromatics that I really enjoy. It smokes dry and although the depth of flavors are subtle it is a very interesting smoke. The wife does not hate this one either. I would love to pick up a lb. at some point but I really don't know if aging will hurt it (I don't think it will help as the flavors are mild as it is).

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-09-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is one of my all time favourites. A sweet, but not overly sweet, blend that never disappoints. It´s full of many different flavours, a result of the 35 different tobaccos it´s made of I guess, and seems to change slightly through the smoke. I find it impossible to get tired of this one. Goes without saying it is not a tobacco for those who hate aromatics, but still it is very "clean" to be an aromatic, and doesn´t have any artificial or chemical taste. And no bite either, if smoked correctly (pack a little bit looser, light well, but keep a slow pace when puffing, make sure to taste every puff before taking a new, don´t belch).

Tongue taste (the taste you feel on your tongue when you first get the smoke into your mouth): honeylike, round and sweet, sometimes towards the spicier side.

Snork taste (the taste when you roll the smoke around in your mouth and out of your nostrils): semi-sweet, creamy, quite full-bodied. Aromatic but with a natural tobacco taste.

All together: a tobacco that manages to combine a good taste on the tongue and "snork" (which many in my experience fail - often it is either or), and which has a full bodied, powerful but still pleasantly mild taste.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-01-15		Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This was my first tobacco, smoked three 50g pouches of this as this is the only tobacco widely available around here. Then i went on to other tobaccos to expand my tastes. Yesterday i picked up a 100g tin again and it still gives me that wonderful taste and perfect moisture straight from the tin. Give it a quick rub and packs like a dream, few relights and little or no toungebite for me. Great smoke any time at day, gets a solid highly recommended from me.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-09-11		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

When I first opened the tin I was unsure if I wanted to smoke it or eat it, it smells that good. My wife was near me when I opened it and smiled and laughed at my initial comment. As she described it was "oh yes", in a soft husky voice.

I love this blend, the aroma is amazing and although it was on the moist side, I had no trouble with lighting and no relights have been needed so far.

This blend falls into my "special treat" category as I'm only buying it as a reward to myself.

I highly reccomend this blend.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-09-03		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one of the first tin tobaccos that I smoked. It is very pleasant. It can get away from you if you tend to smoke things hot. The moisture content is a little high on opening. I experienced some of the bite that others have mentioned, but drying a little has helped quite a bit in that dept. If you smoke this slow, it will reward you with a lot of different flavors, smoke it faster than you should and you'll probably get bit. This is in my regular rotation. I would also recommend this as a bridge for those moving away from aromatics.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyMcPiperson (119)	2011-08-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I like this stuff, but I have to be very careful with it, I always tend to burn my mouth. Still it has a nice VA, burley flavor, I lose the cavendish in this blend, there isn't enough for me to taste it's distinctive sweetness apart from the VAs. Overall it's a good pouch to grab if you are traveling and you need to pick up something to smoke, but I would really say it's ever going to become one of my regular smokes.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	IrishCanadian (1)	2011-04-20		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I am still new to pipe smoking as I have only been going for about a year now but my goodness do I love this blend. I am still experimenting and was smoking alot of aromatics when I purchased this. This is nothing like an aromatic.

The taste is great and it burned great. The roomnote according to the wife was similar to cigarettes so i would say tolerable.

This is one of my favorite smokes. This tobacco, a beautiful burley blend and University flake are my favorite tobaccos. These got me away from the aromatics and I am very glad.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-07-23		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren Scottish Mixture is one of my favorite, basic blends. Its always available in my collection, because its always been satisfying, unique, and enjoyable. One of the things I appreciate most about this blend is the subtle nuances that come and go- because you can't guarantee the same mix in your pipe every single time, the nuances can vary, making the blend never seem boring, bland, or unremarkable.

The blend isn't overly strong, but it is a step up in flavor and strength from "drugs store tobacco." While I like the "room note," people around me find Mixture less enjoyable than other, lighter (to me) blends. This is an excellent, every day blend. If smoking multiple bowls over an evening, I usually include this based on mood.

While I concede that my smoking style/skill might be to blame, I tend to find Mac Barens to smoke very hot, and this one does too, for me. I don't smoke often enough to be sure the problem is my style, the moisture in the tin, or what.

I'm really glad to have this... now I want to try the flake version...

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (242)	2009-08-10		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

According to Mac Baren, this is the same as their Mixture, Scottish Blend. The latter being its newer name.

Here is my original review under MIXTURE from 7-31-09: I enjoy Mac Baren's Scottish Mixture. My review is based on a recent 8 oz bulk sample purchase. Its presentation is that of medium brown strands of broken flake tobacco with just the right moisture level. It packed and lit without effort and required no relights. There was no moisture accumulation and the tobacco burned down to a nice light gray ash. This was sweet tasting and had a slightly floral character to it (not Lakeland, just very subtle).

The Virgina tobacco is the most predominant taste and it is very similar to their Virginia No 1 offering but sweeter (combination of the natural Virginia leaf, cavendish, and the typical Mac Baren honey flavor). There is also a spiciness to it which adds a peppery sensation to the tongue. I am not talking bite. However, if you puff on this too hard the bowl has a tendency to burn hot and it will scorch. Interestingly, in a larger diameter bowl, I bunch up the tobacco like a flake for packing and do not experience any tendency for this to smoke hot. Gentle puffing never gets it above the pepper sensation on the tongue. Its overall taste and strength maintained itself consistently throughout the smoke.

This is a very nicely put together blend. As I stated in another review, many of the Mac Baren blends have been criticized for being too similar in taste. I felt that way during my beginning years of pipe smoking. Today, however, many of the Mac Baren blends are among my favorite smokes. I smoke more of their offerings than from any other manufacture and I have been rewarded in discovering the subtle differences they offer. It took time and patience, but the results were well worth it.

All of the qualities represented by Scottish Mixture are enough to make it a candidate for anyone's daily or weekly rotation.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-07-02		Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this blend once, and hated it. I smoked a few more ounces, and still hated. Being stubborn, I didn't toss or trade it, but stuck it on a shelf and forgot about it. I went back to it a year or so later, I I've found that it has improved...still not a regular smoke, but its better.

There are a few things that make this tobacco worth smoking. First, the taste is pleasant. Its not sweet like a good aromatic, nor is it overly complex like an English, but falls somewhere in the middle. You can definitly find the Burley and Virginias in this one, although the Cavendish doesn't really come out until you've had a bit and really start paying attention. The room note isn't great, but its relatively inoffensive as well.

On the downside, this tobacco smokes rocket-hot. If you read through the other reviews of this tobacco, you'll find that most of us agree on this point--trust the lot of us, this one needs to be smoked VERY VERY SLOW! It will either get too hold to hold the pipe, or bite you'll think your tongue was to fall off.

As I said, this isn't a great smoke, but it passes as 'ok.' If you have some on hand that you haven't opened, or have given up on it, it might be worth coming back to for a very occasional smoke. For those who haven't tried it but are considering getting some, well...honestly there are better options out there for you.

Oh, and if you do smoke it...a recommendation: only smoke it in a smallish bowl (no bigger that a group 3), or even a smallish cob...and make sure the pipe already has some cake on it. Tnis is the only way I've managed to win (or at least draw) in the battle against the heat of the burn.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OSR (78)	2005-12-15		Extremely Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

This is the blend that took me from "Fruit Loop Cavendish®" to virginia flakes.

Mixture smells like nothing else. Mixture smells so good out of the tin that you'll want to take a fork and EAT the tobacco.

Mixture is waaaaay too mild for people who want something "round" with flavor. This is very mild tobacco and has to be loaded and smoked with care to be enjoyed, IMO.

The Danes have a way of explaining how to fill a pipe, it's called "plug". My experience has been that the best way to enjoy Mixture is to pull a "wad" of tobacco out of the tin and to "plug" it into a smaller bowled pipe. Don't rub it out, don't take a lot of care in loading the pipe... just take a wad out of the tin and plug it in the pipe.

Once plugged (not CRAMMED) into the pipe, light the bowl and then smoke the tobacco. Don't worry about an even burn, just light it and smoke it. If you smoke Mixture haphazardly and sip at the tobacco you'll be rewarded with a tasty, light and pleasant smoke.

If you try to treat Mixture like other flakes by rubbing it out, applying a good light to the pipe and then tamping and relighting....well, it will bite your tongue off. Period.

Hey, don't take my word for it - try it. Pull a wad out of the tin, plug it into the bowl, light the bowl and go. It'll smoke great! Try to turn Mixture into a science and rub it out, light it, tamp it, light it again... it'll turn your tongue into a blister that won't soon forgive you.

This tobacco has a very fond place in my heart and about once every three years I'll open a tin... and then I'll give it away.

If you like the taste of this mixture but hate the blisters it leaves on your tongue, buy a tin of Gawith and Hoggarth Ennerdale Flake - or, a tin of Gawith and Hoggarth Rum Flake.. both of these blends will treat you much better than Mac Baren Scottish Mixture.

But Mixture is like nothing else. The flavoring is unique. Too bad it's a tongue destroyer. Like someone else said, I give it an extra star (old system) for old times sake. I wonder if the new Flake version is as bitey as this is?

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (112)	2004-02-08		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Ive smoked this blend for many years.This blend starts a touch warm but if you dont spazz on your pipe its does cool down very quickly.I dont rub it when smoking outside but do just a little to break it a bit while indoors.IT passes the wife test... she likes it! I used to snag 5 lbs bags of it .. it ages well it gets mellower and toaster in flavor and a bit richer as well! the aromatic agent [ honey/water ] is light in flavor and the blend always remains clean with the virgina present at all times.If you are a traveler this is a blend that you will find in many countrys.I read many people complaining that it doesnt have a lot of flavor.If you are mainly a latakia lover then youll not like this.I enjoy smoking many tobacco blends and I find this one to be an all dayer!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2002-11-11		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This blend is a pretty typical MacBaren Cavendish with golden to dark brown tobacccos that have been rubbed out. I only had a sample quantity but that was enough for several bowls. The pouch and room aroma and taste are quite sweet but the casing is not overpowering and you can still believe that you're smoking tobacco and not candy. Compliments on the room aroma, which are quite rare in my house, were received from the family and indicate that this blend offers the nice balance of personal enjoyment without offending non-smokers. The Burley and Virginia also contribute to the varying flavor during the smoke. Although I normally don't smoke such aromatic blends, I'll reserve some of this one for next year when it again gets hot & humid and I'm again looking for a mild but still enjoyable smoke.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Aurorasofautumn (38)	2021-03-20		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

This is a widely popular mixture you can get almost anywhere where I live. When I started out smoking, I had a bowl of Davidoff Danish Mixture, abhorred it and only came back to aromatic tobaccos several years later. Needless to say, I approached the tobacco from the wrong angle and therefore missed its merits completely. I find this tobacco similar to Davidoff Danish Mixture but even better. Indeed it is one of my favorite tobaccos with a clearly discernible casing/topping.

MacBaren Scottish Blend really shines if you put in under a lamp for 2-3 minutes before smoking. Don't ask me why or how I found out about this. This tobacco has an intriguing and well integrated taste that I find incredibly hard to decipher. It's sweet but not overly sweet, the sidestream smells delicious and on the retrohale it reveals yet another charming dimension. It can be smoked at any time of the day and while I only smoke aromatics occasionally and am by no means an expert, this one gets my strongest recommendation.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Singularis (18)	2021-03-08		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

What makes this blend a knockout for me is the light addition of Kentucky. This is a really all around crowdpleasing blend and I can see why it’s one of the top tobacco blends in the world. Just the right amount of that honey toast topping. Not too strong on the nicotine. And it smokes nice and dry and clean and flavorful. Four stars easily and a personal favorite of mine.

Pipe Used: Randy Wiley and other briars

Age When Smoked: One month

Purchased From: Smoking pipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Babis (3)	2021-01-29		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The first bawl I have smoked of this blend the taste was quite impressive, I thought I was smoking a Cuban cigar,in the second sag I got used to the flavor and after some bowls I got tired of it, but never mind it is a quite cheap and ordinary blend with half aromatic flavour!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TurkishPiper (2)	2021-01-16		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I think that the master blender have spent too many times to create this pleasant mixture.

When smoke, you can feel the all notes start with sugary whiskies and light nuts to earthy, grassy, and either goaty.

It's an essential for my weekly smoking loop and balances the aromatics and non-aromatics, thanks to smoothness.

It goes well Turkish Coffee, Stouts and tangy liquors. Its suit for the everyday smoke, except the very mornings. However, I prefer to smoke Scottish Mixture after job to relieve tiredness with Turkish Coffee.

Pipe Used: Dunhill 83f/t

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Cigarworld.de

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Elsayyed (14)	2020-12-18		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

hello this is my second tin one batch from 2013 the other from 2015. there is quality and taste consistency between the 2. upon opening the tin you'll get a sweet almost honey like notes and you'll see a mix between ribbon cut and broken flake . drying for 30 minutes is recommended you may loose a little sweet notes but it will help with relighting, temperature, bite and becomes smokier. i found by loading a medium bowl of this tobacco starting by choosing the ribbon cut first and put it to the side of the bowl , then choosing the broken flake stuff them vertically in the middle and continue the rest of the bowl with ribbons and packing it a little light because tobacco expends when heated to workes best for me its hard to describe this tobacco blend its sweet, bready and leaves a lingering honey like sweetness on your tongue at low temp its the sweetest with somehow floral note when frensh inhaling, at medium temp its smokey stings the nostrils, its unsatisfying yet good, im always searching for that wow factor while smoking it.

i find it to be an all day smoke while im working/driving that keeps me occupied and my olfactory remain sensitive for my evening chillax pipe time of my favorite blend.

1 star for what it achieve for the price. 1 star for quality. 1 star for taste. 0 star for high potential for biting.

Age When Smoked: from fresh to 9 month old

Purchased From: locale store.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (197)	2020-08-11		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Smells of grass and hay. There is a smokey element to this too. Reminds me of summer time camping. Taste is earthy, nutty, sour hay, grassy, smokey and a bit of honey. Easy to light, easy to smoke, lots of smoke, burns dry, flavorful and complex. Does not feel like a typical aromatic.

update 27-5-2021

There is a nice sweet Virginia quality to this and yes, the Kentucky adds some body and a tad smokey spice quality to it. It’s sweet but not in an American aromatic way, this is not a goopy heavily topped aromatic. If you’ve ever had any other aromatic from MB then you’ll know what I mean. It’s done just right and brings the natural tobacco flavors to the forefront. Lots of grassy hay sweetness, and some earthy with some wood and spice tones. Retrohale is a bit sharp as expected, short lived ok after taste, a bit spicy. A mildly sweet and a natural tobacco experience. Room note is sweet and delightful.

Pipe Used: Corn cob.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ElMog (36)	2020-03-22		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Being on a lighter tobaccos binge lately, now is the time for Scottish mixture. In the tin, or bag since I bought bulk, is a pall mall assortment of broken flakes, ribbons and chunks of mostly golden brown tobaccos. Call it a Danish kitchen sink blend. The smell is mostly Virginia's with some nutty undertones (Burley?). I fully understand all the talk about a honey topping, the smell is sweet but seems rather natural, it is not cloying, it feels "dry" and has hints of spice. Easy to light and keep lit. Thin grey smoke, no big white clouds here. Rather thin mouth feel, it is mild but tasty. Mostly slightly sweet, nutty, hints of smoke when the flame reaches bits of Kentucky. As has been said, varies a lot from bowl to bowl. Not as bite-y , in my experience, as some other reviewers say. Like all MacBaren blends I've tried, it really does burn down to a fine, pale gray ash. I like it, but it is a tad too mild for my tastes and does not fully satisfy. Unless you are the kind of person who would indulge in a second bowl right away.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	eamonclever (48)	2020-03-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

Out of the pouch, there is no nose detection, that tells you which different tobaccos packed inside the mixture. It´s like a bunch of virginias and nothing else. It is easy to pack in whatever kind of bowl, that´s okay. Easy to light, easy to maintain, burns down to an exactly grey ash, no dottle - so the perfect all day smoke, but nothing special. After 1/3 of the bowl the smoke gets more powerful and brings more of the typical MB-type of sweet tobaco. I think this is made especially for filtered pipes than for filterless pipes. I tried one in a filtered pipe and there you get more out of the tobacco, but I won´t buy it again. But good for beginners. I haven´t tried it until now, because there was no real reason to do so, but I forgot my tobacco pouch at home and I had to buy some over the counter.

Pipe Used: bulldog different bowl sizes

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (80)	2019-12-25		Mild	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Wow. I did not believe that this could be really good smoke. As fresh tobacco no too much say about aroma. Very mild sweet without better specification. I would say too dry. During the smoking I really enjoy it. Sweetens of Virginia some cigarettes smoke from burley, little bit pepper. No tongue bite, nice burning, no moisture. What I do not like is smell of cigarets sometimes

Easy tobacco really good for new piper as well as for someone who enjoys VA and aromatics.

Pipe Used: Stanislaw

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LonePiper (3)	2019-10-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A a sweet and only apparently simple tobacco blend. Extremely easy to load and burn. Definitely Recommended. . . . (They want me to write at least 25 words so I’m just typing a random sentence)

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Curious George (15)	2019-08-25		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

About 6 bowls of this so far and I've learned the flavor is best and bite minimized with patience. Further I've found it's best packed quite loose after rubbing out further.

Aesthetically this is a good looking blend. Taste wise its mild and grassy with a subtle sweetness that I can't isolate. I found myself trying to coax a bit more flavor to identify the source of the sweetness which created too much heat. Otherwise there is nothing extreme about this blend, but that doesn't make it lackluster. There is no reason a patient smoker couldn't pull on this all day.

Pipe Used: Lanza Dublin

Age When Smoked: 1 month

Purchased From: P&C

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pjpockets1 (2)	2019-05-29		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I used to really like McClelland X10. This is my new favorite. I did not perceive any bite. I took my time as suggested, and enjoyed the wonderful flavor. Every part went well, from light up, to dump out. For me, a perfect pipe tobacco. Right up there with MB Lat. Flake.

Pipe Used: Sav. Punto Oro 806 classic

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kwstas234 (7)	2019-04-16		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

in my country there are not many choises of pipe tobaccos and most of them are aromatics so this one was one of my first "real" tobacco after the aromatic. it's an easy semi-aromatic tobacco to start with as it has a nice cut to pack easy and doesnt need to dry much before. i taste some floral notes from time to time that i dislike but in case i have no tobacco left i would buy it again also because i would like to taste it again after i smoke some other more straight tobaccos.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	1/2 (17)	2019-04-13		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This was a bit of a surprize to me. I was not expecting an AirPort shop to have any decent blend in stock, far less one this good. A fairly mild smoke with complex notes, i really enjoyed this one. Perhaps I shall pick up more next time I travel through that AirPort.

Very nicely ballanced flavour and a fairly mild room note. Smoked this blend for a fortnight offshore in small smoking rooms, and everyone in the smokers complimented the room note

Pipe Used: Vauen Bent Apple, Corn Cob

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Heineman

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	H.Haller (3)	2018-11-02		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Mac Baren...quality in every sense. Been smoking this blend for a long time and every time I crack the tin I'll get same lovely tin note. Hay,citrus,honey and perhaps little bit of nut. The blend itself acts in bowl as most of the Mac B's blends do. Too hasty means bite and lack of taste. Slow smoke brings all this goodness to light. I don't call this aromatic...it's Va/Bur with little Kentucky with light topping of sugar. This is blend...when smoked right and slowly gives you a complex smoke.

Pipe Used: Peterson,Savinelli,Comoy

Age When Smoked: Straight from tin

Purchased From: local tobacconist

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pylet2000 (33)	2017-08-04		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This very much tastes like a mix of MacBaren Symphony and MacBaren Navy Flake. As an experiment I made a small blend of roughly 60% Navy Flake / 40% Symphony, and came fairly close in terms of flavors. Scottish blend does have a bit more going on than just a marriage of those two other MB blends, so it's not simply a blend of the two. But it is kind of a melting pot of familiar MacBaren flavors that do work nicely together, and I think using Navy Flake as the more flavored reference and Symphony as the more straight Burley reference are helpful comparisons.

Pretty typical presentation, and tin note is familiar to a muted Navy Flake. Moisture content is decent, maybe just a touch moist, and given the presence of MacBaren Cavendish it's less bitey if left to dry a bit.

Burns easily, stays lit well, easy to pack. Ample but not exaggerated nicotine. Medium body, neither wimpy nor heavy. Flavor is complex in that lots of different leaf and toppings are used, but it should be said the toppings are light enough to not be overbearing. There's plenty of leaf character shining through, to me the most notable being the Burley. The flavor of the toppings is pleasant but so widely varied as to be hard to pinpoint. To me, the flavoring of Navy Flake is the most detectable, so whatever that is. Rum? There's a little bit of the chocolate / nougat over Burley of Symphony as well. The MacBaren Cavendish (which has no similarity to black cavendish) is present but not forward, a nice balance.

Since I like the other two blends I've mentioned, I like this one as well and find it very versatile at scratching different itches. I hate to suggest that this blend was discovered by just mixing lots of other MacBaren blends together, but that's kind of what I get from it. If you don't like MacBaren products this probably wouldn't work well for you. If you do, this is an interesting blend that plays many of your favorite songs at the same time.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipers' Domain (16)	2017-05-12		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

As I keep a strong preference for non aromatic blends, I find this virginia blend in the transition area through to non aromatics. The tin aroma is quite close to the tobacco taste, so I find it as one of the very few aromatic blends that would make your nose and tongue shake hands. No tongue bite is present, but my pipe gets really hot especially at the end of the bowl. All in all, I think it makes an all day tobacco without being promising though. Do not be surprised if you sometimes taste liquorice or ginger perhaps.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-04-23		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a mild aromatic blend.when i opened the tin i smelled a light sweet smell and some grass notes.the virginias are bright,combing with some burleys ,cavendish and some broken flakes.comes out very dry,packs ok and lights easy.no relights needed for me.while smoking the flavours cobined sweet notes,some grass and spice notes.as the smoking went on i found the flavours very flat..burns medium and a bit quick.the nicotine level was almost medium.burned to total ash with no moiistute at the end of the bowl.can easy be an all day smoke.to me it hasn't offeredsomething unique rather than flat taste.i somewhat recommend it.

Age When Smoked: When opened

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BurleyTwirp (11)	2017-03-15		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

To me, it's the perfect middle-ground for a tobacco. There is maple sugar/lightly spicy aromatic flavor that doesn't overshadow the tobaccos. It smokes cooler than other Mac Baren blends, but as with most tobaccos, you'll have better luck if you smoke slowly. I dry it out thoroughly before packing, but using a meerschaum pipe will further ensure a dry smoking experience.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 5 years

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

Similar Blends: Other Mac Baren blends in cut (ready-rubbed/broken flake).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2016-05-14		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Honey, honey and honey. The smell is honey, the room note is honey, the taste is honey and also many others ingredients, but the honey is leading. This is a quite good mixture, sweet and aromatic, but it is heavily flavoured with many essences. There is casing and there is top dressing and I’m sure there are natural ingredients and above all artificial substances. Not a bad result but not exciting. I think this is one of the best mixtures among popular and commercial tobaccos. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two stars.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Appalachian Scholar (34)	2014-08-21		Medium to Strong	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

This is the only so-called "Scottish" Blend I have ever tried. With that in mind, I think smokers will either love or hate this blend. I detected what I thought was clove, pistachios, and some sort of unknown spice. I tried about four bowls and thought it might get better if I let it dry out a while. It didn't get worse, but it didn't get better. MacBaren is the master of Virginias, but have yet to make a blend that appeals to me outside of that category.

Pipe Used: Basket pipe

Age When Smoked: New

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HPFlashman (9)	2014-05-16		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Just popped open a 250 gram tin of this and have had a couple of bowls in two different pipes.

This is very nice blend, when I opened the tin a good whiff of sweetness and hay struck against the nostrils. I was somewhat leery to go for the 250 gram tin but thats what it came in and I was keen to try out the assortment from the airport and this was the last of the tobaccos that they have, which I had not tried. I can really see this tobacco being in heavy rotation on a day to day basis. At Norwegian Tax-free prices, it was rather cheap and Oo, so tasty.

I have not had more than two bowls of it, one in a meerlined, smallish Alco bowl and one in my vintage Hardcastle. The meer lined introduced a very licoriceshy taste but with a clear undertone of the Virginia "hayiness", in the Briar bowl I got more of the Virginian taste, but with a licoricseshy undertone, a strange swap of notes but both was very likeable.

The tobacco itself is rather fine cut, which led me to be somewhat leery of it on sight alone, it is almost coarse RYO fine in the tin. Taking up a pinch, it was clear that the look is somewhat decceving as the fine cut are quite high/broad, even so it packs easy by the Frank method, straight from the tin. Burns cold in both bowls, and straight true the bowl.

The tobacco feels slightly wet, but it is not noticeable when lighted and smoked.

For a day to day smoke, I recommend this tobbaco highly.

I will revisit the review from time to time and make additional notes, when I find it neccesary.

Pipe Used: Hardcastle Jack O`London, Alco Meer lined bowl

Age When Smoked: month

Purchased From: Tax-free shop, Gardermoen Airport

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	machinebcon (50)	2013-07-13		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Actually an excellent mixture, sorry to say this about a MB :) There is a casing, it's really there throughout the bowl, and it changes throughout the bowl, as suggested on the pouch. Definitely an all-day smoke, and well worth the money. 4.5/5

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fofo (81)	2013-05-31		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Tin note is mouth watering; lots of honey. Unfortunately the tin note does not really affect the smoke in any way.

It is a mild, harmless, generic blend. Nice room note and nose smell when the smoke hits my nose, but neutral in taste.

I can see why it gets so many good reviews and I can definitely see why many would make this an every day smoke. As for myself, I will smoke the tin I have without any trouble and move on. Too neutral for me.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-02-15		Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Many tins in the MB line seem to taste similar to me, and they smoke in the same fashion as well. They taste bland...are HOT/Tongue-Biters...and smell like potpourri. I cannot recommend this product.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Phonomet (44)	2012-10-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I understand why some people struggle with this one biting. I was bitten at first too. But after a few bowls over a couple weeks, I learned to really love this one. The tin note is truly wonderful, and is what kept me coming back to this blend even after I was scared of the bite. If you want it to taste like it smells, then sip it slowly like a young blended scotch whisky (Teachers comes to mind.) The grainy, honey-toast flavors are very satisfying. (Interestingly, I can't get it to bite anymore even if I try.)

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Roy Odhner (9)	2012-06-16		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a wonderful blend. It's got a wonderful Virginia/Burley base that is complimented by a tasty (but light) honey and nut flavor. Like most MacB blends, this is not a particularly nuanced blend - just straight-forward tobacco goodness. And just like all the other MacB blends (or any other good blend, for that matter), it really needs to be sipped to be appreciated. This will also help you avoid the oft criticized but over-rated MacB tongue bite. I think it smokes better in a cob, but it also makes my trusty Pete XL02 just sing.

No matter the pipe, though, this is just a wonderful blend if you appreciate it for its own merits and don't push it or try to make it something it is not. This is merely a well-crafted and well-behaved blend that offers nothing more than a very enjoyable smoke. If you want an "experience" or crave nuance, then look elsewhere because MacB Scottish Mixture will probably disappoint. However, if you want a really relaxing and enjoyable bowl of tobacco that promises (and delivers) nothing more than a wonderful smoke then this may be for you. It's not a "complex" smoke, even though the blend itself is - it's more like a "comfortable" smoke.

MacB tobaccos took the U.S. market by storm over 50 years ago because they offered something completely new at the time: a high-quality pipe tobacco that fell somewhere between the OTC's of the day and the high-end European blends of the day. They still offer that unique type of "cross-over," and that is the very essence of a Danish blend. Their blends, this one included, are also easy to find and are very reasonably priced. If such a blend appeals to you, then give Scottish Mixture a try - I think you'll be pleasantly impressed.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.sadik (120)	2012-06-02		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

very good change of pace from non aromatics i must say. the tobacco blend is composed of broken flake cut or ready rubbed if you will, makes up for a relaxing long smoke. the tobacco burns very clean and deliver a consistent taste of burly and virginia (the latter being more dominant). it has a decent nic kick to it if you want to take it a notch higher from aromatics offerings. this can be an all day smoke tobacco if you are not looking to impress your surroundings.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustOneforMe (28)	2012-04-26		Extremely Mild	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I have now smoked several Mac Baren offerings and will not review them any further since they are extremely not to my liking. If interested in my thoughts about their line of tobaccos then just see my review on Burley London, it pretty much sums up this vapid weed give or take a slight aromatic difference (vanilla, cherry etc...).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RyeWhiskey (43)	2012-04-15		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love this blend. Smells great right out of the tin, with a nice aroma that I've likened to nice virginia. The virginia is stronger than the burley, but the burley is there to taste now and again. The tobacco looks nice, packs great and just smells great puff to puff. I always get compliments on the smoke from others with this one, and if I think of scottish blends, I compare it to the look and aroma of this MacBaren blend. It was one of my first scottish type blends and still my one of my favorites.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-01-05		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I dont know they add any flavour on this or not but i like it. Good smell and good taste. If this tin end i ll buy it again.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-11-16		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

i like this tobacco it was the first tin that i smoked. it dint bite at all for me but at the time i smoked this alot i smoked a ton of aromatics that bit like crazy so i was used to it maybe. this is a really nice easy smoking blend that is well priced and a big tin. i would find a buddy with an open tin because if you hate it you will be stuck with 100g. all around i like it, it almost has a honey smell to it. the one thing is that it does have a bit of a cig smell/taste but if you can get past that you can smoke it all day

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TK Pipe (101)	2011-07-31		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

McB. Mixture, Scottish Blend … After my positive experience with McB's Golden Extra, it just seemed the logical next step to give this blend a shoot, after all SB is billed as one of the best selling tobacco blends in the world. How could I resist.

My tobacco came in a 100g tin, dated 10/10, about 9 months old. The tobacco color is brown and yellow and a sprinkle of black, looks and smells good enough to eat. Its moisture level was on the dry side, and for the most part (IMO) fully rubbed out and ready for the bowl. So with no further adjusting, I fired up a pipe full. The first few puffs seemed a little rough, but it quickly settled down to a mild to medium strength smoke. At this point I experienced no bite, and minimum harshness, just a nice smooth, hard to describe, but pleasant tobacco taste. Smoked with some basic technique (slower) SB offers the smoker as many flavors nuances as you're willing “sip” for, plenty smoke and IMO it's an overall satisfying blend. Probably not for the hardcore, but for the rest of us, I feel its well worth the reasonable asking price. My personal rating 4+/5

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2011-03-17		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I recently acquired a 100 g tin of this fine blend. As others have noted, this has a honey smell out of the tin. A great presentation in the tin. This has a perfect moisture level right at the opening of the tin and stays that way for some time after opening. Packing and lighting are easy and this blend needed little effort to keep lit. All the tobaccos are married quite well for a great tasting blend. It produces a nice amount of smoke and burns down to a nice ash at the end of the bowl. I would recommend this to all smokers.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-12-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This could be a all day smoke for me i love this stuff. The tin aroma is i personaly got a ftuity, sweet tea smell for it. As for taste well this tastes great to my tounge i taste a good amount of sweetness kind of a lemon, honey, spicey flavor from it. This is my favorite blend im rotaion right now. Even if your not an aromatic fan i think this is one blend everyone should try atleast once beaucse its a classic

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Taylor3006 (47)	2010-11-22		Very Strong	None Detected	Overwhelming	Tolerable

The smell is nice, packed wonderfully in the tin. It looks sticky but is not, no drying needed but it needs a bit of rubbing to pack it in the pipe well. I do not have tons of experience with pipe tobacco but have with tobacco in general, I am not even sure this is tobacco. Pretty terrible stuff, the taste is just wrong, not chemically at all but not like anything I have ever smoked. Room note is not good, smokes harshly with some tongue bite and whatever you do, do not inhale. Very harsh and not at all tasty so seems pointless smoking it. It will not blend well either, tried hiding it in some other tobacco and it really overpowers it. Putting it away to see if several years of aging make it worth smoking. A more experienced smoker may enjoy this crap, if yer starting out, avoid this at all costs.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Merven the Great (18)	2010-09-25		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Everything about this blend is fantastic. Nice traditional tin and once the seals broken it just gets better. The aroma is one of the nicest you'll find, rich and sweet how bakky in this style should smell. worth letting the mix air some prior to smoking as it can be somewhat moist, which I'm in favor of (bit hard to put moisture back in if too dried). Beautiful bellows of white smoke not only taste great but give the onlookers the room note desired. burns well without fault, the standard false light and relight and your on your way to the bottom and wanting more. not overly strong nic count here so probably a good all day toker. No mac baren bite found as other often state with McB, having said that I think most tobacco should be smoked in a relaxed style, hey thats the point! dont rush, enjoy. definitely in my regular rotation.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-06-22		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This tobacco is one of my all time favorites. As I write this review I am smoking it now. Tin aroma is wonderful. AS so far as the room note this is one of the few tobaccos the people I live with tolerate. I woud have no trouble recomending this tobacco!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-06-14		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Unnoticeable

I have been visiting this site for long and i have to thank everybody for the help .I signed up only today.I felt i had to add myself a review.About scottish mixture ?My father used to smoke it.I tried it many years ago.I tried other brands and blends.Dad was right.Indeed it is among the 25 top tobaccos as stellenbosch wrote.It is the tobacco for all days, from morning to evening.Strong tobaccos are only good for once in a while ,for an evening pipe together with a special liquor or after a heavy meal. I agree with vinnie and i do rub it in my palm,I dont feel the need to dry it though. I wonder sometimes what i could choose as an alternative if the company decided for some(absurd) reason stopped the production of this blend. Any suggestions?

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-05-11		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I don't know what makes a blend Scottish but this one's not half bad. I DO agree with kestrel's view in that although MacBaren's tobaccos smoke hot they make you take your time and slow down. I think that's the secret. This blend has a sweetness that sneaks through. And, the cavendish is there to compliment it. It is a reddi-rubbed that in my opinion ought to be rubbed out a bit more and smoked slowly. Maybe even dried out just a tad before smoking. A few minutes under a desk lamp and viola! I think drying it opens up the bouquet for your pleasure. Not an after dinner smoke but it's a wonderful smoke when you can take a long break from things, s-l-o-w-l-y. Scottish has a very pleasant room note a little on the light sweet side. I'd recomend this to anyone who has a few years smoking a pipe under their belt. I'm gonna give this one a strong THREE stars.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-05-09		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I've bought this tobacco a couple of times. This time I bought it because I had bought a new pipe in France while travelling and was looking for something reasonable to begin the break-in process. I've smoked a few bowls of this tobacco outdoors in the new briar, and one bowl indoors in my meerschaum.

This is a good tobacco. Good balance between the Virginias and the Burleys. A small amount (but noticeable) of cavendish. This is a pretty sweet tasting tobacco (maybe a little bit of that MacBaren honey casing). Also nutty from the burleys, with a mild chocolatey taste in the background. Leaves me with a nutty aftertaste.

Nothing too strong here, but enough flavors to keep me interested while I'm doing some other things. I doubt you'll be amazed but I'm sure that you won't be disappointed.

Well, I shouldn't say that I'm sure. A lot of folks seem to really not like MacBaren blends. I do like them, but they make you take your time.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-04-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this for the first time about a month ago and was interested enought to go back for more: it warranted some more exploration. This is a complex mixture and almost offers a changing flavour predominence through the smoke.

Fills easy, lights easy, but bites if not treated with respect (it is after all - MacBaren). I've smoked about six packs now and it's loosing its interest for me - it is bland, but tolerable. It definetly sits on the 'Aromatic' side of the fence, and despite the 30 different tobaccos you can soon tire of complete boredom!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2010-01-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A admit to liking MacBarons blends but for some reason I had never tried this one. This is a semi ready rubbed bland, reminds me a lot of the old Amphora Brown with all the long, tightly pressed, rich brown tobacco slivers. It smells terrific in the tin, it reminds me of a graham cracker in aroma. It comes at a good moisture level and does not need drying. It packs in the bowl very easy and was very easy to light and it stays lit well. Upon first light of this blend, I at first thought it was going to be hot and somewhat harsh. This was true for the first few minutes but then it it settled down into a real kitten, burning nice and slow and tasting very much of good tobacco. As it's a mix of VA and Burley tobaccos, it has the nice sweet natural taste of the VA and the rich, creaminess of the burley. I again liken it very much to Amphora Brown. The room note is wonderful! I had to stop during my fist bowl of this and answer the phone in the other room and when I came back, the room note smelled terrific! Very deep rich and creamy. This blend burned slowly all the way to the bottom of the bowl and left a dark gray ash and a touch of dottle at the bottom of the pipe. I know some that complain that MaCBarons's tobaccos are bitey and hot. Get past the first five minutes with this one and you could not make it bite if you wanted too. This is one mellow blend. I do recommend this one espeicially to those that like MB Navy Flake.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-25		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I tried this blend out of a random choice made in 5 minutes between the cries of "hurry up!" by several friends crowded in the tobacco store urgently waiting to get home to wargame. Being the only pipe smoker amongst my friends, I was under alot of pressure(not to mention the lady working there was not a pipe smoker nor sympathetic to the time-consuming task of picking a good blend) I saw this blend sitting alone so I grabbed it on a hunch and tried it that night. I was pleasantly suprised at the mild but tasteful flavour, and the great aroma it emitted. A blend I will be smoking for a long time to come. The quality is extremely high, and I recommend this to anyone into mild aromatic blends that is not extremely boring.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Postie (9)	2009-09-05		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I've just come back to smoking pipes after a 26 year layoff and decided on this blend as a way to get back into the hobby. I have to say I am really pleased with the over all experience of the tobacco. It's a nice aromatic, but not so ridiculously sweet to make you think your smoking a candy bar. I gave a sample to a friend who smokes only off the shelf drug store brands as a way to see if I could get him to step up to a better smoke. He liked it so much he dumped his plastic bag of "el cheapo smoke" and bought a full pound. I'd definitely recommend this blend and have it as my main smoke.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Room Note Professor (44)	2009-08-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

UPDATE: I am upgrading this one to 4 stars. Only after smoking Mixture exclusively for 2 weeks did I come to fully appreciate its peppery, tangy, leathery goodness. How lovely it is! Non-smokers will still not like the room note, but for tobacco lovers it grows more delicious with every smoke.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Pleasant taste of honey and toast, with an aftertaste of tea. The Virginia delivers a slight tang. Overall, just a tad too mild and bland for my tastes, and also not the best of burners.

The room note is very pleasant for smokers but only tolerable for non-smokers due to the absence of a confectionary type of aromatic casing.

An enjoyable smoke but, all things considered, only slightly better than average. 6 out of 10. For a similar tobacco with a much fuller flavour and better aroma, as well as better burning properties, try Holland House Aromatic.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2008-11-25		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

It lit well, tasted good, although a bit too much of casing. One or two relights had been enough to get through the bowl (in my opinion they probably put a nice shot of artificial burner in it)

Not many surprises, not pricey, it fullfilled all my demands to become an all day smoke, untill it bit the hell out of me, when I smoked it once out on the golf course. The bowl did not get hot, anyway it burnt down quite fast, which of course is normal when smoked outdoors.

After this experience, no matter of what tabacco I smoked and how slowly I puffed, my tongue always got barbecued on the same side. I had to stop pipesmoking for a couple sof years, and now I am "back in business". At least one thing I have learnt: I choose good quality leaves, which are unlikely to bite, when smoked carefully. There are many tabaccos out there, on the this fantastic database.

If you are looking for a similar smoke like Mixture, but with almost no casing and pure tabacco taste, and way better harmonized, I would highliy recommend: Dafidoff - Flake Medaillons

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2006-12-13		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Well, a rocky start, and a few go-rounds with the MacB tongue-bite issue. Let the tin sit a month or so, and bingo, this stuff is magic.

While it is an aromatic tobacco (I suppose), it isn't in the Vanilla or Cherry cavendish way at all, so I think a lot of people don't know what to make of it. Taken for what it is, this is a delightful tobacco, with the "honey on toast" taste coming through a spicy Va and Burley base, this tobacco is one that burns very easily, and is easy to oversmoke. This results in tongue bite. I can, for instance, take a pipeful of Mixture into a store, make a purchase, and leave, and then get the pipe to rekindle with no match. The tobacco is happy to burn (once it is dried just a tad).

Sipped at, this is a lovely first smoke of the day, with rich honey sweetness balancing a bit of spice. Puffed without regard, it will torch, yes.

I rate this stuff at 3 stars rather than 4 due to two things. One, I do have the occassional pipeful that is rather harsh, and two, any tobacco that gives so many people so much trouble is not a 4 star tobac in my books. It could be more user friendly, I guess. Anyhow, for what it is, a light, sweet, good smelling blend, I really enjoy it once in awhile.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	A. Morley (97)	2006-09-01		Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I don't like reviewing tobaccos as popular as MacBaren Mixture as it can so easily happen that one's thoughts are lost in the deluge of other opinions. MacBaren Mixture is decidedly popular, among the most popular in the world, I am told; all the same I smoked two 100g tins of the stuff that I was given as a gift and so I may as well hold forth until twenty or so other reviews overtake me.

I can see why Mixture is so often smoked. It is an utterly pedestrian aromatic with absolutely nothing to frighten anybody off. It is the basic combination of Burley, Virginia, and Cavendish all working under a soft and simple aromatic casing that tastes much like every aromatic the Danes put out: not quite fruit-like and not at all lingering or invigorating. More like powdered sugar and baking spices.

What I didn't like about this mixture called Mixture was its inconsistent performance in the pipe. Throughout the day I could have one smoke that was passable and even pleasant only to find the next to be harsh, hot and even a little bitter. Pipe smoking has become a very individual pursuit and there is no reason for a company as good as MacBaren to make an attempt at an everyman's tobacco when they make so many other distinguished blends.

Regards,

A. Morley Jaques

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	UncleGar (110)	2005-08-16		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Although I like this on occasion, it does need its own special loading and smoking techniques,already well described. Quirkyness in a consumer item can be charming (e.g., my car has three windshield wipers) or it can be annoying (ouch! my bad, I forgot.. this is that MacBaren mixture..).

It seems every blender has an ingredient motif that gets repeated in much of what they sell. GH has its soap, McClelland is famous for ketchup. Lane has its propylene glycol, Pease, perique. MacBaren's thing is honey. While I like honey, it becomes associated with pain and I unconsciously start avoiding other fine non-biting, cool-smoking blends like Navy Flake. Definitely not cool.

Here's what I'd recommend: If you want to smoke MacBaren hotties, either by choice or, like the rest of the world, lack of choice, smoke them consistently enough so the required techniques become second nature.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2005-07-07		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Tolerable

This is one of the bestsellers worldwide, so it's something you will stumble upon sooner or later. I did, and though I wasn't expecting much, it wasn't really THAT bad. MacBaren are true masters in manufacturing burley and cavendish, and this is a good proof. Not biting, if you don't rush it of course, but you might want to dry it before packing. Something you can smoke absent-mindedly without regrets.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2005-06-12		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Not a Bell Ringer for me. Better than average.

06/12/2005 Update: After drying in the unsealed tin for the better part of a year this is a very tasty smoke. There are just enough Burley and Cavendished tobaccos to smooth out the tangy Virginia. No tongue-bite with normal Virginia smoking techniques. Let it dry out!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	poupehan (23)	2005-06-02		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

6/2005 I needed to change my review of this blend because, after a break in pipe smoking, my tastes (and technique) seem to have changed.

So I knew before the break how to smoke this one whithout getting tongue bite - see other reviews : the "plug-method", and I already liked it, but now this has become one of my favorites. A real come-to blend. There's enough nicotine in there to keep me satisfied, although, of course, it is realy a mild blend. But it is tastewise that this blend gets to me everytime. A nice ever so mildly cased (typical mac honeylike casing) cavendish, that blends so perfectly with the virginias and the burleys, makes this an aromatic, but so subtle - do NOT expect BIG TASTE, or BIG KICK- that it borders on a straight smoke with a cavendish undertone always present. Roomnote is delicate and nicely sweet. Highest recomendations for pipers who can appreciate subtle smokes.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lbarraa (29)	2005-05-29		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Is the "gold standar" for all th Mac Baren blends. Good Virginias and Burleys, a litle touch of cavendish. A litle poor in nicotine, but rich in flavor, easy to burn and very "social" tobacco... always welcome for the friends an wifes.

A classic mixture with a great reputation over the years.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2004-08-06		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Same as Mixture. I don't know why there are two catagories of the same tobacco.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2003-12-01		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Hoter than a poker! Tastes,and smells like some one went to the bathroom in it.Though I wouldn't know what that tasted like,but might suspect.I wouldn't smoke this if it were the last tobacco on earth.I'd rather smoke grape vines.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bumbum (20)	2003-04-12		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

A tobacco, which I would recommend to no one, except my worst enemy!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gae (46)	2003-01-09		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I love this tobacco & reall enjoy the Virginia in it which come's slightly more to the fore.It's nicely rounded by the Cavendish & Burley as well,so perhap's I should say it's like best of three world's.It has a nice sweet taste but if puffed to fast may tend to bite a just a 'little'.And it's very easy to light & behave's well right through to the bottom of the bowl,leaving a nice clean ash.This was in a pouch. 4 out of 5 star's.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pagercat (40)	2002-09-24		Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

When I first reviewed this blend it was after some really bad experiences on my first three bowls. Fortunately the problem was not with the tobacco but the pipe itself! Since smoking it regularly in some better pipes I can say that this is truly a great blend!

The flavor is a combination of honey and licorice. It has the MacBaren burn and if smoked properly it's good to the last puff. I now smoke this regularly.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigSwede (93)	2023-04-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Gas was 36 cents a gallon when a friend gave a tin of this for my birthday. I thought it tasted pretty good but got the oft cited tongue burn and gave up on it.

Decades later I thought to have another run at it. Older and wiser I loaded up a pipe and lit it one strand at a time. Wow! Smoked slowly this has all and every flavor you could want from your pipe. But not all at once:, each puff will deliver sweet VA, then nutty burley, maybe some mellow cavendish, and dark KY. As you work your way down the flavors become bolder but continue to dance in and out of the tobacco. This is special stuff, not really a typical aromatic, certainly not english. As others have clearly stated this is a danish blend and the usual rules don't apply. When smoked slowly from a properly packed pipe I can't think of another tabak that will give you this experience.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc pipes (110)	2023-04-01		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

MacBaren’s flagship blend is reputed to have 35 different component leaves that come together yielding complexity. There are almost 400 reviews, making this one of the most popular and written about blends here on TR. Only 18 users have declared this a favorite, and I think I know why.

When opened, the pouch lets off a floral tobacco aroma with gentle hints of honey. The colors of the flakes are variegated, ranging from blond to near black. Brown loose ribbons and long strands of black cavendish make up the remainder of the mix. With all of these supposedly distinct and different leaves, the smoke was fairly mild and singular, tasting of a generic VA/Bur with a light topping. I noted none of the nuance and complexity that is suggested by other reviewers. The smoke is simple, straightforward, and mild, near bland. Mown hay, a light suggestion of sweetness, and toast constitute the flavor profile. This blend was quite stemmy and burns on the wet side, even when dried to a crisp. As others have warned, this can and will bite if disrespected. On the positive side of the ledger, Mixture has an incredible room aroma that was quite evident to this smoker in the room. Think classic sweet pipe tobacco aroma (yep that one). Few relights were needed.

I can only guess that this is the biggest duty free seller because those traveling buy their pipe smoking loved ones a tin or two. I cannot imagine most pipe smokers purchasing this whilst traveling unless in a pinch or the because the price is right.

Like a multi tool, this tobacco does a lot of different things, but does not do any single thing particularly well.

Pipe Used: Numerous briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh bulk

Purchased From: SP

Similar Blends: Generic mild VA/Bur.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pie Eyed Piper (22)	2022-11-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Here is probably one of the most misunderstood blends made. It's not really an aromatic more like a topped non aromatic. Mac Barens tobacco and other Danish tobaccos can be tricky to smoke. The trick is to take your time and draw gently. This is a Virginia dominant blend with some burley and Kentucky added. The topping to me is sweet scotch. The smoke is mild medium, rich with a slight ripe fruit taste. Aroma is of fruit, beans, coffee, and liquor, mild on the liquor. It can smoke hot if you power puff. It has a bite to it which some smokers like but if you disrespect this tobacco it will fry your tongue. Take it easy and you'll be rewarded with sweetness and flavor. Has a bit of a nic hit too that some smokers invite. Gets better with age and mellows the bite aspect a lot with at least a year of aging. Smokes pretty clean, it will ghost the pipe but it doesn't hang for more than one bowlful. Tastes of bread, grass, lemon, ripe fruit, sugar and occasional leather. Aroma of ripe fruit, brown sugar and beans with a hint of sweet scotch. I like this and it's good. You just have to learn how to smoke it. It's not a mow the lawn blend.

Pipe Used: Various Peterson and Savinelli pies.

Age When Smoked: New to 5 years aged

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Nothing, Mixture is one of a kind..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Valentino (8)	2022-11-02		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren - Mixture: Scottish Blend is a pipe smoking classic, and a good friend if you travel quite often. At the moment it is the most available pipe tobacco I've met traveling within European airports, and you may meet it in a duty free in the special tin of 100gr.

If you smoked more than one Mac Baren blend, you may realize that they often use a common base of burley and virginia, and then they put other ingredients to perpare their specific MB blends. This is my creed and more than one time I noticed this: same base, different blends on it. However, the Scottish Blend is the powerhouse of this "base blend" they use (impossible to not notice it smoking the Classic loose cut for example), but it has an ace of spade... a sort of honey topping+ a stable/manure fragrance which I do love, as it reminds me my childhood with horse riding and the italian cigars (Toscano, Italico, etc). Try and let me know. Last but not least, manure was a fermentation agent easy to find, affordable and very very effective, so it's not that crazy as assumption.

It has a raw virginia that counters perfectly the burley and the cavendish, it's an excellent tobacco all day long. I found in it and in the ParkLane 7 the best all purposes pipe tobacco (I've a soft spot for the Clan aromatic but these first 2 are more balanced). I still a novice and I've to smoke many others blends before stopping me at this stop, but until now I know where to go.

Easy to burn, does not bite, cheap, well served in many tobacco shops, it does not hurt/skid your favourite pipe... what else?!

ENJOY!

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: 1

Purchased From: Spain

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2022-04-22		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

This is from a jar I was gifted dated 2016.

The tobacco has an interesting mix of tobaccos and a sweetish tin note still even after 6 years in the jar. The moisture content was fine and its easy to load in a bowl and get going without too much effort.

I tend to have a quick smoking rhythm but this one forces me to slow way down or experience bad tongue bite. The benefit is that I get to enjoy the sweet smoke which is nicely balanced by the supporting tobaccos. The top note comes across as fruit more than honey too me with also some liquor tasting hints from time-to-time. This is a blend that smokes differently in various shaped/sized bowls and I've gotten the best results from author/320s. Each bowl also seems to have different emphasis on the flavors as some bowls have more pepper/smoke background than others.

My wife compliments the room note which makes this a nice one to light up from time-to-time when she is with me.

Pipe Used: various

Age When Smoked: 6 years

Purchased From: gift

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Oombergen (13)	2021-11-06		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Every time I light a bowl of this mixture it's a delight. I am simply amazed by its complexity, so difficult to describe. Never boring. I could smoke it as my only tobacco, because of the variety of aromas and tastes that alternate in a single bowl, and from bowl to bowl. Only small complaint: sometimes the Burley becomes a little dominant, but this is a matter of personal taste. The honey smell in the pouch is amazing and attractive. Smoke it gently, sip it slowly to avoid tongue bite: its great quality will reveal itself to you, gently, slowly, consistently.

Pipe Used: Spanu bent poker

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Tobacconist in Milan, Italy

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Karim (6)	2021-09-01		Strong	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought it while on holidays as there was nothing else as pipe tobacco. I’ve tried it many times in the last year with different pipes and obviously location. For me, only tongue bite. I’m not a fresh smoker of course, but this one is just unforgiving. Really not for me

Pipe Used: Corn cob, Savinellis

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Local dealer

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Poodlejuice (51)	2021-06-21		Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

There's a million reviews on here that are saying exactly what I think about Mixture, so this will be quick.

Lots and lots of flavor and subtle complexity is here, but it won't be found without patience & a very clean/fresh palette. I don't always have the patience or self control to smoke this blend correctly, but when I do its really a treat.

Part of me wants to give 3 starts simply because I find my ability to enjoy it temperamental, but then I remember how damn cheap it is. 4 stars it is. Well done.

Pipe Used: Falcons, cobs, briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Marco D. (17)	2021-04-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren mixture as written in the description is composed of 35 different varieties of tobacco. I don't know what these are, but I think the blend is 50% virginia, 35% burley and 15% black cavendish or something similar. The aroma, typical of burley and unripe virginia, is centered on notes of hay and nuts with a slightly sweet background given by a generic/sugary casing. The cut is regular, easy to pack and to smoke. During the smoke the aromas are simple, but balanced and clear; there are no notable differences from beginning to end. The room note is quite pleasant. In conclusion it is an honest tobacco, for me one of the best 'first tobacco' for newbies.

Similar Blends: Amphora original, mac baren golden blend.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Slickshooter (4)	2021-02-03		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

My first love fellas...broke my cherry on this blend. It smokes mild and cool with a sweet aftertaste and pleasant room note. I’m fairly new to pipe smoking but not a beginner in tobacco use and I find this tobacco fantastic. It is permanently in my rotation...a first class smoke! Enjoy!

Pipe Used: Brigham

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Cuban Cigar

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kik_rpm (15)	2021-01-25		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Straight from the tin is has a kind of aged fruit aroma, like some cytric, a mix of strawberry and tangerine, for me.

Although when smoked, this aromatic is very complex, wich is very nice because the smoking process is a journey. It can be wooden, apricot, dry fruit and raisins. It is a sweet smoke, a straight flavouring it is not noticeable which is very good, at least for me, because it makes the smoking experience more like a discovery.

I marinated it with some fruit, pear, uvilla and a non alcoholic ginger drink, and it brought some new flavours. It is a very high quality aromatic from Mc Baren.

I bought this tin 2017, so it is been aging very nicely with smooth flavours.

Pipe Used: meerscahum (kavlak)

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: amsterdam duty free

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Sam's Flake (Kendal Mayor's Collection).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2021-01-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Advertised as everything and the kitchen sink (using over 35 different tobaccos sounds like a lot to me) under the banner of a sweet Aromatic = one Scottish blend. Well, ship me a loose ounce and sign me up.

The contents didn't smell overwhelming or terribly complex, just a general sugar note, dusting some nice chunky ribbons that spanned the brown spectrum, that Burley forward mix gave off a natural earthiness. The syrup free coating left the mix nicely dry and easy to pack, ignite, and get puffing. What followed was a light, easy smoke with just enough sweetness to barely constitute an Aromatic.

For all its 35 parts, if performed simply, making it a fine all day smoker, albeit - just that.

Purchased From: tobaccopipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pope (9)	2020-04-07		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Edit: I've been smoking a bit longer and didn't know what I was talking about back then. I still don't. This baby bit me and has disabled my smoking pleasure abilities for at least two days! Bad! I know for a fact (almost) it wasn't my cadence, as I spend a long time with my bowls, often twice as long as veteran smokers will. (A small bowl of pure VA will last me two hours.) I use the breath-method. I also could have sworn the blend was dry enough when I lit up. But now I'm guessing the flake bits were sneakily moist and angry. I will give the blend and my mouth a rest, let it dry to a ridiculous level and try again. Will be back.

Kind of a boring tobacco, though not a bad one. Very mild, somewhat non-descript. Definitely not a poor quality tobacco, but without any flavor to savor or repeatable enjoyability.

Pipe Used: cheap wooden, clay

Age When Smoked: 0-2 years

Purchased From: The lady that counts out my food stamps

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FlatCapMatt (59)	2019-09-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

To me this one rates like a "drug store" or "supermarket" blend. There's nothing particularly great or bad about it. It's not quite as tasty as other aromatics. I can see maybe how people who prefer English style blends might like to dabble a bit with this blend.

It bites a bit sometimes if you smoke it fairly quickly. No problems keeping it lit, and never made me feel ill afterwards.

It's another one that I don't find very inspiring. It's just very average to me.

With Australian prices hitting near the $100 per 50g mark, I'm not going to be willing to buy this one over my favourites. If the nanny-state falls, and prices drop back to a reasonable level, I might consider it once in awhile to mix things up.

Pipe Used: Corncob

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: tobaccoblends.com.au

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cespu (6)	2019-03-22		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The first time have tried i search strong and full flavoured tobacco , but is not this tobacco. After some time i will try resmoke this after some toscano smoke and .... Sweet tobacco and pleasant. is danish tobacco blend and require pace and time for smoke. not press heavy the tobacco and smoke slowly , the taste outgoing fully and pleasant. the room note is not intrusive and pleasant .

Pipe Used: gasparini curve

Age When Smoked: 48

Purchased From: gift from gemany

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Amphora Rich Aroma (Amphora).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ZambiNation (1)	2019-02-14		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I haven’t taste a lot of tobacco blends because pipe smoking is a new hobby for me. So considering my little experience, this pipe tobacco is by far the less enjoyable one. Though it has good taste and aroma it is somehow strong in my tongue and throat. I don’t inhale the smoke and I’m very careful not to overheat by blowing heavily I feel my mouth a little burned. I don’t think I’ll buy it again. I would recommend it to an experienced pipe smoker.

Pipe Used: B.C Old root 1601

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: A Greek tobacco store

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rick778 (13)	2018-04-29		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

As several reviewers have already stated, this is a complicated blend. I have smoked several bowels and still continue to pick up different tastes. The one thing that does stand out for me is the grassy / sour virginian, then the nutty burleys. Not sure what the topping(s) is, but I taste a sweetness I believe goes beyond the tobacco. All in all this is a pleasant mild smoke that could be an all-day smoke. I plan on including this in my normal rotation.

Pipe Used: Savinelli: Porto Cervo Rusticated (320 KS)

Age When Smoked: 2 1/2 months

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2018-01-17		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Ist impressions - my interest is always peaked when I hear of an aromatic that is a good crossover for English smokers and my interest is even more peaked when it is said by Tad Gage in the Trial by Fire reviews in P&T magazine. That being said, I decided that this was one I had to try; but then before I received the tin I ordered I started reading reviews that spoke of tongue bite. I hate tongue bite! Fear set in. I finally received my package and decided to chance it. I opened the tin and the first thing that was evident to me was the honey smell. The tobacco was packed tight in the tin and had become somewhat caked together. Pulling it apart I found the strands to be very long and fine. I rubbed the strands out so that they were not stuck together and loosely loaded my smallish bowl Savinelli Virginia. The unlit draw was good and had a nice taste to it. I lit the tobacco and puffed light and easy for a few puffs, I then let the pipe sit for a short time. I relit the tobacco and started smoke with some unease in fear of scorching my tongue. The smoke lasted for approximately 45 minutes and I never had to relight a single time with only a single pass of a pipe cleaner for the slightest of moisture. All said and done, I did not experience tongue burn but did not find this to be a "bowl me over" flavor blend, it was pleasant and I hope to be able to unpack more flavor as the fear of scorching my tongue diminishes. As others have said, I would rate this as a "must try" for most all pipe smokers. Will update after several more bowls.

Update- having now smoked a number of bowls I must say that "as far as an aromatic" goes this a very good blend. The honey topping does not mask the flavor of an inferior tobacco but serves to add a little sweetness and aroma to the room note. I did not experience the oft mentioned tongue bite but did find that if puffed too vigorously it tended to get hot. Having tried it in several different pipes I found that the best smoke was delivered in taller smaller diameter bowls (esp smallish Canadians). Lighter but not loose packing is best. Done right, this blend offers an easy even paced smoke with good lighter taste and aroma, enjoy!

Pipe Used: Savinelli Virginia

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Diyavol (8)	2017-12-02		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A really reliable tobacco. Enjoyable in every occasion, at any time and anywhere. And what I like most about this one is that it stands somewhere between aromatic and natural. good one but not the best.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2017-11-17		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is another blend, being aromatic in nature, that I probably never would have opted for. Except that I got a tin at a huge discount, couldn't pass it up. Topping is skillfully done and with a lighter touch. You get discernible tobacco flavors, especially the "ripe" virginia. Very pleasing aroma, both in tin and when lit. I've gone through nearly the entire 100g tin, and have taken to adding a little more blending grade dark fired kentucky to the mixture. This suits my tastes very well. I don't often crave an aromatic, but I'll most likely keep this one in rotation for those times when I do.

Pipe Used: Various MM cobs

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Stanwell - Jubilee.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Daniel W. (23)	2017-07-30		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

It burns well, has a hot smoke.

The flavors are woody, nutty and spicy like white pepper powder.

It has a medium-high bitterness, low acidity and dry finish.

The room note is ok, very woody. A good mixture.

Pipe Used: Peterson Founders Edition

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Paulo Santiago

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incendio (45)	2017-06-29		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Strange--I could've sworn I'd reviewed this tobacco.

I tried two samples of this blend: the currently-available bulk offering, and a sample from a tin from ~1970-75.

The older sample was medium-cut ribbons, all dark-brown with an amazing aroma of prunes. The smoke was fruity without being cloying and in fact didn't appear to be topped. Instead the fruitiness is in line with what you would expect from a ripe Virginia. The body was a delicate straw/hay and rich toasted oats. This is an exceptional blend, aged. I would smoke this every day except for the obvious fact that it's rare to find exceptionally old tins of this stuff.

The blend in current production is a different beast altogether, and I venture to say that for reasons beyond the mere aging factor. The flavor is of an immature Virginia, more crisp in its grassy and hay-like flavors, and lacking the rich oat-like depth of its aged counterpart. The topping is something resembling creme soda? It's not overwhelming, fortunately. I found the blend a little tedious to smoke and keep lit at the moisture level at which it was shipped. Leaving the jar open for a few days brought the moisture levels down considerably and made for a less-cumbersome smoke, while mellowing out the topping to a subtle undertone which allowed the tobaccos to shine through.

While smoking this blend I learned something interesting about Mac Baren that, perhaps, I should have learned decades ago if I had been paying attention to it. This blend is served up as a broken flake, and that's exactly how it should be smoked. I tried rubbing the flakes out to see if it would improve the burn, and found on several occasions that it burned HOT and the complexity of flavors was stifled. This is a good blend if you like a mildly aromatic Virginia flake. A warm gingerbread with oats and, in time, stewed prunes.

Enjoy!

Pipe Used: I like this in bent pipes

Age When Smoked: 30+ years and New

Purchased From: pipesandcigars / smokingpipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (184)	2017-06-26		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I can understand why this blend has been around for such a long time. Quality tobaccos from the get go! While it classified as an aromatic blend, it is an aromatic of another class indeed. Nutty burley, sweet and tangy Virginia, ad that good to the last puff MAC Baren Cavendish. While it has a taste of honey and stewed fruit the top dressing does not overwhelm the quality of the tobacco. While many aromatic blends try to hide lower quality tobacco there is none of that here. Flaky cut packs well and with a few ramps it burns clean to the end. No variation of flavor throughout the smoke. Excellent tobacco for me! Pouch note, room note and aftertaste are all excellent. Will lay in a couple pounds of this for sure.

Pipe Used: Various cobs and briars

Age When Smoked: New bulk

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	romaso (45)	2016-11-10		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Updated 2021-01-21: One of my favorites. This is a nice Virginia & Burley blend which is lightly sweetened with an apricot note. There's also some dark fired burley (in the Mac Baren original Cavendish). A tasty and interesting blend with the combination of flavors. I never get bit by Mac Baren because I understand it's a light Danish style and puff accordingly. Puffing harder won't increase the flavor.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2016-06-13		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Smooth taste, slight rum flavoring detected or something similar to it. Has some bite to it and produces lots of smoke. I do not smoke this often due to the bite it produces for me. Next bowl I will smoke slower and see if it makes a difference.

Pipe Used: Peterson X-large Billiard

Age When Smoked: 18 years

Purchased From: Hilands Tobacco, Oceanside CA

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hillbilly08 (38)	2016-05-09		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

On opening, the tin was tightly packed with yellow and brown cut ribbon. Aroma was good, subtle and slightly sweet:

I was very surprised by the mellowness of this blend. After some drying I was rewarded with a easily lit, clean-burning delicious complex mix of flavours. While sweet honey-like overtones were present, they were minor and subtle. The resulting ash was chunky, grey-white, with a smooth burn till the end of the bowl. No tongue-bite at all (drying the leaf helped). This is a very smokeable blend, a keeper for its sheer all-day smokeability. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Butz Choquin 1/4 bent bullcap, 9mm Filter

Age When Smoked: fresh out of tin

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: Danske Club "Black & Virginia".

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2016-04-17		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a very intriguing tobacco. The composition seems very complex, but I think that it is: Cavendish (40% - I think Burley and Virginia in equal parts), Virginia (20%), Burley (20%) Oriental (10%) and Kentucky (10%). The most intense aromatizant is liquor (rum or whisky), with something like ripe fruits and honey (I have found, also, a note of cirtrus or tangerine). When smoked correctly (slow and dry), the taste isn't always the same: sometimes it is very sweety and nutty, but other times it is more spicy and earthy. However, it's always a well burning and light tobacco mixture, just for everyday (complex but not exacting).

Pipe Used: Many briars and Ceramic

Age When Smoked: two months

Purchased From: local tabacconist

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Braed (18)	2016-02-12		Very Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

First I was a little bit sceptical if I would like this tobacco. Because after first opening the pouch the tobacco smelled a bit curious. But after I dry it a bit on the air he smelled fantastically earthy and hay. The tobacco I can say only one thing, that there are 35 different tobaccos (Virginia, Burley and Black Cavendish) processed in this ribbon cut. It comes a little bit wet but after a little time on the air. Perfect.

Packing the pipe is very easy. Lighting the pipe no problem. After lighting the tobacco again, it burns very slowly and cool. The taste is wow!! The sweetness of the virginia is coming immediately. Fantastic. For me the top flavour which is mentioned nowhere is honey. You should smoke the tobacco slowly to taste the full sweetness. If you smoke the tobacco to fast it will taste sourly. So, smoke slow.

For me the Scottish Mixture is a full four stars tobacco. I'm really surprised how well it is matched.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old German puffer (106)	2015-08-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

As fall approaches I begin to look to this Scottish mixture. I pull it out of the package and place it in jars. I will be up front and state that nothing truly jumps out from this blend. For me it is a short walk down memory lane. I jar this and smoke it from habit. It is one of the few that can be a all day smoke that I chain smoke. It lasts for a month to two and then I move on to my winter tobaccos. I guess it is a transition for me. It packs with ease using a 3 pinch. Lights up fast and revs up like an Indy 500 car. If you puff fast this will really take off. I like to smoke it slow. The hay smell really comes out in the first light. It smokes sweet and leaves a good room.

Pipe Used: Comoy

Age When Smoked: pouch

Purchased From: WASH. DC

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2015-08-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I was given a sample of this and did not like it. I found the blend to be amongst the hot air type of aromatics. Meaning that the tobacco, first of all, lacked any real body or tobacco taste and second, the aromatic topping was there, but it was weak and didn't really survive til bowl's end.

the blend actually bit me pretty good and this is something that hasn't happened in a while. In reviewing this, I have a hard time choosing between 1 or 2 stars. Personally, this is a one star blend as I would never recommend this blend to anyone. Still there are people who like it. I am assuming many of these people appreciate a lighter bodied smoke. It is with these reviewers in mind that I will add a second star, but I honestly can't even think of a reason I would recommend this blend to anyone.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	St.P3t3r (2)	2015-07-17		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Unnoticeable

This was underwhelming. Not too much flavor, it smells a bit like rasins, and some misc alcohol, but it's actually pretty good if u put a bit of whiskey in it, and let it dry.

I whouldnt be too excited to smoke this anytime, it's just really mediocre.

Pipe Used: Some straight Briar pipe

Age When Smoked: Fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2015-07-16		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant

This was not me, it was really really mellow and no tasting at all. Here in Denmark the Scottish blend is one of the top sellers, but i dont understand why.

It reminds me of MOB mellow, maybe it needs some time. I was hoping Mac Baren had a aromatic, that taste good.

Pipe Used: Peterson

Age When Smoked: New

Similar Blends: My Own Blend Kong Frederik Mellow.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Olson (1)	2015-05-11		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

I'd say that this tobacco is very mild and fresh tasting. I used to be a regular smoker of hand made cigarettes and I have to admit that sometimes I bought this tobacco and rolled it straight into paper with a menthol filter at the end. The true taste couldn't reveal itself until now. I bought a pipe and couple pouches of tobacco and for a first smoke I'd say it was the best choice I could make. On my end it tastes as fresh lemon, orange and many other natural flavors came to my mind when I was giving this one a go. Draw was nearly perfect but from time to time I had to light my bowl again so it burned straight and even. When inhaled this blend gives you a decent kick for sure.

Pipe Used: BPK 61-37

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

Similar Blends: Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Nappa Valley.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NobbyR (79)	2015-03-19		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is probably the most readily available pipe tobacco in Germany. It's sold at tobacconist, gas station shops, newspaper stands, and supermarkets. When you run out of tobacco in the middle of nowhere, you will probably find some some store that sells it, which is why it can be your emergency plan pipe weed.

It's a ready rubbed mixture of at least 35 different tobacco (Virginia grades, Burley, Original Cavendish) leafs with an unobtrusive flavoring. The tin note has a slight honey-like smell.

The taste is just as inconspicuous as its scent. There's a fine honey sweetness, which mostly comes from the Virginias in the blend, and there might be some Whisky flavoring. It's a mild smoke, that can be enjoyed all day, burning slowly and coolly. Even if you don't like aromatics, you might give this one a try in case of needs. You don't even have to be afraid that this one will ghost your pipe.

The room note is pleasant and unobtrusive.

Pipe Used: several

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local Tobacconist

Similar Blends: Mac Baren Mixture Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipedrum22 (15)	2015-03-12		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend is one of the most famous blends in the entire world. I can see the appeal when I smoke it, however it is not something I would typically reach for. I would definitely agree with some of the other reviewers in the sense that this blend is very complex because their are so many different tobacco leaves in play. The rum topping adds a tangy sweetness to the blend, which is pleasant but can bite at times if you aren't cautious. The tobacco burns well and has a decent room note (my wife said "It doesn't stink", so I guess that's a good thing). Since it is such a famous blend, I would recommend every pipe smoker try this at least once and see if it's a blend for you.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Appalachian Chef (52)	2015-01-17		Medium	Medium	Full	Very Pleasant

A great flavorful blend, but bites like a demon! A very complex blend and a wonderful room/tin note with a spiciness that appeals to me. However, it does have a strange ability to bite terribly, leaving me sore for about three days. I've tried to slow way down, sipping water along the way and it still rips my mouth and tongue. I've tried several attempts to make sure it wasn't just me. I love the flavors and aromas, but I'm not into that much pain. Sorry to not be able to give this a better rating, as I'm sure it deserves it for most people.

Pipe Used: Several falcons, brebbia and stanwells

Age When Smoked: two months

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	raybrown55 (46)	2014-12-26		Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Maybe the first time that I've purchased a tobacco based on good reviews on this forum and I'm totally disappointed. Despite the 35 declared tobaccos in the mixture, I get no taste at all. If 35 were an even number, I would guess that the tobaccos canceled out each other...

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mtitus83 (10)	2014-10-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

First few puffs I was skeptical and did not think I was going to enjoy it very much however about 1/3 of the way through its true taste and flavor started coming out and I found this overall an enjoyable experience. Spiciest blend I have had so far with very woody and peppery characteristics to it another tidbit was I found it a bit bitey than most and my bowl burned very hot with this blend. This one will try to go out relatively quick on you so tamp frequently. I can see this being a rather binary blend, you either will like it or you wont.

Pipe Used: Dr. Grabow Omega (Briar)

Purchased From: California Tobacco; California, MD, USA

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pop pops pipe (28)	2014-07-13		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I reviews this before from my memory of it from 25 years ago. Well I purchased it just recently and must say it has changed ! It used to have a dark, subtle sweetness about it, that is no longer noticeable. It was richer, and fuller bodied too. It's not a bad tobacco though, actually would be a good after dinner or an all day smoke. It has some kick too. It's kind of buttery with a natural tobacco flavor ! I like it and will keep it in my rotation. It doesn't replace Plumcake though !

Pipe Used: Savinelli

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Talltree (31)	2014-06-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A tobacco with no outstanding aroma in the bag. It is slightly sweet with a mild / medium flavor. More flavor than the flakes I've been smoking from MacBaren. A bit harsh for my taste. I won't be buying it again.

Pipe Used: corncob

Age When Smoked: fresh from the bag

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gam86 (49)	2014-05-05		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

It's a very good blend, it also teach you how to pack the pipe with a new cut. It's an all day smoke and easy to mix in order to create mixture. It's also good for beginers, it doesn't bite and the taste and flavoring are not to strong and do not confuse the taste. The alcohol flavoring is just under the pefect blending. Not my favourite but a very good mixture.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ArmedOctopus (20)	2013-12-17		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

First off, I am on the fence with this blend at the moment, but wanted to give a review anyhow. I fluctuate between liking and disliking this blend....here's why...

TIN: Citrus and hay-like with just more than a hint of fig but without the sweetness. Lower moisture than most tobaccos I've tried but not try. Very tightly pressed into the tin.

SMOKING: The tobacco lights very easily so this isn't a fussy blend. The Virginias are in the forefront with Burley coming in second. I absolutely love Virginia No 1 and this reminds me much of it, except for what I percieve to be a slight harshness that I'm uncertain about. Perhaps harshness is too strong of a word and "bold" would be better. At any rate, instead of a mellow mildness of pure Virgina, there is something stronger lurking....either the Burley or the "alcohol, liquor/other" that is mentioned in the description above. (After doing some research on the Mac-Baren site, apparently there's a lot that goes into this blend, so I haven't a clue what it is).

So the bottom line is that I am giving it 2 stars because I go between disliking this blend one moment, and really enjoying it the next. I'm going to smoke the full 100g's before making a final call, but as for you, reader, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

Age When Smoked: New

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-06-30		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

For me,Mac Baren Scottish mixture is the best pipe tobacco every day for 15 years, smoked a little dry in a Savinelli pipes bing's favorite( long shape ) is the best compromise for a fresh and cool smoked tobacco.Is really worth to be mastered..... Mixture Scottish Tobacco is for men only. Not recommended for anxious children.Thanks

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2013-04-15		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I'm just finishing up a 3.5 ounce tin that is most likely as old or even older than 1985, and have not had a recent "vintage" to compare it to. I will say that Mac Baren is a brand that holds limited interest to me when it is young, but when it gets to be 20 years old or more, I like it so much that I seek it out and buy it whenever I can find the old tinnings. Though the roll cakes are my favorites when it comes to Mac Baren old or new, I must say this is one fine old tobacco. I really get more of a fruit scent from the tin itself than the alcohol/liquor noted in the blend description above, but for me very little of this comes out in the smoke. I may get more complexity from the roll cakes, but this, at least at around 30 years old, is a mild, pleasant, and smooth smoke, and there is no hint of bite, even if I puff heavily (though usually I have found this one best at just a normal smoking rate).

I still have a tin in reserve, and I'll probably hold off opening it, though I doubt it could change all that much more at this point. I guess I'll eventually have to try a new tin at some point, just to see if the mixtures do indeed change with that kind of age on them as much as the roll cakes; I have had old and new tinnings of a couple of those side by side, and 20 or 30 years turns them into something different altogether!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-04-15		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I have been working on a tin i opened a few weeks back from the mid 70's i got online... after opening it it looked promising, still moist and it was a beautiful deep aged tobacco smell and beautifully dark in color.... then i smoked it...i have to say no matter how this is packed, how its smoked, dried out, fresh, slow puff, fast, any way what so ever i try and in any pipe it makes my mouth light up like no other tobacco i have ever smoked... this stuff is brutal, its almost like its a chemical reaction with me, i wanted to like it because the current version of this isn't so bad and i quite like it, but this aged one i'm tossing in the trash... that's my 2 cents.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-10-10		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This sounds like a nice blend but unfortunately the bite is to much to enjoy. I could not distinguish any of the flavors in this because the bite was so bad. Also had a bit of a chemical taste to it. I tried this and symphony at the same time and it seems as though they are basically the same blends with the same tobaccos. They tasted exactly the same to me with the same bite and chemical taste. Do not think I will be buying any more Mac Baren products.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-09-27		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

On a 6-point scale:

Flavor: 2.5~3 Aroma: 3.5 Burning: 4 Coolness: 3.5~4 Bitterness: 1~1.5

Overall rating: 3.5

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-08-22		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one of my favorite non-aromatic, mild blends. I tried adding a dash of Scotch whisky and curing it for a couple days and was very satisfied with the results. It gives the smoke a very nice finish and is welll worth it.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-07-12		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

It's a shame that this blend bites me because I rather like the flavour. If I want to punish my tongue, I'd take the V#1 over this one.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-06-30		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

A very nice tobacco, readily available. It's a bit dry for my liking and perhaps too many varieties of tobacco to give the predictable flavour of any one type of tobacco. I like it, but too close to cigarette tobacco to be enchanting.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-04-12		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Those that like the mild, sweet taste/smell of aromatics will also enjoy this blend. The best description of smell and taste thus far has been "honeyed toast". It's sweet, but slightly heady, has a great flavor and smell throughout the bowl. Flavor isn't lost throughout the smoke. Love it.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-02-04		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

this blend is made since 1958. its a good " middle of the road" tobacco. good all day smoke but to me nothing special. lights good the broken flake burns well and slow. no tonguebite a little sharp while one takes the flame to the tobacco.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-11-19		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

It smells good in the tin, like honey comb, but not like tobacco. It is weak in strength, burns hot and peppery.

I then used it as a filter in a big bowl, filled the bottom 1/3 with it and topped off with Carter Hall. It still stung my tongue.

Dauntless, I tried loading a bowl and drawing on it without lighting and it stung my tongue. This is an evil weed. Save your money and stay away.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-11-19		Very Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

It smells good in the tin, like honey comb, but not like tobacco. It is weak in strength, burns hot and peppery.

I then used it as a filter in a big bowl, filled the bottom 1/3 with it and topped off with Carter Hall. It still stung my tongue.

Dauntless, I tried loading a bowl and drawing on it without lighting and it stung my tongue. This is an evil weed. Save your money and stay away.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sir Walter Smiley (24)	2010-05-24		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I love the flavor this tobacco has. It is one of the first tobaccos I smoked after graduating from drugstore brands. The problem is that the tongue bite I get from this tobacco makes it impossible for me to smoke. It is a chemical reaction I get from all Mac Barens tobaccos. It is a pitty. This would be a nice daily, medium in nicotine, slightly sweet with a tangy finish. I even have tried aging this tobacco to see if that helps. I have been smoking, extremely rarely, on the same pound of this for about 7 years and the age has help the flavor even more; yet the chemical reaction is as severe as a new tin.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-04-27		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm new to pipes but have been around enough to be wary of the Mac Baren bite. This blend I find to be bite-free and mellow with a nice toasty, brown sugar kind of taste.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-31		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I freely and openly admit to having tongue bite problems with every MacBaren blend I've smoked. This one is no exception. The bite is a bit milder than with some (like Virginia #1) but still there. The aroma is fairly pleasant but the smoke itself is acrid and thin with no body. I'd give it one star but it's better than some of the dreck that I've given one stars to, so two stars it is.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

The tin says it is a blend of 35 tobaccos. Smells a bit like graham crackers. Probably a little brown sugar casing. Dried it out for 3 hours. This lit on one match and required no further. Lots of smoke, with what I believe is a burley room note. For all those who claim they want tobacco flavor and no casing goop this is your blend. Burned clean and dry.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-08		Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this one looking for that honey and toast flavor but all i found was extremely hot smoke with burnt rubber taste (usually what u get when smoked in a cheap pipe) but my savinelli smokes great maybe i just packed it wrong i use the frank method which always works great, i will give it another try and update this review

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-12-16		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Tolerable

very non-descript. the aroma reminded me of plain cigarettes. it was also very stringy and hard to keep lit. not one I'll buy again.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-12-07		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I was given a tin of this to try by a friend. I had let it sit for a little over a year before cracking the seal. I decided one night to try it when I was out of my every day. I was pleasantly surprised by this tobacco. I used a smaller bowl as to not waste any in case I didnt like it so I could pass it on to a fellow smoker. I smoke a bowl of this everyday in a rotation between my everyday and my "goodnight" bowl. The greatest thing about this tobacco is that my 9 year old loves the aroma and wants to hang out with me when I am smoking this blend.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-30		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I am a long time MB Burley smoker and picked up a tin of Scottish Mixture on a recommendation from the clerk at Iwan Ries of Chicago. Good consistancy, easy to pack and light. For some reason (I guess personal taste), I did not like this tobacco as much as I thought I would. I wanted to try something a little more aromatic from MB Burley. This is more aromatic, but had an odd taste and scent to me that did not match up to my expectations.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe4ever (204)	2009-11-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is the best pipe tobacco ever made by Mac Baren, I have been smoking this blend on daily basis over the past 15 years, this blend is complex and it need sometime to be mastered. However, the tin version (Mixture) tastes much better than the bulk one.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I smoked this brand for years now, all I can say is, it on the top 25 tobacco out there.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2009-10-15		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

A landmark for pipe smokers: the first non-tobacco blend! No tobacco detected in this mixture.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dk-piper (25)	2009-09-24		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

taste reminds me of navy flake, but much more elegant and natural. tobacco smells sweet...raisins, honey. Smoke is on the sweeter side. Aftertaste, hay & straw. Overall, a very pleasant smoke. I love this Ribbon cut. Easy to pack. Burns fantastic. This smoke reminds me of a farm in no-man's-land at sunset. Just simple and pleasant.

update 9/26/2009 so far i've tried MacBaren's Vanilla Loose Cut, Plumcake and Navy Flake. This Mixture beats them all...a nice allday smoke. worth a try & maybe you'll fall in love with it...Great stuff!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (242)	2009-07-31		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I enjoy Mac Baren's Scottish Mixture. My review is based on a recent 8 oz bulk sample purchase. Its presentation is that of medium brown strands of broken flake tobacco with just the right moisture level. It packed and lit without effort and required no relights. There was no moisture accumulation and the tobacco burned down to a nice light gray ash. This was sweet tasting and had a slightly floral character to it (not Lakeland, just very subtle).

The Virgina tobacco is the most predominant taste and it is very similar to their Virginia No 1 offering but sweeter (combination of the natural Virginia leaf, cavendish, and the typical Mac Baren honey flavor). There is also a spiciness to it which adds a peppery sensation to the tongue. I am not talking bite. However, if you puff on this too hard the bowl has a tendency to burn hot and it will scorch. Interestingly, in a larger diameter bowl, I bunch up the tobacco like a flake for packing and do not experience any tendency for this to smoke hot. Gentle puffing never gets it above the pepper sensation on the tongue. Its overall taste and strength maintained itself consistently throughout the smoke.

This is a very nicely put together blend. As I stated in another review, many of the Mac Baren blends have been criticized for being too similar in taste. I felt that way during my beginning years of pipe smoking. Today, however, many of the Mac Baren blends are among my favorite smokes. I smoke more of their offerings than from any other manufacture and I have been rewarded in discovering the subtle differences they offer. It took time and patience, but the results were well worth it.

All of the qualities represented by Scottish Mixture are enough to make it a candidate for anyone's daily or weekly rotation.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dubinthedam (133)	2008-04-13		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Very Pleasant

Yes it bites, and it's mild and it's danish and it's MacB's and....BUT...they say on the packet that it contains 35 different baccy's...well if it does, its a miracle it taste as great as it actual does...its a classic and it's a winner, I get honey on toast with soft touches of maple and ginger creeping in. I love Plumcake, Dark Twist, Navy Flake and Vanilla Cream...but this to me this is the least cased (in its taste) and the most honest off the lot...and like all MacB's...great value for money. A great pouch tobacco available from your corner shop and there ain't many of them!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hemlock (69)	2007-04-07		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A fine tobacco. Aromatic and natural tobacco satisfaction in one blend. Not Scottish in the textbook sense (no Latakia).

This is a world favorite for a reason. In my tin it seems to be mostly a broken VA flake with some cavendish scattered throughout. It rubs out instantly and packs like a dream-- don't go too tight. The moisture is ideal-- dry, but not too much so. I smoke this with a 6mm charcoal filter and it has zero bite no matter how hard I puff. Fairly consistent flavour through the bowl; there isn't really a "zone" you have to wait for. Has subtle hints of honey, maple and licorice atop a truly quality tobacco base. Not at all fruity. The room note is nice, but not excessively sweet. For this reason, it may not be totally acceptable for those right close by, but it certainly will win some nods in well-circulated air. This is definitely an everyday, all day blend for those whose tastes haven't terminated at only purely natural blends (I myself smoke VAPer's mostly). Give it a go if you don't mind frangranced tobacco and want a proven blend that isn't too tacky or cloying.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2007-02-01		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

3/02/2004 - Scottish Mixture is a nice, mild, change-of-pace, step-down blend. Nothing too fancy here. Just a solid, pleasant, in-your-face old-fashioned smoke. As the description notes, "Mixture is one of the most popular pipe tobaccos in the world..........." Somebody else must really like this tobacco besides me.

ADDENDUM 2/1/2007: This blend, for me, is much better than my initial, short review might indicate. If any of you have doubts about the true essence of this blend, the subtle flavors it presents and its overall fine qualities, I would suggest you break in a new pipe with it and smoke slowly to taste it in all its glory. I have been using MB(S)M as a ?break in blend? for about 20 months in most of my new pipes. It especially ?sings? in natural, unfinished pipes such as new Sav naturals, Bentons and 50 year old Wilkes (from Pipeworks & Wilke). I am always reluctant to switch tobaccos after breaking in a new pipe with MB(S)M but, as evidenced by the number of my reviews, I relent: variety is the spice of life.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pkloop (53)	2006-11-21		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mixture is a well put togther smoke using quality leaf. Yes the Cavendish peeks out at times, then will come the burley, then a hit of sweet Virginia all enveloped in the Mac Baren "taste" Is that honey? The above experience will then be followed up with the taste of whatever liquid I can find to put out the fire on my tongue. Why do Mac Baren tobacco's bite so badly? The only one I can smoke without problems is their Navy Flake, which is, in my opinion, one of the finest smokes around. 2 stars..Would give it 1 for "not my cup of tea" but the quality of the tobacco warrents a 2. If you can keep the fire in the bowl rather then on your tongue you may enjoy this one. Good Luck!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	flyrod6057 (18)	2006-11-18		Mild	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A pretty good leaf. I picked up a tin a few days ago, and am pleased with the mixture. The smell upon opening was sweet (much like Navy Flake) and a tad fruity, reminding me of raisins. The texture is that of a rubbed-out flake.

The tabac packed well and lit fine. The aroma was pleasant. I enjoyed the way the taste changed as I worked through the bowl. There's a slight "spicyness" that was particularly nice. Towards the bottom of the bowl moisture began to become an issue, but that could likely be fixed by airing it out a while before firing up. Either that, or maybe a bit more self-discipline...

Smoke this guy slow. It does smoke on the hot side, but I found that with a little self-discipline, this is a most enjoyable smoke. I'll be keeping this one around awhile. I'm going to set a tin aside for a year or two to see how it ages....

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2006-07-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Oh, well, one has to try the classics at least once in his life... This tobacco has a great reputation in the Scandinavian countries, and is renowned for being a blend with a delicate taste: a symphony of 35 different varieties with no one taking dominant position over the others. The pouch aroma is nutty-honeyish, similar to McBaren Navy Flake and other tobaccos of this brand: typically Danish, due no doubt to the heavy processing (but no goopy casing, unlike modern aromatics). You can find ribbon, broken flake... quite an irregular cut. Anyway, after a few seconds the tobacco lights well and stays lit, burning regularly, slowly, with no moisture or bite. Yes, while everyone says that MacBaren products bite, I think that they don't deserve such a fame. Ok, maybe if you rush them or smoke them regularly... but in my case I had no problems at all. The problem I DO have, is that Mixture is extremely bland and boring: it's not bad, and if you puff slowly you will find a delicate taste similar to the pouch aroma (quite naturally sweet, unobtrusive), a great room note (my wife says it is excellent, and she usually complains!). But I can't find much satisfaction in this: I want something tastier. For example, Mac Baren's Navy Mixture is certainly nuttier and more enjoyable, as is Navy Flake. Plain old Mixture is the typical tobacco for easy, casual smoking: the tobacco that some old timers use as "all day blend", and that some young ones use as a light "socially acceptable" tobacco. Not bad, but give me some Balkan Sobranie or a robust pure Virginia flake instead!

UPDATE 29/07/2006: I have smoked Mac Baren Mixture several times again (I received 5 pouches as a gift) and I must say it truly ain't bad! With slow smoking and if it's not too dry, it's a pleasant, sweet tobacco. It can be a bit mouth-drying, but in a small pipe it's quick and enjoyable smoke. Honeyish but not cloying, fragrant and interesting. A good balance between natural Virginia taste, some burley nuttiness and a moderate cavendish sweetness. Definitely one of the nicest pouch "aromatics" around. As such, I am raising my recommendation.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-06-14		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I couldn't quite figure out what this stuff smelled like in the pouch; the closest I can come is to liken it to old, dried-out potpourri. The smell notwithstanding, I gave it a go.

A lot of reviewers had a problem with this stuff biting the tongue. This only occured on my second bowl. My biggest problem with Mixture is that it has no taste whatsoever. Except for the nasty sour taste it imparted to the pipe, that is. You might as well just puff on an unloaded pipe; it'll give you the same taste, minus the nasty sourness, and smoke much cooler.

"Explore the world of MacBaren," they say. I'm reasonably sure my exploration of that world has come to an abysmal conclusion.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-02-14		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I thought I'd add a review for Mixture for only one reason: for the first time in twenty-five years of pipe smoking, I seem to be smoking this bite-free this year! Different smoking style? Change in body chemistry? Don't know, but I've always liked the flavour of this blend and now I can smoke as much as I want of it.

Can't explain it, but I'm glad I've kept an open mind about Mixture.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OSR (78)	2005-12-15		Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the same tobacco that you'll find listed under "MIXTURE" in the Mac Baren brand section of this page - so, I'll give it a review here as well.

This is the blend that took me from "Fruit Loop Cavendish®" to virginia flakes.

Mixture smells like nothing else. Mixture smells so good out of the tin that you'll want to take a fork and EAT the tobacco.

Mixture is waaaaay too mild for people who want something "round" with flavor. This is very mild tobacco and has to be loaded and smoked with care to be enjoyed, IMO.

The Danes have a way of explaining how to fill a pipe, it's called "plug". My experience has been that the best way to enjoy Mixture is to pull a "wad" of tobacco out of the tin and to "plug" it into a smaller bowled pipe. Don't rub it out, don't take a lot of care in loading the pipe... just take a wad out of the tin and plug it in the pipe.

Once plugged (not CRAMMED) into the pipe, light the bowl and then smoke the tobacco. Don't worry about an even burn, just light it and smoke it. If you smoke Mixture haphazardly and sip at the tobacco you'll be rewarded with a tasty, light and pleasant smoke.

If you try to treat Mixture like other flakes by rubbing it out, applying a good light to the pipe and then tamping and relighting....well, it will bite your tongue off. Period.

Hey, don't take my word for it - try it. Pull a wad out of the tin, plug it into the bowl, light the bowl and go. It'll smoke great! Try to turn Mixture into a science and rub it out, light it, tamp it, light it again... it'll turn your tongue into a blister that won't soon forgive you.

This tobacco has a very fond place in my heart and about once every three years I'll open a tin... and then I'll give it away.

If you like the taste of this mixture but hate the blisters it leaves on your tongue, buy a tin of Gawith and Hoggarth Ennerdale Flake - or, a tin of Gawith and Hoggarth Rum Flake.. both of these blends will treat you much better than Mac Baren Scottish Mixture.

But Mixture is like nothing else. The flavoring is unique. Too bad it's a tongue destroyer. Like someone else said, I give it an extra star (old system) for old times sake. I wonder if the new Flake version is as bitey as this is?

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2005-09-01		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

As I indicated in a previous review, the great blending houses all have their own distinct qualities in cut, nose and of course, taste. McClelland, Germain and MacBaren are especially memorable, and in some ways, so is Cornell & Diehl. Even blindfolded, as soon as you pop open a tin from one of these houses, it is hard not to know the manufacturer. I?ve tried a few MacBaren blends, and quite frankly, I?m not crazy about the taste, aroma or price. It reminds me a little too much of Amphora by Douwe Egberts, a blend I was never much in love with, and I prefer not to purchase large amounts of any one single blend unless I really like it. Macs only come in large 3.5 ounce tins. ?Mixture?, as it is simply called, is an exception. Yes, it has that Amphora Red ready rubbed cut and nose, but it?s much deeper and floral. The taste offers a medley of surprising flavors: chocolate Cavendish, Virginia, sweet Burley and other smoky subtleties I can?t put my finger on. The aroma is pleasantly aromatic, but whatever dressing is used, it is very light and does not intrude. Tin notes indicate that this is one of MacBaren?s oldest blends from the early 1950s. I can understand how it has endured. If you desire a pleasant crossover aromatic with a complexity of rich tobacco tastes, don?t miss this one. It?s every bit as good and deservedly popular as the tin notes claim.

Four of five stars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2005-05-26		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I owe this blend a review for one important personal reason. This is the blend that made me believe in pipe smoking many years ago. Since then I have moved a long way from it, but there's always a place for it in my heart and a 100g tin in my cellar which is slowly consumed in perhaps a year or two. It has a mild casing which has proven to be commercially bulletproof through the years, since it's not overly sweet, goopy and unpleasant. It is really mild and it will burn the tongue if smoked carelessly. I have a couple of older pipes which are really imregnated with it and so sometimes in a grey winter day I pull one out, plug some Mixture in it and contemplate for an hour my younger days. Do yourself a favour if you try it: buy a 100g tin and not the 50g pouch, it will hold in there much better, because if it is dried out, your tongue will be really served on the grill. Gets a sentimental 3rd star from me

3 people found this review helpful.