Mac Baren Mixture: Scottish Blend

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.