Mac Baren Burley London Blend

This blend is not hype! It delivers like a Satchel Paige fast ball over the plate. Its my first experience with a burley blend and one of the differences is, it burns quick. (Not hot or fast) Just burns up quick. I didn't pack a full bowl but by the time I got it going to my surprise it was over. Burned dry and ashy. Very flavorable, feels med body, tasty through and through with a touch of sweetness. I will buy more and put some away. This one will only get even greater with age… I could only imagine what that will be like.

Its the only tobacco tin I have ever popped to reveal the smell of vintage tobacco farms. I put it under the nose of my father who is 3rd generation tobacco farmer and it he said, "Gracious! it smells just like my tobacco auctions from old!" I know exactly what he was talking about, it brought back visions of bacca hanging on the sticks…. Highly recommended.

This review is based on my first bowl.

This tobacco has some sort of casing which gives it a bit of a citrus flavor and aroma. Unfortunately it also means that it bites more than, say, Edgeworth Ready Rubbed.

I smoked it on an empty stomach and did not notice any nicotine to speak of.

It did get better through the end of the bowl, but still, if I want to smoke a burley with some citrus notes, I'd definitely choose PS Cube Cut over this, not to mention Carter Hall, and if I wanted a straight burley, I'd choose ERRd or possibly Prince Albert.

Two stars. I'll smoke more, and update if my opinion changes, but for now, I think my favorite MacBaren bulk is probably Mixture aka Scottish Mixture.

UPDATE Jan 21 2010 With the benefit of some experience, I revisited this blend this morning. I was amused to see my opinion hasn't really changed. The casing makes the blend tend to burn hot. It's also too sweet for my tastes. It's possible to smoke it with little bite, but requires a lot of focus and attention. I prefer no fuss burley blends, if I want to smoke something that requires this much care, I'll go for a really awesome Virginia. Still 2 stars, and I may end up giving away the rest of this bag to someone else (only the second blend I've felt that way about).

Known for having very low sugar content, burley leaves often contain no natural sugar. But this burley tobacco has a robust aroma, burns hot in the pipe and carries a slight hint of cocoa in its taste while sporting a slight honey front much like what Mac Baren is famous for but it does not have the sweet taste of Virginia tobaccos. Tends to bite and stings the tongue if not smoked slowly.

Personally, when I reach for this blend, I wish I would have packed Navy Flake or Golden Blend instead and look forward to the bottom of the bowl. I keep giving this blend another chance but have the same opinion each time I try it. This blend just is not sweet enough for me and just does not have the aroma, flavor, or room note that I desire. Tastes like a heavily smoked casing. But given the fact that this burley blend is partially smoke cured, one has to expect this.

I know this is totally a review site but though the following was interesting info. from the Bac Baren site:

Burley tobacco is harvested when the leaves lose their suppleness, so the leaves are green when the harvesting begins. The plants are harvested whole, and hung to dry in barns sheltered from sunlight. No warm air is used, but the amount of fresh air can be adjusted to achieve the perfect drying conditions. The normal drying method used for Burley tobaccos is called air-curing.

There are other methods of drying Burley tobacco, as used on the famous Kentucky tobacco. After air-curing, this Burley is then fire-cured. A fire giving off a thick smoke is built in the barn, and the aromatics in the smoke are absorbed by the leaves.

This really has to be one of the best Burleys around! It is supple, tasty, rich, with an earthy undertone that compliments the almost monochromatic structure of the blend. Nice meaty chunks of mid brown broken flake (broken cake?), easy to break apart and fill in the bowl, Burley London Blend is simple and straightforward. It does pack a considerable amount of nicotine, but its smoothness makes it a delight, especially when having a shot of bourbon. With Virginia No1, this is perhaps one of the best achievements of Mac Baren. Kudos.

Finally got around to reviewing Burley London Blend. Back in 2015, I bought a pound of this in a bag, almost the last the vendor had. I am a Burley man and this one had all the hallmarks of a great one. It isn't, though.

It will bite if pushed very hard, like so many Mac Baren blends. I bought an old BLB tin off ebay, full but opened and dried. I rehydrated but not too much. It burned me too much to smoke it, and I never got the flavor to return, gave it away.

The bag I broke up right away into half-pint jars. Some I smoked right away, most left for aging. I did not experience the sweetness, though a bit of sweetness is a good thing for Burley. I did get a bit of chocolate flavor, but many Burleys naturally do this. Moderate nicotine level and good tobacco taste. Room note was OK, not something your S.O. will ask you to smoke. I believe that really good-quality Burley was used in this blend, though it did not produce exceptional amounts of smoke.

It is not the best I've had, by a long shot. Try Solani's Aged Burley Flake, Watch City Cigar's Deluxe Crumb Cut or Scotty's Butternut Burley. I will miss it, because I always miss a good tobacco blend that is discontinued. But I can only give it 3 stars.

This Burley Blend has some nuttiness to it. It smokes cool and has an even flavor profile. I really like the appearance and tin aroma, however, it fall a bit flat to my taste.

I will be using this tin for blending to add the nut and coolness and I will come back to it as a change-up to my normal MV, VaPer, English, Oriental, Scottish and Balkan preference. I doubt I will be buying a second tin.

Happy Smoke Trails!

Very nice smoke. The Burley and the chocolate flavoring are delicious. The chocolate is lightly done. The Virginias add a nice sweetness, but can sting at times. No bite, but a light sting. For those who are really susceptible to bite you may have some trouble with this one. Medium bodied with medium flavor.

MacBaren owns Sutliff. This blend is so similar to Sutliff's Burley Delight that it makes me wonder if they aren't the same. Just a thought. Both are available in bulk with the Sutliff version 45 cents per ounce cheaper.

Let me add that I'm reviewing the bulk version and it is a broken flake, not ribbon as listed above.

MacBaren does a number of blends well, and BLB is one of their best. Unfortunately, I missed trying it for many years. We live in a great age for pipe tobacco enthusiasts given Websites like this which compile reviews. There are many good ones here which describe this tobac well and which put me onto BLB. I have looked a long time for a Burley blend as good as this one. MacBaren blends are often criticized for "all tasting alike", a reference to the MacBaren Cavendish used in many of their blends imparting a unique taste. Not so here. As I noted there are many good reviews below that "hit the nail on the head".

BLB is a great smoke - nutty, with a subtle sweetness. It burns well to a white ash without getting bitter as so many Burley blends do. It is very well balanced top to bottom without any bite. It did heat up my briar from time to time, probably due to my packing it too tight at first.

Top shelf!

To start, I am not a great connoisseur of pipe tobacco. I do know what a good tobacco is like, and have a nice little cellar. I noticed this Burley on Smoking Pipes, ordered three tins, and decided to get another the next day. All I saw was a little dust, and the delivery trucks leaving the store. All gone. It seems others like this blend also. When I first opened a tin, some sort of life form came out, and started beating me with a Chocolate Bar, then right behind that, it thru a little Vanilla flavoring at me. Horrible little creature! My survival reaction was to set the thing on fire, with a Corn Cob. To my surprise, the beating stoped, and all that was left was a pleasant Burley experience. What an adventure. I would buy more if it was available.