Tobaccos Mac Baren - Club Blend

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2008-04-06		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Update. Initially underwhelming, this tobacco has gone to the top of my rotation. Spicey marshmallow yum. It IS best in a fairly large bowl, smoked slow.

Actually, I can't say enough good things about this tobacco. It is a Va/Per in disguise, or something. It compares favorably with Escudo - Mac Baren's patented spicey cavendish mimicing a perique-y flavor. It is just slightly sweetened, so if Escudo is a bit medicinal, or "dry" in finish for you, try a tin of club.

I'm hard pressed to pick between this and Dark Twist. If I was ordering 100 lbs of tobacco, club would probably get the nod. ---------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I like Mac Baren stuff, it turns out. Learning to smoke Mac Baren products allows you to enjoy them tremendously, as well as to enjoy other, more forgiving tobaccos more. Mac Baren tobaccos aren't particularly forgiving, and I feel sorry for people who can't get around hot bowls and tongue bite.

If you do slow down, fiddle with the packing, and get these blends to work for you, then they are just magical. The idea of more flavor, more spice, more latakia, etc just down't apply. You are looking for nuances of marshmallow, honey, plums, rum, or whatever, depending on the blend.

Club is pretty straightforward. A little peppery and fairly light and sweet. Nice on a fall day.

I rub the coins right out and dry it just a bit. Then just smoke it real slow. A big bowl of club leaves me very satisfied, but not wobbly, which means there isn't much nicotine, really, because I am fairly sensitive to it.

So, if you hate Roll Cake and Dark Twist, forget this stuff, but if other Mac B products have been enjoyable for you, then by all means, enjoy the coins and enjoy having people watch you rubbing and fiddling and setting up your pipe, old school.

26 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2014-02-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Mac Baren - Club Blend.

Lets begin with the opening of it: it has a similar aroma to the dark twist that I find pleasant. The rolls themselves are nicely sized and are very easy to rub out and fill with as they hold just the right amount of moisture.

It’s very easy to light and once lit it does not require many re-lights. The smoke is like a dichotomy between sweetness and spiciness which is very nice and it also doesn't burn too hot. The sweetness is one of maple syrup. I didn't get any bite but different tobaccos bite different people! The smoke is of a nice strength and I can detect the Cavendish in it which I adore! The room note gets much appreciation from all around. It really is pleasurable indeed!

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeKing David (134)	2008-06-12		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really gave Club Blend the "old college try." I smoked it in meers, and briars of various size and quality. Only in a large briar -- and only once -- did this tobacco reveal its glory.

But once is not enough. All the other times, Club Blend bit my tongue ferociously.

This tobacco looks great; nice spun coins of golden Virginia with a cavendish center. Smells nice in the tin, too. So, if you are looking for a visually pleasant, nice smelling tobacco, have at it.

Unfortunately, the smoking experience falls far short of its looks and tin aroma.

I enjoy many MacBaren tobaccos, just not this one.

UPDATE: Other reviewers (including Sasquatch) have recommended smoking MacBaren tobaccos very slowly, and drying it out before firing it up. I did so, and what an improvement! Now I smoke this almost daily.

This is a pretty mild Virginia with a cavendish core. As stated by others, it has a nice room note. In fact, my wife commented on how pleasant it smelled, and said it reminded her of roasted marshmallows. I agree, and it tastes somewhat the same!

I was going to wait to update my earlier review until finishing the entire tin...I'm half-way done now. But I thought it best to correct the record at this time. Maybe I will further update my thoughts after completing the tin.

Govern Yourself Accordingly!

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	babysinister (55)	2010-02-17		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This for me is an addictive blend. One of the mildest yet tastiest I've smoked. (Disclaimer: I'm not a cigarette-replacing, nic digging perfervid puffer of strong tobacco.) I like subtlety and nuance. And this one is incredibly nuanced. I rub the curly buggers thoroughly, let them sit overnight, and then light them up. It's complex and unpredictable. That I like. Sometimes it's subtle sometimes more in your face, but still complex and nuanced. A sphinx is what it is. The Sphinx of Copenhaguen. The Bloomy Dane. The Danish Relish. You get the idea. Excellent tobacco leaf irradiated with magic. This is from a two year old tin. I have two other tins dated last year. My mouth doesn't feel any untoward aftertaste whatsoever, just a lingering memory of sedate nirvana. No no no no bite whatsoever. Actually, I find it downright soothing. And I've just had four bowls in a 24-hour period, also known as one day. What a creeper baccy. Wait, wait.. where's it going?? Oh, yes. To the top of my rotation list.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-04-21		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Club Blend has a fine taste. Not too much flavoring and does taste like tobacco. The roll cake style makes it a bit of a hassle to rub out and pack, but you will be rewarded by a cool, dry smoke. I say cool, but that is because you must puff slowly for it to remain that way.

I tried this blend in a variety of pipes, and I think it smokes best completely rubbed out in a group 4 size pipe. Keep the burn slow or you may find this blend to nip the tongue. Nothing serious, but you will feel the flame.

Typically top shelf quality by Mac Baren.

Pipestud

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cumarinophil (108)	2015-01-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Mac Baren Club Blend Roll Cake – Just a brief confirmation of what’s been said already: Out of the freshly opened tin you might get bite through sugary, honey-like vapor on your tongue.

If you spread it out over night and let it dry a bit and then sip carefully, the experience changes entirely. Roasty, toasty and sometimes earthy tones of the tobaccos accompanied by the typical MB sweetness. The casing is now more discrete and well balanced, together with mild-medium strength and medium-full taste. A filter doesn’t change much, just take 10% off every aspect. A reliable pleasure.

Pick this one, if you really like the MB aroma, the Dark Twist, if you like it a tad more spicy with the sweetness and Stockton, if you prefer it spicy, with less MB aroma.

Pipe Used: Several briars with and without filter

Age When Smoked: fresh, but dehumidified

Similar Blends: Others from the MB Roll Cake series.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jakob Kiilerich (120)	2004-06-06		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

EXACTLY the same as Dark Twist, except that every slice in the tin has Cavendish in it. Oh yes I forgot.. This little baby is hot as Beelzebub himself! It's impossible to smoke cool, no matter how cautious you are on the puffing. Ageing does not help - I tried stashing a tin for 5 years - no difference at all..

Otherwise, the same taste as Dark Twist (barely detectable notes of Samson Halfzware and burnt toffee)

Why smoke this when you can spare your palate with Dark Twist??

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2003-02-04		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

If you can taste any difference between this and Dark Twist you've got either a) a scholastic/Talmudic tongue (depending on where you get your talent for minute-infinitesimal-how-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin distinctions OR, b) a great imagination.

To my jaded, decadent, illegal-in-Georgia tongue, there is no difference here. It may be simply that "Dark" may seduce some people, whilst making others uncomfortable?who knows? Is the difference in the packaging? A Scandinavian conundrum.

This smolthers pleasantly and sweetly in that quiet Danish way. My problem is that when I see a sliced twist like this, I want THREE NUNS intensity, which this sure ain't got. It also turns a bit stale in the last third of the bowl, as if, instead of fading, it were dying.

Not hateful, but not for me.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3025)	2022-11-25		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The dark fired Kentucky center provides a lot of earth, wood, spice, vegetation, some sweet and sourness, herbs, nuts, floralness, and light smoke as the lead component. The gold Virginia offers some tart and tangy citrus, grassy vegetation, sugar, bread, mild floralness, light sour lemon, and spice along with touches of honey and acidity as a supporting player. The maple sugar very mildly tones down the tobaccos. The strength and taste levels just make the medium mark. The nic-hit is a couple of steps behind. I don’t experience any but or harshness, though I do notice a few rough edges. The coins are mildly moist and ready to smoke. Burns cool, clean and a little slow with a very consistent sweet and spicy, mildly floral flavor that extends the short lived, pleasant after taste. The room note a notch more potent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Not quite an all day smoke Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (241)	2012-02-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have thoroughly enjoyed both Stockton and Dark Twist Roll Cake and it was only a matter of time before getting to Club Blend. All three of these spun tobaccos are very similar in smoking characteristics and flavor profile. What I like about all of them is the nice "brown sugar-like" taste that each imparts while smoking. No detectible topping like vanilla and the likes, just a nice, sugary sweetness. Couple that simplicity with high quality leaf and you have a very tasty tobacco presence while smoking. If I had to rate these three, I would say that Stockton is the spiciest, Dark Twist the sweetest, and Club Blend in terms of spiciness and sweetness just shadowing the other two in their respective departments. I do not mean to say that Club Blend is a middle of the road blend, but a blend that has the best of both worlds (sweetness and spice) in just the right proportions to make this stand out. I can smoke any of the 3 and be fully satisfied, but if I had to choose only one, it would be Stockton as it's a bit stronger in dark fired taste. By the way, CB did not smoke hot, however it can be a bit nippy. There was no palate irritation and it smoked clean and dry to the bowl's end each and every time. Recommended as a good, dependable smoke.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Loboatomy (41)	2006-01-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Let me begin by saying that this has become one of my favorite blends over the past few years or so. I had shied away from MacBaren products when I started pipe smoking because of a dreadful throat and tongue excoriating experience early on with Virginia No. 1 before I understood how to smoke such tobaccos. I was a self-affirmed aromatic and drugstore burley smoker back then, and couldn't dream of what all of the fuss was about with all of these "fancy" tinned tobaccos. I had never paid too much attention to the tins of MacBarens at the local tobacco shop until one day I spied the red/orange can of club blend, read the description and impulse purchased. Soon afterwards I was hooked, and favorably impressed enough to sample most of the remaining macbaren tobaccos most of which I can admit that I enjoyed enough to send be searching further into the world of fine tobaccos. So, in a sense, I would say that MacBarens tobaccos paved the way for me to acsend into the world of good smokin'. Now, the thought of smoking something out of a sticky jar sends shivers down my spine. Club Blend is nicely packaged, somewhat moist on opening but stabilizing to a perfect consistency by the time the quater-smoked point is reached. I enjoy the juxtaposition of the bright virginia grassy dryness with the sweetness of the black cavendish. I can't detect any top-dressing but the cavendish is flavored with something that I can't seem to put my finger on. Some people have remarked that Dark Twist is the same thing as Club Blend, but I beg to differ. Dark Twist is another one of my favorites, but it is certainly darker and more somber and overtly sweet in both flavor and tin odor and has not the wonderful "bilayer" of taste that club blend puts forth. The bright virginia lays down a base, and then the black cavendish peeks out with it's velvety sweetness through the nose and palate. I like to stack pack the coins and then rub out one or two on top and I find that packed this way affords me about 45 minutes of constant smoking, usually without relights. For some reason, I have not been a victim of the dreaded "MacBaren Bite" with any of their roll cut blends like some reviewers have. It burns cleanly to a white ash and I have never heard a gurgle out of any of my pipes when smoking it.The room note is very virginia, less offensive to my better half than some of the blends I have endeavored to smoke indoors. I usually smoke at least one bowl of this per day, and I find that it makes for a nice "afternoon, after work, before dinner" smoke during that hour or two during which I like to have a hot cup of strong tea and read my mail or "weekend puttering around the garden or working on the boat" in a big billiard where the freshness of the breeze complements nicely the freshness of the bright Va. I save the evenings, though, for darker pleasures...

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pylet2000 (33)	2017-03-16		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Tin presentation is little disks of sliced spun tobacco. Aroma is mild, and generally brown sugar sweet with some Virginia notes.

A little moist when fresh, I find all of these MacBaren spun blends to be best when well dried. Even when dry, there is a little bit of nip present that requires caution to not get carried away with puff cadence. And it's easy to get too eager, the flavor is subtle and encourages a faster draw trying to get more flavor to burst forward. What bursts forward instead is tongue tingle. Go easy, and you're rewarded with a very pleasant, mildly sweet smoke.

I once had a blend that called itself Natural Dutch Cavendish, it was more brown than black cavendish, and had a very distinct flavor that I find to be present here. I detect essentially no black cavendish character. The Virginias are very nice, with more of a hay / grass note than yeasty or bready. The topping / casing is noticeably sweet but not really artificial or annoying like a sticky aromatic, and as others have mentioned gives off a toasted marshmallow note. Mixed against the nice Virginia baseline, it's pleasant.

In general, I visit this blend roughly once a week, and enjoy it pretty greatly when I do. Given it's tendency to get tingly and the care it requires to not bite, I personally can't call it an every day smoke. But it's a treat nonetheless, and of the MacBaren roll cake tobaccos, my favorite.

Pipe Used: Cobs and briars

Age When Smoked: fresh to several months after openning

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Don Jefe (7)	2014-02-09		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I got this 4 year old tin with the purchase of an estate pipe.

The tin note is of sweet prunes, and though a bit odd, was not unpleasant.

I found this to be a very smooth smoke, but ultimately unremarkable. It lacks character, and I was hoping for a richer smoke. Given the fact that it is already 4 years old, I doubt that any aging will solve this problem (if any of you were thinking that for a new tin).

There are many better options available, but this blend may appeal to those liking a very mild, gentle smoke.

Pipe Used: Brigham Dublin

Age When Smoked: 4

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fife&Drum (34)	2013-03-17		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Solid three stars. I don't get the description above saying this has a citrus/fruit flavoring. Mac Barens site only says their typical preparation of their Original Cavendish has a maple sugar casing. That is all. And indeed this is exactly what this blend presents. A typical Va, Burley, Cavendish blend. Smooth with a nice mild depth of flavors. Doesn't evolve too much but is consistent throughout the bowl. I like the small disks of roll cake. Fun to rub out. Sometimes I don't rub them out but just crumble them between the fingertips. Easy. Takes the flame very well and burns slowly. As with all Mac Baren offerings so far, for me gentle sipping is the way to experience them. An all day blend for sure. No frills. Consistent. Toasty and lightly sweet.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Swiss-smoker (87)	2019-12-31		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

It is a Curly Cut with a dark brown, almost black core of Dark Fired Kentucky (according to Mac Baren’s homepage), NO Black Cavendish as stated in the description above. Virginias in different shades of brown surround this dark core. The medium sized rolls look pleasant and it is effortless to rub directly into the pipe. Ideal moisture in tin, very easy to light, steady and cool burn, no tongue-bite.

The overhead description of this page mentions that there is a flavouring of “other / misc”. Again, this is in total contrast to Mac Baren’s description on their homepage. There is only maple syrup added for sweetness, and NO flavours whatsoever, according to Mac Baren. I cannot find any flavouring myself, I only get a palette of natural tobacco taste.

In my perception, the backbone of this blend is mainly Virginias, together with a rather dominant aroma of Dark Fired Kentucky. It is also possible that the boost comes from a robust Virginia. I’d say, for a Mac Baren this blend is quite strong, not in nicotine though. Sweetness is in the background, just right for me. I would call “Club Blend Roll Cake” a pleasant everyday mixture, strong enough to enjoy, without being too strong to smoke several pipes in a row. There are no outbursts of fancy aromas to dig for, it’s just a pleasant one to smoke. I will add it to my rotation, together with Mac Baren Dark Twist Roll Cake.

Purchased From: Local tobacconist.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2019-01-08		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Beautiful brown spun discs with the black "heart of darkness". Pleasant Virginia tobacco aroma with some topping that I don't see as "fruit" or "citrus" but more like honey. I rubbed the discs out for best effect and gave this a prodigious drying time until it was just short of crispy. I picked this up as part of a large trade because I was curious if I would get the chemical burn even before I lit it, as happened many years ago when I attempted to try this blend. I didn't.

This is a Mac Baren's roll cake through and through, which was its weakness to my tastebuds. The honey-sweet casing came through heavily even when properly dried out, and the overall presentation was sweet but not quite too sweet. Close but just missed going overboard. Occasionally I would get a hint of something like burnt marshmallows that was, unfortunately, too fleeting. This could have used a pinch of Kentucky or something to spice it up. But for the most part, this was a pleasant if not groundbreaking smoke. I saved back 1.5 oz from the 3.5 tin for later when I want something on the sweet side, and I thought it would work better perhaps outside in the summer. 2 1/2 stars, but not quite a 3 star blend in my book. But I would have no problem recommending this to someone who enjoys Dark Twist and the other Mac B roll cakes. I think this is one of the best of that bunch. And once dried out, it averaged only 2.67 relights per bowl, for those of you who find that information critical.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Briar Piper (89)	2018-12-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

The best smelling of the MacBaren blends when burning. Has quite a chemical coctail present, with benzoic acid leading the way, which gives it its sweet benzoin incense or maple like flavor and room note. I have had a tin of this which was nearly 20 years old, and had turned a very vivid orange color. The room note was very inmpressive, and it tasted good also. However, I get the MacBaren bite, which is due to its chemical coctail, so I don't buy their blends, only occasionally try samples offered, or tins gifted. It is law now in Germany for a complete ingredient list, including amounts used per KG, to be available to the public, for any tobacco product. My German friend kindly sent me the list for many blends. MacBaren more or less has a laboratory in most of their blends. So, while this is a nice smoke, I won't be buying any.

Pipe Used: Servi meerschaum.

Age When Smoked: 20 years.

Purchased From: Gift

Similar Blends: Davidoff flake medallions, bullseye flake..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2017-11-04		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Truly a "middle of the road" blend... sweet, but with some spice. Quite natural, but aromatic in taste. For me it also takes the middle of the 3 Roll Cakes I got to smoke from Mac Baren. Stockton being by far my favorite, Club Blend 2nd place for its smooth and all-day-suitable aroma and strenght, Dark Twist takes the 3rd place, because I find it a tad too sweet.

Mac Baren says this is only treated with water and maple-syrup, and has "minimalistic casing" and I'd agree that a hint of a fruity-casing is present. Tin note is wonderful... lots of natural, bready, yeasty tobacco aroma, some citrusy fruit notes, with maple-ish sweetness to it.

In the taste it's quite natural tobacco aroma. Rich, but mellow flavours of dark bread and walnuts that are supported by a midly fruity, moreso citrusy freshness. A decent sweetness is always present, that has a maple-ish touch to it. An delicate interplay of tart-spice and refreshing, citrusy-sweetness.

On the lower half of medium in strenght, I find this could be appealing to beginners who want to discover more natural pipe tobaccos, as well as for Virginia lovers, who like some spice and every other smoker, who likes a "middle of the road" blend, that is very All-Day suitable with an aroma that's never too much, but also satisfying. Smehow "Club Blends" always lend me to believe it should be a blend of which you can crack a tin open, put it on the pipe clubs table and say: "Fill a bowl boys..." and everyone would like the tobacco fine or at least like it OK. Club Blend is one of these blends! I can't imagine anyone finding this totally offensive!

Yup... another well done Roll Cake by Mac Baren, great series they produce and worth every penny imho!

Pipe Used: Clays and Briars

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Stockton, Mac Baren - Dark Twist Roll Cake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	marosi (70)	2011-03-25		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

First things first. The description above identifies this as having a fruit/citrus flavoring. I do not believe that this is accurate. Mac Baren states that all of their spun tobaccos of this style receive only a sugar topping, and that to a small degree. In addition, their website also gives this their lowest rating possible for aromatic flavor. While one may taste citrus, my own experience is that this blend indeed contains only a light sugar casing.

Now to the tobacco. It certainly looks as described, which is as a blend of virginias and cavendish. It is their typical Mac Baren sliced roll cake - long ribbon cut tobacco spin which appear to be pressed into a tube shape, and then sliced into thin discs.

The tin moisture is significant, and the blend itself benefits greatly from significant drying prior to smoking. Most Mac blends can bite if not smoked with respect. This is no exception. When dried to the touch (but not wholly crisp) the bite all but disappears unless smoked fast and furious, and it burns slowly and evenly. The flavor is rich and sweet, and consistent from start to finish. It is not complex, but offers a satisfying mouthful of smoke which is sweet but offers natural virginia flavor. Yummy.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-01-15		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Club Blend is a delicious treat for Virginia fans. It has a fairly narrow dynamic range but is never tedious. The roll cake cut is easier to deal with than flake cut. The little disks rub out readily and you control how fragmented it is. I suggest you want the first couple of disks pretty coarse, the next couple a little more completely broken up and the last one or two thoroughly rubbed out. This treatment ensures that your pipe will be easy to light and keep lit.

If you smoke slowly, Club Blend has a sweet disposition. No Virginia is going to be bite free if you rush. Virginia tobaccos have a natural tanginess. The usual Virginia/perique blends are tangier. By comparison, this blend (Virginia/cavendish) is very smooth and mellow. There is a nice natural sweetness to this tobacco and it may get some artificial help, but if so it is very subtley done.

Non-smokers will likely find this unoticeable or will comment favourably on it.

When Canadians are considering the price of Club Blend they should bear in mind that it comes in 100g tins.

I like this tobacco and will keep it in stock.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (140)	2022-12-10		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant

The description in store said the tin was released in 2006, but I knew that Mac Baren had changed the tin designs at the turn of the Millennium, and design was old. I was able to find the period when it was imported to the United States. There was a great surprise for me: it turned out that the importer indicated on the tin was ordering Mac Baren before 1986! That, in turn, meant that the tobacco had been in the tin for at least 35 years. I opened the tin, poured the contents into the glass jar and let the blend rest for about a month, then decided to try it.

Appearance: over the years, the tobacco has turned into a tightly pounded, tin-shaped puck consisting of coins the color of a well-baked apple with slightly lighter streaks. Each of the coins was about two centimeters in diameter and a millimeter thick. The fresh coins could be stuffed into a tube in a stack, but over time the mixture dried up a bit and the fibers lost their flexibility. Now they could only be turned into ribbons and stuffed into the tube in the usual way.

Flavor: in one word, luxurious. A soft and dense note of figs clearly dominates, despite the complete absence of perique in the recipe. Apparently, red Virginia, fire-dried Kentucky and Cavendish twisted into bundles, glued with maple syrup and cut into coins, over 35 years in the tin produced an awesome result, similar to the flavor of a very good perique. There was a woody note with a slight smokiness through it, along with a faint scent of orange zest. I took a couple of coins in my hand, kneaded them a little, and over the fig base came the aroma of fine muffin bread. After a few seconds, it all came together to form a wholesome, calm and very pleasant aroma.

Taste: It would seem that with such a flavor, Virginia should have led the way. But to my surprise, once smoked, the flavor is dominated by a smoky, woody and nutty - but extremely smooth! - Kentucky note, shaded by the sweetness of baked fruit, candied orange and a subtle bread crumb, which is given by a mixture of Virginia and a small dose of Cavendish. Gradually, the smoky Kentucky note recedes into the background, leaving the woody and nutty component to dominate, the Virginia adds a little sweetness, the various notes weave into one dense, but light flavor. The tobacco, left in a tin for such a considerable period, has become much less demanding to the smoking temperature, and the harshness in it is pretty diminished, it doesn't bite and has only a little roughness in taste. Nevertheless, I don't advise to rush with it, because despite its age it smokes quite warm, burning out into a light gray dust and leaving almost no moisture in the pipe. By the way, the shape of the pipe does not affect the taste of the tobacco. The strength of the tobacco is somewhat below average, even in a extra large pipe I did not get a nicotine hit. The aftertaste is sweetish-woody, with an emphasis on the woody note, short-lived. The smoke from the tobacco has a faint woody smell and dissipates easily.

What's the bottom line? To be completely honest, mixed feelings. On the one hand, tobacco has become an excellent blend over the years, with Kentucky playing a major role, but this strangely doesn't bother me at all. I would be more than happy to smoke this kind of tobacco every day. On the other hand, to smoke such tobacco every day in modern times, back in the early days of my acquaintance with the pipe, I should have stocked up on it at every opportunity. To be honest, I know what a fresh Club Blend is, and this tobacco is obviously not for everyone. It's quality, moderately bright in flavor, but slightly pungent on the palate and burns hot enough. I'd be interested in getting my hands on a few tins and putting them on the far shelf. However, I recently had the opportunity to try a 20-year-old Club Blend and compare how much it has changed in the 15 years that make up the difference between the two tins.

Pipe Used: Peterson 80s, 106, System 314

Age When Smoked: at least 35 years old tin

Purchased From: Online

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Elsayyed (14)	2020-12-11		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I got lucky and bought a Batch from 2009, upon opening it i smelled the classic Mac baren aroma and another smell that reminded me of dried figs. this tobacco is thinly sliced rope , sticky , darker tobacco colors dominats the lighter one and it was a little wet some may find drying it makes it better i just smoked it as it is and worked out fine.

picked 4 discs roled them and stuffed them vertically in my bent billiard pipe , lightly rubbed another 2 and filled them above and it was a perfect smoke for me i enjoyed it for around 2 hours sipping slowly , it tasted sweet, bready and it had this lovely spiciness, sometimes the spiciness dominates other times the sweetness dominates keeping you entertained. this tobacco is mild to medium in strength nothing is overpowering here. it burned completely and needed around 5 relights to finish the bowl . 1 point for taste (subjective)(don't bore you) 1 point for not biting at all 1 point for quality 1 point for price.

Pipe Used: Chabôt bent billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin (a batch from 2009)

Purchased From: locale store

Similar Blends: some ppl say its a lighter version of dark twist..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MarkTheLad (46)	2020-10-19		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a nice easy smoking, tasty tobacco, the black Cavendish seems to be nicely dispersed throughout each coin and the Virginia is there too of course. This is a cousin to Dark Twist, except is seems to have less of the dark fired leaf in it. it's quite tasty, a little sweet, a little spicy, a little smoky and burns well. I rubbed about 4 coins out and let them dry for about 20 mins. before loading up my pipe, I find that doing this with most Mac Baren blends staves off that dreaded tongue bite. I'm going to cellar this to see what a little age does to it. 3.5 stars.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Bent Roma 614

Age When Smoked: 4 months

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Dark Twist.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lawyertodd (36)	2019-06-12		Medium	Medium	Extra Full	Very Pleasant

Popped open at our NY Pipe Club meeting a tin of MB's "Club Roll" from at least one to two decades ago (imported/distributed through Fireside in NYC). I'll refrain from using (positive) expletives, and simply say "amazing." Sweet and tart at the same time. If this is what tobacco aging is all about, I wouldn't open a single tin until 20 years after purchase. No idea what the current crop of Club tastes like, but will buy a few to cellar. My descendants can then do another comparison of the different generations of the blend.

Pipe Used: Don Lou

Age When Smoked: Likely 20 years.

Purchased From: Estate sale in NJ of Ralph Hettinger

Similar Blends: Nectar.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	p4p4 (59)	2017-11-04		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I like it. It is like DarkTwist, but with more dark fired cavendish, so with much more spice. Sadly it lacks nicotine strenght, frankly expected in this kind of old traditional tobaccos.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	coldmoon (24)	2015-11-11		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one of the four curly cut tobacco blends Mac Baren currently produces (Roll Cake, Club Blend, Dark Twist, Stockton) and is on the milder side, very similar to Mac Baren's Roll Cake, but without the honey topping. There was another curlie from Mac Baren - Latakia Blend, but it was discontinued due to people not liking the small amount of latakia it had. This blend consists of Virginias and black cavendish tobaccos. Mapple sugar has been added to the blend to sweeten up the taste. Upon opening the tin I'm greeted with toasty aroma with a some grassy notes from Virginias. The coins look very neat with bright Virignias surrounding darker kernel in the middle which appears to be black cavendish. Moisture level is almost perfect for smoking it right out of the tin.

I usually pack the coins in the bowl without rubbing them out. I take 5 - 6 coins, stack them together and roll them up, then insert the roll into the bowl of the pipe. I love smoking them this way because, until the middle of the bowl it's just basically VA tobaccos, but when the mid-bowl hits, I'm getting this smoky taste from BC. Then after the mid-bowl it's mellowing out again.

Lighting this tobacco is a bit of a challenge. From the start it needs at least two charring lights, but when that's done, it burns pretty well.

I really love the taste, its toastiness. At the beginning I get the sweetness from the Virginias which mellows down as the smoke progresses. This is really satisfying smoke. Can give tongue bite if smoked too fast. I can get an hour and a half of enjoyment out of a bowlful of this blend. The strength of this blend is on the medium side. Nicotine level is on the low side.

The room note is noticeable, but is not offensive. Actually it's rather pleasant.

Would definitely recommend this blend for all pipe smokers.

Pipe Used: Stanwell No. 95 "The pan"

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Dark Twist Roll Cake, Mac Baren - Roll Cake, Mac Baren - Stockton.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	boc777 (39)	2014-02-11		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am in agreement with some of the other reviewers here, this seems an awful lot like Dark Twist. From presentation to smoke to room note, this appears to be quite similar, and unfortunately just as unsatisfying for me. I like the rolls, they look very pleasing to the eye. Tin note is citrus and earthy at the same time, not like most aromatics, which is a good thing for me. That's where the high notes end for me. I don't like the way it packs and lights. I have tried rubbing it out and folding the coins, as well as stacking them. Tried several different pipes and it is just underwhelming in all of them. I REALLY wanted to enjoy this! Its been around a long time, well respected, and I like most of the MacBaren offerings. Too much tongue bite, not enough satisfying smoke. Sorry, this one is not for me. Oh, and I tried drying it out, smoking it slow, you name it, I really tried to let this one succeed.

Age When Smoked: < 1 month

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	wintermute (90)	2013-08-15		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

When I opened the tin, I got the smell of beef jerky. The tobacco looks nice, but you have to rub it out to get in in your pipe. Pack light if you can. The stuff needs a couple of lights to get going and you need to work hard to keep it lit at first. That is where the familiar tongue bite comes in to play in a big way. Again, this stuff bites at first. The smoke is plentiful, but the room aroma is far from delightful. The is a hint of sweetness like that of burning marshmallows. I mean, like just throwing the whole bag on the camp fire. While it is going it bites less and less. The nicotine is pretty good, but I can think of better ways to get vitamin N. The tin is very expensive and I have had much better smokes from stuff that cost a whole lot less. The ash is nice and the bowl does settle down towards the end. The flavor, such as it is, does last to the bottom, but I was ready for it to end. The smell seems to linger on your hands and clothes; this is fine except that it is not a nice smell. It is like you have been too long in front of the charcoal grill. Another BIG disappointment from a high-dollar, legendary company.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-11-09		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

from the taste and strength not bad. Disappointing that the raw tobacco is not properly stripped and there are many stems inside crumbling out when the tobacco is a bit dry. I think it would be better for the makers reputation if they would strip all these stems out before they roll the raw tobacco.

its not a cheap tobacco but seeing all this stems inside it could be offered at a much cheaper price I guess.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_german (309)	2009-05-04		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Having revisited the Club Blend after some 15 years, I find myself struggling for an explanation: what took me so long?

It has been noted that most of McBaren's spun tobaccos are somewhat similar, but I must disagree with those who claim they are practically all the same. The tin aroma is similar to, say, Dark Twist or Royal Twist (nowadays called Roll Cake), but in the pipe... ah, in the pipe...

On opening the tin, the aroma is indeed quite similar to the Dark Twist, though a bit darker and less VA-ish. Dark, old-fashioned aromatic tones rule, while bright VA lurks in the background. Optically speaking, there seems to be a relatively large amount of bird's-eyes in the blend. The only flavour added seems to be a bit of sugar to sweeten things a little.

Folding the tobacco into a pipe is a no-brainer, lighting it takes a little patience, but once it burns, it'll keep on burning quietly and coolly until there is nothing left to incinerate. As with all VA blends, keep it cool and you shall enjoy; take care to tamp down regularly and you won't run into trouble. The taste is sweet and full and spicy in a nice way, with a little less push than DT and RT (or Stockton, for that matter). The room note is what I call conservative - an old-times sort of feel that seems to be generally welcome even among non-smokers with notes of leather and caramel, with a hint of wood.

As the tobacco burns down, the sweet and spicy taste builds up, gathering a little hint of caramel and nuttiness. The room note continues largely unchanged. And if you need to take a break for whatever reason, you can relight this blend without having to fear negative repercussions: it just starts up again right where it left off in terms of taste and aroma. Beautiful!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2009-04-28		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

A nice roll cake, with soft coins that crumble easily (not as compact as, let's say, Escudo).

It's a very typical MacBaren recipe: dark fermented Cavendish is used instead of Perique for spicing up the bright/red Virginias. The result is less spicy and sour than Perique, but interesting nonetheless.

It's a complex, dark, autumnal tobacco with little Virginia sweetness. What dominates the blend is a leathery and woody taste. The dark Cavendish gives a great contribution, resulting in a taste which reminds of a very fermented black tea (without sugar or milk). Something like a classic English Breakfast blend of tea from Kenya or Sri Lanka. Even slightly smoky, at times!

As usual with Danish tobaccos, anyway, the taste is very subtle and requires slow sipping for full appreciation. It's not an intense tobacco, and while body and moutfheel have a good consistency, the flavours are quite subdued. By the way, it feels very natural: MacBaren says that they simply added a little water and sugar, and I believe them. It's not biscuity like some other blends from this brand, not at all.

The coins can be very easily loaded into the pipe, with very little crumbling: little care is required for an excellent burn... simply stack up some coins, press a bit, and fire it away. It burns regularly, neither fast nor slow, with no tongue bite and very few relights. Very consistent in flavour from start to finish (it just gests slightly more intense towards the middle of the bowl).

I would love some more flavour intensity from this tobacco (and this is why it only reaches a "recommended" for me), but it's a good and balanced blend. If you dry it a little bit, anyway, the taste gets more intense.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-12-01		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Fair roll cake tobacco. Tastes like sweetned Burley with Dark stoved Virginia. It does bite hard.Smells good in the room.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-01-31		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

You can compare this one to Dark Twist, but a bit milder. It's a sweet virginia roll cake that smokes like a quality virginia should. It's got a bit of an aroma that's pleasant, and doesn't interfere too much with the taste, which is a good thing. Nutty, sweet flavors come from this blend. If you like virginias that have been mellowed out, then you'll really enjoy this blend. I can't explain this blend to a newbie. If you've had experience with VA's, then you'll certainly know what I'm talking about when you try this blend.

This scores an 89 out of 100 for me. :)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2018-07-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is similar to Mac Baren Dark Twist roll cake; but the Virginias are a little more piquant, or sharp; and the dark fired Kentucky seems more forward, smokier, and sweeter (the maple syrup topping is more apparent) . There are no similarities to OTC aromatics, so tobacco purists can buy with confidence.

If you like Escudo, Superior Round Slices, P/S LBF, Doblone D'oro, or SG Cabbies Mixture, then Club Blend could fit into your rotaion too. (And no, I'm not conflating dark fired Kentucky with either Cavendish or Perique. Club Blend has dfK, and the others vary.)

You will have to adapt to a slight pinch from Club Blend's Virginias, but that sort of grows on you -- like piquant spices do -- and you'll find yourself gravitating to it.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jason72 (3)	2018-06-02		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Sweet gray smoke from the light to first half of the bowl, Spicey bread and nuts on the last half. Very happy with this blend. Very few relights, only 2 the whole bowl. Virginias creep out later on in the smoke and give some earthy overtones and sweetness. I don't get much of a fruit note, but A nice sweetness that I can see from the maple. Reminds me of Fall leaves changing colors, and a nice crisp north wind, when I smoke it. Makes me crave a nice Pumpkin Spice Tea when I smoke.

Pipe Used: Dr. Graybow Billard

Age When Smoked: 1 yr

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

Similar Blends: Escudo, with more Sweetness..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2015-11-05		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I am smoking a tin of CB that has aged for 5 years. The vacuum was popped on the tin so the disks of spun tobacco had dried to a moisture content I like with MB. I have found that MB blends new and right from the tin are to high in moisture and burn and taste much better if allowed to dry. Furthermore, aging has improved CB. There are some good 4-star reviews here that spotlight the sweet/citrus/spaciness of this spun tobacco. It is mellow, easy smoking - a nice all day smoke. There is a nice interplay between Virginia and Black Cavendish and what I am guessing is Perique. VaPer lovers should enjoy CB. My advice is buy several tins and age some for a rainy day.

Pipe Used: Dunhill squat bulldog

Age When Smoked: 5 years

Purchased From: Curtis Draper, Washington DC

Similar Blends: Well I am back, and dipping into the same tin, now 10 years old. This is beautiful tobacco for a well aged briar, and in my case a Charatan Distinction I purchased in 1972. That aside, what a wonderful spicy/sweet, flake, a cool smoking Va/Per. I love MB..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Alhaji (33)	2015-10-04		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend is wrongly classified here as an aromatic containing Burley and Citrus/Fruits. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is natural sweet Virginia enhanced with some maple sugar and Dark Fired Kentucky. If it tastes a little fruity in some palates, that could be an effect of the natural sweetness that is produced by the Virginias. It is a cool and tasteful smoke.

Pipe Used: Falcon look-alike Chacom

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Tobacco Shop in Berlin, Germany

Similar Blends: Other mild-medium, sweetish Dark Fired Kentucky blends.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sagepipe (13)	2014-11-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Club Blend seems to be hard to keep lit during the first half bowl. During that period I experience a moderate amount of tongue bite. The taste of this smoke varies throughout a bowl but the flavor is nothing outstanding or remarkable to write about. However, nothing stands out as negative with its flavor. At the end of the day, I can only recommend someone try this smoke out to see if it's your style or "everyday" type smoke. It seems that you get a good amount of tobacco for a decent price. Overall, the good seems to outweigh the negative and I will keep this smoke in rotation when I want a change-up. Decent smokes like this are nice to puff on every now and then to keep me reminded why my favorites are my favorites while still enjoying a baseline tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KahveDelisi (73)	2013-01-05		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

It starts spicy & sweet, and you expect it to go on like that, but after 15 minutes, it's all the same till the end. Kind of boring for me, but I see how it can be a favorite to some people.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (250)	2012-12-06		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I doubt I would four-star this blend if I tried a recent tinning, but I am smoking some pre 1985 Club Blend right now along with some other vintage roll cakes I picked up recently, and for me at least, they turn into quite a different animal with that kind of age on them; a pleasant, mild sweetness that gives me no problems with "Mac Bite" as do certain Mac Barens when they are new.

Though the differences between the various roll cakes are not all that pronounced at this venerable age, I do like the cavendish element of this one quite a bit, and with most bowls find that the only aged roll cake I might like better is Latakia Blend (though I don't taste any Latakia in it).

Very nice, and my only problem with this or any of the roll cakes at this age is that they tend to burn a bit fast and hot, but I just compensate for this by resting the pipe frequently, and trying to find pipes that work for them the best.

I highly recommend picking up an old tin if you see one, and at least in my experience, Mac Baren in general is a brand that ages quite a bit better than it is given credit for.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2012-03-29		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Club Blend is slightly sweet and low in “Nicotine”. It has a good hit of spice, reminding me of smoking “bread” with hints of clove and cinnamon spice ( I really don't get the citrus). This is not a bad tobacco but I'm just not happy with the pepper spice hit, I think some would like it. Nice big tin and a good value. Flavor also reminds me of P&C's “Rolando's Own”.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-03-13		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My first venture into mac baren spun cut. Sweet and spicy at the same time, not perique spicy, more like fruit bun / cinnamon spicy. Interesting taste, very unique, not exactly my cup of tea, but not unpleasant by a long shot. I like the 100gm tins, seems to last forever, those coins are packed in tight. I found this smokes better in a briar than a cob, makes my mm freehand heat up a little too much. No bite, at all.

Im going to work my way through all the mac barens, this isn't a stand out smoke, but it's still pretty damn good. Maybe buy more, maybe.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-02-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I enjoy the not so in your face taste from CB, and it could be a very well behaved all day kinda thing. I really like the truer tobacco flavor that makes this so agreeable. Although this is one of two spun disk type tobaccos I have tried, I enjoy knowing the histories of the different types and cuts of the tobaccos. So, to sum up: light fruity/spicy taste,lots of tobacco overtones, good room, and shareable with others. Embrace the coin...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sirchud68 (60)	2012-02-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A very nice smoke. If you like MB's spun tobacco, Club Blend should be in your rotation. A naturaly sweet taste, citrus (almost mint in a wierd way) cream. More Birdseye in the cake then the others (Dark Twist, Roll Cake, Latakia) I fold 4 or 5 coins after a few minutes of drying, slip it in the bowl, light up and sip. Club Blend is the aristocrat of the spun coin family. Really enjoy it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hockey01 (29)	2011-03-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

"I say, Chumley, old boy, what's that you're smoking in your pipe today? Lovely aroma. Three hearts to you."

"Oh this? Why, it's something called 'Club Blend', made by MacBaren's I do believe. Rather nice baccy, actually --mild, fruity. I'd certainly recommend it to you, old chap. Nice bit of a change from the English blends, if you know what I mean. Four clubs, old boy."

( To the waiter...) "Henderson, be a good chap and run us up a couple more of these gin and tonics, will you? There's a good lad. 'Club Blend' you called it there, Chumley? Smells awfully good indeed; must give it a try"

"Yes, do."

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-01-17		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Smoking this right now. Its good not the best. The casing is alittle to much very fruit/citrus flavor but nice. Aromatic fans will like it i dont tatse much cavendish cause if pretty bland but its nice good virginia tho. Try it not bad smoke

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2011-01-07		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tangy, slightly sweet and citric, this mixture is a great combination of lemon Virginias with rich Black Cavendish for a cool smoke with little tongue bite if smoked slowly. This is a great not-Burley everyday smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipealicious (21)	2010-11-21		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A very nice presentation of medium sized coins (in between flake medallions and thee nuns) with a bright yellow rim and a dark brown core. The tin smells of fresh hay and sweet honey. The coins smoke slowly and very cool, the smoke is on the thin side and teh taste is citrussy with some spice and sweetness from the cavendish. I fin this a typical summer smoke. It lacks some body to be in my top 5 but it's defenitely a high quality blend in a very beautiful presentation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-10-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Well, I had bought this tin about a year ago and decided to let it sit for a year after I opened it and tried it a few times. I think the bowl shape its smoked in has alot to do with this one....the little coin shapes are neat however and last night I just stuffed a few into the bowl and lit them. It really does smell like marshmallows....ode to camping I guess.

I think I should have rubbed them out completely though as it did bite the tongue a bit. That might have more to do with me than the tobacco as the pipe is rather new but its an overall enjoyable tobacco.

The tin smell is so very intriguing.....what is that exactly? Its like a nice mature smoky sweet feed. Not sure what it is.....but very appealing.

Will let it continue to age.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-07-25		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A tiny bit more on the natural tobacco tin aroma and taste, it still contains the same deficiencies as its brother, dark twist.

It lacks taste and strength. it still remains a high quality product despite everything.

But more suited for the beginner than the experienced smoker.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-11-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Good scent upon opening the tin, very pleasant

This was my first try of a tobacco in the cake style. Took me a while to get the hang of loading loosly enough. I tried rubbing it out completly and loading and on the next bowl I just stuffed the discs in the bowl. It seems that a mixture of those methods works best for me. It does burn evenly and cooly and leaves very little dottle. I found it better to smoke slowly and keep it cool. I had to tamp it down a little more often than my normal MB Burley. The taste is sweet and full and somewhat spicy. The room note is what I would call old-fashioned - reminded me of my Grandfather although I do not know what he smoked. Slighly caramel taste with woodsy smell. Seemed to get a more "nutty" smell as I went along.

I was interruped several times during my first couple of bowls and found it easy to relight - did not seem to diminish the taste at all. Another good MB and I will most likely keep some of this in my rotation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-04-08		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I agree with my esteemed fellow pipe smoker Russell...a wonderful tobacco. I may have to come back and edit, but in my limited experience this is a solid 3 stars and may go higher. It did not disappoint me in any way. My better half came out in the shop and said "wow, I like that a LOT"..so that is a good sign. Lights and burns well. Very good smoke!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-03-26		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a good mild Cavendish/Virginia blend that is extremely mild and unless well dried is seriously fire retardent. It requires a lot of dry time I would suggest 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours and once sufficiantly dry this is a nice mild smoke that burns well. I've rubbed it and also tried fold and stuff, and I think rubbing works best. Room note was nice-ish very mild. Flavour is sweet, slightly spicy and mild. Recommendation: Not bad, not great, nothing too special, just okay.

Update: 4/10/09 I have changed my recommendation on this blend from somewhat recommended to recommended. I honestly didn't give this tobacco enough of a trial and rubbing and drying is a mistake, once you realize that no further preparation is needed just load your pipe as is, it gives a wonderfull smoke which I will return to again in the near future.

Update: 4/24/09 Man this stuff is good I have to change my recomendation to Highly Recommended and the strength to a solid Medium, it has quite a healthy vitamin N kick to it. just a lovely all-round tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe4ever (204)	2009-01-15		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is an excellent semi sweet Virginia blends in small spun cake with black Cavendish in the middle, the flavor is absolutely delicious with soft candy and mild honeyed/toasty/woodsy taste and wonderful room note, this is one of the best and the most unique Virginia roll cake out there, excellent for an all day smoke, it is available in bulk.

Great stuff!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain Pete (83)	2007-02-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

There's something about this tobacco that I can't quite put my finger on; a casing or flavoring, or something. It's just out of range of my taste buds, but fortunately the tobacco taste comes through very well.

The little coins are actually kind of ugly to my eye. They break up very easily, making for filling your pipe a simple operation. I found I was able to just stuff them in, and they broke up on their own as I did this. Lighting was easy, but in a medium size bowl relights were a little more frequent than I would normally like. This will probably be rectified by figuring out the right method of filling with this particular tobacco, so I won't really hold that against it.

The flavor was really very, very good. Pure tobacco, with just a ghost of something added that complimented the tobacco. The flavor was a little like MacBaren Navy Flake, but with a slightly richer note, and less spice. And I experienced no tongue bite whatsoever with this blend. The flavor was best at the top of the bowl, with a little fading out a bit toward the bottom, but it did retain its full tobacco body throughout.

All in all, I would say that this is a very good choice for an all day smoke. It's not as heavy in body and aroma as Orlik's Dark Kentucky, so should appeal to those wishing lighter fare. Club Blend will probably not replace any of the tobaccos I currently keep in my rotation, but I can honestly say that it will more than make do as a replacement should any of my favored blends become temporarily (or permanently) unavailable.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	romaso (45)	2006-10-16		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is very similar to Mac Baren Roll Cake, in that it is a sliced roll cake with a center of black cavendish. The Club Blend uses a lighter, gold Virginia. There may be a hint of Perique ('specially spiced'). For this type of blend, I much prefer their Dark Twist, which has an dark brown Virginia. But this is a good tobacco, just depends how you like your Virginias.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2004-09-01		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

One of the best of MacBarens' Blends. My recommendation is don't rub it out, just fold and stuff it in a cheap filter pipe (Dr.Grabow) and go slowly. You will be rewarded with a rich and long lasting smoke. Requires some attention and not for mindless puffing, it will bite!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JClark (26)	2003-09-19		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

I don't really have anything BAD to say about this tobacco. The coins are very attractive looking and the smell in the tin is pleasantly sweet. Typical high moisture content out of the that I've come to expect from Mac Baren, as well as the tendency to bite and over heat during smoking. I recommend stacking or stuffing the coins into the bowl rather that rubbing them, this seems to reduce the heat as well as the bite. This tobacco tastes very pleasant, slightly sweet though I don't necessarily detect any casing, just a virginia cavendish mixture. I did enjoy this and it was very pleasant for the hot summer months. I may purchase more in the future however, this type of mild, dutch, sweet virginia cavendish mix. isn't really my "thing", it just doesn't keep my interest.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-07-12		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

The only thing I can really add, this is an exquisit Virgina Blend that gets better as you smoke the bowl of tobacco to the bottom.

If you are a connoisseur of the Virginia Blended Tobaccos, this is a must try blend.

I smoked the Club Blend in a Stokkebye Pipe, I did not notice any tongue bite, although, as with any Virginia Blend tobaccos, one must take their time to enjoy the taste while smoking this blend slow and easy.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2001-12-10		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

As the previous reviewer noted, this is comes in a roll cake form and is very similar in appearance to Three Nuns. Directly from the tin, this tobacco is very moist and will bite ferociously! If you leave it open for a couple of weeks, however, you are in for a real treat. This blend is heavy on the Virginias and has a wonderful full flavor. There is a very slight sugar topping, but it sits very much in the background and only serves to enhance the earthy flavors of the Virginias. I highly recommend this to all Virginia smokers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-06-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was one of my first stops on my trip down the Virginia hi-way. I find C.B. to be a good overall blend, just not in my top 10. I have a pound in the cellar to see if it mellows out with age. I find this blend to be sweet, and spicey.....caramel, and pepper. Rubbed out, the pack, light, and burn are good. As with most Mac Baren blends if you go too fast it will scortch your tounge. An enjoyable blend, but not IMHO equal to Mac Baren Mature Virginia....one of my favorites. Rate

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-05-27		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Ive only been pipe smoking for a few years on and off and decided to try this blend. A few months ago after reading some reviews. I first tried it and got the Mac Baren tung bite blues and burned out my second favorite falcon bowl so even though the poor first experience with it I could taste the sweet va shine through. Which encouraged me to give it another go.

Since then I purchased a new bowl and sipped it as slowly as I could. Making it one of my new favorites even though if I get carried away and I get a mild case of tung bite.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-05-13		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

For 2 years now I have enjoyed MacBaren?s Club Blend. I think highly of the MacBaren Blends (except for Black Ambrosia).

Club Blend wins the trophy. I have it straight from MacBaren that their spun cut tobaccos: Club Blend; Roll Cake; and Dark Twist are cased only with sugar with no other casing or flavorings are used. This is to be appreciated!! The aroma carries the burning sugars as does the taste, that being the wonderful waft-ness of toasted marshmallow.

The small cakes are easy to rub out, but packing them in a variety of ways can help to create distinct differences through the bowl. When the smoke reaches the dark center Cavendish, the signature of a peppery spice comes through to entice just momentarily. I?ve recently sampled Dark Twist which in my opinion is a lighter smoke than Club Blend. Seems from the tin I have, the Dark Twist does not have as much Cavendish, hence, less peppery. I noticed that Club Blend seems to have a tad bit more sugar than Dark Twist too. I?ll offer a review of Dark Twist soon.

But for Club Blend, I recommend it. Indubitably! Three cheers for Club Blend, Hip Hip?.. You know the rest.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-04-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Finished a sample of Club that I received with other purchases and must say that I was pleasantly surprised. No tongue bite if smoked slowly, something that has been a problem for me with some MacBaren blends. Mild Virginia tobacco that has hints of a spicy sweetness. Somewhere someone mentioned perique and then honey as a casing, not sure but could be. Mild flavor, strength, aroma and room note made this a hit with me. i am going to be purchasing some more.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-09-28		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This blend, as for Roll Cake itself, are all the same tobaccos, expect for minor differences. The rolls are cool,it's really different, the quality excellent, but they loose their flavor and taste way too quickly. Within a week, all taste is gone.

Good tobaccos for the beginner that wants something a bit stronger, without a doubt but any experienced smoker that hasn't "flirted" with MacBaren - if any- should stay away from the roll cakes.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-05-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Club Blend has a very good Virginia. On the first light you can smell and taste the sweetness Virginia coming out of the pipe. The cavendish comes out now and then that gives this blend a perfect note. I suggest not to rub all of the tobacco you need in the pipe, only the first and the last. If done so, you will need only two lights and have a perfect smoke. Small puffs will be needed for this blend. If you rub all of the tobacco in the pipe or if you are a fast smoker, it'll flame your tongue like all MB's. Recommended for all Virginia lovers A perfect all day blend for me.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-04-14		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

I couldn't get a distinct taste out of this blend, mainly because my tongue felt like it had blisters on it. the aroma from the smoke was very pleasant and mild. Definitely a case of the MB bite.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-02-08		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A nice tobacco,if you use caution. To me it has a honey,sugar and pepper in the background aroma. But be warned it will bite the old tongue if puffed very fast. I smoke this in a tall narrow pipe, and I just stuff the coins in the bowl. Keep plenty of pipe cleaners handy. I dont smoke this often, but when I do it is a nice change of pace.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-01-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Luckily, I didn't find this to be the flamethrower that others reported. But I was warned and took a very wary approach.

The cavendish wasn't over the top, and the Va was pleasant enough.

I rubbed it out completely and let it dry for a good while. Even as dry as it was, it did seem to try to get a bit steamy from time to time.

Go slow, keep the pipecleaners handy and you should be OK. Or better yet, smoke something else that doesn't require so much attention. If you do try this one, I suggest a well broken-in pipe for it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-06-11		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This reminds me of Dark Twist only with cavendish in every slice. If sipped slowly this a very slow and cool burning rewarding smoke in flavor and aroma. Be forwarned though, absent minded puffing will result in a cooked tounge.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-05-07		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

First tobacco in my first pipe (it was thirty years ago or so). Taste was pleasant as I remember and now, it is the same. It was the same through the years. Club is the Mac Baren's best blend I guess, fully recommended.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-01-30		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Club Blend is one of my favorite MacBaren blends. It is a nicely prepared and packaged mixture of virginia and cavendish tobaccos, curly cut into quarter sized discs. Most of these tobacco coins have a dark cavendish center, surrounded by golden virginia, and contain a fair number of bird's-eye pieces. I find it to be slightly too moist straight from the tin. Air drying a pipe's worth of discs on a paper towel for about an hour is well worth the wait, but don't overdry it because then the discs tend to fall apart and burn hot. As with most virginias, over puffing makes this blend bite and produces a wet smoke as well. A slow burn rewards the smoker with a smooth sweet taste - nothing real complex, but still very enjoyable. Relights are few, but if necessary this tobacco handles interrupted smoking quite well. A nice break from the virginia flakes that I usually smoke, but a little too prone to wettness to be one of my regulars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2001-09-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

Club Blend is one of my favorite blends. It has a tasty sweetness that varies in intensity throughout the smoke. It is a roll-cake, so it comes in little coins that can be either rubbed out before packing or stacked--I rub them out because I get a more even burn this way. It is just a little moister than I like to smoke my tobacco, so I usually pack the bowl and let the ready-to-go pipe sit out for a day before lighting up. The first third of the bowl is delightfully sweet, if it stayed this sugary I probably wouldn't smoke it as regularly, but a woodsiness starts to dominate, but not obscure, the sweetness for much of the rest of the bowl; by the last third, the sweetness again comes to dominate. I would describe this as a hefty-medium-bodied smoke, but certainly not full-bodied. It's taste and aroma are, as the description states, "delicious," almost dessert-like, but subtle enough to be an everyday smoke. For the Cavendish lover, this is a great blend; for those of us less intense about our enjoyment of Cavendish, this is a blend that, in my opinion, is balanced well to provide a mildly sweet and very pleasant smoke.

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