Mac Baren Club Blend

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

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...