Mac Baren Club Blend

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

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.