Tobaccos Mac Baren - Dark Twist Roll Cake

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2013-10-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A third of the coins have the spicy, woody, earthy, mildly floral, nutty, dryly sour dark fired Kentucky, and some don't. Depending on how you rub out the coins or stack them, you can get a variety of flavors as you go down the bowl, or from bowl to bowl if you want that to happen. At times, I've stacked the coins so that every other coin has the Kentucky in it. Other times, I've rubbed it out and codger filled the bowl. Btw, this is the same kind of light and mostly dark, tart and tangy citrusy, tangy dark fruity, earthy, woody, lightly grassy, bready and honey-ish Virginias that I've noticed in some other MacBaren blends like Scottish Mixture, though DTRC blend is fuller in taste and less sweeter, and has a different flavor profile. The light maple topping doesn't tone down the varietals much at all. The strength is a couple of steps short of medium, while the taste is medium. The nic-hit is a couple of slots past the center of mild to medium. Won't bite, but fast puffing will get you a little tongue tingle. Sports a few rough edges. Burns cool, clean and a little slow, and requires some relights. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. The pleasant after taste does linger as does the slightly stronger room note. Needs to be sipped a little. I really recommend smoking this in a pipe with a wide bowl for the full experience of what this unique mixture is all about. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

92 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2003-05-12		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is an aromatic, but a deep, dark and tasty one that employs plenty of fire cured Kentucky. No candy taste, but certainly a sweetened up Virginia that will be delightful if you smoke it slowly. I loved the presentation. The spun discs were fun to rub out and pack. It burned clean and dry to the bottom and left a friendly aftertaste on the palate.

66 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2014-07-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

The coins are the size of Three Nuns and not a larger one like Escudo or LBF. As the desciption says about 1/3 of the coins have a dark center presumably composed of cavendish and DFK. The cavendish may contribute to the sweet or the spice, but there is no vanilla in the tin note or the taste. The solid coins would appear to be yellow and red Virginia.

Smoked, this is a delightful, slightly heavy, sweet and spicy blend. The sweet may have a little honey flavor in there, but it has a fairly natural tobacco flavor. I tried smoking this as folded coins and rubbed out, and had equal sucess both ways. The folded coin may have had the edge in that you would get a blast of sweet/spicy/smoking when the coal would hit a dark center.

This was an easy smoke to keep at a smoulder, and this was the best way to get the most flavor. I got best results in a pot with a wide bowl. This one is easy to recommend. It is really a 3.5. It does not quite rise to the "everyone should try," but it is close.

28 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skando (203)	2007-02-19		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Other reviewers have said it all, in fifty and more articles.

I have just concluded a 100grms tin of DT, smoking it as my everyday tobacco - like I do with other Va or VaB or VaPer flakes (read McB's Navy Flake, or Marlin Flake or Capstan, just to name few). It simply works fine for that.

DT is a mild to medium smoke, just a tad sweet and spicy (yes, I do think there's some Perique hidden in the famous "Modern Cavendish"), not so complex and very user friendly because of the shape of the discs, which I used to smoke as it is with no problems.

As for this last pipeful - a Parker medium black sandblasted chimney - no tongue bite at all and this is very noticeable for a McB.

I reconfirm DT just follows Navy Flake in the list of McB's worth to smoke on regular basis, and deserves the same three stars.

27 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2003-01-28		Very Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Red Virginia twisted with some "specially spiced" black Cav. The whole thing looks very pretty in the 3½ ounce shoe-polish tin. The twist slices are like nickel-sized Three Nuns roundelets, not like half-dollar Escudo. As always with Baren, the presentation is unimpeachable.

Mac Baren is a bit like Jane Austen: their range runs the gamut from A to B, but within it, they are high artists. I personally have no interest in Cavendish-and-Burley milketoast, yet their Virginia use can be interesting. For one thing, it will teach you to smoke slowly! Also, this brand can be useful to know if you get stuck in Fly-over Land: Mac is the only quality baccy you're likely to encounter in mall-type territory.

I can't tell you anything about the "special" spicing: I wish they had used plain, lovely Périque; the Cav does tickle the tender old glotis after a bit, and together with the sweet Virginia works itself up to a fine, darkish climax?well, café-au-lait, anyway: pretty intense for Mac Baren! But for this, you must get the pipe smoldering slowly and steadily; over-puff this baby, and it will SKIN your kisser. (I am thinking in French, you understand.)

So this is probably the best Mac Baren I have ever tried, an interesting morning apéritif for the Classic smoker, and a self-recommending treat for the aromatic fancier.

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2016-09-24		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a tobacco that I remember back in the late 60s (im old) when i first started smoking pipes. It is still much the same...at least as far as I can remember. It is a classic medallion cut, a semi aromatic, but most of the flavor is really the quality leaves -- but the maple/brown sugar taste is certainly there throughout. It smokes cool and clean. And actually has a nice just a notch below medium nic hit. It is a great everyday smoke and one I smoke a good deal actually. Its not an elite five star sort of blend...but its a very very good mass produced smoke. Im a bit surprised at many negative reviews. I will say you have to smoke slow...like all the best macbaren blends. Macbaren is to pipe tobacco what Macanudo is to cigars. Or omega is to lux watches. But there is a place for this, and Im glad its still around.

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: Davidoff flake medallions..

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-01-26		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren Dark Twist is a beautifully made roll cake that delights the eye. On the tongue, it is mild and sweet with just a hint of Virginia snap. Unless I rub it out thoroughly, I find it hard to keep this tobacco lit, but otherwise it is an easy smoker, one that you could easily smoke all morning.

NB: If you do smoke this tobacco all morning, as I have the last few mornings, you may find your tongue rather scorched by lunchtime. No matter how easily and slowly I smoke this stuff, if I smoke more than one bowl, I always wind up regretting it. For that reason, this tobacco, despite its many fine features, will never be more than occasional indulgence for me. I also find Dark Twist's mildness becomes a bit monotonous in repeated doses. All that said, this is my favorite Mac Baren Virginia, and not a bad one, at least one bowl at a time.

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nekeke (19)	2014-06-27		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a rather spicy and very tasty tobacco. Very distinctive smell and taste.

However what I found really interesting about this tobacco is, how you load it into the pipe, makes a huge difference on whether you will like or hate this tobacco.

First bowl I loaded is like every bowl else. I got the rolls in my hand, rubbed it just a little, and loaded the pipe in three phases. That is how I usually do. And the result...The tobacco got so hot while puffing smoking became a torture and I could not finish the bowl...

Second time, I loaded it like this : without rubbing the tobacco at all. Then it became a delight.

Pipe Used: Comoy's mg

Age When Smoked: new

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2008-01-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

The best MB and one of the best tobaccos I have ever smoked. Not a flavor bomb, but a subtle, intoxicating smoke... molasses sweetness balancing citrus virginias.... and the room note is perfectly pleasant.

As with all Mac, you must dry it and smoke slow.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2016-01-06		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I think Dark Twist is stalking me. Every time I end up far from home looking for a tin of tobacco at some tiny shop, the selection consists of several very sweet Cavendish aromatics and two dusty 100g pucks of Dark Twist. I buy it knowing that we're going to disagree, because I have an unhealthy relationship with this blend.

It gets grouchy and hot if I rub it out before smoking, it gets grouchy and hot if I light it too quickly, it gets grouchy and hot if I puff 4 times a minute instead of twice, it gets grouchy and hot if I clench the pipe.

When it isn't grouchy and hot it tastes like sweet Virginia with some occasional Kentucky flavor, but there's not enough of that to write home about. Several times in 90 minutes it'll emit a sour, tarry smell and taste because I made the fatal mistake of puffing it above the approved temperature once and it has no intention of ever forgiving that error.

For a long time I blamed myself, but you know what? It's not me, Dark Twist. It's you.

It still gets two stars because it's better than whatever I can find at Walgreens.

Pipe Used: basket pipe

Age When Smoked: 1 yr

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2014-12-23		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Update: 7 Jan 15

Well, the more I smoke it, the more I like it. The VAs are top of the notch. The smoking experience goes from grassy to sweet notes and sometimes combines both, which really provides a delicious pipeful. I am upgrading my appraisal to 4 stars because I am simply impressed. Again, I would not recommend Mac Baren tobaccos to unexperienced smokers as they require skills and experience. But once you acquire these, my God, they are smashing.

Original review: 23 Dec 14

Before starting, an administrative point: I believe there is no Kentucky in DTRC. Their website says it does but then the tin description says it's VAs with MB's Cavendish. I just can't taste it and I know Kentucky when I smell and taste it. Let me tell you, if there is, then I'm from Kentcuky; and I'm not. LOL Regardless, I still like that tobacco. I had tried it 19 years ago and never finished the tin, finding it uninteresting. But, for some reason, about a year ago, or so, every time I looked at the tin while placing an order, I went "Hmmmmm." So there you go, I bought some. Looks like and smells like pretty much the same it was back then. And it tastes exactly what it smells like: a combinaison of various Vas with a touch of MB's Cavendish. Can I smell or taste the added maple essence? There's a little something but can't clearly say "yea, it's maple!" Nothing complex, nothing to rave about, but good grassy VAs with just a light touch of sweetness. Enough nicotine to keep me interested in it. It could be a good all day smoke for me. As it's mostly VAs, guess what, VAs bite if you don't puff carefully and control your cadence; so I would not advise a newbie to try this one or any of the VAs from MB. You need to be an experienced smoker to smoke Mac Baren tobaccos. Believe me...19 years ago, this tobacco bite a lot. Today, it does not. And I reckon it's me that changed, not the tobacco. Anyway, all this to say I like this one. And I won't have to rebuy for a while as I bought a few tins of it so I'm good for a while.

Pipe Used: Stanwell, Luciano, Rattray

Age When Smoked: 14 months

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-10-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This blend sums up everything that is wrong with Mac Baren's, in my opinion. This is an unrefined, flat, overly mild blend that bites at the least provocation but that has a nice room aroma. There is a light spiciness in the smoke that promises something good to come but it just doesn't happen. It's not a bad smoke; certainly I found it preferable to Plumcake - but it's nothing that a long time pipesmoker could call a "reference" blend.

If I hadn't had such good success with Mac Baren's Symphony and, to a lesser extent, their Navy Flake and Virginia #1, I'd suggest that I just don't care for the Danish style of tobacco blending. Then again, Alfred & Christian Peterson have produced many noteworthy blends. I think Mac B's caters to a niche group of smokers (those somewhere between full fledged aromatics and natural English-style blends) and does quite well with it, I think. This one just isn't for me. Most Mac Baren's (with the exception of Symphony) will not find their way back into my cellar. But one classic blend forgives all!

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SpeedyPete (29)	2016-12-14		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant

I've been smoking the pipe for more than 40 years and I'm always on the lookout for tobaccos from yesteryear. DTRC is one of those tobaccos which reminds me of the nice, strong baccy I used to smoke while I was a youngster. Sweet with a tad of spice, easy to light and keep going, strong enough to satisfy completely. I do agree it's not an all day smoke 'cause it can rub up your tongue the wrong way. Not because it's a MacBite but due to it's strong, full body taste. I've got 5kg of DTRC in the cellar and keep on adding monthly. Don't ever want to be without it

Pipe Used: Various briars

Age When Smoked: +3 years

Purchased From: The Tobacconist

Similar Blends: Unique.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2014-02-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Overall this is a nice coin cut presentation by Mac Baren. It is however a double edge sword. For one, I found it quick to bite, yet on the other hand when smoked low and slow I was able to render quite a bit of flavor and a variety of nuances from it. I laud the presentation, and there’s so many ways you can prepare this. One can simply smoke the Virginia coins for a simple affair, or choose to add quite a bit more of the dark fired pieces for a spicier more complex flavor profile. Either way this particular tobacco smokes really well and has a clean, sturdy, lightly-sweet flavor with a great room note.

Altogether Mac Baren’s recommendation of a 2 to 1 ratio of Virginia to dark fired center coins provides good balance, and I can fit about six of them into most of the pipes that I smoke this in. From the tin the tobacco is in perfect smoking condition and requires no dry time. Simply folding the coins in half and inserting them into the pipe with some bits on top as kindling works great, as does rubbing them out and chopping them up a bit. Once again, take it slow & this stuff is good.

Update 8/24/2014..... I gotta say, after smoking through a good 4 ounces of Dark Twist Roll Cake over the last 6 months, I have come to appreciate just how good it is. Perhaps I have gotten better at avoiding the perils of bite that I once received while smoking it too fast, or maybe a spell in a Mason jar with plenty of headroom has mellowed it out a bit. Either way, Dark Twist Roll Cake is a great tobacco with superb flavor and perfect strength for an all day/any time smoke. It's a truly marvelous sweet & spicy tobacco concoction. Another thing I discovered is that it tastes fantastic when smoked in a well seasoned cob.

Pipe Used: Various Briars, but best in a Cob

Age When Smoked: 2

Purchased From: Tobacco Road

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	beaupipe (102)	2013-12-25		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

To me, Dark Twist is one of the most enjoyable tobaccos in the MacBaren’s catalogue. It looks great in the tin—reddish gold coins with black Cavendish hearts. What’s great about Dark Twist is how easy it is to smoke. There is quite a bit of sweetness in these coins and a gentle, plum-like flavor that doesn’t overwhelm the tobacco. You do have to be careful smoking this. Above a slow smolder, Dark Twist gets hot and the gentle fruitiness pretty much disappears.

I’m often reminded of various other simple tobaccos when I smoke this—especially Marlin Flake from Rattray’s. They strike me as fellow-travelers in this sweet, fruity Virginia category. I do sometimes wish there was more going on in this tobacco—some spice, greater complexity, a little more nicotine—but it is generally satisfying.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2003-05-02		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The tobacco comes in "coins" made from slicing twist tobacco. It appears to be very dark red Virginias wrapped around a center of dark cavendish. The tin smells of cinnamon toast and molasses, which I believe is a sweetener used in a number of MacBaren tobaccos which I like in moderation. As with most tobacco coins I roll each one between my finger tips to loosen the tobacco, make a dottle and add each successive rolled coin to fill the pipe. This is a tin I have had in the basement for over ten years, and the tobacco is perfect for smoking. The charring light produces a sharp, unpleasant acridity in the smoke followed by the smell and taste of burnt caramel. After a few puffs, the tobacco settles down to offer a uniquely sweetened Virginia taste. Although some MacBaren blends can bite me, this tobacco is smooth and sweet. This is not something I would smoke everyday, but it is distinctive enough with true tobacco flavor that I would smoke it once or twice a week. Well recommended. Paddy.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2014-06-09		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This one is just kind of meh. It is a nice looking blend with the little coins and all, not as impressively aligned as, say, an escudo.

It is a light bodied Virginia with some Cavendish (most likely also from Virginia). This one can be a little bitey for the mindless puffer, but offers a nice natural sweetness to the patient. I found this one more enjoyable in the warmer weather as opposed to the winter. I probably won't rush out and buy more of this one as there are too many other blends offering a similar flavor profile that I would prefer to this one.

The Peter Stokkebye Luxury line of VAs are all superior to this coin IMHO. I can, however, find a reason for the smoker who prefers tins to stock up on this one as the 100 gram tins are quite a bargain. For this, I offer 2 stars as somewhat recommended.

I also think that anyone who likes Virginias will not find smoking through a tin of this a waste of time, but just don't expect to be blown away.

Purchased From: local B & M

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jakob Kiilerich (120)	2005-01-20		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

One of my all-time favourites. Dark twist is in my opinion one of the best Danish blends ever made. It's very unique, and i haven't succeded in finding anything comparable to it - except for Club Blend, which, unfortunately is the same thing, but with added napalm...

Dark Twist has musty notes of Brown toffee, slight, very slight hints of Samson Halfzware, Flapjacks and roasted nuts. I can't help myself always comparing tobacco with food..

It's best when you dedicate a pipe for this blend, because the taste get's better and better over the years if you have a pipe saturated with Dark Twist. I have two, so they won't get sour.. Very unique.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BROBS (67)	2018-09-11		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I do like this tobacco, but I feel that there is too much Virginia in relation to the cavendish coins. This creates a mainly Virginia smoking experience for me... which I like Virginias, but I like the dark coins better. As stated in my review of Stockton, I prefer to mix one tin of Stockton with one tin of Dark Twist as I feel it gives a more round flavor. Overall this is a good smoke, I just like my mix better.

edit: Since Stockton is no longer available I can no longer make my "mix"... :..( the smoke of Dark Twist is still perfectly great on its own even though I can no longer "improve" it by adding more dark fired coins.

Pipe Used: Petersons!

Age When Smoked: 2013 tin

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Stockton.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incognitopoet (37)	2014-10-12		Extremely Mild	Extra Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

This is my emergency tobacco, when I am for some reason unable to get to my stash of Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake. It is possible, I have found, to procure Mac Baren almost anywhere. Why it reaches to the far ends of the earth and decent tobacco can't requires speculation outside the scope of the present commentary.

I have hated Mac Baren products for a very long time. But in an emergency, these coins are tolerable. I don't like any kind of cavendish, but this is the least-annoying blend which includes it.

Now, having said that, there are a few pleasures to be enjoyed when one is stuck with this tobacco. It has a sweetness under the cloying film of cavendish. With very slow, patient sipping an occasional sour plum flavor manifests itself. I have a hard time getting the sweetness of the Virginias most of the time. It doesn't have a lot of gooey nasty chemicals, so that's something I guess.

I have been fortunate enough to sample from a bulk cannister, so presumably some of the foul chemicals present in tinned samples have been able to ooze into the air.

My poor Peterson 302 is expected to recover within the next month or so.

There wasn't much flavor, but there was a lot less bite than I had expected.

It is a sad substitute for proper tobacco, but it is a little better than Borkum Riff or Captain Black. I really hope none of you have to resort to smoking this stuff, but it will fend off nicotine withdrawal until one can find some civilized tobacco.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jdor (15)	2014-05-02		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A great virginia based blend. The cavendish cores along with the maple/honey taste give a light but full of natural flavour mixture, which can also be smelled upon opening the tin/pouch.

The coins give a nice pipe filling entertainment, making different packing styles possible.

I read some people had hot smoking experiences, but mine wasn't the case. I also managed to relight only once.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-05-31		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is a wonderful smoke. At times spicy and other times sweet. Also detect a "buttery" something from time to time. A good "sipping" smoke. Smoking it just on the edge of going out produces the best flavor for me. Have not experienced bite from it, but at times the spice is very prominent and will tingle the mouth. The roll cake is very easy to pack and doesn't require many relights if packed well. I don't rub it all, just fold a few pieces and settle them gently into the pipe, then rub a small amount for the top to get an even burn. This is my first experience with Mac Baren as I am a relatively new pipe smoker, but I sense the beginning of a long friendship.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-12-19		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Overwhelming

I found the this tasted like shoe leather that was dragged though my dog kennel after the dags ate beans. I was shocked be cause of the recommendations. So, I tried some more.... same result... I bought from a different dealer same result.... Not impressed at all.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2018-02-26		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Only had a small quantity of this, passed on by my son. It was what was left (20g) of a 50g pouch he had obviously sourced from our favourite German tobacco shop.

It was therefore somewhat dry, but I think there was enough there to merit a review of sorts.

Couldn't be bothered messing around with the roll cakes, just broke it up and loaded. I know, this is sacrilidge, but there you are. The pouch scent was sweet with a pleasant malt-like aroma that stayed within the smoke.

The base is clearly virginia, but the other tobaccos, black cavendish and kentucky, I can barely detect, though obviously they contribute to the overall flavour. The maple flavour may account for some of the pouch aroma, but it wouldn't come to mind if I hadn't read the blend description.

This is a fine, mild blend that would make an excellent all day smoke and has more than enough going for it to justify including a pouch (tin ?) of this in the next German order I make.

Pipe Used: All

Age When Smoked: Second hand

Purchased From: DanPipe, Germany.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Motoyoshi (68)	2015-02-06		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

This is a really beautiful tobacco to look at. Little coins of varying shades of brown are so inviting. Alas, I have a very love and hate relationship with this tobacco. When it's good, it’s good. But when it's bad, it's bad. Sulfurous magma tongue and gum scorching bad.

First time I tried this was the first time I experienced gum bite. It was incredible. My gums along my top molars were in so much pain. I put the pouch back in my tobacco cabinet and let it sit for about 8 months.

Coming back to it after a decent amount of time it smoked much better. The Vas are sweet and the Dark fired gives a wonderful smokey slightly sweet, slightly spicy BBQ sauce flavor. Maple and brown sugar are also swirled into the flavor experience. All of this comes together at the end of the bowl and it's marvelous. The thing is this experience is only 5/10 smokes.So every other time I have to dump it due to the bite. I have a feeling a little white burley would do this blend just right. To help it burn slower and round off some of those sharp edges.

I can't fully recommend this because it's such a fickle blend. But I have found some tricks to sway it in the way of enjoyment. 1. Let this dry out to mitigate the bite. 2. Smoke in a smaller bowl; too big and you may be being charged for arson. 3. Slow, slow puffing. Puff as if oxygen is being taxed.

All I can say is that I'm happy there is HH Old Dark Fired. Because all of the shortcomings of this tobacco are made right by that one.

Pipe Used: cobs, mortas, briars and meers

Age When Smoked: 7 years

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - HH Old Dark Fired.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2010-04-14		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I like MB blends and it is no surprise I like this one as well. When I first recieved this blend, I thought it was kind of bland at first and toyed with putting it in the cellar to age for awhile. But I tried a few more bowls and each time I liked it better. Now that I have smoked over 50gr of this I find myself reaching for it quite often. It has a nice spicy, creamey flavor, a really nice room note and it satisfys. In the tin it has a fresh VA type note to it and the little disks are very attractive and contain mostly a medium brown colored tobacco. It is a little too moist when first opened and improves greatly with some drying out. It packs rather tight in the bowl so you have to be careful not to pack it too tight, even if you rub it out a lot. It takes a few lights to get going and I find I have to relight a few times while smoking it down. It creates a very dark ash, dark grey and black and it burns down slowly and does leave some dottle at the bottom of the bowl. It is slow burning thus producing a cool flavorful smoke but if puffed to aggresively it can bite. This too me is a great blend, it does need some care in smoking it and prep, but worth it. A fine MB blend that I will keep around. I recommend trying it.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2021-01-22		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Summary: a mixture of pure Virginia and dark fired Kentucky Burley curly cut tobaccos with a maple topping, mild in flavor and strength, but enjoyable.

Mac Baren demonstrates a great knowledge of the different types of smokers. Some want a mild, pleasant, and unobstructed experience, and for that you have the classic Mac Baren consumer tobaccos. Others are more of the old guard and want a fire in the eyes and belly, and the HH line caters to them. "Dark Twist Roll Cake" accommodates the former group: you can take a wad of these little curly cuts, drop it in your pipe, light it up, and go about your business while enjoying it. Like most Mac Baren blends, it uses maple sugar as a topping without the PG that sucks it into the leaf and slows burning, so you have to smoke this pipe like a grandfather, using breath-technique and moderating your pace, or it will sizzle your tongue and fry the roof of your mouth (the Danish approach to aromatics is to expect the smoker to learn some basics, where the Americans design them so that you cannot screw up no matter what you do). The Cavendish seems to be fermented, which gives the whole blend a vaguely Perique-like flavor, and with the maple topping it smells and often tastes like smoky amaretto. If Mac Baren made an HH version of this dark twist with only the dark fired curlies, they would put "Three Nuns" out of business.

Similar Blends: Newminster - No. 403 Superior Round Slices, Mac Baren - Three Nuns, Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Bullseye Flake (No. 403), Savinelli - Doblone d'Oro, Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Curly Cut.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (184)	2019-09-19		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Black Cavendish, Grassy Virginia, and Dark Fired Kentucky, this is one fine smoke! A subtle molasses topping to bring it all together is just icing on the cake for me. No wonder this has been around since 1955. Has done sweetness but not enough to deter the taste of the tobaccos. Rubbed out and packed in a briar or cob the taste is consistent from start to finish. For me this blend is one I put in my contemplative pile. Attention to pace of smoke and not too loose and not too tight tamping will result in a very satisfying smoke. Love to just sit in a chair or on a log with nothing to think about but the smoke. Solid 4 here at Dix Creek.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Italo Svevo (26)	2018-04-16		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I got a sample of 5 coins of this tobacco. They look interesting, the colour goes from bright yellow to almost black. However, I've never had such a wet tobacco like this before. It was soaked in moisture, and sticky, as if it came straight out of a syrup bath. I tried to dry it up five minutes, but the smoking experience was nonetheless compromised by this incredible level of moisture. Endless relights, gurgling, and high temperature due to intense puffing. Once it is lit, the taste is actually good. I could taste some good Virgina, Burley and Kentucky, with a fruity topping which seemed apricot to me. Yet overall, I cannot really recommend a tobacco with such difficult smoking features. Drying out and charcoal filter are mandatory, in any case. Thanks to cigarworld for the sample.

Purchased From: Sample

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SiChange (45)	2017-10-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A superlative Virginia-sweet, spicy smoke. Really fine leaf. The spice note is distinct among all tobaccos that I’ve tried and comes through similarly in the taste and room note. Fine aftertaste. The Virginia leaf is cured after treatment with maple sugar infused water as in many other Mac Barens blends,as the company describes its production. This treatment may account for a tongue bite that some reviewers report. If so, sip it or try it in a 9mm filter pipe: it’s worth the investment to enjoy this tobacco. This is a true classic.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pops Pipe (19)	2017-06-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Dark Twist is a quality natural aromatic so to speak. The coin cut gives a slow burn as the tobacco enhances the brown sugar/ maple and vice versa. This is a nice sugar topped blend with no other confections or artificial flavorings. It can burn too hot if smoked too quickly and can get ashy tasting as well. But if you go at it slow your rewarded with a nice sugary smoke with body. Has a decent nic- hit and wont bit if you go slow. Smokes cooler rubbed out but you tend to lose some richness of sweetness when you do so. A good smoke if you are patient.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2017-04-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

After a (really) bad start with this tobacco, I'll have to revise my opinion on this. I got granted a sample of this some months ago. The tobacco tasted straight out flat, dull and did bite like a yard dog. No Kentucky taste at all. Today I went "all-in" gettting a 100g tin of it - somehow it tickled me to get this one, even tho I had made really bad experience with it.

Now to the actual review: First thing I'd like to mention is that Mac Baren states on the website, that this is 100% PURE tobacco, with only Sugar- and Maple-Water added to it.... that's a straight up LIE! Follow this link and see how many additives 100g of Dark twist contain...: https://service.bmel.de/tabakerzeugnisse/index2.php?detail_id=100550&site_key=153&stichw_suche=twist&zeilenzahl_zaehler=2 I may seem bitching about it, but its a break of trust to me... claim something is most natural then I see a list that shows it has a exorbitant amount of additives...why Mac B? As much as I love your tobaccos - not cool!

The tin smell is outstanding. It's not an "aroma-bomb" just a subtle, gentle smell of dark (fruit) bread, which a hint of maple, caramel (=sugar). Brilliant and natural seeming, albeit being full of additives. Very appetizing scent tho'.

The Coin-Cut is handmade and very well crafted. It's ment that you take 2 coreless coins + 1 with the Kentucky coin. But as Kentucky fan(atic) I already see it coming, I'll have a half tin full of coreless coins, because I smoked all the ones with the Kentucky core. :-P

Then the taste - oh my, ths is a delicious blend! Besides the tons of additives this blend has the taste is quite natural taste of slightly citrusy, dark- and fruit-bread, hints of maple and a constant, but very subtle sweetness. Accompanied by a gentle spice, thats has a peppery mouthfeel, almost like Perique. Woodsy and hearty, tangy smoke notes of burnt wood. Not overly complex, but just enough complexity to keep me thrilled. A nice companion to Mac Barens "Three Nuns". Tastewise, their living in the same alley, but Dark Twist being the sweet one of them, and the Nuns being the more hearty one. But somehow they share quite a few nuances to my perception.

All in all this is a very refined and tasty blend, that can be smoked all-day and every-day. Good blend for the first bowl of the day imo. Not too strong, not to mild.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Swiss-smoker (87)	2016-05-30		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This mixture is usually categorized as an Aromatic and I am generally scared away by any artificial flavouring and sweetening. After carefully reading the description of this mixture on Mac Baren’s homepage (http://www.mac-baren.com) I concluded that this is NOT an Aromatic. The ONLY substance added on to 100 % natural tobacco is maple syrup. Not any (other) artificial flavouring what so ever! That’s why I decided to try a pouch. I am glad I did.

It is a neat Curly Cut, produced in a laborious, interesting manner. I suggest you read the description on the above mentioned homepage of Mac Baren. I don’t rub it out, I just break and loosen the coins a little, which leads to an excellent stuffing, burning and smoking condition. The flavours deploy rather inconsistently, because it depends very much on how you stuff your pipe, and on the size of the pipe, since all the coins are not identical, as explained on the manufacturer’s homepage. Makes it interesting to explore.

This mixture is rather strong for a Mac Baren and quite complex in flavour, even though it is composed of Virginia and Kentucky exclusively. There is NO Black Cavendish as some reviewers wrote. The black eye in some coins is Dark Fired Kentucky. There is no prominent aroma peak, but there are plenty of discreet hidden flavours coming out of this Virginia. With just the right amount of Kentucky, the aroma palette is accompanied by a smoky taste. In fact it’s all about natural tobacco aromas. The added maple sugar is very reserved and not easily detectable or distinguishable from the natural tobacco-sweetness. All in all it is a tasty, recommendable, everyday/anytime Virginia/Kentucky mixture, without adding it to my rotation or favourites.

Purchased From: Local tobacconist.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Brandr ODS (15)	2015-11-26		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I’m always prone to try tobaccos with dark fired Kentucky in it, because it’s a leaf that will hardly disappoint you if you like it.

Is there any Kentucky in here? I’m starting to doubt…

Sniffing from the tin I didn’t get any of the typical earthy, piquant, peaty notes I look for in such a leaf. Instead, a sort of pungent, brusque sweetness and an abundant dose of casing.

Sure, the nice thing is that you can decide which coins you can put in the bowl and so calibrate the overall taste and strength but, frankly, whether you stuff in even the darkest ones, you won’t get the smoke as strong as you’d expect… Pack in all the brightest ones, it will be a little bit sweeter and tangy. You chose…

The taste is nothing special, pretty sweet and sugary, with some sort of maple-like casing. I struggled to get any significant and appreciable flavours out of this tobacco, and if you dare to puff a little bit faster, Cerberus himself come out of the smoke and torture your tongue with sharp bites of agony.

Too bad I bought it in a 100g tin – it was the only available at the time. I’ve smoked 4 or 5 bowls, didn’t like it and decided to put the rest in my cellar and get back to it a few years later to see if it gets any better.

Time will tell…

Cheers Everyone, Brandr ODS

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the tin

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2011-10-05		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Too get an idea of this tobacco, fill a pipe and give it three charring lights. Tamp each light with the tip of your tongue! How does that feel? Well that's what you get with DARK Twist. Believe it or not, my tin is over 15 years old and I have opened and resealed it every 5 years, hoping for a different result.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	A. Morley (97)	2006-10-06		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Yes, yes. Roll cakes are wonderful. Yes, I know red Virginia and black Cavendish is an intriguing combination. And isn't Mac Baren, after all, that wonderful company of friendly Danes who you just can't help but love. Fine.

Tell me this, though. How am I expected to enjoy a tobacco that produces a veritable deluge of acrid, sour liquid in the stem of my pipe? No matter what pipe I smoked it in, at least once during the bowl I would experience a sudden loud gurgling that would often send a sickening glop all over the inside of my mouth. The flavor of the tobacco up until that point was always mild and sweet, rather like raisins or ruby port. I simply could not abide the overwhelming wetness of this blend, however. I never attempted to smoke it in a corn cob. Perhaps I should have, but I'm not making any apologies.

Regards,

A. Morley Jaques

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-06-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Very akin to Navy Flake lacking in body, with a tendency to nip at the tounge. To get this to burn cool I could not get enough smoke volume to truly enjoy it's nuances of flavor and aroma.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	poupehan (23)	2005-06-02		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I used to smoke this a few years ago, and at the time I liked it for the taste and aroma qualities mentioned by the other reviewers(positive reviews).

HOWEVER..

After a break in pipe smoking, I seem to be less compromising when it comes to tongue bite.I will not accept tongue bite anymore! My technique has changed and I will smoke as slow as needed not to be bitten. And this is where I come to the conlusion that a) I need to smoke this SO slowly that there is not enough smoke to be tasted and b) it keeps going out.

I can get Mixture, VA#1, Plumcake, Black Ambrosia and VC to work for me as cool and fragrant smokes(yes,yes!) , so I wish not to make generalisations about Mac and bite, but allas, this blend (and navy flake - same thing) does not work for me. And I'm on the verge of giving up on it. Well: so many good blends out there..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2020-03-29		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I received a healthy 30 year old sample of this from a pipe forum friend years ago, but never got around to sampling it, until this quarantine hit..... Now, it is 35 years old.

I popped the small jelly jar open and was hit with a sweet, mapley Danish aroma. do not confuse this is with artificial maple toppings. This is a diluted maple sugar additive that still is easily recognized 30 years later. The little bits that were once coins are pretty much all broken up, with the exception of a few tightly rolled center sections with a birdseye type appearance. Moisture content was still on par with perfection, and it made rubbing the remaining chunks out a breeze.

Now, I usually fight constant tongue sear with just about every single MacBaren blend available. This one (probably due to age) was much different. It was smooth. It was mellow. It made for a great after dinner smoke. Deep, rich flavors from the dark fired combine perfectly with the sweetness of the maple sugar and bright Virginia. Notes of leather, brown sugar and sweet hay. Well balanced, perfect strength.

Burns slow and cool, but does require a few relights. I'll have to give a new tin a go, and see how they compare.

Pipe Used: several

Age When Smoked: 35 years

Purchased From: gift

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Voyaging (80)	2019-05-22		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The tin note is kind of sour, with some natural Virginia sweetness, and some sultana-like smell.

The presentation is neat, roll cut, or like it was cut from a twist. It is similar to the current three nuns or cabbie's mixture.

To smoke this and not get tongue bite, I find that letting it sit out for at least 10-15 minutes prior to smoking is best. Do the pinch test. It's more moist that it may seem. Pack it any way you like. I have tried it rubbed out, as well as stuffed into the pipe with stacked coins. You must smoke this slowly. It is easy to get tongue bite with this blend.

The taste is unlike anything I've ever tasted. There is a natural Virginia, honied sweetness sometimes. Sometimes there is a disgusting chemical sweetness. There are period of insipid air. There is also a spicy sourness and smokiness that comes from the Cavendish which is made with dark-fired Kentucky. There are notes of honey, oats, wood, wood smoke, leather, bread, sultanas, tangy stone fruit (like young plum or nectarine) some red wine-like character, some floral honey, some baking spices, and marzipan-like notes.

This is not quite an all day blend for me because of the pungency it can have. It's mostly Virginia, but there is some boldness to it at times.

Nicotine strength is maybe medium. Tobacco strength is medium. The taste is pretty full-flavored and punchy. It all depends on which coins you pack. This is a sweet, smokey-spicy, unique-tasting Virginia blend.

I would maybe recommend it to Virginia-lovers, for it's unique quality, that Mac Baren is known for. The only negative thing about this blend is its propensity for causing tongue irritation and/or bite. Also, the chemical taste I mentioned. Navy Flake was a hit with me. Dark Twist is a departure from greatness, for me.

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin, couple of months

Similar Blends: Mac Baren Roll Cake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (162)	2018-08-24		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A very nice presentation.. wonderful tin note.. As for the smoking experience- oddly, much more Virginia forward than I was expecting.. even the pockets of Kentucky are very mellow and light.. kind of like orlik dark strong.. and yes it is a challenging smoke.. very sensitive to packing and cadence.. when you get it right it's a nice semi sweet mellow smoke.. just not as exciting as I wanted it to be.. and the casing isn't bad but it makes for relights.. I will cellar a tin but nothing I'm gonna hoard. Oddly enough I say the same thing about my friends (thank God they aren't present th

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2017-09-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

MAC BAREN – DARK TWIST ROLL CAKE About this mixture there are two different versions: the original version (Virginia and Original Mac Baren Cavendish) and the current version (Virginia, Kentucky and maple sugar). Now I review the original formula composed of Virginia and Black Cavendish. Dark Twist first version is a natural aromatic mixture, with a little bit of casing due to the Black Cavendish. In fact in this blend there is Original MB Cavendish and not Modern MB Cavendish. That means that Black Cavendish is produced mainly with Burley to which sugar and flavors are added. Anyway not a lot of casing is employed. (On the contrary Modern MB Cavendish is a natural Black Cavendish produced with only Virginia and without any casing (natural sweetness). But this is not concerning us because in Dark Twist there is Original MB Cavendish). Coming to the flavor, the taste of the blend is sweet, but natural: it looks like a naturally sweet tobacco. That means that Virginia is of a good quality and Black Cavendish is well-prepared and balanced. The nicotine content is ok and the strength is medium. A real pity the bitter and unpleasant aftertaste (probably a chemical casing in the Black Cavendish). This mixture is ok for Virginia’ lovers and for natural aromatic’ lovers. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two and a half stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2017-04-23		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren - Dark Twist Roll Cake.

One of my 're-typed' early reviews.

An intriguing looking set of disks that arrive nicely hydrated. Due to the difference in coins the smoke depends on how you select/mix them, so this is almost a generic review. An easy blend to get burning, and once initiated the burn from it is steady, cool, and reliable. The smoke doesn't bite any, and is pleasingly thick in texture. The flavour: although the Kentucky is demonstrable in the smoke, the maple topping brings any harshness down a peg or two!

The room-note's pleasant-ish and the nicotine's a jot above mild.

I'm not smoking a bowl right now, this is from notes/memory over the years, so excuse any indiscretion!

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Various

Purchased From: Various

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	natibo (169)	2014-12-20		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I have to say, I'm not a fan. It's a Virginia tobacco that burns hot and can easily scorch the tongue. There was nothing interesting about this tobacco. The tobacco sounds much more interesting than it really is. There is better out there.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Coda (33)	2014-07-27		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A classic. A great, complex blend, Dark Twist is an interesting blend of various virginias and "Mac Baren" cavendish. The tin note is reminiscent of black tea, with a bit of sweetness on the end. The presentation is excellent: small coins of alternating light and dark. It's easy to load: take two or three coins, stack then up, fold in half, and stuff into the pipe. My only complaint is that the tobacco is so crammed into the tin that it is hard to pick the individual coins out, resulting in more of a ready rub...though it smokes just as good. An excellent blend...

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pop pops pipe (28)	2014-07-16		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Yes, Dark Twist ! This is a beautiful roll cake with sweet Va, Burley, a little Perique that's not mentioned and my favorite Kentucky!! Flavored what seems to be maple and brown sugar with the maple slightly more dominant. If you rub this out doing even ratios of light disc to dark disc it smokes a lot cooler. You can stuff the discs whole in your pipe but it will heat up. This is a rich, naturally sweet blend with kick ! The Kentucky and hint of Perique bolster this up nicely making for a satisfying smoke. I love Kentucky ! Its why I like blends like Amphora red and green. But this is a nicer twist (no pun intended) on it. It starts off a bit harsh at first light but in a minute mellows to a sweet, spicy, rich smoke. The flavor is nice, the nicotine is ample in this one about the strength of Plumcake, maybe a bit stronger at the last quarter of bowl. I like this on occasion, I don't smoke it mainstream or any spun tobacco because I carry a pouch. Too much work to rubout on the run I guess but I like it at the end of the day. The aroma is nice on this too, maple and brown sugar, others around you like it. I would say this is like a super premium Sugar Barrel ! Without the heat and sickening chemical heat and cloy. Another good aromatic with a natural sweet. This is good for those who like sweet with that dark Kentucky kick , satisfies the T zone thoroughly like an English would but tastes like a non aromatic with a mellow aromatic aroma. It will stay in my rotation as a secondary and once you have this even if it don't become your mainstream, you'll want it on hand.

Pipe Used: Boswell 97, no name italian

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KinnScience (30)	2014-01-08		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A tin of this was gifted to me by DesertPipe of smokersforums.co.uk Many thanks.

I am not a big fan of Mac Baren tobacco, but really wanted to try this as it was recommended to me. I found the VA's to be of high quality, offering a sweetness of grass and fig. The DFK adds a bit of an overwhelming element to the twist, and does flavor well with the VA. The dark fired, while not as prevalent in content, clearly dominated or at least drove the flavor of the smoke a bit more than it should have. I've spoken to many who enjoy this tobacco, and would join them except for the tendency toward tongue burn.

Still I would consider this an enjoyable smoke, flavorful but not multi dimensional. The VA component is the real achievement IMHO. The flavor is tangy against a sweet backdrop,

I'm giving this 2 stars but only because it shreds my tongue. The tobacco has probably earned 3 stars due to the superiority of the VA's and the simple process used to make the twist. If you like a VA/B and you really like DFK, this may be your tobacco.

Pipe Used: Ashton

Age When Smoked: 1 yr

Purchased From: gifted by DesertPipe

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dubinthedam (133)	2008-04-13		Medium	Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I do enjoy a few MacB's for many reasons. Widely available, good quality and fairly priced. I go to my MacB's when I want a sweet cased smoke. DT is added to my MacB list, Vanilla Cream, Navy Flake, Plumcake and Mixture. I find it a little milder in strength than Navy Flake, also a little less artificial tasting in it's casing. I would put this along side Mixture in the sense that it is a solid MacB blend that is well known and proven and should not offend anyone. Spicey, sweet, mild with enough punch, not too much bite, a good value navy blend.

Edit: up to four stars, it does bite, but dried and sipped this really is a winner, a great sweet navy, not as musty and earthy as some but for the price it earns full rank.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-06-23		Mild	Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Ok...I know I said I would not review anymore MB, but I had to get this outta me before it burns me alive...pun intended.

I'll make it short and sweet...sweet, like the cased crap this is.

Very pretty to look at. Very nice to smell, but no real tobacco flavor. Very painful to smoke.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Yuck!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-12-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I tried this on the recommendation of a friend and I was not really impressed. #1 It smokes hot. #2 It has a very Mac Baren taste to it. #3 The room note was actually making me a little queasy. #4 After 2 bowls on 2 separate occasions I had to dump it each time. To be fair I am not a Virginia fan,but this really is not very good stuff.It always smokes hot and dry. the flavor is very "young". It seems it did not go through a very long aging process.Unless you are a fan of either Virginia mixtures or Mac Baren products I would steer clear of it. The best of their lot seems to be "Mixture". This was really a let down for me.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-11-03		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Spicey, hot, complex, and biting. The best MacBaren I have tried . Bliss for some, but not for me .

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-12-09		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I'm not a MacBaren's fanatic. Dark Twist is one of the few tobaccos they produce that I smoked regularly. It's one of their more "natural" blends, which is probably why it appeals to me.

The tobacco is presented as a compacted "puck" of thin, spun-cut coins, about the size of a nickel. The coins rub out easily enough to produce a long, stringy ribbon-cut. The tobacco is easily loaded in any state of preparation: unrubbed, rough-rubbed, or fully rubbed. Tin aroma is a rasiny, dried-fruit smell of Virginia tobacco and honey/sugar-cased Cavendish.

Fully rubbed, the tobacco smokes well. Rubbing it out less gives more of the sweet and tangy flavors of the tobacco, but it has a tendency to burn wet in that form. I would suggest drying out a sufficient number of coins for a couple hours before loading if you're going to smoke this unrubbed. Flavors are of tangy VA tobacco, combined with a toasted marshmallow and caramel flavor that I presume is coming from the Cavendish component.

Room note is pleasant, and the tobacco has a fairly natural flavor. This is predominantly a Virginia blend with a high sugar content, so smoke slowly to avoid bite. This is a good "social" blend when you want something that has some flavor but won't cause objections from those around you.

UPDATE: This is one of those rare tobaccos that as I smoked it more and more, I grew to like it less and less. As my palate developed, I realized that this blend was rather bland compared to some of the heavier smokes I was enjoying. As such, I can't recommend this to anyone other than a new pipe smoker.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Karam (59)	2021-05-19		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This will be short, I've been smoking this blend for a few weeks now. Looks good, smells great, but falls somewhat short in the taste test for me. It is an old blend, an all-day blend to keep feeling your pipe to have something burning in it. It is very mild for me, while it does have good taste, there's just not a lot of it. Occasionally you get whiffs which taste like a maple syrup pancake, occasionally you get some wood and spice from the Kentucky. It's a little grassy.

Keyword is occasionally. If it was all the time it'd be a clear four star blend for me, but as it is it's nice but bordering on the "hot air" category. This is no fault of the blend, that's exactly what it's designed to be, so in that respect it is successful, and will work wonderfully for someone favouring lighter tobaccos, but I need a lot more punch to my smoking!

I've experimented with taking only the dark-cored coins, as well as mixing it with G&H Dark Bird's Eye, both approaches bring it a lot closer to what I like, but that's no longer what MacBaren puts in the tin.

Edit: upping to three stars, been smoking this almost every day. Clearly I managed to figure out the mapple pancake taste, and really enjoy it. Would love a more powerful (fuller, stronger, spicier) version though still.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (197)	2020-10-02		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smoking now:

Small coins that smell of Virginia. Hay, grass, tart, manure (it sounds bad but it’s not) molasses . Perfect moisture from the tin only let sit out a few minutes.

Depending on how you pack your pipe the flavor will change as 1/3 coins have a dark fired Kentucky center. A wonderful Virginia taste of sweet hay combined with a natural sweetness of cavendish and of maple and molasses. Not a very noticeable maple taste but adds sweetness to mellow out the blend. I recommend a large wide bowl for this, the different coins and tobaccos will do well in it. There is a slight Kentucky spice in here but it’s just enough to add body and let you know it’s there.

It’s mild to medium all around. No mouth tingle or bite. Retrohale is mellower then expected with great aftertaste that stayed around for a bit. Just a wonderful natural tobacco experience.

Left a little moisture in the bowl.

Pipe Used: Briar, XL meerschaum.

Age When Smoked: 4 months

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	North State (72)	2020-06-11		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Well, to be honest this was a bit of disappoinment. I was waiting for something with a... Dark twist? Whatever that means, I'm not even sure myself. Maybe something with dark-chocolatey, a little bit burnt but sweet flavour?

The blend on paper looked real good and the idea of roll cake seemed fun. The pouch note is exquisite, good tobacco with dark wood mixed with a bit of plum and raisins. Someone noted that this is best when smoked in a wide bowl and I wholeheartedly agree. To me, the only real way to smoke this blend is to place the coins - varying the Virginia/Dark Twist according to taste - carefully on top of each other, like rebuilding a mini-cake, before lighting up. Unfortunately even my biggest pipe is not big enough to accept the coins as they are, so I always had to crush them a little bit at the sides which immediately does some damage to the flavour - see later.

The whole coin will not be easy to light and almost impossible if moist (I found it helpful to dry out a few coins each morning, then carry them around with me in a small tin) so several charring lights will likely be required. Once you get it going, sipping it very carefully, it reveals it's best which is a thick, mellow, woody, slightly fruity smoke. Problem is that while it's good in it's own right it's not really anything spectacular, and taking all this trouble just to get to this stage seems a bit pointless. Furthermore, as the coins burn through the bowl starts heating up and then Dark Twist reveals it's nasty side which is a harsh, sour, burning taste with some of the worst tongue bite I've ever experienced. I tried rubbing it out a few times too but ery strongly recommend against it; destroying the coins transforms the blend in also one of the most radical ways I've experienced (reminds me of drying out University Flake) and it goes straight to that end-of-bowl stage, or worse, and stays there throughout.

With all these drawbacks Dark Twist doesn't really seem worth all the trouble just to catch that fleeting moment of whole coins burning through slowly and producing a somewhat enjoyable smoke. Since I've now experimented with one pouch and found that this is a very 'technical' blend, ie. it does require quite specific techniques and equipment to enjoy, I'm a little bit intrigued about getting another pouch and giving this a second chance IF I get a pipe that feels like it would do this justice. But that remains to be seen; as for now, this is a 2-star review which is almost a one, with that short period when the smoke is really good being the only saving grace.

Pipe Used: Gasparini, Chacom, corn cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh from pouch

Purchased From: The Danish Pipe Shop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2019-09-23		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I anticipated to try this tobacco due to all the positive feedbacks.the tin presentation is simple and prepares you for a pleasant smoke.once the tin opens a nice smell comes out.grasses enhanced with sugar and maple notes come out.a deeped smell reveals some pepers and vinegar notes.the little coins are perfectly presented between some spare virginia loose cut tobacco• very manageable either to rub or to fold as they are.while smoking the flavours are from simple to deeep depending what mix of coins you choose.virginias are the main player offering grasses,fruits ,some bread notes and a few sour ones.kentucky tobacco is strong,peppery with some vinegar and molasses.last of al cavendish offer lots of sugar and maple notes making the whole flavour sweeter but not sweet.if rubed burns at medium speed ,medium hot with a lot moisture left at the end of the bowl to perfect ash.the room note is bareable with no tongue bite.generally i enjoyed a lot this blend because it can be from a simple one to begin your day from a fuul flavoured one after a dinner.totally recommended.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Viscfab (36)	2019-05-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is my favorite Virginia forward blend. It is similar to the Mac Baren offering of Three Nuns Original, but for my taste it is crafted in a more careful manner, with a bit more maple sauce added to it. Do not get me wrong it is not moist or sticky in anyway at all. I love it in all aspects. Okay. Let's talk about the appearance: Upon opening the tin you will be greeted by several disks of medium brown shaped coins, most of them medium sized, some of them slightly smaller. Virginias are the highest contents in here but the middle of several (not all) of the coins have those darker leaves of Dark Fired Kentucky, which add a great zesty flavour to the blend and a tingling experience on retrohale. Smell out of the tin: For me it smells a bit like dried figs, not overly sweet but delicious. Mechanics: Not difficult to pack - Fold 2 or 3 coins depending on the size of your bowl or rub it out slightly and proceed to your usual packing method. Burns well from true light onwards. Use cadence and sip it calmly to get the best flavour out of it. How does it taste and smell? Well, the overall flavour is fully experienced by retro-haling and french smoking it a bit on short steady puffs. Taste is of Virginias and a bit of smokiness is provided by the DFKentuckies in there. It gets better as it progresses. A great treat with a nice cup of quality coffee. It will not bite me unless I disrespect the relaxed cadence and start puffing like a freak. The smell in the air is sweet but not like a topped aromatic. It has a quality tobacco smell which I happen to love. Not the case with my wife, anyhow if you want to get some advice on the wife seal of approval field. It is a fairly medium to long burning blend and will last 45-60 minutes on a medium to large bowl. It burns to a very dry ash and will not leave any goop or mess on your pipe. I love this blend. Thumbs up to Per Georg Jensen and all at Mac Baren for this lovely concoction of high quality tobaccos.

Pipe Used: Several Stanwell, Savinelli and Vauen pipes

Age When Smoked: Less than one year

Purchased From: National importer

Similar Blends: Mac Baren's version of Three Nuns original., Mac Baren - Three Nuns.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cumarinophil (108)	2018-12-02		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Pleasant and satisfying roll cake, that is among the most popular tobaccos for a reason. It manages to balance spicy and sweet notes in a way, that makes it hard not to like it. Some pipe smokers experience a subtle bite, that might be induced by the barely present, yet noticeable honey-like casing, all Mac Barens seem to come with. I like Dark Twist because it tastes and smokes a little bit differently every time I chose it, dependent on the pipe I use and the weather, humidity, etc.

The longer you let it sit, the smother it'll get - as true for most mixtures. That combined with an interesting complexity throughout the bowl leads to my overall recommendation of this all tome classic. Enjoy!

Pipe Used: several with and without filter

Age When Smoked: fresh to 12yo

Similar Blends: Mac Baren Club Blend, Mac Baren Stockton, Sir John's Curly Cut.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old Shrink (21)	2017-12-06		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I was introduced to this Mac Barens whilst on a travel in the UK.... it is a lovely display of exciting blended leaf & the presentation is very pleasing...visually & in aroma.... for me, it is an exceptionally robust aro with flavors that are clear & brilliant... citrus....molasses.... fruits.... I pack the briars medium to loose & try to savour & “sip” the experience .... draw too deep & rapid & you’ll get a hot tongue.... so to speak....this is a great tobac for an experienced pipe smoker & a quality smoke from MB as an introduction to a more complex smoking experience!

Pipe Used: Briars: Peterson’s, Dunhills, Ashton’s

Age When Smoked: New tins, cellared bulk

Purchased From: UK Tobacconist; SmokingPipes

Similar Blends: Mac Barens Navy Flake; MB Royal Twist.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Berzerker (28)	2016-10-31		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a tobacco in it's own class, there really isn't anything else out there similar to this. It's all natural tobaccos made with natural maple syrup. It is not an aromatic. It tastes natural too. It's great with a cup of coffee as you could imagine. The taste is natural Virginia with sort of a nutty caramel or syrup type of taste. It's cheap but good quality and it is a unique flavour profile. It's a Danish blend for sure but they really do know how to make good tasty pipe tobacco. The down side is this: Slow it down or pay the consequence, this will barbeque the inside of your mouth if you're not careful. However, this particular tobacco is worth the effort. Pack it light, not too tight, make sure it isn't too dry or wet, puff lightly and use the right pipe, make sure certain stars are aligned and then you'll be rewarded with a very pleasing experience. If not, look out! Your tongue will lose all sense of feeling and taste for at least 24 hours!

Pipe Used: Savinelli

Similar Blends: Nothing compares.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	idbowman (26)	2014-12-09		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

First things first: This is a MacBaren blend, with the usual MacB casing (sugar water, mostly...as far as I know); there will be a certain pleasant sweetness to the VAs as a result, but the potential for bite is there, as well. I've had more luck taming that particular dragon with this blend than others, though - low and slow is the key.

Tin comes packed with two types of coins - VA/Cav and VA/Cav/Kentucky; the tin note is sweet, dark fruit, and a bit of sour tang (possible the result of 5 years' worth of aging). The smoke itself is pretty darn good. It has that subtle sweetness that a lot of MacBaren's blends have, but with a some spicy smokiness coming from the dark fired Kentucky, as well. In my mind, this is probably one of the three or four best blends MacB offers.

The blend lit easily and required very few relights when I fully rubbed the coins out; packed as roughly broken or folded coins presented all sorts of problems, though - it would burn hotter than a rocket then promptly go out, over and over and over. The flavor of the smoke was light years better when rubbed out as well.

THIS BLEND IS A WHOLE LOT OF FUN!!! To an extent, you can customize each bowl...with a tin 2/3 VA and 1/3 VA/KY, you can mix and match how much of each sort of coin you're using in each bowl. In a lighter mood? Heavy on the VA coins. Want something a little more stout or need some extra spice? Use more of the VA/KY coins. Of course it doesn't have to be that way - when I "just wanted to smoke the stuff" I'd pull out a few coins, rub 'em out, and go...if there's a certain ratio that doesn't do well, I never found it.

Three stars from me. If it weren't for the extra added attention required to keep it from burning/biting it'd be a Four.

Pipe Used: Briars, Cobs, Meers

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2014-10-31		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

DTRC has been reviewed so many times that I am positive someone else has written a review much more eloquently than I could but I wish to give a few impressions. The coins are smallish, smaller in diameter than Escudo and very easy to rub out. A warm baking bread aroma and taste with very little bite for a Macbaren Virginia blend. This is up there as one of my top 5 Macbaren tobaccos with Mixture Flake and Plumcake, the prices on the 100 gram tins are extremely affordable and they use top shelf tobacco's. Remember that as with all Macbarens this is a Danish product, the Europeans all smoke their pipes with filters so their tobacco's WILL BITE without the use of a filter since the sugar has to be liberally sprayed for the flavor to get through a charcoal or paper filter. Americans for the most part do not use filters so we get bitten horribly by these Danish blends... 3 stars!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2014-09-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Smoke it slow, for the love of God smoke it slow! Dark Twist will bite you if you get greedy, but patient smokers will be greeted with the mild aromatic topping opening into a wonderful room note, the kind that is still tobacco but that bystanders won't flee from. As the bowl progresses, smooth Virginia tobacco moves to the fore and shows its strength, developing complexity and character as it smokes toward the bottom. The Kentucky accent gives a depth that I would miss, just a little side note to the main course.

Mostly, I think this should be loaded in a pipe by grabbing one dark-centered coin for every one or two of straight Virginia, folding them and packing the pipe simply with the folded tobacco. Rubbing out gives a slightly hotter smoke and a more blended flavor, but I am fond of the interplay of different flavors when it is smoked whole instead.

Age When Smoked: 4 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeDawg (82)	2014-04-12		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

What a nice surprise. My local tobacconist just got this in bulk so I gave it a go. Glad I did. Broke up easy and quickly loaded into my Peterson XL305. I love VA's and this was blessed with it. The casing of sugar was obvious at first gentle puff and added a tiny bit of artificial sweetness to a nice Va. Which to me was a change of pace from my pure McClelland Va's blends. You'll know when you hit the Kentucky fire, which I loved. A great blend, I do recommend. If you enjoy Va's this is will be a nice little twist for ya.

Pipe Used: Peterson XL305

Age When Smoked: from Bulk.

Purchased From: Ansteads Tobacco

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cajomu (80)	2014-03-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren's Dark Twist Roll Cake is a beautifully presented pipe tobacco that delivers plenty of flavor. DrumsAndBeer's review below says most of what I was going to say (ready to smoke, bites if you puff too hard and can be smoked with more less Cavendish for variety). What I would add is that the flavor is unlike that of any other tobacco I have tried (sort of like a cross between a VaPer and an aromatic) and that it is quite economical if purchased in bulk.

I find that, after I smoke DTRC for a while, I grow somewhat tired of it. But there is something about it (the cute little discs? the unique taste?) that always draws me back to it.

If you like sweet tobaccos, I recommend you give it a try.

Pipe Used: Various briars

Age When Smoked: Recently purchased

Purchased From: JR Cigar

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyMcPiperson (119)	2011-01-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This blend was the beginning for me of a progression into a whole new genre of tobacco blends. I started with aromatics, was stuck in those for about a year, then moved to English, spent about a year and a half to two years mostly smoking English and some VA, then I discovered these roll cake blends with Va's and other tobaccos like cavendish and burley rolled in sometimes with perique and whatnot. Needless to say this blend ushered me into a whole new realm of flavors and even a new way of smoking, where I had mostly been a heavy puffer with thick clouds of latakia filled smoke, this blend along with PS Luxury Bullseye Flake taught me to slow it down and sip the pipe like a hot cup of tea. When I did this I began to experience a new and very different way of smoking a pipe. This blend when properly sipped and savored lends to a complex, deep, dark, rich and smooth smoke. The flavors are not easily explained but very intriguing. I recommend this blend to those who have already moved from aromatics to English and are now looking for something complex and maybe not so powerful to enjoy and take their pipe smoking to a whole new level! For me it represents the height of pipe smoking and the relationship of blend to smoker and the exchange between the smoker and the blend, where the smoker must earn the flavor he seeks by giving his pipe attention and carefully coaxing the smoke along without being to hasty or impatient, it is a blend for the relaxed, contemplative smoker with a mind to match the complexity of the blend!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	quantumboy (130)	2010-12-15		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I don't smoke many VA-CAV blends, but this one is really good. It is absolutely full of flavor, easy to smoke, with a sweetness and richness that is simply satisfying. I liken it to Peter Stokkebye's Bullseye Flake, which has Perique but tastes somewhat similar due to the addition of Cavendish. Very nice for a relaxing afternoon when you want to think more about the beautiful weather rather than what you're smoking.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-10-11		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Wow! This really is a superb tobacco. A very high grade tobacco, sliced into coins that are extremely convenient for packing a bowl. As others have said, pack this tobacco loosely. Let it pack itself. Very light compression. Minimal rubbing of the coins. The taste is divine. extremely deep and complex, but it doesn't present itself boldly, you have to sip and contemplate. If you smoke too fast, you'll miss the mark completely. It doesn't make heavy smoke, and hates to be smoked fast. The initial char is a bit tingly/bitey, but it goes away; leaving way to one of the most enjoyable tobaccos I've known. I can't even remmeber all of the various flavor notes I experienced via the ounces i've smoked. Pack it light, smoke it sloooooow, and you will be rewarded with an amazing complex, deep smoke. Brush with water and cleanse your palate before this smoke, it is subtle, but amazing.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sirchud68 (60)	2010-01-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is my second go at a MB blend, my first being Roll Cake. I've been smoking a pipe for only three years and sometimes puff like crazy but still haven't had any bite with either MB tobaccos I've tried. I have smoked cigs for 20+, maybe that turned my tounge to stone.

Dark Twist has a great "spice" to it. Kind of cinnamon'ish? I love this stuff. I say that about most tobaccos I've tried, but DT really caught me. I find it a little stronger then roll cake, too. If you haven't tried it, what could it hurt? Opened a tin that I aged for a year and man, what a wonderful malty scent. Taste was much improved as well.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-09-21		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Tolerable

Ok I have enjoyed many MB blends but sadly this one just missed the mark for me. I found the flavor profile to be flat and somewhat boring. I was hoping to find a wonderful dark robust smoke in the tin but was greeted with a weak and lightly aromatic smell. I decided that trying it would have to be the way to go. I found that it takes to flame well either rubbed out or in its original disk shape. The smoke flavor was flat and uninspiring. I had no problems in draw but I felt like I had to puff like mad just to find flavor. This bl;end would be good for someone just entering the pipe world but not for the seasoned smoker.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2009-06-17		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Another fine coin cut tobacco from Mac Baren!

Having already smoked Club Blend (very mild) and Stockton (medium strenght, nice flavor), I can say that this one rates approximately similar to Stockton: not heavy in nicotine, but with a nice body and moutfheel, and with a nice rich taste... if you smoke it slowly. Read my reviews for those two other tobaccos because the differences are minimal.

The coins are rather soft, of a golden brown color, and most of them have a very dark center of the delicious Mac Baren Cavendish.

Packing is easy, and it burns great: slow but not exceedingly so. It tends to burn a bit faster than Stockton, and hotter too: what I noticed is that while Stockton will go out after not puffing for a while, Dark Twist will keep burning! I recommend a wide bowl for this tobacco: it smokes particularly fine in two pipes I have recently acquired, a Castello Collection KKKK and a L'Anatra "Pettinata, and they both have a 22-23 mm wide bowl.

I recommend that you sip this tobacco truly slowly: not only because it is slightly astringent and spicy on the palate (not exactly bitey, but... tingling), but because it's the only way to appreciate it completely and avoid thinking "I smoked a bowl of hot air". The taste is only moderately sweet, with burnt sugar, caramel, some peppery spiciness, some nuttiness and a great yeast/freshly baked bread fragrance. Some black coffee, too.

Overall very recommended: I can't say whether I prefer this one or Stockton, because both are small variations on the theme.

PS This tobacco also reminds me in taste of another tobacco that I smoke once in a while, Timm London Blend 750. The Mac Baren is better, though: more taste, and slightly darker/spicier.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	marosi (70)	2008-09-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is similar to other Mac Baren roll cake tobaccos, but seemed slightly drier from the tin than other varieties that I have tried. As with all Mac Baren blends, the quality of both the tobacco and processing is very high.

I always rub these blends out, and this one seemed to possess slightly longer ribbons when rubbed out. They required some shredding to work with a gravity method of loading the pipe.

This took a moderate amount of effort to get going, but burned well, and was moderately cool throughout the bowl. What was lacking was any particular flavor which elevated this above the ordinary. The three stars is for the overall quality of the product and its fine smoking qualities. For flavor, however, there are many VA blends which offer a more well-rounded smoke with a richer flavor. Davidoff makes a similar blend which contains perique along with the cavendish, and offers much more bang for the buck in the flavor department.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Davetopay (43)	2008-03-05		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Having really enjoyed the tin of Plum Cake I picked up a while back, I figured I would try the Dark Twist . I have been very impressed so far...but I will have to come back to update this as I have only had a couple of bowls in a new Savinelli, but even though the pipe is still breaking in, this mixture has smoked cool and smooth with an intoxicatingly tangy aroma. As I learn more about what this blend has to reveal to me, I will return to post more!

In the mean time get out there and try some!

1/18/08 I may have lost my "touch" with this. I am going to have to experiment with different packing methods. I have tried stacking coins(sometimes good), folding the coins vertically like slices(less good), and rubbing it out. So far rubbing it out seems best, but I think it might need a little more time to dry out. As I have delved deeper into the tin the tobacco seems more moist, and therefore a little more tempermental in the pipe. I have also found I only like it in filtered pipes, or it just makes my whole mouth sting. I won't give up on though!

3/4/08 LOL, I "found" my touch again! As many have stated the secret to a good consistent smoke from Mac B is to make sure the tobacco has had a chance to dry some. I have also had much success with rubbing out a larger portion and then letting it rest in the tin. Now it is like having a very unique tin of ready rubbed. It's biting nature has been greatly reduced, and mor e of the sublte flavors of malt, maple, molasses, and even a few citrus notes come alive on the palate.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	UncleGar (110)	2005-03-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Actually, I was going to rate this lower, but I'm warming to it. I have had a tin in my car for six months or so, (an artifact of on-the road desperation and opportunity) and its "onlyness" has forced me to smoke it. Early bowls bit like sulfuric acid and it felt like my tooth enamel eroded where its fumes entered my mouth. Good news: it improved with age.

Peculiar looking: bullseye rings, with or without a chocolate brown waxy center. I fold the coins, stuff tightly, and bore a central 1mm shaft with my Czech needle. Though moist and sticky, two lights to the bowl. Great for driving: not much attention needed. I found the unrubbed version necessary for burn control. A hottie!

Steamy, sharp, sweet, and good enough not to replace with another. But make sure you are stocked with fluffy pipe cleaners or else use a reservoir pipe or you'll be drinking it. I tried drying it but it just intensified the acid effect.

MacBaren's specialty is burleys. Go to McClelland, F&T or Rattrays for Virginias which are cavendish-free. But if Dark Twist is the only thing you can find in the truck stop besides fruitys, Half and Half, VIP and generic Cap'n Black, consider yourself quite lucky. As Garrison Keillor would say, "it's... not that bad..."

Update 12/10:

I get the impression while reading MacBaren reviews that the self-professed “experienced” smokers do not realize that 1. MacBaren blends are predominately cavendish, and cavendish is a mild variety, 2. Overpuffing to get more flavor from mild cavendish bites one's tongue, 3. MacBaren blends are predominately aromatic and experienced pipers should already know whether they like aromatics. Perhaps they should acquire some experience in reading labels first. Arrogant asses used to annoy me, now I merely ignore them.

Me, I like this occasionally. I also like others that are essentially the same (Club, Roll Cake, Navy Flake). The U.S. has Lane candy blends, the U.K. has its Lakeland soapys and Europe has MacBaren: you either like them or you don't. I personally think MacBaren is the best source of sweetened cavendish in the world and Dark Twist is the best of its genre. The inclusion of Virginia tobaccos (vs. burley) lends their natural sweetness that complements the ubiquitous MacBaren honey and causes this blend to improve with aging.

I'm giving this three stars because it's a once-in-a-while smoke. An opened and well-resealable tin will last me a couple years; it improves the whole time.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2004-08-31		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I tried this at the last pipe club meeting and immediately had to pick up a tin so I could smoke some more. I have to say- this is more great Macbaren tobacco. Where Navy flake is at the lighter end of taste and mixture is in the middle of the spectrum, Dark Twist takes the dark side by storm. Smooth and rich, this stuff has notes all over the place. On the low end it has a molasses feel, in the middle some yeasty Va, and some really nice spice at the top. It can bite, but no more than any other quality tobacco, and it did burn cooler than Mixture or Virginia #1. The smoke is quite substantial in the mouth, and the room note is heavenly. This would be the perfect dessert after a nice fillet and some good red wine. I like it!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	flint (30)	2004-03-19		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is probably one of the more interesting blends I've tried. The tin aroma has a sweet/sour aroma, very pleasant mind you. I didn't sense any heavy aromatic topping at all. I have to say I really liked the spiced cavendish used here it's the best I've ever had. Overall just a great tangy, sweet, spicy throat tickling smoke. I also loved the way this clears out the nostrils when blown through the nose. My tin was pretty fresh, I'd imagine this would age really well in the tin. I highly recommend this blend to others.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-02-25		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Unlike other reviewers, I don't find this tobacco to be particularly sweet other than it's can aroma. On the contrary, my experiance is that it has a mild, but savory flavor. I love this stuff when I smoke it in a meerschaum bowl calabash. It smokes dry and tastes buttery. On the other hand, every time I've smoked it in a briar pipe, it gives me the "bowl of steam" effect--wet, hot, flavorless, and annoying.

I've grown bored with the endless variety of English blends, which, after all these years, start to seem more or less the same to me except for differences in strength. I'm looking for something REALLY different and interesting. I was hoping Dark Twist might be it. It is not. But still, for me it's been a modest but nice change of pace (at least in a meerschaum bowl).

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jaybee (77)	2004-02-20		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

It's hard to imagine a package more well put together. The tin and room aroma are excellent, presentation couldn't be better and the tobacco is of very high quality.

Having said this, it's just too mild for my taste but works well as an occasional change-of-pace.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-06-06		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

You would think that this tobacco should satify everybody. A good VA and CAV mix. Probably too strong for the novice.

The spicy Cav with the Va really enhances this blend. Plus, I have received many compliments on dark twist's room note and the coin shaped tobacco makes it convenient to load.

If your not use to VA's, you might want to slow your puffin' cadence down a bit.

All in all this tobacco is true quality. It is in my top 5 favorite list. A Quality tobacco!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-05-06		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

As for the mere technical description of the taste of this blend, I would say, it's a mildly spiced Virginia roll cake with a light topping. The overall taste reminds me of hay, wood and leather.

This tobacco has puzzled me for some time, because I love its taste and aroma, but never got full satisfaction from it when giving it my full attention and smoking it in a big pipe. It's darker taste may have misled my subconscience for years and maybe made me think, that it is a full English blend for the mature pipe smoker. But this is not really a strong tobacco and it is not really a complex blend either. However it does taste like it may be (in a way). The tin says something about a Cavendish spun into the middle of the coins, so that might be it.

So what I did first, is to smoke only small bowls of Dark Twist while moving around the house, doing this and that. I think, this has helped me to lessen my expactations in a way and put me in a state of mind, where I can appreciate the nice taste of my pipe from time to time without the need to fully 'understand' it. I could really see me smoking this all day, and I do smoke it a lot when sitting in front of the computer. This may sound a little esoterical, but I do believe, that every pipe tobacco has a distinct personality and asks for a different way to be smoked.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2003-02-13		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

As with their Roll Cake, MacBaren has beautifully prepared coins ~ the size of a quarter. I was surprised by the variation between the disks with some being loaded in the center with the dark Cavendish while others lacked it completely. However I just randomly folded them and loaded the bowls and no taste difference was noted. Even with this packing method it was easy to lite and keep lit. @ some sites a vanilla casing is mentioned but not on the tin and I didn't sense it. If you smoke slowly, you'll be rewarded by the great sweet taste and a smoke that seems to last forever. I normally smoke VA flakes but didn't sense any bite from this blend even as an all day smoke. Although not a true aromatic, the room aroma in the view of the family is much improved over some straight VAs amd VA/Periques that I smoke. Overall, one of my favorites from the House of MacBaren.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-11-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Very good tobacco. Taste soft and thus strong. It is a little sweet, little bit acute. If to direct a smoke on the tongue, the taste is pleasantly sour. By one word, the tobacco completely corresponds to all qualities declared by manufacturer. Tobacco burns rather slowly. Usually I smoke my pipes for 20 - 30 minutes, but with "Dark Twist" I smoke my pipes for 30 - 50 minutes depending on a pipe and filling. The tobacco smokes easily. Because of its cut the tobacco saves humidity for a very long time. I smoked 50g pack longer than month and the tobacco, appears, has not dried up at all. Therefore "Dark Twist" is convenient for durable trips - it is not necessary to support humidity. The minus of tobacco - it smokes too wet.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-10-06		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

In this Mac Baren tobacco I must say that I have found a go-to mixture for the evening.

With dark brown, and black swirls in the nickel sized disks, this tobacco is pleasing to the eye.

The tin aroma is delicious, the sweet tangyness of the Virginia tobaccos being blended with spiced Cavendish.

The tobacco loads well either rubbed out or as whole coins. My particular tin was not as wet as most Mac Baren blends, so lighting was a breeze.

As I am for the most part a Virginia smoker, low and slow comes natural for me. It is a must with all Mac Baren blends and Dark Twist is no exception. When you do get that low smolder going, the flavours are exquisite. Even the dedicated English smoker would enjoy this as an occasional aside.

Highly Recommened

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-08-03		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A darker nuttier version of Roll Cake. All the better for it. Rub out well & smoke in a big bowl as this tobacco changes from woodsy to peppery to nutty (toasted cashews). May be worth letting it dry for 10 minutes before smoking otherwise it can be a bit wet. Full of flavour & good for anytime of the day.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wernerat (4)	3 days ago		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Amazing tobacco and one of my first which I will cellar. There is cascing of honey or and dark sugar but not much. Tobacco is very tasty and still noticeable. I love the surprise factor if you blindly stack the coins. Smoked quite cool and won't bite. A must try for aro fans but the same for natural lovers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tobaksrøg (53)	2022-12-29		Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Strong

This one sounds amazing on paper, and I couldn't wait to try it. Turns out I should have waited. First of all, it requires A LOT of drying; straight out of the pouch, it is unsmokable. Second, it tastes like hot nothing, with emphasis on both hot and nothing. How can something that consists of delicious kentucky and virginias taste like nothing? I don't get it. To me it seems like a waste of good ingredients and money. Big disappointment. 1.5 stars.

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Carolus (29)	2022-08-17		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A simple but tasty blend. Cool, easily rubbed from the medallions. The additives do not leave a bite. The tobacco is sweet and consistent, cool smooking, with a little bit of spice. A very nice all day smoke that you can keep on puffing. Again: not complex, but also not bland.

Age When Smoked: new

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipefitter (51)	2022-06-08		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have to admit that it took me a few bowls to figure this blend out. I was getting serious tongue bite ‘til reading some reviews and found that sipping and then going for several relights is the way to go with this one. Virginia can burn hot to begin with so it pays to have patience . I love MacB’s Virginia flake for it’s sweetness and the Kentucky adds nice earthy smokiness. As for the toppings, they’re barely noticeable , so it all comes together especially for a veteran smoker that doesn’t want to get a nic hit that has ya one-eye-wandering. As with all of the MacB flake that I’ve tried, this is part of my regular rotation….I un tin all of my tobacco and store in Mason jars at about 70 degrees. This technique works especially well with DarkTwist……..I revised up my recommendation from a 3 to a solid 4 on my second tin. Though the second tin was 2 years younger than the first and smoked right out of the tin, I like it even more this time around. This is a tobacco that I could smoke all day every day. The disks were even a little dryer on the 2020 tin. Slightly malty, gently spicy, cool, dry, no moisture in the bowl. This is one of the best bowlfuls I’ve smoked for a while. I gave the taste a medium , but it satisfies this smoker who indulges in bold tobaccos regularly.

Pipe Used: Cobb

Purchased From: Carolina Smokers Emporium in Manchester Ct.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mijnnif (130)	2022-05-28		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note Smells like a grassy hay field after a rain storm. Wonderful note. 1/3rd of the coins are centered with Kentucky the other 2/3rds are VA. This blend is off the charts good, The maple flavoring is not really noticeable. I think it softens the blend. Virginia forward with intermittent wisps of Kentucky . It has a mild sour note that is delightful every few puffs. smokes very clean. Burns a bit warm but fine if puffed gently. Nic hit is medium. No bite. Gets a bit more tart when puffed hard. Highly recommended for those that enjoy Virginia tobacco. Easily an all day smoke.

Pipe Used: custom large bowl cob

Age When Smoked: fresh tin

Purchased From: Wilke pipe tobacco

Similar Blends: Other Mac Barren coin blends in consistency with a different flavor profile.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J-P (11)	2021-03-23		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Strong

I'll have to politely disagree with a few of the notes made on here and give my own observations based on the tins I've received (I've had four or five of the 100g tins at this point).

Tin Notes: I find it comes quite dry in the tin. To the point where it's very much the first thing that I notice, aside from the smell. It's almost crunchy.

The smell hits you first and it's noticeably sweet. I don't detect 'dark' maple syrup. It smells like malted toast soaked in butter and honey.

The coins vary in composition and have a loose structure. They break apart easily when jarred.

Smoking Notes: This needs to be sipped. Regarding packing technique; it's fairly important to get this right (or it will bite).

I use 2 to 4 coins (depending on bowl size), which I stack and fold. I then stuff them into the pot sideways and sprinkle the leftovers on top. I try to get a good mix of light and dark.

Two stacks for a tall/narrow bowl.

As far as the flavour goes, it's not as candy-sweet as it smells, there is some sugar present in addition to natural Virginia sweetness. It has a nice hint of spice and I've sometimes noticed a strange mix of 'berry' (like raspberry or currants). Occasional hints of toasted marshmallows.

Further down the bowl, I find the mild florals, spices and intensity of the burley, and dark fired Kentucky.

Can be an 'all day smoke'. It's got a pleasant room note and though it starts quite light, it builds to medium in strength.

A very classic blend from MB, I need to spend more time with it and the other roll-cake offerings from MB (and will update). Would definitely recommend it.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Punto Oro 413KS

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: 4Noggins

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Madox07 (43)	2020-09-17		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am not sure it is fair for me to review this, as the only tin I have smoked is a half full 100 gr tin from the early 2000s, which I have found at the flea market and re hydrated myself. For what it's worth, I found this to be a very pleasing tobacco - again, my find may not be the same as what they market today. There is a very light maple topping which I can detect (somebody pointed out to me that rehydration may diminish the topping taste if not banish it all together), but overall I get it why it's called cake. The pun is very neatly played as maple or not, the tobacco was rather sweet and silky to start with. As you progress it gets a tad darker with each puff, the sweetness toning down in favor of a dark, earthy, quite bold smoke, a bit nutty and with a very distant grassy hint here and there - far less towards the end. It is enjoyable all throughout mostly due to the fact that it's not a uni level smoke. Mine came in a ribbon cut, while today I understand it is coin cut.. I am sure that can influence taste, but I remind you again that I stumbled over a particular tin of this blend. I will most definitely try the newer version, and if I don't match this experience I will certainly place it in a jar at the back of a cupboard and try it later, much later.

Age When Smoked: 15 odd years

Purchased From: flea market find

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (221)	2020-02-11		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

First of all , I love the maple topping as it is a welcomed change from all those fruity topped or cased Virginias. (They are everywhere) . The Virginias are grassy and citrus with some baked bread. The are the lead player . The Kentucky is mild and adds a nice spice with a little sourness and a whisper of cocoa . There are a few little pieces of cavendish in every third roll I think . They add some brown sugar and sweetness with no metallic taste at all thank God . This is one tasty blend . I also get a faint vanilla note . i have been mixing one coin Virginias with one coin Kentucky and it is still very mild . Moisture is great from the tin . Burns great with no tongue bite whatsoever. An anytime smoke for me . I love the HH line and the white background tins from Mac Baren . I avoid the rest . An easy 4 for me .

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ATW (110)	2018-09-14		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I'm honestly disappointed. I have only found 3 or 4 coins out of this whole tin that have any Kentucky at all. The whole appeal of this blend to me was the Kentucky. But despite all of that. For once I am actually enjoying a Mac Baren! I believe if found something that may have replaced my taste for McClelland Virginia #27. Has a almost identical flavor profile. Some spice, caramel sweetness with a slight coffee note. Very nice blend. After all I have had from Mac Baren, this is the first one I have thoroughly enjoyed. I'll be stocking up for sure.

Update 10/27/21

It's been 3 years since I've had a tin of Dark Twist so I decided to get another one. My current tin is from November 2020. So far, I've found it smokes better in a cob. If I want to rub it out then it needs some drying time or it will steam my mouth. I find it smokes better folded and stuffed.

Flavor wise, I get more of a fruit sweetness and tartness. The virginia's also seem to be more spicy in a "Virginia" kind of way. At times a floralness comes in but not for long. I don't notice the Kentucky Cavendish very much when I stack the coins 2 Virginia to 1 Cavendish. It seems to add more body and sweetness then flavor. Still a very enjoyable blend.

1 person 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

Like every Mac Barens traditionals, this is a blend to be respected. I like it, just lacks strenght to be in my regular rotation. Sadly, the Mac Baren offer, usually lacks nicotine strenght. So, this is good tobacco, austere virginia with some spice, very traditional, mild taste, good burning quality, inoffensive room note, it bites if not properly puffed, with mild / mild to medium nic strenght.....and this is a shame. This kind of tobacco, with appropriate nic strenght would be largerly appreciate by experienced pipe smokers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Davetopay2 (16)	2017-08-18		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

I may have written about this can of coins under my old name which I can no longer access....so this may be a revisit review, which is fitting as this is a revisit to this leaf after about 8 years where I didn't even consider popping its jar open.

I remember grabbing this tin back in 2009 as part of me wanting to reconsider some of my noob-based opinions which I formed early on with a tin of their Plum Cake.

I smoked a few bowls, didn't hate it, didn't love it, and thought to toss it in a jar with a date on the lid and maybe revisit or pass it along in a bomb some day. Here we are in 2017 and I got back into pipes, again. Maybe the age did it well, maybe some age did me some good....maybe a bit of both.

DT at 8 years old is no longer as willing to bite as a new new tin, it seems MUCH sweeter, more bold in thick Va flavor, and the topping is still prominent, but feels "classier".

I now see where the wide spread popularity and easy access to MacB blends comes from. A little smoking maturity, and blend aging makes it a whole new game.

Pipe Used: several

Age When Smoked: jarred from tin in 2009

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nathaniel (38)	2016-05-15		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco was a case of judging a book by its cover. I picked it up because a local tobacconist had it in in bulk in these big glass candy-store jars and the bundles of loose-spun leaf were just too pretty to pass up: dark thick strands of tobacco wrapped loosely around specks of bright leaf, with a very attractive birdseye effect. The jar note was interesting enough, too; not enchanting, but promising. I actually went out on a limb and got a whole tin as well as 2 ounces loose.

The loose sample sat for a while. I've been smoking Frog Morton Across the Pond on my rather intermittent smoking opportunities, but the day came when I felt like something different. Fold-and-stuff into a Peter Klein bent ball was easy, and there was plenty of shreddy bits for kindling. Not that it needed much; I was surprised how readily the tobacco took the match, given that it was still quite moist. First taste is nothing. Weird. Wet, too. I need to get in the habit of intentionally pre-drying my smokes, for an actual while, instead of letting the flame dry it when I light. The flame did take root though, and then... ah! Sweet fruity notes– with the usual fig, (which in this tobacco is very subdued) there's another flavor that took me a while to put my finger on. It's a sweet, slightly vomitous kind of tang. Grape jelly? Sort of. Kid's toothpaste? Yeeeaaah, but... that's it: it's Vimto. Growing up in Pakistan, I drank a lot of Vimto. It's what we called a "squash"- you mixed this dark purple syrup with water (I've forgotten the correct ratio, but we always put more syrup than the directions called for) to make a sweet beverage that helped you not to die of dehydration in the 110-degree summers. It's there in this smoke: a sweet, just-shy-of-cloying, wine taste. It's good and I like it.

The sugar, and there's a lot of it in this blend, wants to burn hot. I recommend a loose pack and an open draw (note to self: next time, smoke this in the Brian Ruthenberg), as well as shifting the pipe around in the mouth frequently during the smoke. Not a lot changes during the smoke. Sweet, grape-like syrupiness remains through a consistent, predictable burn, which, I bet, would be even more consistent with more drying time. I get none of the maple sugar flavor, which, though I have a weakness for maple, doesn't bother me too much because this is sweet enough on its own. I don't know if a really pronounced maple flavor would work well with the wineyness either.

Overall, a different bird. For me, it sits right in that spot between an aromatic and a Virginia-based blend (I smoked it in my Va-based pipes, not the ones I've dedicated to aromatics). This isn't a straight-up aromatic; you wouldn't call it "maple-flavored", but it's an aromatized Virginia, if that makes sense. I like it; satisfies my sweet tooth, though that doesn't take much, and still gives me the pleasure I get from smoking pure and natural tobacco. An occasional treat for when I get nostalgic for a glass of cold grape squash from the half-frozen bottles stowed in the fridge.

Pipe Used: Peter Klein bent ball, Savinelli pot

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Duke Nukum (16)	2016-03-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

I had been admiring the MacBaren cut twist tobaccos for some time, however since here in Australia you can only get Plumcake and Mixture, I never had the chance to try any. A little while ago, I queried Danske Piber (DP) on what might be a replacement for MacBaren 'Only Tobacco' I got a personal reply from Per Georg Jensen at MacBaren recommending Dark Twist. So I ordered some from DP.

On opening, it was exactly as described with a sweet, slightly musty aroma of leaves and leathery tones. Loading the pipe by taking a disc, scrunching it to loosen without rubbing out and filling the pipe with one at a time till full, I carefully tamped down and lit.

It charred well, took light easily and stayed lit. Despite looking a bit moist, it is good to go straight away and drying would just make it burn hot.

Instantly, I was surrounded by a dense cloud of rich, sweet smoke, smelling so authentically leafy and fresh, I thought I was at an autumn bonfire, smelling the fallen leaves go up in smoke. In fact, this smells and tastes so rich, natural, leafy and wholesome it is practically a pipe full of autumn.

All you need is a gentle sunlight peeking out between clouds, a chill, frosty nip in the air, and a leafy country path between trees in shades of gold, red and rusty brown and it's the quintessential pre-winter blend.

The flavour is natural, no trace of casing despite it being there. There's a sweetness from the Virginia, a nuttiness from the other tobaccos and some musty, earthy, leafy tones. It makes you want to stand next to yourself to smell the room-aroma while tasting the draught!

I tended to draw too quickly as I just wanted more and more, but slow sipping will keep it lit and going to a dry ash while it yields all it can without biting or burning.

It is, like most MacBaren products, not the strongest and having a high threshold of tolerance, I'd rate the nicotine as 'low' while most might say 'medium'.

This is definitely one worth trying, especially in a new or very clean pipe, to appreciate the nuances of such a natural aroma and flavour.

I really enjoy this one and would recommend it to anyone who likes a natural flavour or who just loves autumn.

Pipe Used: Corncob, Briar

Age When Smoked: As purchased

Purchased From: Danske Piber

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Setzer (6)	2015-03-18		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I would really want to like this tobacco and make it my everyday smoke due to its availability in Europe and its low cost, but it simply can't make it among my favorites. After various attempts I came to the conclusion that the discs must be rubbed out in order to burn better, get more flavor and bite less. No problem here, the taste is slightly sweet and the flavor is constant but not boring, maybe I would prefer more nicotine but this is not the point. The real problem for me is the after-taste that it leaves in my mouth when I've finished smoking: it's like my mouth is enveloped in something goopy that I attribute to some kind of Mac Baren flavoring or its Cavendish. This feeling gets softer when smoked outside, but being an inside smoker for now this is a problem. Maybe with Spring being at the door things will get better!

EDIT: I must update it to three stars. After some weeks that is opened the casing seems to wear off and leaves all the pleasure of simple tobacco.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Punto Oro, Santambrogio, Savinelli Roma

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: 4noggins

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipedrum22 (15)	2015-03-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have always enjoyed the coin style flakes and this one is no exception. I really like the fact that Mac Baren has 1 coin with a Kentucky center for every two coins without it. This allows an individual to customize their smoke in a way, depending on personal preference. Personally, I enjoy the two-to-one combination with the Kentucky center being the "one" portion of that combination. This blend burns well either stacked or rubbed out. The maple topping compliments the spice of the Kentucky center as well as the sweetness of the lighter Virginia. The blend has great fig/fruit notes with a touch of maple and a hint of honey makes an appearance every once in a while. I would recommend this blend to any and every smoker who enjoys a good Virginia blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PhillyB (70)	2014-10-14		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is the third Mac Baren tobacco I've tried, and I've yet to have a bad experience. Dark Twist surprised me, in several ways.

First of all, the typical "Mac Bite" is not present in this blend. It smokes cool and mild with no indication that it would ever give any problems.

Second, the flavor is surprisingly simple and pleasant. The other blend's I've had from this company have been full flavored and complicated. That's not a bad thing, as the flavors in this blend are very enjoyable but would be overwhelming if they were any more powerful than they are. It has a mostly sweet and savory flavor, like maple smoked meat. Pleasant with just the right strength and body to it.

A departure from the other Mac Baren blends, I would totally recommend you give this a go. It surprised me enough to get another tin when this one runs out!

Pipe Used: AND Meerschaum Billiard

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Brown's Cigar Store

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	H Gillman (39)	2014-07-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

A tin note of dried fruit, raisins maybe. I have several cans of pure Quebec maple syrop and I can't say that I smell syrup. Beautiful mini coins some solid some with dark centres. I smoked several folded and stuffed and found that in order to get a consistent taste I ended up rubbing out the whole tin. It rubs out beautifully and is a one match smoke. I find this blend mellows as you work your way down the bowl. Sipping and nose exhaling gives a nice taste of the depth of the flavour, still I do not taste or smell syrop probably because the flavour profile dramatically morphs as the tobacco is pressed and aged. Guzzling tends to bite. All in all not a bad blend.

Pipe Used: Several Pete's

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Local Tobacconist

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	boc777 (39)	2014-01-03		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

This is another Mac Baren disappointment for me. I like their lineup and I know this one is one of their more highly regarded offerings, but it just doesn't do it for me. The first third of the bowl tends to bit the tongue, the second third gurgles and the last is just blah. I am ticked off that I invested in 3.5 oz of this stuff, as I have no real desire to finish the tin. For an aromatic, it does have some body, but other than that, this is totally forgettable for me.

Age When Smoked: >1 yr

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cigarcohiba (36)	2013-10-26		Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant

A nice, medium to full flavor tobacco. Medium, spicy amareto taste. The cavedish seems to overcome the virginia. MacBaren score /4 (Strength 3, Flavor 2, Roomnote 2) My score 6/10

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-08-02		Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant

This was the first ever tobacco I bought when I took up the pipe a couple of years ago.

This is excellent stuff! Beautiful looking too. I like it rubbed, stacked, folded, doesn't matter. Just dry it a bit (or a lot!) or you will not taste it. Packed with savory flavor. Has a unique casing I find very pleasant. I can't describe it, but it is mild and yet distinctive. Definitely worth a try.

Even in a sea of fantastic tobaccos we have to choose from this will likely always be in my rotation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-05-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

MY FIRST experience with this was not a great one. hard to light and keep lit, and harsh bite, but it had some great moments when a nice thick puff would draw in with good flavor and strength. I did dry it out a little bit but not enough.

MY SECOND experience was a really good one. It simply needs a good drying out. As I like to make coffee through a coffee siphon to drink while I smoke, I had a grand idea that worked great. I pre-heat my water in a tea kettle and when I turn the gas stove off and pour the water into the siphon, I lay the tobacco on a paper towel on top of the cast iron grate above the burner after it has cooled enough to not burn the paper. While the coffee is heating back up over the flame of the siphon, the tobacco is slowly drying out with the leftover heat from the burner.

By the time the coffee was done brewing, I had perfectly dried out tobacco. it lit easily, it stayed lit well and it smoked quite well. There isn't a ton of flavor, otherwise I would have given it full stars, but it was a very pleasant smoke with little bite and good strength.

Earthy and full, I will keep this around with my Sutliff Charlemagne for 2 nice pleasant smokes of different types.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	puss n' pipes (27)	2012-12-29		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Well, First time, First serve and I choosed McBaren's Dark Twist to be the ONE to do so and I must say I'm not dissapointed at all. For a neophyte just like me the experience was quite pleasant. Opening the can was a mesmerizing experience, the aroma of chocolat with rum and brandy turned into some kind of Moka with hints of figs.

The slices were moistered but considering the fact that I was told & retold to be patient just about anything going into this newborn ritual, I simply took the time to spread the slices in a paper and let the fair breeze and the heat of the day to do the rest. After a while they were dry and ready to be packed layer by layer into the bowl. Now I'm not sure if the overall experience was enhanced by the use of a Meerschaun calabash but it packed really smooth and clean with not so much difficulties. I left the smallest cuts and debris on the top and proceeded to light up.

REVISITED: I must say that Dark Twist is generally not a subtle smoking experience, and certainly ambiguous in what regards to flavour. That means that you are never sure what is the toping you´re dealing with, is it Liquor? Chocolat? Moka? Caramel? And it is always a sideshow, i wouldn´t say it has timing for the apparition of such flavours, they just come randomly at any moment and keeps you guessing. After half the bowl there is the only certainty available, Caramel becomes more distinguishable and pushing. You can almost feel the sugar melting, and just my guess, but maybe that is why Macbaren is famous for it´s tongue bite, the syropes they use may have an aboundant content of sugar, and that is also why most of their aromatic products retain the same consistency as base. Aside from asking method for packing, (that is "Not too tight" rather light) and slow timing for smoking (in order to avoid it´s punch), the smoke demands the best from the smoker in order to appreciate it´s notes, the strength of the tobacco domain as master and you will have to use all your mouth, the base of your nose (if you can or dare as it is generally abrasive) to find the ghostly aromas described before. It has a defined basis as result of the Virginias and around this base the subtlety of the aromas wander sweetened by the dark cavendish. It is a trick or threat.

Dark Twist its an overall very good experience, I wouldnt say it is for beginners, it is very demanding and a rollercoaster of intensity, rather a smoke for dedicate quite some time, focus and technique to fully appreciate.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	sentientchimp (5)	2012-08-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco looks lovely when you first crack the tin. The small roll cake or discs of tobacco are a hearty looking golden color, and the smell suggests that a great, full- flavored smoke is to come. Unfortunately, like several others here, I was not greeted by a flavorful smoking experience, but rather with a fairly bland one. Occasionally, chiefly towards the end of a bowl, it feels like something brilliant is peeking through, but for the the most part the flavor is pretty light and elusive. I did not get much tongue bite, but certainly a lot of tongue burn, like the sort of sensation you get when you eat something like a lot of cinnamon on it. Finally, I'm not sure if it is due to the high humidity of the air these past few days, but this tobacco is taking forever to dry out and lose a little of its moisture. Coming straight from the tin it was quite damp. Overall, I'm not too crazy about this stuff. If you dont have a lot of options, give it a shot I suppose, but I'm sure nearly any tobacco shop has a better alternative.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	vespa (18)	2012-02-11		Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was gifted 5 tins of this over a year ago. I smoked maybe 3 or 4 bowls and gave all the tins away, even the one I was smoking out of. I did'nt experence any bite, but damn where's the flavor at? It was like smoking hot air. This has got to be the worst rendition of a Va, well maybe not, but not the Va experence I was looking for, so for each his/her own. I have found most MacB blends just that VERY BORING. If it's to your liking smoke away I'm done with all MacB products.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Kyohan (13)	2012-02-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I picked up a tin of this on the recommendation of a friend and must confess that I was not very impressed with this blend. I smoked a few bowls and things didn't get any better, so I put this one down as an "I tried it, didn't like it" blend. I set the tin on my tobacco shelf and pretty much just forgot about it.

Fast forward about a year. I saw this sitting on the shelf the other day and decided to give it another try and wow, what a difference a year makes. This is now a wonderful mid-day smoke and I am very glad that I didn't just toss the tin after the first couple of bowls.

I am putting this down as recommended, but for my taste only after it has rested for a year.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-10-12		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This tobacco is sweet and spicy at the same time. While it is quite tasty it will bite the tongue. Well worth a try.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-08-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

for a virgina this blend is pretty strong i didnt like it at first but like most tobaccos you wait a while and try again then u develop a taste for it........the compressed tobacco really burns slow and consitant but sip or it will bite you cant really detect and flavor except unsweet natural tobacco and maybe a hint of molasses but without the sugar

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-08-03		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This particular tobacco blend was my first experience of pipe smoking, setting a good example of a Virginia blend. The blend creates a supple taste that comes with only a little bite on the tongue. The flavor has a hint of sweetness, yet is not overbearing. This is definitely a blend worth trying.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-07-11		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

A good smoke, have to break apart the rolls to smoke it. I have never tried a roll cake tobacco before. I also intend to try some flake sometime soon as well. Looking forward to getting more used to the pipe world.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Patryk (2)	2011-06-20		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Please, would anyone out there help me out by sending some link or by actually describing how to correectly fill the pipe with the rolls? thank you.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	PastorPipe (21)	2011-06-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I really like Dark Twist Roll Cake, but it does give me one heck of a tongue bite. It lights well first off, but I find I have to relight it fairly often--it might benefit from a short drying. It's nice and sweet, particularly the first half of the bowl. Then the sweetness is less pronounced and a peppery note takes the floor. I taste a lot more Virginia than Cavendish. Its an enjoyable tobacco over all; but ooh does it bite. Even if I puff slowly my tongue hurts for a few hours after.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2011-05-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I've tried a few MacBarens. I get the dreaded MacBite from a couple which I will not name, but this isn't one of them. This was sent to me as a sample, so this review is not based on very many bowls, but I can already see that this is one that I could buy again. This is a fairly young sample, from 2009, and despite this, no nip whatsoever. One negative is that it seems to be about impossible to dry out unless put under a lamp, suggesting PG or a heavy topping, but somehow in the smoke, I do not sense a heavy topping. There is the usual MacBaren "Bit O' Honey," but it is not overbearing in this blend. The Virginias seem to be of good quality. This is a roll cake similar to Roll Cake Spun, but that is one of the MacBarens that bites me (ok, so I named it?), and this one does not. Which one will I buy again?

11-17-12 I have had a chance to try some of this that may be as much as 30 years old recently, and Mac Baren ages better than its reputation suggests...

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-05-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

looks and smells great in tin. smells complex, some honey very subtle and not easily explainable.

upon lighting there is rich smoke...i like that and the overall quality of the tobacco is outstanding.

tastes are complex but very very subtle. there is spice and there is sweetness and it does linger for quite a while...i like that. should be smoked slowly..and does not bite

extremely disappointed about the strength of the taste but admire the complexity. it feels like the enjoyment of a mature smoker both in experience and age.

i will keep my eye on it.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-05-02		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not so much a fan of this blend. For me it burns pretty hot and with a lot of bite. I must admit i tend to push my tobacco a bit too hard but this one really stings.

There definitely was a dark earthy flavor to this blend that i enjoyed at first but overall it did not leave a positive lasting impression.

The room note is decent, nothing great, nothing bad.

I can't say a whole lot about this blend...it definitely wasn't bad but there are tons of other tobaccos i'd reach for before this one. All in all, going through the 100g tin had minimal pleasure at best; it didn't offer me anything enticing...maybe it will for you.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Scamp (20)	2011-04-17		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I was inspired to buy this tobacco after reading some of the reviews on this site, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. This is a tobacco to enjoy in the garden on a nice sunny day with a cool pint of ale and a good book, preferably with a large bowled pipe to get a nice long smoke from it. This is a fairly slow burning tobacco any-way, but I found myself wanting more if using a smaller pipe. I would recommend putting the coins of tobacco into the bowl as intact as possible. I found this a very pleasant smoke that starts off quite light and spicey and develops as you smoke down the bowl into some very deep and complex flavours. Thoroughly enjoyable, will definately be buying it again!

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-04-09		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My ratings: = Bleh. Could not finish tin, dumped. = Passable. Finished tin, but didn't really look forward to it. = = Enjoyable smoke and would purchase again. * = Great smoke. Loved every puff and want more now!

This one gets a fail - one star.

I wanted to like it... the coins of rolled tobacco are fun to look at an play with. But as I have never been into flavored 'bacs of any kind, this one just didn't do it for me. Too sweet, too moist, and with none of the depth of character I like in a smoke. I dreaded having to pack this one and eventually had to call it a day and dump it.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-05		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

If you wish to switch from Aromatic blends and/or sweeter, smoother tobaccos to something with a little more Spiciness and more "Earthiness" to it's taste,I would Highly Recommend starting with this blend.

This blend has much more a Spicy Flavour than any mild or even aromatic blend, but is mild in and of itself when compared to tobaccos with Fuller and much more Robust taste. This is a very nice "beginner's" blend if you want to get accustomed to tobaccos with more robust and spicier flavours. Of Course even tobacco connoisseurs will appreciate the smoothness and subtle robust features of this blend

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Finally opened a 100g tin of this blend, didn't know what to expect here with it, complex/smooth....very very nice! As a video from Mac Baren suggested, just take a few coins, stacked (#-depending on bowl size) fold in half and stuff in pipe/tamp and your off to the races....it will have a lower burn-temp this way, so not to heat up the sugar in the Vs too much and thus you will have no Mac Bite :-)

Grab a few tins and enjoy it slow-sip'in style

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-02-18		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

With a name like 'Dark Twist Roll Cake', you know it's going to smell good enough to eat in the tin. This is a lovely, mild, sweet tobacco with a spicy edge, with that 'honey on toast' Mac Baren flavour very much present. I don't know how they are able to offer it so cheaply, but I doubt you could find an aromatic of this quality for such a low price, unless it's another of the Mac Baren line. 8/10 for the quality, 10/10 for the price.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Rich, dark and sweet. A cool smoke. Taste matches its pleasant room note. If, like me, you are relatively new to pipe smoking and you want to venture beyond aromatics to something slightly stronger with a more complex taste then I think Dark Twist is for you.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	radioisotope (17)	2011-01-09		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is pretty good stuff. Slightly aromatic but there there is still a great viginia smokey flavor. Cavendish adds a nice sweetness. Has a pretty nice room note too. I would give this 4 stars but it leaves my tongue raw.... Smoke with care.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Denevei (58)	2011-01-08		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dark Twist is a roll cake tobacco consisting of dark Virginia, golden Virginia, and a spiced cavendish. Thus there is an appeal for both the Virginia smoker and the aromatic smoker. The cake is cut into disks between the size of a dime and a quarter, and then tinned. A nice aroma pours from the tin when opened, but with a hint of the underlying Mac Baren ferment. The disks rub out fairly easily, but I found the tobacco easier to handle if I first quartered each disk with sharp scissors and then rubbed.

The flavor is nice from the initial light through the bowl. But I was bothered by something in the tobacco; my mouth became extremely dry as I smoked. Sometimes I find it necessary to drink water or tea with a pipe, but with this tobacco a liquid was essential (I have the same reaction with some perique blends). With my favorite tobaccos, a drink isn't a requisite. The cavendish added a dimension to the Virginias that was interesting, but I think that if I want spiciness I'll go for either 2015 (a McClelland perique blend) or Dark Star. And the real focus of this tobacco is on the Virginia rather than the cavendish, anyway.

The tins of this tobacco are huge (3.5 ounces) and the price is right. It's not as inexpensive as tobacco shop bulks but less expensive than, say, a top of the line McClelland. So it's a good value. Like any Virginia tobacco, this one will burn your tongue if you smoke it too quickly, but if you relax and enjoy the slow pleasure of the smoke, Dark Twist can have some nice rewards.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	WmZiggy (81)	2010-12-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have been on the MB "World Tour" for some months now and recently picked-up a tin of Dark Twist. What a pleasant smoke. I wasn't surprised, as I am finding on this journey that MB produces quality products and exciting blends. Tastes can vary, but in terms of quality, moisture content, price, and presentation (such as this Curly Cut) MB shows their years of experience and expertise with the leaf.

This is a nice slow smoke with a subtle sweetness of a lower note that's difficult to name. Perhaps brown sugar, but not that sweet. It is complex, never boring. Easy to pack, burns dry and clean and does not bite. This is a wonderful evening smoke with Scotch.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	grumpyoldprofessor (11)	2010-11-23		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I have tried and am still trying to get the hang of this one. It packs easily, stays lit and burns nicely. I just can't seem to get beyong just thinking it's ok. Smells wonderful in the tin, but tastes too bland for me. Not as much sweetness as I hoped there would be. I've smoked 3/4 of my tin and will keep on trying. I will say that it is at least worth a try.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-10-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is not my every day smoke, nor do I crave this, but every time I smoke this, I enjoy it and say "Why don't I smoke this more often?".

Somewhat sweet, somewhat mild Virginia flavor with a deeper note to the background and a little tickle of spiciness. That deeper note in the background is NOT the nutty maple syrup cavendish Mac Baren is known for. I'm not sure what it is. Its pretty good though.

If you showed up at my house with a tin of this, I would gladly smoke some with you.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Sweetbriar (14)	2010-10-23		Medium	Medium to Strong	Very Full	Tolerable

this is a great/fun blend. great smoke in the winter here in montana. dark twist gets a bite rap and its usually not bite, it's spicy hot. i like to add things to this blend as well. try a strip of dark star between a couple coins. yup, a really good blend that makes my temples sweat and glasses fog. am i really the only one?

1 person found this review helpful.

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	hockey01 (29)	2010-10-22		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

It's a wonderful thing to open a new tin of this blend; the aroma is divine, something on the fruity/spicey spectrum. Unfortunately, the wonderful aroma doesn't translate into wonderful taste, however, but you have to expect this of Virginia tobaccos, I guess, which can be on the grassy side. It's fun (and easy) to pack the pipe with the little swirls of tobacco; sort of a unique pipe filling experience. The room note is unusual and not really noticeable as you're smoking. It's almost as though you need to leave the room and, when you come back, you say, "Ah! There's the room note." And it's a pretty good one.

One of the reviewers below mentioned that this blend needs to be smoked slowly. Amen to that and it seemed to smoke easier after the first re-light than when it was first packed into the pipe.

I've had a 3.5 oz. tin of this sitting in my tobacco 'stash' for, oh, probably several years now and with proper re-hydration, it always makes a good come back without losing aroma or flavor. Obviously, this is not a blend I smoke every day but I do like a pipeful now and then and enjoy its fruity aroma.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	babysinister (55)	2010-08-04		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

DTRC is excellent tobacco. Muted and subtle but rich and flavorful nonetheless. The quality and sublime flavor and even the sidestream of this blend remain sedate yet persistent throughout the smoke. The tiny coin-shaped cake cuts burn at a desirably (for me) low level. But you're not supposed to puff just because it doesn't send out volumes of thick smoke; just let it come along in little slow sips. Nurse it and sip it and it will respond - do not attempt to resuscitate with brutal puffing to achieve an intensity that is not needed here. As with all other tobaccos, I do not puff away seeking a nic hit that is not there and, as in the MacBarens I've tried, is not supposed to be. When I smoke a bowl, afterwards it still retains in my sensory memory the subtle flavor and aroma that it delivered - in unspectacular yet indelible manner. This almost Proustian, lingering recall of its qualities may explain why those of us that love this blend experience the need to reach for a tin, without "knowing" why. And what an easy pleasure to fill and to keep lit. Let it air and dry out a good time. It smokes better on the dry side, like other MacBaren blends. But don't let it go all the way to bone dry. I experienced absolutely no bite with this tobacco. Remember to sip it slowly. Highly recommended.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-07-25		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Dark Twist is not a dark roll cake by all means.

It is rather light brown.

As much as the tin aroma was great, spicy and sweet, I had to seek some sort of taste and strength.

Too bad...

1 person found this review helpful.

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	doc'spipe (242)	2010-06-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I smoked this over 30 years ago and don't remember much of the experience. I have re-aquainted myself with Dark Twist Roll Cake only recently and am very happy I did. Beautifully prepared discs for smoking, and an ample quantity to boot. No overt tin aroma upon opening the tin (dated Jan. 2010), but on deep sniffing, there is the slightest essence of what reminded me of molasses. Loading was a breeze - I took several discs, folded them length-wise, and put them in my pipe like I do with my flakes. It took to the match very readily and remained lit throughout the bowl with only 2 re-lights. The moisture content seemed just right as there was absolutely no tongue bite, not did it ever smoke hot. There was a subtle taste of molasses/brown sugar throughout. There was the dominance of Virginia as I am used to with a Mac Baren's tobacco, but not as strong as with some of Mac's offerings The overall experience was quite enjoyable. The taste actually reminded me of treacle, or a brown sugar-like sweetness. There was no change in character with the smoke from first puff to last. No goopy dottle, either. Just a nice gray ash at the completion of the smoke. A mildly sweet, very pleasant tasting tobacco with just a hint of spice that would be suitable for an all-day smoke. No real tongue bite, but more of a palate irritation if smoked too fast. I would recommend sipping at this one as you will be rewarded with a unique sweetness in taste that is truly satisfying.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Twist Roll Cake and give it a solid recommended without reservation.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-05-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

How many stars I see! But anyone is reading these reviews who have smoked 30 years ago? This was a really good tobacco, with a nutty constant smoke, very smooth, with a mild sweetness of the Virginia tobacco. Today is definitely changed, all his old qualities are missing. Today there are blenders who are much better than Mac Baren!

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I received four pouches this Mac Baren blend with eigth years aged. A gift. Perfect, dark colors, sweety tastes, no bites and nice aroma. I like Mac Baren blends and this smokes well, pleasant, great flavor with hints of spice and sweetness.Great pipe tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-01-31		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I received a couple oz as a gift didnt think much of it at first. It's a very nice looking tobacco the coins are moist and pliable.I have smoked it by folding the coins and loading and drying a little bit to crumble and load, either way the flavor is great, hints of spice and sweetness that last the whole bowl if smoked gently. Having smoked primarily heavy english blends I am amazed that this has now become one of my favorite smokes. I find it smokes best in a large bowl.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-01-15		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Got an initial taste of something like caramel but with very light sweetness. Became close to boring by the end of the bowl. Smokes very well though.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mister Moo (12)	2009-11-23		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I agree with comment(s) below that this is a flat tasting product that can take non-seasoned pipers to the edge of tongue-bite and beyond. It's sole saving grace for me is the lovely presentation in the tin - practically perfect, small slices of beautifully packed flakes.

There is so much MacBaren product around! It's easy to find, the price is reasonable, the 100g tins are bulletproof, the packed appearance is flawless and I honestly WANT to like it but, for my palate, 95% of it falls short. Dark Twist was another try and it landed, again, in my MacBaren "also ran" category. It isn't bad - it's just nothing special. In a world of products that include MANY special blends, nothing special is not worth buying.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	pipe_organist (14)	2009-09-10		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I've returned to the Mac Baren blends after years of avoiding them because of some rather mixed memories of them from my pipe-smoking days as an undergrad at Oberlin. I was smoking Golden Extra and Scottish Mixture in those days, and probably owing to being inexperienced, and smoking cheap pipes, had problems with tongue bite and gurgling, wet smokes.

Having been bowled over by my experiences recently with Mixture Flake, I decided to venture into their roll cake blends. "Roll Cake" isn't available at the local B&M, but this blend is, so I bought a tin to give it a whirl.

Here we go: Dealing with handling and packing these little roll cakes is new to me, so there's a learning curve, but I'm getting the hang of it. Being a fan of fully rubbing out flakes, I've been trying the method of just squeezing the little birds eyes between thumb and forefinger then packing. I'm still experimenting with this.

As for taste, the initial light renders the flavor of a very high-grade cigarette. It's not objectionable, I just wasn't prepared for it. As I got into the bowl, the dark spiciness of the blend along with its sweetness from the cavendish became evident. It's a subtle but nevertheless complex flavor, sometimes on the sweet side, sometimes dark and rich like a strong espresso.

I don't know if it's an issue of packing, or the pipes I've tried this blend in, but it does smoke hot and wet if you're not careful. This is a blend that demands good packing and slow sipping.

I suspect I'll replenish this after it's gone, but so far I'm preferring Mixture Flake over this as MF is a bit more complex in its flavors. Regardless, this is a nice blend and so I do recommend it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-09-02		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

I'm going to have to try this with some drying and, perhaps, in a different pipe. Let me say that I do like this tobacco, but it's more of a love/hate relationship. The charring light and the first true light bit like crazy. It's done this now thru several bowls. But I have to say that the rest of the bowl is very pleasant, although somewhat neutral. I don't have the most refined palate, and I tend to smoke when doing other things, so perhaps I need to pay more attention. I just don't get the "sweetness" that others have mentioned, but then I rarely get that with Virginias. There's no urge to get rid of the rest of the tin, in fact I find myself turning to it more frequently than other, more familiar blends. Maybe I just have to keep trying it and come back and revise this review later.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-07-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Awesome. The discs have an outstanding fig / caramel aroma. Tastes good, burns well and delivers a nice aroma. One of the best pipe tobaccos ever made. You can fold two disks and plug into the bowl of your pipe or rub it and crumble it. It shall be savoured slowly, to get the full experience without overheating, as this blend has plenty of sugars that can convert into hot steam. Aroma in the room is great too, natural and not overpowering.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-07-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Virginias lead with a pronounced maple-syrup flavor, followed by a coffee-like background. The "coin" cut offers the advantage of the slow cool burn of flake with the easy packing of ready rubbed. The aroma and taste are sophisticated enough to smoke indoors at a fine bar or restaurant, and yet the coins burn cool enough to make it a good outdoor smoke- even in a wind.

This tobacco doesn't bite me at all.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Oldman (5)	2009-06-24		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I really haven't experienced any tongue bite at all. Don't know why others say it "bites". This is, to me anyway, a very nice tobacco, not harsh at all and a very very pleasant smoke. I really like it a lot. I am an very experienced pipe smoker (over 50 years now) and tend to not rush the experience. It also takes to putting it down and re-lighting later (DGT) very nicely.

Neil Bell

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-02-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

A great blend by MacBaren. I`ve been smoking it for almost 25 years and its still my favorite "all day" blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-30		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is my first go at the MB tobaccos available. I could tell by the looks and feel of it right out of the tin that this tobacco could bite like a pitbull if proper preparation and smoking technique were not excercised. I find that a thorough rub and and an hour or so of drying help. Also, I highly recomend the lightest of sipping, characteristic of VA smoking be used. This is definately one of the sweetest tobaccos I have smoked. Due to the sugar content alot of reward can be gained by the lightest of puffing combined with slow nasal exhaling. The sugars caramelize through a slow smoke and give many different degrees of sweetness and spice. I can totally see how many smokers that have aggressive puffing technique could find this tobacco harsh, wet, and searing. I too like blends that don't require so much attention but, the world of virginias adds so much one smoking experience that I just have to execute patience and discipline, so that I don't miss out. In smoke this blend so slow and light that I try to keep it almost on the verge of going out. Usually it dose but, its because of me...not the tobacco. The relight always blasts a cornucopia of sweet textures across my palate, so I'm never annoyed by a relight. Also, because of the high sugar content I find that smoking this blend in new pipes creates an excellent char. A tin last me a long time because of the much needed slow smoke. Highly recommended with medium strength coffee in the mid morning.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	orka (66)	2009-01-18		Very Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not my favourite Mac Baren, but I do smoke it on rare occasions (such as tonight). Someone mentioned molasses and citrus (va) below me, and I think that is a pretty good description of it. It does have a little "cotton candy" feel to it. Not at all unpleasant, but then again, not really remarkable either. There is a spicy element as well which adds a little more zest to the blend.

Airing and resting in the pipe before smoking is an absolute must with this one, and even then it has a tendency to burn hot. It can however be mastered with careful attention and technique, at which point it becomes quite delicious, but I find it a bit too tedious for it to be really worthwhile in the long run. Club Blend is a much better variation on the Mac Baren theme, if you ask me.

1 person found this review helpful.

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

This is a grand classic from Mac Baren.

Semi aromatic, dark Virginia/perique roll cake with deep, semi sweet and honeyed/toasty flavor, mild and tasty, overall excellent dark Virginia spun cake, also available in bulk.

Solid stuff, worth your time and your money!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jankoez (69)	2009-01-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This blend is one of the best Mac Baren's mixtures. It is easy to smoke, decent, although not light. So it is not for empty stomach. Even for beginners preparing cake for smoking would not be problem.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Duke (41)	2009-01-07		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I smoked this often twenty (20) years ago, and recently picked up a tin based on memories past. Currently I have been turning to Virginians (see Dunhill Lt. Flake Rev). I've re-discovered how much I like this blend. Yes it's sweet and light on nicotine, but as the smoke progresses nice caramel and tobacco notes develop. I smoked it in an old Sasieni Pot. The medallions nearly fit into the bowl whole, and mostly intact. This tobacco smokes best when given some elbowroom in the bowl. In fact, I have been enjoying my Virginians in Pots too. Check it out yourself. I tend to dry my tobacco prior to ignition, so you may want to find your preference. After the last tin emptied I've grabbed another. To call it an aromatic, for me, risks turning people away from sampling a really fine tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-07		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

If you like other MacBaren light Aromatics, you would most likely find this pleasurable as well. It didn't bite me like most other MacBarens have in the past. Burn and Packing were very easy, even when more moist than I prefer, and the smoke produced was ample (I'd prefer tobacs that produce more than only whisps of smoke). Flavor was sweet, with the obvious cased cavendish flavors mixed with a nice VA base. By obvious cased cavendish, I am referring to aromatic blends like Capt Black. This is a lot better than Capt Black, IMO, but the always present backdrop of flavor is that sweetened cavendish taste.

I gave it 3 stars with the stipulation that THIS is what you're looking for to smoke. If you're not after a VA+Cav sweetened blend, you won't like this one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Yeah, leather! That's it! This is one of my favourite blends for more than 20 years now, but I never could explain the taste. Yes, it reminds me to leather, to my horses!

I use to rub the cakes and almost "gravitiy fill" a bowl with a relatively large diameter. Puff slow and cool, and you'll get a very pleasant smoke without tongue bite. As most MB blends, it will bite you when smoked too hot and/or in the wrong pipe!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-23		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

After a pretty awful experience with one of MB's other "rollcake" tobaccos (Latakia Blend) I was wary of this one being equally tasteless. Luckily, this was not so.

What most everyone here says is true - it is mild, slightly sweet and has that typical MacBaren taste. It has a slightly spicy note as one gets down the bowl - kinda reminded me of a VERY light VAPER. I took the advice of others reviews on this site and dried it out considerably before smoking. This seemed to eliminate any of the dreaded tongue-bite so often attributed to this brand.

Not the most earth-shattering taste, but good when you are looking for something that won't offend others and doesn't require a lot of your attention Dark Twist is a good choice.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-10		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Well aged, quality Virginia seasoned deftly with cavendish and spun perfectly. Handled with even rookie Va technique, this one sings! Burns cool, dry and evenly all the way to the bottom of the bowl and develops some very tasty variations on the theme as it wends its way south.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Laudante (29)	2008-07-18		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I´ve tried about 5 Mac Barens, and finally found one that completely satisfied me. It didn´t burn my tongue at all, except a little bit in the beginning. The flavor is very good, and the casing very elegantly and discretely added. The presentation is very appealing and nicotine content perfect for a regular all-day smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-04-08		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Excellent stuff. I decided to try this based on the reviews I have read on this site and had pretty high hopes for it and it has definately lived up to those hopes. A very good looking tobacco that has a tangy taste with maybe a bit of molasses. It will bite if it is not dry enough but if it is then it is excellent. It has become my favorite tobacco for a while now.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeKing David (134)	2008-02-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another beautiful-looking MacBaren tobacco, Dark Twist Roll Cake seems to burn too hot for me. Once in a while, this blend does not seem volcanic. But more often than not, it's just too much trouble for what infrequent pleasure it delivers. Other MacBarens offer a better smoking experience for me.

UPDATE: As mentioned in a different review, I read where drying out MacBaren tobacco greatly improves the smoke. Well, I did that with Dark Twist and found a huge improvement. Drying this out lead to a richer, molasses-like quality combined with natural Virginia sweetness. And far less tongue bite, too! I really like this now. I revise my rating to 3 stars.

Govern Yourself Accordingly!

SmokeKing David

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipePaladin (78)	2008-02-20		Medium	Mild	Medium	Strong

Now we talk business!!! This is a serious tobacco and a luxury for your pipe! Good nicotine levels with rich taste and also not overwhelming! Very light toping in beautiful rolls similar to Dunhill navy rolls (but smaller)! A must try - must have tobacco for special moments! If you can purchase the economy pack buy two of them!!! One of the best blends I ever had..!!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-12-06		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I was pleasantly surprised by look of this tobacco. I love the quarter-sized rolls this comes in. The tobacco is fairly mild and has a great VA taste. It is a lot like their Navy Flake in taste, but is a bit stronger. I will enjoy this early Christmas present as a true surprise. On a slightly sour note be careful this one will bite if not smoked carefully.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-11-26		Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

After eight or nine bowls of this stuff I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that Dark Twist will work best for me as compost in the back yard. Despite its fabulous coin presentation, it scorches my mouth every time. I get a nice lemony Virginia flavour in there, but the perique or perique-like sting slows me down so much that the pipe constantly goes out while I recover. Not worth the effort in my books.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-11-15		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Yes, this is an excellent tobacco. I took the advise and let it dry out a little. If you like navy flake then this is well worth a try. Packed in small coins and with a rich taste. Enjoy...a real winner. This does have a tendency to nip, but if dry out a little it makes all the difference.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-10-29		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Well, I have to say that I really wanted to like this one. It's presentation is great, nice little discs of tobacco. The tin aroma is outstanding! The only problem comes with the smoking... I prefer to set fire to my tobacco, but this tobacco sets fire to my tongue! Prehaps it is my background as a cigarette smoker, maybe I'm just greedy and puff too hard or fast, but this stuff roasted my mouth good! Now if you are a light puffer, you might well enjoy this blend, as I said the aroma and presentation are great, but this one is just not for me...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cell biologist (21)	2007-09-09		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I think Dark Twist is improving with age.  Last time I tried it it smoked a bit wet, so I put some on a piece of paper on our firebox for 5 min until it got somewhat crumbly, as opposed to staying in a ball when rolled up.  This helps the tobacco stay lit, although slower smoking is required as with any dry tobacco where it is easy to overshoot the optimum burn rate.  The smoke was mellow and comforting, with a flavor that I couldn't put my finger on at first. It's fun to try to identify words that describe the sensations.  Finally, this morning, I realized what it was: oatmeal-raison cookies.  Hence the "comfort" factor.

This and MacB?s Navy Flake are my favorite of this kind of highly-processed Danish- style tobacco. The tin smell is marvelous, but the smoke from this style is often not as good as the tin aroma, and not as nice as the room note. This, however, is high quality tobacco. I can see that MacBaren puts a lot of effort into this one, and I enjoy it, although it doesn?t knock me out with flavor as do some other tobaccos.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2007-06-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm not too fond of Mac Baren, so when the local tobacconist handed me this I thought that at least one of my friends would be thankful of getting an almost full bag for free. How wrong I was.

This is an excellent Virginia with a remarkable Cavendish that always stays in the background. The first third of the bowl can be a pain to the tongue and the briar even when smoked carefully. Slow puffing is a MUST. This is probably the most hot burning blend I've tried, and that's why it doesn't get 4 stars. Even with breath smoking I have to put down the pipe a couple of times to let it cool and refresh my mouth, although it consistently burns down to dark grey ash with no dottle.

Recommended to VaPer fans.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-06-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I used to smoke a lot of DT before becoming acquainted to the many Vapers currently in my rotation. I was particularly intrigued by the spiciness of the perique. Unlike most of the Mac Baren blends with which I am familiar, this one doesn't scorch the tongue. Should I have an opportunity to smoke a bowlful, I won't pass it up. I just wouldn't spend my hard earned dollars as there are just too many really great Vapers available.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-03-17		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have been going through Mac Baren's various offerings slowly over the past three years. This is my absolute favorite so far. This tabak reminds me alot of the halfzware cigerretes I used to love so much(and were strongly addicted to). That's why I love this tobacco so much. I get a good bit of that flavour and don't have to inhale anymore to enjoy it. Very difficult to describe the actual flavour here, it's just a quintessintial Danish type taste. Good strength and body, very satisfying. Little sweet, little spicy, good base. This could be my Holy Grail of tabaks, although I would not recommend it to beginners. Experienced pipers who like this type of stuff I believe will enjoy it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AL (26)	2007-02-10		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

9/1/19 Update - What some aging does to this tobacco is amazing. Of all of my cellar'd tobacco that are mostly over ten years now, all of my MacBaren's has become more enjoyable, but Dark Twist by far makes the best improvement. My only regret is not stashing more than I did. Today I'd rate Dark Twist with some age at 4 star's.

2007 Review - Dark Twist is a change up blend for me. I smoke a bowl or two per week. I like it for a change from English and Virginias that I smoke a lot more of. I have both the tinned version and some of the bulk cellar'd. The tinned is a little damper than I like and so is the bulk, so some dry time is needed. To me Danish tobaccos have a signature and Dark Twist has whatever makes Danish Danish. The coins can be stuffed in with some rubbed out on top, fully rubbed, or lightly rubbed, for me I get almost the same smoke no matter what. Large bowls or medium sized bowls seem to make little difference. I always smoke this in the evening. For me, this stuff bites from lightup to about midway in the smoke. From midway to finish this blend is best for me but the effects of the bite tarnish the overall smoke. I have never thought what a great Virginia. Whatever goes into the Cavendish is a neutral element to me. And yet I do enjoy this occaisionally.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2006-11-06		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

03/05/2005 This is a good everyday smoke. Reminds me a bit of MacB's Navy Flake though more user-friendly. Three and one half stars. (out of four) Update 11/06/2006 No longer enjoy the flavor of this tobacco. Still one of the better MacB's offerings.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2006-11-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Dark Twist is somewhat eccentric in presentation inasmuch some slices have a dark heart of black cavendish and some do not. I filled a pipe with slices without the cavendish and was struck with the similarity of taste with Luxury Twist Flake. The cavendish spice takes it nearer the Plumcake spectrum rather than in the Mixture or Navy Flake direction. I can smoke it all day with pleasure. I have had no problems with tongue bite - but it is a Mac Baren product. It does generate moisture.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-11-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a sliced roll-cake tobacco. It is presented in the tin as dime sized "coins" of tobacco; you can see the different layers of tobacco types within the coins. It has a nice virginia smell to it, with some of the coins containing black cavendish in the center and others with different shades of virginia only. I like the way this tobacco loads in the pipe; just grab a few coins and bend them in half and stuff them into the pipe. You can light it like this, but I prefer to break up one coin and pack it lightly on top. Fire it up and you get full tobacco satisfaction! No artificial flavoring that I can detect. The room note is pleasant also. I only recently ventured into the tinned tobacco market, and this is my favorite so far....highly recommended.

1 person found this review helpful.

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

This is a tasty dark brown Virginia, with perhaps a touch of perique. This is by far my favorite of the Mac Baren roll cakes, being a darker Virginia than both their Club Blend and Roll Cake, and the black cavendish is less apparent.

The sample I had was well-aged and was great: smooth, somewhat sweet but rich and balanced. I've yet to try any right out of the tin.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-09-28		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

This tobacco is a real pleasure to the eye and the touch, you can break it as you please for your smoking needs. It doesn't result in long tobacco, though, due to the size of the roll cakes.

The tin aroma is very pleasant, just a tiny sweet, and the rolls are golden-medium brown with parts of black. But by the name Dark Twist, I was expecting a tobacco darker and stronger, but it's about the same as Club Blend or the original Roll Cake.

Being a blend of Cavendish and VAs, the taste fades after a week or so that the tin has been opened. It becomes plain flat. Too bad...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-09-24		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Strong

Dark Twist was my favorite pipe tobacco for many years, but I have developed preference for other tobaccos recently. In the past, Dark Twist produced a very sweet sensation on my tongue. Tobacco from my latest tin does not produce that experience for me. The tobacco is rather harsh on my tongue ? it always has been. I cannot smoke Dark Twist for long, day after day, without feeling as if my tongue has been abused with sandpaper. The blend?s aroma is unusual, I believe. Many people seem to find the aroma offensive, though I enjoy it. I still like to smoke Dark Twist occasionally for variety.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Satc001 (67)	2006-07-31		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This is a great blend. This has a very nice lightly sweet flavor. I do not find the tongue bite bad at all. One of the wonderful things about this blend in the Cavendish, it really provides a nice body to the tobacco and the smoke is absolutely delightful. I really like this blend as it is enjoyable anytime. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-07-04		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

One of the best of the Mac Baren family of tobaccos. These sliced coins of roll cake tobacco taste great for those who enjoy pure tobacco flavor. No flavorings are detected but that is not to say this tobacco lacks flavor. On the other hand, it is delicious. Smoke slowly or like most Mac Baren blends it will bite you. best smoked in a large bowl given plenty of time. Well worth trying.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OleFattGuy (27)	2006-05-23		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Interesting rolls - some with a bull's eye of black cavendish some without - , but sloppily strewn into the tin and jammed together causing some of them to fold double. Nice toasted smell of cinnamon buns or something like that out of the tin. Has a tendency to burn the tongue when smoked unrubbed, and a bit on the wet side to. I carry the little coins around in a metal can in my pocket so they dry out nicely in a day. Stuffing your pipe with sought out ones with a dark center is more rewarding, supplying a more varied experience. If you rub these coins out you get extremyly long and finecut strands of blond Virginia like a shag, and a couple of loose dark Cavendish pebbles. They tend to separate into two completely different types which can be hard to mix in one pipe, structurally. Overall a good smoke but go slow, or else.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-06		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

Update: This is interesting, but it takes something in terms of extraordinary patience puffing that is not my style. This just burns the dickens out of my tongue at worst and fatigues my palate at best.

5/3/2003 Packaging and Presentation:

DT comes in a "coin twist," printed tin and not the Pringles chips pop-top variety, with the paper label. Beautiful tan and black coins are cleanly sliced and firmly rolled. Shall I simply look at this blend or smoke it? Coins were neither overly moist or brittle. Tin aroma was like smelling Christmas pie and cookies (my wife noted a Fig Newton waft). Casing is obvious and Danish, promising a fairly strong, sweet experience.

Packing Qualities:

Coins rolled easily into cylinders, stacked in layers or easily crumbled, and packed nicely into a group four-size bent bulldog with a tapered bowl interior.

Lighting Properties:

Some effort was required initially and continued throughout first third of the smoke. No problems afterward.

Burn Aroma:

Pleasant and mild to start. Builds to rich, complex, round aroma with noticeable casing, imparting a sweet room note. Spiciness noticeable, too.

Flavor Notes:

Initial: Sweet, mild, but complex. Midway: Richness builds, but flavors are consistent, spicy, sweet and pleasant. Ending: A wonderful, toasted marshmallow flavor and aroma end this treat. Dark tobacco flavors.

Miscellaneous Smoking Sensations: Smoke volume: Moderate, soft smoke Moisture: Some gurgle, easily remedied Mouth feel: soft and round, but tongue-bite awaits aggressive or constant puffing Burn rate: Over one hour; A slow burn

Overall Impressions:

This is a masculine, aromatic blend, reminiscent of Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake, but fuller-flavored, richer, more complex and less moist. Much sweeter and spicier than Three Nuns. One wonders if maybe a touch of Perique provides some of the spiciness to the otherwise dark Virginias and Cavendish components?

DT is truly enjoyable when given undivided attention. I will keep this on-hand to smoke occasionally, especially on festive days when an aromatic blend calls. Aging is not likely to add much to this unique blend. DT makes me want to try Roll Cake, also from MacBaren.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-02-21		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dark Twist indeed. This has got to be the most wicked looking weed that is legal; bares some similarities to another type of plant. This one is fun to rub and look at in my canning jar. This is a decent smoke, but are better VA out there to be sure. All in all I keep it always on hand as my fun smoke and visual seduction effects it has on me. Everyone who likes to get in there and play with their tobacco must try Dark Twist at least once.

Overall, a round tasting, good sight seeing, good time.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-12-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have discovered that to gain an understanding & appreciation for the characteristic MacBaren taste & aroma, you really need only sample two blends, 'Dark Twist' & 'Mixture'. They are the comprehensive MacBs that reveal everything about this blending house. All the others I've tried are merely amped up or toned variations on a similar theme. Unlike C & D or McClelland, who can take the same 4 or 5 tobaccos & make them taste 20 different ways, MacB tends to be monochromatic & predictable. Yes, DT is very MacBaren: honey, heather, light, young, tender Virginias & occasional circles of black cavendish rolled into elegant little coins that easily rub out & pack nicely in the bowl. This is not very dark, but a bright & sunny blend of roll cake. It's my first experience with this type of cut and I like it. My tin was very dry & the burn was hot, but after a shpritz of distilled water & left overnight, it became tamer & yielded more aroma & taste. DT is a creamier, lighter, less fruity version of Mixture, with its own subtle complexity & charm. It's very good & I can understand its enduring presence in the world of tobacco. I truly appreciate 'distinguishedgentleman's' apt observation of DT: 'it has a "young" flavor'. If you're not a straight VA smoker, this might be a bit much for you. This is one I will enjoy occasionally along with the venerable Mixture. Besides that, I see no reason to try other MacBs.

Three and a half of five stars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-11-30		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A good all around Virginia. But this one, for me at least, really shines on the last 1/3 of the bowl. The cavendish comes out, and the natural raisin-ish flavoring of the Virginia increases and mixes with it. Smoke this one slowly, don't scorch it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-11-05		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco is a very pleasant surprise to me. I have tried several of Mac Baren?s offerings and I hadn?t previously found anything I particularly liked. Dark Twist Roll Cake is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I don?t typically smoke aromatics, though I do smoke Haddo?s Delight by GL Pease, Luxury Twist Flake by Stokkebye and Hartwell?s Evening Stroll, Dark Twist will add another to my line up.

Appearance: This blend has a beautiful presentation, being comprised of small ?coins? of twisted pressed cake. Though predominately red and golden Virginias, there are many ?coins? with darker centers containing spiced dark Cavendish. There is a significant amount of ?birdseye? in these disks as one might expect from the formation of twisted pressed cake.

Tin aroma: This is a very nice mixture of matured Virginias and spiced Cavendish. There are deep molasses tones a slight sour tang one expects in Virginias some slight spicy tones and a deeper fig-like aroma. There is a slightly nutty quality as well; I would expect a small amount of Burley in this mix, though no one has mentioned it. I detect a sweetness and I?m often tempted to take a small bit and chew it, it smells that good!

This tobacco is nearly perfect in moisture straight out of the tin. . I normally simply roll the disks up and insert them into the bowl; I then rub one or two ?coins? for the very top portion to facilitate a good light. Lighting is usually a one match affair, and generally stays lit throughout the entire bowl, unless I let the pipe go out. As expected, the initial flavor is very spicy and sweet though not overly so on either count. There are distinctly citrus notes of the Virginias and a deep harmonious flavor of well mannered Cavendish. The ?spice? quickly yields it?s dominance to a nice throaty Virginia/Cavendish medley which continues to build throughout the bowl.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and the flavors mix and match very nicely. While this blend is not very complex, it is however plenty interesting in character. There are subtle changes here and there as each component asserts dominance from time to time. The ?spice? is always ?just there? the Virginias and Cavendish engage in a friendly competition and a nuttiness I normally associate with Burley peeks through from time to time. While not particularly strong in nicotine, there is plenty of flavor and body to this mixture.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, the strength of this mixture has built to a fine mélange of flavors and fullness. Though many other reviews mentioned tongue-bite, I have not experienced any. This is a very well behaved tobacco of fine quality. Knowing that it is mainly Virginias is all the information I need to know how to smoke it. I tend to ?sip it? slowly and thereby enjoy the deepening flavors without any trouble with heat or sourness that can result from over-puffing a Virginia mixture.

The ONLY drawback is that something about this blend tends to plaster my pallet. I often reserve it for late in the evening; because I?m rarely able to ?cleanse my pallet? enough to really taste anything else. Sometimes I just load up a bowl of Dunhill Nightcap or Bill Bailey?s Balkan as I suspect I could taste either of them with my tongue removed.

This tobacco blend has earned a place in my everyday rotation, I?ll be smoking a lot of this.

Supplemental Notes: My personal recommendation is that several pipes be reserved for this mixture as the spice tends to ?color? the bowl rather rapidly and might not mix well with other mixtures. Rating for those interested in numbers *1/2

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (112)	2005-09-19		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

If youre an "english" smoker try something else.For the rest of us this is quite good!I smoke slower than some I guess but this blend smokes cool and dry for me.Of course when the flame is lighting the tobacco and the first bit of working it may be hotter but arent most blends if you huffing it?I find most MacBaren blends to be very good and true they dont bombard you with heavy this or that which is fine for me.Dark twist has a spicy edge and a mediun flavor that most non latikia addicts will enjoy.No head swimming nicotine levels just and all around pleasent medium boidied smoke ...... enjoy

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OlFacty (11)	2005-02-27		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

After cracking the seal on the tin I was immediately impressed with a beautiful arrangement of roll cake "coins" varying in color with random hints of black Cavendish.

The tobacco was just slightly damp, but dried out nicely within a few minutes (in the Colorado lack of humidity).

The aroma of the tobacco in the tin was Sweet Virginia with a slight molasses topping.

The cut of Dark Twist gives the smoker many options (leave the coins intact and folded or shred to shag). I choose to completely shred the coins into shag making it very easy to load. The bowl stayed lit and produced a wonderful amount of smoke

The emerging flavors of Dark Twist were sweet and spicy, with the topping not being too strong to overpower the wonderful tobacco flavors.

According to the previous reviews this blend has a wonderful room note, although I have not had any comments I can tell you that the room note should be very enjoyable for the smoker.

I would recommend this to all!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OSR (78)	2004-10-31		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is one of the few Mac Baren blends that doesn't make my tongue "toast". Most all of the MB blends bite!

The other plus of this tobacco is that it's got more weight/roundness than the other Mac Barens blends.

Still, I prefer the G&H flakes such as Rum Flake for this type of flavor - but this ain't bad.

Honorable mention amongst the Mac Baren blends. This one and Navy Flake are the two that I'd recommend for those who like the Mac Baren flavor but don't want to experience the most severe tongue bite.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-09-05		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

As non-Periqe Virginias go, I really like Dark Twist. It has a natural sweet & sour flavor that I find appealing, and it is plenty full for a Virginia. I think it has some nominal casing, but it doesn't interfere with the taste of the tobacco. I also really like tin aroma, and the cool hand-packaged diskettes are a pleasure to rub out. I think this is a quality tobaco that deserves a spot on my tobacco cabinet shelf.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-02-25		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dark and sweet tasting without the syrupy flavor. Rub it out a little and/or smoke it slowly because it has a tendecy to get hot. If smoked gently however it's quite a delightful smoke. I agree with most of the reviews here. This is probably the sweetest Virginia out there. It promotes a slight wetness but even that is delightfully sweet. I like a little juice here and there. It's a shot of nicotine . This I could smoke all day. Virginias are a nice departure from englishes when your pallet starts to tire from them and Dark Twist fits the bill easily. If you like Plumcake and never tried this blend your missing out on a very naturally sweet pleasant smoke thats satisfying.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-02-15		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is probably my favorite mac baren blend. It is a wonderful, unique blend. As its name suggests it is a dark tobacco and is dark in flavor. This is the most complex mac baren blend that I have tried. It reminds me of halloween or thanksgiving or maybe even Christmas. I think the flavors in the spiced cavendish have something to do with this. I usually only smoke this in the fall and winter time for some reason. It may have to do with the the spicey kind of pumpkinish flavors that come through on this. This blend can be kind of tricky as far as finding the best way to smoke it. For me smoking it very slowly in a medium to large pipe after it has been slightly rubbed out works best. I would give this the highest rating except that it is a seasonal blend for me. Very good and highly recomended.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-12-01		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is the best roll cake Mac B makes. It is dark and spicey just like the ad says. The taste is fragrant dark and sweet. A good in between tobacco for the flake and burley folks.Love the aroma!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-07-25		Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant

First off I like the fact that MacBaren's has decided to make this tobacco into a coin shape. It's easier to rub out than something like Navy Flake which I find I have to wash my hands off after rubbing out. Plus there's the added advantage that you can rub it out or leave the coins intact if you're smoking outside as I frequently do.

The flavour of dark twist is a kind of spicy molasses with a very Virginia base. I'm a big fan of the Virginias so this suits me just fine. The flavour starts off sweet and then becomes much more like a striaght Virginia with that spicyness of the dark cavendish balancing it out. The molasses is still there, but it's deinately relegated to the background for the majority of the pipe. The flavour becomes more and more rich as you reach the bottom of the bowl, but never becomes acrid. It's a great flavour journey from the top to the bottom of the bowl.

I find the tobacco is just a touch on the moist side so to avoid gurgles I like to leave the coins out for an hour or so, just enought to take away a bit of the moisture. Maybe because of this or maybe because of the virginia base I find the tobacco can burn fairly hot if you're not careful with your technique. Tongue bite is guaranteed if you like to puff like a maniac, but it's a well behaved tobacco if you can sip it like scotch.

The nicotine content is there, but it won't knock you out and the tobacco burns nicely to the bottom of the bowl leaving a nice grey ash. All and all a good tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-07-23		Mild	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

I've been working through a tin of this for about 2 months now.

As others have noted a very lovely roll tobacco. Looking at it, and separating the discs is some of the experience for me. While you pack, you get nice honey like whiffs...and this definitely gets better the longer Dark Twist has aged. I recommend a light packing...the rolls burn slowly enough without having to suffocate your pipe stem.

The taste is earthy sweet and only very occasionally tangy. The "special spices" provide just a bit of depth, but don't expect an existential experience. I find that I enjoy this tobacco most if I do concentrate on the smoke, but don't find the mysterious complexities of some of the full english or even "deeper" VA blends. The rich yet light taste (milk chocolate mousse comes to mind, without any really distinct chocolate flavoring) is like a fine dessert when you are in the mood for it. Mild tanginess at the end of the smoke.

The only flaw I can cite with this blend is that no matter how finely I rub it out, or how long I let the tobacco "air", it generally is a bit of a high maintenance bowl (frequent relights, and watch that bite towards the end). Though just an hour or two of sitting time seems to enhance the taste while retaining the slightly sugary moistness.

The end of the smoke usually leaves a toasty char in the pipe...easy to clean and very fresh.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-06-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I bought this one on a coin toss a few days ago. At first open the tin is very well done if quite moist, very nice golden and dark brown coins of tabacco. Presentation is excellent on this one. My first bowl of this was on the wet side in a bent Wessex, due to that I'm now smoking it in a Peterson system 314. The light is very easy now that the tins been open for a few days and the flavor is very mild at first but seems to be getting better as I smoke. WARNING! Go slowly down the bowl or you'll need a tongue transplant! This one taught me on the first bowl that patience is truly a virtue.. (My mouth was numb for a while after that one.) If you go slow this is a very sweet smoke, not cased to heavily or unnaturaly sweet from the cav. but good for what it is..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-06-12		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is my go to tobacco when you just want to sit down and have a relaxing smoke, I generally smoke this in a W.O. Larsen Cognac or a Bjarne Brandy. If you like the taste of Virginia Tobacco you will love this one

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-01-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very high-quality tobacco. You open the tin, and you're greeted with the smell of figs with the SLIGHTEST hint of molasses. This should be your first clue that this will be a sweet smoke. In fact, I've had ten bowls of this already, and it is hands-down the sweetest virginia I've had yet.

The roll cakes are VERY easily rubbed into nice ribbons, and smoke best in a small pipe. If you smoke this even a little too fast, though, you're going to have some serious gurgle. I still haven't gotten this blend to smoke dry yet, but I just may have some dried out beforehand next time.

It packs well, smokes sweet and nutty, almost with a chocolatey undertone. For me the flavor improves as I near the bottom of the bowl. (The flavors are certainly more intense, anyway.) This is one of my all-time favorite tobaccos.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-11-17		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This instantly became one of my favorites from the first bowl. It is naturally sweet with a little boost from an outside casing. Burns clean with a slight gurgle if smoked too fast. The cavendish comes out here and there throughout a bowl...but certainly does not take the spotlight away from the Virginias. This is a great tobacco for both aromatic lovers and Virginia lovers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-04-18		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Another winner by Mac Barren. This is a twist cake that comes in the tin is small disks. The first thing that I noticed when opening the tin was the strong smell of molasses. I generally notice this when the virginia has had time to age and bring out its surgars. Rubbing out the disks was easy, and yielded a ribbon type of cut. The disks can be put right into the bow as is for outdoor smoking. This mixture lights well and I immediately noticed the cavendish. Fortunately that gave way early to the VA. This is definately air-cured, as it leaves a slight dry feeling to the back of my throat. I am an inhaler, and I do not notice much nictine, but I am very resistant to nicotine. All in all I would recomend this to the longtime VA lover or to someone switching from cased/aromatic tobaccos. It does have a plesant room note, that I believe others will enjoy.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	b7q (54)	2022-11-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Ha ha, it's a classical symphonic work, the woodwinds and the brass and the strings are running in sync, each expressing the theme at the same time and the style of the work is very clear, whether you like it or not depends on how you focus on the work, it's very good, but I'm not going to repeat the same mixture all day.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: new

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeDragon (44)	2021-10-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Very nicely spun coins, easy to rub out. My particular pouch came pretty dry, so I cannot say how this one behaves wet. But, as it is, it's very easy to work with, so no issues mechanically.

As for the taste, I find it a very enjoyable, all day smoke. It has a nice interplay between the sweet Virginia and the earthy, woody Kentucky, rounded off by a mild and pleasant maple topping. There's also a bit of spiciness in the retro. Since the tobacco proportions varies from coin to coin, the taste is different with each bowl and during smoking, especially with regards to the maple topping. Sometimes it's just a hint, sometimes it's like sipping maple syrup. But that's the beauty of it, the fact that every bowl can be a surprise.

And so, Dark Twist is a very pleasant, very tasty all day smoke that I enjoy a lot and will most certainly purchase again. It's mild, sweet, earthy, dry, delicious and a delight. A Mac Baren classic and rightfully so.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cm1648 (108)	2021-08-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Prep: The coins come about perfect on moisture. I vary on fold n stuff v. rubbing out. Both work well.

Notes: Balanced well with bright/ red virginas and kentucky, this blend is a delight when sipped. The maple addition doesnt take away from the natural flavors but adds to the natural sweetness. 8/10

Similar Blends: Roll Cake, Stockton.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (79)	2021-03-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

I understand more and more why MacBaren made break in 50s and 60s in field of pipe tobaccos and became worldwide known brand. Fresh tobacco has nice aroma of maple syrup and sweetness very similar to Scottish Mixture. Main taste comes from cavendish: sweetness, vanilla, chocolate. Auxiliaries are mentioned maple and sweet VA. Taste is from medium to full all the time, no relights are needed. Leave only dot of moisture. Additionally, I like presentation of this tobacco. Nice 100g tin full of beautiful colorful coins.

Pipe Used: BPK, Stanislaw, cob

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rational Soul (2)	2021-03-16		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

My short review: This blend is entirely different depending on how you pack it. It could be spicier than necessary or mild and boring. Barnyard, hay, brown sugar, jalapeños, black pepper, white pepper, and dark seeded wheat bread are the notes here. It behaves terribly when rubbed out. This blend bites me worse than any I've ever encountered. I actually enjoyed my first bowl and had no problems, must have been the right proportions of the baccy. The other bowls I had have steered me away. My tongue took 2 weeks to get back to normal and I'm a pipe smoker of over a decade of experience. I literally had a chemical burn on the roof of my mouth. Its a damn shame, because it could be quite a tasty blend. Not for me.

Pipe Used: Chacom, Mastro Beraldi

Age When Smoked: 7 year old tin

Purchased From: Milan Tobbaconist

Similar Blends: Fourth Generation Peaty Kentucky.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Doctor Max (29)	2020-02-15		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Update: 4 stars it is. Once you get a hang of how to smoke this blend, it's an absolutely lovely Danish style tobacco.

Update: I think I found the key to this blend. If I carefully make sure I take six coins, two dark and four bright, and carefully rub them out, distributing the Cavendish well, I really get a nice, sweet, consistent and interesting smoke. I might have to update to four stars if I can manage this consistently.

I initially found this blend bland and uninteresting. This despite a wonderful tin aroma of malt loaf, fig, maple syrup and aged rum, and the beautiful coin cut. Then suddenly, after a few smokes, the flavour changed from a rather bland, low sweetness Virginia to an absolutely amazing sweet and sour orange citrus maple syrup Virginia, Kentucky and Cavendish, quite reminiscent of a good Perique albeit sweeter and less complex. I must have hit on a good chunk of the Cavendish/Kentucky that are present in about one third of the coins, according to the description. My tin does not mention any Kentucky, incidentally. The coins are medium size, larger than Three Nuns and smaller than De Luxe Navy Rolls or Davidoff Flake Medallions. It packs very well, either by taking a few coins (5 in a corn cob), folding and stuffing, or rubbing out. In my freshly opened tin, moisture level was way too high (as has often been the case with MB), giving off just hot steam and no flavour and being almost impossible to light and keeping lit. But after letting it dry out to a more reasonable level, it burns smooth, slow and cool. It does have somewhat of a tingle to the mouth. Nicotine level is quite low. I can see why many people smoke this as their everyday tobacco. All in all a pleasant but uneven smoke firmly in the Danish tradition. Personally, I am left wishing for more of the amazing flavour released by the Cavendish/Kentucky. Perhaps bumping up the Cavendish/Kentucky coins to half half or even more would have been more satisfying for me.

Pipe Used: Corn cob

Age When Smoked: 0-1 years

Purchased From: Expendeduria Número 3, Calp, Spain

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Navy Flake, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Erinmore Flake, Mac Baren - Amphora Full Aroma.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ted vig (11)	2020-02-02		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

A true classic. Sweet with notes of honey, molasses and brown sugar. It's got a robust but delicate flavor if sipped. Can bite if pushed so moderation is imperative. The rewards for being gentle are sublime. Nicotine levels are mild to medium. Can be smoked all day.

Pipe Used: Many different pipes.

Age When Smoked: From new to four years old

Purchased From: Multiple sources

Similar Blends: Mac baren Scottish, mac baren Symphony and others. While the dressing is the same, the tobacco used is different..

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RandoloBrandybuck (16)	2019-12-16		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant

Got it in a 50g pouch. The pouch note is that of a delicate, sweet Virginia and a little smokiness. Maple is not identifiable. Dryness is in fact so well in this pouch, it can be smoked right away.

I rubbed it out, packed and lit it with no effort. And the first puffs were so tasty! I thought, oh my, this is the one! The Cavendish is so nice here. Strong but not overpowering. Usually Cavendish tends to annoy me but not in this one. All the compounds are so well orchestrated, it's just great. It's sweet and lovely but also spicy and honest. How nice!

Recommended for every Pipe Smoker. From now on this is my benchmark for pipe tobaccos.

Pipe Used: MM filtered

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Tabakfachgeschäft Nancy Friedenthal Vienna

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MAddMAnn (17)	2019-11-15		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

So much variety in one tin. The fact that only one of every three has the Kentucky and cavendish means you can really tailor the bowl to your mood.

One major piece of advice for this go slow! The Virginia is easily over heated so the breath method is advised in my opinion.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GESJr (8)	2018-04-04		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I must admit I've been smoking Dark Twist for the better part of a decade but was unaware any added flavoring until reading the description here on TobaccoReviews. Mac Baren is (in)famous for adding sugar water to many of their blends for a small boost in sweetness, though it does come at the price of smoking a degree or two hotter than a comparable mixture from another blender, so I would have expected this, but maple syrup is definitely a new note for me to try & find! For me, Dark Twist is a fairly cool smoking and mild 'rope'. I have not enjoyed the ready rubbed version, but smoke the roll cake regularly - I even use it to break-in new pipes, though not as the absolute first 1/2 bowl (second or third usually). Dark Twist is a great introduction to 'rope' style tobaccos.

Though not a rope in the traditional sense, Dark Twist has many of the same characteristics without the resulting tsunami of body & flavor - traditional ropes are NOT for everyone in my experience. While a milder blend can be made in the rope-style, the extra aging process & steps usually mature the leaves to something stronger than expected. The rope tobacco process is outlined fairly well in the description for Dark Twist as small, rolled flakes are wrapped in an outer leaf post-pressing & braided with other smaller rolled flakes to create a rope. These braided ropes are then aged further before being cut into sections of either braided or unbraided rope for sale traditionally; leaving the rope braided or unbraided depends on the blend.

Dark Twist deviates from this method by being cut into flake medallions more akin to a lighter, 'Navy' blend, and the resulting taste is somewhere in between. Many smokers are not able to distinguish the difference, and in fact many smokers view Dark Twist as inferiorly constructed compared to other roll cakes because they only see it as a medallion cut blend. Once you know it was formerly a rope, the 'twist' shape (and name) make much more sense. I have often mused over how Dark Twist might look and taste differently if sold in braided rope form, and indeed I still hold out for the day Mac Baren sells it in it's aged form - unlikely it would be sold as unbraided sections of rope since two of the three braids are pure Virginia with the third being the dark-fired Kentucky; these varietals need each other for balance in both flavor and coolness in my opinion.

When looking for a cooler smoke (and when using Dark Twist to break-in a new pipe), I sometimes pick out two darker twists to each light one, essentially reversing Mac Baren's intended mixture. It does stay a bit cooler because of the Kentucky, but the flavor may be overpowering for some. I enjoy a good Latakia blend myself, so I see this as a plus until I come to the end of a tin and have only Virginia twists left - time for a new tin!

More specifically on flavor, the maple is almost non-existent to me. Though, as I think about it, I am inclined to believe the natural woody & sugary notes I taste in the bouquet are indeed enhanced by the flavoring, but not in an unnatural way - it's possible I've been enjoying this maple flavor without noticing it all this years, and I'm okay with that :) better than noticing an artificial casing of fake maple (yuck!). Overall, the smoky, woody, grassy/hay-like, and oaky notes are a welcome change to the sugary-vinegary 'ketchup' flavors from a McClelland aged Virginia. The Mac Baren is definitely sweet as well, but not in the same way as a McClelland, and it has considerably more body as well. Dark Twist does not have an overpowering nicotine hit, but it's definitely there - likely due to the rope aging and marrying of flavors in the tin. As long as you keep an eye on the heat from the sugar/maple syrup water, it's a fine smoking & fairly cool blend with natural & aged Virginia flavors. Tongue bite minimal with proper heat management. I consider Dark Twist more of a Virginia than an Aromatic blend personally.

All in all, you gotta like the way Mac Baren does things and know how to smoke their blends in order to enjoy Dark Twist over the long run, but you won't be disappointed if you put in the extra effort. As I mentioned earlier, Dark Twist is a perfect blend to wade into trying cut ropes as well since it's not as much of a plug as some thicker ropes, and not as heavy or overpowering either. A great midday or early evening smoke for me.

Pipe Used: Castellos, Dunhills, etc.

Age When Smoked: Fresh, bulk & tin

Purchased From: Briar Patch in Sacramento, CA

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CherchezLaghost (52)	2017-07-12		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Let me begin by stating that many Mac Baren blends do not quite agree with my body chemistry. I find that though i may enjoy the flavor, they often scorch my mouth, even at a sip, to the point where i cannot smoke them. This was particularly true of such offerings as luxury twist, and bullseye flake. A shame, really, because i liked both. With that being said, dark twist roll cake thankfully didnt cause me the same discomfort. While it could nip if puffed aggressively, if smoked cooly it is well behaved and flavorful. I love the cut and overall appearance of this blend. Called a curly cut, it is basically a rough, organic and variegated coin. Some large, avout the size of a 50 cent piece, and some as small as a dime. Also, the composition of each coin differs, with some being nearly uniform dark brown, and some with a dark fired and cavendish center. Beautiful to behold in the large tin. Tin note is splendid, plummy, sweet. To me, the name is deceiving. I was expecting more dark fired flavor. There is some, but mostly this is a sweet, zesty danish style virginia with strong natural maple and cavendish flavoring. It was quite on the mark for me in strength of flavor for a semi aromatic, and the maple is a true tasty maple. Low to medium in nic. Definite hay and grass throughout, with a very clean, fresh finish. Great room note. I've picked up several tins to cellar, as i dont smoke this type of blend often, but occasionally enjoy it greatly.

Pipe Used: Cobs, meerschaums, briar

Age When Smoked: New to 2 yrs

Purchased From: PipesandCigars.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Haddock (6)	2017-05-07		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Maybe of one the best Danish tobacco blends. Aromatic or not, there is some sweetness to this blend and its not a normal tobacco sweetness. Maybe sugar or maple i cant really find the right word for it.

Oh and you have to smoke this slow, otherwise its taste like nothing.

Pipe Used: Dagner Missouri Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Local shop.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ahmad Othman (51)	2017-04-14		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This blend is quite tricky. And it has a learning curve, which is a lot to say about a tobacco blend, so I will divide my review to two parts, one for the blend itself and the other for the mechanics part. As for the blend itself, it is excellent. Dark, ripe virginias are the star here, with burley supplementing them with nuttiness and richness. The taste is quite good, consistent and pleasurable. And though it is labelled as maple, I had more hints of molasses in it. And even tried maple and molasses to check once more, and it still strikes me as molasses rather than maple. The dark, rich taste is complemented with a good, nice aroma and makes it a good candidate for a morning smoke with a cup of coffee. Now to the tricky part, mechanically this blend is a bit challenging.. It is a roll cake, but it is a mess at that. not all coins have the same components, so there are two things you need to do. First, you need to identify the components of each. Mostly if a coin contains cavendish or not. The other is you need to try and balance the coins in the bowl to get the full flavour out of it, or to do a flavour profile you prefer. This was a daunting exercise and required nearly half a tin to do. But when I struck that balance I wanted, it was extremely rewarding. And this is why it lost a star in the review. But other than this, it is an excellent blend by Mac Baren

Pipe Used: Stanwell Deluxe Royal Danish Brandy billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin

Purchased From: Berlin B&M

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bud_Harold (24)	2017-01-12		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I can't begin to describe how much I enjoy this blend. Not overly sweet, nor greatly flavorful. And that's a good thing in my book. I like my tobaccos to be more natural than forced. Meaning I want to taste the different types within each blend and not some artificial topping or casing added by the manufacturer to "force" me to taste what they want me to taste. Dark Twist is about as natural as they come, in my opinion.

With each sip ( and I can't stress that word enough! SIP!) you get subtle Virginia sweetness...quality Virginias are used... and faint maple flavor. The dark fired kentucky sweeps in from time to time to bring its' usual nuttiness/ earthiness, and to announce that "yes, this blend has some complexity". Don't rush this stuff....it will sting. But no more than any other. If you take it slow...sip your way thru the bowl...you'll be rewarded. And you'll probably fall in love with Dark Twist, just as I have.

Pipe Used: Custombilt Pot

Age When Smoked: 1 yr

Purchased From: pipes and cigars.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Haccaero (3)	2016-10-06		Mild	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A Great all day tobacco For who, Like me, can't smoke strong often. It's really easy to smoke. It was a pleasant surprise for me and its aromatization is really light.

Pipe Used: Savinelli

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FP Stew (25)	2016-03-02		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Dark Twist is has some good points and a not so good point.

The Good: Great tin note, Great appearance in the tin, Very Nice maple flavoring that works well for mixing personal blends. Good Room Note.

The Not So Good: If smoked straight you will likely get a good case of tongue bite.

Pipe Used: Several

Age When Smoked: 2 years and 4 years aged tins

Purchased From: J. R. Feilding in Shoreview, MN

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	coldmoon (24)	2015-11-11		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	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, in my oppinion, the tastiest of them all. 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, dark fired kentucky and cavendish tobaccos. Mapple sugar has been added to the blend to sweeten up the taste. Upon opening the tin I'm greeted with toasty, rye bread-like aroma with some hay notes from Virginias. The coins look very neat. There are coins with just VA tobaccos, and then there are coins with VAs surrounding darker kernel made from dark fired Kentucky. Moisture level is a bit too high to smoke it right out of the tin, so I leave it out to dry for about 20 minutes or so.

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 DFK. Then after the mid-bowl it's mellowing out again. Manufacturer says that, for every pure VA coin, there is one coin with DFK center. So, I always try to pack it that way.

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 toasty, smoky spiciness. The extra topping adds to the natural sweetness from Virginias. 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 mild side. Not much nicotine in it.

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.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mville (9)	2014-12-08		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very tasty blend with a smooth spicy note to it. Its very rich in flavor yet mildly sweet as well. Over all a good quality smoke i enjoy a lot.

Pipe Used: MM Cob

Age When Smoked: New

Similar Blends: Orlik golden sliced, HH Old Dark Fired.

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