Mac Baren Golden Blend
(3.03)
Since Golden Blend was introduced back in 1952 it has gained many, many fans all over the world – rightly so. The special selected brown burley tobaccos, mixed with just a touch of golden Virginia, are carefully pressed and stored. The large slices are cut and partly rubbed up, which makes this blend easy to fill into your pipe. This slowly burning burley based blend is very satisfying and you will enjoy the slight note of chocolate – a note that all good burley tobacco produces naturally.
Notes: American pipe smokers will find this blend under the name of Golden Extra.
Details
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.03 / 4
|
Reviews
Please login to post a review.
Displaying 61 - 70 of 95 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 11, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Medium to Strong | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
In my country it is one of these cheap, drugstore and fuel station pipe tobaccos, which does not imply that it is bad. After all GOLDEN BLEND is on the market since 1952. I categorize this as a Danish Mixture, not as an Aromatic. Artificial flavouring is very obvious. It does not produce a specific obtrusive flavour, it’s just too much in total for my palate. I am generally scared away by (obvious) artificial flavourings and can always identify these chemicals immediately. On top of this, I find it often difficult to identify their intended aromas.
Here it might be some citrus or fruit, and occasionally I think I get some sparkles of honey or tonka bean, among several other flavours that I am not able to name. I can definitely not pick up any cocoa/chocolate as the overhead introduction states. And believe me, being a Swiss I could most certainly make out (good) chocolate aromas.
Besides the mentioned flavouring, Burley is the leading tobacco in this mixture, donating a pleasant tobacco flavour. I guess Virginia plays a technical role only. It might help to cool down and tame the Burley, but the typical aromas of Virginia just don’t make their way through. GOLDEN BLEND comes as a Ready Rubbed in acceptable moisture, burns well and provokes no tongue-burns. Over all it is a simplistic, mellow, everyday/anytime mixture that may please a lot of smokers, especially beginners. Not me, though. I prefer more natural tobaccos with less or no flavourings and toppings. Unfortunately this mixture did ghost my pipes used.
Here it might be some citrus or fruit, and occasionally I think I get some sparkles of honey or tonka bean, among several other flavours that I am not able to name. I can definitely not pick up any cocoa/chocolate as the overhead introduction states. And believe me, being a Swiss I could most certainly make out (good) chocolate aromas.
Besides the mentioned flavouring, Burley is the leading tobacco in this mixture, donating a pleasant tobacco flavour. I guess Virginia plays a technical role only. It might help to cool down and tame the Burley, but the typical aromas of Virginia just don’t make their way through. GOLDEN BLEND comes as a Ready Rubbed in acceptable moisture, burns well and provokes no tongue-burns. Over all it is a simplistic, mellow, everyday/anytime mixture that may please a lot of smokers, especially beginners. Not me, though. I prefer more natural tobaccos with less or no flavourings and toppings. Unfortunately this mixture did ghost my pipes used.
PurchasedFrom:
Local corner shop.
Age When Smoked:
New.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2015 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
I have been smoking Golden Blend- Golden extra for many years. Moisture level is perfect for me, packed and lit easily. There was no problem keeping this one lit. There is no typical honey casing as with many of Mac's offerings. What I detect is the very mild presence of chocolate, and bittersweet. Slow smoking reveals a mildly sweet tasting Burley.
Golden Extra (sold as Golden Blend in EU) is perfect in a small corn cob (pride, legend, filtered with white elephant or Denicotea 6mm filter). It provides simple, almost mono dimensional pleasure of Burley's mild but honest tobacco flavor, and is buttery and nutty with an occasional hint of sweetness. It's really the perfect all-day, anytime smoke.
Relights are minimal to non-existent, and I regularly smoke this to ash in one go. The flavor is deep enough to reward you for slow, attentive puffing, but it is mild (mild to medium) enough to smoke all day! Being a Burley based tobacco, I find that this burns substantially faster than Virginias or English-style blends.
My favourite blend from MacBaren line! Its a straight on burley flavor that is milder than most with the added chocolate/cocoa topping. It's a burley that anyone can smoke . The quality of leaf is excellent. The room note is indeed pleasant. An classic all day smoker!
As far as Burley blends go , it's top quality! An all day- everyday blend . 5 STARS !!!
Golden Extra (sold as Golden Blend in EU) is perfect in a small corn cob (pride, legend, filtered with white elephant or Denicotea 6mm filter). It provides simple, almost mono dimensional pleasure of Burley's mild but honest tobacco flavor, and is buttery and nutty with an occasional hint of sweetness. It's really the perfect all-day, anytime smoke.
Relights are minimal to non-existent, and I regularly smoke this to ash in one go. The flavor is deep enough to reward you for slow, attentive puffing, but it is mild (mild to medium) enough to smoke all day! Being a Burley based tobacco, I find that this burns substantially faster than Virginias or English-style blends.
My favourite blend from MacBaren line! Its a straight on burley flavor that is milder than most with the added chocolate/cocoa topping. It's a burley that anyone can smoke . The quality of leaf is excellent. The room note is indeed pleasant. An classic all day smoker!
As far as Burley blends go , it's top quality! An all day- everyday blend . 5 STARS !!!
Pipe Used:
missouri meerschaum corn cob/ pride, legend
PurchasedFrom:
https://www.pipe-shop.net
Age When Smoked:
fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 2014 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant |
I couldn't agrre more with the review of Steden. It's a good tobacco ready to smoke and gives you a pleasent smoke, an all day tobacco
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 06, 2011 | Mild | Very Mild | Medium to Full | Very Pleasant |
This was my first pipe tobacco, and what a nice introduction to pipe smoking it was... The tobacco comes in a coarsely ready-rubbed form, sometimes with a few intact flakes on top (I wish it came in a flake version!), which is very easy to pack and light. Tin aroma is very pleasant, a nice burley with fig, raisin, date, hazelnut, almond and cocoa notes with a slight sweetness. Flavour comes through from first light and is very true to tin aroma, with addition of a distinct biscuit note and a very pleasant, discrete sweetness. The flavour develops a cocoa-like bitterness and that Mac Baren maltiness as I go through the bowl. Room note is a pleasant, slightly sweet note of slightly burned biscuits, almost no hint of smokiness. This tobacco burns incredibly cool. Nicotine content is quite low. All in all a straight forward, excellent burley. Mac Baren really hit gold with this blend.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 24, 2009 | Mild | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Very similar to Harmony but a little less honey casing on it. Very decent puff.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 19, 2009 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
I fired up a lightly packed bowl of this in a big Aldo Velani and, since I read ALL of Pipestud's reviews on tobacco I want to try, I sat down in the workshop, ignored all the tasks that called my name, and puffed slowly...and was not disappointed! I'm not experienced enough yet to understand how many "dimensions" there are in a tobacco...if this one is "one-dimensional" or "multi-dimensional", I don't know..I just know it tasted like tobacco, had a little hint of sweetness, and was overall an enjoyable experience. I'm finding I really prefer the Virginia blends better, but this is a good smoke.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 10, 2009 | Mild | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
I'll make this review rather brief. Let me say that Pipe4ever's review is absolutely on the money. This is indeed one of the best burley blends on the market. The aroma in the pouch is outstanding. Chocolatey, nutty, and a slight hint of honey. Just superb. Practically no bite ( unusual for a Mac Baren blend ), easy to keep lit, consistent pouch after pouch, and the room note is enticing.
The only drawback so to speak is that it is very light and one dimensional. Albeit, it would make a fantastic after breakfast smoke. Very well done Mac Baren.
The only drawback so to speak is that it is very light and one dimensional. Albeit, it would make a fantastic after breakfast smoke. Very well done Mac Baren.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 08, 2009 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
EDIT MAR08/2009:
during the working week just ended , I have been in good company with Golden Blend and Mixture by McB. It's been a true pleasure indeed, far much more than I did expect!
They both will be in my regular rotation, and I'm starting to think to some mix between them and more...
*
It's quite hard it happens I go to OTC blends (and even less to aromatics). Two fellows I visit on occasion are from McB, one being Golden Blend, the other is Mixture. I'm glad I did with GB, maybe the only almost Burley blend available in Italy, considering that american B's blends of the like of Edgeworth have disappeared so many years ago... Tobacco was much dry inside the pouch, the cut similar to a flake roughly broken, with long pieces of flake. Smells approximately nothing but a very faintly sweet and natural tobacco, and so the smoke, which I have appreciated. Oooohhhhh, unlike several of the McB's, this is not burning you mouth! This is something to smoke without thinking at the pipe, nevertheless it delivers a honest smoke, of course the risk of boredom is just round the corner ... so, at half the pouch I have mixed it 50/50 with McConnell's Scottish Cake, and got a really all-day mixture. I'm giving GB two stars and half, the other half to get once I find a younger pouch with more flavour. Anyway, thank You GB !
during the working week just ended , I have been in good company with Golden Blend and Mixture by McB. It's been a true pleasure indeed, far much more than I did expect!
They both will be in my regular rotation, and I'm starting to think to some mix between them and more...
*
It's quite hard it happens I go to OTC blends (and even less to aromatics). Two fellows I visit on occasion are from McB, one being Golden Blend, the other is Mixture. I'm glad I did with GB, maybe the only almost Burley blend available in Italy, considering that american B's blends of the like of Edgeworth have disappeared so many years ago... Tobacco was much dry inside the pouch, the cut similar to a flake roughly broken, with long pieces of flake. Smells approximately nothing but a very faintly sweet and natural tobacco, and so the smoke, which I have appreciated. Oooohhhhh, unlike several of the McB's, this is not burning you mouth! This is something to smoke without thinking at the pipe, nevertheless it delivers a honest smoke, of course the risk of boredom is just round the corner ... so, at half the pouch I have mixed it 50/50 with McConnell's Scottish Cake, and got a really all-day mixture. I'm giving GB two stars and half, the other half to get once I find a younger pouch with more flavour. Anyway, thank You GB !
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 17, 2008 | Mild | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
I'm thinking that Golden Blend is now labeled Golden Extra under Mac's logo. I've tried to submit a review before but must have done something wrong. (Big surprise!) But what ever I might have said then I need to tell you now I'm starting to understand the term "all day smoke". It's a little difficult to deal with out of the tin but in bulk it performs GREAT. No need to rub it out any more than it is. You'll be tempted to rub it down because it seems a little to course to pack but go for it. In a medium to large bowl I use the simple 1/3-2/3-3/3 easy draw pack and often never have to tamp or re lite and taken slow and easy my pipe never gets hot to my hand nor the smoke to my mouth. True, it's not an exciting smoke or a "complex" smoke with flavors bouncing off of every corner of your tongue but it's my first comfortable "all day smoke". Not quite enough to make me turn my back on the rest of the cellar but close.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 12, 2008 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
(This review is for a tin of "Golden Extra" bought back in the summer of 2002. I rediscovered it last month in a tupperware container in a forgotten corner of the basement.)
This burley is better than I remembered. The topping/casing is not very strong and the quality of tobacco is very good. I have not had much trouble with bite, but I must concur with the other reviewers regarding heat. This stuff burns pretty hot. My old tin is anything but dry, but you have to be mighty careful. I can definitely see how this tobacco could blister a pipe.
Also, this tobacco is described as "ready rubbed". Well, maybe I am over-doing it, but I rub it out also. My additional work may be preventing bite, but it isn't preventing all that heat.
"Recommended" with caution: Go Slow.
This burley is better than I remembered. The topping/casing is not very strong and the quality of tobacco is very good. I have not had much trouble with bite, but I must concur with the other reviewers regarding heat. This stuff burns pretty hot. My old tin is anything but dry, but you have to be mighty careful. I can definitely see how this tobacco could blister a pipe.
Also, this tobacco is described as "ready rubbed". Well, maybe I am over-doing it, but I rub it out also. My additional work may be preventing bite, but it isn't preventing all that heat.
"Recommended" with caution: Go Slow.
target="_blank"
