Tobaccos Mac Baren - Navy Flake

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2013-01-27		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

One of the easiest flake blends to rub out without being dry, and one of the easiest burning flakes, too. Lots of fruit notes, and an occasional hit of hay, flowers and oats. The nutty, earthy, woody burleys have a small molasses hit. they are the lead components. The grassy, tart and tangy citrusy and lightly tangy dark fruit, earthy, woody, bready, floral, sugary, stewed fruity, mildly honeyish, Virginias and black Virginia cavendish compliment the topping of this blend. There's a light spice/cinnamon hit, too. MacBaren said only a tiny amount of rum is present, but I think it’s a little more intense than that. They also say no honey has been added, so that essence comes from the Virginias as I previously noted. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh, and barely has any rough spots. Burns at slightly less than a moderate pace, cool and clean with a mostly consistent sweet, lightly floral, spicy flavor from top to bottom. Requires a little more than an average number of relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

106 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2007-07-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

UPDATE: This is a classic, the more I smoke it, the more I like it. I find myself reaching for this over many other tobaccos, both for "daily" kind of smokes and for "treat" smokes. Just a lovely product. Unspectacular, but just damn good. Wife-friendly, tongue friendly, pipe-friendly... what a great product.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I agree with Skando's review, by and large. This is very pleasant stuff, and doing the folding the way they do on the Mac Baren website, you get a really nice smoke, and a long, satisfying one at that. Tin moisture is perfect.

If you can't abide Navy Flake, you should probably sell your pipes. Not that this blend is so incredibly fantastic, but it really is very solid and inoffensive in all ways. Good tasting, easy smoking. Possibly my desert island smoke, not because it is so special, but because it is so unpretentious.

Quality is always top notch with Mac B, and this stuff could teach some other flake manufacturers a thing or two. Beautifully presented, and just a real pleasure to smoke.

70 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-04-23		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A traditional navy flake that is cool, semi-sweet, and will go slowly down the bowl, even if fully rubbed out. Mac Baren hit a home run with this one for me. It is a bit too strong to enjoy all day and night, but as a quiet respite from a long day, you will find this tasty blend to be the ticket for a nice long evening of enjoyment. The overriding factor of the blend is that is has more Burley than Virginia in the taste. So, if you are not fond of Burley tobaccos, don't join the Navy! If you are, sign up right now!

41 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2014-01-18		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I picked up this blend to compare it to the SG version of this type of blend. To me, this is the weaker one as far as nicotine goes. The SG gives a far higher hit of Vitamin N than this one. This does give a nice hit of it, just not in the range of the SG. With that said, this is a fine blend that MB puts out. I think it may be their best blend, YMMV. The flakes are easy to stuff into the pipe and once lit, it says lit with no problems. It burns down to a fine ash at the bottom of the pipe. This blend does have a certain sweetness to it, which pulls everything together nicely. If you have a low tolerance to nicotine, this may be the one to give a try. Highly recommended.

40 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	oldcodger (74)	2014-12-30		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Navy in a blend name often signifies a distinct rum taste, but MacBaren Navy Flake has only the lightest kiss of rum. (Curiously. MacBaren Plum Cake could easily be called Rum Flake, as it has a dominant rum, not plum, flavor.) The flavor to the light aromatic Navy Flake is predominately the MacBaren standard maple sugar and water, which provides a taste akin to honey/molasses. Navy Flake also seems to have a little cinnamon added.

This is an aromatic, but it is a light aromatic, and even some pipe smokers who eschew aromatics may find Navy Flake palatable. The room note is not heavily aromatic, and it is quite pleasant.

The flakes themselves are the impeccable MacBaren production, clearly defined, but easily crumbled. Navy Flake may be smoked either by cramming the flakes down or rubbing them out. I tend to cram, and then rub out a topping to ensure an easy light. Navy Flake does light easier than many flakes.

The flakes are predominately burley, lightly sweetened by Virginia and the MacBaren cavendish, a cavendish that does not turn off as many smokers as do many cavendishes. There are some smokers who do not like burley, and they will not care for Navy Flake, as it is burley forward. But aside from these, the majority of pipesters will find Navy Flake quite pleasant.

Normally I smoke aromatics in my meerschaums and/or my cheaper pipes because of the ghosting issue. Navy Flake is not particularly prone to ghosting, so I often use my more expensive pipes when smoking it.

Navy Flake comes short of the WOW! factor for me, but It always gives me a rewarding smoke, and in a large bowled pipe a long lasting one.

I do not have bite issues with Navy Flake when using a leisurely puffing cadence. Be aware that a significant number of smokers have a body chemistry that creates bite problems for them with the MacBaren offerings.

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2014-04-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Mac Baren - Navy Flake.

This arrived with just the right amount of hydration, making it ready to smoke. I like to fully rub and to do so with this is easy. It's a breeze to get lit.

The smoke's mildly flavoured, so the tobacco's are supported by a sweet rummy addition, not smothered. The burn from it's good but if it's puffed with too much alacrity it can bite. The nicotine's mild enough to be inoffensive to beginners, yet it's not so weak as to be a complete let down for seasoned puffers. The room-note's quite pleasant.

Navy Flake? Four stars:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Mr Brog

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CriolloCorojo (18)	2013-08-27		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Well, I must point out that this is the first flake that I ever tried and was blown away after smoking it. The tin smell is so good that I just want to break some up, pack it between my gums and my lips and slowly chew it (I used to do that with this blend but it has been several months since I have).

Since first trying Navy flake, I have tried over a dozen other flakes from various companies. I keep finding myself coming back to this one. I smoked it so frequently, that I once purchased five tens at once when getting a discount on bulk tins was an option at a popular site (less than $10 U.S. per tin). That site now charges over $13 U.S. per tin. That is still better than the B&Ms in my state that charge anywhere from $17 to $27 a tin. It is the only flake that I have ever purchased in bulk, and will do so in the Mac Baren 16 Oz box again soon.

The flakes are easily rubbed out and not too moist out of the tin. However, I found out that just a little drying allows it to open up to more complex flavors in the proper bowl. Rarely does it ever need a second light if one tamps gently along the way. I have received numerous compliments on the aroma. While it is definitely on the milder side for a flake, it makes for a good one to enjoy by constantly, gently puffing and then expelling through the nostrils. Smoking it this way allows the smoker to take in the whole breadth of the flavors which include mildly sweet virginia, nutty burley, dried fruit and distant honey and rum flavors. The complexity of this fine flake must be savored by not over drawing on the tobacco while it is being sipped through the mouth and exhaled through ones snout. If you get it too hot, then it is not quite as enjoyable. However, if it does get a little hot, it never seems to bite the tongue.

I have turned on several friends to this blend - all of which have enjoyed it; most of which have gone on to purchase some for themselves. If you enjoy flake and want an all-day smoke, this one will not disappoint. The flavor builds towards the end of the bowl when the virginias and burleys have married in the heat to a true perfection of tobacco bliss. At this point, the honey is still there but it just brings out the natural flavor of the quality tobaccos that much more.

What takes this one over the top is the price. I don't believe there is a better dollar or dollar value in a tobacco product. Yes, there are some better blends/flakes out there. But there is nothing that I feel I get quite as high of a pleasure to cost ratio than Mac Baren Navy Flake.

18 people found this review helpful.

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

This is an amazing MB blend and probably my favorite VA blend so far. Outstandingly pressed Virginia/Burley and Cavendish make it a rewarding experience opening the tin. A delicious whaft of Honey and Rum invades the notrils. The flakes ae easy to brake ad rub and filling the pipe is not a problem at all. The room note is very pleasent and the taste throughout the bowl is rich and sweet. A keeper.

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2013-09-20		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I know that we are supposed to say that MacBaren tobaccos burn hot, but this was not my experience with Navy Flake. I do find the flakes too moist, and you can either leave a flake out or open the tin and wait a couple of weeks. This is a tasty mild VaBur on the burley side of things. It has a mild honey topping and a whiff of rum flavor. It is a good solid smoke, and I will buy it again.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-03-05		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I had to smoke this to compare it to SG Navy. Totally different tobaccos. Strangely, given Mac Baren's reputation (along with much eastern-European fare) for making aromatics, MB Navy seemed more natural in flavor than SG's version. It just tasted to me like a burley-virginia flake, with subtle grassy notes with the characteristic "nutty" burley flavor. Unfortunately for my tastes, as is common with burleys, this had a very dry mouthfeel (regardless of the humidity of the tobacco). I liked how easy it was to fold it and stuff it into pipes of the size I favor (3/4" to 13/17" in diameter). Unlike others, I found this did not really need drying out. Perhaps my tin was an anomaly. I would like to try other MB flakes in the future because of the ease with which they can be smoked. But this one's flavor left me a bit cold. Worth trying if you like grassy virginias and dry tasting burley.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-09-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Beautiful looking flake. Mine turned into a crumble cake at the slightest provocation so I simply rubbed it out and smoked it. The honey and rum tin aroma was overpowering and I wasn't expecting much from this one, particularly in light of my lack of success with many of the Mac Baren blends. But this one delivered. Compared to my Mac Baren reference (favorite blend) Symphony, this one was nowhere near as complex and nowhere near as naturally flavorful. But it was a very decent smoke, with the casing burning off almost at the match. It's something that could be smoked all day. But as mentioned, this one along with most Mac Baren blends will bite if you're not extremely careful. I liked this one; I doubt I'll buy more but it's definitely worth a try.

Little nuances in blends and smoking techniques that bring about varying results always interest me. I don't own any Peterson system pipes but perhaps I should! I liked this tobacco best when the smoke was directed at the roof of my mouth. I happened on this when the pipe I was smoking got too heavy for my jaw and I let it relax a bit. I tried the same thing with other tobaccos but so far none of them have shown as much variation in flavor with that than this one. Very interesting!

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipedrum22 (15)	2015-03-09		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend has been around since 1965 and I can definitely see why. For one, this flake is the easiest burning flake that I have ever had. The honey and rum topping beautifully compliment the virginias and burley and you do not need to be concerned with tongue bite with this blend. Unlike many flakes, this one can be smoked as an all day tobacco. If you have never tried a flake and are wanting a good starter point, this would be the flake to start out with. I have never smoked a Mac Baren flake that disappointed me and this one is no exception.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2002-09-07		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Unnoticeable

The striking thing about Navy Flake?a strange name to give a tobacco what's mostly burley?is the perfectly tooled, neatly sliced plug flake one finds inside the small rectangular tin that contains it. A tribute, surely, to Mac Baren's workmanship, if nothing else.

The smell is typical of the honeyed sweetening found in Dutch/Danish style aromatics, though nothing has been overdone. The flakes crumble easily into the broken-flake consistency of so many aromatic tobaccos. This composition burns cleanly and easily, without overheating, in my Peterson's Kildare dublin.

The taste is pure unadulterated burley. Quality burley, of course; smooth and mildly herbal; nothing sour or obnoxious. A refreshing, clean-palate taste: a treat, I should think, for the burley lover.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mephisto (32)	2005-04-22		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is a nice milder flake I like the fact that it is a flake and I use it for the windy outdoors thing. It should not take much breaking up and is afragile flake as is. Burns well and flavor is thicker if you dont break it up too much. Sweet without too much flavoring, a distinct molassas like aroma. This room note is tolerable to most non smokers and pleasent to some. It does burn a bit hot if you are not careful with the puffing and break the flake up, but is however nice especialy on cold days. I use it for cold outside days and use two flakes per medium size bolw. This way it lasts a while, is nice and warm and produces a sweet thick smoke. =Update= I have come to like this one more and more I like its packing and burning qualities as well as the nice smoke produced. It is not very complex but still pleasent. A good companion on walks outside. Does not dry out in the tin or come too moist in the first place. This is one of the blend that I keep in my regular stock. ( 2 or 3 extra tins of each of my favorites are always around )

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2016-08-16		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Popping open the tin reveals two stacks of neatly cut, mottled brown flakes at just the right moisture level for smoking. No dry time required. The flakes rub out easily, or you can fold and stuff them -- either way, you'll get an easygoing, remarkably effortless smoke for a flake tobacco. It lights easily and stays lit, which is something I can rarely say for flake that I fold and stuff.

I believe the burley leaf makes up the slight majority of the tobaccos in this flake. But it's a supporting player here, lending a smooth body and nutty essence to the smoke. The Virginias and the Cavendish offer a pleasingly creamy, sweet, characteristic Virginia flavor, complemented by a faint note of baking spices. I didn't taste any rum per se, but I did experience a liqueur-like tingle on the retrohale.

I found that I could produce clouds of lovely, sweet-smelling smoke even when I sipped the bowl. The tobacco didn't burn hot or sour unless I folded and stuffed too tightly. Packing too tightly or puffing too aggressively will dampen the flavors, but will not necessarily lead to tongue bite.

I really love this flake! It's so easy, so smooth, so sweet, and never boring. It's easily in my Top 5 flakes of all time, and I smoke a LOT of flake.

Four stars. I wish I had five to give.

Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum cobs

Age When Smoked: 1-2 years

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KahveDelisi (73)	2019-11-25		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren Navy Flake is the true definition of flake tobacco in my mind, and it always has been. It's also an excellent example of what I understand if I hear the word "Navy" when the topic of the conversation is tobacco. Alcohol (preferably rum), just enough amount of sweet casing with very few spices and perfectly sliced flakes laying inside the tin. Mac baren Navy flake has it all but nothing more. So, you may be disappointed if you are expecting an explosion of flavors from this famous old blend. However, you'll for sure get satisfactory smokes filled with spicy rum scented, bread & oatmeal taste enhanced with sweet raisins. It's the kind of blend, which you'll want to keep a tin around, always. I sure do, and it's one of very few MB blends I genuinely love.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fmjiii (18)	2014-10-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Upon opening the tin, the aroma is a cross between light rum, honey and even some plum wine. It’s a little sweet, but not too sweet.

Lighting it isn’t difficult either and once lit it tends to stay that way without any great amount of puffing or numerous re-lights. One of the easiest flake blends to rub out without being dry, and one of the easiest burning flakes.

My preferred packing method (take a flake or two, fold them horizontally and vertically, stuff them into the pipe and flatten the top a bit; finished!).

The Burley is certainly the predominant tobacco in this blend and you can taste a fine nutty flavor in it thanks to the Burley, but it’s certainly not overpowering. In fact I wouldn’t rate its taste and strength to be any more than on the mild side of medium. No real nicotine hit. If you enjoy flake and want an all-day smoke, this one will not disappoint.

The room note is very pleasant and the taste throughout the bowl is rich and sweet.

Pipe Used: Various briars

Age When Smoked: New, 2012 & 2009 on label

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeDawg (82)	2014-01-07		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Opening the tin I got a strong smell of sweet raisins. Delightful. The flake broke up easy and packed well in my Comoy large bowl. Lit well. No tongue bite. Warm, and taste of sweetness and liquour are steady and ever present. This was very interesting as the flavours began to come and go as you head to the bottom of the bowl. They rotated or popped in and out. I tasted honey one minute and not only tasted liquorice I smelled it as well. Then it vanishes and goes to something else.

Slow burning. Smokes better in small cool puffs, get it too hot and the flavours wash out and go flat on the tongue.

After my first bowl I quickly refilled. However after the second bowl I was hit with a good nicotine rush. This is a great flake and I highly recommend it. I plan on adding it to my steady rotation.

Pipe Used: Comoy selected straight grain

Purchased From: JR Cigars

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	John_B (35)	2018-10-27		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This tobacco was bought out of sheer curiosity as I have been smoking Marlin Flake of late and was keen to try another flake with a noticeable presence of Black Cavendish and the sweetness it brings, with a moderating effect on the tendency of Virginias to smoke hot. To be honest, there are some similarities here. The flakes are well cut and easy to rub out with a gorgeous aroma of honey and fruit and at perfect moisture. I am a little sad that in the UK we no longer get this and other Mac Baren offerings in a proper tin and wasted no time in moving it from the pouch into a screw top tin. I packed the second bowl a little looser than the first I smoked and I was rewarded with it lighting straight away with no need for repeated tamping. It burned very sedately for the type of tobacco and showed absolutely no tendency to bite or get hot in any way. The flavour was of natural tobacco with a good deal of very pleasant sweetness from the Virginia and Cavendish and it exuded an aroma of honey in the very fragrant room note and also in the taste. Strength is on the medium side and there is some nicotine towards the end of the bowl, but not an excessive amount. Flavour was nicely maintained all the way down with almost complete combustion to a fine powdery ash. The big surprise, and a pleasant one at that, was the amazingly good aftertaste and beard/moustache note. Whilst it is a good deal lighter than some smokes, I found it to offer a lot of honest enjoyment and it is very easy to smoke as an all day blend and one that I will be ordering again very soon. Just thinking about it makes me want to fill up and light, which is the greatest complement I can pay it. I want more !

Update....

Having smoked Navy Flake almost exclusively for a week, I found it to be my new absolute #1 favorite blend and was very sad to finish the pack. I tried to hold off ordering more so that I could smoke some other stuff in my modest cellar, but in the end I just couldn't resist placing an order for 3 more 50g pouches. This really IS a tobacco that I can't do without.

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: GQ Tobaccos

Similar Blends: Marlin Flake and Ogdens Gold Block.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	coldmoon (24)	2015-03-03		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

The first thing that you smell when opening a tin of NF is honey. Lots of it. Along with some fruity and rum notes. So if you don't particularly like the taste or smell of honey - beware. The flakes are very accurate shape. The tobacco in the flake is mostly light colored with some darker pieces. The tobacco seems to be dried out too much but that's deceptive. I think it has just the right amount of moisture so that you do not have to puff very hard to keep it lit and get tongue bite.

You can either fold the flake or rub it out. There will be some difference in the taste but not too much. When I go outside to smoke the pipe I usually fold the flake in the form of the letter Z and stuff it in the pipe. It smokes a bit cooler to prevent pipe burn out. When indoors I usually rub the flake out.

Lights and stays lit very easy. Very few relights needed. You need to sip this tobacco, because if smoking this too fast you definitely will get a tongue bite.

Primarily there is a taste of honey in the tobacco also grassy and lemony notes are present. Honey taste gets a bit weaker after you get past the third of the bowl. After two thirds of the bowl the nicotine level gets quite noticeable. I find this tobacco to be very tasty. Easily my favorite Mac Baren blend. It has a nice lasting aftertaste after the smoke.

The room note is noticeable but not unpleasant at all. I would go as far as to say that it is rather pleasant.

The tobacco smokes down to fine dry grey ash. I would recommend this to any pipe smoker as an all day smoke. I keep this in my rotation.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Bing's Favorite

Age When Smoked: 4 months

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2014-10-20		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This mixture is heavily flavored, with honey and many other ingredients. There is casing and there is top dressing. When you open the tin you can perceive the honey. You have to smoke it very slowly if you want a decent puff. Otherwise the taste (the flavoring in your mouth) is very bad. Overall it is a mediocre mixture, not bad but of poor quality. I don’t think I’ll buy it again. In my personal rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 5 and two stars.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hunter (54)	2009-08-26		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This one is in my regular rotation. The casing brings out the best of the VA's natural sweetness, and is an overall delightful smoke.

I tend to roll up the flake the long way and kinda stuff it in the bowl, which seems to burn pretty well all the way through.

The moisture content is not excessive, so it stays lit fairly easily.

This is a pleasing all day kind of smoke. Very enjoyable.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-12-07		Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Never having tried a flake cut tobacco before, I started with this one. Trying different methods of loading the pipe from rubbing to different consistencies to just stuffing it into the pipe whole, I have found the one that works best for me is to simply roll up the flake, bend it in half, and push it into the bowl and pack it lightly. This seems to work well in the pipe I have been smoking it in, a no-name meerschaum-lined bent briar. Flake may be a little confusing at first to those accustomed to loose-leaf tobaccos.

This tobacco definitely smells very nice upon opening the tin. It has a honey-like note to it and somewhat reminds me of the smell of the plug chewing tobaccos I tried years ago. The taste of the tobacco is definitely on the sweeter side. However, it does have a bit of a bite to it at first that slowly subsides over the first few minutes of being smoked. Be careful, though - it very easily leads to burning your tongue if you're not very careful.

It isn't really a bad tobacco, and the packaging allows one to carry a good supply without taking up much space, but it isn't really my favorite. I smoke this when I want something a little sweeter but still has an actual tobacco taste to it.

Update: After trying several other tinned tobaccos, I feel I need to move this down my list. I'm finding I'm liking it less now, and I still can't get over the tongue burn from it (when straight VA tobacco doesn't even do this to me). There's just something about it that I'm finding that I don't particularly like in the taste as well... it may be whatever flavoring that is used.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2020-09-27		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Summary: easy-burning Virginia flake with Cavendish and Virginia to sweeten it and build up the smoke.

Some kind of floral or coconut-smelling top note accompanies this blend, seemingly the "rum" used in navy flakes. With this triumph of blending, you mostly taste the Virginia, with the Burley giving it some warmth and breadth and the Cavendish sweetening it further. Combining Cavendish and white Burley at least seems to give any mixture a sweet but not cloying undertone, and with a little Virginia, amplifies that flavor. This seems to be working here, where one mostly tastes the white bread, honey, and citrus flavor (imagine toast with marmalade) of the bright Virginias. These soft flakes light easily and burn consistently for over an hour each, reducing to powder ash. At just a smidgen above medium strength, this blend would be the ideal daylong smoke for someone who just wants to fold, stuff, and forget it about while enjoying a few hours of slow, delicious smoke.

Similar Blends: Newminster - No. 400 Superior Navy Flake, Mac Baren - Capstan Original Navy Cut, Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Navy Flake, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Erinmore Flake.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rafe Hyatt (5)	2020-02-01		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

NOTE: This review is from 2005.

Hello from Music City USA everyone, and welcome to my first review here.

About 8 months into being a pipe smoker, I found myself getting weary of the usual shop-labeled Lane aromatics that well intentioned people guided me to as a newbie. Tobaccos that seemed rich and satisfying to me when I started out now seemed rather tasteless and bland. I knew what I liked (burley, Virginia, cavendish) and what I didn't (latakia, perique, Orientals). So, with the help of the Internet and a great many friends, I undertook to find some tobaccos of higher complexity and quality that would build upon the preferences and aversions I had developed. I discovered MacBaren tobaccos offered a plethora of tinned burley/VA/cavendish combinations and started sampling and comparing. While none of them sucked, Navy Flake definitely rose to the occasion in my search for a new daily standard.

For starters, and of major importance, Navy Flake is widely popular and readily available in most any worthy B&M or online retailer. The tobacco's presentation is very elegant and pleasing; nice, colorful flakes tinned face-up in a little gold foil envelope in an understated tin. The tin aroma is moderately sweet, but still 100% tobacco-ey, and my schnozz was unable to detect a casing of any kind. I pack the bowl looser than normal to avoid too many relights and/or too much puffing to keep lit. It lights up nicely on the first or second try, but be warned: THIS TOBACCO WILL BLISTER YOU if you do not take your time with it.

If I had to guess, I'd say Navy Flake is about 50% burley, 25% each VA and cavendish. This means that the very fine but typically unsophisticated, straight-ahead burley flavor is augmented by the 'oomph' of the added VA and complimented by the sweetness of the cavendish. This is perfect for me, as I simply love straight burleys, but not so much straight VAs or straight cavendish. This is 'burley with benefits' so to speak.....enough VA and cavendish for both to make a statement, but the burley definitely takes the lead here. Flavorful but not overpowering, it remains consistent from the top of the bowl to the bottom and leaves a dry, white-gray ash and little if any dottle. No goop left in the bowl, and no danger of leaving anything unpleasant in a pipe you may want to smoke something else in.

I smoke at least two 100g tins of this a month --- it is definitely my all day, everyday go-to tobacco, one that I've learned well enough that I use it to try out any new pipe acquisitions, and it's the tobacco that I reach for most often, when I'm in the mood for a relaxing, comfortable smoke with no surprises, just pure pleasure and contentment. Highly recommended!!!!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2018-08-09		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

The tin note is absolutely intoxicating. Notes of fig, plum, honey and a mild maple? scent seem to blend nicely together. nice uniform flakes lay side by side in the tin which seems heavy for its size. Perfect moisture content right after cracking the tin, but I prefer to smoke these on the dry side, to the point they break and not bend when flexed. The flakes rub out with ease, and pack very well in the pipe. I also prefer to pack this blend tighter than normal, that allow for less relights and I don't have to puff as hard as I try to avoid tongue bite.

Initial lighting goes without a hitch. Not much of the casing transfers to the smoke, but you do get the sweetness of the Va and Cavendish. Nicotine level is fairly low, but I wasn't expecting it to be anything but. Of all the MacBaren blends I have smoked, this one bites the least, but it still bites. Room note is very pleasant, the wife even commented that she enjoyed it. Leaves a cool, clean and refreshing mouth feel.

If you haven't tried this Navy Flake, you probably should!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Philo Beddoe (221)	2018-05-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

MacBaren Navy Flake looks perfect in the tin, with those nice wide slices, just perfect for a KKKK sized bowl. That’s kind of where my happiness ends with this tobacco, Navy Flake has no discernible Rum flavor as one might expect from a ‘Navy’ flake, though it does kind of taste like everything but rum. There is a nice grassy Virginia flavor, some Burley toast flavor, a little floral, a little fruit and I got a lot bored. This isn’t so much flavorless, as not flavorful enough in any one direction, I cannot say it’s a poor tobacco, it’s like a generic version of a Navy style flake, the flavor is there, it’s just so toned down and subdued as to be completely forgettable. Try Samuel Gawith’s Navy Flake instead.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ahmad Othman (51)	2017-02-24		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is my first blend dubbed "Navy" flake.. and from the history of tobacco, I imagined something rough and strong like the winds and waves braved by the navies when this kind of tobacco was made for the sailors. And the conservative, white & red tin art confirmed my speculation, and as I started opening the golden wrapper of Mac Baren, my surprise started. It is nothing as I imagined. The first thing that hit me was the beautiful, fruity aroma that welcomed me. Tropical, warm and gay. I tried to detect what aroma is that, but failed. Then the flakes themselves are of a lovely light brown colour with strands of gold as if it's a lazy sunset on the beach. In typical Mac Baren fashion, the flakes are hot pressed, which marries the flavours and makes the flakes as fragile as a little baby. They are easy to break and rub out. easy to pack and a bit tricky to light. But once you do, you're off to the races. The first draw confirms the aroma with a taste, a lovely taste that hit me with a childhood memory. And right then I recalled what aroma is that. It is licorice. And despite everyone saying it's fruit and rum. But I could detect neither, It is licorice all along. Lovely, consistent and easy to smoke all day. It burns down cool and well. And leaves a bit of white ash and some moisture in the bowl. I suspect that some drying time will remedy this, but I had no issue with it. Definitely an excellent VaBur with some sweet Cavendish. Highly recommended

Pipe Used: Stanwell Deluxe Royal Danish Brandy billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin

Purchased From: Berlin B&M

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2017-02-16		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A worthy classic.. whenever you don't know what to smoke: Navy Flake will do the trick! I have a few slices of this jarred in the car for when I'd forget to pack some backy when on tour. It matches any pipe and won't leave a ghost, worst case is it sweetens up your pipe a bit.

The smell from the tin is honey-sweet, citrusy with with gentle tobacc spice to it. Very mild somewhat rum-ish alcohol notes. Navy Flake's appearance is delightful. Golden with bright to dark brown colors dominate its appearance. Perfectly cut flake slices are stacked perfectly in the tin - classic Mac Baren Flake presenation, excellent and intriguing! Smokeable right away, but drying it a bit improves its tastes for me. Very flake-beginner friendly slices.

As soon as this flagship of Navy-Flake tradition is burning, or better sailing you get greeted by rich tobacco taste. Rich, nutty-molasses Burley with mild earthy tone to it. Paired with very lemony, citrusy and somewhat bready VAs. A decent toasted/fermented quality, which I guess is contributed by the Cavendish is ever present and very delightfully rounds the taste.

The "Rum" flavouring is rather unobtrusive and (to me) is only perceptible as a citrus-sour, spicy-sharp aroma. Not too boozy, rather smooth and mild. Good amount of honey-ish sweetness make this an easy, no-frills, but solid as rock All-Day smoke for any situation.

A blend I always keep some ounzes of at hand.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capn Jimbo (24)	2014-12-14		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

MacB's NF is one the most reviewed blends on TR with over 200 reviews, scores average 3.0, quite reasonable, yet with a roughly equal number of 2.0's and 4.0's evident, so there is evidently a fairly balanced difference of opinion.

Almost everyone comments favorably on the quality of the press and slides which must be seen to be appreciated. Likewise, most reviewers find that NF packs and burns very nicely with what seems to be the standard folding technique (once or twice lengthwise, then once or twice against the grain, roll it a bit, stuff loosely - to allow for expansion - then a bit of a top tamp and have at it). Most like the way it holds a light and burns rather slowly. All seem to agree that this is most assuredly a light, slow sipper (the steady burn helps with this).

All of these positives may account ffor Navy Flake's good 3.0 average review, but now to the con's. Navy Flakes are supposed be topped or lightly cased with rum. Although TR states the blend contains "Alcohol / Liquor, Cinnamon, Honey, Other / Misc, Rum", there just isn't much real rum apparent. Instead, most agree the leading impression is honey with any alcohols/rum not really noted. Strike one.

Although NF is said to be burley forward, with Virginia and what may be a bit of Virginia Cavendish, and despite those who praise its burley, what really seems to happen is that the combination cancels it out. Yes, there are some nice rich and toasty burley moments (particularly on relights) but it quickly retreats back into the blend. The Virginia makes its presence known primarily insofar as sipping technique which must be s-l-o-w, small and paced.

This is a bowl you want to draw out as long as you can. If you do, the alleged MacBaren burn is minimal; if you don't have a glass of coconut milk handy.

As for me when I first experimented with MacB's Navy Flake, it was a disaster tongue and palate-wise. I hadn't yet learned how to sloooow down and sip, a talent da'rum highly recommends. Later on and having learned to slow down, I simply loved this flake but again - this was in comparison to some very aromatic vanilla based cavendish - compared to these the NF featured what seemed to be rich tobaccos.

And again with more experience, that again has changed. I've personally come to appreciate well balanced blends that find what for me is my personal "sweet spot". Balanced enough that no single component dominates, but with enough differentiation that each component can be richly distinguishable. This is where NF now fails again for me.

It's not bad but the components - overlaid with the aforesaid honey - come together so completely that the components cancel one another out. Thus MacBaren's Navy Flake has returned to the level of a pleasant but not especially remarkable blend, not to mention the replacement of Navy rum with honey.

Such is life... add 1/2 point for a 2.5 or a tad more.

Pipe Used: MM cob

Age When Smoked: 5 months or a bit more

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2014-06-30		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really like this blend. I received a healthy portion of it in our PSF secret santa exchange. Probably a good 4 ounces. It is a lighter bodied VaBur with plenty of nuttiness and sweetness as is described by the contents listing. This could easily be an all day smoke.

I won't put this up to the four star range as there are other vaburs that are more along the line of mind blowing IMO such as Irish Flake, stonehaven or Dockworker. I think I would even put Mac Baren's own ODF and possibly BLB above this one, but it is good for what it is. I think the aforementioned blends have a bit more body than this and that is probably where my preference runs in this genre.

Purchased From: gift

Similar Blends: Erik Stokkebye's 4th Generation 1931 flake is pretty similar to my tastes..

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Joeray (61)	2014-01-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I wonder why mostly reviewer at here only gave 2 star rating to this good blend, according to my sef i will certainly give 4 star rating for this blend. First open the tin i can smell a good aroma of virginia and burley with a little bit hint from honey or rum. The flake sight is so good and beautiful, orange golden virginia mixed with dark brown untill black of burley, so soft so you can rub it easily. I dont found any trouble to pack it slightly into my pipe, the flake is good pressed and the moist is enought so when i rub it, the tobacco still in good shape. When i light it, i really enjoy the smell and taste of good va and burley, is so smooth and pleasant. Its not hard to keep the light, the tobacco's moist is very good so it burn well almost without gurgling. The smoke is great so i have almost 50 minutes joy with this blend at my LHS Purex straight apple pipe, Just a suggestion ; this blend is very good if enjoyed on straight pipe, i can directly taste the pleasant sweet and mellow of this tobacco.

Sure, i will buy it again and will keep some for aging.

Pipe Used: LHS Purex

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-05-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I just cannot find anthing to recommend this blend.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Corvus (36)	2016-02-26		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

After moving through Blockade Runner and Luxury Navy Flake I moved on to this mix in further investigation of the genre. The 11,000+ hit review on YouTube with the rousing score, nautical imagery, and the huge smoldering pipe sealed it- I had to have this. With anticipation I opened the tin, pulled back the gold foil and admired the look of the perfect flakes. Dark molasses and hay are the prominent tin notes.

I lit up and was rewarded with a bit of the molasses, but more so honey. Some tangy Virginia flavor shined through, but dulled by the obvious presence of a somewhat flat burley and the cavendish. Nirvana! About mid-bowl some spice notes arise, especially clove and cinnamon. Persistent sweetness throughout and some toasty grains. It smoked quite warm and I wised up to some drying and a lighter pack. The lighter honey notes diminish and the molasses ramps up and it started to get a little murky. The lingering aftertaste was quite welcome. Quite a tobacco on the first bowl.

I went through the first 1/4 of the tin (100 g) fairly quickly and also continued to allow it to dry. My enjoyment though started to diminish, both during the course of each bowl and over time. Now, I find this blend cloying and over processed. The base tobaccos are of quality, but it is pretty heavily cased. It has stayed tacky to the touch even while dried to the point where the flames are friable. As the bowl develop it gets wet and develops bitterness. The dark molasses has become unbearable, nearly to the point of nausea. I also feel a coating in my mouth, unlike anything else I have tried. In my greed I have way too many opens tins and pouches and have resolved to remedy that before exploring further. Unfortunately, this damned oversized tin has become a bit of a personal white whale.

I regret that my opinion has so soured on this. I really enjoyed it initially and had high expectations, but just don't care for it now very much. With almost everything else I've smoked I've usually gained appreciation or came to recognize other similar blends as superior, but with this it shrinks in my estimation. With that said it still gains a qualified but lowly recommendation due to the quality of the leaf and presentation as well as the initial impressions, but I surely won't be revisiting.

Finally, a personal quibble on the naming. This not a navy blend. Yes it is a Va flake, but there is no rum and it is adulterated with burley. I would suggest it is a VaBur aromatic. Approached as such maybe it would be more enjoyable.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	M.Smolensky (6)	2015-04-07		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

This is the first flake tobacco I have tried. I wanted to like it very much, due to the four star reviews. I have smoked about six bowlfuls. The flakes are easy to handle, and the tobacco looks well made. It folds nicely, burns well, and produces nice volumes of smoke. But, to me, the smoke is tasteless. It is mild to the extreme. This tobacco is bland and boring. I wish I could describe all the flavors in it, as others have. But, I taste nothing. I would like to say what it tastes like, but it doesn't taste like anything. It is just smoke. Recommend trying MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired Ready Rubbed.

Pipe Used: Al Pascia, Stanwell, Nording

Age When Smoked: 7 months

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lit a Kia (69)	2015-02-22		Very Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

Very light, golden-colored flake. Nose is honey and slight hint of rum over sunny Virginias (grass, hay).

On first light, all I can think is, "If Tinkerbell had body odor, it would probably smell like this." Very light/airy blend, bit of citrusy/grapefruity funk to it, but that's it. Not dark, complex, or brooding in the least.

Opened up nicely by mid bowl. I don't notice the burley at all, nor the cavendish, except for its role in carrying the flavorings, which it does adequately. It's a very well behaved tobacco that burns dry and clean.

Beyond Tinkerbell's armpits, it occurred to me throughout the smoke that this is not bad in a Darren McGavin (RIP) Christmas Story sense. It's not good. But it's not bad either. Give it a try.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	beaupipe (102)	2011-04-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'll join the chorus of those who find this a reliable, enjoyable smoke. It's not especially complicated, it's far from rare, and it's a long way from expensive. But there's really nothing exactly like it either. I've been smoking this pleasant, Burley-based tobacco for several years off and on, but in the last couple, it's become a go-to blend in the heat of summer. And there's a lot of that where I live.

Like all MacBaren flakes, this is beautifully presented — thin(ish) medium brown flakes with fairly low moisture content. Despite the MacBaren website's lessons on folding and stuffing flakes, I usually prefer to rub this out. I know that many seem to have problems with bite from this flake and I suppose I did in the past, too. But I now reserve the entire MacBaren line for filtered pipes, where they really seem to shine. I'd rather not deny myself access to this fine smoke because of bite issues, considering how easy it is to kick those issues to the curb.

Sipped slowly, Navy Flake yields some delightful flavors. Depending on the day and the pipe, I might find a little rum essence, a touch of chocolate, black tea with honey, autumn leaves. Whatever the flavor profile, it's always pleasant. Nicotine sits somewhere between light and medium, which is probably another reason I tend to smoke this most often on hot days.

I doubt Navy Flake will ever sit at the center of my pipe smoking bench, but it's nice to have it flitting about the edges ready to be called in while the stars are all being treated for hyperthermia.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2009-08-17		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I have come to the conclusion that either you like MacBaren's tobaccos or you do not. I happen to like their blends and don't find them to bite at all if properly packed and smoked. MacBaron's has three blends in my top ten and this one just might get added to my cellar as well. It has a very sweet pouch aroma somewhat like honey. It is very finely cut ribbon pressed flake with a dark brown color. I have now smoked it dry, somewhat dry, and right out of the bag I was sampled. It is very tender and must be folded with care if smoked that way or it is easily rubbed out. I prefer it folded and somewhat dry, but it changes in behavior and taste in the three different moisture levels. I have not had this aged but I bet it gets even better. It takes a few lights but then settles down in the pipe and stays lit well. I like it in a Kirsten pipe. Upon lighting up, it does have the graham cracker and rum taste that others have found but it burns off very fast and becomes a very sweet, full and creamy smoke. The VA sweetness comes through very well along with the cavendish. But the burley added to this blend really brings those to out and gives it a fullness that keeps one sipping and not puffing. The room note to me was very nice and was not heavy, but subtle. It burned all the way down to the bottom leaving a dark grey ash with a touch of dottle. No moisture or gunk was left in my pipe. I like this blend a lot and will be putting some on my next order to cellar and age to test again. I highly recommend this to all MacBaron lovers and as a crossover to VA blend flakes from burley.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (242)	2009-07-23		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

It has been a while since I last smoked Navy Flake (long ago when it was available in 50gm tins) and did not feel I would do it any justice by reviewing it from recollection alone. That being the case, I purchased a tin (100gm) and am smoking a bowl as I write this review.

Upon opening the tin, there was a beautiful sweetness emanating from within and very reminiscent of figs. The flakes were arranged in two rows along the long side of the tin and about 1 1/2 times the width of most flakes. They were fairly thin sliced and broke apart very readily upon taking them out from the tin. They were very fresh indeed. Loading was easy and the pre-light draw tasted of sweet honey. It took to the match very readily and provided for a long, satisfying smoke. It never burned too hot nor did it even hint of biting. The taste was sweet, spicy, and dry in nature. The initial tin note that I first detected (figs) and the pre-light draw taste of honey did translate to the smoke and was very delicious indeed.

Many of the Mac Baren's blends have been faulted for being too similar in taste. For me, the differences, albeit subtle at times, are most definitely there. It has taken me a long time to appreciate those differences. I thoroughly enjoy comparing them and I suppose that is one of the main reasons I've been a big fan of Mac Baren blends for nearly 35 years. Mac Baren's blends their offerings as a master composer would take a theme through many of its variations in a symphony. Interestingly enough, I give NF 4 stars but I like it better as an occasional smoke so as not to ruin a good thing! It also is great blended with Wessex Burley Slice 50/50.

Mac's Navy Flake is a good, dependable smoke that I can recommend without reservation. In the right pipe, this really sings!

UPDATE 1-27-13: Some reviewers have claimed rum to be present in this flake. I never have tasted such and according to Per George Jensen of Mac Barens there is no rum whatsoever in this flake...they should know best!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-26		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I bought my 1st tin of this at my local B&M today. A delightful smoke, well behaved & could see myself smoking it all day without tiring of it.

Guess its under rated since as others said its a divisive blend, So far I love the stuff & can see it making it to my top 5

For now 3.5 stars, might bump up to 4 stars after I've smoked the rest of this tin.

Update: 29 May 2009 Bumping this up to 4 stars & now has a home in my daily rotation, a well balanced good all day blend - the pipe tobacco version of comfort food, good - basic - old reliable friend in your pipe.

Bad Good = Excellent * Exceptional

Update: 27 February 2010

Haven't had this for a while & just opened a new tin, guess my taste have changed. Aroma is to synthetic for my current taste so dropping it to 3 stars, still think a excellent choice to start with flake tobaccos.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain Pete (83)	2006-10-23		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Update: Am bumping this up to four stars. With the right pipe, this stuff is every bit a quality smoke as anything else. It tastes just like it smells, and might end up replacing my treasured Orlik Golden Sliced if I can find it for as cheap.

I am surprised; a MacBaren tobacco that didn't set my tongue on fire. I just had to give MacBaren one more try. Their tins look so cool, and would be perfect for keeping nuts and screws in once empty.

Honestly, the flakes were very easy to seperate, and a nice brown color with lighter speckles intermixed. The aroma was very pleasant, smelling mainly of good virginia tobacco. I will say that I didn't dare rub it out one bit; I just folded up a flake and stuffed it in a smallish sized pipe. On first light I detected this tobacco's desire to bite, I could tell it really wanted to. But, after getting the char and having the pipe going good, it settled down to a managable tingle.

The taste was really good, but rather on the mild side. If you like a full flavored virginia, this probably won't do. But it does have nice flavor, and is worth the extra care you have to take to prevent tongue bite. As long as I took just tiny draws, I was able to enjoy the smoke with no bite. But be careful, as one good hard pull will produce a scorched tongue. But the quality of the tobacco is worth this extra care. So, as long as you don't smoke your pipe like you're trying to suck water through a brick, this is a good smoke. Not up to my level of taste expectations, but still good.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pkloop (53)	2005-03-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

For anyone who's bothered to read this far down, I'll add to the praise given to this tobacco. Mac has done a wonderful job with this winner. Upon opening the tin you are rewarded with an aroma reminding one of sweet oats,not too sweet..just perfect. The flakes are indeed, as Eulenburg noted, a tribute to Mac Barens workmanship. Perfectly stacked on top one another. Loading the pipe couldn't be any easier as this tobacco will lend itself to ANY method you wish to use. Lighting is not going to cause you any problems either, as this tobacco neeeds nothing more than a charing light, quick tamp, relight and your on your way. Even using bad packing techniques won't spoil anything here. This stuff loves staying lit. Taste is as described above, pure Burley with occasional VA notes popping up throughout the smoke. Smokes all the way down requiring few..if any..relights and absolutley NO BITTER BURLEY FINISH. All and all I rate this tobacco tops in all regards, flavor, appearence,burn quality and room note. I was not bitten by this tobacco but could see it happening..watch your puffing cadence here. If you get going to rapidly it can nip. I had this happen only by provoking it. This is a sure-fire wife pleaser here room note wise as well. I predict this tobacco will change some minds about Burley, as it isn't even remotely close to what one finds lavishing in the pouches of drugstores. If you know or are a Burley hater..give this a try or share with them. You will be impressed. This one will taking up alot of cellar space around here, I don't EVER want to not have this on hand. 03/12/05

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-01-22		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

There are so many very good tobaccos out there that this just doesn't make the cut for me. Why not? Because it is foul. I am not talented enough to truly distinguish the reasons, but I believe that it is the cavendish that I dislike.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jakob Kiilerich (120)	2004-06-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is gonna be a combo-review, since I am smoking a 20 year old tin right now, and just finished a new one last week. Oh boy is there a difference or what?!

Of course the ageing makes a remarkable difference, but I'm sure that Mac Baren have changed their recipe along the way..

New Tin This is a nice sweet honey-like burley flake. Gentle on the palate, ok nic-punch and will never get harsh. A very friendly Burley/VA/quite cased flake.

Old fantastic tin OMG! This is a supernatural enhancement of the above. Everything in this version is a 1000 times more present; the softness, the aroma, the casing. (which no longer tastes unnatural) Ok, the nic-level is of course the same. Ahh shucks this is hard to describe...

BUY AGED TOBACCO!!!

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2002-01-21		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Although a true and expertly manufactured and packaged flake, this one is burley based which is a change from my normal VA flakes. I also don't sense any rum topping that is common to many of the 'navy' flakes that I've tried. This blend is much milder that most VA 'navy flakes. It's probably my favorite MacBaren blend and I can smoke it all day without any bite. I don't rub it out but am still able to obtain an even pack and burn rate in various sized bowls. Perfect moisture content right from the tin that results if few relights. No overpowering casing but a uniform, sweet taste from start to finish. The aroma is liked by others so I often pick this blend when in company. Give it a try.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Thepipehunter (43)	2021-02-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren Navy Flake is an ideal daily VaBur that will please all smokers, new and experienced alike. The flakes are very symmetrical, light brown and a maybe a hair more wide then your average navy flake. The tin note is sweet hay with a touch of grass from the Virginia, and earthiness and molasses from the Burley. The top note is sweet and smells of honey with a hint of rum.

Upon lighting the Virginias are leading with notes of sweet hay, a little grass, and and some bright notes but not quite as bright as say OGS or LNF. Right behind the VAs is the Burley. It’s nutty with molasses and helps balance the blend very well. The Cavendish adds some sweetness and smooths out the blend and makes the flavor profile a bit more round. The top note is noticeable in every puff. It is sweet with notes of honey and a touch of rum. At about the 1/3 mark the Burley takes over in lead, however the Virginias are still present, just not as strong. About halfway through the bowl the top note fades a bit but never goes away. I have read other reviewers say they picked up a cinnamon note. I didn’t at first, but after looking for it I found that it was present from time to time.

Mac Baren Navy Flake is the coolest burning Navy Flake I have ever smoked. There was no bite, and it stayed cool throughly the duration of the smoke. The blend stayed lit very well and behaves great no matter if it is prepared with the fold&stuff method or rubbed out. A great flake for beginners to start with. Because if the high Burley content, this would make a good morning blend with a cup of coffee to wake up the palate. 3.25 out of 4 stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mando Piper (1)	2020-08-14		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Tolerable

First review folks so I will keep it simple. This blend is very nice and mellow.I am still developing my palate to pick the flavors of various blends,so I will not attempt to try and explain to you folks what is going on here. That being said,this is my first smoke of any type of Navy blend and is really,really good but again I have nothing to compare it to,so there you have it I may just stick with this as my only Navy simply because I don't know any better.If it's not broke don't try and fix it so to speak. Update 08/19/20 I keep trying this blend in one pipe after another and it just keeps getting better every time a must to try.!!

Pipe Used: Rattray's Victoria 16

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Local shop

Similar Blends: I have not a clue!!.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Voyaging (80)	2020-03-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Based on multiple tins. I deleted my original review in favor of writing a new one.

Opening a tin of Mac Baren flake tobacco is a real treat. They have an elegant presentation with the crisp, folded gold, embossed foil.

The smell is fresh, woody, grassy, jammy, slightly toasty. Maybe a little floral too. It's just a tad moist. You could dry it a little if it is your preference.

You can smoke this flake any way you choose and it will behave nicely, as long as your packing is fine and your cadence is not too aggressive. I prefer it rubbed out and dried a little, and packed gently.

The taste is pretty bright, fermented and tangy, deep, honey-covered flowers and grass, raisin, even prune or fig at times, lemon, bread, cinnamon, chocolate, a hint of molasses, graham cracker. Its flavor complexity lives in a range of tangy, floral, nectar flavors and just flirts with depth and spice. The flavors are mostly Virginia flavors, and you could even call it a Virginia flake. I say that because the character of the flavor profile is mostly Virginia. The smoke is never heavy. It's just like the cool side of a soft pillow.

This is a widely available classic that I do enjoy. It is unique. It's got complexity, it's consistent from batch-to-batch. If you like Mac Baren's style of blending, you'll enjoy this because this is the quintessence of Mac Baren, in my opinion. But, you can hate how friendly this blend is, and how agreeable it is, and the tongue-irritant flavorings they use in their regular line (the HH line is totally different, and more smokable).

This is a nice blend. It's not particularly flashy, but the flavors are wonderful, and it is reliable, and that is arguably extraordinary.

Age When Smoked: Various

Similar Blends: 1931 Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Obi (2)	2020-01-19		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Sweetish honey graham cracker. Marginal fruit notes which are dominated by a clove/cinnamon spice note. Easy burning, cool smoking, one light affair. There’s a bit of the MacB edge to this one, probably their honey topping/binder that hasn’t had time to fade out yet.

The rum is distantly present, but may be the source of the clove/cinnamon. They say it has a citrus topping, but I’m not getting much of a direct note that’s translating. Again, probably being sublimated into the sweetish spice topping notes that have an edge.

As I hit mid bowl it opens up a bit and the citrus sticks it’s head out, along with an amping up of the sweet spices.

I'd prefer Stokkebye's 1931 with a bit of age on it over this, hands down. That blend executes the profile here with much more grace and ease. To be fair, that also needs a 4 or 5 year nap to get there, but it is well worth the wait.

This, being a 2017 vintage, seems like it should be better than it actually is. I've never been much of one for cloves though, so maybe that's part of it. I also have a generalized issue with MacB regular production and that edge it has... it's mildly frustrating. Especially since I know they can make a flake (Cap, HH, etc) that doesn't have that edge.

Somewhat recommended, though I'd place a number of other burleys above this one, as well as Navy Flakes.

4.9/10

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2019-09-16		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren’s Navy Flake was a one-and-done blend for me. Though the toasted tobaccos are not really bad, down the bowl it tastes to me like a re-light with an old Zippo lighter. I suppose this owes to some combusted additive or other, and more than likely it’s the same additive that makes it smell rather like vanilla at the light and briefly thereafter. Again, the tobaccos aren’t bad; neither are they notably good, IMO, which generally means for me, why bother, especially in a hotly contested category like VA/Bur. Strength is mild. Tastes are toward medium from mild. Room note is nice. Aftertaste is faint lighter fluid over trailing VA/Bur tobacco. Can’t personally recommend it, so 1 star.

Pipe Used: brair

Age When Smoked: bulk from bag

Purchased From: Liberty Tobacco

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MisterBosworth (1)	2019-08-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I've been rotating a few different flakes as of late, mostly the PS Luxury series (Navy Flake, Bullseye, and occasionally Twist), as well as Peterson University, Samuel Gawith Full VA Flake, Escudo and Davidoff Flake Medallions. The VaPer blends specifically have been what I've gravitated towards but the PS Lux Navy has been my go to daily smoke.

I typically rub out my flakes, but I gave this bowl a fold and stuff for first try following the demonstration video of Jensen from Mac Baren on Smokingpipes.com. One flake was enough to fill my bowl, first in thirds and then in half, and I have to say, it was a perfect pack on the first go of it. I typically have a difficult time getting this method to work, but it was effortless with the size of these flakes.

Tin note is pleasantly sweet, ripe fruit. Berries, with a bit of raisin, bread and honey. I will put this right in line with the tin note of Peterson University which is heavy dark plum. So right off the bat I was in love with the tin note. My instinct with tobacco's like this is to take a flake from the tin and bite into it instead of smoking it.

The moisture level was great right from the tin, but possibly could have used 15-20 before packing. The smoke is mild to medium, full bodied creamy smoke, the sweetness from the VA present and harmonizes with the burley beautifully. No cigarette mouth that some burleys will give me. This is a cut above MB Golden Extra, and Virginia No. 1, but I can sense the MB style here. Tobacco forward sweetness.

This will be a solid go-to flake for me for some time.

Pipe Used: Peterson Harp 150

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake, Peterson University.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jamey S (9)	2018-03-08		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Nice is the word for it.

When I packed it, I didn't know it had added flavoring. Only when I looked at the description, I discovered that – and that tells a lot about the tobacco. Usually, added flavor is masking the natural flavor of tobacco, which I particularly like. It always feels to me like adding syrup to wine, because you do not like the taste of it. This is not the case with this tobacco.

In this tobacco, the flavoring simply compliments the tobacco; not masking it, not trying to make the smoker think they're in a vanilla company. Simply adding some flavors that work in the background, unnoticeable.

Burley is the dominant flavor here: grass, hay, a distant chocolate smell. But unlike a classic burley blend, this one won't kick, at all. It's also not a weak-tasting tobacco – it's balanced to perfection. I couldn't put my finger on what the added flavor was. Maybe some flowers, maybe a little mint, maybe some lemon. I was expecting a lot more rum from a navy flake, but I almost couldn’t feel it.

This is ones of the nicest tobaccos I've tried. It's not a hardcore one, not extremely interesting or complicated, but simply nice, well balanced, tasty tobacco. One need some clean old niceness once in a while.

Pipe Used: Peterson Shamrock

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-09-15		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Lots of positive reviews and the ages this blend continues to be producted motivated me to purchae a tin.once the tin cracks a florall and citrucy smell comes out.stuck your nose in and you detect some alcohol and spice notes.though a bit moist the flakes are very manageable either to rub or to fold into the bowl° i noticed that this flake behaves the same good.lights easy and some relights are needed.while smoking the tastes are pleasant and balanced.in my opinion the cavendish and the virginias are balanced between them leaving the burleys behind.floral assences,spices,grass,citruses and fruits are mixed really well giving a great taste mixture from the beginning till the end.rarelly some spices and alcohol notes are present.burns medium hot and slow to total ash with no tongue bite and moisture at the end of the bowl.the room note is pleasant.the nicotine level is medium .defenitelly an all day smoke and a must try!

Age When Smoked: Rubbed and packed at once, folded at once

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jacinto Cupboard (209)	2016-04-14		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A Virginia Burley Flake. The flakes are mostly mid browns with blonde highlights. The flake is neatly presented in the tin but loose to the touch and fairly dry.

Tin note is bread and molasses with that ubiquitous McB casing that is honey like or malty.

Burns fine and has a moderate sweetness throughout. In my book this is one of those 'almost' aromatics. A very simple, easy to use tobacco, that comes at a reasonable price. It would probably be a good flake for those wanting to start their journey into that genre. The wife upticked the aroma of this baccy, which is a rare event. Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for me.

Pipe Used: Lepeltier

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2014-11-26		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Let's get one thing straight here... This is a fantastic tobacco. Upon opening the tin, One can immediately smell honey, then virginia, then burley... The flakes are thin and perfect to be folded (thrice), put in a pipe and smoked. This baccy smokes like a charm... slooooooow, coooooool, steadyyyy... The taste is very nutty, with hints of dried fruits, and an ever so slight alcoholic taste. This will be in my rotation. Absolutely recommended.

Age When Smoked: New

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2007-06-08		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I?ve smoked Navy Mixture in the past. It is not a favorite of mine, but I do like it and whenever I find a tin I buy one. Just recently I found a tin of Navy Flake. It is indeed very similar to the mixture, but the flake version somehow gives it a richer, fuller, and sharper taste.

I guess the process of pressing the tobaccos helps to condense the natural sugars, oils and resins to the extent of making the flake version more palatable. The flake is beautifully presented, with a very nice aroma: sugary and warm. But the flavor isn?t that sweet. I guess the Virginias used in the flake are treated the same as Virginia Flake, but the added Burleys and Cavendish provide more richness and depth of flavor. I believe there might be a slight rum topping.

Unlike the mixture, Navy Flake has no tongue bite and it burns nicely. Someone has said this is a classic. I believe it is, even when the flavor is not that common or familiar as other flakes. Personally I enjoy Dunhill?s Light Flake, Stokkebye?s or Rattray?s Virginia flakes much more, but this one isn?t bad at all. A nice alternative to flake smoking. Recommended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-01-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I have tried several of Mac Baren?s offerings and I hadn?t previously found anything I particularly liked, aside from Dark Twist Roll Cake. I don?t typically smoke aromatics, though smoke Haddo?s Delight by GL Pease, Luxury Twist Flake by Stokkebye and Hartwell?s Evening Stroll. Certain SG and G&H Lakeland scented varieties score high points with me. Navy Flake seems topped or cased with some vague slightly artificial tasting honey flavoring used in many of their products with maybe a hint of whiskey. To me, a ?Navy Flake? should follow more along the lines of what a ?navy blend? should be, using Rum for flavoring.

Appearance: This blend has a beautiful presentation, being comprised of precisely sliced flakes of pressed cake. Though predominately red and golden Virginias, and Burley there are darker bands and bits that are nearly white.

Tin aroma: This is a mixture of matured Virginias, Burley and 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; rather quickly and slightly over-powering there is the artificial honey/whiskey topping/casing agent. Together, it is a fairly nice smelling combination, though not something that I'd say I have a strong preference for. The tin aroma also tells me to proceed with caution as with many other Mac Baren offering, this could be tongue bite in a tin.

This tobacco is nearly perfect in moisture straight out of the tin. I normally simply roll two flakes fold them over and insert them into the bowl, trimming off any excess. 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 tangy VA 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 Burley. The topping/casing agent quickly yields it?s dominance to a nice throaty Virginia/Burley duet which continues to build throughout the bowl the Cavendish seems only to 'fill in the gaps'. The topping/casing never completely leaves, adding a sweetness and a slightly generic and artificial taste to an otherwise natural presentation.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and 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 topping/casing is always ?just there? the Virginias and Burley engage in a friendly competition. While not particularly strong in nicotine, there is plenty of flavor and body to this mixture. The tobaccos used in this mixture are of obvious quality, why then MacBaren chose such an odd topping/casing agent is beyond me. This would have been mighty fine indeed were it topped/soaked in Rum.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, the strength of this mixture has built to a fine mélange of flavors and fullness. The pervasive sweetness and artificial taste is somewhat annoying, and the temptation toward tongue bite does not help. It has so much going for it, that what little I hold against it is probably not enough to bother most smokers. If there weren't many other tobaccos that I prefer greatly, I might smoke this on a regular basis.

Supplemental Notes: I would recommend this to seasoned Virginia smokers for a change of pace smoke. If you are looking for a true Navy Flake, look elsewhere, this isn't one. Rating for those interested in numbers **1/2

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	UncleGar (110)	2004-10-28		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

I like MacBarens. This is what I like to call a pseudo-aromatic, one of their sweeter blends. I have a hard time nailing down just what burley tases like (distinct from Va or cav) that is defining, but I do like all MB burleys, their specialty. A less sugary version of this is Burley London Blend, their finest, I think.

The tidy tin, efficiently and precisely filled and the embossed gold foil wrapper makes for my favorite of all packaging. Normally I overlook this kind of thing, but it's hard and unfair not to appreciate it.

I love the aroma: maybe burleys are what a beloved person from my childhood smoked. This is my benchmark of what a pipe should smell like. I probably inhale far too much of it, deeply sniffing as it drifts out of my mouth.

I like mild tobaccos. Nicotine tends to numb my tongue, leaving only harsh flavors and ammoniacal (pee) aftertastes. No problem here, despite a 3 out of 4 rating on the tin, and despite my nasal recycling. Bite is a function of technique for me; I like to smoke very slowly when I got a good one. MBs respond well to this. The moisture level of the tin allows me to do that without drying, a big plus.

A virginia blend analogous to this is Old Belt Ready Rubbed, another favorite of mine for many of the same reasons.

My only complaint with NF is a mild perique-type mouth reaction I get, otherwise it would be my standard sweet smoke. Oh, the hell with it... I'm refilling anyway.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2004-09-12		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Very Pleasant

WOW!!!! This blend completely made me change my perception of burley blends. Although I wasn't overly impressed with Barbary Coast and the drug store varieties are sad to say the least, I buckled under pressure from the fellows at the pipe shop and here I am. Burley is great! After two back to back tins this blend has entered a permanent spot on my top five list of Tobaccos that I cannot do without. This tobacco has the best casing I've tried so far; a honey taste that tastes as real as can be. It doesn't interrupt the tobacco taste at all. This tobacco spurred me to buy some other burley blends just to see if perhaps this one wasn't a fluke. So far I have tried Peterson's University flake, Burley London Blend, and pennington gap, and although they have indeed been fine tobaccos, this one is still the cream of the crop. This is the perfect choice in the Oklahoma summertime and if I was stuck on an island with high temperatures, this may very well be the tobacco I would pick for companionship. This tobacco comes out of the tin at a perfect humidity, and gave me absolutely no bite. I hate to be cliche, but it really is better in a corn cob. Go get some and be prepared for pipe nirvana!!!!! (P.S.- My wife loves the room note!!!)

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noorrmm (192)	2002-02-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Beautifully cut slices of Va. and Burley, with just a tad of topping. Rubs out easily, lights easily, and provides a delightful, soft, mouthfilling range of tastes. I can pick out the nutty Burley and the sweeter Va., neither drowned by the minimal casing. Smokes well outdoors if not completely rubbed out. An excellent go-to blend in the mild to medium range.

3 people found this review helpful.

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

This is a very tasty blend with typical Virginia grassy, hay-like flavors, light sweetness, there's a very light creamy-nuttiness in the background, some stewed fruit with a bit of rum, I notice the rum more in the beginning of the bowl though. Perfect moisture level to smoke right out of the tin. I prefer to cube-cut the flake into 3rds or 4ths and give it a light rub, but keeping the texture somewhat coarse. Packs and lights easily. I imagine this flake will age rather well. If you prefer non-aromatics, or very lightly flavored aromatics, you should give this tobac a go! I can smoke this all day, the tin was almost gone before I realized it! 4 stars!

Pipe Used: Comoys Bent

Age When Smoked: 3 months old

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2020-10-18		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Although only 3 1/2 years since this was tinned, most of the toppings have dissipated, leaving only a minimal slight fruit topping behind. The underlying tobaccos are ok to good and well-balanced, but nothing special. The flakes 'fold and stuff' easily, and I would think would rub out perhaps a bit too easily for those who prefer that method if they weren't careful. Smokes nicely, esp. for those who prefer their underlying tobaccos a bit on the bitter side.

Pipe Used: cobs and briars

Age When Smoked: 3.5 years

Purchased From: pipes & cigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipesmoker30 (4)	2020-10-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I decided to give this tobacco ago having read decent reviews on it. Now it's my turn I guess. When you open the packet you are greeted with a pleasant smell of raisins. It's got a decent feel to it ie not to moist nor to dry. Packs well, stays lit, an all day enjoyable smoke. This might just be me but it took me a couple of bowls to work out if I liked this tobacco. I wouldn't say I hated it because I didn't however I didn't get the wow factor. Now iv smoked it a few times it is an enjoyable smoke, I would buy it again and I would recommend it, all I would say is give it a few bowls first.

Pipe Used: Peterson emerald x220

Age When Smoked: 32

Purchased From: Harrison and simmonds.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RedGopnik (16)	2020-05-16		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Smells like you stuck your face in a jar of honey. The flavoring is brown sugar but the tobacco modifies it to a honey taste in my opinion.

This is one of my favorite navy type flakes. The Cavendish and flavoring bring sweetness to a high, more than most navy flakes, so if you want a sweet NF, give this a try. This smoke bites, but I haven't had a Maclaren blend that didn't bite aside from amphora blends.

Flakes are large. One flake will fill a large sized bowl. With most of my pipes, I have to use about 3/4 of a flake and pack well to fit it all comfortably.

Room note, most say it smells like cigarettes. Thank the burley gods for that one

Pipe Used: Cobs, briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh and jarred

Purchased From: Online

Similar Blends: Peter stokkebye luxury navy flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Legion (27)	2020-01-08		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

When I switched from my 40-a-day cigarette habit to a pipe, once adjusted I made a point of choosing mild blends [because I inhale] with no more than a mild nic-hit.

MB Navy Flake is medium strength with a nic-hit that's mild to medium. So why did I buy a pound after smoking a tin? Because it is really tasty. I'm a bit surprised to read other reviewers experiencing tongue bite. I'm quite sensitive to tongue bite myself but have not been bitten by this flake. Maybe because I jarred the flake for a year before loading a bowl?

My tolerance for nicotine is now so low, that I've jarred the pound & keep it for an occasional treat or those times when I'm in the mood for something stronger than my normal fare. [This is NOT a strong blend nor is it loaded with Vit N. So please don't get that impression]

If MB Navy Flake was a bit milder & had a touch less nicotine, this would be an everyday smoke for me because it is so darned tasty.

Despite it not fitting my exact preferences, it's easily a four star blend. A must try for every pipe smoker, even if you're a lightweight like myself, lol. Highly recommended.

Purchased From: TobaccoPipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BatmanPipes (10)	2020-01-07		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Why: If you like Navy Rolls and something not as fruity as Sunset Breeze you will like these Navy mostly Burley flakes. Smooth and a little fruity but not leaning too much Virginia. Get the pocket-sized 50g tin and the flakes are almost still in a block packed tight within the foils. Pressed burley tobaccos with fruity Virginias and Cavendish.

Looks: Beautiful inside. Nice box. Perfect pocket size. The tobacco is darker flake but don't let the darkness deceive you. It is a light to medium strength with a good dose of nicotine.

Using: Flakes are easy to manipulate. Recommend for rubbing out into a ball in your hand for a taste that peaks more. Leave whole for a deeper richer draw. Easy to dry if you want. It will burn fairly fast and somewhat quickly but you don't constantly puff on this one. Easy to put aside and take now and again.

Result: It's a cut above most over the counter packet tobaccos from the same company. Reserved for a tin box and while you reach deeper in your pickets by a little more you have something a bit better quality that will last. So expect nicotine doses every so often and set aside while you wait again for it. Mild taste but a heavy dose. Tastes is smokey but slightly fruity. Not quite full-bodied but that's fine. Taste memories of Peterson's Sunset Breeze but lighter fruits and more Burley,

Conclusion: Not as fruity as sunset breeze, then this canned Navy Flake not only looks great but may help remind you of the good old times. The craftmanship of the block in flakes is second to none. Very nicely pressed and neat.

Pipe Used: Peterson Dracula 68

Similar Blends: Peterson Sunset Breeze

Pipe Used: Peterson Dracula 68

Similar Blends: Peterson - Sunset Breeze.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipeclubsi (17)	2019-11-04		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I keep returning to this tobacco as it gives me a full taste satisfaction. A Danish style aromatic with burley, virginia and black cavendish makes a good, rich smoke, burns slowly and is packed with sweet honey aroma with a hint of floral, rum and fruity notes. I accompanied it with dark rum enriched green tea to a perfect enjoyment.

Pipe Used: Adsorba 210

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Pipe shop Dreier, Graz/Gradec Austria

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2019-07-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

When I opened my first tin of Navy Flake, I was both impressed and disappointed. I was impressed by the perfectly shaped, uniform flakes but disappointed by their smell. It was very faint and weak, almost like there was no smell at all. Nevertheless I packed a bowl.. and didn't really like it. It was way too mild and I didn't get any of the flavour so many people had told me about.

I was trying out 9mm Meerschaum filters at the time, which turned out to be a huge mistake. They take away way too much flavour, compared to the ones with active charcoal. So I changed the filter, and immediately fell in love with Navy Flake.

The subtle sweetness, combined with a hint of spice and a lovely, fragrant aroma, which reminds me of floral essences and dark, sweet molasses are just absolutely wonderful. I also get a tiny hint of citrus peel.

After the first bowl, I knew why it was/is such a classic tobacco and it very quickly became my absolute favourite. The moisture right out of the tin is pretty much perfect and whether you fold and stuff, or rub it out, it takes a light easily and requires little to no relights. It might bite you, if you're not careful, but if you let it dry out a few minutes and learn how to properly pack it, you'll be fine. Just sit back, relax and enjoy this wonderful flake.

It's definitely my "lonely island tobacco" and I hope I'll be able to enjoy it for many years to come. 10/10 (or 4/4 stars) for me. Highly recommended, even for beginners who want to get into flakes. Navy Flake is easy to get, uncomplicated and very tasty!

Pipe Used: Briars and Cobs

Age When Smoked: new

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Erwandy (6)	2019-01-27		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I just have to pitch in my ratings here for this exceedingly decent tabac.

My search for regular all day smoke has ended. Now this Mac Baren Navy Flake is one of the two tabac that I smoke regularly every day. The other one being Peterson Wild Atlantic.

Before this, I have tried Straight Virginia (Capstan Blue Navy Flake) and I have also tried Solani 656 Aged Burley Flake - hoping either one of them becoming my stable daily tabac, alas my pesky tongue could't really agree with both of them. The Capstan Blue gave me erratic sour after taste which I attribute to the "citrusy" sweetness of full Virginia. Solani on the other hand, my tongue find it difficult to savor the depth of the famed Burley taste (yes my palette is not as refined as how I wished it is).

However, this Mac Baren Navy Flake - I had them all rubbed good and aired substantially, then bottled them all in a glass jar, this tabac offers the tobacco feel that I longed. You see, I was a chain cigarette smoker for 24 years, my last cigarettes being of Mac Baren Maxi Roll (Original & Coffee). I totally stopped cigarettes by the turn of 2019, and I needed a substitute for daily smoking. I get satisfying sweetness of the combined Burley and Virginia from this flake, very natural tasting sweetness - not like the ones you get from the Aromatics. Most importantly, I love that there's no sour aftertaste that my ever sensitive tongue could detect. The nicotine was just about right for regular puffing, similar to The Mac Baren Maxi Roll (considered as mild cigarette tobacco) and Lookout Vanilla Shag.

So as it is, I am writing this from the perspective of a non aficionado point of view, just a normal pipe smoker enjoying his tabac.

Yes, I would highly recommend this Navy Flake, it is what a refined mild/moderate tobacco should taste like.....IMO

Pipe Used: GrandMaster Mini Lovat 17mm

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Kamelah Tobacco House

Similar Blends: Solani - 656: Aged Burley Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Briar Piper (89)	2018-12-02		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I have had a long journey through every rum flavored tobacco that I could get my hands on, in the search for the ultimate navy flake. Now that the cat is out of the bag on MacBite being MacChemical, since German law requires all tobacco products, to list their full ingredients list, including mg per kg, I won't be smoking any more of their products. I received a collection of product notes thicker than a phone book from a friend in Germany, and a good 10% was just on MacBaren.

The topping is rum extract and honey flavoring with a laboratory behind it. There are no fruit elements to it, neither in its chemical composition, nor in its taste, albeit it has some extracts of either roots or lab beakers in it also. Tastes like sweetened oatmeal or graham crackers, with the burley up front, the virginia taking a second lead. Nicotine is medium. Room note is pleasantly fragrant for the first quarter of the bowl, then gets stronger with each puff until the room note becomes fairly unbearable for a non smoker. For what it is, I will give it two stars.

Pipe Used: Cobs and meers.

Purchased From: Various retailers.

Similar Blends: Orlik golden sliced, rich dark honeydew by gawith and hoggarth, solani 633..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ernstlbert Hegersbacher (18)	2018-11-25		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

a burley based flake with a very nutty, from times to times almost deliciously bitter taste. during the bowl i also get some sour notes besides the nutty ones, but not in a negative way. definitively not an all day smoke for me, but on some days i really crave this one.

regarding the advertised flavors i only get some rum and plum taste upon lighting the pipe and during the first quarter of the bowl, after that its all burley

definately recommendable if you got the taste for it

Update: i dont know why exactly, but when rubbing out the flakes i get a way better taste than when using the folding technique

Update: Tastes and smokes best when cut into cubes

Update: Wow the older it gets the better it tastes! Score upped to 4 from 3 stars

Update: despite being well ages this tobacco still bites like a rabid dog from time to time, i dont really know the circumstances that cause it, it seems to be a mac baren problem for me personally. its a pity because i really like the taste of this tobacco - down 1 star

Update: I'm glad i found a substitute for this tobacco that doesnt give me the tongue bite - Petersons University Flake

Update: From the german food and agricultural ministry - a little comparison Mac Baren Navy Flake: - invert sugar - ethanol - 1,2-propylene glycol - sorbit - cane sugar - flavours - propyl-4-hydroxybenzoate - benzyl benzoate

Peterson University flake: - sugar syrup - flavor

===> Mac Chemical!

Pipe Used: Chacom Maya Billard

Age When Smoked: fresh from tin

Purchased From: Schwarzenbohler Otmar e.U.

Similar Blends: Peterson - University Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokingHawk (54)	2018-05-21		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I couldn't agree more with Philo down there the flakes look very neat and perfectly thin slices and tin aroma is more toward citrusy fruity and a very faint hint of rum upon hard sniffing. Unlike GH flakes it folds and pack the bowl without any mess burns easily but taste is on the lighter side you get occasional burst of fruitiness and sweetness of Virginia but burns quickly before you get the hang of it.

Pipe Used: Good Briar pipe

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Germany

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Artyom (12)	2018-04-21		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Good for an outside smoking. The first time I tried it on a walk in the woods. In combination with coniferous odor it gives incredibly rich notes of flowering field and rum. P.S. When the half of the bowl is gone, leave the pipe to cool down for 10-15 mins and relight it again. Enjoy the spiciness and lightness of this tobacco.

Age When Smoked: 4 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lazarus77 (91)	2017-11-23		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Superior all day smoke, easy to pack, lit, few relights. No tongue bite at all even if you are puffing like freight train. Honey toping is dominating, rum hiding somewhere in background. Overall very nice flake, highly recommending to everybody.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: 6 month

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2017-10-13		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Totally amazing blend! How did this fly under my radar for so long?!! It should be noted that I've only smoked this in cobs. I find that burley blends always taste best in a cob versus briar. This is like C&D Briar Fox with 10 times the strength, flavor, and complexity. I've always been a fan of BF, with the one complaint that it stand out a little more. If you're not a fan of burley, you probably won't like NF. As with all burley blends, it's best when sipped. If you get to chugging you'll probably overheat your pipe, sour the smoke, and burn the hell out of your tongue. I gave this no dry time. Out of a fresh tin, I z-folded a couple flakes and stuffed them in a larger cob pipe, topped it off with some smaller pieces, then gave it a series of 3 pre-lights. From there, it took off and burned the entire bowl without relight. Perfect sipping blend! One large bowl lasted nearly an hour and a half using this method. I haven't been this excited about a blend since first trying Irish Flake.

Pipe Used: Various MM cobs

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin undated

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J. Ward (70)	2017-07-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a very tasty flake. Delightfully easy to rub out and pack, Mac Baren Navy Flake is light, sweet hay and grass at first light. The initial flavors are quickly followed by a light taste of honey that compliments flavors of oats, some nuttiness from the burleys. The virginias and burleys harmonize throughout with the aforementioned honey sweetness, all smoothed out by a bit of cavendish which also adds its own slight touch of sugar. The fruit and floral essences are more like afterthoughts than statements in this blend, and as the bowl progresses you'll notice a little cinnamon tingle as well. And no bite. This is Mac Baren at its finest.

Pipe Used: Cobs and briars

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_dalai_lama_himself (43)	2017-07-09		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Rum is tastefully applied and easily discernible beneath the Virginia and burley which bounce in and out of the lead, I'd say theFruity and sweet from the Virginia stars , with some of the toasty tobacco taste from the burley and some elements from the cavendish tying the experience together in a good performance for cavendish. Smokes cool and clean and easily folds and stuffs into the bowl without even any dry time necessary. Some relights needed but not overly necessitated. Easily a 4 star for me, satisfying all day smoke.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tobakkvarer (5)	2016-02-15		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I like this tobacco. It has a simple, uncomplicated sweet, nutty-like flavour (I guess coming from the burley) with only just a tiny bit of topping. The topping is not really distinct enough that I feel it instead compliments the tobaccos instead of replacing the flavour.

The tin note is sweet and a little powdery smelling. The flakes themselves are easy to handle and fold and came out of the tin at a perfect moisture. Unlike others here, I did not have tongue bite but the pipe can easily get hot.

In terms of nicotine amount, I find it very manageable. I am not sure why, particularly because people are saying otherwise. I am quite a lightweight when it comes to nicotine, but I can easily smoke this one through without a major nicotine buzz.

Here where I am (in Norway), tobacco is expensive. At the airport (Oslo), they sell it in duty-free for 119kr for 100g, which is roughly $13 USD. Most tobaccos go for ~300kr for 50g tins ($35 USD), which is probably the highest price in Europe I seen so far. So, I had an interest in remaining positive over this blend. As it sounds from my review above, this is actually quite easy. When I am at the airport again, I am stocking up on this.

If I was a more frequent pipe smoker, given the price/quantity/quality of this blend, this would probably be in rotation a lot. It is that good to me.

EDIT: As I smoke this more, I am noticing that the aftertaste is a little syrupy tasting. It doesn't detract much from the tobacco for me though.

EDIT: It's been 3-4 months since I wrote the initial review. Since then, I stocked up a lot on this and plan to do more. It became my most common smoke, because for me, it's cheaply available (as mentioned, something not common here) and it is so easy to smoke. If I smoke something different now, it is the result of asking the question of "What should I smoke besides navy flake?"

I have also smoked this in other pipes and the description I provide in the above edit (it's syrupy) is only exclusive to certain pipes, it seems.

Pipe Used: Many pipes

Purchased From: Oslo/Gardemoen Airport Duty Free Shop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GabrielCRT (115)	2016-01-15		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

Love at first puff for me. A delicious Va/Bur with Cavendish. The topping really plays upon the natural Virginia, Burley, and Cavendish flavor. A massive honey note dominates with a dark fruit note next. There are several spices here like cinnamon and nutmeg which taste like a spiced rum. The Virginias have a mild hay flavor and the burley is nutty. The flavor from the blend amazes me every time. I have gotten tongue bite from this blend and it unquestionably smokes hot but slow smoking is okay with me.

Edit 3/5/16 - just opened a 15 year old tin. Very dark flakes and a wonderful aroma. All the rich flavor without any heat. It smokes cool, sweet, and complex. Definitely worth aging!

Age When Smoked: Fresh to 15 years old

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jedibastard (37)	2015-09-18		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

So the one star is my personal opinion on this tobacoo. It has nothing to do with quality!!!

This was the very first tobacco i bought. I saw some reviews on youtube, and read some reviews on here. So it had to be good right? You know, with all the great reviews!

The tin note smelt fantastic!!!! Almost like a sweet, raisin with some hay tossed in there. I rubbed out the flake and packed.

Lighting the pipe. It burnt the hell out of my tounge. I couldnt taste anything from this tobacco. Even before the scorching of my tounge, i couldnt detect any type of grassy notes. Just really hot air. The room note was a great. A warm sweet grass aroma. It took a flame beautifully. Stayed lit. And ashed to this fine off white powder. The flake wasnt to moist or too dry.

I waited a few days to try it again. This time, i just kinda rubbed it into a ball and packed it in the bowl. SAME THING!!! And i puffed even slower. I ended up asking around if the same thing happened to them. I was informed the sugar content of the tobacco itself is known to bite. Age will mellow it out. And. Theres a reason many people call this brand "mc tounge bite"

So i tossed it into a jar. Did my thing. And forgot about it.

Fast forward to almost 9 years later. IT STILL BITES LIKE A MADMAN!!!! No matter how slow i puff it!

im a little bummed too. The color, the texture, the aroma is absolutely great! That alone makes me want to smoke it. But i honestly cant get past the tounge bite.

Pipe Used: La Rocca

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pecheur (19)	2014-07-12		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Openning the small tin reveals lovely emossed gold paper covering a neat arrangement of very pretty thin flakes and a pleasant tin note of honey and tobacco. The whole thing screams of quality. As the flakes are thin and not heavily compressed they rub out easily but need a little dry time.

So far so good.

I can't taste the rum only the honey which I find very disappointing from a 'navy flake'. To be honest I don't like the combination of honey and tobacco but then that's a personal thing. More importantly this bites me like a rabid dog. I simply can't smoke it and I'm a naturally slow smoker, my guess is there is something in this blends that doesn't agree with my mouth chemistry.

Pipe Used: MM Washington

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: mysmokingshop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Colin H (2)	2014-04-01		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the first flake tobacco I've tried. The aroma coming from the bag is nice and prompted me to buy it. I smoked it in multiple pipes to see if I might like it more, but found myself disappointed every time. The flavor is mild to the point where it's difficult to taste anything. I also noticed that this particular tobacco left my mouth feeling coated with something, reminiscent of a cheap aromatic tobacco. I assume the casing on Navy Flake is the cause of it. Either way, I would not purchase this again.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	balkan_boy (49)	2013-12-07		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I've purchased a tin of this while I was on "pipe rest" for 4 years. About an year before I started smoking again.
I started with it, and first few bowls were disgusting. I wondered if that's because the tobacco is poor, or I just haven't really gotten into it as I should. Well, it was both. I wasn't accustomed to pipe smoking, after ten bowls was better, but the tobacco is bad. I smoked original choice after that, and few other aromatics, they were better than this. As good as aromatics can be actually.
If you like navy (rum) blends, you may like it. Doesn't bite much, and the artificial aroma is not overwhelming, you can even feel some of the tobacco here and there, but still the artificial chemical flavor stays there. That's one thing that bothers me much about the danish style aromatics. I'd rather smoke cheap american aros that make the tobacco smell like something totally different, than the danish style flavored tobaccos which casing and topping is supposed to enhance the natural flavors of cavendish and VA. In my oppinion, it just adds some artificial flavor, and that's it.
It's neither pure tobacco, nor heavily perfumed which in some cases can be a good thing (Condor for example). It's just some junk, there's tobacco, but ruined, and there's perfume, but only the one that goes along with cavendish.
I don't know, maybe It's just my taste, but if you are predominantly into English/Balkan and VA, VA/Pers, then you won't like it. Maybe you won't hate it as much as I did, but certainly won't enjoy it. One star from me.

Pipe Used: briars

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Moscow

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Armac (10)	2010-02-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

In the past two years, I suspect I've tried most Navy Flakes available and in my opinion, Mac Baren Navy Flake is the best by far. Room note is pleasant, and if properly packed, its a long and enjoyable smoke right to the end. Rum taste is light but noticeable throughout the smoke and if dried a bit, there is little or no bite.

I find most Mac Baren tobaccos to be hot in every definition of the word. I love Scottish Mixture, for example, but can't smoke it, even in the flake form. I've often thought Mac Baren, many years ago, discovered a million pound batch of New Mexico Hatch chilis and began adding a bit to their blends. Having said that, however, heat hasn't been the case with Navy Flake and I highly recommend it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dk-piper (25)	2010-02-04		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

A solid unsophisticated flake-tobacco by MacBaren. Buy a tin, grab a flake, fold and twist, load the pipe and smoke away. better sip away. It can taste like burnt rubber if smoked too hot. Tobacco has typical sweet honey & raisins smell. Quite a sweet smoke. I give it 3,5 Stars!!!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	p4p4 (59)	2008-11-04		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

good taste.....but is the classic MacBaren taste. When you have smoked one MacBaren blend....you have smoked every MacBaren blend !

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Slow Triathlete (62)	2007-11-21		Extremely Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I would say to save your money with this one. I had higher expectations for this one and loved the tin aroma but unfortunately the tobacco didn't have much taste to me. Also, the vanilla-like aroma disappeared after being lit for a few minutes.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-07-19		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the first time (and probably the last) that I disagree with pipestud. I absolutely hated this! The casing was sour and unpleasant, it smoked with the refinement of napalm and was way overpriced. There is also some taste at the back of this that really put me off. I am a real flake lover as it fits with my work and leisure time perfectly but this one to me just detracts from the genre. Avoid this and go for something else.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dubinthedam (133)	2007-04-11		Strong	Strong	Full	Very Pleasant

I just had to post a review on this one. Great, great tobacco, it has begun a personal quest to find equally great flakes. Plums, a little rum and a great natural sweet tobacco taste. I smoke outdoors mostly so it is good on the burning side. My lack off experience can not give me the true words to describe how fantastic this tobbacco is.

I tried peterson's university flake, hoping it would be as good, also great but it is more expensive than Navy F and doesn't have the same level of fruitiness as Navy. This too me is the perfect balance between a real tobacco experience, with the sensual joy of a sweet mild aromatic included. I now know why men went to sea in wooden crates. My main down point would be it's a bit dry and dusty sometimes.

TIP: Do check the Mac Barens website to see the history of and technique for smoking such flakes.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2007-02-08		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have been smoking some indifferent aromatic blends recently (kindly gifts from non-smokers). What a relief to open a tin of Navy Flake!

The tin is fifteen years old, and the flakes have darkened substantially, with only a few gold highlights. The aroma from the tin is muted and the flavouring reticent. In the pipe it is immensely satisfying: reasonable levels of nicotine, a steady burn rate ideal for handling my paper work, lovely tobacco taste, and a room note that makes visitors linger.

Mac Baren do not always get full credit for the quality of their products. Perhaps they have tried to cover too much ground with a limited palette. Navy Flake and Mixture Scottish Blend are gems of their kind and unreservedly recommended for a serious trial.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-12-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This used to be my regular tobacco, replacimg Dunhill Light Flake in my affections. Incidently, I tried some of the latter recently and it bore no relation to its former self, being no longer manufactured by Murray's.

Recently, I have been smoking my way round some of the Gawith and Hogarth offerings, which are excellent, but thought it appropiate to check up on an old friend, all in an attempt to discover the perfect medium flake.

It is nicely presented, in a proper tin, but I now think it is sliced too thinly. I can't imagine that anyone would want to rub it out. I just separate the flake a little.

It smokes rather hotter than some flakes, but never burns the tongue. I still think it is pretty well perfect for every day smoking. However, Glengarry and Bright CR flakes, probably edge it fractionally.

It is unfortunate that none of the McClelland's offerings are available in the UK, as I am sure many are excellent.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-08-06		Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I very much want to like this blend.

I think it is beautiful to behold, particularly the gorgeous embossed foil surrounding the perfect flakes.

But after four tins over the past year or so, I just hate it. It is hot, flavorless, and an express ticket to Tonguebite City. I have tried it in almost every pipe I have, rubbed out and not, smoked as slow as possible, and it is just awful.

A huge disappointment. I want to like it. It looks great, is obviously of high quality, and so many smokers like it -- it must have something going for it, but....

I've given my other tins to a good home.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-08-01		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was given a tin of Navy Flake by way of a box pass. I was a bit surprised when I read that it was a burley blend. While Burley is not usually my leaf of choice, there are notable exceptions, and I never avoid a tobacco until I have tried it and it has given me reason to avoid it.

The flakes are nicely variegated in shades of light to dark. I prefer mine rubbed out completely, which was easily done. The tin aroma was mildly sweet. Another reviewer described it as being like honey. Sounds good to me, I?ll go along with that.

The flavor was quite pleasant, and there was no suggestion of bite, nor was there any unpleasant after-taste as I frequently find with burley blends.

Navy Flake was a happy experience for me. I enjoyed it from the easy rubbing out of the flake to the way it burned evenly and cool right to the bottom of the bowl. Even the finish was pleasant, and left me wanting more. Subtly sweet, all natural. I could probably smoke it all day long. The room note is nice, with an almost aromatic quality to it. I don?t think there is actually an aromatic topping, I believe that the taste comes from the combining of the natural flavors of the Burley & Va. leaf and the Cavendish process.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-10-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Absolutely delicious! I recently discovered this, having read the reviews, and I was delighted from the first. It's smooth, fairly sweet, with lots of rich creamy smoke. It's honeyed, but the honey flavour in no way obscures the tobacco, which is fine Burley, as others have noted. The flavour is consistent throughout the bowl, and the room note is, I think, the most pleasant I've ever found in a tobacco. YOu really should try it at least once.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2003-07-16		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is an old favorite I have been smoking for a good many years. Sometime ago I was able to purchase a number of tins for $4.39 each. So, naturally, I bought everything the tobacconist had in stock and this tin has been in my basement for several years. In the tin it smells almost identical to Mac Baren Dark Twist, the aroma of cinnamon toast. It has a smooth sweet tobacco flavor. For me it does not have the distinctive burly flavor of Barbary Coast or Edgeworth Sliced. It does, however, provide delicious tobacco flavor, and is quite sweet. Very easy on the tongue with no bite. In my opinion, this tobacco has often been copied by several German manufacturers in their treatment of Virginia flakes, but has never been duplicated. Despite the sweetness, it could be an all day tobacco because it delivers excellent tobacco taste. This would be a big step up for the aromatic lover. Along with Symphony, Plum Cake, Dark Twist and the Solent Mixture, it is among my favorites from Mac Baren. Paddy.

2 people found this review helpful.

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

With so many blends out there that are labelled "Navy Flake", from light burleys to dark-fired Virginias, it's sometimes difficult to know what to expect from a blend so named.

In the tin, Mac Baren's Navy Flake is a nicely blended, light burley/cavendish/Virginia flake. It is sweetened with a topping/casing that smells strongly of honey. The flakes are about 3/4 x 2 1/2" and are stacked side-by-side in a convenient little rectangular pocket-tin. The tobacco is pressed in layers of light-brown burley, darker burley cavendish, and what appears to be small quantities of bright VA.

The flakes rub out easily to any consistency. I find that this blend smokes better fully rubbed. Attempts at the roll-and-stuff method have left a wet puddle in the heel, presumably from the casing. Fully rubbed, it smokes dry and cool all the way down.

Despite the fact that the honey flavoring is quite evident in the tin and side-stream smoke aromas, this packs quite a bit of good tobacco taste. The burley is of good quality, and provides nutty toastiness without getting bitter or ashy. The cavendish and Virginia add sweetness and tang, which along with the casing provide a nice melange of flavor - light enough to smoke all day, but substantial enough to be satisfying.

I would recommend MacB Navy Flake to anyone looking to step up from bulk burley aromatics. This is one of the few tobaccos from this blender that I purchase regularly.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jaybee (77)	2003-04-22		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Even though I'm not overly fond of burley, this is a nice tobacco. It burns slow and has a mild nutty taste. The flakes are not overly moist, but can powder a bit when crumbled, resulting in a mouth full of dust. The bowl lights easily and retains a nice tobacco flavor from top to bottom. If you like burley it would be difficult to do better than this.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pagercat (40)	2002-08-26		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

By far the best burley blend I've enjoyed. It burns well and doesn't bite as much as some of the MacB blends. The flakes are about the size of a stick of chewing gum. It rubs out well with minimal effort.

Light woody/nutty flavor, pleasant subtle aroma. This is good smoked straight but it also can be a great blending tobacco. My recipe for "Stumpy's Blend" (named after one of my cats) is one navy flake, one disc of Mac Baren Rollcake and a sprinkle of St. James Parish Perique. It's a good burning smoke with a splash of spice.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tslots (8)	2001-09-05		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is my first time smoking a blend that's mostly Burley. These come in colorful, veined slices with a nice sweet-tobacco aroma. I folded the wafer a few times and stuck it in my fairly new Nording freehand. It lit very easily and burned to a dry white ash. The flavors were slightly sweet with a spiciness that seemed to tickle the back of my throat. While smoking, the body and richness of the tobacco seemed to be toward the fuller end of the spectrum, but there was not much of a nicotine kick ... so I gave it a medium rating overall. I gave a high rating to the room aroma based on my wife's remark of "That one smells good" ... which is high praise from her. Toward the last half of the bowl, I had to relight once and run a pipe cleaner through to correct a slight gurgle. Aside from that, this was an enjoyable smoke.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (556)	2023-02-14		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note of honey, spices and rum. Tobacco is a marbled dark brown flake. Moisture content is great. Rubs out with little effort. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. Flavoring is mild, with notes of Honey, which dissipates before the halfway point. Rum is listed, but I couldn't detect it. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of toast, wood, fermented vegetation, nuts, leather, spices, bread, grassy/hay, earth, floral, orange peel/zest, mild acidic/spicy, savory, dry bitterness, a tart vinegary sour background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Burley supporting. Cavendish starts off strong and is sidelined in the first half. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: 2016 Northern Briars Premier Rox Cut #4 Prince

Age When Smoked: 6 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hemlock (69)	2023-01-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Review based on 2022 batch.

Natural tasting flake with subtle aromatic elements. Differs from others similarly named as navy flake which are mostly VA’s. Soft and rounded by its harmonious composition of leaf, with the welcome Mac Baren cavendish added to the virginia and burley. Mild honey, brown sugar accents work well with the tobacco forward flavor. No rum detected and not really fruity. Packing lightly rubbed out flake with air pocket method results in a smoke that needs few relights. Effortless to achieve a smoldering, long lasting smoke. Sipping and gentle puffing draws out the flavors such as nuts, honey and hint of figs. Hits the zone about a quarter of the way through when using 0.75” diameter bowl. Burns to a white ash. Full and satisfying with low to moderate nicotine. Room note is ok but not as appealing as an aromatic.

It’s a representative, quality tobacco that is highly recommended to those who appreciate a natural tobacco taste, scarcely aromatic, and something different than straight VA navy flakes. Suitable for a multi-smoke day.

Age When Smoked: December 2022 batch

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pie Eyed Piper (22)	2022-11-19		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Rum, brown sugar, and slight floral qualities. A well done navy flake, not harsh and smooth and rich. Off the start it's rum dominant but the Virginia comes through shortly after with sweet grassiness. The burley adds a cocoa note which translates into brown sugar when it all comes together. This is a smooth smoke not raw or rough like Peter Stokkebye navy flake. Aroma is pleasant with a rum and brown sugar/ honey quality. Can bit if pushed hard, smokes sweeter when rubbed out. Nic hit is medium, I'd recommend this to one who is stepping up from mild aromatics. All in all a good navy flake.

Pipe Used: Nording Royal flush Queen

Age When Smoked: New to 5 years aged

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Comoy navy flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	b7q (53)	2022-11-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

For the choice of tobacco. I have two rules, the first is choose to try the type of mixture you like, the second is to try to choose the old brand of mixture, because today's mixture as long as it can create unexpected flavor, almost anything that can produce results dare to add, you don't know what it is, the old varieties in those days were very cautious about adding mixtures, There are not many materials to work with.

This is a beautifully cut work of art and an early style of aromatics, subtle and elegant, with all-day smoke that doesn't bite.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: 10

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paganelius (11)	2022-10-25		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I got a blow torch straight into my mouth for just 22.00 euros. Doesn't matter if it is fresh or dry, how slow I smoke, how I light a pipe, and any type of filter I try to use. Tobacco itself smells rather like licorice, and I did not find any note of honey like other reviewers. The taste? I think the same as a blow torch.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh and dried

Purchased From: Local tobacco shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	A Piper Wondering (2)	2022-09-27		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

There are many navy flake blends, and to say that this is the end-all-be-all would be disingenuous - but it's a darn good one. For the newer pipe smoker who is looking for a non aromatic which still has a pleasant flavor and a sweet room note, look no further. The high quality leaf in this blend pairs nicely with the light rum topping, which is noticeable in the tim, though only slightly discernible in the smoke. It can require some drying time, though some tins will be just perfect.

The unique thing here in my opinion is the high prevalence of burleys in this flake - a departure from most other Navy flakes which are virginia-based. The burley's provide a smoothness and nuttiness not present in other Navy flakes. This, along with the rum and honey topping, are what make this blend stand out for me. This is a very unique Navy flake among its peers, and absolutely one worth trying even if you are familiar with other Navy flake blends.

This is a blend that pairs excellently with black coffee, and I have found it to be a wonderful morning smoke. The nicotine is mild, though certainly more noticeable than with an aromatic. This is a blend that I cellar deeply and hope to enjoy for years to come.

Do note that all of my tins are square tins - purchased before the switch to round tins in 2022.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh to 2+ years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mariusK (33)	2022-08-20		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Since this blend has been described in much detail, I’ll make it short. It is delicious, consistent in taste (it gets stronger and more complex mid-bowl) and it burns slowly without the need to relight.

The nutty taste (that gets stronger mid-bowl) makes this a burley blend for me and I can hardly taste any Virginia. But whatever the components, the taste is sublime, the tobacco doesn’t bite and the overall composition is excellent. As to the aroma additions - apart from the cavendish sweetness (not intrusive, mind you) I could not taste anything, least of all floral or citrus. Rum? If so, very sparsely.

It is a high quality blend that is now part of my rotation. You can smoke it all day, it is solid, tasty and it never disappoints.

A fine Mac Baren offering. Try it with a 100% chocolate bar. Heavenly!

Pipe Used: Meerschaum pipe

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

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

I expected a stronger tobacco given the name. It does not particularly stick out in any regard for me. The flake is pretty fragile, so consider that when trying to split one. The burly dominates, some spice it clearly recognisable, and the taste is consistent.

Age When Smoked: -

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sanzini (8)	2022-07-07		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Tin note is tea with honey, fruit, and slightly floral. The flakes rub out so easily, and the smoke is delicious. The MB bite is real, although not terrible, and fades later in the bowl. (I find that hot tea or coffee helps to prep the tongue, making the bite seem less…bitey.) All in all I love this blend. This might be my favorite MB tobacco that’s not HH.

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Similar Blends: Other navy blends you’ve probably smoked, but each has its own nuances..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipefitter (51)	2022-06-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Krg1000 says “ this might be MacBarens best tobacco”. He might be right as I smoke Navy Flake whenever I find it and this one seems to set a standard for that style. Some may find the flavoring more than medium, but that is the point of Navy Flake isn’t it? I wouldn’t give an India Pale Ale a bad review because I don’t like hops because hops are one of the things that make it what it is. Sometimes I’ll add a pinch of Perique to tone down the topping, but I still give it a 4 because it’s so easy to smoke. So anyway, I tried this some time ago and decided that I was gonna quit buying 3.5 oz tins that are hard to come by and got my Tobacconist Shawn at City Tobaccos in New London Ct. get me a pound . I gave him a few ounces and he texted me a couple days later to tell me how much he liked this flake; he likes English blends with plenty of Latakia and Orientals in and he was thankful for the change in pace, so he ordered himself a pound. What can I say?….. Some flake can be overwhelming for the newly indoctrinated to pipe smoking , so if you want to take a chance on some burley forward flake that never gets hot, isn’t over favored, never bites, is medium on the nic hit Richter scale and jlminks considers an all day smoke, give this one a try.

Pipe Used: Cobb

Age When Smoked: 1/2021

Purchased From: City Tobacco, New London Connecticut

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeDragon (44)	2022-01-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a blend that I wanted to try out for many, many years. In fact, few blends have been on my wish list for as long as this one. When I finally saw it in the tobacco store, I picked it up without hesitation.

Right from the start, I commend Mac Baren for keeping the square tin for Navy Flake; makes it look very classy and also easy to carry around. Upon opening, I was greeted with a pretty strong smell of rum and honey, though it tones down considerably once the flakes dry out.

The flakes themselves are perfect. Came pretty moist, but dried up quickly. They are extremely easy to rub out and the pipe filling is child's play. Mechanically, I have nothing to object. Lights up easily, burns at a somewhat slow pace, cool, dry and only requires an occasional relight.

Moving on to the taste department, it has all the aspects of a Burley blend. Nutty and earthy, with some wood, floral notes, fruit, spice and plenty of sweetness. In fact, this is pretty sweet for a Burley forward blend. The rum is there and, while not the star of the show, works together with the Virginia and the Cavendish to bring sweetness to the smoke and some spice. Also, the rum in combination with the wood notes bring an almost cask aged character to the flavor. Not a lot of nicotine, but pretty robust in taste, easily making it an all day smoke. Not complex either, but has enough going on to keep you interested throughout the smoke. The room note is really pleasant and doesn't linger.

After smoking a few bowls, I can say that those years of waiting to finally sample this really paid off. This is a classic in every meaning of the word and a close friend for a Burley fan like me. And because the flakes are so easy to work with, it can be equally enjoyed by veterans and beginners alike. One of those blends that every piper should try at least once. If you are curious of what a Burley forward flake is like, this is a good place to start.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Roma 315 EX

Age When Smoked: 1 year

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (197)	2021-04-01		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smoking now:

Just smoking the last of this tin. The flake is easy to rub out or pack and the moisture seemed ok from the tin.

This to me seems to have a dominant burley taste. An earthy, woody, nutty, dry flavor. The Virginia is in the back ground and adds some dark hay sweet notes. The rum is very mild and hardly noticeable. A typical natural tasting and mildly sweet Mac Barens blend. I typically don’t use a filter pipe but for some reason this is a blend I almost always use a filter for as it does not agree with my palette. Tends to bite and or dry my mouth out. The retrohale will add some sweetness and it has an okay after taste that lingers . This is probably a 3 star blend but for me I would give it a 2 just because it does not work for me.

update

The more burley blends I smoke the more I find out that the ph of burley doesn’t agree with my mouth.

Age When Smoked: 1 year

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2021-02-21		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

A really nice smoke , to me it didn't really seem so sweet compared to some tobaccos , has t be smoked reservably as along with some other macbarens can nip . For some reason after smoking this all my food seemed to taste sweet.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Martini (17)	2021-02-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

there is an alcoholic flavoring that is clearly present as you open the tin. It is not really rum. It could be a kind low level kirsch spirit, with some honey aroma. It is quite indefinable. For the first third of the smoke you will preceive it, but then in the center part of the bowl it is almost disappearing and then the smoke becomes quite pleasant.

It is quite mild in strenght and the nicotine content is light.

Overall is quite a good tobacco worth a 3/4 score, but at the start that strange smell is not so amusing. So ultimately I would say 2/4 score

Pipe Used: Castello, Chacom, Peterson

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Tabaccheria Guzzi Gorgonzola

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (79)	2020-11-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

I was afraid to try this tobacco. After several disappointments and fact that burley flavor is not my favorite taste, I procrastinate first bowl of this perfect bland. Fresh tobacco smells very similar to Mixture Scottish bland. But only first touch. Nutty burley is significant. Flake is prototype of "perfect flake cut" accurate moisture, easy to prepare. Taste is sweet with hint nuttiness, maybe rum. But if it would not be on the description, difficult to say rather rum is included. I had no problem with moisture, burns well without relights.

One of the very good tobacco I have tried.

Pipe Used: BPK, MM cob

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ocelot (33)	2020-11-04		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Fine, sweet flake. Flavour reminds me of the pine needles smell and flowers. It is slow burning blend as many flakes are. Going down the bowl, the flavouring is losing its strenght and taste becomes flat for me. That´s a bit pity.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pikey Mick (49)	2020-08-13		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Jar note is plain strange. I can sort of smell the honey but I get bitter burley and tangy Virginia. I do not like this tobacco. For me it tastes bitter and harsh and I don't get any honey or sweetness. I've tried it rubbed out, and also folded and stuffed and it doesn't change much apart from the prolonged misery of the length of smoke when folded and stuffed. Leaves a nasty, dry leathery taste in my mouth that I don't like at all. I'll chuck it at the back of the cupboard and revisit it one day when I'm bored. I'm not even going to give it a mark out of ten I'm a bit sore at having bought 50g of the stuff. Give me a Lakeland any day please.

Pipe Used: Butz Choquin Balzac rusticated full bent

Purchased From: GQ

Similar Blends: Sweaty socks..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Scottaylor (13)	2020-08-02		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Here in the UK this blend is not found in a tin but instead comes in a pouch. Inside this pouch is a black plastic tray with a sealed gold foil lid.

Up on peeling back the foil I am treated with wonderful tiny well cut flakes. On the nose I get the well mentioned honey but also a background scent that is close to sweet black tea. I find the flakes a tiny bit on the moist side and may possibly benefit from a small amount of drying time but being the impatient sod that I am I dive right in. Preparing the flake is a joy as it comes apart so easily and packing a bowl is as easy as it comes.

First light and the tobacco takes flame with ease even without the afore mentioned drying. I am met with a mild smoke, a well rounded tobbaco taste with a hint of sweetness in the background. Some how I had expected more but that would be my impatience again. By the time I'm a 3rd of the way through the bowl it has really come to life, the tobacco taste has come through and is well round to be joined by a lovely sweetness on the mouth piece. All so there is a lovely " pep " to this tobacco, I wouldn't say a spiciness just a lot of liveliness and it's all the better for it. I find as I approach the last 3rd of the bowl the sweetness comes through even more but never threatens to unbalance the experience.

To me this tobacco exemplifies just what a flake should be. I find it a well thought out and well presented offering that is an absolute joy to smoke.

Pipe Used: chacom calabash

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: My smoking shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	William H. Hardy (95)	2020-07-22		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I have to admit that I have had bad luck with the majority of Mac Baren blends that I have tried. Virginia No. 1 is a honey-soaked blowtorch, in my opinion. The other blends not in the HH line that I have tried have all burned hot; Buster Poindexter "Hot, Hot, Hot" kind of hot. Navy Flake is a definite exception. I have had no issues with tongue bite with it and it is a quite enjoyable smoke.

I have to say, I am impressed with this flake. It's one of the easier flakes to prepare, whether rubbed out or fold n' stuff, and is one of the more flavorful flakes I have smoked. It does have a particularly honey-sweet topping, but it is far from overpowering. It may be a bit premature to say at this point, but I believe that this as supplanted University Flake as my favorite flake tobacco. We'll see after I finish a couple tines, but it definitely has a leg up right now. Highly recommended. A solid 4 stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Theocharis (38)	2019-09-02		Mild to Medium	Strong	Medium	Pleasant

I really wanted to like this blend with all those ingredients. But, I didn't. Nice tin and room note. I don't detect rum or floral essence, but a strong honey flavoring. Even though it's a little moist, it lights easily and stays out. Good for beginners.Unfortunately I find the taste of it very chemical and full of casing. The strength is light to medium. I cannot recommend it unfortunately.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Viscfab (36)	2019-06-05		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Beautiful flake this is!!! Presentation is luxurious, flakes are millimetrically fit inside the square tin within a golden aluminum foil. The flakes look like small pieces of wood, dark brown and very well presented. It smells like Honey / Wrigleys Juicy Fruit Gum for me... believe it or not! In larger bowls I fold 1 or 1 and a half flakes and in smaller bowls I rub it out and pinch pack it... It burns slower than normal ribbon cut. Flavour wise it is a sweet blend that mus be puffed slowly, virginias are tasty and aroma is pretty satisfying. packs a medium nic hit, so don't freight train this one. Room note is good but my wife tells me to smoke outside, so take that for what you like... All in all, a very well executed blend recipe from our MacBaren danish friends! Hello Per Jorg!

Pipe Used: Vauen, Savinelli, Brebbia, Stanwell, Peterson

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Freeshop in Sweden

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HeavyTrees (70)	2019-05-18		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

One of the most sold classics out there.

Look in tin is very nice; thin flakes with beautiful structure and a warm smell of honey wine. Rubs out almost a bit too well so folding is my preferred method. Takes flames super nice and burns cool and steady if smoked slow. Needed a relight or two. Doesn't like to be smoked hot!

Taste is clearly dominated by Burley with an nice swee chocolate body. Sometimes there's the Virginia putting some citric notes on top. The flavoring is not very strong but gently underlining the tobacco tastes. I'm not an over all Burley fan but I like this composing and the taste is well until the end getting a bit stronger in the second half but not losing its sweetness.

MB Navy flake is a very slow and cool burning flake (smoked a single flake 1 1/2 hours in a medium chamber). Requires a bit of experience; slow sipping only. It's a solid tasty quality tobacco that doesn't live by it's added flavors. Nice price also.

Pipe Used: Variously briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin/jar

Purchased From: Local dealer

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	David70 (6)	2019-05-07		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

La miglior miscela di MacBaren. Alla apertura della Tin saremo subito colpiti da un fortissimo profumo di miele millefiori, liquoroso agrumato. Un nettare per le narici. Il flake potrebbe essere pronto per essere fumato subito ma è consigliabile lasciarlo respirare almeno 5 minuti. Una volta sgretolato e messo in pipa l'aroma principale è quello del miele il tutto condito da note di liquore. MacBaren asserisce che tale tabacco non è stato aromatizzato con nulla, quindi ci crediamo. Attenzione perchè questa miscela brucia si ma lentamente. Un must !

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Falliver (42)	2019-04-22		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin aroma opens with orchards and berries, but quickly fades to burley nutti- and chocolatiness.

The flakes crumble easily and fill the bowl almost too nicely. It’s easy to light and to digest, although being somewhat boring - or not to my palate at least. There is some Virginia-spiciness atop the floral and citric flavouring, the latter remaining to a slight dry finish. The nuttiness I expected from the burley is present, albeit less to my taste. The body of the smoke is less then medium, and is sufficient for a smoke not demanding your attention, though, not giving much of an experience in return.

Pipe Used: Stanwell 03

Age When Smoked: From the tin

Purchased From: Duty Free Oslo Airport

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	glaswegian (18)	2019-02-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Very well manufactured flake made from MacBaren. Always in stock. Fits ervery situation. Nice burley base and slight rum casing that sweetens the tobacco. Also you can detect a the typical MacBaren casing of the used virginias in this flake.Honey and light floral. Very easy to pack and needs normally no drying time. The smoke is a natural tobacco flavour with some floral and honey notes and some cocoa. After the first third of the bowl the burley gets more intesive and the nutty chocolate flavour starts to dominate. Fast puffing is not recommended. Get´s hot very quick, tickles your tongue and the aromas fade.

Pipe Used: Corncob

Age When Smoked: 4 Years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2019-02-11		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

I'd forgotten i'd got bitten by the close cousin of this one, Virginia flake.

This one though still has that capcity if not treated well.

The aroma coming from the opened tin is exemplary. It a heady alcoholic brew that is probably rum, but smells more like whisky. If you don't care for alcohol in blends then this is best avoided.

None of this comes out in the smoke, rather surprisingly and the flakes are neatly laid out as you'd expect from Mac Barens. Breaking up the flake is easy and the tobacco isn't too moist, just right. It doesn't taste of anything very much, like most of these burley based mixed flakes. Despite this there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be drawn from this blend and I would certainly buy again should it come my way.

A quick moan about the square tins. Tobacco doesn't tend to keep it's freshness very well and in my experience this is better after decanting into a jar.

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Dan Pipe Lauenburg

Similar Blends: Peterson's Irish Dew, Players Blender's Highland..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Karim (6)	2018-09-13		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I decided to wait some time before reviewing this blend as it was not easy to classify for me as I'm used to stronger aromatics.

At pouch opening: can't say very pleasant smell, but sweet and interesting.

At touch: a little too moist, I prefer to leave a flake out of the tin about one hour

Loading and lighting: first flake for me, and I'm trying to become friendly with this kind of loading as well described on Mac Baren's site. But I loaded my bowl by breaking the flake and lighting it as usual with no issues.

Smoking: not strong and not to mild, no tongue bit, no artificial taste. Really a pleasant taste. Just needs a slow rate puffing.

Room note: very pleasant to me but only tolerable to my wife.

What surprised me more than everything else is the very pleasant and really nicely persitent after taste.

I loaded it a few times in the last month and I noticed the tin does not mantain the tobacco moist as I expected and the blend dryed a lot. So I loaded in my bowl just out of the tin and everything was perfect to me. It lit with no issues and stayied on till the end.

That's for sure a very nice all day blend.

Age When Smoked: fresh and 3 weeks after opening

Purchased From: local dialer

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Olivermac (19)	2018-08-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I received this recently from p and c in the form of a 1lb box. It was truly a thing of beauty. A huge stack of 6 inch long flakes that fit perfectly in a glass jar I had. I would suggest anyone to order one of these because it is very impressive. The taste of this flake is really good. Lots of flavor from all 3 tobaccos that are present. I can see that this one is going to gain a spot in my permanent rotation. I really like it. This flake is so we'll balanced and has enough strength to please me. I enjoy inhaling my smoke from time to time because I think you can never get the true experience meant without doing this and this flake has that just right kick in the throat when inhaled. Really glad I ordered this because I'm usually not a massive Mac Baren fan. They gained due respect from me here, however.

Pipe Used: Various mm cobs and real meershaums

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: P&c

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2018-08-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a great blend. I have read many of the reviews and don’t have much to add, but that won’t stop me from adding a review. The Year old tin I purchased has the trademark beautifully symmetrical Mac Baren Flakes: precisely cut, even and thick. The one thing about this blend that I do not like is the tin note, it is, well...bad. Not bad like a fine cheese but bad like someone got it too close to an old woman who smelled of old lady perfume and moth balls bad. Not sure what this is topped with but it should be saved for nursing homes. The flavor in the smoke is nothing like the tin note. The balance of Burley and Virginia is perfect and the cavendish is a welcome guest that seems to mellow out the blend. The burley is nutty and it has a hint of richness while the Virginias add a touch of sweetness, grass and bread. The cavendish adds a sweetness and richness to the smoke. Maybe it the interplay of Burley and Cavendish that gives the such a unique flavor in this genre. It burns extremely well, I prefer rubbing the flakes out but these fold and stuff well. I wouldn’t say there is a ton of nuance in the smoke but there are few flavors that develop as the bowl smokes down. I get some citrus from the VA early on but it becomes more bread and earthy as you cross the half way point. Not sure why, but this seems to sing in a cob, at least for my palate.

Pipe Used: Briars and cobs

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2018-08-01		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is the first Mac Baren tobacco that I truly enjoyed. Nice tin art, flake presentation and smell. A honey and rum smell greets your first whiff but if you approach you nose closer, an unmistakable chocolate/Burley smell shows up.

Can be smoked fully rubbed or folded with good burning qualities and not fussy at all. A real all day smoke that's a cross between a light aromatic and a flake.

I like the flavor profile and this is where this navy flake shines. The Burley character is undeniable and appears more often than not, especially from the middle of the bowl and on. Virginias give a cigarette taste when smoked fast but otherwise are hay/grassy and the Cavendish completes the show with a honey sweetness. The topping is not only friendly but gives some molasses/rum and spice flavors. I'm not an aro smoker but this navy flake has piqued my interest for this summer at least.

Virginia lover

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	1/2 (17)	2018-07-13		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Wanted to try this one out, so I did... Noticed a very fruity scent as I opened the tin, and the Flake was quite easy to rub out straight from the tin. Left it for about 10 - 15 min to dry a little before stuffing the bowl. The tobacco is easy to light with a Nice texture and aroma. Did not need to worry about this one going out as I enjoyed it, and the flavour and texture of the smoke was very consisten through out. Enjoyed another bowl to verify.... then another one the next day. A Nice blend not overly full, and not to strong.

Pipe Used: Corncob

Age When Smoked: New from store

Purchased From: Heineman taxfree in Bergen AirPort

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	thesmoggypipester (77)	2018-04-28		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

picked this up as it seems I'm on a bit of a mac baren binge of late, a lovely mixture of burley Virginia and Cavendish, with a nice honey sweetness and an almost spiced rum tang to it, i also pick up a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, along with a touch of chocolate from the burley.

preparation, for a flake, is the absolute easiest I have had the pleasure of working with, i quick roll between the palms and you are presented with a mixture that is perfect for the pipe.

the sweetness takes centre stage with this one, it never cloys or becomes overbearing, it's just a nice addition and that cinnamon and nutmeg warmth gently breezes in and out during the smoke effortlessly. there is some nice natural tastes from the second half onwards as the added flavours move aside slightly. All in all another great smoke from mac baren, it has enough complexity to keep you busy when you want to savour it but also is equally fitting when doing something else.

Room note is extremely pleasant, i can't see this offending many if any people you are around, strength is medium and in my opinion would make a decent smoke for repeated smoking throughout the day.

4 stars earned effortlessly.

p.s the moisture content is bang on and can be smoked straight out of the pack. British manufacturers take note, flakes do not need to be like drowned rats!!!

4 stars effortlessly earned.

Pipe Used: falcon with Genoa bowl

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Mysmokingshop.co.uk

Similar Blends: I would say if you like amphora full this will be an ideal companion., Also if you like Scottish blend by Mac baren this is very similar and should be right up your street..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JEM (24)	2017-09-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The first time I smoked this blend, I found it to burned very hot and harsh, so I held off on reviewing it until I could change pipes and slow down. I’m glad I did!

In the tin, there is the smell of fruit cake. You can smell the topping, but it’s not a distinct rum smell.

I folded two slices and packed the bowl. I have found this to burn cooler than rubbing it out, which is what I did the first time. It still burned warmer than other blends in the cellar, but there was no tongue bite. The moisture level is perfect and it is easy to rub out, if that’s what you like. Two charring lights later, we were smoking, and it stayed lit with no problems. The nicotine hit was noticeable but not too strong. That was a good reason to take it slowly. There’s plenty of smoke, which was nice. It had a pleasant taste, with a little spice, but nothing stood out too much. The room note was pleasant, as well.

Overall, I recommend this blend.

Pipe Used: Alpha Freehand

Age When Smoked: 1 month

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipesolitude (23)	2017-07-10		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The tin aroma is very inviting, a strong cake-like rum scent. The flakes are very nicely cut and easy to rub out. Does not need a lot of drying. Burning qualities are excellent. NF produces a thick and very rich and smooth smoke, enough not to fill the whole pipe in order to be satisfied. As long as you control your cadence, the smoke remains cool and does not burn or get harsch. The nicotine is definitely felt, but not owerpowering (well, maybe if you load up a big bowl). Tastewise the cake-like rum scent definitely translates into the tastedepartment as well. It is a sweet taste, almost on the verge of being a bit too sweet but not quite. But this lasts only about half the bowl, then the flavouring tend to diminish and you get a more straight tobaco taste. However, the tobacco lacks a bit in complexity. There is a kind of sharp undertone, but it never gets harsch. I would say that the excellent burning qualities and the smoothness of the smoke is the most rewarding aspect of NF, more so than the complexity of the taste. That is why I only give it 3 stars. Except for the added flavour I don't think there is enough complexity in NF to deserve a 4 star rating.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BryGuySC (26)	2017-05-02		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The flake was smoked well dried. The flakes were breaking apart, laterally, so I pinched together the right amount of “lines” and folded into thirds and stuffed them in. This is a well rounded tobacco. I can pick up the hay notes from the virginia, and a creamy nuttiness (I assume from the burley), and a light sweetness. I don’t get much of a rum note, but I’m not sure how old this is, so it may have reduced with time. The smoke is smooth and buttery, and very satisfying. I think everything comes together in this tobacco to make a great smoke. Nothing stands out, destined for greatness, but I was happy with the smoke. By the end of the smoke, I am feeling the nicotine, but it is not overwhelming. This made for a very pleasant end to the day. I’m going to pick up some more of this.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Roma 626

Age When Smoked: unknown

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2017-01-20		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

A very smokable burly and cavendish flake. Mildly sweet, cool burning (its best quality in fact) but not very distinctive. I prefer several other Macbaren's to this. My Mixture and Roll Cake and Norwood and even Symphony....i think all have a bit more to recommend them. If you like mild burly with some casing. This is a very popular and much praised flake. I honestly don't quite understand the love this tobacco seems to get. If smoked in a very large bowl...a group 6 or above...the casing with start to coat your tongue. It smells great though....room note is terrific. But its hardly serious stuff IMHO> Still...its a very solid choice as an all day smoke for its class....I guess..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leo Aldopold (6)	2016-11-07		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant

So, with ideas of emulating some craggy, leather-skinned pirate on shore leave in Havana, I bought a tin of this expecting it to be reminiscent of some bygone age of maritime high-jinx. I couldn't have been more wrong. The tin note is much more fruity than rummy, almost bordering on lightly perfumed but with a slight chocolate undertone and grassy notes from the Virginias. The flakes rub out well, but I prefer the fold-and-stuff method for this and the Vanilla Cream Flake and one flake lends itself perfectly to a small to medium bowl. Upon the charring light there is that waft of fruit again, but there is also just a hint of the rum that I was looking for when I bought it. Throughout the bowl the flavour remains consistent as long as you sip it, and it is only through sipping that you really allow the complex flavour to take effect on your palate. It does have a tendency to burn hot if you smoke it impatiently, however, and although I haven't experienced it myself, I can imagine that it could bite the tongue if not treated with quite enough respect. In summary, it's more "Titanic - The Musical" rather than "Pirates of the Caribbean", but I really rather enjoy a bowl of this stuff, and I'll certainly be including it in my regular rotation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rob73 (77)	2016-10-30		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

One of the right blends for the first experiences with the Virginias and with the flake cut (easy to pack, easy to smoke). There's a flavour added but it's very good for the first smokes in the morning. 3,0/5 in my personal rating system.

Purchased From: La Bottega del Fumatore, Laveno (Italy)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Effluvinator (60)	2016-09-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have been smoking this since 1980 and loved it from the start. Not much I can say to expand on the well written reviews of JimInks and the others who describe it better than I ever could, but this may be THE tobacco that I would choose if I had to have only one.

Pipe Used: Various briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: Fresh to aged

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Wessex Burley Sliced, Edgeworth Sliced, Best Brown Flake..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	taima (12)	2016-09-01		Strong	Mild	Very Full	Tolerable to Strong

Wow, glad I tried this out. I've been shying away from flakes... I rubbed it out a bit and put it in my pipe before drying. The baccy lights right off the bat and delivers a pungent, tangy, salty licorice blast! I can detect some earthy notes. The flake burned very slowly and cooly, but unfortunately gooped up a bit near the end. Still, it's a very tasty and pleasurable smoke!

Age When Smoked: day of purchase

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	c-hild (4)	2016-07-22		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is currently my go-to flake. It is a wonderful very smooth yet strong blend with a good amount of burley in it that burns cool, consistently and as is usual for good blends of this type can be easily inhaled, which makes it ideal for mixing. The slightly nutty taste profile is sublime with some hashish or oil, but not being too heavy on the virginia this blend should not be mixed with unrefined cannabis.

The blend has a sort of christmasy aroma with a tin note of mostly raisin and cinnamon. The room note is decent, but I don't smoke it while indoors with non-smokers.

It comes wonderfully dried with no noticable glue, in flakes that rub easy, if you do that.

I typically have several bowls throughout the day. I recommend this blend to every smoker.

Pipe Used: Italian Briar Bent

Age When Smoked: recommend at all ages

Purchased From: Peter Weinig, Bamberg, Germany

Similar Blends: Nothing compares.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipenick (28)	2016-03-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

There has been lot's talk about this flake. Semi-sweet,burley based with light topping Been smoking this flake on and off for 25 years. Light topping brins out the Virginias,burley nuttiness and black Cavendish some smooth roundness. I usually never rub out my flakes except Gawith's and same goes with this one. Slow puffing as always with MacB's and you'll get a amazing experience.

Pipe Used: Brebbia,Big Ben,Chacom

Age When Smoked: Straight from tin

Purchased From: Local tobacco shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mesh (51)	2016-03-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is the only Mac Baren blend outside of its HH range that I have always liked. It's not a stout blend but it does have a little bit of body to go with its light honey-like topping and notes of straw, cream, nuts and cereal (the Kellogg's Honey Nut Corn Flakes of pipe tobacco!). It's not the most exciting of blends but nothing to turn your nose up at either. Great as an after-breakfast smoke with some coffee, but not an after-dinner smoke for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kerpap (14)	2016-02-01		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This was an instant favorite. I am a huge VaPer/Virginian fan. My regular rotation is SGFVF. I love Orlik red, Erinmore flake, Dunghill flake, Elizabethan, Mac ODF, Three nuns. this is my most favorite rotation. this has become after the first bowl, an absolute favorite. as pipestud said this is a barley dominant flake. The Virginias win through and the flavoring is so subtle and mild. this is one of my all time favorites. it is sliced razor thin, perfect moisture content from the first crack of the tin.

Age When Smoked: fresh out of tin

Purchased From: Local Tobacconist

Similar Blends: Orlik Red, SGFVF, Dunhill flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Duke Nukum (16)	2015-12-07		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

One of my favourite tobaccos.

Admittedly, I haven't bought this recently and the tin has changed and I am told so has the way it is cut to be packed.

The tin aroma is sweet, leathery tobacco with hints of rich rum. The flavour mirrors the aroma and the room note is sweet and pleasant. Not taxing on the palate, though has some complexity.

Aging makes little difference to this so you might as well smoke it fresh!

If you like 'Plumcake' but can do without the (albeit minute) Latakia component, then this is for you.

Not strong in nicotine but a good, cool-burner whether whole, broken or rubbed out, and can be made to smoke so slowly you'd be surprised.

Doesn't produce large volumes of smoke or particularly dense smoke so I'd suggest it's a good one for a long car trip when you want to see out the windscreen!

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New Tin, 5 y/o tin

Purchased From: McGahey the Tobacconist

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Plumcake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeyM (11)	2015-07-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Wow. And then some. How can a burley based virginia from Macbaren taste so nice? This puts Burley based tobaccos back on my radar. It must be the processing, the selection of tobaccos, the... What the heck, I'll just enjoy it.

Straight from the small tin, neatly arranged, very flexible, the flakes look good enough to chew. Didn't try that though, but they smoke really nice from the tin. No drying necessary. Good natural tobacco taste, with a hint of sweetness, but witout the maple taste of others like Dark Twist.

I bought the small tin for conveniance, but it has stuck with me, I will keep one of these at hand the coming period.

Pipe Used: Peterson

Age When Smoked: fresh

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	raybrown55 (46)	2015-07-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I've higly appreciated both Peterson Irish Flake and University Flake, but, to be in my regular rotation, they are a little too strong; so I was searching something similar in taste, but lighter. I knew that Mac Baren Navy Flake is similar in composition (Virginia / Burley), but hesitated to try it, having tried Mac Baren Mixture Scottish, which I don't like at all. Well, I was wrong: Navy Flake is a delicious blend, with a smooth taste, due to the perfect marriage between Virginia and Burley, and its strength is perfect for me. The light alcoholic topping (maybe whisky or rum?) contributes positively to taste, without being overwhelming. Higly recommended!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	45committed (4)	2015-05-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

What a nice clean tobacco. A good blend of Virginia and Burley to give you those mild flavors of chocolate and honey. Nice tobacco taste and leaves you satisfied. When it comes to fold and stuff, this is easy as compared to others. True that you must sip, but the reward is just. I feel that I have finally joined the club with Mac Baren because it did take some years to learn their characteristic. Mildly sweet, flavorful, and challenging.

Pipe Used: Briar and meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 6 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustDanD (9)	2015-04-24		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This was one of my first purchases years ago when the price was $8 (Don't exactly remember when). I think this is a great blend and a terrific smoke.

Opening the tin gives me a raison type smell. Not strong, just there. The flakes were a unique thing for me back then and I still have very few of those. For me, I simply take a strip, fold in in half twice and shove it in the pipe. Always seems to work and burn well. This is one of the easiest to exhale through the nose, which I tend to do quite often. Since I am not blessed with the taste capability to describe all those flavors, I leave that to other reviewers. What I get is a sweet, but not overly sweet, clean smoke. Its a light, refreshing, pleasant-feeling smoke for when you don't want to be overpowered by taste. The taste is cool, mildy sweet all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

I am definatley keeping a stock of these, though I wish I had purchased more when it was cheaper.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	artielonsNEW (3)	2015-02-21		Medium to Strong	Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just love everything about this: The compact 50g tin, the neatly packed ideally cut flakes. No more random squiggly shavings. It´s so neat to take a even flake and scissor them to about 3mm pieces. You can pack them fairly tight but it burns well - and LONG. The aroma is slightly spicy with a noticable liquorice flavor. I found my favorite!

Pipe Used: WESSEX with ABSORBA filter

Age When Smoked: Fresh to a week old

Purchased From: My Smoking Shop,UK

Similar Blends: I´ve encountered nothing like it but I like Borkum Riff Bourbon, MacBaren´s HARMONY (for easy availability) as well as McBaren´s Vanilla (decent vanilla flavor). Aroma Full Flavor is good too..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Italo Svevo (26)	2015-02-08		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

When I resumed pipe smoking, I found a box of this which I had left open for about ten years I guess. The first attempt to smoke it, after rehydrating it a bit, failed, it hit my throat badly and I was thinking about throwing it away. But then I tried again with a filter pipe, and much to my surprise, I found it still quite pleasant!

Of course, most of the aromatization now is long gone, the taste is a straight Bu/Va now, but it still has a vaguely sweet smell and taste, pleasant. I agree, it is a good companion outside, and burns well. After all that years, respect!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kunsan (76)	2014-12-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a pleasant flake tobacco. Nothing remarkable about it - just easy to smoke and enjoy. Nothing else needs to be said about this one. If you like a pleasant middle-of-the-road virginia/burley flake with just a hint of sweet honey topping, this tobacco will fit the bill nicely. Comes in easy to fold flakes, not too wet or dry. As with most tobaccos this one benefits from being opened then the lid replaced and left to dry slightly for a few days.

A solid, pleasant, medium strength flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	From Etten (22)	2014-11-25		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Out of the tin the most perfectly stacked thin flake packed into my bowl, smoked to the bottom, no relight. Bowl aroma, easy draw, rich flavor made this smoke pleasing. The gray ash at the end was of grey fine residue. So, the blend was exceptional in all characteristics and I think I've discovered a great 4 star keeper, then my hiccups start (I hiccup when I overdose on N). 3 Stars for me it was mostly an exceptional experience.

Pipe Used: Tswuge Briar

Age When Smoked: Tin Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars Month Club

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WFCook (1)	2014-11-02		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Nice smell right out of the tin. Hadn't had this blend in 20 years. Nice feel to the tobacco when crumbling and twisting it up. Packed nicely. Lit well. Tamped even. Burns to a fine white ash. Nice taste about 1/3 into a bowl. Quite mild. At 2/3 into bowl, it becomes pronounced and deeper flavors emerged. Scant taste of fruit... almost light plum, raisin like. Burns very even. Great smoke with a book. Burned for 65 minutes. No tongue bite or foulness. Would make for a nice everyday smoke. Try some you won't be disappointed.

Pipe Used: 1938 Dunhill Dublin smooth finish buyere

1 person 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	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is an excellent flake. The first whiff of the tin is floral, but not lakelandy. It's more like a fresh fruit blossom. I only pick up on it with the first whiff, however. The aroma is one of dried fruit, similar to Dunhill Flake. The flakes themselves have the perfect moisture, and load well in any configuration. The flake burns great, and has a great flavor. I feel this to be one of the more underrated flakes out there. A VaBur blend, Mac Baren Navy Flake is an incredibly satisfying tobacco that comes at a great price...

1 person found this review helpful.

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

A typical Mac Baren offering, treated with a dose of maple sugar which isn't my favorite treatment. I don't find this overly flavored, but wish I could taste the rum a bit more. It lights and smokes easily out of my tin with no drying time. Burley forward blend here which helps with the cool smooth burn. Being a virginia lover this is lacking in the flavor department for me. I like a nice sweetness which this one doesn't impart. Light in nicotine as well, and I do like a bit in my tobacco. Good for a beginner flake smoker to practice but not for me.

Pipe Used: Rad Davis apple

Age When Smoked: 6 months

1 person found this review helpful.

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

Lemon and honey... Thats the short version of reviewing this tobacco...

Packaging is great. Both the tobacco and the tin of course. Upon opening the tin, first smell you get is the smell of honey. Probably in every corner of the world, products differ from place to place, but let me say this... I am a fan of tea as well. I drink a lot. Both regular and herbal tea. And there was this one herbal tea, from a well known manufacturer that said on the label, "Lemon and honey". This tobacco smells exactly like that tea. And curiously tastes similar..:) Other than that... This is strange, this may be labeled (and categorized) as a flake, but if this is a flake than most SG's are something else. They do not share the same characteristics when you rub them, and certainly "rubs into" very different things. I do like the aroma. Very distinctive. Light to medium strenght tobacco. Not very good in the pipe, if you do not let it dry. So let it dry, at least for 15 minutes or so. After that, easily smoked, quite a nice tobacco. Will I loose sleep over it, no...(There are some blends, if I am near the end of my last tin, I do loose sleep over it:))

Pipe Used: savinelli

Age When Smoked: new

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HPFlashman (9)	2014-05-14		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

One takes ones chances, the Mrs picked this up as one of three available pipetobaccos at Gardermoen Airport in Norway. Currently, this one, WØ Larsens Old Fashioned and MacBaren Scottish Blend are the stocked items, in regards to pipe tobaccos.

It is a regular flake tobacco, somewhat aromaticed and smell quite wonderfull of plum in the tin. I have experiemented a bit with packing on this tin, doing everything from just the roll&bend via rubbing it out, to clipping the flake with sissors. Every one of these have had its charm, but I think the roll&bend is my favourite for the moment. The first bowl of it hit me quite hard with Vitamin N, but later bowls have been fine.

I find that this tobacco, as well as most other "modern" is somewhat on the wet side when the box is popped and fresh. I dont know if this is to bulk out the weight or if its a strategy by the manufacturer for keeping the tobacco fresh over a longer period of time.

I find that a bit of drying out is quite mandatory to get a non blistering smoke, if one is to get any more than the smallest of sips and avoid scalding ones mouth and not burn the pipe.

The tobacco is sweet in the mouth, burns easily from second light to empty bowl and is quite satisfying. I have 5 flakes left of the initial box and will not hessitate picking up more, even though I normally prefer English blends over aromatics.

Pipe Used: Diverse

Age When Smoked: Fresh from shop

Purchased From: Tax-free shop, Gardermoen Airport

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2014-03-16		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Very tasty, balanced blend. It all comes together well, with a particularly nice spicy retrohale. No one component overwhelms - the combo just plain works well. Perfect from the tin, with no messy preparation - just fold and go! Burns clean all the way through. 4*.

Pipe Used: Italian Basket 35+ years old.

Age When Smoked: APR 2012 on label

Purchased From: Smokes on Burdick, Kalamazoo, MI

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Durwood Sauls (10)	2013-12-13		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Update:12/8/21: I keep coming back to this tobacco. When I first bought it it was too sweet, tart, and bright, for my taste. At the time I smoked predominantly burley based codger blends with English and Balkan blends for variety.

I think because the description says it’s mostly burley I expected that typical burley taste. I don’t think it tastes of nutty, cocoa, delicious burly, personally. I love a good burley, Solani 656 is one of my favorites. I’d say the burly is more of a supporting player here with this tasting mostly of cavendish with bright Virginia. But that could just be the topping completely covering the natural burley taste, which I suspect. The topping to me tastes unidentifiably sweet, honey/liquor but not necessarily rum. I can no longer tell if it’s honey or if that’s what I taste from the Virginia or Cavendish. Although according to some it’s heavily cased with a honey-like sugar which might be what puts me off it. It’s ever present, can be slightly bitter, and does not diminish with age.

When I was an inexperienced smoker used to easy smoking burley blends (Prince Albert, Lane BL/WB) this one burnt way too hot and bit me constantly. Now that I’ve learned to sip and dry it out I can taste it better I think. To me it’s a decent tasting albeit mild, generic, aromatic flavor (not my thing tbh). It’s quite mild to my taste buds. I have to be careful not to chase the flavor and get puffing away or else it will bite. It’s pleasant and sweet, if not a little cloying, a lil grassy because of the Virginia, the burley and cavendish add body and bitterness but no real flavor, I can predominantly taste whatever topping is used with a very monotone natural tobacco presence that’s the same to the end of the bowl. The room note is pleasant but not totally aromatic.

I can safely recommend this blend to anyone who likes the Danish style. It’s not my favorite but I don’t hate it. While it doesn’t wow me I do like having it on hand for an unobtrusive smoking experience. It’s not my go-to blend but it’s grown on me over the years. I’ve smoked it fresh from the tin and cellared at 5-12 years. It’s mellowed with age but still always tastes and smells the exact same.

Note: I’ve dried this out along with other tobaccos until many other offerings are completely desiccated. Whatever this is cased with keeps it ever so slightly moist and supple (like paper) even when other tobaccos turn to crackling and dust. That should tell you something.

Pipe Used: Bent Billiard, corncobs

Age When Smoked: Fresh - 12yrs

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2013-09-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just tried a tin of this. I'm not thrilled, I must admit. It's all right, and I didn't find that it burnt hot, as some others have complained, though it does burn rather quickly for a flake; but I thought it a bit ordinary and lacking interest and "body." As is so often true, the experience of smoking it doesn't live up to the delicious tin note. Not objectionable, by any means, but ... meh. If you want a tasty cased flake, Erinmore Flake or Peterson's University Flake are much better - more substantial - than this, for more or less the same price. Anything called Navy Flake should have more hair on its chest than this; ought to be the kind of stuff Popeye would smoke.

It's well presented, though, and it doesn't need drying or airing: you can smoke it straight out of that handy little tin (though I see that this has not been everyone's experience). Somewhat recommended, I suppose; but not a tobacco I would queue in the rain for. I'll probably smoke it again when the mood takes me, but normally I like something with a bit more character to it. I'd give it two and a half stars if that were possible.

Update 28 April 2018: I see that the handy little tin has been discontinued, at least in the UK. This is a great pity, I think. There has not been any corresponding reduction in price.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cigarcohiba (36)	2013-08-09		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Nice, forgiving burning characteristics. Different tastes linger, woody / hayish, whiskey / amaretto, and at times a "fishy" taste. Nice "numby" mouth aftertaste. Nice "chocolate" bowl smell.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	robsm2013 (9)	2013-07-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Great all day smoke - good quality tobacco - stays lit, not too moist out of the tin; not overly complex, flavors lingering in the background - must try

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ap (57)	2013-03-24		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Great flake with a nutty and slightly spicy taste and a honey topping, the smoke is light and not very sweet. Solid stuff!! 29/06/2103: i am smoking this one everyday since i tried , and its getting better and better. great all day baccy!!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-03-16		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is not at all horrible but must be the single most boring tobacco I have smoked. One-dimensional, and doesn't go anywhere or do anything. If you want something light and fresh to smoke in places you wouldn't smoke a stinky Lat then try Holgar Danske's Navy Flake instead.

The casing/topping, light though it is, makes it pretty much unsuitable for (my kind of) blending, so this will sit in my cupboard for a long time until I figure out what to mix it with.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Buster Bluth (56)	2013-03-15		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The quintessential MacBaren. Been smoking off and on for 10 years. This tobacco needs air like all from this company. I leave the tin cover off overnight, put it back on, and then wait a week or two, or longer. Hard to resist the temptation when these beautifully presented flakes are neatly stacked in a square tin with a wonderful aroma. This practice takes off the propensity to bite and enhances burning qualities.

Generally smoke in a pipe that can hold two folded flakes. Some shredded bits on top to get it goin, and you are off.

Starts off sweet and hay like. Slight tang of Va. The sweet honey essence wears off and it becomes a more burley forward smoke by mid bowl. Flavor profile is very similar to other MacBaren product and always consistent from tin to tin. Room note has a somewhat astringent like quality to this smoker. Good and enjoyable to the end if not pushed.

Not a complex one, and a tobacco that can be enjoyed while engaged in daily activities. Great and longer lasting outdoors where those OTC burleys burn in overdrive. 3 stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zachchandler92 (5)	2013-03-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is definitely the quintessential flake. It's mild, smooth, nutty, and peppery.

Tin note: sweet rum

Room note: nutty, slight spicy smell

Taste: Nutty, peppery, very smooth, slightly sweet

Overall: Wonderful! It lit fairly easily for a flake. It doesn't smoke hot, has a really smooth texture. No real nicotine hit. I really love the flavor. This goes well with both a mild dark rum and iced tea.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Taraban (9)	2013-02-05		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Awful, never again! // I can smoke it, I won't buy it // = Quite good, worth trying // * Must-have, I'm happy

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-01-31		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The tobacco comes in nice looking flakes, and is easy to fill and light (take a flake or two, fold them horizontally and verically, stuff them into the pipe and flatten the top a bit; finished!). Burns cooly, and keeps easily lit.

Tongue taste (the taste you feel on your tongue when you first get the smoke into your mouth): starts off with a mild fruity flavour. Not sweet and fruity as many more aromatic ones, but rather dry and fruity. After perhaps a third of the pipe a softer, sweeter side taste kicks in, kind of similar to MacB Mixture´s honey-and-hay taste. All through the smoke quite mild, but very pleasant, fruity but not too sweet.

Snork taste (the taste when you roll the smoke around in your mouth and out of your nostrils): some fruit, some more earthy burley notes, a bit of honey. Very pleasant, but a bit difficult to put a name on.

All together: The flakes look nice and have good burning qualities. The taste is quite fruity without beeing overly sweet (compared to MacB Mixture for example, not compared to heavy English blends). It isn´t a taste explosion, but sneaks up on you with its subtle tones. I have started smoking it as a complement to Mixture, for the times when I want less honey taste. I would really give it three and a half, but being a generous being, I round that off to four.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2012-11-17		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I recently got to try a tin (and a little more!) of this flake in a classic version; if I had to guess (based on some research of course), from between 1986 and 1992. I think it is a good basic flake, but have not had a less well-aged version to compare it to. I prefer the very well-aged MB roll cakes, but this is just fine, and neat to try a classic in an aged version in any case.

Nothing much to say about the smoke itself: it's just a basic VA flake to my tastes, and old Mac Barens give me no problems with bite. Maybe a touch of sweetness to it, MB's honey thing, but just a touch. Mild, pleasant smoke.

Added note: I can taste the rum just a little bit, but this stuff is just too old! Honey, however, has survived mummified pharaohs!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sirchud68 (60)	2012-11-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Just popped my first tin of MB Navy Flake. I've pretty much enjoyed every MB blend I have tried and being in a flake faze at the moment, I couldn't pass this up. 100g at a fair price. Typical flake packaging. Beautiful cut flakes with just about every hue of brown there is. Smell is sweet and sour with a hint of that MB honey top. Fold and stuff 1 slice fits perfect in my Kapet Canadian. Lights easy. Nice, smokable tobacco. I'll drop a few line after smoking the tin. 12/16/14 Edit: I've nailed the smell of this tobacco casing! To me, it smells of south Louisiana Muskedine grapes. Anyhow, I put this blend straight into mason jars when I opened the tin. Smoked it on and of for a few months and pretty much forgot about it. It was ok, but didn't hold my attention very long. I have to say, and this doesn't come as a suprise, that this flake has aged rather well. The muskedine smell is there but doesn't come through the smoke as much as I perceived my first go round. I get more of a natural tobacco taste, which I like very much. I'm going to bump my rating up just a tad. Remember, always jar you tobacco and come back to it later down the road. It's taste might have changed, or perhaps yours have. What a glorious thing...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-08-31		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This came reasonably dry in the tin, at first I didn't like it, but it grew on me, sorta.. Very nice burn qualities, I made a mm diplomat 3/4 full of broken flake last 1 hr. Pretty low in nicotine, comparable to most other McB blends. The rum flavouring is nice, sweet but musty, I suppose you could call it balanced.

I'm not sure if I'll buy more, this goes into the same category as their vanilla flake, it's ok. Definately not money wasted.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2012-08-19		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

High quality tobacco without a doubt but I don't get much from this mixture. A very slight dry grass & oat like sweetness comes forth on charring light and the honey overtones are noticeable in the aroma. I would never guess that this had any Rum topping whatsoever, obviously MacBaren applied it very lightly. If you are an aggressive puffer, this flake has the potential to fry your tongue. It stays lit pretty well and the smoke has a fairly weighty body to it, but as the bowl progresses it lacks complexity and any favorable flavors fade into an ashy high quality cigarette type taste. A decent enough take on the Navy Flake, but to my taste, nowhere near the best.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-05-30		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

This stuff is good. It burns amazingly. Keeping this stuff lit is a no brainer. It is mild and gentle. Very little casing, it is a very natural smoke. One thing, I need to pack this one a bit tighter then usual in order to achieve a slow sweet burn. Amazing, very enjoyable!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustOneforMe (28)	2012-04-26		Very Mild	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I have now smoked several Mac Baren offerings and will not review them any further since they are extremely not to my liking. If interested in my thoughts about their line of tobaccos then just see my review on Burley London, it pretty much sums up this vapid weed give or take a slight aromatic difference (vanilla, cherry etc...).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	machinebcon (50)	2012-03-30		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The 188th review of a Mac Baren classic will not contain any new information :) This is simply a very good all-day tobacco, bronze-brown flakes perfectly packed in a handy tin, with excellent honey+ketchup aroma. Good quality tobaccos are used here, Burley being the leader with the good-ole Mac Baren Cavendish. Packs easily (I usually rub out lightly), smokes easily, doesn't need the smokers attention at any time, just some tamping every now and then. Be careful, being a MB, the genetic disposition is tongue-bite - though not as bad as their pure VAs. It's not an orgasmatically superb tobacco, but an excellent smoke for the everyday. 3.5 stars - very good performance for comparably low price!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Connoisseur (47)	2012-03-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I like a good burley now and then to keep the palate alive and in my opinion, there are few good ones that really tickle my fancy. Mac Baren Navy Flake is not one of them. Unlike London Burley, which has a wonderful cut and taste(albeit extremely mild) the Navy Flake is a touch too dry and quite frankly a little boring. One thing I will say is it is consistent from tin to tin - and I have smoked a few - only because I have been able to secure it at bargain prices from supermarkets in Malaysia,where it is quite common. This is one of the few tobaccos where on several occasions I have discovered almost full tins of this tobacco lying abandonded and dried up at the back of my tobacco "cellar" and various other places.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-02-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this tobacco for the first time today, based on the reviews I saw here. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It burn better then the rest tobaccos I've tried (Peterson XMAS 2009, Mac Baren Original Choice and Vanilla Cream, Holger Danske Vanilla and Mango), it has real tobacco feel, smells a bit strong, but still better then the cigarettes I smoke. :) Wife rating is good, but not as good as with Original Choice and Vanilla Cream.

It's nicely packed, really handy for fast packing. I use 3 layer packing with the rest of tobaccos, but I tried fold method here and it worked like a charm.

So yes, I would recommend this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gunner525 (66)	2012-02-05		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Gave this flake blend a try this evening. It smokes cool and smooth, though I believe it's mostly a Burley blend as it does have a decent dose of vitamin-N. Seems the Virginia and Cavendish are added in to offset the nic hit of the Burley. As usual with Mac Baren though it's a great quality leaf with just the right amount of flavour. Definately will keep a tin around for an occassional smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bence (34)	2012-01-23		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

It was a nice surprise for me that this baccy contains just the right proportions of the components, and its strenght is also exactly for my taste. Prefer it in the colder seasons, autumn and winter. It is a good partner for an afternoon walk, and also perfect for drinking some beer or some wine. Sufficiently sophisticated, but there's no baroque-kind of exaggeration in it. So i recommend it to everyone, who wants a tasty, well balanced daily tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-11-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Extra Full	Tolerable to Strong

This was a little too spicy for my taste, but someone really into VA blends might appreciate that type of thing. I got some as a sample, and wound up mixing most of it to spice up another blend. I doubt I'll revisit this one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steden (100)	2011-11-14		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mac Baren's rendition of Navy Flake category is a decent and uncomplicated stuff, the tin smell portends a good amount of sweetness from both the topping and the tobacco, in effect there's a good sweetness but the blend is mild and well balanced, with nutty-honey-molasses notes (typical Mac Baren's mark) and traces of liquor (maybe Rum?). It smokes smooth and cool without bites and gurgles, very friendly. Personally I prefer a fully rubbing but even folded it's a classic “two matches“ tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Käpt`n Cook (17)	2011-09-27		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The Mac Baren Navy Flake is really a classical Blend. I know and love them for many years. The tobacco slices looks very nice and the tobacco is easy to handle. The flavour is maybe a mix between the typical Mac Baren honey note and a bit fruity like mandarins or oranges. In combination with the nice Virgina/Burley base get the taste a really interesting side. It´s a little bit like a summerday :-) Now you know I like this flake very much and the Navy Flake is my favourite Mac Baren Blend. I smoke it not the whole time, but when I opend a new tin I´m looking forward to pack my pipe, because the Navy Flake brings no surprise. You know what you get - an easy and relaxing smoke

Recommended

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-09-26		Very Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

On a 6-point scale:

Humidity (when openned): 3.5 Flavor: 3.5 Burning: 4 (6=cool) Strenght: 4 (6: very) Aroma: 5

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-09-17		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Great introduction to the Navy Flake concept of a stout blend that was supposedly smoked by old-time mariners exploring the seven seas. MacBaren's has good flavor and light honey casing that does not interfere with the blend. Burley is evident in room note which can be a little harsh to non-smokers--my wife included. I like this about once a week when I am doing something that requires mild concentration. Nice taste and a great smoke that doesn't demand your undivided attention.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Blue Bayou (60)	2011-09-01		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

Super nice blend that reminds me of old weathered teak planks on a Schooner with slight leather notes....

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	spidermonkey (11)	2011-07-15		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Rather new to pipes, I have made the usual progression through syrupy aromatics and wanted something with a reasonable aroma, while giving me a greater tobacco experience. When first opened, the smell of honey is quite strong, but pleasant. After letting a flake or two dry out for an hour or so, they seemed ready to go. The first half bowl or so was strong on honey, which faded to a mild flavoring as the nuttiness came through.

I put this tin aside for about a month and have since come back to it with no special attention paid to cellaring. The honey casing is now quite mild. The smoke has changed dramatically. It curiously leaves a grassy, almost fruity scent in my nose and the smoke has mellowed somewhat when breathed through the nose.

The room note, while nice enough, tends to be a little heavy and lingers for a while. The Mrs. doesn't protest too much, but it's not her favorite.

I will buy this again, but will pay greater attention to cellaring to see how it properly ages.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-07-13		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is one of my favorites, and I always have a tin on hand. It can bite if it's too moist or smoked aggressively. Tin aroma is honey.. I love it! For about the first half of the bowl the sweetness of the topping comes though, then it levels out to a a robust burley flavor.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fireball (36)	2011-05-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is OK. It's quite a sweet flake, a bit MacB-bitey (ie it has the same sharp edges as Plumcake, Navy, Va No.1), quite one dimensional after a while, but not a bad straight Va (with added sweetness). Nicely presented, handly little tin and not expensive.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	aadelma (67)	2011-05-02		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Of all the tobaccos in the MacBaren line I have tried, this is the best. It has a very high-quality appearance and presentation. It has the classic Danish aroma and taste which many other Danish tobaccos have, but it is a bit more gutsy due to it's flake format. It's easy to pack, just fold a flake and loosely stuff it in the bowl. The flavor is very nice with the cavendish, Va, and burley seamlessly blended together. It is pretty mono-dimensional, so if you like a dynamic blend, you wouldn't like this, but for idle puffing, it is very satisfying. There are 2 negatives, however, which make this only an occasional smoke for me. First, it can bite at times, though not as much as the other MacBaren products I have tried. Second, while it smells nice while burning, it leaves an after-smoking aroma of a stale ashtray which lingers in the room for an astonishingly long time.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-04-18		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

IMHO the quintessential Navy Flake. A mild smoke with a full tobacco flavor. Perfect flakes in the tin, and wrapped in a gold signature paper, this blend of tobacco's doesn't disappoint. You can "fold & stuff", as some reviewers note, but I like to rub a single flake, let it dry, then smoke. No bite, just a smooth, clean smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HokieGeek (23)	2011-04-02		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, this was a decent smoke, although the tin note promised more than it delivered. It had a surprising amount of spiciness but had a pretty good, sweet taste to it. Good room note.

Edit 7/27/2012: Downgrading my first score by one star. I can't seem to really get into this guy. I really want to. It really smells great in the tin but it tastes so bland and at its best it's an OK smoke. I guess it's just not for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Good quality leaf, but if you are looking for stronger flavors, you won't find them in this flake, subtle and nice flavors but you must dedicate your attn to it or you will miss it... go for Peterson UF for more of a punch

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Doctor Max (29)	2011-03-27		Mild	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This tobacco I would call mixture's big brother. It has everything I found lacking in the mixture. It is fuller, rounder and a little bit less sweet; very well balanced. It has all the features of Mac Baren tobaccos, from the neat tin and tight slices, to the biscuity notes and malty finish (present here in pleasant quantities!). Tin note is rum-raisin, dried figs, biscuits, hay, slight notes of cocoa and leather. It tastes exactly how you would expect from the tin note, maybe a tad on the drier side (which is not a bad thing). Packs and smokes very will with the fold an stuff method. Smokes cool and nice, I find "Mac Baren Bite" largely a myth. Room note is nutty, rum-raisiny, sweet; quite pleasant. Hard to find any weak points in this tobacco. Pleasant from first light to last puff, very consistent throughout.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-02		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This was the first flake I ever smoked and turned me into a permanent enjoyer of flakes. Previously, I had mainly smoked aromatics, but this blend made me want to explore different types of pipe tobacco and I am very grateful for that.

As for the flavor, it is a nutty, natural tobacco flavor with a nice touch of sweetness, which I suspect is from the cavendish. It burns wonderfully slow and cool. I puffed on it steadily and never recall any tongue bite. The nicotine hit was a bit overwhelming for me as a new pipe smoker, but I don't notice it now. A great tobacco for a smoker wanting to explore the delightful world of flakes, as well as for the smoker who already enjoys them. I've never tried any of the Samuel Gawith flakes, so I can't compare this with them. But it is because of this blend that I want to try all the different flakes I come across.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Denevei (58)	2011-01-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

There are a lot of different tobaccos called "Navy." Mac Baren's version of a navy flake is primarily a burley, but supposedly also contains Virginia and a cavendish. The tobacco comes in a very small tin, with the flakes neatly packed inside. Some people simply roll a flake or two up and stuff them into a bowl, but I like to rub out my tobaccos. This is a sort of crumbly tobacco, and when rubbed it breaks down pretty easily. It then packs well into a pipe. For most of my pipes, two flakes was just slightly too much tobacco, though one flake wouldn't have been nearly enough.

The tobacco lit easily, and burned very cleanly. There is a slight undertone of spiciness to the smoke, but it primarily has a nutty flavor typical of burly, and is nicely sweet, though not as sweet as the Virginias I usually smoke. I think there is a honey sweetening in the tobacco. The flavor is more one-dimensional than a Virginia, but that's not a criticism, just an observation. The flavor is a good one. My impartial judge stated that the room aroma was more pleasant than the Virginias I smoke, too.

Mac Baren's Navy Flake DGT's well, which is important to me. The smoke stays cool and dry, and the tobacco burns to a nice, gray ash with little dottle at all. The more I smoked of this tobacco, the more delight I found in it, until I realized that it wasn't going to be a one-time purchase – this is a tobacco I'll keep around to provide a nice break from my usual fare.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Arkie (129)	2011-01-06		Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

As others have remarked, the presentation of the tobacco is wonderful with the foil liner and neatly stacked flakes. The tin smell is one of hay. The room note is okay - you won't get thrown out of the house but you won't get any favorable comments either. It burns a bit hot but it won't bite unless smoked too aggressively. The problem is a lack of flavor. I do like the blend but it is frustrating because it is a bit too bland.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	morphijuana (17)	2010-12-26		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Not my favorite Mac Baren tobacco, but not the worst Ive tried either. From the tin it has a great sweet honey smell and the flakes looked great. The taste... Left me wanting, especially for such an expensive tin. It was rather bland, with an overly sweet taste for my pallet. I'll burn this tin and call it a day I think. Happy smoking!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TK Pipe (101)	2010-12-14		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

MB Navy Flake... With so many Navy, this and that, to choose from, this is one I never got around to trying, so I added a tin in my last on-line order. Tin aroma is real nice, and the flakes are just beautiful, but I just can't get into its smoking qualities. Just not my kind of blend, sums it up pretty good. Add to that I was hoping for something with more manners, this one wants to bite, and leaves me with an unpleasant mouth feel during the smoke.

Many favor this blend and will disagree with my opinion. To them I say, thats OK, after all this is only my opinion, yours will no doubt vary. My findings were gathered from plowing thru a single (seemed huge) 100 gram tin. I'm glad it's over. My personal rating 1/5, because I'm in the minority here, somewhat recommended.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-12-01		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I put this one No 1 in all other McBaren.My very first flake experience and was a bit frightened if I could smoke properly.,but it was piece of cake to burn and last.Good for beginners like me I guess.Taste is very good according to my standards.Enjoyed this one a lot.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-11-21		Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant

Easy to smoke, easy to charge. Good quality leafs.

I had some expectations on this one, but, finally, the Mac Baren toping/casing hurted again.

Perhaps it is a matter of personal chemistry, cause I cannot bear this honey-like thing they put in many of their offerings. I could many years ago, when I was an Aromatic smoker.

Better after a pair of weeks, when this casing tends to vanish a bit.

In my flakes I look for more taste and less device. And normally prefer more Virginia and less to none Burley.

Good if you want a very light and cased tobacco with very thin flakes.

Rdx score: 84.7 (10 pipes smoked)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-11-17		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Nice even smoke, lights easy and stays lit. My wife likes the like aroma. I've found it smokes best in my Upshall #4.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-11-02		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I can't say enough positive things about this tobacco. It is delicious, slow burning and wonderful. To be honest I didn't realize what an accomplishment this was until I tasted some of Mac Beren's other tobacco choices. This is an amazing tobacco, and stands out from the pack of MacB blends. Cool smoking, flavorful and delicious.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-10-18		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Opening the tin rewards you with a delicious, plum/fig like smell. Definitely one of my favorite aromas.

This is one of the first flakes I had ever tried when I first started smoking a pipe. I use Mac Baren's suggestion of the "fold and stuff" method. It works and lights very easily with some small loose bits sprinkled on top.

I dry a few pieces of flake on a piece of paper for about a half hour after taking it out of the tin. It also smokes very cool and pleasantly with the room note being very nice.

I love flakes because of the minimal maintenance after lighting and slow burn. Navy Flake is one of my regular go to's, especially in company.

1 person found this review helpful.

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

This was the first flake that i have ever tried and i can say that i am quite impressed by it. I had no problems lighting or staying lit, it was packaged nicely and i enjoyed a consistent smoke. There definitely is a hint of honey or something like it. Anyone looking to try a flake i would recommend this one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2010-10-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

A lovely flake, thinly sliced with an elegant presentation in the tin - one of the best I have seen. I left the lid off overnight to dry the tobacco to my liking. It smokes wonderfully with a subtle sweetness and mellow notes. No bite and well behaved. MacBaren hits a homerun with this flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeLover (16)	2010-09-10		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

As a beginner I can say that I was somewhat disappointed that even the best tobaccos don't have the taste I was looking for. Until I tried this one. Most of the top reviews here are for blends with latakia, I can't stand latakia, it smells like burnt tires, and it contaminates everything.

It may be my taste buds, but I love this stuff. I love honey and this blend delivers plenty of that. Some of the more experienced pipers here will probably not agree with me, but I think this stuff is great for beginners and veterans who don't want too heavy of a smoke. And the room note is absolutely delightful, even the non- smokers kept inhaling the aroma. I smoke it daily. I agree with the previous poster that the tin tastes a bit better than the bulk pack. Try it with an open mind, and you will love it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-09-09		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Pop open the tin and you are greeted with a soapy almost chemical smell to this rich tasting blend from MacBaren. But don't let it deter you from its worthy surprise. The brown flake is easy to stuff and load requiring a light or two to get it going and then experience the virginias coming together with the burleys and Cavendish to give you a slightly sweetened and wonderful smoke. I like this one because i can smoke it all the way down to the bottom of the bowl without having to relight, enjoying the Navy characteristics of pressed flake tobacco that offers a detectable amount of chocolate with a tad of honey raisins under it. Delightful and enjoyable along with a decent amount of nicotine you will not go wrong with this wonderful and very interesting blend. I usually purchase three of these at a time because to me the tins seem to taste a little better than the box.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Burner (8)	2010-06-24		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Lovely tin aroma of raisin and honey. Flakes are golden brown in colour and seem to be just right in terms of moisture. Loads easily and behaves impeccably in the pipe. Burn is particularly good requiring relights only when one isn't paying attention. Lovely smooth flavours echoing the tin aroma develop nicely throughout the bowl with no bite. A real go to when you need a dependable and thoroughly enjoyable smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-06-20		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Very Pleasant

Wow! This is good stuff.

In the tin it smells of chocolate and honey. The two rows of flakes are pleasing and appetizing to the eye.

I folded and stuffed, and it lit right away straight out of the tin and stayed lit, smoking right down to fine white ash around an hour later. The chocolate taste stays, and deepens right to the end, but doesn't detract from the taste of the tobacco. Lovely and rich from start to finish, with little or no bite. Staight to the number one spot in my list.

To repeat: Wow!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-05-08		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

very good,slow burning flake tobacco with wonderful honey aroma. smoking with a small puffs you will ensure maximum taste and long lasting pleasure. it goes very good with caffe.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-21		Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable

I smoke this tobacco in only 2 of my pipes.The smallest ones. With just 1 flake, I get a smoke of 1:40 hour.Very steady and dry. It's a tobacco with "own character" and it's not reccomended to force the smoke.Lay low, and enjoy.keep several seconds between puffing and be gentle.You are going to get what you wished for.I don't let it dry for more than 15 minutes.So that its chocolate-like aroma stays "fresh"

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-08		Very Strong	Strong	Medium to Full	Very Strong

This tobacco is little bite strong for beginner of VA, but for VA smoker it's a really good blend, with really good taste.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old Schoolr (14)	2010-04-06		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Looking thru my reviews I find I've neglected reviewing MacBaren Navy Flake. This is one of my favorite tobaccos. I use the MacBaren "Fold & Roll" method when the tobacco is still moist enough to fold. When it dries out & is no longer foldable I rub it out a bit. This is one of the few tobaccos I've smoked dry as last Fall's leaves & still enjoyed the flavor. It has a good room note & the taste is a balance of the Va., burley & Cavendish w/ each playing it's part & not overpowering the others. Navy Flake is a "premium" aromatic & is more of an everyday smoke than their Vanilla Cream Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-02		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Yes - Virginia, Burley, Cavendish combination, and I think the only MacBared offering I keep coming back to. As with any MacBaren blend, it 'smarts' the tongue just enough to let you know it can and will bite, if it is not smoked with due respect.

If smoked at its own pace this is a very rewarding smoke indeed. Contrary to MacBaren's own recommendation of folding and filling, I find a full rub-out and a loose fill in an oversized bowl really does draw out the full flavour and intensity of this blend; it also, in my opinion, reduces the dreaded bite'.

5 stars MacBaren!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-03-31		Mild to Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a Va/Burley blend but it seems to lean toward the Burely. The flakes are well aged. Taste is full with very light notes of honey and rum, but the notes are barely noticable. Pleasant smoke. Smoke slowly.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ELF (40)	2010-03-05		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

ONE OF THE BEST"Navy-Flakes"ON THE MARKET!!!Haven't been able to get this in Canada;for over 5yrs(just finished my last tin). .It also Cellars Well...Very mild,long as you don't get in a hurry...RELAX And Enjoy :+))

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-02-16		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

for a latakia lover like me.this tobacco impressed me so much. you open the tin you see the beauty!flakes nicely presented, i loaded it and smoked it straight a way and i was a happy man!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-02-10		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Love the tin, nice design, small, compact. Sparkley foil wrap and lovely tin aroma, sweet as can be. This is the third totaly different blend that I've found under "Navy Flake" and as far as I can tell this one doesn't even have rum in it. I think that the Cavendishes must provide most of the sweetness and aroma here.

The flavour and smoke is nice and spicy, bouyant and lively. A bit of a pick-me-up is this if you ask me. I've found that it can bite and burn hot but if smoked gently it's lovely. Burns very easily so that isn't a problem and the flakes are perfect for packing by just folding and stuffing.

It's nice, I like it.

1 person found this review helpful.