Mac Baren Navy Flake

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.