Mac Baren Navy Flake

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.

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.

This is a favorite tobacco of mine. Whe I first open the tin, I get a strong smell of honey. The flakes are easily rubbed out, and pack well. The burn rate is nice too.

This is a very sweet Virginia. I enjoy the taste, and feel that it gets stronger as the bowl winds down.

Room aroma is also well liked by others, and is often mistaken for an aromatic.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.