Mac Baren Navy Flake

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!

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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.

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.