Mac Baren Navy Mixture

As a Dane, one of the big influences that made start my pipe smoking career some twenty years ago, was extensive literature written by the Danish pipe guru Paul C. Olrik.

Paul was raving about how good English tobacco was, but he was also raging against Danish tobacco as being mass produced inferior tobacco that would only please the mob. Mac Baren took a big hit in the sixties, and a "war" between independent literature and the industry raged across good 'ole Denmark.

That made me avoid Mac Baren for quite some time.

Olrik was very wrong in some aspects, because Mac Baren makes some outstanding blends nowadays as well as some rather unfortunate concoctions. (see my other reviews if I should manage to tickle your curiosity).

This one is good

For me Navy Mixture could consist of half rubbed out Navy Flake and half MB Mixture, but I don't think one would get Navy Mixture if one did a half 'n half IRL. It's just a way to illustrate that there is more burley in this one and less honey.

And somehow Mac Baren managed to go easy on the PG for once.

Not very complex - since 35 different tobaccos are bound to equalize into something rather simple - but nice and easy with friendly butter cookie notes.

I like it but I don't love it, and it will never even get close to beating Mac Baren's Roll Cakes.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

This sure is similar to Navy Flake. I have been gifted the entire line of Mac Baren's blends for review purposes and find this one to be a little too mild for my tastes. It is somewhat sweeter than the flake version although this one is kind of chunky in the tin and I rubbed it out a bit more before smoking.

Like most Mac Baren's blends, this can heat up a bit if not appreciated at a modified smoking pace.

If I can ever say point to one blend that started me on the path to Virginias it would be this one. Very lightly topped with maybe honey or something similar that marries seamlessly with the suggestion light golden fig and dried plum on the nose. Beautiful, nuanced, and layered this is meant to be a cool, slow, and reflective smoke. (This product has been discontinued… stock up when/if you find it).

BRING THIS BACK!

Some people may have thrown up in their mouths by the above statement (Mac Baren Navy Mixture really?) but I'm an unabashed fan; a delicious light sweetness enveloped by Burley's buttery texture and a flirty disposition thanks, in-part, to the judicious use of Cavendish.

It is an elegant and pleasing smoke, always cool, and never boring--- given that you smoke it slow; power-puffers beware, smoking this hot makes it taste like a whole bowl-full of nothing with a side of zeitgeist.

WHY THIS BLEND IS RELEVANT This is an ideal Tobacco to begin ones descent into the world of Virginia's and VaPers which are so nuanced and ethereal that they can go right over your head. As much as Solani's Virginia flakes enthrall the world a new pipe smoker may find them as compelling as wet grass.

Like Grand Cru Chablis and other highly-regarded but less 'mainstream' wines one 'arrives' at Virginia/VaPers but certainly, IMHO, one doesn't start out with them. The kind of nuance, care, patience, and coaxing many of these Virginia-dominant and pure VA blends demand.

And so, a blend like this is relevant, as a prelude to things like Escudo, Luxury Navy Flake, and Solani Va Flake et. al. - to get one's wheels primed for the fig, honey, and hay nuances that are so revered by lovers of Virginias but can be completely taken for granted by those not-yet fully indoctrinated (as an experiment, especially if you are not that familiar with white wines and especially French white wines, go out and splurge and buy yourself a bottle of Savernieres Clos Coulee de la Serrant from Nicolas Joly, and give it a whirl- the wine-geeks adore this wine, I do to, and its considered one of France's best-- but most everyone else finds it repulsive and think it's old). It's a context vs. experience thing.

But this is the beauty of worlds like this- that of tobacco, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, cheese, perfumes, and the like and such progression the goal (it is, after all, the path that matters) and Navy Mixture, to me, a once-important milestone on that journey.

(I am buying up tins FYI)

Similar to Mixture-Scottish Blend, Mac Baren?s Navy Mixture combines matured Virginias, toasted Black Cavendish and Burleys (which do not seem as predominant as in Scottish Blend), to produce a very nice and a slightly sweeter smoke than its more popular relative. As with all Mac Baren blends, careful smoking is recommended because of their tongue biting mildness. I must say that the tin I am now smoking was bought, opened, and its contents partially sampled six years ago. At the time I was frustrated by the hot smoking characteristics that the esteemed Pipestud refers to and which seem to be endemic to this brand. Thern again, six years ago my palate was perhaps different and in search of fuller blends.

Checking out in my rather modest tobacco cellar a few days ago I found the tin, and the golden foil in which the tobacco is wrapped, in pretty good conditions. The tobacco, however, was dry. I applied a little bit of demineralised water to moister it, waited a couple of days, and have been smoking it on and off since then. I cannot say it has been a wonderful experience, but it has been surprisingly rewarding.

I now find that the original mildness has evolved into something with more body, more mature. There is a certain sobriety to the flavour, slightly chocolaty and piquant, that makes it quite palatable. With not as much broken flake as Scottish Blend, the mixture is easy to pack, light and smoke. The room aroma is very enjoyable and there is no harsh after taste. Recommended to all Burley-Virginia smokers who occasionally enjoy a sweet tooth, but should take care of smoking it slowly.

As I have stated in other reviews I like to keep one tin of a certain genre like medium strength flake - Erinmore Flake, Aromatic - Mixture Monster, Burley - Storm Front... etc open at a time so I don't have a million cracked tins drying out, it also helps to make sure I finish them in a reasonable time even if I didn't really enjoy a certain new blend.

The good thing about living in Vegas is there are millions of cigar smokers and very few pipe smokers (that I've noticed) so my local B&M has aged tins of everything!! My tin of NM is from 2009 and has a wonderful 6 years of age snuggling / nesting in its tin and that's the key to Macbaren aromatic blends - age (or use a filter), The moisture is cut in half, the bite completely removed and the flavor kicked up a notch while being much smoother now! So perfect is the moisture I packed it right from a fresh tin, death to my tongue you say? try that with Plumcake HA! but not in this case, burned all the way down with a relight or two, the mixed cuts burned cool and the Burley and Virginia's are delightful. I can see why NM has been discontinued though, it is too close to Scottish Mixture and Plumcake without the topping, between the two blends actually so no need in their lineup.

This is wonderful with the age on it, age really turns Macbaren blends into 4 star tobacco's (provided you liked the fresh blend but felt it bit, burned hot and just wasn't smooth enough) age tames this beast and Macbaren uses wonderful broken cake Virginia's that are just begging to be aged for 5 years. 3 stars new, 4 with 6 years on it....

Pleasant, perfectly pleasant.

To be honest, I didn't really expect much when I decided to open the tin. In fact, I decided to open it because I thought if I didn't it would deteriorate further. Boy was I wrong. Upon opening the 100 gram tin my nostrils were greeted by the rich aroma of honey The rough cut ribbon strands were of every shade from pale yellow to deep Brown with a general hue of burnt sienna. Surprisingly, the moisture level was low enough to put straight into the pipe, so that I did. I simply pinched a clump and stuffed it straight into the bowl of my trusty King's Cross Featherweight 110A Blast, a pipe I often use to try new blends. Not much taste on the charring light, but with the true light she was burning slowly and evenly. Both the natural tobacco flavors and the elusive sweetness of the topping were hard to place but interesting enough to keep me smoking until the bottom of the bowl. No dottle, just ash and a small amount of dried, partialy burnt leaf starnds were all that was left when the pipe finally went out on its own. The aftertaste wasn't bad, but not too good either. However, since the very first bowl this has become my new "go to" blend. I have found that bowl after bowl I'm given just enough of a tease to keep me interested. Really nothing amazing, yet these days it's the first blend that comes to mind whenever I'm in the mood for a smoke.

Keep in mind the tin had over 5 years on it and the moisture level was perfect for smoking when I cracked it open. Unfortunately this blend has recently been discontinued, but the fact that it ages so well makes it a great investment to ensure years of pleasant smoking.

I'm one of very few that rate this blend so high, and perhaps the age of my particular tin was what made all the difference.

All I know for sure is bowl after bowl I get a great smoke that always makes me come back for more.

Pleasant smoking to all.

I like this! Just nice all around. Velvet without the fruit and spice. More like a butter/sugar cookie in taste/aroma. Smoked well in my briar. Can be smoked in a cob, but best out of a briar. It's a laid back no frills type of smoke. Aromatic lovers may not like this one. This isn't the holy grail of pipe tobacco, but it's mild and unassuming which more times than not is quite refreshing. This is what your dad or grandfather would have smoked. Or at least something similar, as aromatics were less common many decades ago. This one set my sails and it felt damn good. This blend's a little hard to come by. One word of advice, buy the tin. I also have bad luck with the pouches. I think it's because the tins keep the tobacco fresh for a long time, while keeping out the elements.

When I bought it was pretty dry so I had to rehumidified it, so I think my sensastions on this blend were alterated by this fact, This tobacco is very pleasant to smoke and a leave an "alcholic" room note. Nevertheless, the burley dominate the mixture and leave a sense of "earth" in your mouth, a good mixture but not my favourite.

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...).

This is actually pretty good as an aro goes. I decanted this into a jar and left it some weeks. I now smoke either this or Plumcake as my evening pipe. Bite is much reduced, nice, not too sweet, not much N and almost indistinguishable from Plumcake but overall it's a good light aro that the wife doesn't mind in the room.

Supposedly 30 odd different raw tobaccos in this mix which I can't help but think makes it a floor sweepings special, and if this was such a great idea why slather them all in a sweet topping, but that might just be me.

If you are not sensitive to bite and you want a pleasant, sweet, easy mash-up mix then you could do a lot worse.