Mac Baren Navy Mixture

This is not a tobacco Flake!

Also if you're looking for something light, looks good on the web, there is much better!

My advice is to search for quality, find it so beautiful is smoking a pipe!

Mac Baren's Navy Mixture was first introduced in 1988 as a one-off "year" tobacco, and it came in a 250 gram square tin with paintings of ships IIRC. This tobacco is not the same as what is offered today. It was then a unifom, quite finely ready rubbed mixture with a different taste to today's NM. Why it was changed, I do not know but to me, this change is for the better. This is the current description on the bottom of the newly reintroduced 100 gram tins: "This complex mixture consists of over 30 raw tobaccos, and is a masterpiece of blending. Ready rubbed Virginia and Burley tobaccos, loose cut Virginia, Burley and the original Mac Baren Cavendish blended with small pieces of flake tobacco ensure a slow and cool smoking pleasure. Navy Mixture is a blend which will satisfy the experienced smoker, and give you a new and exciting taste experience".

Now, in the nineties I used to very much enjoy a mixture called "Montrose blend 47", also blended by Harald Halberg (stated on the tin) and this Navy Mixture is almost indistinguishable. Under the honey flavour there is a very tasty blend of mainly Virginia and Burley, but with a tart note that could be added to mimick Perique. The "small pieces of flake" could be Navy Flake for all I know. More strength than either Mixture or Plumcake, but not quite in Navy Flake territory. Very soft and smooth on the palate, very satisfying. Deserves wider recognition in my opinion. Rob

Wonderful ! If you like Mac Baren Mixture and Navy Flake then you will love this one.

As I have already noticed with all Mac Baren blends; their tobaccos in pouch (and bulk) are much inferior in quality and flavor than their tins or the plastic containers, I have tried many of their pouchs and bulk blends and was wandering if they are really using the same tobacco or it is just a packaging problem? e.g. while Virginia No.1 is fruity and tasty in tin, it is bland, harsh, bity and tasteless in bulk and pouch.

This review is based on the 100G tin pack.

This is between Mixture and Navy Flake, the tin aroma is exactly same as Mixture therefore, I used a pipe already dedicated to Mixture, the flavor start similar to Mixture and this during the first half bowl, the second half is very nutty, the rum casing start to show up and I find myself almost smoking navy flake.

Since I am an all-day smoker of Mixture, I am very happy with this one and will add it to my daily rotation.

Boy, did this one ever disappoint me!

Bought it two years ago, maybe a couple years after it was released on the market.

Typical same bakkie form as Plumcake, but there stops the comparaison.

Not cased in any way, which triggered a curiosity on my part.

Not satisfying, and the dark Cavendish doesn't bring the so pretended tasty side of things.

Just had this with a friend and I'm not sure why anyone should think this anything but a sophisticated and enjoyable smoke.

In the pipe the topping does not transfer to the smoke- but in comrade's tin there was a mild vanilla/fruit custard that was so mild it could barely be made out. It just made it interesting.

Check out the boards about proper smoking technique with Virginias; this tastes like nothing too hot.

Great- hate to see this go!

Navy Mixture seems to be similar to Navy Flake, especially from its honey and slightly sweet aroma; but I think it's not quite the same. NM is definitively richer in taste from beginning to end. The nicotine level is also more pronounced and it offers much more complexity, I find, than NF. So if a Riobbon Cut has more flavour and taste than a flake, there must be a plus to it. And I suspect that plus might be that there's more VAs in this one. It's really too bad it's being discontinued because I would see myself adopt it as my every day tobacco. Seriously, this is a fine mixture.

I'm a big fan of Mac Baren products. Not as big a fan of Navy Mixture. The aromatic element in this tobacco strikes me as floral, perfumy and somewhat bitter. What's more, I could taste it from top to bottom of the bowl. The strength is similar to Plumcake, (medium and satisfying) but that's where I stop comparing the two (I love Plumcake, casing and all.) The burleys make an appearance about halfway down, but still doesn't round out the flavor for me. The broken flake makes for a longer smoke which is nice. Won't be purchasing again but happily finished the tin.

Notwithstanding what is described in the heading, I did not detect any aromatic additive. I found this blend to be quite enjoyable and one of MacBarens best. I am not an aromatic smoker thus I am sensative to any flavoring in tobacco.

Bland and lacking any real depth of flavor. I was hoping for a sort of a Navy Flake light, what I got was half and half without the topping.