Mac Baren Navy Mixture

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....

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.

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.

I agree with other reviewers who describe Navy Mixture as an easy tobacco to like. It has a sweet, grassy taste when lit, part of which is due to topping, becomes somewhat more full bodied and slightly nutty, and is a bit peppery toward the end. I've received no complaints about aroma and personally find it pleasant. It lights easily and stays lit. I often take Navy Mixture on vacation, because it's so cooperative.

I've never been so much as nipped by Navy Mixture. I suspect that complaints about tobacco bite are often caused by unartful packing of the pipe which leads to heroic efforts to maintain a burn which leads to the dreaded bite.

And here's my secret about Mac Baren Navy Mixture -- It takes very well to being augmented with a bit of Latakia, which is of some consequence during the indoor smoking season here in New England. I'm now IN THE HOUSE smoking a 40/60 mix of Navy Mixture and 10-year-old Dunhill 965 in a 40-year-old Petersen. I'm enjoying it very much and hear zero (as in 0.00!!)complaints from the rest of the family. If I lit up a full-strength bowl of 965 they'd be in here clutching their throats, wheezing pitifully and staggering about, you can be sure.

Sip don't puff.

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.

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 have to specify that this tobacco is not a flake, but a mixture composed of loosed cut and broken flakes. It smells more like Scottish Mixture than Plumcake: it does not have the spicy note that caractherizes Plumcake. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It is richer than Plumcake, definitively more flavorful and does not bite at all. I would not be surprised at all if NM would take over Plumcake in my favorites.