Mac Baren Plumcake

Plumcake tastes a lot like an English blend with a helpful dose of rum. Like most Mac Baren blends it must be smoked with care or will give you tongue bite. In a cheap Meerschaum it burned my tongue pretty bad, in my more expensive IMP Meerschaum my tongue felt literally like I had not smoked the day before. As with most aromatic pipe tobaccos remember to smoke with a good cadence, pack it well, use a good pipe, and drying it a bit before smoking it doesn't hurt either. Overall this is a good blend and I recommend it.

I have only been partaking in pipe tobaccos since January of this year so please bear that in mind as well as this is my first review here. After reading most of the over 200 reviews here i felt the need to try this for myself. The obvious seems to be covered above and by many whom have already reviewed this here so i will get straight to my impressions. Tin note is welcoming in the sense one wants to find out how it tastes. Packing and prelight was simple and straight forward. One can definitely taste the latakia but its not overwhelming by any means, more so enough you know its presence but not to over power the other tobaccos. What i found interesting is the cavendish that adds a sweetness to the whole experience. For someone who smokes Aromatics this would be an ideal transition to non Aromatic tobaccos and definitely opened the door for me to many other blends.The burleys, virginias, cavendish, and latakia all were present and none seemed to overpower the others which made for a delightful experience for me. As for the tongue bite issue many have spoke of i found a few things i thought to share to help limit it. First, cadence. Slow down. It helps a lot. Second, and this may be my tin being a little too moist, let it dry for 15 to 30 minutes prior to loading and lighting. Third, and finally, if the other two dont work, use a filter. I have smoked it with and without, prefer without, and the filter can curb a good bit of the dreaded bite. The filter does also take away a good bit of flavor for me hence i dont use them whilst smoking plumcake anymore. This is easily an all day smoke. At least for me. It also has an acceptable room note so you wont run anyone away.Definitely a must try for Aromatic smokers looking for something more or for anyone looking to try a latakia blend that is not latakia heavy. I like it and intend to keep some around as it hits quite a few marks for me right now. Cheers!

Plumcake remains one of my favorites of all-time. We would send tins of it to my dad's youngest brother when he was serving in the infantry in Vietnam, so it also holds a certain 'nostalgic' appeal for me. But it is one of the most layered tobaccos out there, possessing a considerable amount of flavor from start to finish, producing a pleasant room note and, yes, a bit of tongue bite (but then again, most tobaccos have at least a bit of tongue bite, let's be honest!). Open a tin of this and you won't be able to resist. Not an 'everyday' smoke, indeed, so sit back, relax and don't push it.

I love it and I did not expect that. The tobacco does not smell very nice in the tin, as it is a mix a fruit aroma with tobacco and latakia, that does not pair very well in my opinion. From the first light the latakia is dominant but this is is a very bright and light taste, that’s brings to mind olibanum scent, it is not the musty leather type latakia which can be found in Balcans and other types of latakia tobacco. After a few puffs the latakia moves in the background giving the feeling that you smoke Orientals, lets say. Then the fruit becomes more evident tasting like apricot or plum but this is not artificial it is very nice, in line with the tobaccl taste. After several puffs the fruit also moves in the background, while latakia can be barely traced. Then is the turn of Virginia for a few puffs before starting competing with burley which finally dominates to a large extend. The burley in terms of taste reminds me aged burley from Solani with that sweet nutty taste but lighter in nicotine kick. If you leave the pipe for a while to cool down then the first puffs again will have more latakia and it seems that as many times you relight the pipe you will experience the same cycle but at a lower intensity. This is a sweet smoke but not overwhelmingly sweet or aromatised it is difficult to say that this is an aromatic because it is very different from the rest. In any case this is an aromatic that you can taste the tobacco being able to say every moment hmm now I smoke sweet Virginia, now I smoke burley and so on. This is European style taking characteristics from Danish and Dutch aromatics I really like this tobacco, but in my experience please do not try it in small bowls since it tends to byte in small bowls and you will not be able to taste it. I smoke it with carbon filter, and I have not experienced serious byte, maybe a tiny one if pushed. It does not byte like cream vanilla or Scottish mixture if you know what I mean. Taste and smoking is very personal but I have to recommend that one, as a really good and special smoke, that I like it in the mornings, in the evenings in the nights, usually this is not the case for me with aromatic tobaccos.

My bias first. MB uses the same base Cavendish in many of their blends giving a similar taste, but unique to MB, in those blends that have it. Plumcake has it and I like it. That said, MB then blends additional taste profiles using different condiment tobaccos, top dressings, and cuts. I like their rough cut or broken cakes, spun and flake blends. Plumcake is, as the name implies a broken cake. I also have found that MB tobaccos that have aged in the tin with the vacuum broken so they have dried some smoke and taste better. Another alternative, if the tin is new, is to pack your pipe and let it sit overnight. Plumcake handles easier if it is drier.

Now, as other reviewers have noted PC can bite the tongue, especially if wet from a new tin. Even dry, it needs to be sipped - puffed slowly. I think too it does better in a larger pipe. If sipped, it rewards with a wonderful sweet and sour taste. It is plummy to the taste with a spicy counter taste. The combination of the Rum, Virginia, Burley, and MB Cavendish pressed into a Navy cake (what the sailors of old did with their allotment of tobacco on long voyages) marries to create its unique taste profile. My tin is 5 years old and counting (ok, my larder is large enough so I can age blends w/o going on a diet) and in the tin you can smell the sweet and sour aroma. The blend is predominantly dark brown and red leaf with a salting of black tobacco, perhaps perique ( it could also be steamed or blackened Cavendish).

If you like VA/Per or Navy cakes, and you sip this, it will reward you and is worth the effort. Remember those old sailors were a tough breed who smoked their pipes with leather tongues often in the wind. They wanted a big taste experience and PC provides it. Perhaps not for the novice, but I find it a rewarding blend as a challenge to sip, go slow, and as a change of pace from other blends. I am giving this 3 Stars since it can be difficult and is a change of pace blend for me.

Plumcake is the finest of Mac Baren aromatic blends, the tin aroma is unique and mysterious, the flavor is Smokey, fruity and delightful, however, this is truly a very, very bitey smoke, at any minimum provocation it will literally destroy your tongue for 2 days

Just pay attention! smoke it very sloley, if you still can not, try Mac Baren The Solen Mixture, this is almost the same as Plumcake but without the bite.

Plumcake is one of my favorite tobaccos, I buy it in bulk and it improves nicely with age.

Plum Cake had been on my "to-try" list as I really enjoy Rum and have been working my through some Navy Flakes and Mixtures.

I received a small bag of Plum Cake in my TinSociety box as one of the "Aromatics". Like others have mentioned this is NOT one of the "over-the-top" aromatics (which I do enjoy from time to time).

my sample was quite dry by the time I tried it, so I'm not sure what the normal moisture level is from a new tin. I loaded up one of my Canadians and sipped based on the warnings of tongue bite.

I got the taste of a good English with some good smokiness from the Syrian Latakia complimented with a nice Rum topnote. I could see this joining Pembroke and Bagpipers Dream in my "Boozy" rotation easily.

It smoked without a relight and no trouble at all. No goop at the end. A winner

Just finished a tin of Plumcake. This tobacco is an aromatic with a touch of Latakia added. Upon opening the tin I am greeted with the aroma which reminds me very much of blueberries. Various grades of brown leaf - from very light to black - in the tin. The cut is your standard ribbon cut with a few broken flakes present.

The tobacco is a bit too moist to smoke fresh out of the tin. I let it dry for half an hour before packing it in the pipe. Packing is very easy as one can expect from this style of cut. Lights easily and keeps going without too much relights.

There is a bit of sweetness from Virginias and Burleys and a little bit of smokiness in the taste which I guess is from Latakia. You have to smoke this blend very slowly, just taking slow sips, otherwise the taste is pretty harsh and you will burn your tongue. I tried smoking it with and without filter and in different pipes. The best smoking experience I get is when I'm smoking it in Peterson pipe with P-lip stem. The smoke is cooler, more flavorful and doesn't burn the tongue. The casing is very subtle, so it doesn't obstruct natural tobacco flavor.

Smokes down to nice grey ash. I would say that the room note is rather pleasant. Would not recommend this tobacco for a novice pipe smoker without experience. Not because it is too strong but because it must be smoked very carefully.

Plumcake was something I was scared to even try. The dreaded bite from this blend kept it hidden in my cellar until just a couple weeks ago. I finally summoned the courage to give it a shot, and was pleasantly surprised by the blend. Tin note, room note, taste, all amazing. Even my wife signed off on the room note. The bite is there however. Plumcake is a blend you must be ever mindful of or it can quickly bite you in the butt. My tongue has made it through a few bowls in great shape thanks to letting the tobacco dry out a bit and mindful puffing. Pairs with: Family Vacations, fishing trips, autumn mornings