Mac Baren Plumcake

Plumcake is a real pain in the @$$, more specifically, a pain on the tongue. I'm really disappointed because I love the way it smells, I love the way it looks and I really love the taste, but its a Pitbull. It bites and it doesn't let go. As soon as the great flavors develop one more good puff and you're torched and I mean torched hard. The trick is to puff gently through the whole bowl, but I can't do that. The flavor is so good that inevitably I will hit it too hard and burn a hole through my tongue. With Plumcake patience is the master, and I don't have enough of it. Maybe one day when I'm old and tired I can master this stuff because really, it does smell and taste great. As for now I just don't have the patience and discipline required to enjoy Plumcake.

By all means, if you can drive 25mph in a 25mph zone, then Plumcake is for you. If you can drive 55mph on the freeway (stay out of the left lane), then Plumcake is for you. If you enjoy watching paint dry, Plumcake is right up your alley. But that's not me.

Original review above 1/6/09

Update 9/13/09, After reading a review from dk-piper stating that he always uses a charcoal active filter and thus has never suffered from Plumcakes notorious and crippling tongue bite, I gave it a try. Well, dk-piper is absolutely correct ! I just smoked a bowlful of Plumcake and for the first time ever I suffered NO tongue bite and was able to finish the bowl. Ah ya, it was sweet smokey and tasty. The draft was a little restricted and the strength was considerably milder due to the 9mm charcoal filter, but finally I can now enjoy the flavor of Plumcake !

Upgrade from 2 stars to 3 1/2, Thanks to dk-piper and Tobaccoreviews.com

I am not the kind of guy who is likely to pick up a tin of something named "Plumcake" on a whim. I was complaining to my tobacconist about the bulk selection he had and he suggested Old Dark Fired which I liked a lot. The next time I went back, I asked him what he smoked, and he said he went through spells. Right now he was in a Plumcake spell. I picked up a tin.

The tin smells of fruit - figs maybe, and it reminds me a little of the pouch smell of And So To Bed.

I was pleasantly surprised by this blend. It is sweet and spicy with just enough latakia to barely notice. I got a lot of flavor and is a satisfying smoke that is a little different for me. There may have been a whiff of that rum in the flavor from time to time, but it was not a theme. I did not have issues with tongue bite, and it smoked well right out of the tin. The tin was a year old from the date on the back when I opened it. I will buy this again, just for a change of pace. I won't open another tin as soon as this one is gone. Solid 3 on the recommendation scale...

Mac Baren - Plumcake.

Quite coarse ribbons, mostly medium brown, with a notable, but not strong, aromatic aroma. My moisture's good.

Once lit, which is easy, the flavour matches the tin-note: the rum lends a definite molasses sweetness, but doesn't monopolize the smoke; it gives a mild sweetness, yet hardly any alcoholic piquancy. The tobaccos feel quite calm, the Lat' doesn't hog the profile but adds just a touch of smokiness. The others work quite well together, playing fair, without any seeming too overt. It burns well enough, but sadly bites me.

Nicotine: below medium. Room-note: pretty nice.

Plumcake? Not the best, not the worst. Ergo, three stars:

Recommended.

Recommended.

I bought a 100-gram tin so many years ago I cannot remember. It has to be well over ten years old and I opened it maybe three or four years ago. So old the paper inside the tin was yellow and the California Nazi tobacco warning was a sticker that was placed on the tin by the tobacconist. I googled the internet to see if I could see an example and cannot find an image. Apparently, their tin designs change more often than not. This says plumcake, navy blend, regular. Maybe due to it airing out so long from the open tin it smelled very mild with the typical Mac Baren aromatic smell. The loose tobacco in the tin had hardened into a cake somewhat. It smoked very mild with surprisingly no tongue bite. It is good and reminds me of ‘The Solent Mixture’.

First I would like to say that the current Plumcake is not the same as what I remember from the late 1970s. There was a much stronger, and very appealing, tin aroma that was one of the main attractions for me. This always translated into the smoke as well, but less so with the current fare. Although a good smoke, the present incarnation pales by comparison. According to Mac Baren, they have not changed the recipe, but something sure has changed.

Very similar to Scottish Mixture but a bit more stout in strength and flavor - and that wonderful tin aroma and roomnote that makes Plumcake stand out from other Mac Baren offerings makes it a winner (although not as good as from tins of old). I think the "plum" in the description is meant to represent the Latakia present in the blend. I tasted the Latakia upon lighting and it remained very much in the background while smoking, However, it presented itself in a very nice, musty-pipey sort of way. Not like the typical Latakia taste so common to English mixtures. This ever present subtlety acted as a very nice "tease" that leaves you excitedly waiting for more. As a result, the Latakia presence is so different, yet subtle, that I am sure it would not offend (a good thing as I am not a fan of Latakia). It is truly used as a condiment here and not as a key player. It mixed exceptionally well with the light honey casing that I detect. I honestly could not taste any presence of Rum, but I am sure it added to the overall flavor as well. The Cavendish is very spicy tasting and provides for a nice tingle while exhaling the smoke through your nose.

My experience with this tinned sample (stamped 2008) was a good one. Not too moist, loose cut, packed and lit without incident, and burned to a light gray ash requiring no re-lights. By way of comparison to other Mac Baren offerings, in spite of the changes I detect in the current manufacture of this tobacco blend, I think it still has one of the nicest of all their tin aromas. It can bite if smoked too quickly and is best enjoyed with easy puffing. Letting it air dry in the tin with the lid off for a day or two helps with the bite problem. However, you can smoke it right out of the tin and if you take your time, you will be rewarded with a very tasty smoke. I wouldn't recommend this to beginning pipe smokers, however. I remember when I first smoked this over 30 years ago, my inexperience in the art of pipe smoking resulted in a hot, bitey smoke. Why did I keep coming back to it over the years? The tin aroma for starters, and it smelled fantastic when others smoked it. I was determined to get it right. With patience and perseverance, I believe I have. For those new to Plumcake, if you practice at it, I believe you will come to enjoy it as much as I have. With gentle puffing, the flavor really develops as you smoke through a bowl. No gurgle or moisture accumulation. Just a fine, gray ash is all that is left. Perhaps not the same Plumcake of old, but still very good indeed.

I am grateful for Mac Barren products being so readily available. The portions are generous and you can't beat their price! Plumcake is a solid, tasty, and dependable smoke!

UPDATE 1-23-10: I like Plumcake best with some age on it. Others have said that it loses something when not smoked fresh. True, its weaker, and the (newer) tin aroma does dissipate quite a bit over time, but what I have experienced is that aging brings out that subtle Latakia mustiness I commented on previous. Try it and see for yourself.

Oh yes, this is a perfect Navy Blend, a navy mixture of the past. Here you can taste the Jamaica Rum that dominates, uncontested, the mixture. Latakia has really a bit part, but you can taste the smoky Syrian aroma in the background. Probably there is no more than 5% of Latakia. Virginia and Burley are perfectly mixed and dosed. Black Cavendish is produced mainly with Burley to which sugar and flavors are added, but it doesn’t rock the boat. Rum is clearly leading.

Little advice among the navy blends: if you prefer a sweet taste where you can savor Virginia and the sugary nuances prevail, then you have to choose Mac Baren Navy Flake; if you are looking for a harmonious taste with the right balance of elements, with the right dose of rum, where Latakia is always leading, then you have to choose Samuel Gawith Navy Flake; but if you like the real taste of rum, the navy blend of the past, then choose Mac Baren Plumcake. In my opinion this is the blend that most faithfully reflects the “navy blend” of the past. A noble navy mixture with a hint of Latakia. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is more than 8 and three stars.

A pleasant smoke! Got granted a generous sample of this, as I wasn't sure if it had too much Latakia in it for me (I only like it in very low doses) but Plumcake definetly is one of those Latakia containing blends I like, as it's only a hint of it in here.

Tin note is somewhat fruity, mildly alcohol-ish/rum-ish with some pepperiness, and I also get some of Mac Barens Honey-aroma and just the slightest hint of Latakia.

First few puffs reveal the Latakias presence, but then it takes a seasoning backseat! The rather mild rum-flavouring gives some sour-sweet spiciness and flatters the smoky, woody and slightly buttery Latakia undertone. The tobaccos have some decent toastiness to them. I get not much of the Burleys taste-wise, but Virginias and Latakia create a pleasant smoke, that's suported by some toasty-sweet Cavendish. I don't get any plum, but a certain fruitiness is present. Best to sipped slow or it'll taste like hot air. Leaves a pleasant spicy-sweet aftertaste.

I'd consider this a "Semi-Aromatic", you'll easily notice the flavouring, but it's well done, not overpowered and has a synergetic interplay with the tobaccos, which are also easily detecable. Pleasant spice is in interplay with the sour-sweet notes. Great mixture, 3/4 stars so far, I'll dig more into it and may up-rate it as it's rather a 3,5 star blend!

I am kind of still up in the air about this one even after smoking 100 grams of this over a year and a half's time. I used many different pipes and got many different results, but I found it to be the best in my Meers.

To start with, I thought the tin note on this was terrible. It kind of reminded me of Copenhagen snuff. At light up, I did get a bit of the plummy topping, but it was most apparent at the beginning. The latakia is no doubt there, but plays the perfect role as a condiment in this. I find that to be a good as I am not a big fan of Latakia with toppings. I think the burley presence was strong throughout the smoke and I really didn't detect the Virginia until about the halfway point, but then they chimed in with that light hay sweetness that I would expect.

It is a tough one to rate, but I think that I do recommend this and perhaps more heavily to the beginner looking to try Latakia. I am not sure a seasoned lat lover will like this as anything more than a change of pace smoke, but I did enjoy it and I also like to puff on my Odyssey and Penzance from time to time. One thing about this blend is that it is pretty unique and thus it is hard to really compare to other similar blends, so I am going with three stars.

I love it! Case closed. Lit up, it really tastes like a sweet rumcake. can't get enough. As mentioned before, very well balanced blend. Doesn't get boring till the end.

i recommend you to use a pipe with activated carbon-filter to avoid tongue bite! ...just a conclusion i came to, because i only use filter-pipes and i've never experienced any tongue-bite yet. DO IT!!!