Mac Baren Roll Cake

Hard to say something that hasn't been said. The tobacco used in this blend is of quality and there is absolutely no tongue bite. I am a fairly fast puffer and, to my surprise, this stuff smoked very cool.

Although I would classify this blend as your typical Danish (nothing out of the usual) it is flavorful and very pleasant, the room note is nice and the nicotine content is perfect. Enough aromatic flavor for a sweet smoke but still a natural tasting blend.

If there is any latakia in this blend I can't taste it or smell it, in fact I don't really think there is any latakia here.

"Whole Virginia leaves that are specially selected are used as wrapper for all our spun tobaccos. The main tobaccos in Roll Cake is Virginia and the original MacBaren Cavendish. Just a touch of Burley and Syrian Latakia make the Roll Cake a unique smoking pleasure. Like all our spun tobaccos only a little top flavour has been added. These tobaccos are the closest you get to the natural tobacco taste." -Roll Cake tin description.

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with the now familiar, somewhat comforting aroma of slightly fermented fruit. The 3/4 inch, out of round discs are a two toned melange of caramel and brown. It just looks right; it smells right; and the tobacco 'feels' right. The moisture content was perfect; just slightly on the dry side of what I would call 'tacky'. This reminded me of Stockton, but with a deeper color to the spun tobacco, and a richer aroma.

Loading my pipe was simply a matter of scooping out some of the little discs, rubbing them out a little, and stuffing them into my pipe. I follow a rule that, it seems, someone on this site once laid out; MacBaren-pack carelessly, smoke carefully. First light was accomplished instantly, and the char began quick enough that I probably could have used a single match, had I not been using the butane. A gentle tamp, a quick relight, and I was on my way.

My first impression of this tobacco was that it was remarkably similar to Sail Natural (or perhaps vice-versa?) in its spiciness and fullness of flavor. It didn't have quite the dark notes of Sail, but it bore such a striking resemblence. However, where Sail is dark and brooding in character, Roll Cake is sweeter in disposition. The spiciness is just enough to be interesting, not fiery in the least. Puffy too agressively did bring the heat of the pipe up a bit, but still did not produce the much heralded MacBaren burn. This really does smoke remarkably pleasant. Half way through a large Oom Paul, I did notice a case of dry mouth developing, but nothing I couldn't handle.

The flavors I picked up were more of a natural va. and, of course, the cavendish. Lurking in the background of this tobacco is the same aromatic charactaristic found in Navy Flake. The room note is not at all oppressive, very wife friendly. The va. isn't quite grassy, nor is it oatey or malty. It is a simple va. component that makes up this twist, and it really just doesn't delve too much into the complex higher notes that Orlik Golden Slices does. As for the Syrian Latakia, I could not once detect it. However, there was a linger note of the exotic throughout, and the dry mouth; so I suspect that it really is in there, though only in enough quantity to add depth to the flavors.

This tobacco finished all the way down to the bottom of a large Oom Paul with only a couple relights toward the bottom, mainly due to my inattentiveness. All that was left when I was done were a few blackened chars of tobacco, and fluffy gray ash. And it finished up nice and dry. I have to say, if this is what MacBaren is capable of, I do not know why more people don't jump on their bandwagon.

I have learned that there is a technique to enjoying any MacBaren tobaccos. They need to be regarded as one would regard a wily animal; with the understanding that you need to always mainain control. Roll Cake is a little different in character than most of the MacBarens; it is a little more forgiving than Stockton and Navy Flake. Odd, too, that; since it is likely a blend of the two. If Stockton is too plain, and Navy Flake is too aromatic for you, then try Roll Cake.

I purchased a tin of Roll Cake based on its description and a recent article carried in Pipes & Tobacco about MacBaren's unique ability to create spun cut tobacco.

It is a beautiful presentation of golden (Virginia leaf) rolls with centers of black tobacco or Syrian Latakia MacBaren's claims is in the blend. I believe there is also Perique. Finally there are lighter brown tobaccos worked into the sliced rolls that are Cavendish and Burley tobaccos. This blend has the familiar MacBaren top note that to my nose is very plummy.

I did not find this tobacco too wet. Rubbed out and smoked in a Barling sandblast billard I've smoked for 30 years it lighted easily without bite and was balanced throughout the smoke. There is a hint of Latakia and to my taste Perique, with the sweetness of the Virginia and nutty flavors from Burley. This blend did not abuse my mouth.

Needless to say, I like this blend. It is a nice change from the heavier English blends on one hand and pressed flakes on the other. This is a unique and outstanding blend.

Variation on the Club Blend, Symphony and Dark Twist.

Beautiful roll cakes, with shades of gold, brown and black, but too mild and with the taste fainting within a week, becoming a - alas! very flat blend.

Perfect for the beginner who wants high quality bakkie, but tolerable in strength.

Happy 4th of July to my fellow American pipe brothers!

I received a tin of this, minus one bowl, from a novice smoker who bought it because he liked the name.

He wasn't doing me any favors.

I found Roll Cake to be an unremarkable blend with a slight peppery taste. Not horrible but nothing to write home about either. This one also tends to burn hot but not as bad as the typical Mac Biten(sic) flamethrower.

The coins were fun to play with....too bad one can't spend them on a better blend.

After smoking two tins of this blend I am not a fan. I have one tin that I will age a couple years and try again. As some have noted, this tobacco smokes hot. A slow smoke brings out the best of a tobacco but with this one nothing seems to matter. Nice tin, nice coins.

This is very similar to Mac Baren Club Blend, in that it is a sliced roll cake with a center of black cavendish. The Roll Cake uses a darker brown Virginia. I believe there is a touch of Perique. For this type of blend, I much prefer their Dark Twist, which has an even darker brown Virginia. But this is a good tobacco, just depends how you like your Virginias.

This could be an all day smoke but I doubt it could hold my interest for that long. This complex blend has the potential for some really stellar results but falls short, due in part to the liberal use of Cavendish and a middle grade Virginia. It is the Burley's job to raise the flavor bar of this composition but I feel this is too much ambition for so little quality of character. It's not a bad blend but better choice of leaf would certainly improve the result. I smoked it slowly in the spun roll much as I smoke flakes in the slice.

Meerschaum Man Smoking a signed Ural

This is MacBaren mixture cut in a different way, it just provides a slower smoke. Boring.