Mac Baren Roll Cake

Unique. Medium bodied, earthy flavor. Rich notes, with a mild natural, non-cloying sweetness. Hints of raw sugar, a touch of fruit, and a touch of smoked wood. Very nice, year round. Worth trying.

Like all MacBarens, this is a beautifully presented tobacco (marketed in the UK as Royal Twist). It? spun into discs, varying in colour?from golden brown to black?and also like 98% of MacBaren tobaccos, shares that same indefinable acrid-sugary-honey like under taste, that seems to make them very hot and tongue burning, especially to the unaware smoker.

However, if packed in properly (i.e., not too tight, not too lose), and smoked very slowly, it can become a very nice experience for those who enjoy Virginias, Burleys and Cavendish. This is a slow burning, medium strength concoction, designed no to impress or excite (I don?t think any MacBaren has ever been developed in that vein), but to be peacefully enjoyed in the comfort of your living room, or in a civilised teahouse. Predictable, toned down, it has all the pastry like quality of the cavendished leaf, plus certain dullness from the Burley that keeps the Virginia always in restrain.

I would place this tobacco between Peter Heinrichs' Special Curly (which in spite of the description is so mild and lacklustre that you can?t taste the périque at all), and Stokkebye?s Luxury Twist Flake. Roll Cake is not as mild and biting as Heinrichs, but it?s not as dense and rich as Stokkebye?s. If you enjoy a quality semi sweet and predictable smoke to go with your tea or a glass of Bailey?s, this can be a very good option.

I don't know when Mac Baren changed this blend to the description above, but my tin and the ingredients listed on the tin are different. Apparently, the Perique is no more.

Nice coins, decent amount of perique, easy burning and lighting. The way it's described now, I doubt I'd buy it. Seems to get better with age and doesn't dry out much. Guess I better enjoy this tin while it lasts...

Mmm, a warm syrupy Virginian that never fails to perk me up.

This is a mild blend but one that is full to the brim with flavour.

Just don't smoke it in a full bent, as it will become bland and peppery and do not smoke it green. When it's three months old and loaded into a quarter bent ?or a billiard? well, it becomes a syrupy bliss. Buttery, honeyed, with a spicy back.

Something to be enjoyed slowly and with relish, preferably with an espresso.

This review is based on bulk Roll Cake.

This is one of the blends with which I have some history. Rating this on the conservative side of mild along with: "very pleasant room note", I recommend this tabacco in particular to be smoked in a large bowl with the air gap fill method.

Most recently I opened a 3 month old jarred stash of Roll Cake, and smoked it in a brand new Ardor Sherlock Holmes VIII. Knowing this tabacco is mild; that Mac-Baren tends to not over-case a tabacco blend, I felt it to be a good choice for breaking in the new pipe. Prior to this I had used much smaller standard pipes, typically a LaRocca Dublin, finding not only 'RollCake', but also its close relative 'ClubBlend' to smoke wet with excessive tongue bite.

Using the Sherlock, the smoke was quite nice, toasty flavor, no tongue bite, and the room note was similar to a cherry or berry pie baking in an oven, with a tiny glint of toated marshmellow (probably the sugars peekng through). Goodly rubbed, rolled into a tight ball slightly larger than the pipes chamber and stuffed into the pipe allowing a 3/8 inch clearance to the top of the bowl, I found this to be a very agreeable smoke, no surprises, no dissappointments. Exactly what I was looking for on this particular evening.

In addition and aside from this recent experience, a few months ago, I re-opened a 2 year old tin of 'RollCake'. Smoking the Dublin at that time, I can testify that this tabacco ages very well. The flavors marry with amplification of fruity-ness on the palate. Very very nice.

Nicotine is very mild, taste meets expectation for the tabacco's used, and is a very well balanced blend. I recommend this blend, when one is looking for a mild smoke.

Smoke it with a leisurely pace and it will be both reliable & mild.

I did not enjoy this RCake at first opening, but let it dry a couple of months in its unsealed can. Roll Cake does not have a dramtic Virginia flavour that Marlin Flake provides, and for the life of me I can't find any of the Syrian Latakia listed on the tin. There is a peppery scent/taste like the tang you smell around planed cedar. The best part for me is the fresh and fermented aftertaste that feels like you've had a mild shot of slivovitz, or some other spirit on your tongue. I'm not a grand champion of the Macbaren line, believe me. I'd take Sail as my all-day-smoke over this. But RC is satisfying as an after dinner relaxer.

I do not object to Cavendish and so enjoy Roll Cake but for me the whole MacBaren family smokes hot. Not to say that I don?t enjoy the flavors of this blend. The tin note is fruity; I detect fig, raisin, and perhaps even a touch of date. The rolls are easily stacked for smoking in this manner but require a bit of maintenance, not at all disappointing though. Rubbed out is the way I go with this blend more often than not. I enjoy this blend most often in a meerschaum as they tend to smoke cooler for me, the natural pores cool off and absorb more of the moisture caused by combustion. Of many of the blends that I smoke this is one of the blends that my girlfriend finds the room note to be the most tolerable, as she doesn?t share my enthusiasm for this gentle art. Drafted slowly this blend will provide quite a pleasant smoking experience, and I recommend this blend and smoke it once or twice a week. Warm regards, [email protected] Update of this blend: I have not purchased another tin of Rollcake simply because there are so many blends out there that do not burn as wet. MacBaren blends just smoke far too hot for my tastes, perhaps it is their choice of case or topping. I would smoke it if offered (very slowly), but will not purchase another tin unless it is aged for a great time. Which is too bad because this is a deliciously spun blend.

Update Wednesday March 1, 2006 I am smoking the 20 to 30 year old version of this blend- Royal Twist- that was a gift from a very nice gentleman.

It is absolutly superb. I cannot recall ever being so in love with a bowl of tobacco. Age has mellowed and subdued the fiery beast that I remember, appearance wise it just plain looks old, very dark and leathery in the tin with an amazingly light spicy aroma, the tobacco was practically dark brown and black.

Taste is sweet and light, and the body is dark and rich- but very very mellow. This is truly a fantastic experience.

Tasty, savoury, woodsy (mahogony), peppery. All these describe this blend. An all day smoke which is an honest down to earth tobacco, with an exotic edge. This baccy can lack some deep base so I like to mix it with Full Virgina Flake. Can be a bit difficult to keep alight if left in disc form, but rub out to suit. Well worth trying IMHO.

I do not have the time to describe the attributes of this tobacco in detail as others do. However, as I do wish to contribute some feedback, I will simply rate this tobacco on a scale of 1 ?10, including tenths.

I rate this tobacco 6.5 out of 10.