Mac Baren Roll Cake

Most tobaccos I've smoked tend to lose their sweetness as the bowl progresses, Roll Cake is the opposite. At first the Burley was the main flavour I noticed then from about 1 third of the way through the The Virginias tend to make their presence known. This tobacco starts as a pretty unremarkable blend then spools up into a very tasty and satisfying tobacco. It's in the same "coin" shape a Dark Twist and the topping seems pretty similar as well. The burley in the blend takes the Virginia sweetness found in Dark Twist down a notch though. The tobacco burns well, if only a tough on the hot side. This is one of my regulars that I smoke perhaps 3 or 4 times a week. Well reccomended.

Mac Baren is doing a good job here compromising between heavier English and lighter Danish blends. All of the roll cake tobaccos of Mac Baren are nice, and "Roll Cake" certainly is no exception. Like Stockton, Club Blend, Latakia Blend and Dark Twist it has a certain special aroma to it, which reminds me of leather and wood and which is carried by tasty sweet Virginias. There is a certain elegance in the taste, which I seem to prefer in the hot summer months. Given the fact, that Mac Baren's product range is among the widest of all tobacco manufacturers, I can only tip my hat to the consistency they offer with these fine spun-cut blends. There is nothing drug-store like about them, rather they consist of high-quality leaf with a descrete topping, which make me want to smoke them more and more. I would like to add, that the room note of "Roll Cake" is a real crowd pleaser.

Roll Cake quickly became one of my favorite tobaccos. Upon opening the tin I was taken by the beauty of the disks. It contains a very even mixture of Red Virginia and Cavendish and has a very consistent reddish brown color. The tin aroma is very like many Virginias. There is the very strong odor of pure, sweet Virginia with a top note of molasses. I pack the pipe by stacking several disks in the bowl and tamping. I then finish by placing one rubbed out disk on top to aid lighting. This tobacco, as with all Virginias, aids from a bit of aging, both in the tin and out of the tin to allow it to dry a bit. If dry, it lights and burns beautifully. It bites very little, and when it does it is because I am over-anxious. It is a very mellow, sweet, aromatic smoke which becomes progressively more sweet and less mellow as you approach the bottom half of the bowl. At that point the touch of Perique begins to come out with a very nice spiciness giving the blend a wonderful three dimensional appeal. This blend also takes very well to the delayed gratification technique. I left half a bowl, lightly smoked, overnight and smoked it the next noon. It was a wonderful experience. The tobacco had dried and mellowed a bit, but also seemed to strengthen the Perique at the end of the smoke. All in all this is a fabulous Virginia that has taken me away from Latakia, at least temporarily. 5 out of 5 pipes.