Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Loose Cut

Mild, semi-sweet vanilla with a hint of honey and citrus. The vanilla is not overwhelming as in most blends in this category. The Black cavendish is the main player here with the Virginia adding a subtle note of hay. Burns and smokes relatively dry with a good number of relight due I think to the chunky cut. Like most Mac blends it should be sipped and not guzzled to avoid getting too hot. All in all a pleasant Vanilla blend well worth trying.

This is an aromatic blend for knowledgable pipe smokers. Not because it is strong, or hard to smoke, but because you can taste the tobacco.

Not all aromatics are created equal. Some use tobacco to present the topping, and some use the topping to help present the tobacco. This blend tastes like a nice tobacco with a mild vanilla note. That is the way it should be. It is not goopy, it does not leave the bottom of the bowl looking like a muddy pit. This is so well balanced, I feel I could get away with smoking it in one of my Virginia dedicated pipes. The tobacco comes first here, and it is nice.

The tobacco itself is interesting. This comes with a nice chunky cut of black cavendish, and some lighter tobaccos mixed in. It also has these huge chunky squares of cut flake, that need to be rubbed out.

The tin note is excellent, the room note is great too. It packs well, lights well, and smokes well, and one of the best attributes for me, it leaves the bottom of the bowl bone dry, which makes it easy to smoke right to the heel.

A very gentlemanly approach to the aromatic genre, and can be purchased in bulk at a great value. Good stuff.

Smoking now:

Popped the tin and the Virgina is very apparent. This is not a sticky heavy cav aromatic. It’s the perfect consistency not overly wet. Lights perfectly. The Virgina is apparent in the taste as well. I nice grassy tang with notes of honey and a little vanilla. Not I would say an overly sweet taste but one you would enjoy if you want a nice tobacco taste and some Virginas and want to smoke it around others. The subtle taste of honey and vanilla is a nice touch. Defiantly one I’ll enjoy.

*update 2-14-21*

The pouch aroma of this is wonderful, vanilla, bread, honey, and peach or a tart citrus. A nice Danish Aromatic. I mean not a goopy mess. Natural Virginia tobacco flavors with a hint of sweet honey vanilla. There’s a bread taste to this, like sweet rolls, that I like so much. Burns at a moderate pace and leaves some moisture. A tad more relights than usual but some drying time will help with that. A little Virginia mount tingle but no bite and an overall pleasant aromatic.

Overall a very good vanilla Aromatic. Burns slowly, it can get a bit warm but no bite, and the flavor doesn't fade or change for the worse. Not much nicotine, but it is a very pleasant and easygoing smoke. It provides what is expected of a quality aromatic and has more tobacco taste than the usual black Cavendish aros.

Packaging: 100g tin. Comparing to packaging used for Dunhill blends, the tin does not close that tight, the top round paper does not cover full surface of tobacco and very thin. If you are planning to keep it in the original tin, you will have to moisturize it pretty frequently.

Packing: loose cut does not pack as good as ribbons, but manageable.

Smoking: I had some problems starting the pipe. Especially small pocket size one. Not a big deal for me though. Once started, burns well and clean. In a small pipe, can get hotter than desired if over-puffed, but can be easily controlled. In a bigger pipe burns cool and slow.

Taste: very pleasant and smooth. The taste sticks to every corner of your mouth. It literally envelopes it. I had an impression like I did eat a mouthful of a good quality sweet vanilla cream. It is not a complaint. It feels really good and leaves a decent and lasting aftertaste. However, to me, the taste is a little dull. Usually, when you have something with a sweet cream, there is also a little spicy or sour component (rum, berries or fruit) that adds an accent to the flat taste of the cream. In my opinion, this part is missing here. I tried to add a pinch of Peterson's Irish Whiskey to the bowl, and it did add what I was looking for together with some strength. Probably, just making tobacco taste a little stronger in this blend would benefit it.

Smell: The smell is not offending, but I put "Pleasant" into the review because the smoke is very sweet and may not be "Very pleasant" for some people. My wife, who hated my "gas attack" on her when I was smoking Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, said she would prefer Dunhill's smell over Mac Baren's if it was not so strong.

Here are my three stars.

mellow sweet smoke . Burns OK and has a good room note.Overall I'd say it's an "OK" tobacco. Not bad, not good, much less great. The strength seems to be mild to medium.

This is a pleasant and straightforward aromatic vanilla; a dessert smoke that has sweet and uncomplicated value when engaged in other activities, and a flavourful hour when reading or simply sitting to relax. No goop or wetness in the bowl, and burns with almost no relights from beginning to end. Stands superior to mixtures such as Alsbo, while clearly in the same ball park. Not as much taste as the flake version, but not to its detriment. Quicker burn, obviously, but never bites.

As an occasional aromatic smoker, I appreciate the simplicity and no nonsense enjoyment that it gives me.

Recommended.

At first i didn't get why this is as good as many claim it is, thought it was quite flat and tasteless and had to much bite..... but after drying a bit and different packing methods i noticed i really started to enjoy it. The vanilla is a very subtle vanilla but it is there when you sip your pipe not chug it (which i have a tendancy to do sometimes with mild tobaccos) the flavor was consistent with the whole smoke of the bowl. I actually like combining this tobacco with many different aros, it can be very diverse in blending possibilities, so do try pinching it into some other blends if you want a pleasant smoke.

I enjoyed this tobacco. It burned well and had no relighting issues. The room note was pleasing as the smell of soft vanilla scent filled the air. I hear the flake version is even better but I haven't tried it yet. The tobacco has beautiful color to it as virginia and black cavendish are mixed together.