Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Loose Cut

I found this one to be pleasant enough but with a slight tendency to burn hot. Not surprising, given the the presence of vanilla; in fact, it's remarkable that this doesn't smoke even hotter.

I favor non-aromatics, but I do like to keep one aromatic open at all times (versus 5 non-aromatics). Given some of the glowing reviews for this, I thought it might work for me. It didn't, really. But it might be more appealing if you love aromatics and are willing to patiently attend to the temperature in the bowl (and on your tongue).

On a side note, I tried a couple of bowlfuls of Dunhill's A21000 (a shag-cut vanilla aromatic) around the same time I was sampling this. Frankly, the A21000 yielded a richer, more appealing flavor, even though it burned even hotter. I guess there's always some kind of a trade-off when it comes to aromatics.(g)

I have never been an aromatic smoker. Nor I am a fan of english mixtures, nowadays. Who can truly say that Nightcap or 965, and Black Mallory or Accountant's, are still the marvellous mixtures of the 80's... I have recently experienced that I like some vanilla topping, through the smoke of Dan's TOI Galway, then Borkum Riff's Admiral Flake and then SG's Perfection, the latter being and a scented english mix. Then I gave a try to Mc'B's VCLC, and this is an OTC tobacco, which I usually tend to avoid. The pouch gently smells vanilla, but this partially reflects to the aroma of the smoke, and even less to the flavour. It's the same old story of the aromatics... VCLC is quite a bland smoke, the body empty, it touches both the tongue and the palate even smoking slowly (but the pouch was quite dry) After the fifth bowl I got bored and decided to experiment ... adding 1/3 of Latakia (Latakia Zypern by Torben Dansk on this occasion), put in jar and let sleep a couple of days, no humidor. The result is not bad at all! A mild, sweet and smokey poor parent of Perfection (Turkish-less of course). One star for VCLC itself, three for this easy vanilla scented english mix!

Several reviews already give enough information to the potential buyer to enable an intelligent choice. Basically, this is a sweet aromatic. If your preferences run the range from balkans to latakia enhanced balkans, you shouldn't even be reading this.

I suppose MB knows what it is spraying on this tobacco, but I take issue with the name. When I think vanilla, I think Captain Black or anything in 85% of the "custom blended" jars of Lane/Consolidated bulks at a Tinder Box. Just as Erinmore Flake's topping isn't pineapple, Vanilla Creme's topping just doesn't taste like vanilla to me. It's fruitier than a drag race in San Francisco during gay pride week! Vanilla may also be there, but only in a supporting role. This is very much more like Amphora or Skandanavik Red with an extra side of essences. Vanilla? No. I just don't taste it.

Do I dislike it? Not at all. There is a time for this, just not very often. I prefer Amphora; this one just goes over the top. I often cut it with ho-hum virginias like Gawith's BBF to dilute.

It isn't a generic black cavendish; it is a quality Virginia blend. It is definitely dessert. If you think you'll like it, you probably will, but dedicate a pipe to it.



Update 3/11: Ok, open it and come back in half a decade or so. Unlike virtually all other aromatics I ever met, time actually improved it, possibly by evaporating off the excess topping. At this point, it's at least a three star. I'm leaving it as a two because nobody will want to bother. But really: it's really really good now. It's finally vanilla and Virginia.

This is a better than average, reasonably priced aromatic. It's mild, bite free, smokes cool and reasonably dry, for an aromatic.

However, it just doesn't have a whole lot of flavor. Not much tobacco flavor, not a whole lot of vanilla, either. It's not bad, it's just not that good, so I won't be buying more. If what you're looking for is a very mild, bite free vanilla blend that is a good step up from most goopy bulk blends, this is probably worth a try. While I've smoked much worse in this category, I've experienced better, too.

Generally indifferent, but at least something to write home about.

This is strange. I smell the cream!!! It is not like other vanilla flavoured stuff. At least is has some personality and presense. My wife likes vanilla blends - she is not overly enthusiastic about this one.

If you like intense aromatics then you might enjoy this. I have not made up mind as to whether I will buy another pouch.

Something went wrong for me with this particular blend, and I cannot pinpoint the reason. It is a bit like examining what went wrong with a relationship where things sounded great and ticked a lot of points on the checklist, but did not pass the test of real life. So here it goes: I am a committed aromatic smoker (check), I like vanilla topping as opposed to say cocoa (check), I like Cavendish and Virginia blends (check). Yet the packet went to the bin after maybe five or so attempts to persevere.

What went wrong? After some time I decided that it was not the ribbon-cut tobacco, not the moisture, not the topping, not the slight bite common to MacBaren aromatics when pushed. The problem was that the combination of mild tobacco and heavy topping simply did not work well for me (despite me being an aro lover). I thought the topping itself was OK, but the tobacco fragrance simply disappeared underneath the vanilla cream. I immediately followed this experience with a new pouch of MB "Scottish Mixture", found it to be well-balanced, subtle, sophisticated and superior in every way, and decided not to return to MB Vanilla Cream. Lesson learned.

Mac Baren Vanilla Cream is one of my favorite Mac Baren tobaccos. Note, friends, IT DOESN'T BITE. Or not much, anyway. And, PEOPLE LIKE THE SMELL. Plus, it TASTES LIKE TOBACCO. Like Mac Baren Navy Flake, this is a blend you can smoke out of the man-cave, in the actual presence of other living people, and not have clock radios thrown at you. Both the flavour and the aroma are heavily vanilla with what I take to be just a hint of cinnamon lurking in the background. The effect is something like smelling or tasting pastry. Lucky for us, though, the casing does not dominate the blend and you can actually taste real tobacco as you smoke. My wife likes the aroma of this blend and will co-exist in the same room with it. Vanilla Cream is monochromatic and simple, but a huge step up over the typical aromatic in terms of taste, quality of cut, and burning characteristics. It's also a bit of a bargain. Recommended for a change of pace, for those who like aromatics, and for those who long to mingle with other homo sapiens.

When first opening the tin, I found a very distinctive aroma of fruit and not vanilla. Slightly dry and packed very well. No stems to weed out. On the charring light, the room immediately lit up with a light vanilla aroma and the tobacco taste was fruity, similar to black currant or raisin.

Burns to a coarse gray ash, with almost no dottle in the heel.

Overall, a distinctive aromatic. A nice change of pace, but not my everyday weed.

One of the first I ever smoked and loved. Several tins later, it started to bite. Not just bite, but melt the skin off my mouth. Tongue, cheeks, lips, roof of mouth, under the tongue, the whole pallet. Now, everytime I smoke it I am scraping skin out of my mouth over throbbing cankers. I'm not sure what changed, maybe it was a couple bad tins, but clearly my mouth ph has reacted to it. Every bowl puts me on the injured reserve and I can't smoke anything for at least a week. As far as taste goes, it is delicious. A floral vanilla. Fruity notes. The virginias shine in the flavour, sweet and grassy. Maybe a few crumbs of toast. It's very nuanced for an aromatic. I've recieved more compliments on the room note than any other tobacco, and it ain't even close. I wish I could smoke it regularly, but I'm now too afraid to even look at the stuff. I'm left with the opinion it's a good flavoured tobacco with a deadly bite. 2 stars. For what it's worth, if you're a vanilla aromatic lover, like me, this leans far more toward floral and fruity than straight vanilla. It's difficult to recommend this one, but if it agrees with your mouth and you like an aromatic that has plenty to enjoy, for you and those around you, it is a solid choice. For me and my mouth, it's rigged russian roulette. Good luck, and God bless.