Mac Baren Virginia Flake

this blend goes side by side with the erinmore flake but its a lighter version,,nicely burned easy on the mouth. burns in to white ash, straight virginia with no misleading flavors to wounder about. an all day smoke blend if you dont really care for people complements (aroma wise).

Update May 19 2008 I have a couple of tins of this with more than a year on them and have just cracked one open, no sign of sugar crystals, no darkening of flake. Age seems to do nothing for this and my remaining tin will be kept for an absolute emergency, I can only hope I never have to use it. Even two stars feels a bit genorous.

Update August 26 2008 Have to drop this one down a star as I'm now finding it a little too "tangy" for my liking, although I will continue to smoke it from time to time, certainly not with the same voracity as I have in the past, having discovered Old Gowrie. Were I once again, to find myself out of tobacco and this the only decent offering available, of course I would buy it, but when my stock depletes, I will not be in a hurry to make sure there are tins on hand, there are just too many superior flakes out there.

I was told I would not like Mac's Virginia Flake, by the shopkeeper, that it was too mild and had no taste other than that of just pure tobacco, I took a tin home anyway as the other offerings that were available ranged from poor to don't even think about it. As I was already familiar with Mac Baren's Vanilla Flake and Navy cut Flake, and not overly impressed with either, I expected pretty much the same, pocket size tin and tobacco in foil wrap. For my liking, ALL Mac Baren's are a little on the dry side, and Virginia Flake did not dissapoint, on rubbing out the first slice, a habit of mine, slice in left palm, folded in half lengthwise, then end to end before rubbing with the thumb, I had to be careful not to end up with a handful of sawdust. One match, puff SLOWLY, no tongue bite, and careful not to let the pipe get to warm, I get a taste of lemon, just a hint, not unpleasant, nice suprise, a good honest Virginia Flake, pure tobacco taste with a hint of lemon. Burn is nice and even down to the bottom of the bowl, leaving a grey ash. I quickly decided I liked this one and several tins later my opinion has not changed. A good all day smoke until evening when I prefer something different. Were it not for the potential tongue bite from puffing to quickly, I would reccomend this to a novice. Wife Rating ? I have almost no sense of smell, but I am reliably told that it's OK, and the dog just eye's me warily, she knows only to well some of the concoctions I have been known to stuff in a briar and set fire to. All in all, four stars.

I drove to the vets to pick up the dogs, smoking Mac Barens Virginia flake and thinking about cornfields casing my boyhood in green shucks and yellow silk, railroad tracks under my bike wheels a jack of diamonds in the spokes, baseball mitt around the spoiler.

Another season turns, Hot coffee and wet gloves, the bite of the morning and thick boots, dark til noon then dark again, blue light coming off the snow, cold as blue, a blue knuckle the blue of the settling Swedes eyes.

Dylan Thomas had his heron priested shores, James Joyce his emerald Island, I had corn fields and tundra and sometimes at night the big sky would let loose a rock or two and light up the elms, the doomed elms with rot in their sap.

I think to write to a pipe forum; Mac Barens Virginia flake is a nostalgic blend; first notes of corn fields and bike grease, mitt leather and pick up games or pickle in a vacant lot, by mid bowl hints of coffee and ice and blue, with a strong finish aged forty years, a girl with a pony tail and dripping wax down a wine bottle. I recommend this blend to infirms with memory loss, journalists who feel they?ve sacrificed some heart for their craft and old men with the time to daydream and walk through ghost fields green and golden or blue and white. I know it?s a catalyst and not the thing itself; tobacco doesn?t make you sweet and sticky, people do, unemployment does, the holidays, death, love and other things we?ve given names to reference but have no inkling of their nature.

I enjoy many of Mac Baren`s products, Scottish Mixture and Navy Flake in particular. Some, like Vanilla Flake and Stockton, do not please in the same way. Virginia Flake is beautifully crafted, a pleasure to handle and carry about, and when one is sated with heavier flavours a delightful change of pace. The added flavouring is not obtrusive and does not mask the mild taste of the tobacco. This is no substitute for Light Flake or Long Flake or Old Gowrie, let alone the cooked virginias. But when one is in the mood for a light cool consomme rather than a French onion soup, so to speak, this meets the requirement.

If you enjoy Virginia Flakes and are o.k. with some added flavoring this is quite enjoyable. A bit too much flavor and scent when first opened and the first few puffs were too much for my tastes. It did settle into a nice smoke after about the first one quarter of the bowl. A good first smoke of the day for the V.F. fan. Similar qualties as McB's Navy Flake.

Very nicely made VA flake, attractively presented, it really looks the part in the tin.

Its seems to be at the right moisture content, and rubs with ease, no trouble to pack it evenly. Lights quick, and burns long, slow and even, with little need for relights unless smoked slow. But here's the problem, you have to smoke it really slow or it gets toasty hot and bites. More than most other pure Virginia smokes I've tried. This defect aside, its a pleasant enough mild tobacco, seems a bit too mild at first, but smoked in a big pipe the taste (and strength) will develop toward the end. The taste of the leaf is somewahat dulled by the flavourings, its not fruity, more toasty flavours appear, with a hint of honey. Quite sweet. Is there a hint of vanilla in here? I can smell it in the tin, seems to enhance the sweetness. The room note is mild, sweet, perhaps a little dull, but not unleasant. Overall, its alright, there are other VA flakes I prefer though. I have an unopened tin stashed away, hopefully a few years in hiding might improve it...

Overview: A very-lightly cased mild VA flake that rubs, burns and tastes very clean and consistent.

Tin appearance, aroma, feel: All of Mac Baren's flakes are sealed in a neat little tin and wrapped four-fold in some gorgeous thick gold paper with the words "Mac Baren Flake" embossed on the main fold. Unfolding the gold flaps will reveal perfect twin sets of rectangular flakes of well-blended and beautifully grained Virginia tobacco. Upon closer inspection, one can easily see the various type of Virginia leaves used in this blend. There are mostly matured browns with strands of red and a few hints of black lined across the sheets with zesty yellow appearing prominently throughout. The flakes are perfectly smooth and uniform. The thickness is just enough to keep the flake intact when removed from the tin yet very easily rubbed out, thereby giving one the opportunity to experiment with various degrees of burn rate and quality. The scent is present but far from overwhelming as it gives one the impression of freshly mowed grass and a sweet summer breeze.

The Smoke: Upon initial lighting the first tastes are those of sweetness and clean tobacco. One must exercise some caution and restraint on the initial light as the blend tends to heat up very quickly and can bite with attitude. After the tamp and relight the bowl burns slow and even. The taste is consistent all the way through with a mild finish. Relights are a necessary evil as it tends to go out as easily as it overheats. I would not recommend this blend to a beginning smoker because of this trait, preferably suggesting Mac Baren's ?Virginia No. 1? blend instead.

Summary: Virginia Flake leaves a perfect fluffy white ash in the bowl with almost no dottle at all. While mildly sweetened the dominant taste is the blend of pure tobacco. While it is good for a change of pace, there isn't much to it to hold one's interest. Unlike many premium blends that change flavors and characteristics throughout the bowl, Virginia Flake remains as uniform in taste as it is in appearance. It's a good mild smoke but nothing more.

I like this tobacco, but when you factor in the cost there are better VA flakes out there for the same or less money. It's not a complex VA like something from the U.K. There is a sweetness but it appears to be more from a dressing or casing rather than the VA itself. The taste is kind of a cross between MacBaren VA #1 and their Navy Flake. It has some slight robustness that reminds me a little of the Navy Flake, but the overall taste is really more similar to the VA #1. I much prefer the Navy Flake to the VA Flake, and feel that if you want to smoke a MacBaren VA tobacco in appreciable quantities you would be better off with the VA #1 due to cost and taste considerations. Still, this is different than the VA #1 and since I smoke a wide variety of tobaccos I do occasionally purchase a tin of this.

A very attractive flake with a mild honey-like flavoring. This takes to the match well and there's no problem keeping it lit. Really just a pure virginia version of Navy Flake....just too light for my tastes....