Mac Baren Virginia Flake

A nicely presented golden pressed flake in an understated rectangular tin. A slight vanilla aroma carries through into the smoke, which is at once yeasty with a touch of sweetness, sort of Virginia plus. The tobacco seems very ripe and mature, it is easy to light, gentle puffing is rewarded with a smooth and pleasant smoke which carries on to the bottom of the bowl, moreish. An excellent example of its type.

Highly recommended.

I am a Virginia flake smoker and I think that I have tried them all . This flake would not be my top choice or even near the top . Frankly , it is very grassy and sort of tasteless . It provides some first class tongue bite and is to be smoked only in moments of extreme need . That being said , it is a very useful product . I use it to mix with Samuel Gawith rain forest tobaccos to bring down the moisture level . Since it has little noticeable taste it does not change the excellent SG but it does provide enough dry kindling to light up and enjoy the flavor or great but way too moist tobacco . I always keep a good supply of this in my pipe room and couldn't smoke without it . Pretty yellow can too .

When I ordered this little tin, I was on the lookout for a simple, unsophisticated Virginia Flake. Sure enough, that's exactly what you get. Once you pop open the tin, it has an earthy tone to it with a little note of warm hey, slightly sweet. Definitely not your heavy topping candy tobacco smell. Once lit, you're presented with a good solid Virginia taste with a very faint sweet taste lingering in the back, which only compliments the tobacco. The taste doesn't change much throughout the bowl and the flake burns cool and mellow all the way down. Even during heavier puffing, I could not get the tobacco to bite my tongue.

Long story short, this is a good virginia flake without any fancy extras. It tastes delightful all the way down. This could easily be smoked all day, just be aware of the nicotine, of which this little friend is not void of.

This is a great, fairly easygoing Mac Baren Virginia blend. I went through the tin pretty quickly, so you won't hear many complaints from me.

Tin note of sugary fruits. Not like it's been artificially flavored, but natural Virginia note. Recognizable Mac Baren tin aroma.

An initial hint of toastiness, but then moving towards a beautiful fresh fruit flavor. Not as bright-forward as some others. Instead of pure hay-grassiness, it carries a bit more depth, slight spice, sugar, a dark fruits.

I'm not sure if flavoring is added, but if it does it's extremely mild. The sweet fruit flavor comes, in my opinion, mostly from the natural Virginia leaf. However, Somewhere during the end of the first third of the bawl, the flavor flattens up a bit, suggesting that some kind of flavoring was indeed added. Once that happens, it does dole it a bit, but at the same time a bit more of body and spice are felt.

Comes in fairly wide and very thin typical Mac Baren flakes. My average pipe takes about half of a flake to fill up. Very easy to rub out, load, and light. The moisture is almost perfect out of the tin, but I took 20 minutes to dry them after first opening it. If you keep them in the tin, rather than jarring them up, then they'll reach the perfect moisture after a day or two.

It smokes slow and should be sipped to fully enjoy the flavor. While it can be an all-day smoke, I think that it'd be more appreciated if it's smoked occasionally. If you get a slow and steady cadence there's some chance that you won't need to relight at all and you won't experience any tongue bite.

Mild in body and strength.

To sum this up, this is a very nice blend. I don't think that I will ever not feel like smoking it. However, my main issue is that loss of flavor around the end of the first third of the bowl. It still tastes good from there, it just transforms before I would like it to. I would've been happier if this kept the sweet fruit taste throughout the bowl or at least half of it. Still, the whole bowl is very enjoyable. Three stars.

Summary: a soft, mild Virginia flake with a touch of vanilla and sugar for a lasting, comfortable smoke.

Part of being a reviewer has always been assessing quality independent of whether or not you like the product in question. For example, many of us do not really like aromatics, but it is our job as writers (even if unpaid) to assess quality as a means of addressing the utility of this product to our readers. Our readers who like aromatics deserve to know which of these are quality, even if the reviewer would never be caught dead smoking these. Some products bridge the gap: "Virginia Flake" is both an aromatic and a Virginia flake, but excels in both categories. These soft, crumbly flakes pack super-easily; you must solely select the right amount, fold it, drop it in the pipe, and lightly squash to flare the layers. At that point, smoking this flake is stupidly simple: you light it, breath smoke, and a couple hours later, the smoke stops coming and you turn the pipe over. Ash falls out, leaving an empty bowl. The sugar in the Virginia leaf makes it burn naturally a bit hotter, so this is a blend that you really must breath smoke or you are going to end up huffing hot air. I smoke as part of a Vipassana meditation, so the goal is to burn as slowly as possible without responding to tension in life by puffing and sucking. If you approach this flake that way, you will get a rewarding smoke. This flake deviates from traditional Virginia flakes by having what feels like a small amount of white Burley in there, the soft texture produced by means unknown, and a slight sugar topping that tastes faintly of vanilla, cocoa, and maybe a light fruit or amaretto essence. This means that "Virginia Flake" smokes smoothly like a classic blend for a pleasantly extended duration, leaving behind a slight aroma of cotton candy and vanilla ice cream. While not a full aromatic, therefore not the "wife-pleaser" that is basically a burning air freshener or oil infuser (do they make Febreeze tobacco yet?), this blend will leave fewer people coughing and gagging in your wake.

I feel this blend is very similar to Virginia #1 but with the topping toned down. Whereas Virginia #1 is the absolute opposite of what you would want to give a newbie, Vir Flake is much much more forgiving of careless technique and does not have the same ability to cause 3rd degree burns on a neophyte's tongue.. (and yes I was that kid, and yes I couldn't smoke for a week after that). The flake burns slower, cooler and the slight hassle of dealing with a Flake for a new smoker may seem daunting at first, the learning experience of smoking a Flake will broaden your horizons. Very similar to OGS to me as well without Perique.

This tobacco is a pleasant smoke - presents well in the tin in a nice layout. The flakes are easy to rub out and to load. Stays lit and burns to a fine white ash. No bite detected but could produce that effect if 'rush-smoked'. Taste is creamy and spicy from mid-bowl with a certain tanginess about it - sort of lemon grassy, like notes of Citrus. If no flavouring was added, as is generally believed, this could well be attributed to the 'Mac Baren way' of processing its Virginia(s).

This is a lightly-topped Virginia flake that comes well presented in a neat rectangular tin. The flakes rub out easily and it can be smoked straight out of the tin, but it needs to be sipped or it'll bite you. One of the claims made for it on the tin is that it's slow-burning. It isn't, though; not in my experience, anyway.

What I said in an earlier review of MacBaren's Navy Flake applies here, on the whole. It's all right, but rather ordinary, I found. Apart from a rather nice, though very subtle, honeyish note it doesn't have any distinguishing qualities to speak of. A decent all-day smoke, but not something that the connoisseur is going to want to linger over, I think. Somewhat recommended, but I wouldn't queue to buy it. Perhaps it needs a more sensitive palate than mine to appreciate the nuances.

Another fine flake offering from MacBaren. Perfect moisture content, and ready to fold, or rub out (as I do) and smoke. Excellent Virginia flavor....not too strong, not too lite. And can be had for $7 - $8 per 50g tin, so can't beat the price. This stuff really shines when smoked in a cob. Will be part of my permanent rotation, along with MacB's NF and Orlick's GS.