Mac Baren Virginia No. 1

Fantastic, ready-rubbed straight Virginia with something in addition to Mac Baren's standard maple sugar casing. I will readily admit that your temperature regulation technique must be on point before Virginia No.1 makes sense, but the payoff is excellent if you will smoke it cool.

If I were running a pipe smoking school, this would be the final exam.

Va no. 1 is a hard tobacco to smoke. It burns very hot, produces a lot of moist smoke and can bite a bit.

There are better Virginias out there. Try SG Full Virginia Flake. Tastes better, burns better.

The tobacco is a 100% Virginia blend. The taste is mild and the room note is pleasant. I couldn't taste the honey flavour. But I think this is a solid tobacco for people who love smoking original tobacco without extreme flavoring. Also I detected a little bit of tongue bite but not extreme.You should give the tobacco some air to dry a little bit.

A perfect all day tobacco.

Edit: Best pipe forms for a smoke is a Bent Rhodesian or a Prince for me. Love this to a cup of good coffee or espresso.

On some days Virginia no. 1 is a 2 star smoke and sometimes a 3 star smoke for me. One of those blends that is not in my regular rotation but something I do reach for on occasion. You can definitely taste the sugar and vanilla casing which isn't too bad in this blend. Definitely smoke it slow. This allows the Virginia flavor to come through and plays nicely w the flavoring put in the blend. It isn't anything out of this world, just a mildly sweet VA with a nice little topping. I try to pack about a half bowl with this one because the flavor tends to subside if I go at it any longer than 40-45 mins, but I don't keep track... It could last a little longer than that. The flavor is definitely reminiscent of vanilla but there is also nice Virginia sweetness that brings out a nutty side to the blend. And that's about it, which isn't a bad thing, just not a great tobacco. It's solid and sometimes that's just what I need.

The tin aroma is exactly as expected, vanilla, sugar, and a hint of citrus somewhere in there. If you're put off by the ketchupy vinegar smell associated with some Virginia's then this is one positive with this blend because I don't get any of that here.

Generally a mild smoke, but it does burn hot, so smoke her slow. If you like a sweet forward Virginia, this one might be right up your alley, and the room note is pleasant and doesn't linger. A nice 2 or 3 star smoke for me. I'll go ahead and give it 3 stars as I'd recommend it to those interested in the style.

This s##t really bites and I mean really HARD worst tongue bite ever. But if one ignores the tongue bite it was a decent Virgina blend

It does exactly what it says on the tin: 'golden, sweet'. Initial tin note: honey. Or rather: 'HONEY!' Nice looking and feeling thick rubbed strands, came a bit moist or rather 'sticky'. I was initially delighted by this mix. Smooth, sweet, all VA taste. But them I smoked a bowl too quickly out on an early morning walk. It bit me hard and made my stomach growl with hunger. We fell out because of this, and on my next smoke I wasn't feeling so generous. It was thin, too sickly HONEY monsterish, no depth. I could taste the honey for hours afterwards. We reconciled our differences by my throwing in a tin of black cavendish, with the Va 2:1 dominant. Bite has gone, taste is filled, honey has taken a back seat. Now that mix is one of my regular evening aro mixes.

I have tried several of Mac Baren?s offerings and I hadn?t previously found anything I particularly liked, aside from Dark Twist Roll Cake. I don?t typically smoke aromatics, though smoke Haddo?s Delight by GL Pease, Luxury Twist Flake by Stokkebye and Hartwell?s Evening Stroll. Certain SG and G&H Lakeland scented varieties score high points with me. #1 Virginia seems topped or cased with some vague slightly artificial tasting honey flavoring used in many of their products with maybe a hint of whiskey.

Appearance: This blend has a beautiful presentation, being comprised of Bright and Golden Virginias in a ready rubbed format uniform in cut.

Tin aroma: This is a mixture of matured Virginias, with a light topping of artificial tasting honey. There seems to be a complete lack of complexity There is a slightly nutty quality as well, together, it is a fairly nice smelling combination, though not something that I'd say I have a strong preference for. The tin aroma also tells me to proceed with caution as with many other Mac Baren offering, this could be tongue bite in a tin.

The sample I'm reviewing was gifted by a friend and dates from July of 2003, I had hopes that the amount of aging would help tame the tongue fry I'd experienced smoking this in the past, no such luck. The pipe is a Jan Zeaman POTY 2004

This tobacco definitely benefits from air drying for at least ½ hour before smoking. Lighting is usually temperamental seeming to require repeated application of flame to get going, once going try to keep your smoking pace way down, as tongue fry is nearly inevitable. As expected, the initial flavor is very tangy VA and very sweet (almost sickening) and this develops into what I term ?monochrome?. The topping/casing agent never yields it?s dominance but allows the monochrome nature of the Virginia to come through. The topping/casing never completely leaves, adding a sweetness and a slightly generic and artificial taste to an otherwise natural presentation.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and while this blend is not complex, just drones on an on in monochrome getting hotter and hotter as the smoke progresses. There are subtle changes here and there but hardly what I've come to expect in a 'pure Virginia mixture'. While not particularly strong in nicotine, there is plenty of flavor and body to this mixture. The tobaccos used in this mixture are of obvious quality, why then Mac Baren chose such an odd topping/casing agent is beyond me. It seems to be a nearly uniform choice in toppings for Mac Baren.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, the strength of this mixture has built to it's peak of flavors and fullness. The pervasive sweetness and artificial taste is somewhat annoying, often masking what appear to be fine quality Virginia tobaccos and constant threat of tongue fry does not help. It has so much going for it, that what little I hold against it is probably not enough to bother most smokers. There are way too many other Very Fine Virginia mixtures out there for me to waste any more time trying to enjoy this.

Supplemental Notes: I would recommend this to seasoned Virginia smokers for a change of pace smoke. If you are looking for a true Pure Virginia, look elsewhere, this isn't one. Rating for those interested in numbers *

Unflavored Virginias that cross the boundaries of subtlety into blandness. It delivers its share of nicotine, but that's where the pros end.

Not a particularly terrible tongue biter, but the lack of taste leads to overpuffing, with dire consequences.

If you enjoy Virginias and you're a fan of Mac Baren, try HH Mature Virginia. If the latter isn't the case, you have dozens of better choices.

I've written a few other reviews on Mac Baren Tobaccos, and have come to the conclusion that you should give their products a wee bit of time to dry out, before smoking them. The tin I bought of this Mac B. Blend is no exception. Upon opening the tin, I noted a scent, not unlike Ketchup, kind of a vinegary smell. It didn't taste that way though, in fact it was milder in flavor than what I was hoping for. It rubs out easy enough, and packs well. I didn't have any trouble lighting this up straight out of the tin. One pre-light, then a tamped re-light was all I needed, as I started to smoke a medium sized bowl of this blend, till the tongue-bite began to rear it's ugly head. I'm gonna let this one sit for awhile, before I give it a Yay or Nay rating...

2/10/08 Well, I'm back and I have to say again, that this stuff wouldn't smoke cool, even if you packed your pipe in ice for a week. Besides the tongue bite, I just don't find this to be a flavorable tobacco. The flavor's too mild, and the tongue bite is just awful. Other reviewers have said they detected no tongue bite. Well the tin I have is a fire-brand from Hell. I've tried this stuff in several different pipes, all to no avail. Hot, hotter, scorched beyond words...