Mac Baren HH Latakia Flake

Just looking at a tin of this, presentation is neat and grande. Flakes are well pressed and easy to break. Hot pressing them, gives them a unified look and feel. Aroma out of the tin is great. That smooth, smoky and incense sweet Latakia aroma. Breaking a flake is a breeze. Actually more than you think, It makes it hard to use fold method on it. It requires some dry time. 30 minutes did the trick for me. It lights very easily, and stays lit. Requires minimal to no relights at all. On first light, your palette is greated with a strong flavour of Latakia, reminiscent of those used in Dunhill blends. It is tasty, creamy, smooth and cool.. It gives a joy of Latakia for the first part of the bowl. Afterwards, It opens up a bit. Some creamy, and herby orientals alongside sharp yet gentle high note grassy Virginia complement the Latakia in an excellent way.It has a great body of smoke. It keeps its consistent flavour and aroma throughout the bowl. It leaves a bit of moisture while smoking, so you may need to clean the smoke hole once or twice. So, a Peterson System or any army mount pipe would be useful.. It burns cool and clean till the end and leaves second to none dottle.. And clean, well burnt ash. For a lover of Latakia, this is definitely heaven.. A medium bodied, complex yet not overwhelming blend with a low to medium nicotine hit and no harshness whatsoever. This blend will definitely make my rotation, and I shall enjoy it as much as I can

This tobacco does need some drying time. I'm ordinarily a straight-out-of-the-tin man. Two bowls convinced me I needed to change my approach. The Devil himself couldn't have kept it alight. I am still in search of the ultimate flake, and as a confirmed Latakia hound I thought this might be it. The jury is still out. But there is no doubt this is a first class blend. Two hours drying and the flakes - which smell outstanding and are beautifully presented in the tin - burn slow, cool and sweet. HHLF cannot be described as complex in taste and is medium in strength. The light, grassy sweetness of the smoke does not quite deliver the richness promised by the nose from the tin but rewards from first to last draw from the bowl. One certainly never loses interest. I suspect I may be re-stocking when my initial batch is depleted.

This is a well done flake.

The scent in the tin is like smelling a bag of barbecue potato chips. In the bowl, it is actually similar to that as well. I noticed some reviews mentioned a topping, but I didn't sense any. The flavor is sweet, spicy, and smoky, all in equal parts. The aftertaste is very nice, like a smoky coffee/chocolate flavor. One thing I did notice is, pace is something one needs to be mindful of for this tobacco, as it develops a strange chlorine flavor when pushed beyond a certain point. I didn't realize this was the cause until just now as I'm smoking it. I wondered if smoking it hot was the cause and deliberately smoked this much softer than I normally do, and I've avoided the chlorine.

This isn't my preferred style of Latakia mixtures, so I don't think I'd buy it again, as I prefer blends with Latakia to not be so sweet, but that does not take away from the quality of this blend. Those who like sweeter Latakia blends will really enjoy this. It is very well done.

This was my first Latakia flake tobacco that I have tried. I really enjoy a medium English type bends when done right. When I received my tin of Latakia Flake I was impressed with the presentation of the product. The tin is simple but done nicely. The inner gold tinted foil is stamped which is typically only on the HH line. When I cracked open the tin I was greeted with a sweet, musty smell. The flakes are in line with MacBaren's standard which are perfect flakes shaped like pieces of stick gum. The tobacco was moist but I don't feel that they were too moist. I like to try new tobaccos as follows: fresh out of the tin or as some say ROTT (right off the truck)/ 1 week after jarring / and another week or so. (Quick note: I remove all tobaccos I receive from the original packaging and I place them in canning jars right away. I do not do the full canning process though. I just place in jar with the top cover and hand tighten the ring) 1st impressions: right out of the tin the tobacco did require some dry time. I rubbed out the beautiful flakes and let them air out for 10 minutes. The tobacco fresh was somewhat bitter but I expected that. The bowl progressed slowly requiring multiple re-lights. The Latakia was strong and the orientals and Burleys/ Virginias were perfectly balanced. I knew this stuff was gonna be good after a week in the jar. One week later after being placed in the jar the tobacco was perfect for smoking. No dry time was really needed. I chose to fold and stuff rather than rub out this time. BAM! Perfect! This stuff is really good tasting and smells great. The bitterness almost completely gone. The musty smell toned down. The smoke was cool and I did not have to re-light every 5 minutes. I really enjoyed the flavor. I am still learning to pick out specific notes but I can say this tobacco Is very deserving of the 4 stars I am giving it. I will be buying more for long term aging as I can imagine it will only get better with time. If you haven't tried anything from the MacBaren HH line you are really missing out. I have yet to find one I didn't like. They say they use no topping and minimal casing only on the HH line and i would agree that i could detect a very minor hint of casing but no top flavoring was detected on my palate. I think MacBaren hit a home run with Latakia Flake and I highly recommend trying it if you like English blends. I wouldn't say that it is a very heavy English it is a tick over medium in my opinion and it hits that sweet spot for me. I will post an update after I have let it sit in the jar a while longer.

Smooth as silk, classically elegant, beautiful dark flakes with low nic.

Another great offering from the HH line from Mac Baren, that really resembles the great standarts of yesterday tobaccos.

This was a gift from someone special. And a special gift! This is a tobacco unlike any other, it defies categories and does its own thing.

The presentation is excellent, very neat flake slices tidily stacked. The aroma in the tin is sweet, leathery and smokey, not like an English mixture and not like an aromatic, but defiantly it's own thing.

It's moist, but burns OK, with far more sweetness than any English mixture, or indeed many flakes. The smoke is creamy smooth and carries a strong waft of Latakia smoke throughout. Orientals are present in moderation giving some spice, and strength is moderate. It leaves some moist dottle.

The Latakia flake thing had been done before by Samuel Gawith, without toppings (Balkan flake) and with (Navy Flake, Bothy Flake), and by Germains, with their dusty smokey interpretation. This is its own distinct thing, halfway sweet like a Danish aromatic, but with the flavour and pungent aromas of Latakia and Orientals. Well worth a try.

Tin note is typical of MacBaren and latakia (obviously).

Also, quite different from other latakiablends I've tried, not in a bad way, more like unexpected. I thought it would be a bit sweeter smokewise or more incenselike so to speak, but soon realized it was more down to earth. Latakia brings what latakia brings, smokey, woody and dark notes while the subdued oriental component just adds a touch of floral spice. Burley is more evident giving a dryer more nutty backstory, while virginias give it some zest. Nice balance between the component tobaccos makes it a pleasant experience all the way through. Nice smoke!

Recommended!

Very dark, beautiful, even flakes carrying a scent of thick molasses. The Latakia smell is very faint. Odd for a mélange boasting to be a Latakia Flake, innit? Anyway, it's not really a problem, as th smell is utterly delicious.

Took a big meerschaum and stuffed three flakes after speedily drying them. Lighting was easy. The first few puffs are very VA/Bur forward. I think I taste more the Orientals too.

Just a few puffs later, the beautiful Latakia kicks in. This is by no mean a Lat bomb, its flavour is very subltle and delicious.

That thick molasses smell is felt a tad in the taste, I really can't put my finger on what it could be. The virginias remind me slightly of the HH Mature Virginia taste, but far far better.

This smoke is decent and recommended. I would return to it, but not when I want a Latakia blend.

I am on my second bowl of this tobacco now. Lovely dark brown appearance in the tin with a fruity whisky aroma. This may be responsible for the sweetness that massaged my palate throughout. But this may well be the interplay of the Burley and Viriginia. A mild, consistent smoke from get-go to finish. Very balanced - nothing overwhelms throughout the smoke as a result. It neither burns hot nor bites. Re-lights are not necessary unless too tightly packed in the bowl. The Latakia is evident, with a hint of spice, but is not overpowering. I did notice some dottle, which I attributed, once again, to having stuffed my pipe too tight or too loose while loading. I eliminated this by passing a pipe cleaner through the stem of the pipe and 'rearranging' the tobacco inside the bowl. It could be an all day smoke, even for new pipe smokers. Yet it is not lacking in nicotine.