Mac Baren HH Bold Kentucky

Holy crap this is good tobacco!! Tin note is a strong burst of straight-up tobacco goodness without all the fruity fireworks. The flavor is as robust as the scent and the nic hit slaps you right across the ol bearded yap without turning your tongue into a dried up chili pepper. I set the flakes out for a 30 minute rest before firing up since they're a bit damp but well worth the wait. A great companion to Old Dark Fired. 4 Stars and a thunderous round of applause for Bold Kentucky!

The pouch aroma is of a smoky, deep dried fruit, pure tobacco with an hint of sweetness and on opening the little plastic tray of tobacco the smell that greeted me was very reminiscent of the now defunct Digger Flake, the smoke too was also very similar, I should add that the long gone Digger flake was my favourite smoke of all time. From the very first light of my pipe the Bold Flake brought a nostalgic tear to ones eye, in that this tobacco as ended my personal search for a digger flake substitute. The smoke is sweet, satisfying, cool and the burley, Virginia mix is a marriage made in tobacco heaven. Nicotine content is strong and not for the faint hearted nor indeed would I recommend smoking this tobacco on an empty stomach, for the potency of this blend is about on par with Irish Slices. I smoked this in a brand new Nording Sailor pipe and the tobacco never bit back or smoked hot, which surprised me given that the pipe was straight out of the box and this was my first encounter with this magical blend. I was rewarded with about an hour of smoking Nirvana on just the one thin slice, which burnt down to a very fine ash with no hint of dampness or trace of dottle. Kicking myself that I only bought the one pack, because from now on this tobacco will be my number one smoke. I cannot recommend Bold Kentucky enough, try some and I can assure you that you too will be suitably entranced.

HH Bold Kentucky - Part 4 of 6 - MacBaren HH Flake Reviews

In honor of the just released MacBaren HH Rustica Flake (that I have jarred and is currently reintroducing oxygen and smelling wonderful) I will be reviewing the five previous HH Flakes leading up to a final review of that new release. I feel all tobacco requires a “Cool Down” period after you open the tin. A minimum of a month so the prior five HH Flakes will give me enough time to get Rustica ready for my liking. With that said: here is Part 4 of 6 . . . of my MacBaren HH Flake Series Reviews.

I have a friend. I know that may be hard for many of you to believe, but I swear it is true. Someone enjoys my company occasionally besides Dorothy. This friend and I first met at our local tobacconist. He was predominantly a cigar smoker at the time. Dorothy and I were smoking our Missouri Meerschaum Shire Cobbits that day. He informed me that he was a fisherman and a woodworker. He loved to fly fish and he liked to make boxes. I was immediately drawn to him because he has a genuine intellect. The guy is smart. He may not look it, but he has a great head on his shoulders. Loves the state of West Virginia as much I do. Left-handed just like myself. Soft spoken and polite, but also easily able flip that switch and let his inner “trailer trash” out if the situation calls for it. Him and I are like two peas in a pod.

As time progressed my friend took up the pipe. I do not know for sure, but I like to think that Dorothy and I may have made a bit of an impression on him. Regardless of why he started one thing remains obvious and apparent . . . he took to the pipe like a babe on the teat. My friend was born to smoke a pipe! So much so that he used his talents with wood working and made some beautiful pipes. He is a Morta smoker that swears by the bog-wood. He has gifted two Morta pipes to Dorothy and I. Dorothy has a Poker with a white stem and I have a Tomato Author dubbed “The Nauthor”. Both are great smokers!

We visit my friend and his wife from time to time. Those days I regard as some of the happiest times of my life. We eat, smoke, laugh, and simply enjoy each other’s company. We talk about our pasts as well as current events and even future possibilities. During those conversations we are almost always smoking. He seemingly always smokes something with Dark Fired Kentucky in it. If the blend doesn’t have DFK in it, he will pinch a bit in his pipe. Heavy nicotine blends are something that he, Dorothy, as well as myself have always welcomed in our pipes. I have always enjoyed HH Old Dark Fired, but in order to understand my friend a bit better I delved into the stronger Dark Fired blends that offer a bit more of the Vitamin N. That journey eventually led me to HH Bold Kentucky.

When you open a tin of HH Bold Kentucky you are greeted with a bit of vinegar, a bit of sweetness, as well as a mildly savory and earthy smell. Folding and stuffing Bold Kentucky is a must in my book. The char-light can be a bit difficult, but once you char the tobacco . . . it smokes perfectly fine with little issue. When you smoke this blend you immediately get the Dark Fired Kentucky in all its earthy, spicy, tart greatness. You will also be reminded of barbecue every now and then as you smoke. If your cadence is true, then you will even taste the grassy Virginias. Obviously adding sweetness to the blend, they also add a bit of citrus and dried fruit to the observant piper. The Nicotine is GLORIOUS! If you can handle your Vitamin N, this tobacco will never disappoint you. The calming effect is quite lovely. A friendly PSA to those lovers of HH Old Dark Fired that crave more strength . . . look no further than HH Bold Kentucky.

Due to the worldwide pandemic I have not been able to visit my friend for quite some time. We have kept in contact via text, telephone, and even the occasional video conferencing app. I am not sure if he has ever had the pleasure of smoking HH Bold Kentucky himself. If not, that will be remedied the next time I pay him a visit. I honestly think that I am able to understand my friend’s taste a bit better due in large part to this tobacco. As I type this and smoke a final bowl of this blend for quite some time (due to the fact that I smoked quite a bit of it this past week for this review) I realize that it is truly a wonderful blend that is great to smoke alone . . . but will be even better when smoked amongst good friends.

~ Barry

Well. Having smoked quite a number of Toscano cigars over my long smoking life, I consider myself as a Kentucky aficionado. Nice that Mac Baren – a brand getting my appreciation even if in alternate phases… - has put on the market a couple of Kentucky flakes.

Thanks to a friend I’ve put my hands on a couple of 50grms tins. I’m working the first, but it’s a job slower than expected. This is not calling me very often, and I don’t know the reason, since it has all its features in the most perfect order. It’s considerably milder than some Lakeland beasts (say a GH’s Dark Flake) and sweeter than a Peterson’s Irish Flake, due to some Virginia. Smokes cool and steady.

I thinks it depends on the fact that lately my preference goes to Kentuckies (or, in general terms, dark fireds) in ribbon form (say DBE or our italian rustics). Just like I prefer the Virginias in flake form. It’s a matter of personal preference.

In terms of flavour, balance and quality, HHBK is top notch. Out of question.

This is a strong flavored blend of dark Kentucky and Virginias hot pressed into uniform flakes roughly 3/4 x 3 inches. Beatifully presented n a square tin wrapped in gold foil. The count is very generous and I was impressed by the sheer volume of tobacco in this tin. The smoke is wonderful creamy and voluminous. It was moist in the tin and so I dried it for a while in the sun whilst I watched my beloved Yankees take another drubbing at the hands of the evil Red Sox. A few glasses of red wine and a few relights later and I am sitting here writing this review with a nice satisfying nic hit after a nice flavorful enjoying smoke. Great stuff! I will have this tin to enjoy for a while as it dries out a bit and mellows. The meer was a precaution that was not necessary and I look forward to enjoying this fine blend in my regular briar rotation. Not for the faint of heart. Needs time to fully enjoy this delicious tobacco.

This is an excellent pipe tobacco. It smells strong out of the tin with rich and dark flakes. To me it smokes milder than it smells. Not good at describing what it tastes like except to say this reminds me of pure tobacco smoked a hundred years ago.

Presentation is impeccable, thin and narrow hot pressed flakes of almost black color cut with precision. Tin note is also good, heady, deep molasses and licorice aromas with a stewed fruit note. Flakes rub out very easily but can also be folded and stuffed. Optimum moisture level to smoke straight away.

The tobacco has a deep juicy molasses/licorice taste combined with first class tobacco. It balances between sweet and bitter tastes and is strong but smooth and very tasteful. It is nuanced and complex, with earthy, bitter chocolatey tones and a mild smokiness. Yes, this is a strong tobacco which might give you an occasional hiccup, but I do not find it overwhelmingly strong. However this means that it cannot suit an all-day use. Room note is quite strong but I find it pleasant.

This is a superb dark flake, in the vein of Sinclair's Highland Sliced, Peterson's Irish Flake, and G&H's Dark Flake.

Typical Mac Baren quality abounds in the packaging and presentation. The rows of razor-edged nearly-black flakes grab the eye, and the nose: I smell vinegar, creosote and wood. The flakes are pliant, and after a gentle rub with a few minutes drying time, are ready to go.

The flavour is strong and uniform, with the plentiful dark-fired making itself known from first light, and never letting up, You needn't be a burley fanatic to appreciate this blend, but it wouldn't hurt. The taste deepens and strengthens throughout the bowl, accompanied by considerable nicotine. There are cigar-like notes present, especially in the retrohale, but the flavour is not that of a cigar, simply a strong burley-forward-with-virginia combo. The smoking experience is rich and the flavour unrelenting.

Room note is old-tymey, and it lingers. For me, this is an evening pleasure, to be enjoyed at the end of the day. It rewards slow stoking, and you can fall into an easy cadence with it. I actually prefer HH Bold Kentucky to the blends listed above, and the fact that it is (thus far) widely available is a nice bonus. Pairs well with cold tea and whiskey. I also advise having something sweet at hand to refresh the palate.

The tin I have been enjoying has about 2 years of age on it. It would be interesting to see how (if) it matures, so I intend to order some and put it aside.

Recommended for lovers of darker fare and the adventurous smoker.

As somewhat of a novice pipe smoker, I was almost dissuaded from buying this tobacco by the reviews stating 'not for the newbies'. However, I'm nothing if not adventurous, and drawn to strong flavours. Gorgonzola cheese, espresso coffee, rich fruit cake, 80% cocoa chocolate and so forth. When I smoked cigaretes I smoked Marlboro Red, so I'm used to a big hit, and even today I admit that I inhale a little from my pipe, and like a nicotine hit that would knock down a cow. Dunhill nightcap is my constant smoke, my go-to blend, if you will.

So, I took the plunge with this offering, and I'm super glad that I did.

I'd have to say that my initial reaction upon opening the tin was "WOW, what a delicious aroma!" The tobacco is such a deep brown as to be almost black, with just barely a few strands of light Virginia. I have to say that, in contradiction of some reviewers here, I found it to be moist to the point of wetness, and requiring an hour of drying out on a sheet of kitchen towel in a warm, well ventilated room.

Once packed and lit, it smoked very well indeed, requiring so few relights that I'm fairly sure a more experienced pipe-er would go through the whole bowl in one light. Also, the tiny amount of excess moisture is most likely due to me and my packing/smoking style than a feature of the tobacco.

The taste is bold. Strong. Full flavoured. Earthy. Like eating a grilled portobello mushroom. Meaty, even. BUT. Not bitter. Not acidic. And the nicotine hit isn't enough to knock you down or give you head-spin. It's there, but in a manageable dose.

All in all, a very pleasant smoke. I've yet to decide wether or not I'll be buying it again, there are so many good (and bad) tobaccos out there to try. I'm sure this one would benefit from storage for a few months, so I might buy a few and keep them in hand.

So, in summary, if you like 'em strong and dark, not too sweet, and a bit 'off the beaten track' I think you should give this one a try.

Hope that helps.

Incidentally, if you don't drink, and you don't smoke.... you don't live longer. It just SEEMS longer(!)