Mac Baren HH Bold Kentucky

Oh boy, oh boy... When I opened that tin... I thought I smelled mushrooms, maybe even mold. The wrapper looked sketchy. That damned gold wrapper turned all kinds of colors, the tin was sticky and odd looking.. I was pretty sure I got scammed. But somehow, the flakes looked perfect. That didn't make any sense, everything around those flakes looked corroded, corrupted, even toxic.

So I rubbed a flake, and let it breath for an hour or so... I took a whiff of it every now and then, trying to sense something weird, building up the courage to just smoke it.

I've smoked some odd things, but I'm not into mold, nobody should be. So I packed it into my trusty Eole, which filled the whole chamber, sat outside, and lit it. I took a puff, then another, then I realized I had found a new favorite. I like Virginias, they're nice, but they often leave me hanging. This is not leaving me hanging, it delivers. It is rich, satisfying, burns nicely and provides a good amount of material for proper contemplation. By the end of your bowl, you will need to find yourself another universe to contemplate.

I recently smoked this after letting it cellar for about 9 months. Quite a difference. I was looking for a strong, dark tobacco smoke, and some deep satisfaction in a short amount of time, and got it. I rubbed out 1 slice, and smoked it in my small Peterson Donegal 999. That was perfect. When I smoked it nine months ago, the grassiness of the Virginias and a slight molasses sweetness were present, but after nine months, it is pretty much just a straight, heavy, pleasurable smoke. Not as smokey and rich as my Latakia blends, but definitely strong. It burned much better with age, requiring an average number of relights, has a nice heavy taste, with a solid nic-hit. All in all, a very solid smoke. I will order more, and save it for nights like tonight when I need a good solid, dark, smoke.

Not much else to add here but that this blend is ALL Kentucky. I was expecting to find a little more complexity in the blend, but was whammed with the bold and beautiful Kentucky. Granted, the Virginia does play a role in giving slight sweetness and smoothness to the blend. But be warned, you gotta like Kentucky to like this, I mean the name does say it all.

Despite its powerful strength, it is gentle on the tongue. The flavour is one dimensional, but evolves slightly as the Kentucky mellows halfway and the Virginias come through. Lots of chocolate notes.

Works well as a blender to beef up blends but you may need to tone this one down with something else, which is quite alright. I like mixing it with st Bruno to give it a bit more kick. I like it in my clay tavern pipe, but works well in anything.

Although I'm someone who regularly smokes strong blends such as Burleys and English, I must admit that this tobacco frightened me. I purchased it a few months back and it has been sitting in my cellar ever since... calling my name. Tonight I finally decided to open up the tin and try a bowl. The tin states that this is the strongest pipe tobacco that Mac Baren makes and they weren't wrong!

First Impressions: Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with gold foil tightly folded over the pressed leaf. Opening it up like a flower, I was greeted with a earthly and lightly sour aroma.The dark brown and pressed flake has a minor amount of lighter tobacco included. It is sliced neatly into long strips to make loading the pipe quite easy.

Pipe and packing: I used a generic pear root pipe with a small bowl as I wasn't sure how this tobacco would flavor my regular pipes. Like most Mac Baren tobaccos, this one is moist. To fill it, I peeled off strips and gently folded them to fit into the bowl. I then lightly tamped them into place. This process was repeated three times. I did not notice any casing and there was no residue on my fingers.

Lighting: I worried that the tobacco would be hard to light due to it's dampness, but after a decent char there were no problems.

Smoking experience: This is not a harsh smoke, but you must treat it kindly. Too much will set your head spinning and make you question who and where you are! However, I sipped this over a period of 40 minutes and found it to be just the right pace for me. I did have to relight it a few times, but that was no problem.

Upon the first puff, I immediately noticed a very peppery taste but it wasn't too strong. After getting the rhythm down to a nice sip, I started to notice the more subtle but full earthly flavor. It was all encased with a backdrop of hay. I was reminded of being in a freshly mowed hay field. Quite nice. It smoked wonderfully all the way to the bottom of the bowl with no taste of ash.

Strength: Potent. This - by far - is the strongest leaf that I have ever had the pleasure and challenge of partaking. Even sipping it sparingly, my head was swimming as I was transported to a place of calm nirvana.

Room Note: I asked the wife how it smelled to her, and she said that it smelled like burnt grass, but wasn't too bad.

Summary: As the label says, this is not a tobacco for beginners! You must treat this as a lady with gentle hands and slight kisses! In return, it will reward you with with a warmth and comfort not found in your "everyday" smoke. I enjoyed the flavors, the aroma and how it did not bite at all. This is one that I will be partaking of sparingly, but I know with each bowl, it will be an experience to savor! I will be adding more tins to my cellar to see how they age. In closing, I highly recommend Mac Baren's HH Bold Kentucky!

This is one inexperienced smoker who loves this in the evening. I don’t inhale so am not effected by the amount of nicotine that others talk about. The wonderful strong smooth taste makes me a happy chappy. A bowl lasts for ages so I tend to go into a dream like state. I was a bit concerned about trying such a strong tobacco but this is really good. I often have this along with a good Bourbon. So Kentucky and Kentucky.

This is a nice, sturdy tobacco. I like to smoke it nice and slowly. Bringing out the sweetness laying just beneath the surface.

Perfect for a cold, rainy night after a long day in the trenches.

HH Bold Kentucky will transport your thoughts to a quieter, more peaceful place. Perhaps the rolling hills and stables of a Lexington horse farm. Or an old, barn style warehouse full of sleeping barrels of Bardstown bourbon whiskey.

Highly recommended.

This is fantastic. Beautiful tin, ketchup-like tin note and heavenly taste. Also this is a strong, high nicotine tobacco preferably for late night. The flakes have a little extra moisture, but it can be smoked right upon opening the tin too.It produces a high amount of smoke too. High quality product overall. So, fill a bowl up and prepare for the ultimate relax.Recommended for lovers of strong blends and high nicotine tolerant gentlemen.

When I first tried this brand new it was overwhelming. I'm glad I waited to review it until after I rubbed it out and let it mellow in a jar for a month. It's perfect! This is the perfect cigar to pipe transition blend, in my opinion. Beautiful cigar-like aftertaste as well. Perhaps I'm not very subtle, but this has become me go-to blend. I like this one with tea, as the strong coffee I like seems to interfere with the smoky flavor a bit. (Coffee is good with the typical mellow Burley)

As a fan of old dark fired I had to try this. My first impression did not go well as I found it overbearing and to much to handle? Away it went in the cellar and the tin from 2015 was logged and forgotten. To present day 10/2018 and re-evaluating the pipes I used and smoking speed, this has become a much better and richer smoke. I am sure the aging may have mellowed it a bit, but the packing method and smoking speed will do this justice. I generally rub out my flakes for some dry time and then use the pinch air pocket method, which has become my favorate packing technique. This is stout, rich and reminds me of beef jerky. Oh, a word of caution, this is packed extremely wet and when I opened my tin from 2015 the foil was stained and the tin was starting to rust in the inside. Anything more of this I cellar will go in a mason jar. This is delicious and I highly recommend it. Smoke in peace

Lager ( formerly budman)