October 2008: Mac Baren Mixture

I smoked a pouch of this. First few bowls where not that very interesting at all, but suddenly it started growing on me. I smoked it almost exclusively until the pouch was empty. It has some strange taste and scent of Eucalyptus. If this tobacco had some more nicotine in it, I would probably like it better. It is a little to mild, and I have a hard time smoking mild tobaccos as slow as they need to be smoked.

from me it gets a very uneven review, it does have a strong "WOW" factor, on the other hand it misses to fill some of my needs as a pipe smoker. If nicotine content is not an issue for you, I'd say: Get a pouch and try it out, it is exciting stuff.

its too 'aromaticy' ... I find Mixture Modern much better - it being the only aro I can smoke.

Clearly if you're looking for a review of aros, don't look to me for any wisdom. (but mixture modern is pretty ok for what it is)

Aromatic-like and a MacBaren (not my favorite blender). I think I have enough other tobaccos on my list to concern myself with this one. I will be interested to see some opinions, though.

I have had terrible bowls of this...and great...I just need to re-find the pipes that work well for this blend. It can have a wonderful fruity flavour, and it can be as bland as sawdust. The long and short of it is that this blend can be very good if smoked properly. As such I will probably always have a tin around...on the other hand...I do not intend to cellar more than a couple of tins of this stuff at a time.

Cheers,

Josh

The first few bowls seemed very uninteresting, but now it's getting more complex. It's growing on me, we'll see.

Mixture was one of my first tobacco's. It was quite the opposite for me though, I liked it at first, and then I found that it just didn't sit right. IMHO, this can start to taste a bit like licking an ashtray. And god forbid you try to DGT it, YAK !!

That was well over a year ago... maybe I should give it a shot again.

My two cents.

ill get some and see

say I rave about the stuff. On opening the tin it bit me. So I shut it away for a few weeks & it became passable. Guess it's time to dig the tin out again & see if its become more docile &, hopefully, more complex.
EDIT: Just remember I've tossed the tin, along with HH Mature Virginia. I considered both of them past redemption & consigned them to tobacco Gehenna.

but that's about it for me from the MacBurnin' Co. I really wanted to like their blends. I tried about five or six and kept hoping. But they all burned my tongued and smoked not even as good as my other tasteless wonder, 5100. At least 5100 never bit me.

It's a wonder how such a top quality product, beautifully presented, can be so awful!

Muddler, what's that last word? Sounds like Hebrew to me...

It actually is http://en.wikipedia....

On-topic:

I'm smoking the old stuff (http://www.my-pipes.... the offer is still in effect) and it's not that bad. It does smoke on the hot side but it stays lit well so there are no troubles smoking it very slow. Hence the bite is not of a big concern, while it definitely wouldn't hurt to be less aggressive. The taste is okay, nothing spectacular but it is there, I would even place it (the taste) in the same general sector as Marlin Flake's.

More bowls are needed to form an opinion. Right now I'd say that the taste isn't worth the extra care while smoking since there is not much to concentrate on taste-wise. I'll see what future bowls show.

Blessed with Mac Baren Danish traits, no burning reaches my tongue, and Mixture is as excellent as I remember it from the last time I smoked it. Yes, I have actually gone out of my way and given it a shot even though I haven't felt like smoking the pipe lately. It's every bit of what I expect from it, and it has been a great 6 bowls so far.

I picked up my old trusty Mixture pipe and have been puffing along. As an act of faith I popped a 200g tin and will surely be going through this one as fast as my beloved OGS. I generally don't stock up on Mixture, but 200g is just not enough if the craving for this blend continues.

Yum.

Well I know the root is from Hebrew, that wasn't my question. I meant, what is Muddler doing with this word? Was curious if it entered other languages...

Tell the truth, Lars. Your "old trusty" Mixture pipe is actually a Falcon that you welded onto a Kirsten and then glued to a Carey Magic Inch! By the time any smoke gets to your mouth from that contraption, you're spitting ice cubes!

I'd actually like to see something like that as long as I didn't have to smoke the damn thing.

In all seriousness, I have yet to be "bitten" by any tobacco .. or rather .. I have yet to be bitten by a tobacco that just refused to cooporate. Mac Baren is a safe haven for me. All their offerings are a pleasure to puff.

Some of the MacB tobaccos bite me so I just avoid them. The ones I smoke I let dry out a bit before smoking them so tongue bite is not an issue.

goes a long way toward taming the bite and appreciating the nuances of this blend (and there are some). This tobacco was my first foray into the ways of the weed, and although it's a bit mild for me now, I do enjoy it on occasion.

John

Never heard it in English before, in Russian it's often used as a bookish version of hell.

used much in English. It's a Biblical term, referring to eternal destruction, synonymous perhaps with hell. The root is from the valley of Hinnom, which served as the rubbish dump outside of Jerusalem, in which fires blazed & the bodies of criminals were dumped. A fitting end for bad tobaccos as well.

This is where this mixture probably should be. I tried it in three different pipes and got the same results. ATBF (acute tonguebite fever) ..and to think I specially went and bought some to sample. I also don't like the taste much. To me it tastes like fermented apricots. Lars' tongue must be made of leather to be able to withstand this type of bite attack. I've smoked goat droppings that tasted better. BAN ME BAN ME BAN ME!!! (for being honest?)
I mixed mine 50/50 with Assegai export and this seems to work for me. I only had 1 bowl of the mixed stuff and then put it on the shelve to get wed. Will try it again later.

Olivier :) You'll have to do MUCH better than that to get banned around here.

I'll get burned just as much as the next guy on a hot cup of coffee. Or get all misty when I chomp down on a particularly hot chili. So I'm pretty sure I'm as sensitive as anyone else. Several people have been pointing at body chemistry over the years, and the more I hear "bite" and "no bite" stories, he more I am inclined to believe the whole body chemistry theory.

I can tolerate realy hot chillies and mustard without batting an eye except sometimes...
Tobacco on the other hand will easily bite the crap out of my poor licker.

Must be chemistry. Aren't here any chemistry students around here ?

As for instance Mac Baren Plumcake is a wonderful smelling tobacco but it bites me. I have had half a bowl scorch me so badly I had white welts inside my mouth where the smoke stream would hit. One day Thomas Martin dropped by who likes the stuff and also puffs like a madman. He has absolutely no problem with it. On that same morning I tried it again. Super careful, and puffed ever so lightly but within a couple of minutes I was feeling the devastation accruing inside my mouth and dumped it. Tom continued and had another bowl.

Firedance Flake is another that can ruin me. I believe it is Best Brown Flake which I enjoy but has a casing. I believe it is something in the casing or topping that is the cause, not the tobacco.

It is not the tobacco it is me. Some blends I can't smoke but that does not mean it is lousy tobacco.

If you smoke similar leaf (and you probably do) without a bite, you can chalk it up to the casing.

About this Mac Baren, I find intresting (in the morning):

Mac Baren Scottish Blend (60-70%) and G.H. Louisiana Flake (40-30%)
Sweet'n'light.

I really enjoy this baccy. I like several McB offerings. Plum cake one of my favs. I just never get a bite from them. I do smoke them slow.
Dave

Several bowls of Mixture have been going through my trusty Refbjerg bulldog lately. Bowl after bowl I hardly notice how fast my Mixture supply is dwindling. After checking my stockpile just a few days ago, I have noticed that I should have enough of it to last me the month.

Plenty of Mixture has been consumed by yours truly this month already. I think I will leave it to others to smoke my share for the rest of the month. I have gone through more Mixture than my regular OGS smokes. This is frightening.

It's good stuff, but I have a budget to think about!