Post by captblack on Mar 11, 2019 23:04:31 GMT -5
Im not the best review writer so I rarely pen them, but my recent indulgence in a tin of Mac Baren HH Burley Flake compelled me to share my experience with this unique flake blend. And I say blend because while HH Burley Flake is indeed mostly Burley, there are also Virginias and a sprinkling of Dark Fired Kentucky contained therein.
I encourage everyone to try the Mac Baren HH series tobacco blends. While ODF gets a lot of the press, the remaining members of the lineup can all stand on their own with ease. The HH blends feature some of the best tobacco bases from around the world and are only lightly cased to bring out their flavor profile.
Anyway, back to the HH Burley Flake. The tin note on this one is wonderful to me in that I couldnt put my finger on the scent. Think soy sauce combined with the smell of a brisket that is nearing the end of a long, slow smoke. Simply divine. The dark fired Kentucky leaves certainly make their presence known to the olfactory senses, but in a good way as a nice background smokiness. The flakes are thin and very even, and entertaining to break apart in preparation for a smoke. My strategy is to take out an entire flake and let it sit for an hour or so, then break it up into ribbons and just stuff them all in a pipe. Its that easy. This method will produce about an hour of smoking time from one flake.
Following the false light and true ignition, the milder notes of the blend came through in spades. There were woodsy, sweet cedar flavors with a background of graphite / pencil shavings (I know, sounds odd but it tasted great) and an ever so slight sweetness from the Virginia content. There was a bit of a peppery twang toward the back of the tongue indicating some Vitamin N, which I always appreciate. It was relaxing - sitting in my car, stuck in traffic, taking a slow puff and picking out the differing flavors from each sample.
Toward the middle of the bowl, the sweet cedary flavors turned leathery, an earthy/clay backtone developed, and some really nice oak notes showed up. The strength amped up to medium, with the retrohale tingling the nasal cavity and spicy notes peppering the taste buds. This relaxed me even more - to the point that I really didnt mind being behind a dude doing the speed limit in the left lane. What I found interesting at this point was the distinct lack of sour or bitter notes as compared to lesser blends.
The final puffs revealed a strong dark chocolate overtone as the tars condensed and formed a back note to the smoking experience. At this point, I set the Peterson down and let it self extinguish. No tongue bite for me, but I could see potential bite if several bowls were smoked in a row.
This would be a great blend for someone who enjoys smoking cigars, but wants something different in a pipe. HH Burley Flake provides a changing flavor experience from start to finish and allows the strength to progress from mild to medium, much like a fine cigar. What will most certainly impress a cigar smoker is the lack of cigar bitterness - which may convert them into a pipe smoker after all!
I encourage everyone to try the Mac Baren HH series tobacco blends. While ODF gets a lot of the press, the remaining members of the lineup can all stand on their own with ease. The HH blends feature some of the best tobacco bases from around the world and are only lightly cased to bring out their flavor profile.
Anyway, back to the HH Burley Flake. The tin note on this one is wonderful to me in that I couldnt put my finger on the scent. Think soy sauce combined with the smell of a brisket that is nearing the end of a long, slow smoke. Simply divine. The dark fired Kentucky leaves certainly make their presence known to the olfactory senses, but in a good way as a nice background smokiness. The flakes are thin and very even, and entertaining to break apart in preparation for a smoke. My strategy is to take out an entire flake and let it sit for an hour or so, then break it up into ribbons and just stuff them all in a pipe. Its that easy. This method will produce about an hour of smoking time from one flake.
Following the false light and true ignition, the milder notes of the blend came through in spades. There were woodsy, sweet cedar flavors with a background of graphite / pencil shavings (I know, sounds odd but it tasted great) and an ever so slight sweetness from the Virginia content. There was a bit of a peppery twang toward the back of the tongue indicating some Vitamin N, which I always appreciate. It was relaxing - sitting in my car, stuck in traffic, taking a slow puff and picking out the differing flavors from each sample.
Toward the middle of the bowl, the sweet cedary flavors turned leathery, an earthy/clay backtone developed, and some really nice oak notes showed up. The strength amped up to medium, with the retrohale tingling the nasal cavity and spicy notes peppering the taste buds. This relaxed me even more - to the point that I really didnt mind being behind a dude doing the speed limit in the left lane. What I found interesting at this point was the distinct lack of sour or bitter notes as compared to lesser blends.
The final puffs revealed a strong dark chocolate overtone as the tars condensed and formed a back note to the smoking experience. At this point, I set the Peterson down and let it self extinguish. No tongue bite for me, but I could see potential bite if several bowls were smoked in a row.
This would be a great blend for someone who enjoys smoking cigars, but wants something different in a pipe. HH Burley Flake provides a changing flavor experience from start to finish and allows the strength to progress from mild to medium, much like a fine cigar. What will most certainly impress a cigar smoker is the lack of cigar bitterness - which may convert them into a pipe smoker after all!