Mac Baren -- Vanilla Cream

Brand: Mac Baren
Blend: Vanilla Cream
Style: Aromatic
Pipe Used: Savinelli Natural
Price: $8.75/3.5oz

Appearance: 8
Taste: 7
Room Note: 9
Value: 8
Overall: 8

Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream is a nice looking ribbon cut tobacco made up of Black Cavendish and Virginias with a natural vanilla topping. The tobacco smells wonderfully of vanilla backed with the sweet richness of Virginia leaf. The blend packed easily into my Savinelli Natural and lit right up. Other than a few tampers and relights this bowl required very little TLC.

Mac Baren blends are notorious for their tongue bite and since I tend to smoke hard and fast I was a bit worried. Much to my surprise I encountered absolutely no bite or burn from the Vanilla Cream and it remained a pleasantly cool and mild smoke from start to finish.

Whereas many aromatic blends are goopy and much too sweet, this blend offers up just a hint of sweetness and produced very little in the way of pipe gurgle. The foundation of Virginas and Black Cavendish make for a fairly benign smoke with the vanilla topping adding some much needed flavor.

The room aroma is top-notch and fades away gracefully without leaving any stale tobacco smells. This makes for a classically pleasant smoke that is likely to be remarked on and enjoyed by those around you.

Sometimes you just want a mild smoke to accompany you on a walk or while reading a book and Mac Baren Vanilla Cream certainly fits that bill. It's not a complex blend but it does offer up a nice, easy smoke that's pleasing to both the nose and palate.