Jim's MacBaren HH Bold Kentucky Review.
Aptly named, HH Bold Kentucky has a lot of strength and boldness, and is indeed, the strongest tobacco in the HH line. The African and American dark fired Kentuckys are very earthy with some nuttiness and spice, and a minor amount of sweetness. Smoked straight, dark fired Kentucky can be harsh and at times, bitter, so the bright Virginias are a necessary addition, succeeding in their purpose by softening most of the rough edges with some minor sweet citrus and grass notes. The Virginias do not dampen the power and hearty richness of the Kentucky, and a little of the expected roughness remains, but it is more palatable to smokers as a result of its inclusion. There are a few small sour notes from the Kentucky. There is no topping, and the casing - which I suspect is vinegar - is very minimal, and not noticed very often.
The slices are hot pressed and moist in the tin. It may help the burn rate if you dry them a little, but I have found they burned fairly well straight out of the tin, though the tobacco will require some relights. The slices are very easy to break apart, and easily rubbed out if that is your preference. Burns slow and fairly cool with no bite, no dottle and very little moisture at the finish, even when it’s not dried out. The taste is consistent all the way through and doesn’t turn bitter at the end. Due to the strength of the flavor and nicotine, I recommend smoking it at no more than a moderate pace. Obviously not an all day smoke, but a smoker experienced with strong dark fired Kentucky products - or strong tobaccos in general - won’t mind having more than one bowl a day.
