Vintage MacBaren's Virginia No. 1
Finally getting around to smoking some of this vintage tin of MacBaren's Virginia No.1! I posted about my finding this tobacco on Ebay for a good price in weeks past. I believe it to be 30 years or older;
@NeverBend
, a very knowledgeable piper, speculates it could be up to 50 years old! I wrote to MacBaren's for guidance but didn't get a response.
http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psbinrkeek.jpg
Went out on the back porch this evening and smoked a bowl of it in a Captain Black billiard that I just refinished last weekend. I watched a spectacular thunderstorm while smoking with my dog at my side. I'm not a very eloquent reviewer, but here goes.
I smoked it right out of the jar, which is pretty much the same as out of the tin in this case. I used a standard Bic disposable lighter to fire it up. The first third of the bowl was very light tasting but yet substantial. I'm not good with comparing smoke to other foods or substances, but I thought I smelled or tasted a hint of honeydew melon along with the proverbial Virginia hay aroma in the first third. This first third was very refreshing to the palate; kind of the way you feel after taking a shower after a long, sweaty day at work. The smoke really came into full glory in the second third, like the sweet spot on a cigar. The light, subtle smoke of the first third slowly changed to a full-bodied delight. Virginias have a tendency to bite my tongue when I smoke them, but this tobacco is very mellow, yet tasty and satisfying. This tasted so good that I couldn't slow myself down, but still didn't get bit! This is my first experience smoking a really old tobacco and I was skeptical about the hype, but I must say that this was an exquisite smoke. So, fellows, keep on aging your tobaccos, particularly the Virginia-based ones. I may be preaching to the choir, but they get better with proper aging. Anyway back to the review... The second third was so tasty I didn't want it to end. I didn't feel too great of a nicotine hit, but just what you'd expect from a typical Virginia. The wind and lightning was getting worse, so I came inside the house to finish the bowl. I hardly ever smoke in the house but this was so good that I kept it going to the end. The third part of the bowl was almost as good as the second. Still, I couldn't put the dang thing down it was so tasty. It smoked all the way down to ash; I only had to relight one time.
