BEELLZZABASS
About Me:
From earliest memory, I have been obsessed with Pipes, smoking, & everything related to this hobby/obsession..
Badges

Amphora - Burley 1.75oz
Norwood?! Is that you Norwood!?
When this first arrived & I broke the seal, I was awash in the wonderful smell of a well made, top notch Burley blend: Chocolate, molasses, nutty, etc. Then it hit me why I was having the sudden, & very pleasant, deja vu. This really reminded me of one of my fav discontinued blend, also from Mac Baren, Norwood. I buy 98% of all my pipes & tobacco from Smokingpipes, so when I looked up tinned tobacco in the Burley family over a year or so ago I noticed A new blend come up in the Mac Baren line. I had never tried it before, but being a Burley junkie I ordered. When it arrived It was love immediately. I ordered several tins and all was wonderful until that dark day when I stumbled upon a very disheartening bit of info.. Norwood had been discontinued for awhile & apparently SP was just selling the last of this beautiful Burley blend that was in stock. I had fallen in love with a quickly disappearing treasure, & the irony was disheartening. After searching for so long for a Burley blend that was lighter than my Burley flakes that I am obsessed with, but incredibly tasty & easier to pack on the go, & then finding it, getting hooked, then having it ripped from my rotation at just about the same time, well I was more than a little disappointed. So I went on the search & was having no luck. Symphony was similar but to sweet & it burned a tad wet, with no strength, Golden extra though similar, was just not going to cut it.. So after burning through a few more & pretty much losing hope I saw that Amphora was releasing a Burley blend, so I ordered, not expecting much, but damn was I ever surprised! The Amphora is, so far, even better! This is really excellent & it has everything a Burley lover would want it to have. It is a broken flake, that has s wonderful (tin/bag) note that will make your stomach growl. It takes to the flame very well with little drying, & the taste & creaminess of the smoke is top notch.. This is def better than my dearly departed Norwood, & my rotation is now back to revolving in the harmoniously flavorful way I remember, but only better.. In all seriousness though, this is a excellent broken flake of top notch Burley goodness all in a neat little pouch that I personally am enjoying everyday now. Haven’t found one thing negative about this offering other than it doesn’t come in a larger size or in bulk. Def worth a try.. It’s one of my top 3 blends & if you appreciate Burley or if your just addicted to Burley like myself, this should be on your list to try.. I doubt you will be disappointed.. Excellent...

Mac Baren - Norwood 100g
Beautiful Burley Bliss..
This is a delicious, offering from Mac Baren. The tin note has the noticeable hints of chocolate, molasses, as well that lovely little sour note that high quality Burley blends tend to have. Since Burley flakes are my go to, all time favorite, this broken flake hits all the right notes. The smoke is cool, smooth, with hints of chocolate & molasses coming out & increasing in strength throughout the bowl. I have encountered no bite or any excess moisture, & it burns down to a fine ash. If you enjoy Burley blends such as Wessex, & Solani Burley flakes, or if you are new to Burleys, or just a total Burley junkie like me, Norwood is a excellent choice. With Norwood & the newly released Burley Flake, which I also am loving, my all ready positive opinion of Mac Baren just sky rocketed, and is still climbing.. Excellent..

Seattle Pipe Club - Plum Pudding
Loving This!
Fairly strong, complex, and to me almost a spicy gingery taste to the well pronounced English bouquet... I am loving this blend! I was already hooked on the Mississippi River, so I had to try this, since I am a English fan.. It is one of the most unique and complex English blends I have ever tried, and is def going to be on my steady rotation.. I only purchased 2 ounces, I know next time it will be 16 for sure.. Excellent!! Def worth trying if you are a Latakia fan, and want something a little different from the normal English... 5 stars!!

Dunhill - Flake 50g
A wonderful discovery...
Like a lot of pipe smokers out there, I started with aromatics. One day my music professor, and fellow pipe smoker, introduced me to real pipe tobacco, no offense to my aromatic loving brother and sisters out there of course, Balkan Sobranie. He explained that this mixture gets its flavor naturally and not from adding "syrup" as he called it, to the mixture to create its flavor.. I immediately fell in love with Balkan and threw out my aromatics, and started buying pipes that I could dedicate to this wonderful discovery. The only problem was, I had all of these pipes dedicated to aromatic blends that I didn't want to "ghost" with the Balkan. So years passed, and I discovered this web site and decided to try a straight Virginia blend. I had tried Dunhill cigs, and some of their English blends in the past, so I knew any of their blends would be of the highest grade.. So when I received my Dunhill Flake in the mail, I anxiously rubbed out a pile and filled one of my first pipes, a GBD Pinner and fired it up and WOW!! It had a wonderfully sweet, almost vanilla/fruity taste that I instantly loved.. When I had to relight, I was worried at first that, like aromatics, the flavor would dissipate, and would taste nothing like it had on the first initial puffs.. Not so!! It retained its smooth, bite free, sweet flavor all the way to the end of the bowl. If anything its natural flavors became more apparent, and satisfying, as I continued on.. This is a wonderful, "all day" smoke that leaves a pleasant room note, even to the nonsmoker. It burns evenly and smooth, and has enough vitamin N to satisfy.. It has def earned a place in my rotation, along with Dunhills Nightcap, and I am now able to smoke my other pipes that were gathering dust.. 5 stars all the way!!

Dunhill - Nightcap 50g
Sweet, sweet, English Heaven!!
This is by far the best English/Balkan tobacco I have ever tried!! I have been smoking pipes, and smoking "English" blends now for 20 years, and I have tried numerous mixtures.. Nightcap is, for lack of a better word, a creamy smoke, with a spicy, peppery undertone, from the Perique, that totally satisfies my English craving fully.. There is no bite, and it burns down to a fine powder all the way to the bottom of the bowl.. The flavor intensifies, and mellows all at the same time as you smoke your way through a bowl.. I have def found the perfect English blend that totally satisfies.. If you are a lover of Latakia, Perique, and Virginias of the finest quality, look no further, you have found the top of the line... 5 stars!!

Mac Baren
Vanilla Flake 1.75oz

$17.64 $13.83
003-039-0030

Wessex
Red Virginia Flake 50g

Currently Out of Stock
003-068-0011

Wessex
Gold Virginia Flake 50g

Currently Out of Stock
003-068-0010

Mac Baren
Burley: London Blend 3.5oz

Currently Out of Stock
003-039-0009

McConnell
Scottish Flake 50g

$17.10 $12.76
003-042-0013

McConnell
Red Virginia 50g

Currently Out of Stock
003-042-0012

Mac Baren
HH Burley Flake 3.5oz

$31.87 $24.99
003-039-0106

McConnell
Scottish Cake 50g

$16.15 $12.05
003-042-0001

Mac Baren
Norwood 100g

Currently Out of Stock
003-039-0032

Solani
Aged Burley Flake - 656 50g

Currently Out of Stock
003-061-0015

Wessex
Burley Slice 50g

Currently Out of Stock
003-068-0024
    A Rekindled Love of Burley
  • ► Great article, & one many pipe smokers can def relate to. I have been smoking a pipe for over 20 yrs & I went on a similar journey of discovery before settling (but never set) on a rotation of leaf that always satisfied my hunger. Living in a rural area & knowing little about the hobby, the first tobacco I bought & tried was Captain Black Royal, simply because of the pouch note, & I really enjoyed the initial flavor, until mid bowl when the bite & dampness really started hampering my attempt at enjoyment. I soldiered on however, until I crossed paths with a music teacher, with whom I started lessons, that was a true study of the briar & leaf. He introduced me to higher end pipes, & the traits & quality’s that separated them from your typical drug store pipe, as well as vastly increasing my knowledge on the nearly endless selection of tobaccos that were out there. This was before the internet so I was very fortunate to befriend this teacher of sacred music, briar & leaf. He also was the spitting image of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, A.KA. Mark Twain; if you can believe the irony in that.. Well to make a long story short, I went from Aro’s to Balkan Sobranie, & several English blends, to Virginia’s, & after avoiding Burley blends for years based on false information that smoking Burley was just like cigarettes, I discovered Mac Baren’s Golden Extra, Solani ABF, Mac Baren!s Norwood (RIP), which I loved, Amphora Burley was a recent, & immediate favorite, & finally my all time favorite, that I love, & crave everyday: Wessex Burley Slice. Though hard to acquire at times, this flake has the most intriguing, intricate, & addicting profile of any tobacco I have ever put fire to, & I am a dedicated disciple. In my world of smoke, Burley currently rules, & Wessex currently wears the crown. Thank you for this enjoyable article & sharing your experiences with the amazing, but sometimes overlooked, Burley leaf.,
    Pipes Perfectly Executed, Part 2
  • ► A Wonderful & informative piece on a side of pipemakers that, depending on your level of interest, is rarely brought up or discussed, & really makes you take a more enlightened second look at these functional works of art., Thank you for this piece..,