Customer Reviews (33 Total)
Strong, tasty, but not limited..
May 03, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
A strong & tasty smoke, bold flavors and a strong Nic hit. HH Rustica is certainly a strong tobacco, but not in the leagues of something like Tambalouka, infact its way off.
Be aware the 3.5oz tin is 'limited' for the US market, but in Europe, the 5... Read More
0g tins are widely available. Read Less
As Advertised
May 04, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
If you served in Afghanistan you may be familiar with Naswar, the extremely strong, oral, jet black snuff. The oral snuff, containing exclusively Rustica and mysterious herbs and spices made the most experienced tobacco user get the spins. I have a ... Read More
bad habit of buying every new tobacco that pops up on the banner of the homepage or having a buddy order it and splitting it with him. This is a great blend, don’t get me wrong and contains nicotine that will be overwhelming for most. It’s amazing for what it is. A strong, balanced blend for those who can handle the nicotine. Reevaluating this blend two weeks later it’s found a spot in my rotation, being smoked out of tiny bowls or mixed with a Virginia flake. Not the most potent tobacco I’ve smoked but certainly the most balanced and tasty at this nicotine level. Read Less
Woody, Earthy, Bitter, Vegetative, Black Pepper
May 07, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
This has a ‘rustic’ ( no pun intended) tobacco quality. The maple sugar used in the binding allows this to open with a very, very slight sweetness, but it quickly dissipates to the full, rich flavor of earth, wood, vegetative/leaf litter, and a slig... Read More
htly burnt piquant note.
There’s a bit of dry black pepper on the retro and a dark chocolate bitterness appears now and again. Gets a bit sweeter towards the end. Nicotine is there and is 4 on a 5 scale, which is a bit stronger than G&H Dark Birds Eye, and could be overwhelming for some. The flakes are cut small - commensurate with moderating the nicotine oomph it provides. Mixed with some C&D Black Cavendish elevates this to 3.5 stars. Not a fan this one. Read Less
Plain and simple delight
May 05, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Rustica is a wonderful smoke. It showcases a remarkably similar profile to G&H’s Dark Plug, however without any trace of the cloying Lakeland essence I never liked. At first, floral notes are prominent, but that initial phase does not last long. ... Read More
The focus is mostly very earthy, leathery-sweet, and nutty, but in a narrower spectrum than the Dark Plug. This means that it is first, a more well-behaved tobacco, with less extraneous bitter notes, although one perceives the fermented quality, and second, the tobaccos are melded to a higher degree, in my humble opinion. This means that it tends towards a more monochromatic profile, albeit rich in every way a pure tobacco should be. Still, it does not detour much from its central theme of earthy-leathery-nutty taste with a medium dosage of very pleasant subtle sweetness. Dark Plug is more “rebellious”, but it has a wider spectrum of flavors that may appeal to some, while I prefer the intense and uniform straight tobacco flavors from Rustica. The nicotine is not as great as advertised, but this could just be due to the fact that I am an experienced smoker. Around the middle of the bowl, the melding comes to a “singularity” of tastes. Extremely tight in terms of the profile, where you basically only taste the Burley pushing forward with the added dimensions of the other components. In the last third of the bowl, another change occurs: a delightful increase of sweetness, which now comes to foreground. Really spectacular at this point. This is a masterfully blended old style “serious” tobacco, that needs to be calmly enjoyed on a full stomach. It is most definitely a keeper for me. Read Less
H. H. Rustica
May 06, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
I found H. H. RUSTICA to be a full flavored slightly strong smoke. The flavor starts out like burnt toast with a touch of jalapeno jam. The mouth tingle stays throughout the bowl but the toast flavor fades as the bowl progresses. The burley leaf is v... Read More
ery noticeable but is not harsh like some Samuel Gawith ropes can be. The Nic hit is strong but less than a Gawith rope. If you like Burley with spice and are used to nicotine this is a wonderful smoke. I like this better than the old Irish Flake. Read Less
A simple Strong Blend
May 06, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
I'm not gonna go into too much detail, it's a simple blend that's strong as hell. Not very spicy, just a little sweet, and a uniform taste all the way through the bowl. If your looking for a simple high nic kick, look no further.
One for the Cellar
May 11, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Very unique blend, more than worth the money for a taste of history
Smooth and Very Sweet...
May 08, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
First let me thank MacBaren for producing a blend with Rustica. The flake is paper thin, really finely crafted and expertly presented.
I've smoked my fair share of wild tobacco and Thuoc lao.
The nicotine level in this blend is not that high, Rust... Read More
ica is blended in as a Perique would be and I would guess it is about 10% maybe much less.
On charring light I could really taste the Virginia, nuttiness of Burley, a faint waft of Rustica, I was really happy. As I progressed into the bowl, I was surprised at the sweetness. Caramel...Then, the sugar casing was all I tasted. I wanted to go back to that charring light of complex flavors in the first third of the bowl. Now, it's a fine blend, just too sweet for MY taste. It is smooth, and very sweet. Your mileage may very...but I'm calling this an Aromatic. There is a lot of sugar in this.
I will put this blend in my Aromatic rotation. It will be smoked, just need to be in the mood for something this sweet. Read Less
A revisit
September 15, 2021
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Funny that they just released this again, I just reached for an open tin 3 days prior to the 2021 release that I let sit for months (pretty crispy). I did the fold/stuff pack method and when I folded it, it was equivalent to folding crackers. I was c... Read More
urious to see if the nicotine was still there. Smoking it out of an Elf Cobbit MM was like smoking a dried out cigar (still enjoyable). On an empty stomach, in the morning, and 1/8th into the bowl...lady nicotine showed up and clobbered me over the head. I pushed through the whole bowl, ending with an out of body experience. I really do like this blend. Read Less
Not a Fan (UPDATED)
July 31, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
After several bowls I decided there is a reason they quit using Rustica when better tobaccos were cultivated. Cellaring some to see if it makes a difference. (UPDATE! I’ve added a star to my original. Rating. After letting this age for about a ye... Read More
ar it has lost almost all of the sharp and rough edges and turned out to be a decent smoke) Read Less
Authentic, Rustic and Bold
May 10, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
If Paul Bunyan had a pipe Blend custom made for him, it would be HH Rustica. This is the most authentic, down to earth tobacco I've tried to date. The flavor profile embodies all that pipe enthusiasts enjoy about tobacco. Upon first light, a spicy, a... Read More
lmost harsh note reminds you what you're smoking , then after a tamp and a true light, this flake begins to really shine.
After the first few puffs, the smoke fills your mouth and envelopes your palate with a bold, woody, earthy and spicy color, which i attribute to the Rustica. Just as you brace yourself for the harsh edge you know is coming, a warm dark virginia bass note appears and rounds out any harshness or bite this blend might have . Read Less
Interesting smoke
May 05, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
This is definitely the strongest tobacco I have smoked. Has a unique flavor profile as well. I'm not the most experienced smoker so I cant say I've had many strong blends to compare the strength to but its definitely pungent. Reminds me of some of th... Read More
e Virginia perique blends I like but less spicy and more soothing. The nicotine is strong but hits in a nice clean feeling way. This one makes for a good celebratory smoke. Read Less
Rustica (2021 release)
August 27, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Rustica is one of my favorite of the Mac Barin HH special series that appear, majikly, ever so often. I suspect the blendmeisters hide the leaves somewhere for a while. Rightly so. And I have learned many lessons on how I need to prepare the slices p... Read More
roperly for me....and that is a session with one of my sharpest Damascus bladed knives, for I need to do a first cut to establish a short-ish "ribbon for a base. I then take about a third to a half of the tin and do a second cuttin, establishing a roughly cube cut, which I mix in carefully with the short ribbon. with this, I get easy lighting and steady smoking characteristics.
The tobacco is deep and mellow, and in my pipes, broken in with Lat-forward English blends, not the least bit harsh (although I do find I need to be a bit more cleaning-oriented with the Rustica...the tobacco blend has a bit more residue than the typical English blend).
This is not, however, an all-day smoke. I usually limit it to one or two bowls a day--which I do look forward to smoking--it is a five star tobacco, for sure. Read Less
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Strong... Yes!
Latakia Alternative... Yes!
Earthy... Yes!
Slightly Turdish... Yes!
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
انه تبغ قوي وانصح بتدخينه بعد وجبه دسمه وفي غليون متوسط الحجم
التبغ له نكهة القرنفل والحمضات والفواكه المجففه و الزبيب بالاضافة الى نكهة ارضية وعشبية و العرق سوس التبغ المدخن واضح وله حلاوة ايضا له طعم حمضي قليل ولذعة خفيفه في طرف اللسان مع حلاوة ون... Read More
كهة الدبس او ما يسمى المولاس دخان متوسط الكثافة ويدغدغ الجيوب الانفية حتى تشعر بقشعريرة خلف اذنيك وتبدء بالتعرق كما انصح بشرب الماء اثناء تدخينه لتخفيف النيكوتين
يستحق التجربة ويستحق خمسة نجوم Read Less
Excellent
October 02, 2021
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
It’s like the Burley Flake without the Dark Fired Kentucky to smooth it out. Strong smoke gives me that lump in my throat feeling of a good nicotine level that comes with strong Burley. Nutty, earthy sweetness, leathery. Tin note is BBQ with vinegar ... Read More
really unique. Going to be buying a lot more Read Less
Ketchup Flavored Beef Jerky
June 21, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
TIN NOTE: Vinegary, Ketchupy, Beef Jerky - in a good way. APPEARANCE: Again, beef jerky comes to mind. These "flakes" are more like dense strips of leather. They look like strips of leather or jerky. And, they handle like a belt. It takes a good deal... Read More
of time and effort to rub them out. Even then, you have to work pretty hard to seperate the strands, which is the only way I have found to be able to smoke this tobacco. I tried fold and stuff in every different way I know how. And, it was disastrous every time. By my second tin, I was spending a good 10 minutes a flake in rub-out. And, then letting the result dry for literal hours. And, it has finally become smokeable in this manner. FLAVOR: Fantastic. Deep. Vinegar and ketchup and leather and soy sauce - totally umami. Love it. Like no other I have ever known. Delicious. SMOKING: It its a job keeping the bowl lit, almost a chore. And, have to be careful with the tamping that you don't turn it back into a leather plug. But, it is worth the effort. Burns all the way to a white powdery ash. Perhaps a little hot. Have to be careful. NICOTINE: Praise the Lord! This gives me the hiccups. Love it. But, back-to-back bowls moves beyond the Nic-hics into full blown heartburn. I keep Rolaids around when I smoke this stuff. SUMMARY: This tobacco is a lot of work. Yet, I keep doing it. Because, I love it. Do I wish it were easier to handle? Yes. Is it too much trouble to be worth the while? A vehement no. It's worth the gargantuan effort. Read Less
Tastes like More!
May 25, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
New favorite. Opening the tin you are greeted with the smell of sweet BBQ similar to smoked ribs. Taste is bold, like a fine cigar. Smooth retrohale. Dark and earthy with a hint of sweet molasses and soft pepper. Very strong! After 1-2 flakes y... Read More
ou need a time out. Hope this becomes a regular release. I could smoke this for the rest of my life and be a happy man! Read Less
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
I swear they packed my tin with bold Kentucky instead. Upon opening it I got a strong smell of bbq, not what I expected this “Rustica” flake to be. Maybe I’m wrong but I swear they packaged it wrong.
different
September 10, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Very full flavors which remind me of steak with lots of fresh cracked peppercorn. I don't think it's knock your socks off strong in terms of nicotine in the slightest, though that's likely due to my own smoking habits. It's worth noting that I get ... Read More
a unique bitter flavor that ghosts my pipes to an appreciable degree, which I'm not fond of. Also I have some difficulty keeping it lit even when left out to dry two steps short of crispy, which is absolutely necessary because this stuff comes remarkably wet. Read Less
Great presentation and tin note.
August 20, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Neat presentation of uniform flakes in gold foil, as Mac baren does. The Tim note is of sour apples. The taste is milder than expected, pleasant, not remarkable. The nic hit is overwhelming. Really, I couldn't finish one small bowl before my head wen... Read More
t to spin. May be a good thing for some. But if this is the thing you need to smoke to get the hit - maybe it's time to quite. For me, I opt out for less potent smoke Read Less
The exceptionally floral
August 18, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
The taste is just beyond the full threshold. It has a dominant strength level. The nicotine is a shade less so. Very unique indeed!
Good Blend
August 01, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
A strong blend with complex flavor if you want a rustic smoke with a huge punch you found it, worth trying but you have to be equipped with a good palette to really find the nuances. I find it a great weekday evening nightcap. The weekends my taster ... Read More
is just too fried from smoking all day to truly enjoy. Read Less
Interesting
July 27, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Tin note was delicious like peppery jerky. Rubbed out a flake rolled it into a ball and loaded it up. Bold flavor few bitter notes here and there. Nice nic hit. Definitely worth s try.
Good lord!
February 18, 2023
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Smoke cooler than I expected. Over all flavors are wonderful, but good lord, it the nicotine really hits. I have the, just smoked 3 back to back cigar feeling after a large bowl. Over all I would definitely recommend, aspshly after a bit of age.
When I want the Tobac equal of a Saleen Mustang
November 13, 2022
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
There are times when a Lat-forward English or a VAPer just isn't right. The other day, I was prowling through my current table: the Gawth Hoggarth Kendal Dark Vintage or Scotch Mix wasn't quite right. The C&D Folklore was okay...but--
By happen... Read More
stance, I knocked over some of my "under-the-desk" stash and--POP--the HH 2021 Rustica fell out. Roughly rubbed out a couple of slices and fired them up in recently acquired Chacom bent apple (five star-BTW).
Bingo. The shreds took a bit to take the flame, when they did, the taste was Autumn with a finish of earth. Some have mentioned a sweetness, I don't find that attribute, though there is a bit of an apple nuance--very light, to be sure and more crisp than sweet.
Make no mistake, the tobacco is stout. I generally do not touch it in the morning. Definitely an afternoon/evening smoke in a shape with a goodly cross-section-I tend to use the aforementioned apple or a bulldog/Rhodesian for the cooling effect of the bowl mass.
I smoke this luscious tobacco in its time and place. Glad I have a number of tins of the 2021 and I think I have some of the prior release. Love it. Read Less
Holy Smoke
April 22, 2022
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Friend turned me on to a tin from 2021. This one rocks. I like strong cigars too, so this one hits the spot. Please get more of this when available. Putting the rest of this in the special occasion humidor. Nic buzz is strong, but it is the mellow no... Read More
n-queasy type for me. Taste is superb. Read Less
My goddess is Angelina Jolie.
January 11, 2022
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Angelina Jolie dressed in black silk and teased me in all kinds of ways. I felt it too much, but when I got close to her, I found that she had a little body odor. I had in-depth communication with her against that reluctance. Afterwards, I was a litt... Read More
le dizzy. But it's still cool, but I don't have any fighting power anymore. Read Less
BBQ Nicotine
December 07, 2021
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
The tin note smells strongly of ketchup and bbqed beef.
Its strength is about a 12 on a 1-10 scale and the flavour promised with the tin note is present throughout the entire bowl.
I've only smoked.it in a very small bowl (1g ish) due to its strengt... Read More
h so perhaps in a larger bowl more of the tobacco flavour would come through. Read Less
A blend with maybe some history
October 10, 2021
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
I first ordered this luscious, indeed sensuous, tobacco in the 2020 release--and when smoking the last of it, knew I had ordered too few tins. Why?
The tobacco is pure enjoyment. It is the essence of history. The aroma and pungency evokes thoughts o... Read More
f what smoking must have been like in pre-Colonial North and Meso-America, when the Rustica plant was the tobacco leaf d'jour.
Even with the H&H blend, the Rustica presence dominates and IMHO, as a Lat-forward English blend-lover, absolutely revel in its assertion of statement.
Ironically, I find it most pleasant smoked in some of my smaller-bowled pipes that have been well broken-in. Most prominent are a couple of Chacom Reverse Calabashes, two Savinelli Bing Favorites and a couple of bent Bulldogs (both are GBDs). This may be one of those "in my head" things, in the art of some of the meetings of settlers and native warriors, the pipes used seem small-bowled.
I am stocking up with the 2021 Rustica release. I shall not be caught short this time.
So, if you do enjoy a stronger blend and eschew aromatics...and there are tins left...this is a great blend to sample. Read Less
Strong and strong
October 05, 2021
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
It’s good, you know you are smoking something special but for me it did not hit the spot. Flavor was for sure heavy but maybe too heavy. There is better out there. Maybe use this in a blend and you will be happy
Raleigh Would Recognize This At First Puff
October 05, 2020
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
When Sir Walter Raleigh returned to the court of Queen Elizabeth I from his explorations of coastal North Carolina, he popularized the rustica tobacco leaf he brought back with him. But the very potent rustica blends he obtained from the natives were... Read More
not the only blends in his pouch. He was known to light up the smoother and milder nicotiana tabacum blends his Spanish rivals cultivated in the Caribbean, and he and other English sea-dogs like Sir Francis Drake had pirated them from Spanish ships. Surely it was early in his smoking days that Raleigh blended the two leaves together.
And that is exactly what Mac Baren did in this rare treat of a limited release through its celebrated HH line. HH Rustica is a blend the sea legend would probably recognize as something like he had blended himself. The Virginias and burley lessen the octane of the blend, from what it would have been had it been pure rustica. The room note is just slightly pleasant, and not necessarily fragrant. The flavor is more that of toast than anything. Perhaps a freshly baked roll of dark wheat bread—but at times when I puff harder, I taste something woodsy, like freshly-cut pine.
I should mention I’m partial to burley and dark-fires Kentucky, and strong blends in general. I bought many tins of this, over a few orders, knowing both that HH Rustica was a limited release and it isn’t the easiest feat getting one’s hands on nicotiana rustica. I have wanted to sample that less common tobacco variety smoked in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Russia, and the Middle East. This I made my move. In fact, I have more tins of HH Rustica than any other blend in my cellar. I crack into it only on certain occasions. Though I rub out its flakes, I’m glad it’s not in ribbon form, which would tempt me to smoke the bowl faster. Possibly inviting dizziness and even vertigo in the process!
4.0 stars for the tobacco itself, 5.0 stars for the quality and rarity of the experience. Read Less
Product: Mac Baren HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
Wickedly good!!
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