Winter 98/99 Volume IV Issue 1

This issue's choices from The Beloved Tobacco Maven (TBTM) are three new arrivals, plus one long since arrived - a godsend, like manna in the desert. We've all experienced those times when you arrive somewhere and discover that you've left your tobacco at home and all that's open is the newsstand in the airport, a convenience store on the Interstate, or a corner shop in some alien city where the robot on duty has only a few stan-dard tobacco tins and packages on the shelf. So what do you buy? Well if the tin says Mac Baran "Mixture," a widely available "standard," you're in luck - maybe leaving your tobacco at home was a blessing in disguise! When you get to a real smokeshop, you might want to buy the large 9 oz. tin, or try the other great tobaccos discussed below. All come in tins that make these great gifts for the holidays, too.

You've seen the ad: the guy at the helm, beating to wind-ward in the late afternoon sun, his back to the camera, his pipe sticking out like a bowsprit. Full head of hair, .003% body fat, from forward view his face a cross between Pierce Brosnan and Brad Pitt. Well, that's a pic-ture of the Tobacco Maven homeward bound on his Hinckley, smoking Mac Baran Mixture from Denmark.

Although I like it best out-doors, the rich flavor of this available-everywhere tobacco is great anywhere, even indoors for armchair adventurers. Mac Baran Mixture has been a standard in the U.S. for almost 40 years and deserves its popularity. This hon-est and delicious mixture of slow-burning, pressed Burley, Virginia, and fire-cured Kentucky offers a woodsy, smoked nose and a hint of earthy sweetness, like prunes and dark honey-wheat bread. And everyone who smells it under fire will want to smoke a pipe immediately, so you'd better have some spares aboard for your guests when safely in harbor.

We quote: "Sherlock Holmes kept it in the toe of a Persian slipper nailed to the mantelpiece. it was dry and strong. Kept at what we today have deduced to be proper smoking moisture and smoked gently, this excellent stoved shag will provide hours of smoking pleasure. Smoke at once, if convenient. Examine the ash carefully." That's on the tin. Great copy we can't resist sharing.

What TBTM deduces from the tobacco is quality: a very dark Virginia fine-cut with a small percentage of lighter leaf for con-trast. A deep natural sweetness comes from the leaf, aged in wood, without any added flavor. The unlit bouquet is redolent of roasted chestnuts and Madeira, and fired up Black Shag has the complex taste of the full-bodied Virginias, yet with a light palate. This gourmet tobacco is for indoor smoking, at its best to enhance reading, deep thinking, or solving mysteries; television and cyber-space forbidden. The pleasure this Black Shag yields to the careful smoker - best in a small bowl with a long stem - requires culti-vated concentration.

A new one for TBTM, discov-ered recently at an industry trade show, this Danish blend is intended as a companion to the elegant pipe of the same name, designed by Hans Nielsen, who makes the "Former" brand. Like the pipe, the tobacco has class, from the smart grey-green rec-tangular hinged tin with rounded top and bottom to the gleaming silver interior with its matching foil bag, which is sealed and fold-ed down. It looks like a treasure, and it is.

The tobacco is a pressed blend of Burley, Maryland, and Virginia with a delicate nose: like cereal grass with an unsweetened vanilla and spice hint so subtle that it's barely detectable. What does come through is a natural tobacco smell. And when you light up, the flavor is the same as the unlit bouquet. This is rare: a tobacco that tastes just like it smells. The smoke is gentle and refined with no edges, and a clean, soft effect on the palate. So new, it's best to call the dis-tributor, F & K (800) 848-1480 for a dealer near you.

Classically Danish, this blend of loose-cut Bright Virginia with pressed Golden Virginia, nut--brown Burley, and sweet Black Cavendish, is a spin on a traditional formula popular in Denmark for almost a century. Unlit, the nose is fruity, with suggestions of berries, melon, and citrus flavors. When the tobacco is lit however, the room is filled with a delicious aroma, reminiscent of pastries baking, and the flavor you taste is that of a rich liqueur. For TBTM, this tobacco is a sweet treat. A pipe now and then is wonderful, filled with the "cozy" tastes of the winter holiday season's puddings, cooked fruits, and richly dense cakes. It's not dinner, it's dessert.

The dark-red, old-fashioned hinged tin, a rectangle with beveled corners and a reprint of an old fashioned pastoral scene on top, is an instant collectible. A great gift, this one, for yourself or the aromatic smoker who wants the best of old Denmark for the holiday season. WO. Larsen's "Collector's" is distributed by Davidoff of Geneva, available through Davidoff stores and exclusive pipeshops.