Composition: Virginia, Burley, Oriental and Latakia
Cut: Loose Cut
Price range: Low
Mac Baren HH Vintage Latakia: review
Vintage Latakia replaces the former Vintage Syrian, which contained Syrian Latakia. Today, the composition of this blend is Virginia, Burley, Orientals and Cypriot Latakia.
Because of the presence of Burley, we cannot consider it an English Mixture. But also due to the fact that the Burley/Virginia combination is predominant over the rest of the tobaccos in the blend.
This makes for a very pleasant blend, supported by the spicy notes of the Orientals and the never intrusive smokiness of the Latakia.
Interesting how it reacts differently to how it is smoked. Maintaining a low stove temperature brings out the dried fruit notes of the Burley and those of the Virginia, with Orientals and Latakia in the background.
Conversely, by raising the temperature, the Latakia will be more prominent.
The Loose Cut facilitates loading and burning, despite the fact that this is a moderately moist blend.
It is the only bagged in the HH line, not surprisingly it also has a more affordable cost than other blends in the same line.
Ultimately, Vintage Latakia has little to do with English Mixtures, in fact we can consider it rather an alternative. Indeed, we recommend that you try it after smoking an EM, just to discover the aromatic differences.