Thread: Mac Baren Original Choice: RYO

I once took a gig in Macau, just near Hong Kong. I played music in the Venetian Hotel Grand Canal Shoppes 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 6 months. It was the coolest "cruise ship" gig I've had so far.
During my free time there I found a cute little shop that sold packets of Mac Baren Original Choice Rolling Tobacco for the equivalent of 2$US. This stuff was fantastic. It rolled up nicely, tasted great, smelled great, and was freely available for cheap. Who could ask for more?



I don't consider myself a smoker because I don't do it often enough. But when I do, I try to find the best stuff around. Unfortunately they don't export this product to the US and I haven't had it since.

Anyone else roll your own cigarettes? What do you smoke? Are you familiar with this brand?

As a young boy growing up in the south my friends and I use to buy sack tobacco. There were brands such as: Country Gentleman, Bull Durham, Old North State, Duke's Mixture. There was also Prince Albert in a can and Bugler and Kite in a paper packet.

Haven't thoght of those in years. Brings back memories.

I still have a few old Prince Albert cans around. Prince Albert is what I started with many years ago when I first started. Hadn't thought about that in a long time.

I've tried Kite and Bugler, as well as Bali Shag and the other Peter Stokkebye offerings. Supposedly Three Castles is one of the best. Did you ever learn to roll one handed? Did you ever use a rolling machine? I didn't, could never get it to work.
I also found that hemp papers usually tasted the best, in that you couldn't taste them. The clear papers were nice too, but they made the whole thing taste sweeter on account of the cellulose I imagine.

Three Castles is very fine stuff indeed. My main smoke is Three Sails by Daughters and Ryan, which is Mark Ryan's take on the Three Castles blend. It is now sold as "Shag cut pipe tobacco", but it is a cigarette blend all the way.

GL Pease, Rattray's, Peterson, W.O.Larsen, Mac Baren. It tasted great, smelled great. Very nice.