Dating Mac Baren

[Lesepfeife]

I recently received a sealed can of Plumcake that I got off ebay. I paid about going rate for new so even if it isn't very old I'm not out anything. The original buyer didn't mark the date on the bottom of the can so I'm wondering if there's a way to discern from the codes when this was made. There are 2 lines of small numbers to the right of the bar code, which seem most likely to include the date if MB indicates such on their labels. The most likely candidate of the 2 is '0615003'. Any ideas?

 

[deepbass9]

Good question.

I've searched and come across a few places where the blender's code has been deciphered (accurately, one hopes..), but it'd sure be very nice if we had a sticky or thread that listed all of the popular blends, besides just MacB, for future reference.

Any experts care to chime in?

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

This is the most reliable info I have found on the subject.

http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/282452-deciphering-mac-baren-tin-codes.html

 

[gravel]

This is the most reliable info I have found on the subject.

http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/282452-deciphering-mac-baren-tin-codes.html

Here is some useful information.

I recently bought a few Mac Baren tins and was getting ready to input the info into my tobacco cellar. I noticed that there wasn’t a date on the tins, so I emailed the company and asked how to decipher the codes that were present.

To the right of the bar code were two sets of numbers, as follows:

09102631
28099

Here is their response:


Thank you for your e-mail.

This is how is decipher the code:

09 = Packing machine used
10 = Year of packing
263 = Calendar day of production. That means day 263 in 2010.
1 = Shift (1 indicates it's packed on our day shift)

The 5 digit number is the internal batch number

I hope this is helpful and please revert if you need further assistance.

Med venlig hilsen / Best regards
Mac Baren Tobacco Company A/S

I wonder how long this practice has been in place. Their older tins imported by Fireside don't have a code, but this tin I have likely predates he use of codes.

 

[tiltjlp]

The Mac Baren tins I've bought in the past few years all have month and year tinned clearly marked, such as May 2011 for a tin of Danish Mixture.

 

[Lesepfeife]

Excellent. The bottom number that I thought looked like it might be a date seemed to indicate an '03 date but based on your repost the top code says mine was packed by machine #8 in '06. Not too bad. Now to decide if I should cellar it some more or pop it now.

I got it because somebody told me that he often smokes this blend around Christmas time and the price was right for an aged tin. I've been enjoying SG Celtic Talisman occasionally for the past few weeks as my "holiday blend." I hated it when I first tried it back in the spring so transferred it to a jar and put it in the cellar for a few months. Maybe my technique has improved or it goes better in the pipes I've acquired since that time. First room note review from the family a few weeks ago was fantastic but the last couple of times they've had issues with it. Can a pipe also affect the room note?

Guess this is something of a thread hijack but since I started it in the first place I beg your indulgence.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

06 is not bad at all. Getting 5-6 years on any tin up front is quite excellent.

Alternatively on the topic of "dating" MacBaren tins. The only MacBaren flavor that I have dated recently is a lovely lady named Old Dark Fired. She's not to hard to figure out, and she definitely kisses on the first date.

 

[Lesepfeife]

Alternatively on the topic of "dating" MacBaren tins. The only MacBaren flavor that I have dated recently is a lovely lady named Old Dark Fired. She's not to hard to figure out, and she definitely kisses on the first date.

I like the play on words and when titling the thread wondered how people might have fun with it. I have a tin of ODF in the cellar but it's brand new as of about a month ago.

 

[Mr_Jeff]

I wonder how long this practice has been in place. Their older tins exported from Fireside don't have a code, but this tin I have likely predates he use of codes.

I got my hands on some well aged London Blend some time back with the Fireside stickers on the bottom. After writing to Mac Baren inquiring about the possible age of the tins, they responded and told me that they stopped using Fireside as the importer in 1983. They also seemed shocked that I had tins that were so old and suggested I take them back and exchange them for newer. I told them not to sell themselves short, their product ages very well.

Thirty year old London Blend is sublime, by the way.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I suspect on a lot of the Orlik blends, the number code (not the UPC) denotes the year by the first two numbers. Mac Baren has, at least in my limited buying, clearly marked the date on the bottom. Though I've seen some tins that do not, of the same mixture/blend, too. I have a newer tin of VA #1 that is 2010, and a newer tin that has no date at all. :scratch:

8)

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I got my hands on some well aged London Blend some time back with the Fireside stickers on the bottom. After writing to Mac Baren inquiring about the possible age of the tins, they responded and told me that they stopped using Fireside as the importer in 1983. They also seemed shocked that I had tins that were so old and suggested I take them back and exchange them for newer. I told them not to sell themselves short, their product ages very well.

Thirty year old London Blend is sublime, by the way.

Yeah, exchange 30 year old tins so Per Georg Jensen can bolster his own personal stash.

 

[Lesepfeife]

Well I made my decision. I decided that almost 7 years (day code put the pack somewhere around June) was sufficient so I broke it open. It was still sealed really well. I had to pry it in a couple of places before the top would spin off. Wonderful tin note. Seemed to be just the right moisture content. I filled up my big Wellington for the long drive home. Starting out it was really good. Quite mild but a decently sweet taste. About half way through it was still OK but the sweetness was gone and the flavor was more sharp. Didn't seem to bite much. I'll try it next time in a smaller bowl.