Mac Baren Roll Cake

Roll Cake is one of Mac Baren's rope-spun and sliced products. Whole Virginia leaves are used as the outer wrap; inside, a Virginia-forward core is set along with the maker's own Cavendish and a small, balancing amount of Burley. After the spun rope rests for a while, it's cut into thin coin shapes. This preparation method makes the tobacco slow-burning and dense; the coins need rubbing out before packing. The taste is built on Virginia's bready sweetness with the Cavendish's dark tones riding atop it. As with Mac Baren's rope products generally, only a thin maple-sugar topping is present, so the natural leaf taste leads rather than an aromatic character.