I'll get more 'eloquent' with my discriptive terminology as time goes one, but one thing I notice is how the tobacco makes my throat feel 'raspy' in very short order (even though I'm smoking it slowly & smoothly). I do like its aroma, though (room note?). That's a plus.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that for now and see how things go as time passes. Cheers, d'Pappy

When I smoke this tobacco I get dark chocolate, coco and raspberry flavour notes throughout the bowl. It is never over the top or sickly sweet as some other aromatics become and are. It's also not cloying to the palate and it does not bite at all. It smokes cool to the bottom of the bowl to a fine grey ash, tipping the ash half way through the smoke is recommended. I seem to be reaching for this tobacco all the time now bypassing others and I highly recommend it to all.

Perfect for a beginner smoker and for public crowded places, like sports events or similar, as it is very respectfull towards others.

Good quality, but only 2 stars strictly because its lack of strenght.

Thx Medhat, Egyptian PipeSmoker.

I eventually secured some from a duty-free shop on the internet from England. I almost wish I hadn't. This is not the same tobacco that was around in the 70s. It has its moments, but I can only tolerate it in certain pipes: mostly the pipes that I smoked it in during the 70s.

It is still one of the few aromatics that I smoke along with a couple of Browns offerings such as Vegas 64, Brown's Vanilla and Planta Vanilla Flake.

This isn't half bad if you get a fresh pouch. I didn't detect any of the advertised flavors, but I did taste a little fruitiness.

A much better pic than the brown.

The room note is that of a sweet virginia, a little burley, and a slight hint of neroli.

I won't smoke this regularly but when I come across recently dated pouches I might buy one or two.

Storing this will ruin it.

Understandably, 20 years ago when I first picked up the pipe smoking habit, this was my first choice. My impression at the time was that all was fine but a stale room note would develop if you did not ventilate your area sufficiently after smoking.

Since then I stayed off pipe smoking for an extensive interval until I picked it up again. Now, my considerations are different.

I tried Amphora (Red) again and I felt something was missing. True, I did not find this pronounced "stale odor" any more. But, at the same time I did not get any enthusiastic remarks about room note.

This blend burns quite hot and it tends to scorch my tongue. After the first pouch I thought of never buying Amphora red again. For old times sake, and being somewhat swayed by the reviews here, I did buy another one. If I ever buy another one this will be just because I will have no other choice... (I Agree with the reviewers who say that this is good quality tobacco - way above the usual drugstore OTC blends, I just think that one can do much better.)

A reviewer mentions that one might go full circle and end up with Amphora red again. I doubt it. If you can afford the extra cost you should try other Blends, Mac Baren's Golden Ambrossia for example.

It is in fact a better quality Drug Store type tobacco, Yes, I will smoke it when I can. I think the Nostalgia is mostly due to lack of availibility in the US (due to the litigious nature of americans and fear of legal issues for Imperial) I would smoke it as a mild, treat if it were handy. I will not bother to order it from Europe for what it is. For a somewhat similar, but not equal quality pouch style, I would pick Sail, Troost, or House of Windsor.

Well, a couple years later, I finally managed to pick up a pouch, and I'm not displeased. In truth, I'm actually very surprised, for this seems to be an ideal drug store blend, in my opinion. Just a few dollars for a fifty gram pouch, though in short supply where I reside. There is enough here to quell my taste for more expensive alternatives.

Imperial Tobacco claims that this offering espouses a touch of "pure fruit blossom". Searching for proof, I opened the pouch to find a wonderful aroma, not of fruits or other such casings, but a traditional strong scent of unmistakeable tabacco, with a broken flake constitution and a smattering of color darker than I would have imagined.

Apart from these observations, I found the taste to be rather full, far stronger than something resembling Captain Black, soaking in additives. Judged against the myriad of other proclaimed Cavendish tobaccos, this one stands in its own class. There is little here to remind me of the accepted Cavendish designation, other than a guess on my part that this must be steamed. But, I don't know. I'm not one for rigorous categorization.

I tend to downgrade my reviews of aromatics heavily after greater sampling, so I may have to back off these claims.