Mac Baren Amphora Full Aroma

Amphora Full Aroma is a tobacco that has pervaded my memories since I was very young. My dad, as a pipe smoker, would purchase this variety by the giant tin, and he'd take those empty tins and fill them with nuts, bolts, screws, nails, and anything else that he just couldn't find a place for. We still have those tins sitting in the garage, and I remember when taking up the pipe how I wished I could find a sample of this very tobacco.

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.

This is another of those really good aromatics. It comes in a gold foily packet, and looks like a ready rubbed blend, with a few longer strands of ribbon in there. It packs and lights just fine straight from the pouch, despite containing some quite large chunks of flake. Do not be tempted to rub it out any more or it will get hot and bite. This can be a problem with the last couple of fills from the pouch too.

The smoking qualities of this tobacco are really good. It burns cool and slow, and the flavour is surprisingly complex, although very mild at first. The beginning of the bowl tastes light, sweetish and flowery, with fruity, vanilla tastes building as the smoke progresses. The vanilla taste is only ever a hint, and the bowl finishes with a rich chocolatey aftertaste from the burley tobaccos. The room aroma is as varied as the taste, a friend once commented that it smelt of chocolate, while at the beginning of the smoke it smells more floral.

This is definitely a very high quality aromatic, of a very different flavour from most, the casings must be very different to what is used in a lot of aromatics. A really interesting smoke, but not very heavy.

I'll agree with the one reviewer who claims no one does the Cavendish process like the Dutch. I smoked so much of this in the eighties and early nineties and loved it alot. I like all the Amphora offerings with the English being my least favorite, followed by the Virginia. The Virginia leaf is aged well and the Burley is pretty neutral as it seems to absorb the flavorings well. All the added flavorings are done very well and only enhance the blend and help the true tobacco flavor come through. As far as Orientals go I cannot detect them but I'm sure they are there. It comes quite wet in the pouch so drying time for me was needed, if not you may get some gurgling. I really wish this was available in bulk, but such is life. Absolutely one of my favorites! Enjoy!

Lager

Although this blend has an amazing chocolate and fruity smell, it tastes completely different. Woody, earthy with prominent players the burleys and the orientals. Sometimes tastes blunt, sometimes good. But not the greatest aromatic in my opinion.

Maybe the worst tobacco I've ever tasted. Burnt taste with chemical aftertaste. It even gave me a headache... My wife likes to smell the aromas of tobacco that I smoke, but with that - she asked me to ventilate the room well))

This aromatic is too flat. Hints of raspberry are minimalistic and tobacco flavours are hidden behind the dryness of the smoke. When I am in mood for it, I can enjoy it. But it is very rarely. I would rather recommend the Amphora Rich.

Is this 2020 "modern version" of the old Amphora Full Aroma an aromatic? is it "fully" aromatic, as the name suggests? Are its "companion" tobaccos Amphora Rich and Original aromatics? If by "aromatic" we intend a tobacco that will give the smoker the experience of aromas that are FOREIGN to the ones of raw tobacco, namely, aromas that have been added to the blend to ENRICH the smoking experience beyond the sensations provided by raw leaves (e.g., aromas of fruit, whisky, rum, etc.), my opinion is that this blend is not an aromatic tobacco in the classic sense. I understand and respect the modern trend of Mac Baren, namely the effort to let the smoker enjoy the taste and aroma of minimally cased raw tobaccos as much as possible (exactly as Samuel Gawith does). However, this is achieved by transforming what in the past were true aromatics into tobaccos which convey to the smoker barely detectable "other" aromas besides the ones of the usual Virginias, burleys, etc... Fortunately, this does not happen with excellent Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve, a sumptuous aromatic which has not been deprived (for how long though?) of its marvelous aroma of dark ripe fruits, sweet liquor, etc. Someone may object that Mac Baren offers to lovers of traditional aromatics the 7-Seas series. Ok, I admit, these USA-style tobaccos may partly meet the needs of a fraction of European aro-lovers. But why do we have to mimic the extra-sweet, "glycerin-ish" American taste? Why can't we enjoy a quality "Danish" blend conveying the dry and full aroma of a good Whisky, brandy or rum, with a touch of cavendish sweetness? I fully and honestly respect smokers who dislike aromatic tobaccos. I greatly enjoy mild English blends and natural mixtures from time to time. But I hope that lovers of aromatics may continue to savor their favorite blends, without feeling the disappointment of opening with great expectation a pouch of an alleged "fully" aromatic mixture, that in the end reveals itself once again as one more Va-Bur "minestrone".

After reading several encomiastic comments and evaluations I grabbed a pouch in a Madrid estanco. I had nebulous memories on my early encounters with this brand, 40 o 50 years ago. I do not remember the blends I tried. But this time I found Amphora Full Aroma as an uninteresting bland blend. After a couple of bowls, I forgot about it.

This is a very well behaved tobacco. It is such good value also it burns so slowly. Can be awkward to get going.but once lite its like a peat brick.its ready to smoke without drying .nice little chunks of flake in the rough cut mix . definitely orientals .decent burley.and nice Virginia. Definitely not cigarette like .You can tell it's good quality. It's very mild and pleasant all round. Very low nicotine but sometimes that's what you want with a slow burner in a big bowl. I am impressed with this and wish I had tried it sooner. It seemed a bit low end when I have viewed it. But gave it a whirl and will definitely be smoking much more.and trying the original