Mac Baren Amphora Original Blend

Judging by the reviews over the years, this is one tobacco that has changed over the years, and may well be subject to batch variability even today (it's a wonder than any blend can stay the same year over year being a natural product, let alone the mfg. processes). I suspect that the pouch I tried is characteristic of its current form which, in summary is not an aromatic cavendish at all. I tried this as Amphora Original Blend, here in Canada. Apparently a Dutch blend (judging by the address of the mfr.), so I cannot say if this is the Imperial tobacco version or not. The texture is very nice being a sort of ribbon/shag mixture with a perfect moisture level. I have now smoked several bowls with a singe light.

The pouch describes this as a blend that emphasized the chocolatey flavour of burely, but I taste nothing like chocolate. This is very much unlike a cavendish blend, with no casing or blackened pressed leaf. The pouch aroma is very much like a rich roll your own cigarette tobacco, such as Drum or Van Nelle. Though the pouch description suggests an exotic smoke with its Oriental, Virginia and Kentucky components, it is in fact very plain in flavour. I cannot discern the Oriental component, and the Virginia is not exceedingly sweet or tangy. The room note is fairly smokey, nicer than a cigar, but no crowdpleaser either. The strength is around an HPH 1.5, surprisingly since I had expected more.

If you are accustomed to plain flavoured tobacco with little or no distinct character and like plain burley and virginia blends this is for you. I could see this as a staple blend for seasoned smokers, who may get this at the local smoke shop amongst two or three other "drugstore" blends. If you're looking for an aromatic, try the Full Aroma (red). Although I have enjoyed this pouch for its true tobacco character, I will likely not be buying this again since it is scarcely a step above mediocre in the realm of natural blends.

Amphora Red without the flavoring. Good but a little bland and tiring. Not as good as Amphora Red.

I found this stuff on a country store shelf. I had to blow and wipe the dust off the package. The tobacco was somewhat dry.

Upon smoking, it reminded me of Skandinavik Regular (a tobacco I smoke somewhat regularly).

A dominate burley blend with a little VA. Nothing real special with this blend but could be a working/fishing smoke.

Better then the candy smokes. Offers more then most straight burley blends.

I'd like to find a fresher pack of this.

Tabacco onesto e saporito. Se fumato con calma e un po' di attenzione regala una fumata con i tipici sentori del burley con note nocciola e tostatura. E' dichiarato un aromatizzazione al cacao, ma personalmente non l'ho avvertita. Brucia bene e necessita di poche riaccensioni. Consiglio di tenerlo in un barattolo ermetico per preservarne umidità ed aroma. Considero questo il migliore tabacco della serie amphora venduto in Italia. Voto (da 0 a 10) 6+

Tin Note of stewed fruits, hint of coffee

The long list of ingredients makes sense, not because I can identify each one, but because it would've been so difficult to do so. The Burley seems to be both white and darker one, with some cocoa notes but also deeper spice notes with the small addition of nicotine. The Virginia provide just a hint of sweetness and fruitiness. I can identify the Dark Fired Kentucky far in the background with its lightly smoky notes.

Despite the description, this is not a chocolate blend, if that's what you're looking for. It's much more complex than the average black Cavendish + flavor. I would compare this more with the classic "over the counter" blends such as Half & Half, Sir Walter Raleigh, and especially Edgeworth in style.

Ribbon cut, easy to pack and smoke, minimal relights, good moisture level from the pouch. An all-day smoke for the "classical smoker". No tongue bite. Smokes fairly fast and cool.

Medium in body, mild in strength.

My first several bowls tasted very different than later ones. I used to get a lot more fruitiness and sweetness and not much of the Burley cocoa/nuttiness. While it was conserved in a mason jar, it feels like it turned from an aromatic blend to an almost straight Burley one. Unfortunately, I liked it better when I first smoked it. Now it tastes like several other blends that I've tried and will probably stick with. It's a very nice blend and I recommend for the Burley and aromatic smokers especially to try it, but for me it doesn't stand out enough at the moment.

I see this classified as an aromatic but not in my books. Supposedly there's a chocolate topping but if there is it's a bitter chocolate, not a sweet one. The power of suggestion allows me to pick out some cocoa flavour but not much. The blend itself is a bit rough around the edges for me. I have a hard time picking out the constituent tobaccos but I'd say the burley is most prominent. It packs well and smokes easy and as drugstore tobaccos go it's a really good one, so I'll recommend it based on your budget and tobacco availability.

Now, an argument could be made that, of itself, Amphora Original is differentiated. Why? The recipe of the chocolate-coated blend is technically complex in nature, only coming about through some very involved craftmanship on the part of the blender. Thus, assigning Original to the OTC class may be somewhat misappropriated. Yet for the purposes of my stated mission, it was destined to follow the registered course.

At face value, “centuries-old crafted” Original is an interesting soup cooked with a motley assortment of distinct tobaccos. Specifically, this brown spattered Burley-based matrix is evenly complimented (per Mac Baren) by the presence of spicy Dark Fired Kentucky, essential Virginia, and Oriental leaves. Additionally, two individual Cavendish varietals provide the critical secondary element within the base line. Considering the expanse of varietals used and Mac Baren’s even-keel notation, I anticipated a lively yet well-rounded registration of flavor.

With this standard Danish “aromatic” recipe, the greenness of my disposition was properly initiated into the unique style of Dutch Cavendish. There are two classic preparations, (Golden & Black), as I uncovered. First, the Golden being an exclusive customary weave of select Burley and Virginia made further distinguishable by an elaborate triple processing method. A slow operation involving steaming to open the leaf pores, heavy molasses casing, and a final prolonged cold pressing provide the standard manufacturing protocol.

Similarly, the Black grade adopts the same processing router as the Golden but does receive an additional heavy casing (maybe licorice?) and steaming upstream prior to the final operational steps. Both Cavendish function within this blend to supplement the body of the smoke and promote the overall flavor fusion of the different constituent tobaccos. My assumption is the Black variety is solely fabricated with Burley in following Mac Baren’s official final product classification.

Generally, I found the mechanical attributes of the blend to be solid and respectful. Although a bit of drying time is best, the tobacco does burn cool, dry and at a comfortable pace. The bowl packs easily and stays reasonably ignited without too much maintenance. The blueish smoke plumage that Original produces is quite hardy and makes for an enjoyable experience. The texture can get a little rough and mildly bitey if smoked too vigorously; best to sip and savor.

Surprisingly what really grabbed me in relation to the blend’s pouch note was the immediacy of proud DFK and Virginia. Much to my disorientation, I could sense very little of anything other than a zestful raisiny grass note. With deeper inhales, however, I was just able to register a chocolaty-licorice scent and some familiar fragrances of a base Burley. Given the recipe, I was rather confounded by the biased registration.

Original makes its formative room impression as a cheery confluence of native Burley and Virginia aroma. Intermingled on that stream, an unmistakable herbal spice softly reports from the DFK and Oriental, bolstered by that definite cocoa-licorice accent noted in the pouch aroma. Balanced and well-proportioned, the nose on Original is markedly consistent with its core mixture.

Given the blend’s colorful mixture, I was very eager to learn of Original’s manifest flavor. Taking in an ample drawl, the foretold preview from Mac Baren of a balanced taste profile truly came through. Nothing really dominated the whole experience to the point of characterizing Original as actually being blasé; very consistent with no moving nuances whatsoever. Most prominent is the bottom flavor qualification of a nutty and a lesser sour deep woodiness tendered by the ever-present Burley, complimented by subtle highlights of dark molasses/karo-like influences accentuated by the Cavendish most likely.

Furthermore, I clearly noted the spiced smokiness of the DFK as the second leading element while the pungent/fruity Oriental strain and the proverbial grassiness of the Virginia less successfully jockeyed about for their position within the sphere of taste. Additionally, the chocolate top-coating was characteristically diminished only being slightly perceived on the retro-hale or re-lights. Essentially this timeless Burley-based blend, in lieu of its complex recipe of assorted constituent tobaccos, really presents a very mild and mundane smoking experience.

As usual, my trials consisted of burning this mixture in both a briar and cob. In fundamental terms, the overall impersonations of the mix’s qualities were more defined coming through the Meerschaum cob versus my standard Burley test briar. The fact of the matter is, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the briar-smoked presentation of Original. The experience was without commemorative impression given the history and fanfare surrounding the product. However, being consistent in the sampling process, by uncapping of the cob the flatness of my initial found some shape becoming more objective and consequently receptive to giving this one an equitable final assessment.

There are so many variables relating to the subject tobacco and the design/construction of the affected pipe that interplay, for one to define an assignable root cause would involve serious and costly experimentation. In sum, as experienced through the media of briar, I found the mixture to be conclusively uncharismatic and disappointingly average in terms of the total experience. Accordingly, the true character of Amphora Original, in my opinion, is best encountered via an ordinary cob pipe for what it is worth or essentially offers the smoker.

My final thoughts on the suitability of Amphora Original being assembled with other OTC/codger blends: From a functional and marketing standpoint, yes, I’d argue that it does conform to a basic classification regardless of the more costly price tag. With respect to sheer craftmanship, I think not. The intricacy of its standard recipe and complex manufacturing process, make the degree of congruence with other OTCs debatable. However, with this blend trial my hopeful perception and hard reality did not necessarily meet in the corner; I felt dumbfounded.

Dismally, I found Original to be pleasant but in an ordinary or uneventful way; nothing too hateful, nothing too stellar. On a related point, I do honestly struggle to sort this mixture into the Burley-based genre. Perhaps my somewhat drab assessment is attributable to the mixture being too balanced for my liking thus making it uninspiring? In my opinion, Original does not necessarily conform to the standard features of other OTC/codger Burleys.

On the other hand, and just for public record, it is a feasible all-day smoke all be it. Even so, based upon this exercise, Original is not one that I will have readily available in my standard rotation.