Mac Baren Amphora Original Blend

I really kicked myself afterwards for not getting a bunch of Burley London Blend when they delisted it. Golden Extra was sort of a substitute, but given the choice I'd take BLB every time. I didn't try Amphora Original until years later, and going from memory this is the tobacco that can soften the blow of BLB's unavailability.

If you've smoked the pre-HH Burley Flake Mac Baren Burleys, this will be immediately familiar to you. It's a mild Burley with an excellent quality of taste. A little nut sweet, meant to be sipped because the mild flavors don't hold up if you push forward too quickly. This also has a cocoa topping, which presents nicely and never overtakes the Burley. Honestly, this is exactly a Danish interpretation of an American OTC Burley.

In the spectrum of Mac Baren Burleys, I place HH Burley Flake at the top. Since it came out, I no longer pine for Burley London Blend. That's the one you should buy your weight in. I also like the old school Mac Baren Burley presentation, and this and Golden Extra are present in my cellar. They're a little mild by American standards, but they hit no sour notes, the quality of flavor is excellent, and they are consistent year after year. If you like Golden Extra I'd certainly give this a try. I think it's a bit better, and very much along the same lines.

Back in the late 90s when I was still new in the hobby or pastime however one would say, I was trying different and new blends. Come to think of it, I guess I am still trying new and different blends. Anyway, back to the story. There was Hilands at the mall, a pipe and cigar store in Vista owned by a retired SgtMaj USMC, and of course drug stores. There was not the vast internet shopping that we have today, sounding old. Ha. I tried blends like Captain Black, Dutch Masters Whiskey, buy one get one free and probably a few others. I bought this one and also the Full Aroma. It was night and I went out to the pool at the apartment complex where I lived, sat in a chair alone and smoked this. Why I still remember this I do not know, maybe it was the peace and solitude that I enjoyed that night. Maybe for once everything just melded together. It was good and like a fleeting romance I moved on. Sometime in the future it disappeared from the US market until a few years ago when I noticed it back in catalogs and online. Then it was like nine dollars a pouch and a little too pricey for me at the time. I got this one, Full Aroma, and the Black Cav on sale. Upon opening, I noticed that this is hermetically sealed unlike a few pouches which are taped and that is about it. It has a very faint coco smell and I mean faint. I have been smoking this for the past two days and really enjoy it. I would not even classify this as an aromatic. This is a good quality smooth burley in my opinion. Will I buy again, more than likely no but not because of any negative qualities of the blend more due to too much inventory. Yes, I am a pouch hopper, hopping from one blend to the next. When this pouch is emptied, I will check out the other two. It was nice to smoke something where it all began so to speak. The reviewer oldcodger has some interesting history about Amphora. This also has some classy packaging.

I bought this on a whim, I'm plesantly surprised how good it is for a packet aromatic.

You get a lot of bang for your buck. A simple burley heavy tobacco with a lightly applied sweetish chocolate topping. The topping compliments the toasty, nutty burly very nicely. It burns well, requires little attention to keep lit, never seems to bite. All in all it's going into my regular rotation.

Delightful. Good tobacco flavor as the top dressings are add with a light hand. The Burley is the main player providing the chocolate, nutty flavor with the other tobaccos in the background. I can't detect the vanilla others have mentioned but I do think its there just doing it's part to make this one of the most mellow blends I've ever smoked. If I had to pick one word to describe Amphora Original I guess mellow would be it. Highly recommended.

Let me say that I a big fan of Burley tobacco. This tobacco is right up my alley and has all the qualities one looks for in a good Burley blend. The taste is sort of many Black and Burley blends I have tried without the usual vanilla topping. The Virginia and Oriental tobaccos are present, but they play a minor role. There is a sweetness that one can certainly taste and, yes, it does seem like chocolate. Well, dark chocolate, anyway. Do not be mislead into thinking this is some kind of milk chocolate confection. Also, do not think that the aroma is that of simmering cocoa; it is not. I would describe the taste as being more sweet than nutty, but the aroma is that of a typical Burley smoke. The pouch reveals an almost broken flake kind of feel and the pouch aroma does, indeed, smell like it tastes. Some careful packing in a larger pipe seems to yield the best results. It does not take to a light very well, but What Mac Barren product really does? And, it seems to impart a little more moisture to the bowl than one might first think. The smoke is thick, but not over-whelming. And, yes, like most Mac Barren offerings, if you puff to vigorously you will get bitten. Treat it as you would an aromatic and the taste and smoke are just great. The nicotine is higher than your typical Mac Barren blend and the ash is fine and falls out of the pipe. There is no after-taste. It does not ghost your pipe unless your next bowl is a heavy English or dessert aromatic. Overall, this is a very fine all-day smoke. There is enough complexity to keep you interested and there is enough simple Burley goodness to keep you satisfied. When the bowl is done, you want another one right away. If I could grab a pouch of this at my local convenience store or dgrug store, this would be sure go-to for me.

Amphora is a nice simple smoke. Chocolate and Burley is the pouch note. I would call this a burley based aromatic. I read the label and it says it has robust blend of several tobacco's but the dominant tobacco I taste is burley. The Cavendish and Kentucky are the only tobacco's that I can taste. It is a very nice pouch blend. It is not heavily flavored like many OTC's and doesn't come as moist as other pouches. The pouch an a half I have gone through were ready to smoke right out of the pouch and do not leave a wet heel. I was a bit disappointed due to the pouch description, I was expecting more complexity given the number of tobacco types in the blend, but other than my expectations being off, Amphora smokes well and has a nice honest old school pipe tobacco character. The chocolate topping is the dominant flavor but supports the burley very nicely and is not overpowering. The molases like flavor from the cavendish also is very nice and provides a nice full mouth feel, it rounds the smoke out very nicely. KY gives a nice woody spice that is very subtle but perks up this tobacco. I did not get any tongue bite which I did expect...very nice surprise. Overall this is a nice all day smoke if you want a nice burley based flavor without having to pay to much attention to the pipe.

The virginias are hay and a touch of honey, yet they're overshadowed by the nutty sweet burleys that lend a slight note of cocoa. The kentucky is wood and leather with a slight bit of spice, and becomes more noticeable as the bowl burns past mid-point. I don't detect much from the turkish. The chocolate topping is delicate and barely there, adding a little extra something and complimenting the natural flavors, while the cavendish smooths things out nicely. If you enjoy a good burley blend, then you'll love this tobacco, absolutely. 3.4 stars.

Like all things, the original was better. At least thats my memory. The Orientals were certainly stronger in the old version. The Imperial product was junk, but this new Macbaren is not bad.....but its not the same. It is closer now to a Carter Hall kind of smoke...and nothing wrong with that, mind, but still, I miss the old. Its a perfectly good high level codger blend.

This is a good solid blend, I find it to be a little sweet, nutty and faintly chocolatey. I wasn't a big fan of this the first time I smoked it, for some reason I found it harsh, maybe it was the pipe or just my mouth chemistry at the time. I came back to it about 2 months later though and really enjoyed it, now I reach for it as much as I do anything else. The pouch aroma is nice and tobacco forward and it seems to have a nice room note as well. I really like how the flavorings are all sublimated and I can taste the quality tobaccos up front. It burns nice and cool with no bite and very few relights once you get it going. The cut is kind of a coarse or a thick ribbon cut, but it packs easily enough. This is usually my morning smoke, as I enjoy Amphora with a cup of coffee and I smoke it almost exclusively in my briar pipes (for some reason I think it just tastes better that way). This comes a little moist in the pouch, so I like to open the pouch and let dry overnight. I would estimate the strength to be medium, just a couple ticks above mild.