Mac Baren Amphora Original Blend
(2.81)
A well-rounded blend, emphasizing the chocolate flavor of burley tobacco.
Centuries of tobacco craftsmanship go into Amphora Original blend to bring out the rich chocolately undertones of the finest burley tobaccos, balanced with Orientals, Kentucky, and Virginia leaf. The result is a smooth textured and easy burning blend of rare distinction.
Notes: Made by MacBaren since 2006, the company owns the blend as of 2015.
Details
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.81 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 28 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 02, 2018 | Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
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.
Pipe Used:
briars and cobs
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked:
straight out of fresh pouches.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2017 | Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
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.
PurchasedFrom:
4noggins
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2016 | Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
One of the most popular blends. The reason? It's the right choice for a novice, it's an aromatic but not too sweet and not so boring and also it has a good and intriguing flavour after the first third of smoke. You have to smoke it very slowly to appreciate it. 3,0/5 in my personal rating system.
PurchasedFrom:
New Smoke, Milano (Italy)
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2012 | Very Mild | Very Mild | Very Mild | Pleasant |
Is almost tasteless, not so strong. For me is Flat,but is a good quality product. Agreable for novices in pipe smoking.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 13, 2009 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Good times! This was the first blend I ever tried, I bought it the same day I bought my first pipe. I had no clue. I bought the pipe because I liked how it looked and it was cheap, and I bought Amphora Regular because the guy at the counter asked me if I wanted to pick up some tobacco and I blurted out "Amphora" since I remembered an old commercial for it, and "Regular" since it was the first pouch I spotted behind the counter.
The taste is mild, and it burns relatively well. Thankfully I enjoyed it enough to stick with the pipe, it really led me to explore the hobby deeper. I will eternally be grateful to Amphora for it...but you still only get two stars!
Worth a try.
The taste is mild, and it burns relatively well. Thankfully I enjoyed it enough to stick with the pipe, it really led me to explore the hobby deeper. I will eternally be grateful to Amphora for it...but you still only get two stars!
Worth a try.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2022 | Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Commonly recommended for beginners here in Italy but I don't particularly agree with this, to be honest. I myself smoked my first bowls with this blend but never managed to quite love it.
First, the cut is chunky and moist, which made my first packing and lighting experiences quite a chore. Second, I still don't believe the taste holds up. It's a good tobacco, but too anonymous to my taste... but then again, I'm an ex cigarette smoker so my expectations for pipe tobacco are high. I'd never choose this over an English blend or a good aromatic, but I'd still smoke it with pleasure.
First, the cut is chunky and moist, which made my first packing and lighting experiences quite a chore. Second, I still don't believe the taste holds up. It's a good tobacco, but too anonymous to my taste... but then again, I'm an ex cigarette smoker so my expectations for pipe tobacco are high. I'd never choose this over an English blend or a good aromatic, but I'd still smoke it with pleasure.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 05, 2019 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Its a good tobacco and I like it very much . Nice burley taste with just the right sweetness from the Virginia's. The dark fired Kentucky adds a nice hint of deep smokey flavor. I could see myself smoking this very often and daily but for one problem. The price. The average price is around 7.00 dollars a pouch here in the US. Thats roughly about 112 dollars a pound ! Too many good and better bulk blends out there for half that. If it was sold in bulk or at least 1 LB bags at a decent price I would buy it often. Again good tobacco but not worth the price. I will not purchase again.
Pipe Used:
Pre-war Yello Boles, Kaywoodies etc...
PurchasedFrom:
Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
straight from pouch
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 05, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
I smoked this back in the 1980's in College, and this newly imported version compares well with my memory...but my tastes have evolved. The pouch has the familiar tobaco and liqueur tones. It's a stringy ribbon cut with some hint of folded, rubbed cake with some pieces clinging together. The moisture is about right, just a bit on the damp side.
On lighting, I get a wee taste of chocolate. I'd describe it as Burley-forward, but don't see that as particularly positive, just factual. It burns well, with surprisingly little moisture. I find it getting sweeter at mid bowl. It holds on as decent to the finish.
This blend has some nostalgia for me, but I'm more of an English and Balkan fan these days, and miss some of the Latakia and Oriental taste. This blend is serviceable, but not really special for me now. I'll smoke it as a comfortable and occasional diversion, but won't go out of my way to find more.
On lighting, I get a wee taste of chocolate. I'd describe it as Burley-forward, but don't see that as particularly positive, just factual. It burns well, with surprisingly little moisture. I find it getting sweeter at mid bowl. It holds on as decent to the finish.
This blend has some nostalgia for me, but I'm more of an English and Balkan fan these days, and miss some of the Latakia and Oriental taste. This blend is serviceable, but not really special for me now. I'll smoke it as a comfortable and occasional diversion, but won't go out of my way to find more.
Pipe Used:
Neerup
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes & Cigars
Age When Smoked:
Fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 11, 2015 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
One of my first Tobacco. Was not disapointed. The Burley gives it a nice chocolate tone. Round finish. As some of you mentionned before, it fits in the "all day smoke" class (price / value / can be found basically everywhere). Sure there is some way better Tobacco around, but you should give it a try (especially for new smokers). People around me told me the smell was nice. For me, it is time to conquer new lands.
Pipe Used:
Peterson #306
PurchasedFrom:
J.E. Giguère
Age When Smoked:
Brand new
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 24, 2010 | Medium to Strong | Medium | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
What can I say? you get what you pay for...This smells better than it smokes in fact I think it smells like old tobacco used to smell like (burning and in the pouch)- cedar log cabin with a brandy in one hand and pipe in the other. It packs, burns and smokes well but left me wanting more. I have a liking for cavendish which is easy to see spot here so you can pick the tobacco flavoring for each pipe to make this mix more interesting (if you could be bothered?). I have half packed the pipe a few times and folded Erinmore Virginia Flake to top it off for something different, that's pretty good. Handy for a "in case of emergency break pouch tobacco" and very easy to get.
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