Mac Baren Amphora Original Blend

I always had troubles at figuring out what an 'all-day-smoke' tobacco was. After all, one can always smoke whatever he wants whenever it wants. Right?

True, but sometimes you don't have the time or the concentration needed for smoking virginia flakes, or you don't feel in the mood for latakia-induced meditation. Or in general you want to smoke, but you don't know what to smoke. So you linger for a minute on your stash, and you are at risk of picking your favorite blend for a mediocre smoke. Don't do it, keep always a jar of Amphora OB around for situations like this. Don't use expensive tobaccos to fight your nicotine cravings.

It's a natural cavendish (no noticeable flavoring) made from virginias, burley and kentucky, and you can taste all of them! Never monotone, it even provides some evolution during the smoke. It burns quite fast, forcing the smoker to be disciplined, but forgives you go full-steam mode for a while. Smokes great in a cob, giving good 20-minutes smokes if packed lightly.

To me, an 'all-day' tobacco is one you burn when you just want a good, satisfying bowl, but for some reason you don't feel like you want any particular tobacco. AOB is perfect for these moments.

The rich chocolate topping is obvious without overwhelming the tobaccos. The burleys have a toasted nuttiness along with earth, wood, and a little molasses, and takes a little more of the lead than the grass, earth, and citrus from the Virginia. In a support role, the Kentucky has a little smoky, nutty, earthy woodiness with a bare hint of spice. The Oriental is lightly floral with a little smoke, earth and wood, plus very minor sour and spice notes as it playfully lingers in the background. The strength is a hair shy of the center of mild to medium, while the taste level is a rung more potent than that. Won’t bite even when puffed fast. The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the mild mark. The tobaccos are ribbon cut with a little broken flake. The blend is subtly complex with a very cool, clean and smooth, mostly consistent flavor from start to finish. The only change in flavor I have ever noticed is that the burleys and Kentucky seem to stand out just a little more after the half way point. Has no dull or harsh spots. Requires few relights, and leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl. Has a nice after taste and pleasant room note. An all day smoke that is very easy on your senses.

If you give it any dry time, you will find the tobacco flavor more noticeable without totally losing the chocolate topping. I dry it, and my review reflects that experience. Fresh and moist, you will find the tobaccos are a little more sublimated by the topping.

As a side note: the 1970s and '80s versions of this blend had a little less chocolate, and a touch more Oriental, and was not quite as sweet as the later productions.

-JimInks

I really enjoyed this one which was something I did not really expect. I had expected something very aromatic, but instead was treated to a fantastic Burley based blend that offered many different flavor profiles with each puff.

I picked up my pouch of this a few years ago when it was announced that it would again be available in the USA. I did not know much of the blend and had always assumed it an aromatic. The topping listed is that of Chocolate, which is a topping I tend to despise on tobacco. I am pleased to announce the topping is very light and really just compliments the tobacco flavor.

I felt the burley was the boss of the blend. Virginia was not really detectable in its own right to my tastes and really appears to be along simply to amplify the sweetness of the blend. One thing I enjoyed was the interplay between the Kentucky leaf and the orientals. Dark Fired Kentucky is to Burley what Dark roasted Coffee is to the coffee bean IMO. The Orientals used in the mix offer a slightly sour offset that does play well with all the other elements. The humidity level was about perfect and each bowl smoked effortlessly. I really can't see a scenario where one could get bit by this, even if puffing a bit carelessly.

I was up in the air about whether this should be a 3 or a 4 star blend, but have decided it should be bumped to a 4 because it is unique and defies conventional genre classification. Of blends similarly composed, I can't think of one that is better.

One of the all-time classic blends that is, unfortunately, now unavailable in the USA. Tubs of the Original Amphora literally flew off the shelves of drug stores and supermarkets around the country. A very tasty Burley blend with lightly flavored quality Cavendish and a touch of Virginia leaf for added flavor. This blend never bit, always packed and stayed lit well, and pleased those who enjoyed quality smokes at a bargain price.

I miss this one!

I purchased this blend about two weeks ago, after smoking some really nice aromatics from the folks at J.M. Boswells. The smell in the pouch is somewhat a cross between roasted nuts and chocolate. My first smoke was somewhat jarring, since for the last few months I have been smoking the sweet flavors of the Boswell blends. As a result, I found the taste of this blend to be somewhat unusual. At this point, I thought I made a mistake purchasing this blend. However, the next day I took another smoke and it got better. Then I tried it later that evening, and it was simply magical. What I'm suggesting is that this is a tobacco that grows better with each smoke. The flavor is somewhat enigmatic: a mixture of nuts and definitely rich chocolate. I find it tastes best when smoked slowly; and the taste that remains after smoking is to die for. I highly recommend this blend!

I was offered a sample by an old timer and what a pleasant surprise it was. A no fuss tobacco for an all day smoke, a Dutch Cavendish type blend that satisfies. The chocolate/cocoa taste is there in spades, never strong but adding to the Burley nuttiness. Due to the cut it burns quite fast so beware to pace yourself.

It's something to try for those who don't like aromatics but want to take a break from their favorite tobacco. With that in mind, this old school blend could easily become an unassuming, preferred smoke for many.

Virginia lover

As I like Amphore Full Aroma (aka Amphora Red) pretty good a fellow pipe smoker from Finnland (dank Paul mein Freund!) did send me a pouch (which are now 40g instead of 50g...is this the brave new world Huxley wrote about?!) of the Originial Blend aka "Amphora Brown". As it's not available in germany (yet the red one is) I was really happy to get my fingers of a pouch.

Opening the pouch, which looks very similar to the red one I immediatly got blown away! This is much more natural, less sauced (if at all, I'd guess it's just cased in forehand no topping) and very tobacco-forward. I get choco- and nuts that are underlined with a whiff of fruitiness to it. Also I perceive the Oriental leaf, which contributes a slightly sour, more woody and ethereal aroma to the pouch aroma. Delicious scents that seem quite natural.

The cut is a rather coarse broken flake, with some ribbons inbetween. Mostly dark(er) brown, with some bright brown and very few golden-yellow sprinkles. Came in perfect condition for my gusto (slightly crispy with little moisture to it), but it's hard to judge the condition on a pouch. You never know how old the pouch is and they don't hold moisture too well, so it's a "hit 'n miss" thing with pouches.

First light offered a intensely nutty and chocolaty aroma, but not in a way a flavoring would give it, it seems those notes are (mainly) from the tobaccos themselves and are only underscored by the added flavoring. As the pouch states they wanted to emphazize the chocolaty note of the Burleys and they really hit a sweet spot here. I also notice the Oriental leafs quite well, which are contributing slightly sour, more dry-woody and ethereal and floral aroma that is underscoring the smoking experiences in the back very well! Virginias offer little (honeyish-)sweetness, earth and little citrusy freshness to balance the bold and "dark" character of the Burley. Kentucky offer little smokiness and enhances the earthy dimension a bit.

Really a rich melange of finest tobaccos, I wouldn't have expected it to be so deep and complex! Burley and Kentucky form a solid base of earth and choco/nut on which the Oriental can play the "blue notes" to it with its distinctive aroma, whils the Virginia is balancing the bold power and aroma of this mixture.

Much, much(!) better than the red (Full Aroma) one. While the red one is a tad too sweet and too sauced for me to be an All-Day smoke, this is the definition of an All-Day smoke for the Burley aficionado.

4/4 stars for an outstandingly good OTC blend that really impresses me with its tobacco forward taste and the skillfully blended mixture of excellent (tasting) leafs into a blend that's far above your average OTC blend. Perfection in a word!

A review with pictures and slightly more extended can be found on: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/a-package-from-paulie-amphore-original-brown-review?replies=3#post-1126915

One of my favorite allday tobacco, also very fitable in home-made mixtures. Round, fragrant, straight and natural, a little hint of cocoa in the aftertaste but not heavy artificial flavouring, it's all very soft and pleasant. The entire mixture (burley, oriental, kentucky and virginia) pass for a cavendish process. Despite that is a tobacco from the NL, the style is indubitably American; the result is a mixture between the burley American mixture and a classic and natural scottish blend, so nothing of the famous "Holland flavour like", burleys and orientals are preminent. Magnificent with some fresh added havana cigar fund. One of my secret and favourite mixture that a friend of mine call "Habanera" consist in 60 - 75% of AOB, 15 - 20% havana cigar, 10 - 20% latakia (syrian); the best % in my opinion is (70/20/10). Try it! The AOB is a good start for the beginner: for a perfect smoking requires some experience to control the lighting, the pressure in the bowl and the humidity, but if you do something wrong the result never fails you, so it's good for start practising.

Type: Burley american mixture/ scottish blend, natural medium ; Contents: Burley, Orientals, Kentucky and Virginia ; Flavoring: None particular flavoring added, only the minimal required by the cavendish process, something that remeber a chocolate aftertaste; Cut: Ribbon ; Humidity: Often high and tend to produce some humidity in the fund of the bowl during smoking, needs to be slow tasted ; Lighting: Most of the time easy, but burn slow and sometimes needs to be relighted ; Pipe recommended: Large bowls, in a Chubby is awesome, in a Corn pipe works great and in the Meerschaums give unique experiences

I have been on a bit of a hunt for a good blend found in a pouch and picked up one of these after watching the review of it by Shane from Smokingpipes

I have to say, this is easily the best pouched tobacco blend I have smoked to date, granted I have a long way to go to try most of them but what I have found still remains truly delicious

In the past I have been one to shy away from Burly blends, due to the bitterness associated with this type of concoction but Amphora Original is as smooth as it gets with the Virginia and Oriental components popping in and creating a sort of crispness to the smoke...truly delightful

I can barely identify the cocoa flavouring as it is done so discretely to lift the taste of the very smooth Burly. I have grown really fond of this blend

From my own experience as a traditional VaPer smoker, pipers with a similar palette will benefit from giving this blend a try

Suitable as an "all day smoke" due to the lower than average nicotine found in it

Highly Recommended

PS. I have found that giving it a bit of drying time will do wonders