Mac Baren Amphora Special Reserve No.2

The base of the blend is the grassy, tartly citrusy Virginia, which is processed in the cavendish style, and also offers a few drops of honey. The nutty, earthy, woody molasses sweet burley plays a support role. The unsweetened black cavendish provides some brown sugar. Though mildly applied, the cherry topping has some richness, depth, a slightly floral, sour note, and sublimates the tobaccos a bit. The strength level is mild, and the taste threshold is a step shy of being mild to medium. The nic-hit is mild. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a fairly smooth, lightly sour, tartly sweet flavor, though the topping does lose just a tad of its potency in the last quarter of the experience. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, slightly lingering after taste and room note. Can be an all day smoke. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

I was lucky enough to get a sample of this one as it is not easy to come by in the states. This is a good aromatic and a great cherry aromatic IMO. To my tastes the bar is low on a good cherry aro as so many repulse me. The toppings in many typically come off as cough syrup or as something chemically designed to taste like cherry.

I realize that you probably just can't squeeze cherry juice on tobacco and expect to taste good or burn properly, so likely any cherry topping is something chemical that is designed to taste like cherry, but this one actually tastes like real cherries to me. There are other flavors involved, but overall it is cherry and it is good. My sample lasted probably 7 bowls and all were enjoyed. I won't go into detail of how the leaf tasted as it is something you really can't taste at all. This is an aromatic and it is all about the topping.

I don't enjoy this as much as GH Top Black Cherry which really isn't very cherry tasting either, but just tastes fantastic. I would say, however, that this will easily go down as my second favorite cherry aromatic. So three stars for this one and it could easily go 4 stars to someone who may think top black cherry tastes like soap or smells like an old lady's perfume. lol

Very nice sour cherry aroma, but i also notice some sweet taste vanilla, which gives a great balance. It burns quite well and cool. Smoke is quite gentle. Overall i highly recomend this tobacco.

The nastier of the two numbered blends from Amphora. Number 8 was passable but this one is horrible.

Admittedly this has sat around in my cellar for about 2 years, until broke I open the pouch seal last week. Therefore, it was pretty dry. The pouch aroma was as I had expected and indeed, as the description of the blend says.

This will almost certainly be my last exposure to cherry flavour blends mainly because of the chemical taste and smell I seem to get from similar blends. This one is probably down there with the likes of the dreadful Meine Mixture from Germany. Which is pretty low considering said blend is a 'budget' priced tobacco, selling for under 5 euros.

Sometimes a blend can be rescued by a rehydration or even a switch to a certain type of pipe, but poor old number twos (I know couldn't resist it) isn't having any of it, remaining a sour tasting cherry mess of a blend which I have decanted and hidden away in the very back of the cupboard, next to the legendary Jirsa.

I decided to try this with great anticipation, due to the prestige of the Amphora line and the good reviews. But I'm totally disappointed, this stuff to me is horrible, you only get a cough syrup taste, in place of the promised cherries, and nothing else. Really one of the worse aromatics I've ever tried, so I can't recommend it

Mac Baren - Amphora Special Reserve No. 2.

The pouch contains quite coarse ribbons and it unfortunately has a few twigs in there. On the plus side the moisture couldn't be any better. The smell from the pouch is just like the taste of the smoke: strong with cherries.

Special Reserve No. 2 lights well, and then gives a good burn, with a temperature that's quite cool. The flavour from the smoke's a bit like a cherry, cream, pie: there's oodles of the fruit, with some vanilla cream as well. The topping cancels out most of the tobacco tastes, it's rather heavy, thus, it smothers the tobaccos somewhat. It also makes the smoke bitey, unless it's tentatively sipped. The smoke's fairly thick and palpable, this would make it even better suited to the evening relaxation slot..... in my opinion.

The room-note's VERY cherry, and the nicotine's very mild.

Mac Baren Amphora Special Reserve No. 2? I think, even though it's quite a good smoke, the best feature of this is the note; it's really good fun! The note doesn't justify full marks though, so S.R.N.2 gets three stars, not four.

Recommended.

Horrible taste, you can't smoke this stuff. I decided to try this blend because of the recommendations but I was disappointed. It would be very difficult for me to finish the 40 grammar sag.

I find the tin note and taste dominated by a sour, cough syrup-esque medicinal cherry flavouring. Excessive, overpowering and artificial. Makes me sick to my stomach and I couldn't finish a bowl. Tobacco flavour is mostly sublimated - you REALLY have to enjoy that cherry flavour to get any enjoyment out off this blend.

If you're not a cherry aromatics enthusiast, be warned.

It seems as if all aromatics have at least one "omg ultra chemical piece off shit not real tobacco"-review. Guess I'm that guy this time.

the third and final amphora that is available in the UK that I have tried.

I have to say that this is a cherry aromatic that ticks all the boxes.

out of the pouch the cherry dominates but it isn't a sickly or artificial flavour it actually smells natural, there is a touch of tobacco scent but over all it's cherry all the way.

A nice thick ribbon that packs easily and lights a charm, the cherry is straight away saying hello, the burley adds a nice nuttiness to the blend and the Virginia gives it that bit of tang.

it burns really well it never gets warm and surprisingly for an aromatic it has not one hint of bite, it barely even gets warm.

so if you are sick of gloopy aromatics, artificial cough medicine flavour aromatics try this one it ticks all the boxes for my and is a very fine smoke indeed, the strength is there and never overwhelms and is a fantastic social smoke the room note couldn't offend if it tried.

easily an all day smoke and one that I will be deffinitely keeping on hand.

This is what borkum riff cherry Cavendish could of been had they chose a more natural topping rather than the overly artificial one.

well done Mac baren for creating another fine amphora blend.

One of the new blends made in Denmark from Mac Baren's collection. Cherry aroma (chemical i suppose) but I loved it! I will buy it again and again and again. When you smell the blend in the pouch your imagination will bring a woman's perfume in frond of you and you will have the desire to make love with her 😀 This is absolutely one of the 'must to try' blends.