Mac Baren Amphora Virginia

The cut is a mostly rubbed out flake. It came at a good level of hydration for me. Some of the hunks are a little hearty, and after a couple of bowls, I discovered the best way for me to smoke it was to gently rub out a pinch in my hands and stuff from there.

I teeter on the edge of 3 and 4 for this one. For a Virginia pouch tobacco, this is remarkably good. In the grand scheme of Virginias, it is just good. I can easily believe this could be a Virginia goto because it is a great smoke and readily available. It was not one of those blends that knocks your socks off.

The flavor is grassy and slightly sweet with some fruit and a mild sharp edge when puffed. It was an easy smoke and fairly mellow. It has more body than some Virginias, and that contributed to the overall good impression.

I am rating this as a 3, but if you are looking for a good Virginia that is not complicated or hard to find, it is really a 4.

This is the fourth blend in the new Amphora line that I am reviewing and I saved it for last because I am really not a full Virginia fan and also because I thought it would be my least favorite. I was wrong. When my pouch arrived, it was a little dry for my taste. After some hydration the tobacco really came in to it's own. The smell from the pouch is more like a rich tobacco rather than the more more grass-like aroma from your typical Virginia blend. The cut is thicker and it packs rather nicely with some attention to detail. It takes a light very well and the taste is more like a Summer evening rather than a Summer day. It is a darker taste like one would find in a really good Virginia flake. There is no spice, but the taste is full and goes great with a light lager. It is a full, slightly sweet, tobacco taste with almost no added flavorings. It is a lot better than Mac Barren Virginia Flake NO 1 and about half the price. The flavor does get a little more intense down the bowl. But it does not really change that much. The nicotine level is light. The aroma will not win any friends unless your friends are Escudo smokers. If you look at my reviews, you will see that I gave many legendary Virginia blends lack-luster reviews. If I could only buy one Virginia blend, this would be the one; especially when you consider price. The ash is fine if a little moist. And the tobacco will not ghost your pipe. By the way, if you try Amphora Original, you will taste this samae Virginia but to a much lesser extent. It is there, however.

Been smoking this regularly for over a week now and have to say it's surpassed all my expectations in every department. My usual Virginia based blend is Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake and this blend is every bit as good and may even beat it in certain areas. The dark hot pressed broken flake looks good from the start which I think is important in a blend. For me it smells and tastes like what a good non aromatic tobacco should taste like...tobacco. So if you like FVF you'll like this one.

Finally got around to opening the tightly sealed foil pouch and trying a few bowls. Overall, nice stuff. For me, it works best in a narrow deep bowl and indeed my MM General and a couple of freehands were vastly better than the short push bit pot bowl that I tried originally. Presentation... except the pouch...is Mac Baren all the way with the moderately broken flake of a cavendished blend...sort of fun to sort out or just stuff it in the bowl and keep pressing. It lights easily and stays lit after about a third of a bowl, burns to a gray ash with no excess moisture or dottle. Room note didn’t bother my wife but there was no raving about how good it smelled either...room note is pretty low key. It has a subtle sweetness, makes plenty of rich smoke, isn’t strong, doesn’t bite, smokes dry. All in all, a pleasant smoke deserving of a try whether you’re a Virginia lover or not...I like Burley tobaccos best. You should try it and Mac Barens should have this in 100 gr. tins.

This is the first Straight Virginia I tried, bought others and came back to review it. I think it is a great tobacco for its price. Out of the pouch it is fantastic, beatiful sweet smell..like honey. Nice cut, perfect pack and great taste. It isn't too grassy and I find very interesting in retrohale..nice and spicey!

I was mostly impressed with this one. This blend came across a bit sharp, hit a lot of high notes, and was a bit rough around the edges. The taste was outstanding—another great sipper. It lit quick, one char, then off to the races. I must admit I didn't finish the entire bowl, it got a little harsh as it went along and I gave up on it. Still, an acceptable blend. Those who love sharp Virginia's should like this one—myself, I can take it, or leave it. 2.5 stars. I always round down. This was yet another sample from the 2018 Chicago Pipe Show.

Keep on pipin'

I looked forward to trying this blend since I smoked the Green Amphora from D&E for many years. I was not disappointed. Nicely broken flakes have an ideal moisture content right from the pouch. Burns cool without relights; no bite or condensation. If they make it available in tins, it could be my all day smoke.

Tabacco da tutti i giorni, ma con note molto nobili, ottima fumabilita'. Come flake rotto, impone un minimo di manualità nella fase di carica,ottimo.Lo raccomando decisamente. Non credo sia da consigliare a chi inizia a fumare la pipa, perchè rischia di complicare un po' la fase d'accensione. Direi che può essere utile valutarlo come porta d'accesso ai Virginia più strutturati è complesso. Direi che il profumo al fornello della pipa, risulta pieno, piacevolissimo, mai acido. Se lo si fuma lentamente non punta mai in bocca e rispetto ai suoi più blasonati concorrenti non sfigura per nulla; anzi.

Per Jensen has stated that Amphora Virginia was specifically tailored to his own taste, and is the blend he smokes more than any other. I'd say that when a master blender talks up a favorite blend it is probably worth checking out!

I've been impressed with the entire range of Amphora offerings, not even considering their tremendous value. Although I tend to favor the Amphora Burley and Kentucky blends throughout the year, when the warmer weather hits I like to transition to Virginia-based blends, and light Lakelands. Amphora Virginia certainly hit the spot on many a hot day this past summer.

After getting to know Amphora Virginia on its own I decided to compare it against my previous summertime favorite: Ashton Gold Rush (a more golden Virginia than Amphora’s medium dark). But when I popped a fresh tin of Ashton Gold something seemed amiss. When I decoded the tin date on the Ashton (search “dating tins” on YouTube for helpful videos on understanding different manufacturer’s coding) I discovered that the tin I just received in the mail was nearly four years old. Age may work wonders for some Virginias but is not ideal for lighter, mildly-cased blends like Ashton Gold. From this same online seller in Pennsylvania I also received a tin of Erinmore Mixture that was nine years old!! That also proved to be substandard. So I drove more than an hour to my nearest brick and mortar and bought some fresher tins. The lesson here is to check the dates on your tins. I wonder how many reviews have been posted on Tobacco Reviews that have been based on past-prime product???

But back to Amphora: with a fresh tin of the Ashton, I compared the two (and several others like Sutliff 707 and five year aged Orlik Golden Sliced for good measure). The jar note suggests dark German bread but when lit the impression is lighter, like Asian fritters with sesame seeds. In briars and meers, Amphora Virginia was less sweet than Ashton, but more so than OGS. It was also medium on the retrohale pepper, more than Ashton but less than OGS. There is noticeable but neutral sweetness, and an aftertaste of lemon drop candy. Remember, “No flavoring” doesn’t account for the fact that they probably put a slice or two of lemon peel in the pH tempering sauce.

In a cob this neutral sweetness did take on a more honeyed note (honey toast), and not surprisingly (unless you are using a really old, well-seasoned cob that no longer imparts its own flavor), I got flavors of corn flakes, and a malty flavor that reminded me of smokehouse corn nuts. Ashton Gold was a bit broader and smoother on the palate, with sunflower seed and honey-like notes in all pipes.

Verdict: for the height of summer Amphora Virginia will now be my go-to choice (along with Erinmore Flake and Kendal Cream Flake for variety). For mild Spring and Autumn days I might go with Ashton Gold Rush. For the colder months I might dip into my stash of 7+ years Dunhill Flake, or pop an aged tin of Solani Silver Flake or Reiner Gold. But those are the occasional treat. Meanwhile it is almost ridiculous to have such affordable quality in a pouch as Amphora Virginia!

My three stars for Amphora Virginia is based on year-round application, but for summer I’d give it 3.5 stars.