Mac Baren Amphora Burley Blend

Nutty and oily smell of fresh tobacco is changed to heavy smoke with no tongue bite and creamy pleasant taste. Nicotine hit is somewhere between mild and medium. Need only few relights. Very pleasant smoke and could be easily all day smoke.

To avoid that proverbial "nutty-woody-earthy" mantra you read in each and every burley blend review (my past reviews are no exception) I better compare Amphora Burley to the blends most similar to it.

It's better than Solani Aged Burley Flake. Yes, it's better. One would laugh at me (especially taking into account the difference in price) but it is better. It possesses all the virtues of ABF - plus flavour, aroma and reasonable strength, all of which ABF sorely lacks in my opinion.

All in all, it's on par with C&D Burley Flake #1. Well, flavourwise, C&D is better. But #1 is packed with such a respectable dose of Nicotine, it demands a degree of dedication when you smoke it. You can't just be doing something AND ocassionally smoking #1. You need to dedicate your time and efforts specifically to The Thorough And Enjoyable Act Of Smoking The Respected Cornell And Diehl Burley Flake Number One, and then, if you are lucky and/or experienced enough, you may try to do some extra things along.

With Amphora Burley Blend, you just smoke a good Burley without concentrating much on its' lacks or excesses.

I wonder why TobaccoReviews ought to have two entries for this blend. Unltil they are merged, I post this review in both.

Also I wonder why this blend costs so little (please don't tell McBaren I said that). Its quality far exceeds its price tag.

Another home run for Mac Baren, or possibly a solid double.

This comes as a broken medium dark flake, like classic MB blends--Burley London, Symphony (except this is darker).

But this has no excess heat and no bite. It's a smooth customer, smooth as butter.

Every now and then I can taste a wisp of dark fired, or a brief tang of VA (very brief). Although it is not complex, or very deep. Mainly, very smooth, earthy (but not nutty) burley goodness.

It has two problems 1) It only comes in a pouch and 2) It is not ODF, and doesn't try to be.

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. There is a little cocoa in the pouch note.

This is a very good pouch tobacco. I would not hesitate to pick this up if I were traveling and needed to resupply.

Perhaps the best way to describe this is by comparison to Pegasus. It is smoother and slightly less "edgy." There is a subtle spice when puffed, and I attribute that to the Kentucky. It is fairly mellow and has a few sour notes, and it does not have a bitter edge. There was a little sweet in the profile from the Virginias.

It was an unremarkable but pleasant smoke. It stayed lit and seemed to burn a little slow. I was quite happy to dump ashes and have another bowl.

This is good but not great. I have no regrets and would smoke another pouch if the opportunity presented itself. I won't go out of my way to look for it. It is a solid 3 on the scale.

3rdGuy

Decent enough blend to be a mainstay in your burley rotation. Easy to light and keep lit. I found it had just enough Kentucky and Virginia to round out the flavors but still keep the Burley up front. Not interesting enough to cellar for me but I will always have a few pouches around. Worth trying for sure.

This is one of my first and favorite tobaccos. A burley based, non aromatized tobacco, it smokes dry and easy and slow. It has earthy, nutty, toasted notes. I found some hint to nuts and cacao but I do not know if it is only me. I smoked it with most of my pipes (mostly billiards) and it smokes always well. The nic hit is mild, I could have it also in the evening with no problem. I really like burley based mixes so... I am bias... but I would definitely recommend this one.

This is a perfect burley blend. Why? It’s equally satisfying for burleyphiles and for burley haters (me). It’s an intensely nutty, figgy, raisiny smoke but balanced out perfectly with the added VA and Dark Fired. There’s a hint of sweetness and spice that rounds out the taste from those added components.

Perfect with the morning cup of coffee and stands out with strong and simple flavor to be an all day smoke.

Highly recommend as a first time burley blend for its easy packing and burning and approachable taste. The aroma is tolerable to all, flavor and nicotine strong but not over bearing. A benchmark burley blend for me. And as someone who doesn’t usually care for burley, I could easily see myself stocking up on more. Which says a lot about the accessibility and crowd pleasing nature of this blend. Get some!

Another pleasant surprise.. This blend has that classic Mac Baren burley flavor.. It seems to fall somewhere between Golden Extra and HH Burley flake on the flavor spectrum.. Just a pleasant old school smooth nutty smoke.. the Kentucky and Virginia are in the background but do a nice job balancing out the blend.. I like the occasional burley.. but I have the feeling regular burley smokers will absolutely love this one. Great quality for a pouch.. and a further example of why Mac Baren is currently one of the best blenders out there.. 3 stars for my tastes..

Fine burley blend, very similar to Mac Baren's HH Burley Flake. But in a different cut. I think it is more broken flake than ready rubbed.

Big amount of burley, smaller portion of Virginia and a pinch of Kentucky.

I like it!

A smooth smoking broken flake burley with mild sweetness and a decent room note. Completely inoffensive, light in flavor, with no danger of tongue bite. The taste has a slightly artificial quality that reminds one of Peter Stokkebye PS41 Cube Cut Burley. Hardcore burley lovers and Old Joe Krantz fans won't find much here to get excited about. Supposedly contains dark fired but don't get your hopes up; it's well hidden. This is basically an upgraded codger blend for new comers and those put off by what a truly flavorful burley can bring to the table.

- Logs

Bit of a disappointment.

When I first saw this on the tobacconist's shelf I was all like "Gimme that!" I'm a huge fan of both burley and the Amphora line, so what's there not to like?

Unfortunately, this blend is. It wasn't the wholesome, full burley experience that I was expecting, but a little bit ruined by the dry straw-like virginia jumping to the forefront much more than it has any right to. The kentucky seems to be unable to save the day, and the burley selected for this blend is in my honest opinion not one of the best either.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad in this per se, it just isn't nearly as good as I expected and would have wanted from a burley blend, especially in the Amphora line. Sigh.

At first, the burley is almost the only player, making the blend kinda boring. Later on, the sweet virginias add the necessary balance and things start to get a bit interesting. I can't notice any kentucky in this one, and the official description on the MB site doesn't mention it. So, as far as I am concerned, this is a burley blend with just a (very welcome) pinch of VA. 2 and a half.

In tin note, the first fiddle is played (as could be expected) by earthy, heavy, cocoa, nut Burley. Virginia is almost imperceptible in my opinion. The tobacco definitely needed a little drying. The taste is full-bodied, earthy and heavy. You can also feel Virginie's slightly hay-like piercing. If you smoke too quickly, it can bite. The biggest disadvantage is that the taste does not change even a little during the whole smoking, which makes it extremely monotonous and simply boring. That's why I try to burn it in small chimneys. Leaves a large amount of condensate. In my opinion, it is not suitable for all-day smoke. I can give the maximum 3 stars, but only on the condition of smoking in a small pipe.