Mac Baren Amphora Burley Blend

Oh my, this is a terrific no-nonsense tobacco that is a great daily companion ... an almost perfect all-day smoke.

Nuts, leather, terroir, a little barnyard, molasses sweetness. there is a great body and creaminess to smoke. No rough edges. Didn't turn on me, or bite. Good moisture level straight out of the pouch.

Burns well, and flavour is consistent throughout the bowl.

Opening the pouch greets you with a lovely, nutty, burley aroma that's not overpowering, and reaching in, the mix of ribbon and broken flake of dark brown tobacco is a bit on the moist side but absolutely smokeable. It takes a couple of passes to light but once you do, it stays lit and burns evenly till the end. I noticed it leaves dottle at the end but can be easily cleaned. Flavour is what you expect, a nice earthy and nutty burley. Nothing special but quite pleasant and can be an all day smoke

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.