Mac Baren Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve

Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve is one of the best black cavendish blends I have ever tried.

Creamy, spicy and sturdy all in one. The room note is very pleasing, but does not become cloyingly sweet at any point. Ribbon cut is great for packing and lighting.

This is nothing like BCA or RLP6 or any other popular black cavendish forward blend which I tend to not enjoy. The burley, kentucky and orientals give this mix some backbone while the black cavendish provides cool, mildly sweet smoke. Very smooth mouth feel; not too much flavor strength or nicotine strength...just right. The gold foil pouch is also nice and solid.

In short, in my opinion, this is a black cavendish blend done right.

I cannot imagine a better way to design a Black Cavendish blend. This tobacco has a fantastic pouch note (a complex mix of dark fruit, dehydrated fruit, licorice and others), which translates very well into the very first part of the smoke. The smoke is not dull and monotonous, because different flavors (the orientals, the BC...) come forward and alternate, giving a satisfactory and full smoking experience. At the beginning, the complex bouquet gives the impression of sipping a sweet dark liquor of "deep" fruity taste. The ribbon-cut mixture is mainly composed by sumptuous Black Cavendish, produced by double fermentation of quality Virginias. The burley is in the background, and never comes forward to waste the smoking experience with an unwelcome cigarett-ish whiff. By the end of the bowl, you feel you have taken up a fair dose of nicotine. I am glad to know that many EM lovers do not disdain having now and then a good smoke with this blend.

=>June 2022 update: I have the impression that in 2021-2022 the blend has been modified. Less black cavendish and more of a thin ribbon blond tobacco (burley?). The aroma has considerably changed, the depth and sweetness has partly gone. The pleasure given by the previous formula has partly faded away. I downgraded my rating.

This is a great Black Cavendish in the European tradition. I mean to say that the Virginia component is a lot more prevalent. The American style tends to be more Burley based and have a vanilla edge to it. The moisture content is perfect and the pouch aroma is sweet tobacco. The ribbons seem a little longer than what I am used to from all of the other aromatics I smoke, but that just could be my perception. It packs nicely and takes a light well. A charring light then a full light is a must with this stuff or it will go out on you. The flavor begins as a typical Black Cavendish, but soon you you will notice the heavier use of Virginia. You will also note that lack of vanilla, cherry, or other flavorings that accompany this genre in most American blacks. The smoke is aromatic, but less so than you might think. The nicotine level is low, but it is there. As the bowl progresses the flavor takes on much more of the Virginia quality while the sweetness from the Cavendish processing heads to he back. If you like Amphora Original, you will like this version. Amphora Full Aroma goes in another direction and fans of that blend may find this to be too much of a departure. I just love all three versions, but I accept them for what they are. The Ash is fine and jumps out of the bowl with a knock. There is no real after taste save that of smoking tobacco. No tongue bite, but do not puff too hard. In my opinion, this Amphora line is the best line of tobaccos that Mac Barren produces.

Pretty nice smoke. Not a lot of sweetness here, but still pleasant. In the first half I get mostly Black Cav with some vanilla and caramel. The Kentucky with a nice smoky note and earth. The Oriental with a little sour wood and spice. In the second half the Burley comes and goes and the Virginias make a nice showing. Gets a little sweeter when the Virginias show up. Somewhat complex with a nice evolution. I could go 4 stars on this if the first half had a little more sweetness. 3 as is.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burn is excellent.

This is a review of the original Douwe Egberts version; the Imperial Tobacco Special Reserve Black Cavendish is reviewed separately.

This blend had no close substitute. Rather than being wet "in the pouch" as most black cavendish blends are, it was dryish yet cool smoking. The room note was rich, redolent of licorice, the smoke abundant; the taste mildly sweet and spicy in a delightful and hard to describe way. This was an expensively made blend disguised as "drugstore tobacco."

Not being a huge fan of black cavendish, I only dared buy this because it's Amphora Line. And this time I did hit a jackpot; it's a very good light aromatic, completely unpretentious and genuine tasting, with a smooth, full body. To me, the lead player in the pouch note as well as the smoke and the room note is the sweet vanilla, which thankfully does not feel chemical/fake at all. The tobacco is mostly black with a few shades of brown mixed in. My pouch was quite moist on the opening, almost greasy, and required a bit of drying out before being smokable; once it did it took to light well and smoked well to fine ash with the occasional relight. Rather long and wide ribbons too, so a bit of rubbing out is occasionally needed to pack well.

Very nice, and will be buying occasionally again if available.

Uno dei pochi Amphora buoni, ottimo a crudo e buono in fumata. Il sentore di liquirizia da metà busta in poi, nel suo essere ripetitivo, può stufare un po'. Facile da fumare può scottare lievemente la lingua. E' comunque un tabacco di eccellenza, tra quelli in busta.

Another gold lined pouch from the good people at Amphora (er, Mac Baren). For something simply labeled Black Cavendish, with an added "special reserve" moniker (like it's dark chocolate), I just assumed I was getting repackaged 7 Seas Black. I was mislead, as the contents is not uniformly Black Cavendish, in fact there were more tan ribbons of Virginia? No matter.

The aroma was not dark chocolate either, but rather a sour (sorta cherry), alcohol rich (whiskey?), musty-tangy affair. The stuff felt ready to go, right from the bag, but really packed down tight with a dense putty feel that was moister than initially assumed. Ignition took a tad more work from the unexpected moisture, but the first few puffs were easy on the palette, not terribly "dark", and yet still had enough body to satisfy as a milder Aromatic.

The flavor was hard to place as nothing really stood out. By bowls end, I was just getting hot steam. By the end of the pouch, I was disappointed and hadn't found anything "special" about this "reserve".

So far I was happy with most of the Mac Baren Amphora blends I've tried, Original is still the best with it's yummy chocolate taste, and this one the worst without much taste.

Oh this is a fantastic aromatic blend. Mac Baren has done a fantastic job re-blending this classic pipe melange from the Netherlands. Packaging is pretty with a nice description. Upon breaking the airtight seal, you get a whaft of Prunes, raisins and a bit of dark chocolate according to my olfactory data bank. Tobacco is not moist nor dry - it is goldilocks! There is a lot of black cavendish here but at least 50 % of the blend is comprised of excellent quality virginias and dark fired kentucky which really makes a great difference on flavour profile. You will notice a fantastic nose tingling when you retro-hale. The double fermented blend provides a more intense flavour experience and provides a fantastic melding of tobacco natural aromas with the casing added, in a perfect balanced way. It is medium in nic contents and burns to a very fine dry ash all way down to the bottom of the pipe without leaving any goopy residue. It is one of my favourite blends for sure. Amphora is quality! I also tried the new Virginia Blend and it is another fantastic blend on its own! Hail to mr Per Georg Jensen for creating such beautiful melanges of pipe gooodnes.