Mac Baren Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve

This is a review of the tobacco produced by Imperial Tobacco under license from Van Nelle Tabac of the Netherlands. Mac Barens actually manufactures the Amphora line according to a 2007 profile of Mac Barens in Pipes & Tobaccos. My pouches were purchased from Italy where I understand it is quite popular. The pouch description includes the following: "Finest Virginia tobaccos are double fermented to produce a rich, dark tobacco which combines perfectly with the amber tones of the burley, oriental, and Kentucky leaf. The result is a finely balanced blend with a luxurious slow burn and full bodied and spicy bouquet."

The pouch note is sweet and redolent of licorice. The virginia-based black cavendish predominates. The flavoring is chiefly and without doubt licorice; maple sugar is also present and probably other flavorings. The room note is appealing, but not in your face. There is a spice note in the taste and bouquet as the pouch description indicates; this may reflect the Kentucky and oriental tobaccos. Tobacco flavors come through from start to finish. This tobacco is very close to the Douwe Egberts Amphora Black Cavendish that was sold in pouches and large tins in American markets at least though the 1980s. But the Douwe Egbert offering had a more elegant spice note and was drier in the pouch, although this tobacco is not wet and can be smoked well without drying. As for the DE product, J. Paul Kalman is given credit for the blend. This Imperial Tobacco version rates a solid three stars. It is more complex than most American and Danish aromatics; how many such aros include orientals? It is best smoked slowly. It rates a solid three stars where the predecessor DE offering rated four in being among the best aromatics then available at any price, in my opinion. The Dutch style aromatic as made in Holland is sorely missed. Update (2017): The version crediting MacBarens on the pouch and now sold widely online in the US gets an identical review.