Mac Baren Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve

Package note of sugar, peaty vegetation and spices. Tobacco is a ribbon and ready rub cut of dark brown, tan and black. Moisture content is great. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild, with notes of vanilla and licorice. Both flavors tend to show up in the first 1/3 and remain in the background. Taste is medium and moderately consistent, with notes of cocoa, peaty herbal vegetation, tangy dark fruit, vanilla, wood, dry earth, sweet grass, citrus, spice, floral, toast, molasses, orange peel, acidic, a spicy licorice and nutty background note, and a peppery retro. The double fermented Virginias are leading with Burley, Kentucky, Oriental/Turkish and Flavoring supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

Lovely chocolate/licorice with earthy spices greet my nostrils as soon as I open the pouch. The beautiful ribbons feel dry to the touch but smoke wonderfully. I start to taste plums and pepper while entering the second half of the pipe. Very pleasant experience.

Since I normally smoke VA or VA/Per flakes, this was really an experiment. The pouch aroma was inviting. I felt that a high moisture content and the ribbon cut made it too easy for me to pack too tightly leading to multiple relights. Smoked cool without condensation but too aromatic to be my everyday smoke.

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.

I smoked this tobacco in the last Italian holiday.

Smell after opening the pouch 50g: After opening the pouch, one rises a pretty intense aroma of sweet cocoa butter, vanilla and a bit of a hint of coconut in the nose. Is accompanied by the smell from the typical amphora flavor. Smells exciting once, but not extraordinary.

Consistency of tobacco: The tobacco picture is very dark and comes in a ribbon cut (shredded fine cut). The mix itself is a bit too dry for me personally, but could not be easily introduced into the pipe.

Smoke properties: The Glutkissen did ignite easily. The tobacco burns evenly itself but because of the drought, from fairly quickly. The quality of tobacco is average. For beginners, it is also suitable because it requires little attention. As the whistle I recommend a medium to larger filling volume, so that the flavor can develop better. The disadvantage, however, this is because fine cut and dry together bad qualities are the flavor of an unfolding.

Taste: What is it? I asked myself when I had smoked this tobacco for the first time. I really must admit, I had severe problems at the beginning, to classify this blend of tobacco. Something between interesting and disgusting. After a few more whistles, I could do better with him. So I realized that for me personally, the tobacco is more suitable for outdoors. In confined spaces, I like it, not easy. So I smoked him in Italy at the beach. Taste it tastes like it smells. Cocoa butter, vanilla and a bit of a hint of coconut. No real highlight for me. Sweet flavored tobaccos for friends he could be.

Conclusion: A tobacco, the smoke can be, but is more suited for lovers. To me it does not taste real, and more than a mean average, not the point. Well have smoked it once, but again I would buy him. The taste is nothing sensational.