Mac Baren Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve

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.

Starting from the point of the (obvious, IMHO) comparison to McB's Black Ambrosia:

- the pouch aroma is something different, more on the coffee/caramelized nuts thing than vanilla/nuts/dried fruit thing;

- the cut is also ribbon, medium-fine strips that are longer than BA. The colour is more contrasted.

The smoke is also something middle-of-the-road with the "regular" family of Danish/Dutch tobaccos. The scrumptious pouch aroma reflects on the smoke in a very much milder way than one may expect, and that's a good thing. But have to say also that - compared to BA - SRBC is a bit duller and seems going partially lost during the pipeful. It starts displaying its aromas and ends in the full regular field. I do agree with Beer in that the last part of the bowl leaves an ashy aftertaste and my throat is a bit "touched". Nevertheless SRBC smokes very even and dry and needs really minimal care. It's not hot nor bitey.

Bottom line: SRBC is a good quality tobacco, a bit stronger but - in my preference - a step below BA.

A note to Jon: reviews of Amphora's are splitted into the brands 1) Amphora and 2) Imperial Tobacco. As long as it's now, the brand should remain Amphora, Imperial Tobacco being the owner of the brand and Van Nelle (The Netherlands) the manufactures under license.

I recently was gifted several Amphora blends from a fellow TR member, including this black cavendish which sure tastes "different," than what I was expecting. It is not a typical cased black cav. Rather, it reminded me of burley based blends I've smoked.

Amphora Special Reserve is not really much of a smoke regards complexity, but is an easy smoke. It is not rough on the palate and burns very well. There's just not a lot of flavor here. I did detect the casing, but sure can't identify what it is. A little bit sweet, but not overpowering at all. I think aromatic fans will enjoy this if they can round up a pouch.

Amphora Black Cavendish is a strange blend to write about. Comments usually range from terrible to really good, and I find that the truth is in the middle. The pouch aroma is really good, the cut makes the tobacco easy to pack, it burns quite well and tongue bite rarely occurs. The taste, however, is somehow bland, compared to the rich pouch aroma. Here and there the licorice notes emerge. I'd rate it 2,5 out of 4.

The winey smell in the pouch almost reminds of sweet Marsala: quite unusual! It's not a bad cavendish oriented aromatic, but as usual it can taste a bit "empty". Typically easy to pack and light like the other Amphoras, it may burn too fast and scorch your tongue. The taste is OK at the beginning, but vanishes as the bowl progresses. It used to be a fine tobacco several years ago (sweet, dark and spicy), but today it's very bland and uninteresting.

2009 Update: a few years ago, Amphora renewed its product line. This tobacco is now called Black Cavendish Special Reserve. It hasn't changed much: wonderful sweet but natural pouch aroma, full of plums, dried figs, and a slighty alcoholic topping (rum?). Now it smokes rather cool and even, a truly low maintenance tobacco. Too bad that, while not exactly flat in flavour, it delivers very little of what the nose promised. It tastes like a very generic oriental+burley+virginia blend, not particularly sweet. Rather nutty, on the other hand, and not without body. Unremarkable, but not unpleasant. At least it tastes of tobacco, and it's not goopy. If you savour it slowly, it might even be quite pleasant. Slightly ashy aftertaste.

The Amphora Black is really Dark and Spicy as the pouch says. It packs easily but you must be careful because it tends to tounge bite if you puff too quick. The taste is nice and full if you like black cavendish, you'll enjoy Amphora Black. Non smokers aren't quite happy with the strong room aroma. Otherwise I enjoy smoking it from time to time, usualy when I don't have my favorite tobaccos at hand.

I bought this tobacco along with several other Cavendish-based blends during my recent Cavendish strike. I generally keep away from aromatics other than Lakelands but this time I wanted a change of pace from my usual Dark Fireds, VaPers and Straight Virginias. Well, I wasn't much disappointed. Cavendish when applied correctly is a nice condiment to a blend, considerably thickening the smoke and working as a "filler", so even the low-Nic blends get fuller and more substantial mouthfeel. It's true that in many blends Cavendish is often spoiled with chemical casings but it's not the case (pun!) in this Amphora mixture. Here, the casing is obviously present, however not of that overwhelmilng and intrusive kind you often meet in cheapo aromatic blends.

What I didn't enjoy about this blend was the presence, atop of Cavendish, of some characterful condiment tobaccos like Kentucky and Orientals, obviously not of the highest quality. After the Cavendish aromas gradually dissipate those condimental tobaccos come forward in the second half of the bowl getting increasingly harsh and acrid while nearing the finish.

Overall, this is a nice blend but in my opinion MacBaren Black Ambrosia (which is 100% Virginia-based) is better.

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.

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.