Tobaccos Mac Baren - Black Ambrosia

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3022)	2016-07-11		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

The Virginia and cavendish offer some toast and honey, sugary tangy citrus, and grass. The unsweetened black cavendish provides some brown sugar. The toppings are lightly applied and hard to define, but I notice a little honey, apricot, berries and caramel with some nuttiness. I also detect a whisper of vanilla. They tone down the tobaccos just a little. The toppings have no chemical or syrupiness, but they do suffer a bit from a lack of richness. The nic-hit is very low. The strength is very mild, and the taste level is mild. Won’t bite or get harsh or bitter. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a creamy, consistent flavor. Requires few relights. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no goop or dottle. Has a short lived pleasantly sweet after taste and room note. An all day smoke that doesn’t entertain the smoker for long.

-JimInks

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2009-04-30		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

What a surprise! One of the few aromatics that I tolerate!

If you are looking for a Black Cavendish that delivers at least some taste and body, and is not exceedingly goopy, you have to try this tobacco.

Smell in the tin reminds of Amphora Black: dried figs and plums, vanilla... Sweet, intense, dark, but not "chemical" or nauseating. Not exceedingly sticky or unctuous, although it is evidently cased. The black cavendish is rich at the touch, but not greasy. The bright Virginia bits are few, but they add a nice contrast to the darkness of the blend.

The correct level of moisture and the lack of excessive goop allows for easy lighting (no flamethrower needed) and a regular, even burn. It burns a bit fast, but nothing to worry about. It doesn't bite the tongue: rather, it has a slightly astringent and mouth/throat drying effect.

Taste is slightly empty and steamy at first, typical for a black cavendish. Soon it gets more intense: while some are complaining that it's very mild and flat, I don't think it's completely true. It has a good presence and acceptable body, and it tastes similar to Amphora Black but better. Taste is not exceedingly sweet: sweetness is there, but it's a dark one like chestnut honey. Slightly toasted and fermented, fragrant, and it still has some nice tobacco taste. I don't know if Burley is present (Mac Baren website says that there is only Virginia and Virginia-based Cavendish), but I seem to taste some of its nutty flavour. Compared to Amphora Black, it is smoother, less aggressive, and won't become too spicy or bitterish if pushed (the Amphora contains orientals and Kentucky, and IMHO of a slightly ashy and cardboardy quality: it seems to me that the leaf used for the MacBaren blend is higher, or at least it was processed better). Only complaint: in some pipes it tends be a bit too "woody" and with slightly excessive notes of black licorice. Biggest fault of all, in all pipes it is very monochromatic and simple from start to finish. In other words, while quite good, it can become boring after a while.

Overall a satisfying aromatic, easily smokable and pleasant. Not as lovely as my favorite natural tobaccos, but not a crappy drugstore blend. Ideal for the times when you want a little sweetness, but many other aromatics have disappointed you because of their absence of tobacco taste and because their wonderful aromas are only experienced by those around you. It must be said, though, that even in Black Ambrosia the taste will still NEVER be as delicious as the tin aroma. And don't forget to smoke it quickly after opening the tin, because after a couple of weeks it tends to lose something in the taste department.

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2014-01-23		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mac Baren - Black Ambrosia.

The balance of aromatic taste to tobacco taste is just right and there's lots of thick smoke with no bite. Also a pleasant room note. It will suit lovers of Cavendish tobacco as the Cavendish in this is sublime!

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: pleasant.

A quick review for a top blend!

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Comoys

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2009-04-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

(Original review: 04/03/2009 )

I must be perfectly honest: I like this tobacco. I had never tried it before because I thought of it as a kind of Borkum Riff's Black Cavendish or, worse, something called Black Luxury. But my would be daughter in law was kind enough to give me a pouch of this stuff.

Due to the limited choices I'm currently confronted with, I finally decided to give it a try. I've been smoking this for the last couple of weeks, at least two bowls a day. Just a quick note first. In the pouch there is no mention of Burley. The accent is on Virginias, both a golden ripe variety, and a "slowly roasted Cavendished" one. If there's any Burley in this blend it's far hidden somewhere in the background.

As to the blend's structure and taste, well I was absolutely surprised with both. The highly suspicious, though scrumptious, aroma in the pouch (berries, nuts and a touch of caramel and vanilla) DOES NOT transfer onto the actual smoking experience. This is an extremely well behaved, slow burning and somewhat muted aromatic, with a deep toasty undertone and an elusive sweetness that is neither cloying nor syrup like. To my surprise, as well, the leaf is almost dry (there is a certain resemblance to Troost's Special Cavendish, again not as sweet), and it burns steadily all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

There is no way in hell this tobacco will bite you. For a Mac Baren this is quite an achievement. And it will only burn hot if you push it too hard. Yet, like all Virginias--or predominantly Virginian--blends, it should be smoked very slowly in order to allow the silent sweetness of the leaf to reveal itself in all its nuances. In fact the taste is not sweet (in the sense Cube or Original Choice are), but elegantly bitter-sweet, soft, gentle. This is a nice tobacco to work with. It's not distracting, and the aroma--quaint and traditional--seems to be appreciated even by civilized non smokers.

This a mild to medium strength smoke, with a pleasant aroma. Nothing spectacular, yet one of the best Mac Barens I've smoked in a long time. Think of it as an upgraded version of Virginia No 1, with a little bit more of ump, and a more refined denouement. Nice change of pace. Greatly surprised. (That's one for the would be daughter in law!)

Addendum

As to Black Ambrosia containing any other leaf aside form Virginia, I found this in Mac Baren's site (verbatim):

"As the name suggests, Black Ambrosia contains a very high proportion of Modern Mac Baren Cavendish, with only a little loose cut light Virginia added. This blend consists solely of Virginia tobaccos, which is rather rare as the majority of blends contain a little Burley tobacco. But not Black Ambrosia, which is made of 100% Virginia tobacco..."

On the other hand, Mac Baren itself acknowledges the fact that many of its tobaccos--due to their processing techniques and high sugar content---tend to burn hot and affect the tongue.

One of the reasons they have been developing a new range of tobaccos (from Black Ambrosia to Original Choice) is precisely to overcome this particular trend in their products. Read the description of Original Choice, a tobacco which they pride "does not 'smart' on the tongue".

True, the smoking technique has a lot to do with the hot burning/tongue biting issue. But the way a tobacco is processed is not above suspicion, especially when the manufacturer is aware of the fact, and so many reviewers--whom otherwise don't find the same problem in other brands--agree.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (109)	2016-11-18		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Ok , know up front that I enjoy Black Cavendish tobacco .. at least as much as I enjoy all the other styles/genres of pipe tobaccos . There are numerous black cavendish blends I enjoy , but I really , I like this best and am thrilled it's a blend that is offered in bulk . Dont ya just love when great blend is sold in bulk :) Anyway , the flavoring [ whatever it is ] isnt over the top but rather on the mild end . I find it smokes dry in any pipe and the Black Cavendish aroma is crazy nice . I dont knwo if this helps but the flavor is obvious Danish as opposed to an American styled Black Cavendish , like say Lane BCA , which is also good but a different approach , imo . So , if you like/want quality black cavendish ... go toss a 1 oz sample on with your next order where ever you shop and try it . Ya just may love it

Pipe Used: Many

Age When Smoked: Fresh or aged a bit .. it doesnt matter

Similar Blends: Other simpler black cavendishes but better.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-06-23		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

I'm giving this one four stars because while it is not my personal cup of tea (I had to keep an eye on the bowl to make sure the stuff was still lit while being consumed), It is a great tobacco for light aromatic fans. Upon opening the tin, you will have a hard time deciding whether to smoke it or eat it. The smell is wonderful. At the match, the smell remains sweet, but frankly, there is very little taste. The casing is unusual in that you don't really know what it is. It reminded me of berries, honey and nuts. Quality leaf all the way and burned very clean and dry right down to the bottom of the bowl, unusual for an aromatic with this much casing. And that's testimony to the experience of this famous blending house.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CnS Pipes (40)	2018-06-12		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I am a huge Mac Baren fan for many reason but the number reason is for there high quality in fine tobacco. When it comes to the top dogs of awesome pipe tobacco blends Mac Baren hits it right on the head and for Black Ambrosia I am very impressed if your looking for a good all black cavendish based pipe tobacco. Mac Baren makes modern cavendish and I love the stuff its what makes most of there blends so unique, it has a wonderful fruity undertone that does not rule the mixture and the tangy Virginia tobacco shines in it ever so lightly but you lnow its there. I know burley is used but I am assuming its to help with the burn rate because I do not detect it but Mac Baren says its in there. This blend is very smooth and smokes on the lighter side but as you carry on it has depth to it and will become robust near the end but does not become over powering. I love there liquor toppings they use because when you smoke Black Ambrosia that is also present, I cannot make out what it is and I could not even guess because I know there is actually quite abit they put into there topping but I'm ok with it because the taste is right on the dot. I first purchased this blend because I enjoy there modern cavendish so I wanted to smoke something that they used a majority of that type of tobacco and Black Ambrosia provides that, they purposely made a pipe tobacco that one could savor there Cavendish so that alone is a reason to smoke this of your a fan. Sweet, smooth and tangy this hands down is one of Mac Baren's smoothest blends they make and the bite factor is very low but then again I do not have a bite problem with there tobaccos because if you smoke your pioe like a gentleman the lady that is Mac Baren will dance with you and kiss you right back (catch what I'm sayin) as with most Virginia's or certain types of pipe tobaccos the key is always just take it easy, no rush and enjoy, tounge bite is mostly always 95% caused by the smoker not the tobacco, Mac Baren is not the tounge bite kings there the kings in high quality pipe tobaccos that taste and smoke awesome!!! Even a novice pipe smoker can enjoy these superior blends if you just take it easy and smoke it slow, cool and like a gentleman the tobacco will absolutely behave itself with proper technique and to each there own. I highly recommend this fine pipe tobacco blend and so will those around you because the room note is unique amd smells awesome!!! The nicotine level is moderate as with most Mac Baren products so it will creep up on you but this blend is pretty forgiving and carries little weight in that regard. To find a good deal and purchase a tin of this today, no matter the bogus reviews you have read this blend is one of a kind and taste great, I just simply love the stuff. Thanks for reading my review and God bless you greatly and God bless America (where making it great again) stand up for your smoking rights and support your American tobacco growers.

Pipe Used: Peterson CnS Pipes

Age When Smoked: 39

Purchased From: cigarinternational.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Arkie (129)	2014-06-12		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin note is wonderful and when I smoke Black Ambrosia I get a subtle taste similar to fruit cocktail. It smokes dry and cool with no bite or aftertaste. My wife claims it leaves a room note similar to cigarettes so she frowns on me smoking it in the house. Otherwise, I'd keep a tin of it in my regular rotation.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (192)	2021-12-04		Very Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Smoking now.

Dark brown with some light brown pieces and the slight sweet aroma of fruit. My sample bag came pretty dry, as I usually like to smoke aromatics. I assume in the tin it’s wetter and more if the fruit flavor

Taste is very mild. Not very sweet and had a slight fruit note. Little after taste. Maybe some slight Virginia flavors too on the retrohale. I’m generally not an aromatic fan and this is no exception.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kunsan (76)	2014-10-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I find this tobacco slightly disappointing. It started off okay, but over a two week period the tobacco gradually dried out, and as it dried the flavors gradually disappeared. Initially it had quite a good combination of various tobacco tastes and smells - a bit earthy and dark. Later much of the initial taste became subdued - it still had an earthy taste, but I didn't find it particularly attractive.

Initially it tasted slightly aromatic, burned quite well and left a pleasing clean white ash. No wetness.

What I did notice is that it gives me a feeling of hot tongue and inflamed throat. Strange because I haven't experienced a hot starched throat with any other tobacco. I've smoked it again today and again I got slightly scorched throat.

I don't like this tobacco. It's combination of tastes and flavors seems a little unbalanced, many tastes disappeared with drying, and gave hot tongue and throat.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	erkantural (10)	2014-02-12		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The tin aroma is absolutely fantastic. A day or two days after the tin was opened, I've decided to give it a try. I fill it into a fine briar and lit it up. And yes room note is also super like the tin aroma. But wait, it's supposed to give me pleasure not just to the others.

I've tried different packings in density and dryness, different pipes. It's wet and sticky all the time with severe tongue bite. Maybe it was me who missed something but not a pleasant experience at all.

Purchased From: Istanbul Ataturk Airport

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kraft1994 (54)	2014-02-10		Very Mild	Extra Strong	Very Mild	Pleasant

This was one of the first tins of tobacco I ever purchased. I remember at the time I loved it. Well... Time has most certainly changed me. Now all this blend gives me is a sore tongue and a sticky pipe. Low quality tobacco covered up by a cheap chemical casing. Highly Highly NOT recomended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	codyp (65)	2014-01-27		Extremely Mild	Strong	Mild	Strong

Another starter blend I tried way back when.

Like others, I wan't as experienced as now, and enjoyed how the tobacco smelt. Didn't really think of taste and strength.

Now things have changed, as I look for the quality out of the tin, which was very hay stackish. It was way too cased for my liking. I prefer the natural taste of Virginias which this does not have, sadly.

All opinions put to side, good for a starting tobacco and a good room pleaser.

Pipe Used: H.I.S Egg

Purchased From: Local Shop (J & R Fielding Co.)

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AlexanderM (1)	2014-01-06		Very Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

[Disclaimer] I'm a beginner at pipe smoking, and the selection of blends I've tried as of yet is very limited. [/Disclaimer]

Of all the blends I've tried, I feel this one is the poorest. Even after drying I have a hard time lighting it. Once its lit I feel only a vague sugary taste, a sweetness that lingers on the tip of the tongue and no tobacco at all. While its not unpleasant, its rather insubstantial - I found myself wondering: "why am I smoking this?", which is not what I desire when I sit down to enjoy a bowl of tobacco. A pity that the taste is so flat, considering the lovely tin aroma of dried fruit. I'll not be buying this again.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum, briar.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-08-05		Mild	Medium	Overwhelming	Very Pleasant

the room note of this tobacco is fantastic. like a smokey grape almost. however, the taste dose not reflect that. it honestly tastes like ashes. you might as well lick an ashtray for the same taste. and the tongue bite is terrible. if you smoke this you will get bite from it. overall, not worth the 20 bucks.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustOneforMe (28)	2012-04-26		Mild	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Objective: Sticky, highly cased, good price for the amount of tobacco offered.

Subjective: This stuff bites the tongue and has a nice aroma, but tastes like garbage.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_german (309)	2009-05-21		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Back when I was looking for things mild and sweet, for a while I tried just about all the Black Cavendish-dominated blends on the market. This one was a stop-over I tried at the time and decided not to go back to.

That said, in the profusion of BCs on the market back then, this was one of the better blends. It is possible to keep this one alight, as opposed to a lot of the others, and it won't drown you with condensation. The fragrance and taste are sweet, and it's mild.

If you're looking for strength, look elsewhere. There's none here. But for those with sensitive palates, this may be a good 'baccy for its mildness. May I draw your attention, though, to Poul Ilsted's Own No. 55, which is also mild, but has much more flavour, spice and tobacco taste? If memory serves, that was the direct transition I made sometime in 1990 or so, and ever since, Black Ambrosia has not been much more than a memory for me.

Somewhat recommended for the sensitive and the beginners. Worth a try, IMHO, but for me, personally, it's just too little of a good thing.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-07-10		Extremely Mild	Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

Ambrosia? HA! This is far from the sustenance of the gods as the name implies. It smells nice, but tastes awful. If you like these types of sweet smelling aromatics then you will like this. If you like to taste tobacco flavor with your tobacco, you will be disappointed. This isnt fit for human consumption, IMO, and when Zeus gets hold of this he's gonna definitely be upset. I can see him casting it from Mt. Olympus to the final resting place of the titans...they need something like this to sweeten their resting place...its not good for much else..maybe some flowers will grow.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipePaladin (78)	2008-03-27		Mild	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

This is a nice VA/Cavendish close to the VA/Burley Golden Ambrosia but far more sweet and cased! Its too aromatic for my taste actually.. However it has a unique essence that beats most aromatics out there! Low nicotine kick but very sweet..

If you are into aromatics VA blends go for it! If you are more into lightly aromatic tobaccos like me, you should move to Golden Ambrosia without second thought..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-12-07		Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I guess this blend would be ok if you did not have anything else but I would not spend money on it again.

Just plain blah when smoking and then a stale aftertaste.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (182)	2020-08-06		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

Mild easy smoking aromatic. Nuts, honey and berries are present throughout the smoke. Burns dry with little or no moisture in the pipe. Takes fire well and requires a minimum number of relighted. All Virginia blend without the usual burn you may experience. Have smoked it new from the tin but I get the best results by letting it dry on a plate for an hour or so. I have found that I get a better smoke from all Mac blends doing this. All in all a great smoke, albeit very mild in nicotine.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2020-05-28		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A recent revelation revealed a fondness for (some) fruit Aromatics, and so I was eager to see where this one landed. Overly topped mush or another thoughtfully created, tasty fruit bouquet, perhaps another Stanwell Melange clone (which replaced Drew Estate Grand Central)?

The tin opened to a dull sour, apricot medley which neither overwhelmed nor reaked of chemicals. The almost entirely Cavendish ribbon felt great with strong woody pieces that pack roughly in the bowl making great air flow, albeit requiring a relight or two. The flavor was never syrupy and kept a pleasantly light fruit flavor throughout that complimented the natural tobacco taste.

While I still prefer Stanwell's Melange for it's stronger fruit profile, I was really enjoying Black Ambrosia as an all day smoke. Plus, it is an incredible deal for a 3.5oz tin. A solid Aromatic I'll be rebuying.

Purchased From: tobaccopipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ramo (14)	2020-02-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This blend will bite you. If you use the "breathe" method, this blend kinda sings. Make sure you dry it really well and take it really easy with the cadence. The best moments I had with this blend was when I could sit and close my eyes and just focus on breathing. You will be rewarded with a dark fruit like sweetness that coats your palate.

I was expecting absolutely nothing from this blend, and it kind of wowed me. This has been one of the go to aromatics of late.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cakici (29)	2018-06-23		Very Mild	Very Strong	Medium	Pleasant

Black Ambriosa is one of the blends that I find artificially aromatized with black cavendish. Even though the manufacturer's content says it also has virginia in it, I would say it's unnoticeably low for a smoker like me.

It smells fine, burns evenly. But that much chemical irritates me and lowers my smoking experience. It's a type of everyday tobacco for whom are looking for pure aromatic and fruity tobacco.

Depending on my previous experience with Amphora Black, it may give brighter and more fruity taste when smoked in corn-cob. However, I haven't tried and actually not willing to try in the future.

Pipe Used: Couple of Savinellis and Petersons

Age When Smoked: Straight from the tin

Purchased From: duty-free

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Corncob3 (77)	2017-06-29		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

About a decade ago, when I lived another state, I would purchase BA, Symphony, Plumcake,Roll Cake and Gold of Denmark. Of these BA and Roll Cake I smoked most often. I got away from the MB line and started exploring Newminster and really fell in love with OTCs like Velvet and Blenders Gold. Only recently did I return to Black Ambrosia. My second impression of it was that it was way too sweet,rough and perhaps a little nippy.After jarring a tin full for several months I cracked it open tonight and gave it a go. All I can say is wow. This mixture mellows considerably well and didn't overpower the senses. Very smooth, hint of sweetness with the right amount of smokiness and very pleasant mouth feel. A little nutty, but the Virginias really shine without dominating the experience. Behaved well and didn't wane in flavor. Rubbing out before packing really brings out the sweetness and nuasences. It also kept the spiciness in the black cav at bay. Very good indeed. Air before jarring reccomended. UPDATE 6-29-17 I was thinking about ordering some more BA, but when checking P&C the MacBaren classic tins are nowhere to be found. What is available is in bulk (ie Original Choice) or tin selection is slim. Is Black Ambrosia going away. If so grab whatever you can before it's gone. I did find a Sutliff bulk that might be similar called Black Cordial which I'll order next pay period. Until then this will remain a mystery.

Pipe Used: Corncob

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Volk219 (6)	2016-04-15		Medium to Strong	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco was my first experience in pipe smoking. To tell you the truth, I did not like it. Maybe it was because I had a new pipe. Maybe because of the taste and smell. It was a while back, so all I remember was it hitting me hard (new to smoking) as well as a certain smell I did not really like. Even later, when pipe was fully broken-into, I still did not like this tobacco. Anyway, all I can say based on my limited knowledge of tobacco is that this tobacco is not for people who are new to this.

Pipe Used: Big Ben Classic Line

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Humidor

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Telling it how it is. (73)	2015-10-07		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Please Note: I am trying to work off my back log of tobaccos i have tried years and years ago. In most cases i have no clue anymore when. Or who produced it back in the day. Also my memories are faded by time and those reviews are based mostly on my notes but sometimes i have a current tin for comparison as well:

I guess there is a reason for all the ambiguous reviews as this blend just is that. Ambiguous. Being far from a bad blend in casings or tobaccos used it still does leave you with a so-so mind about it.

Yes, it is of undefined fruit, even tho back in the day it was labeled as a Caramel / Mocca blend for a while. I have no idea how that came to pass really. To me it always was a very sweet something-something fruit/vanilla blend. It did not bite tongue and had nice burning properties but needed some encouragement to take on the initial light. The room note was very nice and the pouch very yielding, as i would get out loads of bowls from it.

But that's really it. I believe there is nothing more to say about this blend. Except that i do recommend it because there is nothing wrong with it either. Plus i think a beginner would have some fun with it.

Pipe Used: It went trough rotation.

Age When Smoked: They don't print production dates on it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FP Stew (25)	2014-08-06		Medium	Medium	Overwhelming	Pleasant

This is my first 1 Star Rating review and I must say that I have really tried to see if there is redemption for this blend ... I can not find any.

I purchased this tin from my favorite Brick & Mortar Shop about a 2 years ago the name caught my attention. I recently saw it in my cellar and thought, "Why haven't I smoked this one very much" I remembered that I had purchased it for blending and this week I was in the blending mood so I needed a bowl to revisit the flavor profile .... Now I remember why I only had one bowl previously and there will not be a third.

The only redeeming quality to this tobacco is the charring light. It is sweet and inviting; that is where it ends!! Within 10 puffs you are wishing the initial flavors would be there but they never come back. (I guess if, you only have time for 3 or 4 puffs, this is an "okay good" blend.)

However, IF you hang with this one through the entire bowl you are left with the "soapy" taste hanging on your palate as you are thinking about how long it will take to recover from the bite ... and you are asking yourself, "why didn't I stop after the charring light??"

As for blending, I can't see adding good tobacco with this one. There is just too much wrong and I would not want to wreck other good tobacco ... Mac Baren, I am truly sorry to only be able to give you 1 star. I do enjoy some of your other offerings as stand alone blends or as anchors in some of my home blends.

Now I am left with a "100 gram tin - two bowls" ... is there a market for that?? FREE to anyone that asks ... And one more thing ... If you are by chance new to the pipe smoking world ... Please don't let this blend sour you to our wonderful pass time!! Happy Smoke Trails

Pipe Used: Stanwell Bent Dublin

Age When Smoked: New & Aged 2 years old

Purchased From: JR Fielding, Shoreview, MN, USA

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2014-07-24		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Beer influenced me to buy Ambrosia when he compared it to Amphora Black Cavendish, one of my favorite tobaccos in the old days... Ambrosia is mild, pleasant, tasty, and has a nice clean burning. I have added some C & D Burley leaf (Burley Flake No 3) to give it sufficient backbone of nicotine without compromising the great flavour of the casing. I will definitivily rebuy some (and more C & D). If you enjoy a mild an aromatic offering, this might be what you are looking for.

Pipe Used: Stanwell; Cavicchi; Corn Cobsè Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 18 months

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kerpap (14)	2013-04-08		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This cloud has a silver lining...

POSITIVE: read the silver lining below.

NEGATIVE: Boring flavor. room note is OK. Flavors don't develop. over all pretty bland and boring.

SILVER LINING: I had purchased some Mac Baren Vanilla cream after I got the black ambrosia. I decided I didn't want to waste it so I mixed the two on a whim. to be honest the vanilla cream is a bit TOO vanilla for me. I was pleasantly surprised by this. both tobaccos came together and made up for the boring bland black ambrosia. the flavor was outstanding. it was a rich creamy smoke that had a tangy after taste that lingered for some time that made my mouth water. I am not sure what caused this but I may even consider buying another tin and making this blend again.

Overall, not worth buying. (unless you want to try my blend.)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-02-15		Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Many tins in the MB line seem to taste similar to me, and they smoke in the same fashion as well. They taste bland...are HOT/Tongue-Biters...and smell like potpourri. I cannot recommend this product.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-12-29		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bland. On a positive note, upon opening the tin I did find Black Ambrosia to be pleasantly fragrant and sufficiently dry to fill a pipe immediately without the usual one week of airing out that I usually need with MacBaren blends. Very little bite with this one, almost none in fact, and I admittedly smoke all my pipes much too quickly. I only smoke aromatics but do not enjoy BA at all, as it gave me nothing. Perhaps someone new to the world of smoking pipes might want to give it a try as it is very forgiving of poor technique, but it will quickly be forgotten once almost any other blend is eventually tried.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steden (100)	2009-08-03		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I do not find anything special here but I recommend it to cigarettes smokers for the following reasons: 1 - it is easy to smoke, low nicotine, no heat, no gurgles, no bite on the tongue, it burns easily without multiple re-ignition, can be smoked many times a day.

2 - the aroma and room note are certainly more pleasant of cigarettes for people who surrounds you, there is a note slightly ashy that recalls cigarettes so it helps to not deviate too much from the usual taste.

So if you are in the transition from cigarettes to pipe that may be a good help.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skando (203)	2009-04-22		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

In springtime it happens I'm moved to experience some aromatics, possibly avoiding the most heavily cased. My "tobacco bar" is currently offering me the following aromatics to taste (in order of appearance):

1. Ashton's #6

2. Amphora's Black Cavendish

3. Peterson's Gold Blend

4. Mac Baren's Gold of Denmark (coming from Haejenius/Amsterdam)

5. Troost Sliced (also coming from H/A)

6. Mac Baren's Golden Ambrosia

I start from the last one, having bought it just Monday, when I found myself accidentally without any tobacco in my pocket and finding myself very much pleased with consecutive bowls of BA, and I mean very much indeed ! I'm working it with the same pipe till the opening of the pouch, a black Savinelli Spigot, straight bulldog, filtered 9mm.

To cut it short BA is described in the pouch to be blended MAINLY with Virginias "carefully toasted to bring out a tasty and sweet Cavendish" with some very special yellow Virginia. I don't see but a word about Burley, but the term MAINLY seems to hide a (very) minor part of different tobaccos: a cased Burley seems to be the possible best candidate.

The smell of the pouch aroma suggests vanilla, nuts, dried fruits: a sort of "muessli" (know what I mean?). The visual thing is a beautiful contrast of almost black, dark brown (coffee) with few light brown and blonde flecks. One could think: what the heck am I gonna smoking ? And that's is not happening: You are not going to smoke that combination of pouch aroma and colours only. The smoke is extremely well balanced, and yes! It's TOBACCO, of the best quality IMHO, with hints of everything above (not the colours, of course). So good that I must impose myself to slow down, but not for avoiding the famous McBite. At every rate BA does not bite, nor turns bitter, only a salty note that's not that bad. To be noted that the tobacco is not wet, and not dry, it's perfect to be smoked. No goop. No tainted pipe.

Comparisons with 2. and 4., which are waiting me opened in the cabinet, seem obvious.

As far as and aromatic of future choice in rotation, I fully subscribe three full stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe4ever (204)	2009-04-04		Mild	Strong	Medium	Very Pleasant

For those who enjoy extremely sweet aromatic, this is the best you can find, sweet black Cavendish CASED WITH HONEY, VANILLA, toffee and Caramel, it is delicious! very sweet and very mild, dry and easy burning, with no bite, wonderful aroma, and very social smoke.

only for those who enjoy sweet tobacco.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (241)	2009-01-29		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I am a fan of many of Mac Baren's offerings; Burley London Blend, Navy Flake, Plumcake, Scottish Mixture, Virginia No. 1. All in my first string line up. As far as their aromatics go, I occasionally smoke their Honey Chocolate and Vanilla Cream, but not on any regular basis.

I seem to have more of a time keeping Black Ambrosia lit - even after what I consider sufficient drying. Perhaps it is the casing, which to me smells like black licorice in the tin. Not a bad thing, but perhaps a bit over done. There is also very little tobacco flavor with this one. I can't taste much of the casing as I smoke it, nor can I really smell it like I do their other blends in this category. Initially, the room note is pleasing to all, but after the pipe has been out a while, the room smells a bit like a cigarette ash tray. Not a good thing for me.

The tin aroma is one of the best I have ever smelled. It packs well, there is no bite and little moisture, but I abhor the smell of an old ashtray, and therefore don't anticipate this being a regular.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	lonefrog615 (4)	2009-01-06		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I like Black Ambrosia but I'll tell you what--after a couple of bowls you start to say "I wish it tasted more like tobacco" I experience a red wine after taste that turns me off. I prefer to drink my wine and smoke my tobacco, not the other way around. Gets worse with multiple bowls. I do however love to smoke this in a crowd or in the company of a woman. The smell from the tin is a real female pleaser and with a glass of red wine the taste makes sense. So Black Ambrosia has its place in my opinion, just not a good everyday tobacco. (Hint - Heavy Italian red wine but no cheap chianti. Rufino or better. Give it a try!)

Keep em' smoldering!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.sadik (120)	2008-12-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

nice pace of change with a nutty and sweet jet black cavendish taste to it. straight burly cavendish is what you are going to get in this blend. burns dry and clean to the last bit, packs very well and the room note is acceptable but not as good as other mac baren offerings aromatics.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dubinthedam (133)	2008-09-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I had to re-hydrate my packet, it'd been on the shelf for a while and even longer in my cellar. I'm on a bit of a rediscovery of aromatics at the moment...I find they have a crucial space in my daily selection.

Why do so many people say..it's Yuk!...its bites because it's a MacB? Well MacB have a long solid reputation. They know about their reputation for a wee bite. But they still choose to blend the blends the way they do....and...they still sell very well over many decades. It's a little self-inflating and somewhat carping of us smokers to say it's 'crap'.

B.Amb is a lovely soft, good, tasty aromatic, very similar to Vanilla Cream but with only a touch of vanilla, it's fruity and and salty, it dose not bite much for an aro, and... is a great in between smoke throughout the day. It is NOT soapy, NOR is it overly sweet. It is mild yet with a good natural baccy taste...all the way to the bottom. It is a stroll in the park aromatic, a hot sunny day or a nippy winter's afternoon aromatic.

And lastly it reminds me that I should never pay any attention to pipe smokers on TRev's that say stuff like; "this is total crap and a complete waste of money"! If you are a pipe smoker worth anything...it is never a 'waste' to purchase a new packet of baccy...particularly from a top Danish company like MacB. 3.5 stars for a solid aromatic. Yet again another MacB to add to my cellar.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-07-04		Medium	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

If you smoke to please others, you will be loved. If you smoke Ambrosia to please yourself, you will become your own worst enemy.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-07-10		Extremely Mild	Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

It smells, smokes and tastes like cream but nothing else. Amazing room note though. It made the place smelling like a French coffee shop which just ran out of coffee and someone in the kitchen baking a some sort of nutty cream cake. One thing, mix some of this with a mid grade unflavored virginia, you get a pretty good smoke. Actually MB's Original Choice is just that...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Oombergen (13)	2021-10-02		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I greatly appreciated the absence of Burley in this blend. This tobacco has a nice tin note and a good room note. In the pipe, it's not the "traditional", fully aromatic black Cavendish you would expect, but it's an interesting, good tobacco. It didn't thrill me to the extent of the fantastic (I repeat, fantastic for Black Cavendish lovers) complexity, depth, variety and fullness of Amphora Black Cavendish Special Reserve n.1. Mild, balanced sweetness, mild, smooth aroma. No tongue bite. Not very complex, but a quite pleasant, relaxing smoke. Ideal for beginners, or for an outdoors smoke in the summer. Good morning starter. The "modern Cavendish" by Mac Baren is probably cased and designed to enhance the natural sweetness of fermented Virginias, without much added. They surely succeeded, but without creating a "WOW!" blend. The flavoring -if any- is barely detectable, but probably that's the actual goal of Mac Baren blenders. The result? A mild, smooth, sweet, easy to smoke blend. I shall smoke it again, alternating it with the superb Amphora Black, or with the distinctively aromatic Davidoff Malawi Dark Cavendish.

Pipe Used: Dai Mosi Caravaggio billiard "maresciallo"

Age When Smoked: just purchased

Purchased From: Tobacconist in downtown Milan, Italy

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	D.K. (58)	2021-05-13		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

This smelled fantastic in the bag. I couldn't wait to give it a try. Cut is dry, coarse ribbons about 1/2 in long, up to a tad longer. Initial light was surprisingly good considering the coarseness. Flavor, is very mild to almost non existent. On the tongue and retro-hale. The closest thing I can think of is something in the vein of Carter Hall or Velvet. A hint of fruity-ness, and a whole lot of ok. Black Ambrosia will NOT knock your socks off I guarantee that. Now it isn't bad, actually, probably my favorite bulk Mac Baren purchase to date. It's just nothing that the name Ambrosia should ever be linked with.

Purchased From: JRs

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Classical Pipe (3)	2020-10-04		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Eh. It’s okay. I was left a little underwhelmed if I am being honest. It burns warm, but not hot. Not too much casing. Definitely one of the more natural tasting aromatics.

Pipe Used: Peterson army pipe

Age When Smoked: Fresh

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Madox07 (43)	2020-01-05		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This was a surprising blend. Yes, it is an aromatic, but not a soapy type that smells good and comes out just tasteless steam. I do not find it to be very complex, or perhaps I didn't care to look too deep into it, especially since I only had about 3-4 bowls. A friend of mine gifted it, and since the aromatic casing does not cover the tobacco properties I may be buying some more. The aspect of the tobacco is black, with a nose resembling dried fruit, a bit citrus, but the most evident is fig. It lights easily, burns cool, and leaves little to no moisture in the bowl. Like I said, not very complex, a straight virginia and a lot of cavendish, with a fig tasting topping that stays with you throughout the entire bowl. Very forgiving on the tongue bite. It may be an all day blend, especially for the smokers that fancy a sweeter bacy.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (231)	2017-06-08		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Straight Virginia, pure Black Cavendish or flavored mixture? How can you classify this blend? The composition is Black Cavendish (flavored) with a hint of light Virginia. In my opinion this is not a mixture and this is not a straight Virginia. Practically this is a pure flavored Black Cavendish. There is a little bit of Virginia, but it is uninfluential. The taste is good and sweet but in my opinion this is more a blending tobacco than a real proper mixture. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10), my score is 7 and two and a half stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	marosi (70)	2016-11-07		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

It is almost not fair to call this an aromatic, because there is just not much here other than the tin note to enjoy. While this cavendish makes a fine addition to other blends, on its own, even with the "fruit" essence, it is just not very tasty or rewarding to smoke.

It is a very chunky ribbon cut cavendish. The tin aroma is very nice, although to me it smells more like vanilla than fruit, and I really get no fruit flavor in the smoking either. It dries readily, but can be tough to pack in small pipes due to the large, chunky nature of the pieces. Lighting is more of a chore than average, but once lit burns steadily, with periodic relights and tamping.

The flavor upon lighting is mild, and goes downhill from there. There is a sweet cavendish flavor, like a high quality Captain Black, and that's about it. The taste actually thins shortly thereafter to a whispy sweet VA taste, which while not unpleasant, is too light to warrant the effort. This is very one-dimensional, with no complexity or depth, and really does not change or improve throughout the bowl. Perhaps this makes sense as this is essentially a constituent tobacco that has been used for the vast majority of this mixture, but it just does not stand up on its own. It burns cleanly and without goop, no small feat for a black cavendish, and will not ruin a pipe in short order (although I think if you smoked this consistently in one pipe you probably would not want to switch to something else, like a VAPER, in the same bowl).

If you are a huge fan of black cavendish and are looking to up your game from the cheap drugstore iterations, this is probably made for you. IF you are looking for an enjoyable, complex aromatic this is a waste of time, and MB offers many other, tastier, more complex smokes that are equally light on the tongue (like any of the 7 Seas blends).

I think if you doctored this up it could be very good indeed. While i generally am loathe to do so, because that's cheating, in this case some latakia and burley would make a world of difference. Or you could just buy Sillim's Black and be done with it.

Pipe Used: Radice Oil Cured Twin Bore Silk Cut Boatman

Age When Smoked: 4 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Silent Soliloquy (17)	2016-02-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Strong

Update: within about a month the taste degrades majorly into common cigarette smoke unfortunately.

To be brief, this is cavendish pushed to it's best possible taste (from which you understand I am not a fan of cavendishes). What do we get?

Even smoking experience through the process. Flavour is tobacco, lemon, a bit of fruit and a bit of cream. Interestingly, I got lemon in one briar and cream in the other with almost no lemon. Sugary notes reminiscent of orientals are there too, but flavouring is not intimidating. You are smoking tobacco, not a fruitcake with this one. Taste is consistent all through the smoking process. Of course in the tin it smells great, which aromatic doesn't?

Nicotine is there above what is average for an aromatic, but not much for a straight baccy.

It bites very mildly if you push it. A bit more if you cycle smoke through your nose, but nothing too bad and goes right away. Aftertaste in the mouth is pleasant, fresh.

Burns to even whitish ash, actually so fine that if you're puffing hard, you might end up sucking some in towards the end, it's just that fine. Burns fast. Took some rekindling though. A cool smoker. Smoke itself is not thick, so your room clears up in no time and it's not the best choice to blow them rings...

You do not get the taste of burnt paper, which is common (to my palette) with cheap aromatics. A major plus. It isn't bitter.

Why am I giving it only 2 stars? Cavendish disadvantages of quick burn, ashy, are still there. If that is a non issue for you - this is a refreshing, refined, interesting tobacco above store stuff. A definite compliment to Mac Baren for putting a major effort into this, which paid off.

Room note: cigarette smoke quite a bit, though what you catch with your nose out of the pipe is rather pleasant.

Pipe Used: neerup briar, sahin briar

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Duty Free Shop (got as a present)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Haebar (52)	2015-10-02		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

This is a very mild blend that is tasty with a balanced flavor spectrum. It is so mild that I occasionally start to relight only to find that it is burning fine. But then it states on the tin that it is a light tobacco, so I am not faulting it for that. The tobacco that I am smoking was relatively dry out of the factory sealed package. For an aromatic it burns surprisingly dry and cool. It smokes so cool that I am surprised that I haven't burned my tongue puffing on this so much trying to get more body out of it. If you like light and mild tobaccos, this would be a good candidate. The flavoring is just right, not too much or too little. The taste for me is vanilla primarily. The quality of the tobacco seems to be very good, as I didn't see or feel any tough leaf midribs or veins in the mix.

Pipe Used: Captain Black billiard

Age When Smoked: ~10 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2015-03-16		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This reminds me of W.O. Larsen Old fashioned and the Planta pear 2006 in that it's a really full tobacco flavor with the addition of some subtle toppings (fruit and vanilla predominantly). I was initially pretty excited, but it burns pretty hot to me and can be rather bitey with some bitterness at the last 1/4 of the bowl and leaves a nasty aftertaste.

Pipe Used: many

Age When Smoked: fresh and again at a year

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipenick (28)	2015-03-04		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Black Ambrosia...reminds my lot of Peterson Luxury Blend.Almost same fruity taste but Petersons has more character.Nice room note,thick rich smoke,nicotin level should be higher.The fruity taste last almost to end of the bowl.Decent blend but it lacks something...Petersons Luxury blend has it and it is called Burley.No bite as some might think from MB blend. Even smoke.

Pipe Used: Big Ben's Bulldog and Stanwell Sterling

Age When Smoked: Straight from tin

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

Similar Blends: Peterson Luxury blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2015-03-03		Very Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I was not a fan of Black Ambrosia. I have been smoking MacBaren's for over a decade so I know to smoke dead slow or in the case of Plumcake, use a filter to avoid the flamethrower but BA is flavorless and has no Nic hit I can detect and that's the two reasons I smoke a pipe. BA has the usual MB fruity honey aroma with the usual Virginia and Black Cavendish ribbon mix and is certainly not offending but bland. Since its not terrible I will give it 2 stars but with so many tobacco's on the market being great why bother with mediocre...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gustaw (5)	2014-06-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Mhmm... That's a goodie. Flavoured virginia and cavendish make here a good blend. Firstly, the black colour, then the smell, which is sweet thanks to casing. But what casing takes is the taste of tobacco, which is not a rule considering Black Ambrosia. If you smoke it slowly and not too hot you'll get a nice smoke, getting sweeter throughout the bowl. I think this might be one of the top among aromatics.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	atman (7)	2014-03-28		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Fill my list of tested blends. I tasted this once... remove it from my wishlist.

(Please correct the following problems: my review must be at least 25 words long)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipeclubsi (17)	2013-12-10		Medium	Mild	Full	Tolerable

Very good room note; although my wife nags about any tobacco smell. Smokes fairly well. Needs a well start as it tends to go out at the beginning due to sugarish cavendish. It can be a bit harsh for a beginner but it doesn't produce much condense. I'd say it's a fair smoke but not among the favorites for me. I like to change the tobaccos often so it always stays interesting experience to puff the evening away, usually with a good drink with it.

In 2021 I tryed it again. I do still find it a bit sharp on my palate similar to simple pure "Land tabak" that I bought in Austria years ago. There is slight citrus aroma to be felt and sweetness of cavendish but I miss that nutty mellow taste that burley would bring. However this is all virginia tobacco and it demands a different approach and some understanding. It's definitely not a typical danish aromatic, but a speciality on it's own. It should be smoked slow, lightly packed in a smaller bowl and it delievers a good satisfying smoke. It could be one of those blends that needs time to grow on you and I'm glad I gave it another try.

Pipe Used: Butz Choquin Mignon

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Slovenia Kompas shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Malus Rex (9)	2013-09-23		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

If you've suffered through my other reviews, you may be trying to purge from your memory that Davidoff's Scottish Mixture was my first premium/tinned tobacco after being cruelly abused by aromatic bulk brand jarred tobaccos from unscrupulous tobacco shop counters. Dunhill's Nightcap was the English mixture that I clutched to my chest as having showed me a pipe smoker's glimpse of paradise.

Mac Baren's Black Ambrosia is the tobacco that let me forgive aromatics. Sweet, yet smooth. Yes, you can get a third degree case of tongue bite from it if pushed too hard. Just try to be smarter than the tobacco & your box of matches!! I wanted something with a sweetness and yet didn't want to smoke Kool-Aid. I needed a room note that wouldn't send the dog or wife running for cover, or banish me to the back porch. ( Well, too late on that one...). When I lit Black Ambrosia, the neighbor actually looked over the fence & said , "She might let you back in the house with that one."

Can praise for an aromatic be any higher? So smooth, your wife may let you BACK IN!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RyeWhiskey (43)	2012-03-19		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A wonderful looking blend of Virginia Tobacco. All varying lengths of cut ribbons from smaller, tight darker ribbons to lighter, longer shades of brown. The tin note is a pleasant fragrance of maybe a mix of raisins and vanilla and something of some fruit?

Packs well, and burns pretty thoroughly with a light pack and a slight tamp. This blend for my puffing pace left a slight bit of wet dottle in the bottom, but not goopy, just some dampened ash in the varying pipes I have tried. The tobacco itself burnt pretty good. The tobacco is a mild-medium flavor, sometimes sweet, sometimes stronger. It has a quality that another likened to Rattray's Dark fragrant, and it is like that but just a bit of a stronger DF. This was one of my first pipe tobacco's when I first started a couple of years ago, so it will always be in my rotation. I liked it, it has a nice room-note, and is a good smoker and on side-note, I didn't get any bite, but again, like most tobaccos I have tried, it does get a bit more acrid at the last 1/4 of the bowl.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-10-29		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Boring and Bites too much. Only good thing I can say is that the tin is packed full. Can't get rid of it soon enough.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-21		Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Normally I am a big fan of Mac Baren's blends, but Black Ambrosia is not that great. The scent upon opening the tin is very pleasant, but there is no real taste to this blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-08-03		Very Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant

If you are an aromatic fan and looking for something different this may be inteesting for you.

When I first opened the tin it took some time to decide if it worths filling a pipe with this. Sorry, it didn't. Not my "ambrosia"

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-01-16		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

With so many choices for a dark sweet smooth burley, this one is not it. There a many other choices for a blend that is smoother and more flavorful. In short it smell great in the tin and in the air, but not in your bowl. Pass on this one and try something else.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-11-27		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I think, perhaps, that the name is inappropriate. It's a beautiful tobacco blend but the name leads you to think your about to experience something 'out of this world'.

Not so.

I laboured through half my tin trying to find it's 'sweet spot' but failed. Dumped the rest in my 'god only knows' canister and consumed it that way. I can see where it might grab some puffers by the stem so I can only suggest buying a tin and make a decision as to whether or not to buy a second one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-09-25		Overwhelming	Extra Strong	Full	Tolerable

I found the Black Ambrosia to be a terrible blend,upon opening the tin I experienced a sweet smell, so I immediately packed a bowl of it.My experience was a concoction of tobacco garbage.The tobacco tasted as if it was scraped out of an ashtray and then added a sweet topping to it.Being the possible consequence of buying aromatics and the methods of drying the tobacco,I let it dry some..sad so say I don't know why this blend is still in the market.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-09-05		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is a wonderful smoke that has a uniquely bold taste. I say bold with hesitation because it is a delightful taste without being overwhelming. A wonderful mix of sweetness, yet not wimpy. Burns well and does not bite. This is not entirely aromatic as the burley is blended with the Virginias very well. Casing has a slight burnt, salty, moca taste but again, by no means a negative. Flavor consistently remains unchanged throughout the bowl and IMO is a great ?all around smoke?. Room note is pleasant but lingers. I will definitely order more of this to keep around for a change.

Upon opening the tin, the aroma is pleasant. But the smell should not be so heavily judged, as pipe tobacco is to be smoked....not snorted or huffed! I really like this blend as I am not a huge fan of strong English blends or strong latakias. This blend is how I like my coffee to taste. Just the right amount of cream, sweetness and flavor without being bitter.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-01-04		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

As a regular smoker of both Mac Baren Golden Ambrosia and Mixture I had to give this one a try. However, as others have said it's pretty nondescript - the flavour never really develops unfortunately.

The appearance in the pouch is identical to McLintocks Black Cherry sans the cherry.

It's a bit moist so takes a bit of time to get lit. Little bite, but then I smoke this in a 9mm filter pipe. Attractive room note so probably good for smoking in company.

It's one of those "why bother" blends. The exciting taste that Mac Baren states you will be thrilled by never really comes.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-10-27		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Not exactly my favorite but it is nice and light for those who do not want a heavy tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-06-29		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I recently rehydrated what I'd guesstimate to be about a 10 year old tin of this blend.

Blah......this is about as bland and tasteless a tobacco as you'd ever try to smoke.

A very weak entry from the Mac Baren stable. No wonder the tin layed around unfinished.

I'm awarding it an extra half star because it's the first time a Mac Baren aromatic didn't bite me. Will miracles never cease?

* 1/2

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-02-15		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A typical MacBaren Experience for me (Golden Ambrosia and Mixture are in a different league). Nothing to write home about. (Why, then, write here is a mystery yet to be answered).

I will finish the pouch and not bother with it again... Nothing particularly objectionable; simultaneously nothing special.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-09-24		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

MacBarens? Black Ambrosia is certainly black, but is nothing like a Cavendish. The cut makes it easy to light, and it burns well. Beyond that, I wonder, ?Why bother?? I do not find the tobacco offensive, but I do not find either taste or aroma to be particularly pleasant. I suspect that people who might enjoy Black Ambrosia can be happy with other products that are not so expensive.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2005-07-27		Very Mild	Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

2 stars because of the good tobaccos used, but the extreme flavouring puts me off. I've smoked some bowls and then left the pouch somewhere around home; it popped up from a drawer months later and, believe it or not, it was still as fresh as when I first opened the pouch. Incredible!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-06-14		Very Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Mac Baren company produces quality tobaccos and some of them, like Plumcake, are among my favorite tobaccos. However, unfortunately Black Ambrosia will not be among them.

I generally prefer very lightly flavored aromatics, or tobaccos with no casing at all. BA is just the opposite -- I could hardly detect the tobacco flavor from under the sickly sweet aftertaste. The taste is hard for me to pin down -- the MB website says its a mocha flavour, but it doesn't seem that way to me. It's actually more like a caramel flavor or something along those lines.

Like most MB tobaccos, it's slightly too moist in the pouch, so at first it won't burn well and starts gargling. I haven't investigated any methods that might potentially cure this problem and I doubt that I will.

Black Ambrosia is not necessary a bad tobacco, it's just not to my taste. If you have a sweet tooth and enjoy heavily flavored aromatics, give this one a try.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-02-15		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant

A while ago when I was trying mac baren blends I ran across this and was eager to try it. The casing on this is overwhelming in the tin and while smoked. The only thing I liked about this is the smell of it, but not in a good tobacco kind of way. This was so goopy that it stuck to my fingers when I packed the pipe. I gave it to a friend who liked goopy aromatic blends and while he did not think it was great, he did not hate it either. I don't recomend this because there are much better aromatics on the market.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-12-01		Mild	Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

Sticky sweet. Dripping in wet sticky flavouring. If you want an aromatic that smells like a candy factory, and doesn't taste like tobacco choose this black candy.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-11-30		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant

This is one scrumptious smelling tobacco upon opening the tin. I can only discribe it as a dark burley virginian blend cased in mead. Mead :an alcoholic liquor made of fermented honey and water,often with spices,fruit,malt,etc. added.[WEBSTERS] The fruit component in this blend reminds me of fermented pineapple juice. If this tobacco tasted 1/4 as good as it smelled it would be in my regular aromatic rotation,but it just doesn't. Warm "winey" hot air is the prevailing flavor. I'm still of the opinion that even the heaviest of aromatics should have tobacco taste at least as a bottom note. Otherwise, whats the point?

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bbrown626 (150)	2021-06-30		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I ordered this on a whim - a fascination with the name. What I found was a solid Black Cavendish tobacco. Sweet, tangy, fruity, but smooth smoke. A little hard to keep lit, but it did not seem too moist in the can, Burns a little quick and to a fine ash. The pouch and room note were quite pleasant.

Pipe Used: Capri Bent Apple

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Cigarbid.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bosančeros (3)	2018-05-02		Very Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

When I was buying my first pipe I asked tobacconist what beginners tobacco does he recommend to me and it was Mac Baren Original Choise and Black Ambrosia. first few bowls of BA seemed to me a little harsh on my tongue and interestingly flavored.I did get a lot of tongue bite but it was due to my lack of smoking technique.Later when I learned to employ the breath method tounge bites stopped and I could experience the true tobacco as it is for me and this is my opinion. This is mild citrusy flavored tobacco with bland taste but still a little harsh on tongue like some chemical reaction.It is ok to try but nothing special for me.Would not buy it again.

Pipe Used: Savinelli

Age When Smoked: do not know

Purchased From: Tobacco shop Mestre,Venice

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	rafalgdansk87 (12)	2018-03-30		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

It burns good, aroma is correct, but anyway it's nothing special. In my opinion this tobacco is quite boring. Good choice if someone don't like full, sweet aromas. For me it's flat. There are many better aromatic tobaccos from Mac Baren.

Pipe Used: Angelo Lovat

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ShadowFox (8)	2017-03-15		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

It's an interesting blend. Good, but mild. I like it, and it leaves a subtle after taste. I'd give it three stars, but I find it a bit to gentle for my taste. But I would definitely recommend it, especially to beginners. Personally I wouldn't have this one for a daily smoke, but it's definitely good for every now and then.

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Cyan; Ljubljana, Slovenia.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Amsteracqua (24)	2014-07-25		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I have still 40gr of the 100 gr tin, but I dont feel the "ambrosia"... This tobacco is mild, but tends a bite (this is no occured in my smoke), This is my second blend from Mac Baren's blends and I'm not convinced, I will prove others blends from this house... around this blend I can say would be better if these tins were made ​​in tins of 50 g. The smell are amazing, the taste are common, your burn is irregular... I will not buy this blend another time. There are others aromatic blends better than this and more cheap.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-08-02		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Tolerable to Strong

An interesting light blend that does mix well with few others. Not my favorite, but other aromatic lovers may enjoy. The smell is amazing however the taste does not reflect. Maybe at a lower price, and a lot less tongue bite ,this would be worth it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2012-07-03		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As aromatics go, this is not a bad aromatic at all. It is dry in the pouch and easy to light and smoke. The flavour has a certain darkness to it, which is appealing. The MacBaren virtues of impeccable ingredients and production are evident throughout. I am no smoker of aromatics, but I found use for my pouch in taming some strong (in nicotine) but otherwise bland tobaccos. A few piches suffice. Recommended to the aromatics smoker, but cautiously to others.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BlacksmithTim (10)	2012-04-25		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

My non-smoking friends love the smell of the unburnt tobacco and the room note. I keep this around when smoking sociably. Usually after a cook out by the fire.

I found it burns a little hot so it is best "sipped".

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-02-23		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

OK, so this MB blend is a little sketchy to me. Sometimes I draw a gentle flavoring and sometimes its more of a generic type fruit flavor. Good aromatic type, even the room note is pleasing. However the layering of flavors is a little muddy. the taste is sweetish, and it is pleasing. I just cant descern the unique flavors, if any. On the whole, this is nice, pleasant flavored, sweetish, and with no tonguebite. That is something I do appreciate from Mac Baren. I have had the tin for about 6 months and opened it again yesterday. I will keep this as an alternative for my everyday, allday blends.

Update:A little deeper into the tin I am noticing an almost sticky sweet aroma and taste. Not fruity but more of a honey and caramel taste. Sip, dont gulp and the aroma and bouquet shine through. Patience is quite a virtue here. Be patient with Mac Baren, be rewarded.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MrPiper (31)	2012-01-27		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

First, I like aromatics. This one is rich, has a fruity tin aroma and is a very pleasant smoke. It's better if you dry it out a bit. That is similar to my other experience with MacBaren products. They are a bit wet upon opening the tin.

Also note that this is not "GOOPY" aromatic as some suggest. The base tobacco here is 100% virginia according to the label and the manufacturer's website. All virginias are sugary and going to bite if you smoke them with intensity. The actual tobacco here is very high quality, and it performs just like a pure virginia.

Smoke this one slowly. A leisure pace is pleasantly rewarded. I like it and buy it occasionally.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gunner525 (66)	2011-12-20		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Gave this blend a retry last week. Rehydrated it and had three or four bowls. Even though it was rehydrated it was still pretty good. The citrus flavour came out well still and it didn't give any tongue bite. Love the all Virginia blend. The Cavendish from VA mixed with a bit of loose cut light VA. Good anytime blend.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2011-09-02		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Black Ambrosia is a stoved Virginia to which Bright or Lemon Virginia leaf has been added for contrast. It is a ribbon cut of varying lengths and top dressed in what smells like licorice and vanilla. The moisture content is perfect and, say what you will about Mac Barens, they create a nice presentation in and out of the tin, providing high quality leaf in a good quantity at a reasonable price. Now this tobacco reminds me of Rattrey's Dark Fragrant without the spice of Perique. The top dressings on both play a small to insignificant role in the taste department. This is a stoved or toasted Virginia doing what stoved Virginia leaf does – it provides a mild, subtly sweet and not overly complex smoke. There are some nice nut-like flavors that develop. However, this tobacco must be sipped to be enjoyed. I find too that if it becomes hot, loosening the tobacco in the bowl with a pick brings the temp down and improves the flavor profile. Like Rattrey's Dark Fragrant, MB's Black Ambrosia is not in the same category as the black aromatic tobaccos found in drug stores. This tobacco will not foul your pipe with goop, or leave your taste buds burned out with heat or candy. Like Rattrey's this is a unique presentation of VA leaf that above all else has been toasted, bringing all the unique flavors that that imparts. This tobacco will have a place in my rotation just as a variety of VA flakes do.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-07-03		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This was for me an OK aromatic, with a nice room note and fairly tasty. But with MAC's blends I have found that smaller pipes and --very-- gentle puffing are required. I'm a fan of the big Peterson bents and this tobacco really needs the patience that a small bowl can deliver. Wonderful tin aroma upon opening.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-06-21		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

In the past few years I have tried many tobacco brands and for me this Danish tobacco maker has found the secret formula. For me what the description says this tobacco has it and more. It is surely one of my favourites.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bence (34)	2011-04-15		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Burning with a big smoke and its got milky taste over the sweet dip. Not bad, but forgottable.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hockey01 (29)	2011-02-03		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I gotta' tell you, I have not been a big fan of Mac Baren blends, generally speaking. I can tolerate the "Symphony" blend, which I smoke once in awhile, and the only reason I bought a tin of "Black Ambrosia" was because the retailer had a sale going on Mac Baren tobaccos; and because I like aromatics, I decided to give this one a try.

The tobacco was a bit dry coming out of the tin but not terribly so. The tobacco itself looked wonderful in the tin, a nice mixture of black to blonde ribbons, and the aroma was decent but not what I would call ambrosial. To my nose anyway, all European blended tobaccos have an aroma that sets them apart from American blends--sort of a grassy, musty, hay-like smell. I have a number of Canadian relatives (and yes, I realize that Canada is not in Europe) who smoke Canadian cigarettes and I get that same sort of odor from their cigarette smoke. Ummm, not really that pleasant.

At any rate, packing the pipe was easy and, probably because the tobacco was a bit dry in the tin, it was very easy to light and keep lit throughout the smoke. As for taste, this blend is nearly tasteless; so if you don't want to experience a mouthful of heavy tobacco taste, this is a good blend for you. The room note is nice (and there's that hay-like smell of Virginia tobacco again.) With Mac Baren blends, you usually need to be careful of tongue bite but the Black Ambrosia had none and I think that had to do with the fact that the baccy was somewhat dry and didn't take a lot of huffing and puffing to keep it lit. So if you want to avoid t/b, you may want to dry this blend out a bit if it isn't already.

Not a memorable smoke by any means but not too bad for Mac Barens and it may give me the courage to try some of their other offerings.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-12-24		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Very good for a new pipe smoker. It has a very nice and sweet fruit/citrus topping. Burns well, packs right, lights good, no tounge bite, etc. Good stuff, expericned pipes smokers will find it boring so yea. Overall i recommned it its not bad im a big fan of mac baren blends no matter what.

Update: not to crazy about it i tryed it yesterday and really wasnt impressed it tasted kinda bland i dont why last time it was good. Still if your new to pipes give it a try.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-09-09		Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I actually bought a pound of this stuff because it seems to posess just enough of an unsweetened chocolate flavor along with a reasonable nicotine content to make it a little interesting, beyond that its a little flat and almost dull. MB's Original Choice is similiar to this but just a little better. Not bad but really not that good either. Try a tin of it and you decide. It is worth the expense, i will say that.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-08-02		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

i dont know if i'm smoking this one in the wrong pipe or what, but the description given by MacBaren predicts too much. too many chiefs mess up the soup and so it is with casing and tobacco. this is too much for me. much cavendish in here, i'd have gone for more pure virginia. the tobacco burns well and mild, but should be smoked slowly because like many cased tobaccos, this one can cause your mouth to burn. out of the tin, it is a little too moist! people who like black luxury will like this one.

*edit: smoking my 2nd real bowl of this and i get sick of it, literally. i want to puke now =(

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-05-08		Very Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

if you love the original choice probably you will love this one,too...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ynrozturk (62)	2010-02-09		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The smell out of the tin is a bit overwhelming. I like my smoke to be sweet and rich, but the smell of this just kind of turned my stomach for some reason.

Packing it is easy, and it holds to a flame well. No relights were required for me, and it burned into a nice, fine ash.

The taste itself is kind of meh at best, with not a lot of tobacco flavor. It doesn't taste bad, but it doesn't exactly taste good, either. And once again, the overall taste kind of put me off, as I got a lot of black licorice, and I'm not really a fan of that. If this was just vanilla flavored, I'd love it. But I feel there is too many things mixed in, and it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

I liked the fact that it's a very effortless smoke with no bite, and it burns nice and cool.

If you're looking for something.. different, then give it a whirl.

Update : I noticed that once some air got in the tin, it took away some of that heavy smell I was greeted with when I first opened it. Now it smells a lot better, however, there is no real taste to it. It just tastes of.. nothing, really, and it gets boring very quickly.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-06-29		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I do not normally smoke aromatic tobacco, but my wife likes this one, calling the aroma out as "it smells like dessert." My first tin was too fresh and I did not dry it enough before using. My second tin has been dried enough so that the tobacco is just the right level of moisture that it does not gurgle while smoking. I would not use this as an all day tobacco, but as an after dinner smoke with a glass of Scotch and water to sip it suits me just fine...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-04-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

The initial flavour of purple grapes vanishes quickly and - for me - one is left with a very bland tobacco indeed.

Again, not worthy of the vulgar comments made with regard to MacBaren products - viz. "Burns like a furnace" ... "Bites" ... or any other such subjective and melodramatic nonsense. As with any fine tobacco, if it "burns" the problem lies with the person doing the smoking - NOT with the tobacco.

youtube.com/user/MrPLivingstone

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-06-14		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Black Ambrosia is a tobacco that can be enjoyed by new pipe smokers and old; although I don't think that it is going to make many 'top ten' lists.

Black Ambrosia is what it is-a heavily cased aromatic. The tin aroma is fantastic and the room note is among the best there is-dare I say better than Captain Black White!

The casing seems to be quite different than what is predominately used in American Aromatics. It did not burn overly wet or goopy and produced a consistent, mildly sweet with a slight Virginia tangy smoking experience.

The tin (which combines a rubber gasket and screw type lid) kept the tobacco quite moist for an extended period. I wish others would adopt this type of tin, as it would save having to put tobacco's not smoked every day in jars.

One significant difference seems to be that this tobacco is made entirely from Virginia, rather than being blended with Burley. Suits my tastes and the colder weather we have here in Newfoundland quite a lot more than many other aromatics.

My feeling is that this is a great tobacco for someone new to pipe smoking who wants something mild, but not so mild that he has to burn his tongue to get flavour. Blending it may also be a fairly non-offensive way to improve the room note of a heavy latakia blend so as to win favour with the wife without ruining your own smoking experience.

It won't be a regular in my rotation, simply because I'm more a smoker of English Mixtures and Virginia Flakes-but I may pick up a tin or two sometime in future for when I crave a change of pace!

The MacBaren website is fantastic and their rating system (while not entirely in tune with my tastes) is a good shopping tool.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	YoungPuffer (5)	2007-05-13		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant

Well, this is my first review. I am relatively new to pipe smoking and this is one of the first blends that I bought. I hvae been smoking it on a regular basis now for a year and I think I have finally just begun to really enjoy it. BA reminds me of chocolate covered berries with maybe a little nuttiness inthe mix every once in a while. I have really come to enjoy this tobacco, but, as with all MB blends, you must take the time to learn how to smoke them where they are enjoyable, and this one takes a while, for me at least. Overall, i think this can be an enjoyable blend for the aromatic lover like myself. I would def pick up a puch and try it at least once. Some seem to hate it and others seem to really like it, it is by no means my favorite, but it is good.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	geocritter (21)	2006-11-07		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought a tin of Black Ambrosia just to try a Mac Baren blend. I kind of like this one; doesn't bite as bad as I was afraid it would. I like the sweet taste, which is kind of like cotton candy, as is the room note. There is a complex undertone in there that I can't quite figure out, though, a perfum-y smell.

Room note is BEAUTIFUL, for a bit. However, on settling out and oxidizing, it's not all that great, but at least it's pretty mild.

I like this one. I wouldn't want it full time, but it's a nice switchup.

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	UncleGar (110)	2005-09-08		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I've been smoking this a lot lately. If it's the only tin in the car... well, you get the idea. Hey, this isn't all that bad. My tin is now several years old and has been open for almost a year and heretofore ignored. My experience is that it mellowed nicely, is NOT over the top flavored and makes a nice, though generic aromatic smoke. The flavoring is vaguely fruity, not much there (by this time in the tin's life). Sweet? not much more than many other MacB's. My early notes on this tend to agree with previous reviewers. All I can say is that if you dislike it, try the same tin again next year. It tones down. I got my tin at a closeout; I doubt I'd buy it again, but I'll enjoy the rest of what I have.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-07-26		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

OK, I hate to admit I actually liked this highly sweet, highly cased offering from MacB. In order of favorites to less favorites; my spectrum starts with a passion for Balkans, matured Virginias, unflavored crossover blends, lightly topped aromatics. I still scratch my head wondering how black ambrosia slips into my small bracket (10% of my pipe tobacco diet) of pleasureable sweet aromatics.

Plus: pastry like tin aroma, highly complimented room note is the same, taste is sweet & pastry like - exactly like tin aroma, strength & flavor are balanced

Delta: absence of real tobacco taste, too sweet for a subtle aromatic lover

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2005-06-12		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

The only reason I gave this blend two stars is for the quality of the tobaccos. Might be an all-day smoke for some due to the minimal strength. Maybe I can find something to mix this with to use it up. I will update if I figure out how...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-06-11		Very Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

BA is a nice aromatic that burns cool. The toasted burley is obviously the dominant leaf in this blend, but, there is no tobacco taste to be enjoyed here. If a sweet tasting aromatic that smells great is your bag, this is a good choice. If you like straight tobacco taste then avoid this one. It flavor and burn qualities earn it 3 solid stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pagercat (40)	2005-04-10		Extremely Mild	Strong	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

As a fan of Mac Baren's blends I decided to take Black Ambrosia for a test drive. According to their web site, this blend is their sweetest aromatic so be warned those of you who hate sweet aromatics!

I bought a nice Grabow (oxymoron?) to try this blend in...primarily so I would not contaminate by high grades that are dedicated to more sophisticated blends...and to be able to taste just the Black Ambrosia without the flavors of blends gone by.

Upon opening the tin I noticed the smell is similar to Captain Black (white pouch). It is probably the stickiest (most heavily cased?) blend I have tried. The moisture content is less than most of Mac Baren's blends being an almost dry tobacco. Most of the leaves are black and sticky with a few light brown leaves accenting the tin.

According to the description on the tin, this is a VA and Burley blend but all I can taste (I am smoking some as I write this) is the casing. The flavor is sweet but not overpowering like Skandinavik's Vanilla Cavendish. When first puffed the smoke is dry, cool and sweet. The finish (aftertaste) leaves a slight salty sensation but no corruption of the palate (see Skandinavik's Vanilla for that except replace sour for salt). I can also tell you from my unpleasant experience that this blend does NOT go well with the hazelnut coffee I am drinking while I write this, so let my misfortune be to your benefit!

This tobacco burns cooler than most of the other MB blends however it seems to burn a lot faster which could be the toasted burley that is the obvious dominant leaf in this blend.

So if you like a sweet aromatic, just want something that will smell nice, want something to switch off to, or are just starting out, this is a fine blend. If you like straight tobacco taste then avoid this one.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mephisto (32)	2005-02-23		Mild	Strong	Mild	Pleasant

OK Here goes and some of you may not like it... I think this is kind of the uprgrade from Captain Black White for those that don't like the harsh chemical feel left on your gums by the drugstore classic ( like me ) Lesser in streaght and in sting but just as in offenssive and with less moisture wich is kind of nice. Also just as easy to find in any town ( just not at every drugstore ) so I guess it takes the place of CB white when ever possible. Not spectacular but if you read my review of CB white and add the positive aspects I think its one to keep on hand for those times you need something to take out on the town that won't offend non smokers. I wanted to add that this tobacco is sticky yet dry and barky and like to be packed well

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-09-25		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

According to another reviewer, MacBaren claims that Black Ambrosia is their sweetest blend, an assertion I would not dispute. While still not as sweet as some American aromatics, it is clearly designed to attract the sweet-toothed smoker.

The composition is supposedly burley and virginia, but it is really more like a black cavendish IMO. (Obviously, cavendish has to be made from some base tobacco...) The cut is a rather broad ribbon, again like a lot of black cavendishes. It resembles McB's Vanilla Cream in appearance and begs comparison with that blend. Whereas VC has a well-defined and easily identifiable flavor, Black Ambrosia is less subtle and yet undefinable in taste. The room aroma is wonderful, as is the smell in the tin. For such a heavily cased tobacco, it does burn fairly well. For a McB. blend it does not have a bad bite, though I bet that if you got it sufficiently riled up it may give a nip to the tongue.

My main criticism of this blend is the strength of tobacco flavor, or, to be more specific, the lack thereof. This is a very light-bodied tobacco. The casing sweetness is not intermingled with a natural virginia sweetness. This makes for a mild smoking experience that sometimes leaves me feeling less than satisfied. Other times it really hits the spot, or at least comes close.

This is clearly a blend that cannot be appreciated unless your are a confirmed devotee of aromatics. If you have a sweet tooth though, give it a whirl. It is fun to flirt with, if nothing else.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-07-28		Very Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

Out of the tin the aroma was very sweet with only a slight smell of tobacco. The ribbons are very sticky and I was dreading the anticipated bite from the first couple of bowls before getting the proper puff rate figured out.

After rubbing out slightly, I packed a half bent medium bowl and had to experiment slighlty to get the density right.

I was pleasantly suprised at the lack of moisture in the blend. I've had much more buildup from Penzance and FMOT. It does not require any relights and only two or three tampings to finish the bowl to a nice grey ash.

The flavor suprised me as well. I was expecting very little tobacco taste, but the Burley and Virginia come through after the first few puffs, and by the middle of the bowl, the casing while still present, is equalled in flavor by the tobacco's. The flavor is something like a sweet fruit cobbler with roasted grains and nuts thrown in.

Being one who favors english blends, I am shocked to say this will probably become my aromatic of choice when I'm in the mood for something sweet or when I'm around those who object strongly to a pipe in their midst.

As to the room note, in the words of my LSW, "That is Attackable!!! If you smoke that out-and-about, you could have women pawing all over you!". Hmmmm, Mabey one more reason to keep it on hand - or not.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-07-27		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

I smoke a lot of the Mac Baren Tobaccos and being a smoker of the pipe who loves aromatics this one is right for me. Although, I would not recommend this tobacco to anyone who does not have a sweet tooth for the aromatic tobaccos.

Opening the tin you are greeted with an aroma of sweetness IMO of Vanilla. I consider this as a mild smoke with no tongue bite, or a harshness of a strong tobacco.

I like it very well and that is what really counts and I keep it on hand on my shelf of Favorites right next to Vanilla Cream.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-06-30		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

I bought a tin of this because I was in the mood for an aromatic blend and my tobacconist happened to be out of Mac Baren Vanilla Cream.

The aroma from the tin was appealing and the tobacco packed well and stayed lit reasonably well. The tobacco's taste was boring, although not bad and the casing seemed to do nothing but add a slightly "off" taste to the smoke and a strange aftertaste. The room note was very pleasant, however, allowing this to be smoked virtually anywhere.

I wouldn't say that this is a "bad" tobacco, but certainly not one that I would buy again for myself. It tastes OK, smokes OK and smells great but certainly doesn't sweep me off my feet.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-02-25		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This tobacco had an interesting, but unusual tin aroma. I didn't find the taste very appealing, ( I am a english blend smoker now probably because of this product. The room note was pleasing, but the after-taste stopped me from even finishing the Tin. Sorry Mac, but you have better products than this one.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-02-08		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

A lovley sweet and mild smoke. Dosn't demand too much and is a joy for those around you. Burns cool and with great complexity.

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