Mac Baren Cherry Ambrosia

I bought a tin of this stuff because the McLintock black cherry was out of stock. The tin note upon opening smelled like chocolate covered cherries. That is the only good thing about this tobacco. The tobacco was very moist and I had to relight the pipe numerous times because it was so moist. I let it dry a while and it smoked better the second time around. The taste was horrid. No cherry or rum taste could be detected. Just blah. The room note was not that great either. I will have to wait for the black cherry to be restocked and try that.

Update. OK I guess I will give this blend two stars now. I let it set awhile and tried it again.the taste was better. I could taste some cherry and rum. I just had to find it I guess.

I am a MacBaren's nut! Their best blends are wonderful...The aromatics leave a lot to be desired... Recently, I had the opportunity to buy a hoard of MacBaren's tins at about 1/3 retail price. My purchase included a few tins of Cherry Ambrosia. I thought, "what the hell, it was cheap (knowing I would not like the cherry blend)." As expected, this stuff smells like heaven in the tin, tasted pretty good for about five minutes...then, it got hot and all I could taste was the aromatic casing; the two main reasons why I do not like aromatics. HOWEVER, I did not want to waste the tobacco. HERE IS THE SOLUTION, Try mixing Cherry Ambrosia 50/50 to 60/40 with MacBaren's Virginia No.1 (always more Virginia No.1 and less Cherry Ambrosia). Virginia no. 1 is a cool and sweet smoke. The Virginia No.1 cooled and added flavor to this otherwise impossible tobacco (Cherry Ambrosia). Actually, I am so satified with the combination, I will probably put this mixture in my summer rotation. In conclusion, Cherry Ambrosia is an impossible tobacco, it burns hot and has the typical aromatic gliceryn-casing taste. However, mixed with Virginia no.1 it is not only acceptable but actually becomes a very pleasant, cool, and sweet smoke!

Cherry Ambrosia, 1 star.

Cherry Ambrosia/with Virginia No.1, 3 stars!

UPDATE: After smoking my Cherry Ambrosia/ Virginia No.1 mixture for about three weeks, I believe the mixture should be more like 70% Virginia No. 1 to 30% Cherry Ambrosia. At 50/50, I still get a the "aromatic-glycerin" taste. A little more Virginia No. 1 should help!

It's ok, no more than that. It does burn hot, even for me who tends to smoke very slowly. Someone who smokes quick is likely to burn his pipe out. It smells devine in the pouch, reminiscent of a bowl of ripe cherries. But that's it. There really is no cherry 'flavour'. It does not burn well down to the bottom of the bowl either, it turns into a wet, gooey mess with an unplesant taste. If you really want to try a cherry flavoured aromatic, go for it.

Just another burley+cavendish+broken flake aromatic, not worth trying. The sweet cherry flavoring overwhelms whatever tobacco taste, unless you puff like hell and get a scorched tongue and the usual bitter/acrid taste you get from bad aromatics.

Thank God the pouch was a gift from an old lady neighbour, or I would have regretted my money (OK, there are worse tobaccos... but this one certainly isn't good either...).

I don't know what to expect when smoking MacBaren, but they identically feel tasteless compared to others, and while at some cases you can just anknowledge the fact and move on, trying to do your best, I can not be sorry for an aromatic blend to taste like a weaker non-ARO. I bought a pack directly for my trip to Rome during the winter break, and soon enough I went into a local tobacconist to buy some Aran. I can't really tell what to do with it. Defenestrate me if you will, but I donated it to my cigarette smoker friends to roll it.

In all fairness this product was defective. I purchased a tin, tried to like it, but it's not fit for smoking. A strange, acrid, metallic taste that is very upfront, totally quashes any semblance of decency it might have had. It looks and smells very nice, but rest assured mistakes were made. I don't know what in heavens name they put on this.

I have to date tried five different MB blends, and this is the second one that has been like this.

Oddly enough, my favorite tobacco is a MB blend, but when the store runs out I have to try something else. That's why this is all so frustrating, because based on my experience, %40 of the time I try a new blend I get stung.

To MB's credit, they replaced it for me, they credited the store and I picked something else. So good on them, but I'm not going through all the rigamarole a second time. Also I noticed that the other tin they had at the time is still on the shelf for sale, so there's going to be another mighty sad smoker out there.

This also brings up the point that one should purchase from a real tobacconist that smokes pipes, because they can vouch for what they sell. I don't think I will purchase another MB product that is unknown to me.

She gives cherry and citrus notes at the beginning. Later I pick up some spice, grass, bland candy and wood in her. Sip slow, if you push her her taste becomes aggressive. She has sweetness but not too much. Also gives dry flavors which comes from the burley.

She gives good nic for an aromatic. Her topping is not too heavy so you can still taste tobacco. I like that. If you sip her slow she does not give tongue bite.

Recommended.

I bought this as my first tobacco to try.

It was quite difficult to get the initial light to create an ember (maybe me being a rookie) however, tried it a few months on and still had difficulty even after trying other tobaccos.

However, when I began tasting the tobacco the smell from the packet is very pleasant however, when smoking it I didn’t really taste anything. In fact, found it very bland and dull. I couldn’t taste the cherry at all.

I also found this gave a lot of tongue bite and burnt very hot. (More likely to do with a new pipe) however it still did this after some months.

I would not recommend this if you are after a cherry tobacco or a mellow one.

Virginia has hay like features and the burley is a bit nutty. Cavendish has a bit of brown sugary sweetness. All come through the cherry topping. Good example of cherry aromatic without a fake flavor. Has some boozy notes like brandy or cherry liquor. One of the better Cherry blends on the market. With that said it can smoke hot if you get on it too hard. Strictly a sipping blend for me. Smokes better in cobs for me. Slow and easy will reward you with a good cherry blend, fast and hard will torch you. 3 stars because it is one of the best Cherry blends.