Mac Baren Cherry Ambrosia

What's the deal with cherry blends anyway? Because every manunufacturer/blender seems to have its own take on 'les cerises', one would conclude that there must be a large number of guys who like walking around smelling like a cherry tart in the oven. (Why not a cinnamon bun?)

But, hey, I bought a tin of this stuff didn't I? And....I've had better cherry blends, that's for sure. I just happen to believe, as a long-time pipe smoker, that n order to get a really good cherry blend, you need to have an American blender using American tobaccos and casing techniques. Non-American manufacturers do not do cherry blends well, and this one is no exception.

Good fruity cherry smell upon opening the tin, but there it ends; does not translate either to taste or to room note. Stays lit pretty well and I found no tongue bite with Cherry Ambrosia as long as you puff it gently. If you smoke it too hot and fast, you'll get an awful odor and taste.

Seriously, you really want cherry? Try J. M. Boswell & Sons' "Cherry Smash" or "Bear Blend". Also try Pipeworks & Wilkie's "Cherry Cavendish." NOW you're talking cherry, my friend.

could have used a little less cherry casing in this blend. burns well. do not have to keep relighting my pipe. if one likes cherry blends try this one, you may like it

I've started to search for a decent cherry aromatic; this was my second try  the first was Mayflower, which I found to be very unpleasant. This offering by MacBaren's is better: at the very least I could draw some pleasure out of it. Nevertheless, I was left with the impression that the toppings were synthetic and the tobacco a bit sub-par. I'll return to it only in case of need, when I feel the urge to taste this kind of aromatic and nothing better of its genre is available in the store.

Cherry Ambrosia is a "second string" player as far as my opinion of Mac Baren blends goes. I've smoked many a tin of this, but never found it overly satisfying. Nice tin aroma, but no detectable cherry smell or taste for me while smoking. Needs to be dried sufficiently as it will smoke hot. I'm not talking about bite, but about the briar bowl at times becoming uncomfortably hot to hold. I wouldn't exactly say it was "bitey", but there was that ever-present peppery sting at my lips - and not in a good way such as a blend with a bit of Perique would do. Perhaps I was smoking it a tad too fast to compensate for the lack of zest it presented. No problems with packing or moisture, but the lack of taste and flavor coupled with that peppery annoyance was, for me, too much of a distraction for an enjoyable smoke. I can't say I will be re-visiting Cherry Ambrosia any time soon as I've grown tired of it. A shame too, since it had a very nice cherry smell in the tin. I give it 2 stars out of 4.

Despite the aroma upon opening the pouch, I did not taste or savour cherry, as the name might imply. (A very, very mild aroma is detectible during smoking.) Neither though, do I believe that effusive melodrama is warranted.

Perhaps it is due to very slow and relaxed smoking habits on my part, but I did not find that this tobacco 'burned hot'. (Although, for me, I have not found any tobacco that "burns hot", believing that any fault there, lies with the person smoking.)

It may be that taste is too subjective and individual a gauge, but I can see no need for the vitriol that has been hurled at this particular tobacco. It is a tobacco that does not truly live up to its (cherry) name ... simply, mild; with little flavour; and unremarkable.

youtube.com/MrPLivingstone/

Got it as a birthday present and required to smoke it immediatly, I fear for my mouth and pipe. It turned out not to be so bad. It is no masterpice of blending, but it burns with ease, no bite, and after a ouple of puffs there is hardly any cherry. No chemical taste at all, just gentile cavendish, wich is not bad