Amphora Original (#MacBaren)- #tobaccoreview — Transcript

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1. 0:02I just got back from vacation, a week
2. 0:05in my wonderful Greece. The tobacco I
3. 0:09brought with me—and am now bringing
4. 0:11to you—didn't get a first impressions
5. 0:14short because I didn't have the time. I
6. 0:17brought it, smoked it for 5-6 days, and
7. 0:19finished it. I didn't have time to do
8. 0:21any first impressions or anything else.
9. 0:24Basically, the first impression was a
10. 0:26continuum that led directly to the
11. 0:28review. I'll show it to you; it's the
12. 0:32Amphora Original. Now, about this
13. 0:35tobacco, first of all, there's a
14. 0:37peculiarity. When you watch this video,
15. 0:39we will probably already be in late
16. 0:42autumn. It’s on the list of reviews I
17. 0:45have in store. Between May and the
18. 0:50beginning of summer 2024, this tobacco
19. 0:55suddenly became popular on the web and
20. 1:00everyone started reviewing it. And
21. 1:07usually with positive connotations,
22. 1:11perhaps too positive. Why do I say
23. 1:15perhaps too positive? It is a mix of
24. 1:19Virginia, Burley, and Oriental. The
25. 1:25label on this beautiful, let's call it
26. 1:30amaranth, packaging says so. It claims
27. 1:35to be a centenary tobacco made from the
28. 1:40best Burley tobaccos, with added
29. 1:44Virginia and Oriental tobaccos to
30. 1:48balance the mixture. The result is an
31. 1:53absolutely pleasant, balanced mixture
32. 1:57that burns remarkably well. Amphora is
33. 2:02the trademark. It's the high-quality
34. 2:05pipe tobacco brand. But what
35. 2:08high-quality pipe tobacco? Anyway,
36. 2:11let's forget about "high quality,"
37. 2:14since whatever is written on these
38. 2:16packs is just marketing. Then there's
39. 2:19the yellow one, the Amphora Original.
40. 2:23It's not a bad tobacco. I already know
41. 2:28this review will bring me a horde of
42. 2:33violent tobacco haters. They'll call me
43. 2:38a snob, say I only smoke € 154
44. 2:40tobaccos, that I don't buy them in
45. 2:43Italy, and that I'm an disrespectful
46. 2:45jerk. The truth, guys, is that if
47. 2:48you've got a palate, you've got a
48. 2:49palate, come on. It's like those huge
49. 2:53arguments I've had about Amphora, the
50. 2:55famous yellow one, the Amphora Virginia
51. 2:58, where some people claim it's a good
52. 3:01Virginia. It's a good Virginia if
53. 3:03you've only smoked that or Capstan.
54. 3:05Then sure, it's a good Virginia. If
55. 3:07you've ever smoked Virginias that have
56. 3:09the dignity to be called as such, you'd
57. 3:12use the yellow Amphora for mouse litter
58. 3:15, get it? There, that’s more or less
59. 3:17the gist of it. Now, the concept of
60. 3:19this tobacco, which isn't a bad tobacco
61. 3:22—in fact, I think I gave it a six—
62. 3:24it does have a number of significant
63. 3:25flaws that can't be denied, especially
64. 3:28at its price; because while it's true
65. 3:30that it's a pouch, it's a pouch that I
66. 3:32believe costs € 13. Golf is better,
67. 3:36Italia is better. The original Amphora,
68. 3:39have some patience, eh. I mean, Park
69. 3:41Lane is better, Saint Bruno is better.
70. 3:44Now, it's clear, they aren't the same
71. 3:46blends, but to give you an idea of
72. 3:48blends that can even cost less. This is
73. 3:53a mediocre, decent tobacco. Yes, you
74. 3:58just set it aside. I am of the same
75. 4:00opinion as Claudio Scientis, the
76. 4:01reviewer in America. In general, I'm
77. 4:03someone who, when going on vacation,
78. 4:05tends to bring a tobacco that’s a bit
79. 4:07more "sta senza pensier" as they’d
80. 4:09say in Naples, right? A tobacco that
81. 4:12doesn't need much attention: you can
82. 4:14smoke it anywhere, on the beach, out
83. 4:16and about; you light it, you set it. So
84. 4:19it has to be a pleasant tobacco, but
85. 4:21generally undemanding, and so it’s
86. 4:23likely that when I go on vacation, I
87. 4:26bring this type of tobacco, like this
88. 4:28one, which I was eager to try following
89. 4:30all these reviews that spoke of it
90. 4:32almost too highly. Then there's always
91. 4:36that joker who even suggests Blackwood
92. 4:40as a good tobacco, saying it costs less
93. 4:44than € 4 for—I think—20 g or 50g,
94. 4:47so maybe a bit of math class wouldn't
95. 4:51hurt. Anyway, it's a mediocre tobacco,
96. 4:55just as its closest relative, the
97. 4:58yellow Amphora, is mediocre, so it
98. 5:00isn't bad, right? Like the yellow
99. 5:03Amphora, you smoke it, it lets itself
100. 5:06be smoked. It has questionable
101. 5:10burnability, not great burnability, it
102. 5:12starts off quite moist. I must say that
103. 5:16now there's only the final part left.
104. 5:20Um, it's a ribbon, let's say, that at
105. 5:23the beginning is almost a broken flake
106. 5:25ribbon. Nice, fairly moist chunks. It
107. 5:27easily goes out, it needs a relight
108. 5:29halfway through. It is not the
109. 5:32best-burning tobacco of my life. Does
110. 5:35it have its notes? Sure, it has Burley
111. 5:38notes; here too I agree with Claudio,
112. 5:40it’s a Burley halfway between those
113. 5:42of HH, which are too strong in flavor
114. 5:45compared to this, and that of Park Lane
115. 5:477, which is almost sugary, practically.
116. 5:51Here we are in the middle, it positions
117. 5:53itself in the middle; the flavors are
118. 5:55quite standard, very standard. A very
119. 5:58linear smoke, nothing excellent, it's a
120. 6:01tobacco that tags along, it's a six out
121. 6:03of ten, right? We were going to say
122. 6:07that this is a great partner of Italian
123. 6:10tobacco culture, but absolutely not.
124. 6:16The names of the best tobaccos that, if
125. 6:18you haven't tried them, try them before
126. 6:19this one, I told you that at the start.
127. 6:21Then, gentlemen, I know this will draw
128. 6:23some criticism, but I couldn't care
129. 6:25less. This is what I think. Alright,
130. 6:28see you next time.