Any Experiences with Amphora, Either Pipes and/or Taback?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 2386
  • Start date
Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

Deleted member 2386

Guest
Gents and Ladies,

I am a dyed-in-the-wool, herring-slurping, jenever-sipping Dutch boy at heart, and so I'm interested in hearing if anyone hereabouts has had experiences, either good or bad, with Amphora, either the pipe tobacco blends or the pipes. Amphora showed up on my radar when I saw someone post a picture of an old tin of Amphora and was amazed to see it was blended by Douwe Egberts, my very favorite big box coffee roaster. Looking into the Amphora brand, I saw that they were sold to Imperial Tobacco a while ago, but I'm still curious what people think, especially of the pre-handover stuff. Back when I first got into pipes I tried to find some non-aromatic Dutch pipe tobaccos that I could get my hands on, but came up with nothing that I could easily acquire. Is the older Amphora taback worth investing in, assuming I can find it, or not so much?

More pertinent to this neck of the BoB forums, does anyone have good or bad things to say about Amphora pipes? I have a few that I'm keeping my eye on, so I may end up with a PAD post in the near future if the overwhelming consensus isn't that they are to be avoided like a pickled herring that's gone off...Thanks, all, and cheers!
 
I like the Amphora Red (full aromatic) and Amphora Brown (Regular (Original) - non aromatic).
Both were good smokes. Virginia and burley with some oriental and Kentucky used as condiments.
The aroma of the Red didn't overpower and the flavor of the Brown is slightly sweet due to the tobacs components.
The Red could be a bit bitey if pushed but the Brown was pretty well behaved.

I still have a sealed 7oz tin of the Brown that I bought about 25-30 years ago.
I was going to open it a few weeks ago but talked myself out of it. Again.

I have two Amphora pipes and both are good. One is a straight pot and the other is a 1/2 bent.
Neither one smokes wet or gurgles. I can't say anything bad about either one or I'd not still have it.
 
I had an Amphora pipe. It was inexpensive and a decent smoker. No complaints. It had a little valve in the stem that you could open to let air in. It was supposed to cool the smoke with fresh air. I didn't find it useful and kept it closed.
 
Semi related: I cannot eat herring. I loved it as a kid, but couldn't eat it as an adult. I guess my 1/2 Dutch part lost that battle for the good of the whole of me.
 
Thanks for all the info, guys--looks like I'll be picking up an Amphora sometime very soon, and will keep my eyes peeled for the tobacco, as they all seem right up my alley. On that, looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you finally break into your tin, Williamcharles, and your pouch, Dave_in_Philly!
 
GrampaGrossbart":elh2afjr said:
Thanks for all the info, guys--looks like I'll be picking up an Amphora sometime very soon, and will keep my eyes peeled for the tobacco, as they all seem right up my alley. On that, looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you finally break into your tin, Williamcharles, and your pouch, Dave_in_Philly!
Click to expand...
This won't be the first tin I've smoked. I used to smoke it as my go to for years until it became unavailable.
It's a good, medium strength, medium bodied smoke with a slight sweetness to it from the virginias and orientals.
It also has some nuttiness from the burley (both the white and kentucky).
It's just a very good medium smoke.
 
I have 2 amphora pipes and they are both great smokers and seem to be well made. I also asked a question about them and one of our members said that amphora may have closed shop which would be a shame.
 
Thanks again, all--following your approval where their pipes are concerned, I chased a few online and finally snagged one. Will post pics when I've got her in and cleaned up, and someday I'll lay my mitts on one of their blends...cheers!
 
Don't know anything about the pipes. Smoked some Amphora Brown, I think it was called back when I started smoking. It smoked hot and bitey.
 
I bought an Xtra - pick axe shape (not sure of the number) smooth finish a few years ago, and it has been a regular ever since - probably my most smoked pipe.

Its a gorgeous shape, just the right size for a decent smoke, comfortable in the hand, light to clench (not often i do), with a smashing draw on it. I bought it for the aesthetics originally, as i love that shape, but its qualities as a smoker are what keep taking me back to it. So much so, that last year, i bought another exact same pipe as a spare (you can never have too much of a good thing, huh?) just in case..........

In fact I'm currently looking at a rusticated version as i type and trying to justify the purchase!!!!!

Basically, a super pipe.
 
klause":816o06eo said:
I bought an Xtra - pick axe shape (not sure of the number) smooth finish a few years ago, and it has been a regular ever since - probably my most smoked pipe.

Its a gorgeous shape, just the right size for a decent smoke, comfortable in the hand, light to clench (not often i do), with a smashing draw on it. I bought it for the aesthetics originally, as i love that shape, but its qualities as a smoker are what keep taking me back to it. So much so, that last year, i bought another exact same pipe as a spare (you can never have too much of a good thing, huh?) just in case..........

In fact I'm currently looking at a rusticated version as i type and trying to justify the purchase!!!!!

Basically, a super pipe.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the testimonial, Klaus! I love the pick ax shape in general, and Amphora's take on it in particular...but I had no idea that did a smooth finished version, which is music to my ears. All I've spotted so far has been the rusticated version, which is lovely, but I do tend to prefer smooth or partially-rusticated pipes to fully blasted ones. Since first starting this thread I acquired a rough old Douwe Egberts pipe, but think I'll hold out until I spy a smooth pick ax before making the true Amphora plunge...thanks again for the tip!
 
klause":f43uy46e said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMPHORA-VASE-SHAPE-BILLIARD-MADE-IN-HOLLAND-EXCELLENT-ESTATE-PIPE-/380455242043?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5894e6493b

I'd call that a pick-axe myself, but vase shaped billiard works, too :)

There is a bent version, but I've only ever seen it once on fleabay.
Click to expand...
Oh hells yes, very nice--thanks for the heads up! May well be beyond my budget by the time the smoke clears, unfortunately--most ebayers seem downright masochistic when it comes to driving up prices by bidding early. Have you checked out the 814 model? Similar, and with a nice bend to'em: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Amphora-X-tra-814-Estate-Briar-Smoking-Pipe-Excellent-/320945998706?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab9df4b72
 
I saw those, and, must admit they rather appealed to me - both rustic and smooth. There's a couple up there and seem to go for a reasonable price. Not ride one yet. If I don't get control of my PAD I may be smoking one sooner rather than later.....

The pick-axe went for a reasonable price in the end - especially as it was in such good condition. Mine were no where near as fresh as that one, but then I only paid, $12 and $18 for each of 'em. They only had some scorch marks, and needed a good clean though.

Best of luck with the hunt, Grampa - the right one is out there waiting for you!
 
klause":ksn5x56d said:
I saw those, and, must admit they rather appealed to me - both rustic and smooth. There's a couple up there and seem to go for a reasonable price. Not ride one yet. If I don't get control of my PAD I may be smoking one sooner rather than later.....

The pick-axe went for a reasonable price in the end - especially as it was in such good condition. Mine were no where near as fresh as that one, but then I only paid, $12 and $18 for each of 'em. They only had some scorch marks, and needed a good clean though.

Best of luck with the hunt, Grampa - the right one is out there waiting for you!
Click to expand...
Oi, yeah, I slept through the end of that one--next time, next time... Happy hunting to the both of us, I say!
 
I Bagged one!!

it arrived friday, and was cleaned up on saturday.

Only $6.99.

t2ec1610.jpg


I think thats all the amphoras of this shape that i need now........

.....'til next time.....
 
........it came from the same seller as this lovely Edwards church warden.

t2ec1611.jpg
 
The tobacco would have been a like-it-or-not matter back when it was made. I didn't, but a lot of people apparently did, because they made/sold it by the ton.

Old private labeled pipes ("Amphora" being one of hundreds) offer (after some refurbishing and possibly de-toxing) a ridiculously appealing combination of low price with potential high smoking quality.

There were not that many manufacturers back then -- Amphora or DE certainly didn't make pipes. They bought them in quantity from manufacturers who made them to specs and stamped them with (in this case) "Amphora." (Or, "Veeblefeetzer's Pipe Shop" or "American Pride" or whatever).

Because there's essentially NO "collector value" the names on them, you're buying well-aged briar and engineering (generally pretty decent, if improvable). The bottom line of which is, while you'll make some mistakes buying them "raw" (uncleaned) on Flea Bay, they'll be inexpensive mistakes that will be more than made up-for by the ones you buy and keep. You can afford to have these brought up to snuff by somebody competent like Dr. Dave, because the pipe itself was dirt cheap. The smoking/taste quality of the keepers will far out-perform what would be available new @ even $100 or so.

My two cents' worth

:face:
 
Top