I recently decided to buy this because I wanted to try a REAL VaPer (three nuns original supposedly isn't made with perique anymore, although I still really enjoy it.)

The tin note reminds me of ketchup and a little of chocolate with a little grassy hay-like aroma from the virginias.

I just roll up 2-3 discs and twist them into my pipe. lighting is easy as ever. the first puffs are somewhat spicy in a good way, and actually the only way I could describe the flavor would be very very fresh and a little spicy throughout. I also feel it kind of tastes the way rain smells on warm concrete, which imo is an awesome smell. (petrichor??)

great tobacco, easy handling, well-behaved and delicious. 2-3 discs will easily, with "my" method, give you 2 to 3 hours of pleasure with this.

I don't care how they are supposed to have tasted a while back and I don't care whether or not it tastes like escudo, since I never got t0o try it.

it's just great. like I said, new favorite. even over my balkan sobranie!

A subtle natural sweetness accompanies you throughout the entire smoke. Once in a while a little perique is tickling your nose.

Very mellow & elegant smoke yet medium-full-bodied.

This is indeed DE LUXE !!!

Every pipe-smoker should try it at least once...

The perique content can be too much for a beginner. But if you are experienced with these kind of blends this tobacco will surely satisfy your needs.

After each bowl I've said myself that I've made a good job.

I was told this one was strong, but accommodating, and that was not a lie. Opening the tin, I got drawn in by a wonderful, highly fruity aroma that shows no hint of flavouring, casing or saucing - just plain top-notch VA making its presence felt, with a noticeable Perique presence. The aroma is of good white wine and fresh grapes, with a hint of chocolate lurking in the background. The leaf comes in large discs, obviously hand-packaged, beautifully arranged to make a display around the tin.

Stuffing can be done either way, just folding two discs or so into the pipe or rubbing and packing. It has been noted before that the differences between stuffing styles are noticeable, and they really are. I'm for the rubbed style, myself.

Once lit, the tobacco burns coolly despite the rather thin cut, giving a highly satisfying smoke from the first glow to the final embers. The taste is sweet with a dry note of Perique and a lot of freshness that lingers on the palate for a long time, quite pleasurably. The room note is nice and sweet, without the heaviness some VA/perique blends display, and seems to totally disappear after only a short while (which is a shame).

This blend is quite strong; beginners beware. It's also quite expensive; the price is about twice as high as most other blends I normally smoke, but it's worth it.

For those concerned that this blend has gone out of production, to my best knowledge it has not: at least it is still readily available throughout Denmark and Germany, and you can also still order it through the Dan Pipe online store.

For those who can stand a strong, schottish-style blend, this is a must-try. Personally, I have never had a chance to try the much-famed Escudo (either old or new), but I cannot find a single negative about this tobacco except the price, and find that it's worth every penny.

Update: Today (2011-02-12), on the 2-year anniversary of my initial review, I opened up one of the previously mentioned cellared tins to see what, if any, changes had occurred. I was not disappointed; not in the slightest. Even though I have nothing but fond memories for this blend and often thought about smoking it, I somehow managed to keep myself busy with many other blends and stay away from the stash. My only regret is that I did not buy more (many more) tins two years ago, and kept buying even more up until now. I am aware that some (including me) would argue that two years probably isn't enough time to properly age a tobacco - but that, my friends, is what the rest of the tins are for. Even if my memory deceives me and it hasn't changed as monumentally as I am convincing myself, this tin definately seems much better than I remember a fresh tin was. Smoother, sweeter, richer and deeper taste. The bite that bothered me somewhat the first time around is totally absent (unless seriously provoked), of course I can't be certain that this is because of the tin's age or if I've become less sensitive. Anyway, if this only gets better from now on, I will be singing my own praises in a few years time. Needless to say I will continue stacking tins of this.

the thing about this mixture is that its nice, but it lacks the refined and complicated flavour that i expected.

I was astounded to see how much was actually in the tin, it seemed almost empty in there, but the rolls are very dense.

I loaded up one of my cavicchi flake pipes (thanks again Tarek) and lit up.

The mixture burned fine, smelt and tasted ok, and i was left thinking, hmm, this is nice, but im not that fussed that this one is hard for me to get.

In terms of vaper, i dont think this has that much per. I think of this as more of a matured virginia flake... Its nice, not as strong as orlik golden sliced for example, but its definately not for the beginning pipe smoker. The aroma is typical va, the flavour stong, sweet, smoky (not in a latakia way) and it burns fine. the tin i was smoking was purchased at dan pipe in lauenberg about 3 years ago, and its been sitting in the cellar the whole time... 2 coins was enough to fill the bowl and i didnt rub it out at all. just folded and squished, and it went perfect.

Dont get me wrong, this is a nice blend, and i would buy and smoke it again, however, given the choice between this and say, London Mixture, i would take the latter every time.

Try it if you can find it, its worth a puff. not an everyday for me tho.

I like this blend quite a bit. I have not smoked enough of it to know if it is identical to Escudo as some say, but it is very similar. To me, that is a good thing.

The disks are very easy to work with, and I usually only partially rub it out. The perique content is just about perfect for me.

I imagine that when I finish my five tins, there is no more to be had. I will probably stretch this out another four years.

This whole mess of Dunhill, Rattray, Gawith et al changing blends, blenders and discontinuing blends is starting to get on my nerves. So is the inconsistency. My purchases lately are tending to lean toward McClelland, G.L. Pease and C&D. They seem to be more stable in the marketplace.

It is the first and probably the last Dunhill that I try, maybe because the name Dunhill, reminds me of cigarette or something overestimated. I don?t know whether it is one of the good or bad Dunhill, but it has justified the negative view I have ? generally ? for this brand.

First of all, it is a bit dry, it crumbles quite easily, it does not warm up and fills in the bowl easily. We were looking in the center of roll, for the Perique. We didn?t find it. Its flavor though, was there, strong as the snuff was going down.

When you turn it on, you think: ?Something good might happen here?. But when the fire goes towards the bowl, then you feel that you smoke a Dunhill cigarette, which you feel that it burns your throat even more.

this is as close as i can get to good old escudo here in denmark - and pretty close it is.

the difference lies, i believe, in the virginia base having a little less caracter and being moistened with pg (only guessing here, from the fact that it dries slowly, as i cannot smell or taste it - and it sure doesn't quite live up to the credo of cope's version: "free from all scent or added flavours"), and a smaller amount of perique. all in all a little less strength. still, the tin aroma must one of the most inviting i know of. intense fig-and-raisins, stoved fruit, yummy!

easy to pack and light, tastes fine from the beginning till the end, with bright virginia zest and sweetness, and the solid heavy notes of perique (with the bonus of that ever-so-slight peppery spiciness). it's a most delightfull smoke, especially after dinner with an espresso, but it can really be smoked most of the day.

it seems to age well. i have a large store of it, and i'm continually enlarging it, as i want to be able to keep smoking this blend for years to come in case it should be discontinued.

For the most part, this mixture reminded me very much of Escudo, although it does seem as if the De Luxe Navy Rolls were a touch smoother, with the flavours more integrated, than I found with Escudo. Then again, I haven't had the pleasure of smoking the great Escudo from years past, so my impressions may be due mostly to a change in the quality of the Escudo.

I must confess that blind-folded I would be hard put to distinguish between this and Escudo.

Update: This new version from Orlik is exceptional. It's fresher and more crumbly with less perique. Excellent right out of the tin with no ageing. Burns beautifully to the bottom of the bowl. This is definitely a 4 star blend and one of my top 5.