Peterson De Luxe Navy Rolls

I used to smoke Escudo, which I loved, and then I got Dunhill's version. It seems virtually identical, if not better. I have smoked this so many times I have it down to a science. I used to rub out the coins, but it's much better to fold them in, as some others have suggested. The flavor is much fuller, and it allows all the distinctiveness of this blend to come out. You'd also be well advised to let it sit in the bowl for a little while, as it is even better just a little dry.

The result is a light Virginia with very little tongue bite, and the perfect amount of Perique to give a peppery kick. It balances the sweetness of the VA perfectly. The room and tin note are outstanding. I smoke this in a narrow but fairly deep Stanwell, and I think the briar imparts just the right woodiness to the otherwise sophisticated taste. This is the most enjoyable and well-balanced blend I've ever had; if I could only smoke one blend, this would definitely be it.

UPDATE: (5/17/13) It has been suggested that Escudo and Dunhill are identical. This is certainly not my experience, and I've smoked dozens of tins of both. I recently ordered Escudo, and was so dissatisfied with it after one tin that I sent the rest back and paid the extra to have the Dunhill sent. I was not disappointed. The difference is profound. Richer virginia in the Dunhill (and more pronounced Perique, for that matter). The Escudo was nearly tasteless. Spend the extra money and get the Dunhill. For my taste, there is nothing else that comes close.

This was a very disappointing tin of tobacco. From the outset, let me say that I give this one star because of the price. I paid 18!!! dollars for my tin at the local tobacco shop. Perhaps I got hosed. I found an online price of 15$, which is better, but still not great. There are many far better virginia/perique blends out there for under ten bucks a tin. Escudo, for example, which most seem to agree is no crappy blend. Another I would recommend is the new Villiger 1888 Late Night blend, which is just a fantastic mixture of this genre bursting with flavor.

If the price were in line with these blends, I might give this 2 or 2.5 s stars. Why not a higher rating? Because I just cannot get this blend to give me anything but a super mild flavor which just does not justify the premium price. Other than a little perique spiciness (and I do mean a little) there is just nothing here. The virginias are very muted, and the perique is only an afterthought. I expect a lot more flavor from such a super premium. Also, no nicotine. It is like putting 18 very smooth dollars into your pipe and smoking it.

On the positive side, it is well behaved for a VA flake if allowed to dry out some before rubbing out and smoking. It burns well, and smokes cool with measured puffing. For about the same money though I can buy double the amount of any number of McClelland VA's, including Christmas Cheer, which at least offer some VA flavor. For less money I can buy the aforementioned blends, either of which offer the same burning characteristics with much more tobacco flavor.

Interestingly, one of my favorite blends of this ilk, Davidoff's Flake Medallions, is also made presently by Orlick. It is cheaper than the Dunhill (though not cheap, at 14 bucks a tin) but worth it I would say. Flake Medallions has everything good that this Dunhill blend has, with tons more flavor and complexity. Try it, and then tell me if you think I am crazy for bagging on this overpriced creampuff.

An outstanding smoke. Rich dark fruit flavors with ample sweetness, tang and spice. Not my favorite VaPer, but easily one of the best. Nice cool burn and pleasingly smooth. Gets a little darker, earthier and spicier as the bowl progresses. Lovely stuff.

Medium in body. Medium to full in taste. No added flavoring detected. A near perfect burn.

Perfect. The best Virginia/Perique you can find in the market. Without any doubt (even if I prefer the exotic taste of Old London Pebble Cut/Robert McConnell). In this blend you can taste a really classic Virginia taste, sweet, pleasantly aromatic, tasty and a really spicy Perique with a skillful dosing. A perfect union! There are no Oriental in this mixture and for this reason this blend is less complex than many other Va/Pe mixtures, but in this case it is a merit and not a defect. You can taste the old classic Virginia/Perique mixture, a perfectly balanced natural combination, without the complex aromatic taste coming from the Orientals. Finally, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 10 and four stars.

I bought this bc I read a bunch of great reviews about it. I loved it for some time, but have moved on. This tobacco is nearly perfect in every way. I don't say that often, but I do believe it to be true.

The tin presentation is outstanding. Even for dunhill, who puts their presentation standards above the vast majority of others. Cool little coins of tobacco, spiraled in gold and darkish brown. Set slightly askew to for one large spiral inside the tin.

When you open it, it smells heavenly. Not too sweet, not ketchupy, not overl like raisins either. More like dates you might buy to make fruitcake. The coins are fun to prepare, in any way you may like. And the burn well pretty much any way you pack them. I liked to stuff one in the bottom of a group a pipe and then rub one out to stuff in the top personally.

The taste is light and sweet and the bowl finishes nice and dry. The smell doesn't upset the ladies either. It builds in intensity as it works down. And depending on how much I would rub them out, the flavor would build.

I would recommend this to most pipe smokers, as I believe it is nearly perfect. A must try for anyone. Only downside is if you try to hold onto them too long, they dry out a bit and then fall apart. Not very tasty dry either, so smoke up if you do get them.

I have read a few reviews that say this and Escudo are one and the same. I am no pro reviewer but in my opinion they are definitely not. They taste very different to me and the tin notes aren't even the same to me. Tin note is very sweet Virginia'a with some hay like notes sweet bread with jam comes to mind. The dark fruit from the perique supplements the sweetness from the VA's. The odd thing to me is that I don't get the raisin/fig aroma I get with other blends of this type. It is a very nice, unique dark fruit melange. I like it! The flavor profile is also outstanding and unique. I get that sweet bready flavor from the VA's with some dark hay and toasted bread flavor. The perique seems to be very lightly applied: slight tingle in the retrohale and light pepper notes on the tongue. As the bowl progresses the pepper comes a bit more to the fore but not much more, the sweet toasted bread becomes further supplemented darker stewed fruits. Burns clean and with few relights. I find this always comes on the damp side and needs a solid half hour or more to dry to a good smoking humidity. Great stuff, if you like more perique I would say Escudo is the one for you...for me it is a matter of the mood. Both are very, very good.

I 've tried lot's of Va/per blends and i confess they are my favourites.as for this one i also confess that it is by far the best i 've tried till now.also it is one of the most expensive but trust me it's worth it!once the tin cracks a sweet citrus smell accompanied by plum and pepper notes comes out.the coins are mostly brown with some dark spots ,at perfect moisture,perfect cut and very manageable either to rub or fold as they are.i prefer the rubbing method because the lighting is easier and and the burning smoother.while burning i found a blast of well balanced flavours,clear and very natural.virginias are citrusy,grassy and sweet.some bread notes came out rare.perique is not a backround compoment it stands like the virginias in a very balanced way.lots of plum notes,pepper and figs are there from the beginning till the end giving a rich taste and smoking pleasure.i found the perique notes more strong than other blends.the nicotine level is medium and the room note pleasant.burns cool and slow with some moisture being created and the end of the bowl and the filter.dispite it's nicotine level it is an all day smoke to me.a must try blend for sure!added to favourites!

Fantastic stuff this is. After three years of smoking a pipe, I finally got the chance to try this out; not like it was hard to come by, but I guess I just had so many blends similar to this such as LBF and Escudo that I was never in a hurry.

I did pick up a tin recently during a sale offered by an online etailer and was also sent a sample from a forum friend. The sample was a good four or five bowls worth. This was one of those blends that there was never a doubt in my mind I would like; and like it I did.

The surety comes from my love of the aforementioned other blends and this being pretty similar, well extremely similar since they are all made at the same place. Another reason I had yet to try it was the expense, as it is quite a bit more than the others. As far as how it compares the similar aforementioned blends, I must say that I found it better than LBF and different than escudo.

The escudo is more highlighted by the citrus rich Virginias, whereas the DNR has more earthier fuller Virginia to my tastes. The perique is not too much different in effect, but I would say it is a little more assertive in the DNF than it is in Escudo. Overall I would say that DNF has more depth than Escudo.

LBF on the other hand is slightly different than both as it has the addition of black cavendish (more similar to Davidoff Medallions), this has the effect of softening up the edges on both the bright Va and the Perique. It is not as good as either, but is still good and offers a lot of bang for the buck.

I guess the price is justified as it was a true pleasure to smoke. I wonder how long the tin will sit unopened in my cellar. I will be surprised if it lasts another month.

I just love the smell from the tin, fig jam, pot pourri... Lighting is easy, the taste is wonderful, so much perique in this mixture, the taste is sweet but spicy and tangy. This is one of the best smokes I have ever had. Flavouring? Not so much I am guessing, just puuuuure VA/PER taste; heavenly. Nic hit is a wonder as well. I want to try the escudo navy rolls to see if I detect any difference. Definitely stronger and better than Orlik Bull's Eye. Love it!