Peterson De Luxe Navy Rolls

I'm very sorry but my first tin of this tobacco will be my last one as well. Deluxe Navy Rolls is supposed to be the follower of the famous ESCUDO. I never got to know the latter, but if it would have been equal to DNR, it hadn't deserved its fame. This tobacco is, in my subjective opinion, an example of tobacco expenses and brand policy. You only pay the bespoken name of Alfred Dunhill hereby. As you do with buying every Dunhill tobacco. BUT other blends of theirs are worth the expense. 965, Early Morning Pipe, Nightcap.... legends in their own right! But DNR really disappoints me. Its burning qualities are first class, really. It lights like hay and stays absolutely cool throuhout the whole bowl. It doesn't need any relights and can be lit by a single match. But I sadly have to mention that I miss any flavour here. It just tastes like hot air with a dash of perique flavour. No character at all, absolutely boring. I smoked it in every pipe. I used the fold and roll method as with stuffing flakes. I rubbed it into small pieces. Nothing. And that's not much for a tobacco for which you pay twelve Euros in Germany. I smoked tobaccos for half the price with more substance.

This is the latest in my on-going revisit to the re-launched Dunhill factory blends by Orlik. I 'tip my hat to them': this is better than the original Murray's blend. spun-cut Virginia and perique as before, but I detect (1) a less pronounced perique content, and (2) a more definite tangy virginia flavour comming through the smoke as it develops through the bowl. I found that moisture content was just perfect straight from the tin - down to preference really. I folded first in order to fill, but quickly found it responds better to a slight rubbing-up - then one (maximum two) light straight to a light ash at the bottom of the bowl.

Interesting packaging: the fact is that the contents of two tins fitted comfortably into one and so you might feel a 'bit hard done by' when it comes to price - it's not cheap compared to other UK offerings, but it is definetly worth it - this is seriously quality tobacco in just the right proportions, especially, if you can't smoke your virginias without that little added spice!

UPDATE!

I got the 4 stars right first time - bought another 5 tins of this yesterday. This stuff just gets better and I find I cannot be without it in the house. I'm not a great perique fan and generally stick to straight virginias, but the proportions of V to P are just so perfectly balanced here that you can't help but appreciate that these two tobaccos really do belong together. I've updated this because I now feel its strength is positively medium (not mild to medium), and very pleasant (not pleasant to tolerable). The subsequent reviewer has, in my view, pointed out two more observations: it is an effortless smoke and doesn't create plumes of dense smoke.

First class.

Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls: Tin note of sugar plums, Rasins and spices. Tobacco is brown, dark brown and tan 1.5-inch coins. Moisture content is great. Coins rub out easily. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and consistent, with complex notes of Rasin, spices, toasted bread, leather, very wood, dry earth, floral, lemon zest/peel, mildly sour citrus, lemon grass, acidic, hay/vegetation, mildly sweet and savory, a tart and tangy stewed dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Perique supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

This is an outrageously good smoke. I think its just about the perfect tobacco for smokers wanting to move off aromatics, into more traditional blends.

It has a great flavour: all that natural sweetness hitting your palate with zero bite results in wonderful, soft, contemplative smoking experience. This is an all day smoke for me.

One of the best pipe tobaccos ever made? Beautiful, simple tin design. Upon opening, beautiful fig, raisin, chocolate and bergamot notes greet you. Peeling away the cover paper reveals perfectly sized curly coins of sliced rolled tobacco. Packing and lighting is exceedingly simple: just fold and stuff two coins, light up and off you go. You are instantly presented with notes of dried fruits, leather, and lemonade tanginess. Perfect Virginia sweetness and Perique tartness. Burns perfectly even from toe to heel. The only flat would be a slightly intrusive room note, undoubtedly due to the Perique. I can not, however, recommend this tobacco enough. Absolute classic.

Short and sweet as there are so many reviews

Fantastic coin cut VaPer that is very well presented in the tin. Doesn't need much dry time and is easy to fold and stuff or rub out.

Burns cleanly and has a most delicious taste. You can pick out the virginia sweetness and hay flavour, in the background is a plummy, figgy, spicy, peppery perique. Expensive but worth it

Disappointment,after so long waiting the highly praised,and prized by the way,I found a low profile VaPer,good quality Virginia a little Perique and nothing special to say.A elegant but flat blend.Nothing to compare to,for instance,the robust St. James Flake or the highest Virginia of Solani.IMHO a not reasonable prize for a correct mild medium VaPer blend.

Since both tobaccos are manufactured at the Orlik factory by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group and both are Va/Per blends that come as a curly cut, a lot of people claim that DLNR is the same as Escudo Navy De Luxe. I don't know if that's true, but I find them at least so similar, that I can't tell any difference. In fact, in Europe, where Escudo is no longer available, DLNR was more or less marketed as its replacement.

Upon opening the tin you'll find about 20 dark brown coins that have a few tan speckles and are neatly arranged in an overlapping circle. The scent is kind of sweet and sour with notes of prunes or dried figs, brown bread and malt.

Depending on the size of your bowl, it takes two to three coins to fill your pipe. I usually use the fold and stuff method, but one might as well rub them out. However, fully rubbed out DLNL will give you a hotter smoke, which might ruin the complex aromas it has to offer. Lighting the curly flakes can take a few matches more than usual, but it's important not to draw too eagerly in order to avoid it getting burn too hot. A re-light is better than that. Enjoyed with care, this Va/Per will give you a delicious, sweet and spicy smoking experience. There's always the grassy natural sweetness of the Virginia grades, combined and alternating with the tangy, yet somehow fruity notes of the Perique. Especially when the tobacco is fresh, there's a slight acididy, that is lost once the vacuum seal of the tin has been broken for a few days.

The room note is dominated by the rich and sweet natural tobacco scent of the Virginias.

To me this is the quintessential Va/Per blend. It ages extremely well, creating an even mellower, more ballanced smoke.

These sure do look like Escudo coins, but the tin notes seem to differ. Escudo is much more fig/raisiny, while the Dunhill DNRs smell more like black tea. This is based on just one tin of each produced at different times, so who knows?

I find the Escudo to be a bit more in your face and, when pushed hard, to smoke a bit harshly. Haven't experienced that with DNR--it's pure pleasure all the way through a bowl. Definitely softer and mellower than Escudo, imo.

If you like your VaPers on the beefy side, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you're looking for a mellow one that would make a nice all-day companion, DNR is a formidable candidate.