Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Escudo Navy De Luxe

Leaf: Beautifully cut golden brown coins of Perique and Virginia. They look delicious, and are laid out very nicely, overlapping in a neat circle around the tin.A very unique and fun appearance for those of us new to curly cut coins.

Tin Aroma: This is where I first got the hint that this stuff was as good as they say. The tine note is immensely pleasurable, a sweet nose of beautiful fresh hay from the Virginia hits first, with a rich smell of ripe fig joining in, and a very slightly tanginess that I believe was the perique. I KID YOU NOT, this smells so damn good I literally stuck my nose into the bed of coins and breathed the aroma deeply for about a dozen breaths.

Taste: Yes....It tastes as good as it smells. From first light it was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, just the lovely VA sweetness you would expect, the fruity fig and raisin undertones were there for me, and to top it off the perique comes through with a pleasant surprise towards the exhale which takes the smoke to a whole other level. My tongue was tingling with the well balanced mix of sweet, tangy and spicy flavours. It is smooth as silk and had no burn on the retro-hale, you could smoke bowls back to back without much trouble, apart from running out of precious coins too fast. Sip it and take your time and you will be rewarded in spades with flavour that will blow you away. As you reach towards the last 1/4 of the bowl the sweetness is kicked up a notch from the burning VA, and the Perique really picks up and takes off. What a great experience, VaPers being a new experience all together for me. Perfection.

Smokability: Spot on. I grabbed a coin after all of about 30 seconds of drying time, folded it, stuffed it in my pipe, then halved another coin, broke it up, and dropped it on top. No fingers in the bowl, no drying time, no rubbing out, just a quick stuff and go. It lit with one match and stayed lit the whole time with a few gentle tamps along the way, burning down to a fine white ash. Very easy to smoke and maintain.

Summary: What can I say, the legend is true, it is THAT good, and I have never smoked a VaPer before! If you haven't already, you have to smoke a bowl or 10. Just be prepared to say good bye to some of your favourite blends in the rotation to make room or this bad boy.

I thank all of my pipe smoking brethren on this site for the positive comments on this blend which led me to buying a tin.

Simply amazing. In 10 years of pipe smoking this has got to be the best tobacco I have tried. I can see myself smoking this blend for the rest of my days.

My only negative comment is that I did not try it earlier.

Cheers.

I smell plums when I first open the tin - the firmer, not-so-sweet kind of plums with the yellow fruit. Very unusual, actually, as this is the only tobacco I've ever experienced with that particular aroma.

Besides that, I can't add much to what's already said about this fantastic smoke except that I detect a very mild flavoring of some sort. Can't really put a finger on it but it's got to be more than just the Virginias and Perique. It lingers softly in the background, not in a bad way at all, but it's there. Is it my imagination?

Regardless, it's fabulous stuff. Pack it gently so it'll burn more easily - I like it better with a very free draw.

Coins of spun tobacco ranging from blonde to dark brown, predominantly mid brown. Tin aroma is dried figs, hay and pepper.

The coins are not as well presented in the tin as the Dunhill equivalent and seem drier and more fragile.

Burns well with minimal re-lights. There is a prominent lemon spritz on the tongue. It burns sweet throughout. Towards the end of the bowl this tobacco takes on a darker dimension. Beautiful stuff, already well documented.

The best pipe tobacco. period.

I've been trying many different Vapers over the last couple of years to find a complement or a close second to Escudo. I haven't found it yet. This tobacco is very consistent, subtle and refined. Solani 633, or SG St. James are almost in the same league, but not quite. 2015 is good but unsophisticated - like candy. Some of the G.L. Pease brands are nice, but they typically have too much going on for me. Reiner is the closest I've experienced.

Escudo is wonderful tobacco. If you haven't tried it, it should be your next purchase. I only wish they'd sell it in larger amounts.

The thing that surprised me about the current Escudo is how easy it is to work with - stuff it, rub it, shred it, cut it, fold it, screw it in - the results are always the same. Bright high notes all the way, grassy flavor changes to full & sweet later on, burns all the way to a clean ash with no gurgle. Even fresh tins are worth diving right into. One of, if not the, best VaPers on the market.

Ahh, The great Escudo. This tobacco really is as good as everybody makes it out to be. It took me a couple years for my palate to develop before I really "got it" but it really is nice. One of the biggest selling points about this tobacco is its consistent quality. Every tin is to notch quality product. It ages really well too.

Escudo is a somewhat middle of the road Vaper in terms of taste. It doesn't have the high notes that I love in Orlik Golden Sliced, but it is not as dark and sinister and lush as Wessex Dark Campaign Flake. It fits right in the middle, and its damn good. The perique is present but appropriately so, not in your face just fitting. This blend is a cornerstone in the pipe world and all true Vaper lovers must try this tobacco. Not my holy grail tobacco per se, but a really good, reliable, and pleasurable smoke Highly recommended.

It's my first review, and this review is important to me. Since I started smoking pipe, was a pleasant experience taste many blends of tobacco. And Escudo is my favorite of my top list.

My pipe have a bowl with 4,5 cm height. With only two coins of Escudo allow me a pleasant 2 hours of smoke. Since the first spark to last ashed shard, taste and fragance of this excellent tobacco make present. The burning is very cool, slowly and constant, indicate Virginia and Perique qualities. Moisture is perfect into tin, the coins are carefully embaled with paper, like a expensive sweety candy. And that's it!

For everyone who wants taste a VaPer for first time, I suggest the Escudo. If you make a try, test the ever piper's choice! It is a hors concours.

This is a true classic. I do not understand why it only has 3 stars. If you are a VA/PER, I'm more than sure you will like this one. If you are not a VA/PER, don't review it.