Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Escudo Navy De Luxe

I have had both the Gallaher and A.C. produced discs of Escudo. My original review of this blend was after smoking a few bowls of the old Gallaher's version and since the review was not favorable, and it was a 15 year old tin, I suspect the Perique had soured the taste of the tobacco.

I recently had the pleasure of smoking a 3-year old tin of Escudo and scrambled to purchase more. I love the flavor which is tobacco rich. The strength is substantial and the burn is cool. I smoked 2-3 bowls a day until my tin was gone. The Virginia was deep, rich and flavorful with no tang and the Perique was masterfully blended into the presentation where it was detectable, but not overwhelming.

Escudo has entered my top-10... wait, make that my top-5 list of tobaccos and unless my taste buds make a right turn somewhere down the road, I'll always have a tin of this at the ready.

I enjoyed this tobacco from the first time I smoked it but decided to wait until I'd gone through a couple of tins to review it. This is an A++ smoke. If you like VaPers this will probably be the best one you ever smoke. The Perique is present but not in your face. It is easy to smoke and does not require excessive relights. EZ to rub out and EZ to pack. The room note is toasty and the flavor is full - you don't need a big mouthful to get all you need. I've "sipped" it and I've smoked it hard and it's always satisfied. Tongue bite is not a problem. The only downside is that it is difficult not to inhale because it so mild (I try to limit inhaling).

I prefer VaPers and I thought that when I found McClelland's Beacon I had discovered the gold standard. I was wrong. This is the best by far IMHO. I hope I never have to be limited to only one tobacco but this might be the one I'd choose.

One last thought: the Virginia's in this blend are superb. Sweet and bursting with flavor.

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 may have reviewed this tobacco some years ago based on a tin given to me, but in truth, I don't remember.

I rarely post to Tobacco Reviews, so first, a bit of background: I've been a pipe smoker for 59 years and at one time was a collector with over 300 pipes. I reduced my collection to under 40 pipes back in the mid 1990s, and I consider myself simply a pipe smoker these days. As regards tobaccos, I'm afraid my jaded palate after all these years of puffing, doesn't pick up much on all the raisin, fig, molasses, grass, citrus, etc., descriptions used by many reviewers. I simply know what I like and what I don't like. That said, I do try to be unbiased and balanced in a review.

Due to the closing of McClelland Tobaccos, (My favorite for years and years - Loved their Virginias) I've been sampling a lot of different tobaccos, among them, a fair number of coin, rolls, or ring processed. These include Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake, Davidoff Flake Medallions, (More on those two later), Mac Baren Club Blend, Mac Baren Dark Twist Roll Cake, Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls, Three Nuns, and of course, Escudo. Of those, I'll confine my remarks to Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake, Davidoff Flake Medallions, Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls, Three Nuns, and Escudo. I exclude the two Mac Baren blends because they're in a world all their own, and many folks simply can't smoke Mac Baren tobaccos because of the hot, peppery, spicy consequences to tongue and palate. (As much as I like Mac Baren tobaccos, and I did try those two, I'm one of those folks.)

Escudo: Of the five remaining tobaccos, I found Escudo to be the harshest and it had a tendency to bite. Searching for words of description, I'd say it was stout, slightly bitter, and raw. I suppose I'm committing heresy with those last two sentences, but it is what it is. Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls and Three Nuns followed close behind. And contrary to most reviews, I found Escudo to be neither rich, nor a rewarding smoke. It is certainly well made and consistently blended. The aroma in the tin is tobacco, and little else, but pleasant.

As regards Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake and Davidoff Flake Medallions, both were a cut above when compared to the others. Both provided a subtle but consistent nutty aroma, something I like, and both smelled and tasted sweeter. (Not aromatic in any way - just sweeter) I recently read a comment by someone who claimed they were the same. I beg to differ. If placed side by side, there are slight differences, the Davidoff being slightly lighter in appearance and the "eye" in the center, slightly larger. When smoking, it is also the sweeter of the two.

The pipes used were two that were cleaned and rested between changes of tobaccos: A 1960 Dunhill Bruyere 127 (Similar to the Dunhill LB shape) and an Astleys, also similar to the Dunhill LB shape and purchased at the Astley's shop on Jermyn Street, London, in 1996 not long before they closed for good.

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.