Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Escudo Navy De Luxe

Escudo is one venerable blend that has survived several iterations more or less intact, at least the current, STG version suggests this. In the tin are large, thin slices of “navy roll” tobacco, aka “coins” consisting of a range of soft, tasty VAs and soft Perique, with several shades of the former due to leaf treatment, the gamut running from gold to medium and very dark brown, pretty much black bits. The various bits are blended then reconstituted to make the sheets that make up the rolls that are sliced to make the coins (whew). The tin note suggests the smoke, meadow grasses and faint, fragrant wood, along with ethereal meadow flower notes, and mostly plums from the Perique over the tobacco. Spices are more cardamom than coriander, and more fruity paprika than pepper, and there is a trace of anise. The taste follows the scents, and all is well from top to bottom. It takes a little doing to light it straight from the tin, but this is how I like to smoke it, and it burns well. While I like Perique a lot, I don’t like a lot of Perique, so Escudo suits me fine. Strength is shy of medium, and tastes run medium. I love the room note, which IMO is tame and pleasant for a Perique blend. Aftertaste trails off the smoke.

It seems like a popular pastime at TR to compare Escudo to Dunhill’s Deluxe Navy Rolls, so why not? I see and taste the former as generally lighter than the latter, from the tin through the smoke, and Escudo lights a little harder, then it burns down better for me. DDNR has more stoved leaf, and its Perique is more figgy than plummy, also more sour, with a little more pepper. If there is such a thing as an “all day” VA/Per, it might be Escudo, while DDNR might be a bit too much for this, at least for most. Other than this, they are similar, for sure, and four stars for both these terrific VA/Pers. IMO, everyone should try both. What an age we live in!

I enjoy VaPer blends as a rule but this was my first and continues to be the benchmark by which all others will be measured. While there are some like Dorchester and Dunbar that seem to take the genre in a very different and delicious direction, this is still the standard bearer for me. The tin note begins the experience and for me is almost as enjoyable as the smoke itself (I can always sneak a quick sniff even when I don't have time for a pipe and receive some quick gratification). The note is like taking raisins and figs and leaving them in the sun for a day on a bed of hay that was stored in the back of an old dry barn for a year. Throw in a small hadfull of fresh grass clippings and squeeze a bit of lemon on it and you have your tin note. Opening my mason jar is much easier than preparing that salad. The smoking experience for me is typical for this type of VaPer (Dunhill Navy Rolls, Stokebye's, etc.) it is pure simple smoking pleasure. Fold and stuff, rub it out or however you prepare it and just smoke and relax. This is not a contemplative smoke. The flavors are bready with dark fruits and pepper. There are some grassy and citrus notes as well. The toasty peppery smoke is consistent throughout the bowl and relights will give you a full flavored burst all the way to the bottom. The balance of the tobacco's in this blend and the spun coin preparation is what makes this the champion of VaPer's in my mind. Everything is in perfect harmony. The after taste is pleasant as well as the room note (at least to me). I like to play with the packing and do notice different "looks" if you fold and stuff vs rubbing out. I will admit I only fold and stuff on the days I run with scissors, it too risky to do all the time as I have screwed it up more times than I like to admit.

Hail to the king! This one will be short and sweet, guys, because I just simply seem to echo everyone else here. This is THE BEST VaPer out there. It packs so much flavor that you really can't stop with just one bowl. First, the tin note is tangy and fresh VA. It is a bit more mellow and slightly fruity to my nose. The coins are easy to rub out and pack well. The only issue that I have is that some tins are a bit too dry (and I like my tobacco pretty dry) while others are just perfect. This is a very minor issue and it really doesn't affect the smoking qualities after letting a pouch button sit in the tin for a few hours.

Lighting up a bowl of this is a dream! It stays pretty consistent throughout the bowl but never gets old! It's much sweeter in flavor than any other VaBur that I have had. The Perique is there, but it plays more of a supporting role to the VA's (as it should) by adding a darker sweetness and that pinch of peppery zest. It will bite, as most VA's will, when puffed too hard - but trust me, you will want to savor this blend! Smoke this stuff in a meer and you'll find yourself burning through a tin in one setting. It's that damn good.

My first review. This is for the current incarnation of escudo. Tin was purchased in May 2014 at Carmel Pipe Shop in Carmel CA during a vacation last year.

A bit about me, the reviewer. I am a relatively new pipe smoker and never used tobacco prior to being introduced to pipes through a friend and The League Pipe Club in Denver, CO. I have been smoking a variety of tobaccos to try and develop my pallate to understand the nuances and learn to appreciate what each archtype brings to the hobby. Thus I chose Escudo for the purpose of exploring the world of VaPers.

Presentation: The tins used by Scandinavian Tobacco Group speak of quality and, unlike the canned food pop-top tins of many American blends, provide a wide mouth lined with a corrugated paper liner that serves to contain the inevitable spillage when loading a pipe. The tin kept the tobacco moist for over a year after opening. The Escudo leaf itself is beauty to behold, the neatly stacked deli slices of rolled tobacco unlike anything else I have yet seen.

Tin Aroma: Sweet like the aroma of a pile of fall leaves moistened by night dew and gently warmed by the morning sun. There is also a hint of something fruit like, perhaps currant or raisin.

Texture: The deli slices are moist and pliable. The slices  unroll into chunky strands each made up of several layers of leaf that do not easily rub out. I had trouble with moisture with this blend. It took a week of drying time in Denver to get the slices sufficiently dry such that i could keep an ember in the pipe without drawing hard enough to bite or rasp the pallate. The flakes were still pliable and not crunchy. Other blends have become crunchy dry in this climate in as little as fifteen minutes, leading me to suspect that this blend is lightly topped with a humectant.

Flavor: I clearly pick up light virginia upon first light similar to the flavor of Dunhill Flake. The perique makes itself known subsequently through an additional astringency and pepper sensation. The flavors appear well balanced and I can see why this is a highly regarded mixture.  However, this one has bitten me several times. I have difficulty finding the balance between keeping the ember and over stoking this, which is what brings out bite. This is complicated by my experience with relights being astringent and resultingly unpleasant. I have yet to identify the plum flavor mentioned by other reviewers.

Mouth feel: The smoke feels thin compared to blends containing small amounts of latakia or a base of red Virginia, but fuller than a pure light Virginia such as Dunhill flake. Puffing strong enough to bring forth more than whips of smoke leads to extreme astringency and associated bite.

Overall: It seems silly to say, but the most important factor for me in a pipe tobacco is overall enjoyment of the smoking experience. As described above, Escudo is difficult for me to smoke, which detracts from my overall satisfaction with the mixture. However the flavor is clearly definitive of the style. As a result, while I give this three of four stars I will likely not purchase again soon.

This is a very nice VaPer. Love the coins. Wish it had just a little more body.

It has all been said quite well. This is one of the worlds best pipe tobaccos. There are several empty tins of this all over my house. Tangy sweet,warm dark fruit,highly satisfying.

There is a reason why this tobacco is reviewed so often and reviewed with such praise. Escudo may be the king of the Vapers. I think the key as Red stated before me, is balence. A little sweet, a little spicy and no dominate player. Since there isn't much to add, I would just like to point out that after reviewing the A&C production side by side with the Stokkebye, blender to blender, the taste remains the same. Often attempted in the tobacco world but seldom happens. If I could note one very slight difference, the A&C was a touch sweeter, but that was most likely due to the age on the tin. I am not a big fan of the Stokkebye Bull's Eye Flake, hopefully Escudo is maintain its integrity in the years to come. Highly Recommended!

This may not be an exceptional tobacco, but it certainly is a very good one. There is something of the old Three Nuns here: a tangy and piquant sweetness, and an enlivening Virginia aftertaste, rich but sober. As it happens with many good tobaccos, Escudo gradually grows on you. It has a remarkable balance between the matured Virginias--without these being too sweet (as in Dorchester, Astley's No 2 or Solani's 633), and the Perique, which I don't find particularly aggressive (as in Dunhill's Elizabethan mixture). Medium strength, cool, it is easy to break up or to pack the discs as they are straight into the bowl.

I had only once tried this blend before, under the Gallaher name (c. 1992). Perhaps my palate has changed, but I remember it to be slightly stronger, the Perique more prominent and the Virginias a bit on the raw side, with an overall monochromatic taste.

I am glad I gave the A&C Petersen version a try. It is now one of my favorite Virginia/Perique mixtures, together with Stokkebye's Navy Flake, Peterson's Irish Oak, and Fox's Dorisco (the strongest of the lot). A nice, quiet smoke, with a sharp woodsy flavor and a long lasting peppery under-taste, that lingers on nicely.

I bought 12 tins of this, untasted, when the rumor went around that it would no longer be produced. I don't regret that purchase, but I think 2 tins would have sufficed.

Escudo is a stout Virginia/Perique blend in a delightful "coin" cut. While some simply fold the coin into the bowl, I get better flavor from a medium rub-out consistency. The flavor is dark and rich, of considerable strength in both flavor and nicotine. It is satisfying. It is not, however, complex, and it can burn and lose most of its flavor by hot smoking. The Virginia leaf was clearly intended to lean towards the bass and middle-bass flavor spectrums, but I occasionally find myself wishing that some of the high-quality leaf had been allowed to remain in a zestier, sweeter state to balance the blend.

A permanent fixture in my rotation, but not in the top 20 frequently-smoked category.