Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Escudo Navy De Luxe

Given Escudo's reputation as one of THE great tobaccos I want to like these gorgeous looking discs, I really do, but...I'm missing something. I've heard it described by others as 'sweet', 'spice and dried fruit', 'smooth', 'velvety', even 'creamy' but all I taste is too much pepper. I've tried it in various different pipes and at different times of the day. I've smoked it gently and tried to be attentive, I've smoked it rubbed it out and I've smoked it folded. Perhaps Perique isn't for me. Then again, I do like Just For Him-Golden Cashmere and J. F. Germain's Royal Jersey Perique from time to time, so what am I missing?

Upon popping the first tin, I was hit with an extraordinary smell that I had never experienced with tobacco: that wonderful, prune-like scent I have now come to love in all VaPers. I quite like the appearance of the coins, and I wish there were many more blends spun in such a way.

With an hour or so of drying, rubbing and loading the tobacco is fairly easy, though I've found that my pipes and tastes like it a bit fine with a loose pack. The lighting process is very straight-forward with no frills and the tobacco burns evenly. Curiously, I find the aroma of the freshly burning tobacco to be extraordinarily reminiscent of my mother's crab imperial--a savory smell with a delightful paprika-like spice.

The flavor of Escudo is indeed wonderful. Sweet, medium Virginias go very well with a generous measure of Perique. The tobacco is blended exceptionally well in that there is plenty of Perique to give great spice and burn quality, yet not so much as to overwhelm the Virginias. Another quality I find to great likening with the flavor is that the Perique hardly ever goes out of attention, though this may be primarily due to rubbing out fully.

As others have said, one must smoke this tobacco slowly, otherwise the flavor becomes overwhelming and all of the subtleties disappear. In my experience, the tobacco is also best suited to being fairly low in moisture to achieve good burn and flavor, though your mileage may vary.

Escudo was my first VaPer, and indeed has drawn me into great admiration for these blends. However, I can only give it three stars as I feel some pipers new to VaPers may find it a bit temperamental and overwhelming. But to those experienced VaPer lovers, I give it high recommendation.

This is the VA/Pa that all others are compared to. The presentation of the tobacco coins welcome you to smoke them. I rub them out and dry them for about a half hour or so. Once rubbed out and dried it burns nicely. Slightly sweet and somewhat spicey. This is in my top 5 favorite pipe tobacco. I'm not sure if they still sell this since it seems to be out of stock at most online stores. Oh well, I still have several tins in the cellar.

I love this stuff & one of my favorite blends I keep stocked up on. If I got marooned on a desert island & could only have one blend this would be it.

* Bad ** Good *** Excellent **** Exceptional

Yummy... Escudo is among my top 5. The smoke is sweet, spicy, and very well behaved. Like all VA based tobaccos, it benefits from a light pack, a minimal smoldering light, and a slow, constant, gentle puffs. In return you will be rewarded with an hour and a half of VAPER bliss.... mmmmmmm. Fillmore by GLPease is also excellent and is a close contender if not a little bit more interesting. St James Flake bulk by Sam Gawith... for you budget minded folks who are stocking up in preparation for the inevitable is a great way to get "Escudo on the cheap". The taste is very close... but that being said... I still have gathered a small supply of these wonderful tins to horde and savor. Highly recommended!

2/3/2009 Cumberland #1 Escudo #2 for me. Tobacco just doesn't get any better. Thank god I don't have to make a choice between the two, but these are my two favorites tobaccos period. I say this knowing that I can smoke a bowl of aged Caravan whever I like...along with a number of my other favorite tobacco's. But if I had to choose just 2, Escudo would be my second choice.

Escudo, what can I add? One of my absolute favorite tobaccos. I have never smoked the old Escudo, and could not even imagine it better than it already is. Sweet, spice and dried fruits....what a combo. 96+/100. My cellar is full of Escudo tins, but feel the need to add more. The only complaint I could think of would be the scarce amount of tobacco in each tin, but with disks of this quality they can get away with it I guess. As much as I enjoy other vapers, none would takes its place. I prefer it slightly dried out, about 1 1/2 disks at a time in smaller bowls. I guess Filmore, LGF, Embarcadero, Haddos and Cumberland would help ease the pain, but not completely fill the void if this was not around anymore.

I would like to expand on the amount of tobacco in each tin for a moment. I tin of Escudo costs around $8.00 which is enough for multiple 30-45 minute bowls of pure bliss, compare that to one decent cigar for $8.00 and it is the best value money can buy! I did not get into the pipe because of the price/enjoyment value,that is just a bonus!, but I would argue that there is no better value than pipe tobacco today! Better value than food, scotch, cigars. Whatever blend you enjoy, think about that every once in a while....how lucky we are to have found the pipe and that there are multiple blends out there that are truly sublime for every palet! I just hope I live long enough to keep enjoying this wonderful hobby. Sorry to ramble on but if you are reading this then you are probably well aware how lucky we all are to experience the love of briar and all the wonderful blends!

Checking out the massive number of brands and blends here, it hits me that every once in a while, there's a blend that's just SO much better than the rest, so superlative, that I wonder why one got everything so right, and the others are just back there somewhere.

So it is with Escudo. Many VaPer blends are fine, some are very good. Escudo is in a class of one. Rich, fruity, complex. It has a nice kick to it, but remains smooth until it's gray ash. Whatever these blenders have done, they got it 100% right. The VA's are matured to perfection, slightly sweet. The Perique has to be of top quality, and while recognizable, it acts exactly as it should - as a condiment, and a grand compliment to the VA's.

Now, I need to say this: Many here seem to like the little wafers of Escudo. They are unique, yes, and intriguing. If you like them, go for it. I just don't like flakes, or wafers, or the like. I don't like folding, stuffing, air pockets, etc. So, I get a pint sized Mason jar, and once my tins of Escudo have 1-2 years of age on them, I put the wafers in a small food processor and grind them up. Sorry if you find this nearly-sacrilegious! It comes out like a short ribbon cut, packs like a dream, and even seems to improve all that I love about this blend. It takes three cans of Escudo to fill my jar, and once the lid is on, I'm ready for months of occasional delight. This is remarkable PT.

To me, a self titled "Va/Per ho", this is my holy grail, my deserted island smoke.

The coins can be loaded in a number of ways, which I prefer to fold in half then rub out. They pack easily, and burn perfectly as well.

Flavor can range per bowl from Sweet VAs with hints of Perique, to the opposite, but never are either overwhelming the other.

I had only ever had ribbon and rough-cut tobaccos before I tried this one. So when I opened the tin and saw that it was not filled to the top, I thought I had been ripped off. But then I moved the paper insert and found the sweet smelling little disks.

This stuff packed really well and I also had no trouble burning it. However, I think from now on I will be drying it out before I load up my pipe because I did experience a little bite. It was nothing too horrible though. It tastes just like it smells, rather sweet. This was my first tobacco with Perique in it, so I didn't know what to expect from it. It was pretty good though. I'd buy it again. But I'm sure the stuff I have will last me quite a while. Not my every-day type blend, but still a quality smoke.