Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Escudo Navy De Luxe

This is, quite simply, the best VaPer out there. The benchmark by which all others are judged. The Holy Grail of VaPers. the gold standard. While there are many fantastic VaPers available (and some not-so-fantastic), Escudo is The One. My desert island tobacco. Rarely does a day go by when I do not smoke it. The Virginias are divine - that perfect, fresh hay tin note. I get very little Perique in the tin note. Flavorwise, the Perique is mild in this one compared to some other Perique-forward blends, but it's in perfect proportion. Remarkably cool burning. Not sure how you top this. I like to rub out the coins, and will typically smoke only one at a time in a smaller, wider bowled pipe such as a small pot or prince. I have a Stanwell 242 dedicated to Escudo that probably gets more than its share of use.

Everything that needs to be said has been said in previous reviews.

If you are thinking of trying it, stop thinking and order it. You will not be disappointed. And if you are, you can send the rest to me.

I have always found it difficult to make Escudo behave. I tend to over-smoke it. When it burns too hot, it is horribly aggressive. When it burns just right??it is one of the supreme experiences.

A lot of guilded cant has been piled up under the heading "complexity" in tobacco talk. Mixing up a few strands of tobacco is not exactly like writing Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. The unique simplicity of Virginia tobacco, as tasted in Escudo, is like the scent of a rose: not complicated, just ineffable. Ineffable is enough.

Escudo Navy De Luxe is the benchmark for Virginia/Perique blends. That does not mean it is automatically the best, but it is the standard against which others are judged. Escudo means "shield" in Spanish and Portuguese, and the word was used for a large coin used in times past, a coin of roughly the size of these large medallions.

Escudo has a varied history. Originally made by Cope Brothers of Liverpool, it was bought by Gallaher, then A&C Peterson. and then resurrected after a hiatus by Orlik, which has now become a fully owned subsidiary of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group. It is listed as made for Peter Stokkebye, the Stokkebye name also now part of STG.

Open the tin and you find perfectly shaped disks varying with blond, medium, and dark brown color. The older the tin, the darker the hue. The tin aroma is typical for a Va/Per--grassy, slightly citrus Virginia and the rancid fig tang of perique.

The medallions can be rolled and crammed into the pipe, or rubbed out. The resulting load is easier to light with the rubbed out version. There is also a slight difference in smoking flavor. The rubbed out version has a steadier taste. The crammed version tends to show a puff by puff variation in the degree of perique flavor that comes through. The taste is medium, and neither the Virginia nor the perique totally dominates.

The room note is not generally perceived as offensive, although it has a touch of a burnt popcorn smell. As with all blends with more than a whisper of perique, the nicotine level is apparent, not really heavy, but certainly up to the medium range. It burns down to a fine clean ash with no goop.

The debate rages: Is Escudo Navy De Luxe the same as Dunhill Navy De Luxe? They are manufactured in the same facility. I suspect there may be a slight variance in the percentage of Virginia versus perique, but i doubt seriously if even the most veteran pipester could detect which was which in a blind taste test. Be that as it may, there is a discernible difference--the price. On that basis alone, my vote goes to Escudo.

I am giving Escudo the fourth star, but I must note that smokers who eschew perique will not like it.

A very good reliable VaPer. I don't get as much sweetness as many others do, but I enjoy it for both the high quality Virginias used and what seems to be the perfect amount of Perique. I can see why this is used as such a benchmark to compare other Vapers.

UPDATE: 8/1/14

As I have now finished about six or seven tins of this since my review, I think it is also time to add another star. This one really does grow on you. I have had it aged and fresh and it is always good. It probably helps that my smoking has much improved over the last two years as well.

UPDATE 7-7-2017

32 tins in the cellar and I am not sure it is enough. Piper problems. 🙂

In my overall 20 years of smoking virginias and VaPers, I have to say that this is the best of the bunch - as the last reveiwer said, the "holy grail" of VaPers. Complex, smooth, hugely flavorful... a genius of a blend. I've smoked the new stuff back to back with the old and while I prefer the older Cope's blend, it could very well be because of its age, not because the blend is different. Youthfulness in tobacco isn't as desirable as it is in humans!

Many blends come close to Escudo. None have captured its essence. It is without a doubt the King of Virginia/Perique blends, in my humble opinion.

This is my no.1 tobacco. Has been for a long time. A smooth Vaper - no tricks. Easy to rub out, easy to light, stays lit. Enough flavor to not over puff. I hate to see a bowl end. When they throw me in the fire, I hope they stuff a couple of tins of Escudo in my pockets.

My review is based on a couple of six coins left-over in a tin bought in 1998 at JJFox in London. Producer was still A&CP.

The coins were dry but not brittle. They were briefly rehydrated over a humidified tissue, loaded in a unfiltered Savinelli Professor Pot smoked exclusively with Va & VaPer's, and left wait a hour.

Well, like Condor and other Gallaher's, Sobranie's, John Cotton's and other old British, Escudo has a special place in my earth. It was one of the tobaccos of my youth, I didn't even know it contains Perique... Four stars may seem something affected by that sentimental feeling, not in this case: Escudo is the benchmark of VaPer's, just or more than Three Nuns (the old days' one, I mean).

A medium strength, sweet/peppery smoke, very well balanced. The body is bit weak, common feature for VaPer's. The pleasure to the nose is great with notes of malt biscuits and occasional pepper.

Care must be put in non rushing the draw, but I have not faced particular problem or hot pipe even during enthusiastic sets.

Unfortunatly Escudo is missed from very long time from the Italian tobacconists, and I understand not very easy to find even in Europe. As a comparison, Solani 633 seems the one going very near to Escudo. Black Parrot is even more Perique oriented. Torben Dansk's Sailor Flake no. 15 is also something good substitute to Escudo.

Highly recommended.

Scandinavian Tobacco - Escudo Navy De Luxe.

I loose track of how long I've been wanting to try this for, so I was enthralled when I found some at Smokingpipes.com! In all fairness I think the pleasure may have been enhanced slightly by my long period of yearning to pipe some, but either way, I love it!

The presentation of the tobacco looks very regimented: an overlapping display of coins, and despite the long journey they've resisted becoming dishevelled.

The freshly opened tin reveals the only negative: too moist. The blend needs drying prior to smoking, the coins aren't saturated, but by rubbing a one or two then leaving them to air for a short period the smoking's greatly improved.

Although the Perique gives a big amount of taste to the smoke it's not harsh; I'm a fan of this type of Perique: there's more dark fruit and less zing. I'd say the Perique domineers the smoke more-so than the Virginia, but it does so in a smoother style than the Perique in many VaPer's.

The nicotine falls perfectly in the middle (to me). I'd happily smoke this morning, noon, or night!

The room-note doesn't really have anything suprising about it: it smells like a VaPer, doesn't make much smoke, and it's quite pleasant!

To round things up: it burns brilliantly and gives a bite-free smoke!

Four stars.

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.