Escudo An Aged Second Look

Escudo was the first non Aromatic pipe tobacco that I'd smoked when I started smoking a pipe. I smoked through one tin and never really looked back. I acquired a few tins to age, thinking I'd open them in about 5 years or so. Well 5 years hasn't passed, but 2 1/2 did. So I said "Why not?" Cracked one open and thought, "I can understand the hype."
Aging benefits this standard Va/per, stewed fruit and malted hay notes are there, but I'm still on the fence whether this is really worth the revisit. With tobaccos like Pease Triple Play, McConnell Scottish Cake, or some Gawith offerings, Escudo may just be the beginners Va/per. (For me at least) Reminds me of the world of Absinthe, a beginner may experience a bottle of Lucid or the Swiss Kubler, but once you've had a Jade 1901, your really just bullshitting yourself when you go back to the Lucid's and Kubler's. I find myself searching for the right balance of Perique and Virginia, wanting something stronger in perique and a more complex Virginia. Always a bit of a dark fired or burley added in retrospect.
Aged Escudo is nice, another 5 years could really make this something special. Until then I'm enjoying the hell out of Scottish Cake, Chenets Cake, Fillmore, Triple Play, and Cabbie Mixture.

Thanks to the thread about Dating Escudo, I can say the tin is 3 1/2 years old. January 2013. So little more than 2 1/2.
Smoked two bowls back to back today and can say that the best that this blend has to offer, is the last third of the bowl. That's of course, to my personal taste. I sure would've liked to have tried earlier versions of this blend. I love dried fruits. Bit of a date head, Escudo provides that for me. Can't wait to check back in on this one in a few more years.