I Smoked 50+ Year Old Escudo, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah
-
Kevin Godbee - May 8, 2013
- 5 min read
Kevin Godbee
Don’t hate me because I smoked 50+ year old Escudo.
It was awesome.
It all started when finally, at the last minute, I convinced E. Roberts (a.k.a. "RomeoWood") to come to the Chicago pipe show. He’s a connoisseur of many fine things and has written several articles for this publication. We hung out together for most of the show. He brought with him a tin of Cope’s Escudo that he thinks is from the 1950s or 1960s, so it’s somewhere between 50 and 60 years old. Part of the plan was to crack this open on Saturday night and smoke it with Brian (Levine) and I.
Saturday night started with Bombay Sapphire Martinis, jambalaya, and mini-burgers, and ended with the depletion of a huge bottle of Woodford Reserve and several bowls of different vintage tobaccos. We had a great time hanging out with the Guss brothers, and then moved on to Bob Swanson’s room … and the next thing I remember is having quite a challenging time getting out of bed on Sunday morning.
Romeowood left early Sunday morning, and we never got around to opening the Escudo. However, I later noticed a text message from Mr. Roberts telling me that I had something waiting for me at the front desk. I guessed correctly that it was the tin of tobacco – unopened – with a note thanking me me for introducing him around and to be sure I smoked the tobacco with Brian.
We opened it in the smoking tent around 5 pm on Sunday. The lid was pressure-fitted, not a screw-cap, and it took a little effort with a knife to pry it open. I am not sure if it was vacuum-sealed as I didn’t hear a whoosh sound when I opened it, but the tobacco was well-aged, and preserved nicely – still containing moisture in the roll coins. It was just about the right amount of moisture for smoking, or you could even let it dry out some and it would still be ok.
Click the photos for larger, more detailed pictures.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Compared to the current Escudo production, the coins were a little bit smaller and turned on their side (kind of like a 360 degree fan), rather than laid flat. They were also much more stuck together. The tobacco was tightly compressed into the can. Speaking of the can, or tin – it was much smaller than current production, but ironically, it contains more tobacco. The Cope’s tin holds 2 ounces of tobacco, which is 57 grams. The current production, and even the old A&C Peterson painted tins contain 50 grams. The Cope’s tin is the smallest in physical size, the old painted A&C tins are slightly larger, and the current production tins that have a paper sticker for the artwork are even larger in size.
Another difference is that the Cope’s Escudo was made in the UK, while current production is made in Denmark at the STG / Orlik factory.
Clicking on the below photos you can see that the tobacco is moist and has some sugar crystals. The tin aroma smelled like raisons and stewed fruit. To get the tobacco out of the tin, I had to lift on the paper doily as it was so tightly packed.
 |
 |
 |
 |
[Note from my housekeeper: She says the last photo above and the first 2 photos below look like pepperoni.]
What I’ve learned from going to several pipe shows is that many people are extremely generous with sharing very special, exceptionally aged, vintage tobaccos – so I did the same. Brian and I shared the tin with Raymond Lykins, Steve Morrisette, Rich Esserman (he used a normal size pipe, thank God), Rick Newcombe, John Seiler, and about 4-5 other guys I don’t recall specifically. By Sunday night, there was still three quarters of the tin left, and I gave it to Brian.
I smoked two bowls of the Escudo in my brand new Hilson Prince that was my last purchase of the show. Brad Pohlmann kindly commented that the prince pipe suited me well. (He declined the Escudo as he already had something going in his only pipe he had for smoking. He said he can only afford one of his own pipes, and he can’t be seen smoking another’s make. I find that ironic and funny.)
 |
 |
 |
 |
The flavor and aroma of the approximately 50-year old Cope’s Escudo was delicious. It was sweet, but not as sweet as I thought it would be. Another surprise was that the Perique, while adding to the stewed fruit aroma, actually displayed its’ pepper-like qualities. There were subtle notes of figs, and an additional surprise were Burley-like qualities of ash and a faint nutty taste, along with the expected hay and grass of a fine Virginia.
It was a great experience getting to open this vintage tin of Escudo, from seeing the old tin, how the tobacco looked and was packed, that it was still moist – and most importantly, that it smelled and tasted delicious.
Thank you Mr. Roberts!
|
Kevin Godbee is the Publisher & Editor in Chief of Pipes Magazine. Kevin started smoking pipes and cigars in 1998 and started an online cigar magazine & community site in 2005. (The site was acquired in 2008 and no longer exists.) He launched PipesMagazine.com in 2009, and in less than three years the site has become the largest trafficked pipe smoking related site, and the #1 Source for Pipes and Pipe Tobacco Information. In the beginning of his career, Kevin worked in the hobby and specialty toy business for 16 years in sales, marketing, advertising and product development for three different manufacturers, and with his own company. Over the last 10 years working in the online business, he has become an expert in Internet Marketing and SEO. Kevin is a Certified Master Tobacconist (CMT) through Tobacconist University, a member of Cigar Rights of America and is a "Media Member" of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. In his spare time he sings, plays guitar, cooks, and enjoys all the wonderful places to go and things to do in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida where he lives in his penthouse bachelor pad. Kevin has been smoking pipes and cigars for 15 years. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
7 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 637. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Nate King. Most people know of Nate as an excellent pipe artisan. He also has an honorary Master of Pipes degree from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and is a member of the prestigious Confrérie des Maitres Pipiers de Saint-Claude. To be inducted into the Confrérie, this past May Nate travelled to Saint-Claude, France with master tobacco blender G.L. Pease, who was also inducted. It was quite a time in France, and at the ceremony. We’ll hear all about those adventures on the show. At the top of the show we’ll continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with six of his Satou Dublin-shape pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
Thanks for the great photos. The enlargements show fantastic detail. It must have been a wonderful treat indeed! (Great learning experience and trip back in time too!) Romeo’s generosity and selflessness is extraordinary. A class act all the time!
Nifty story all the way around. (By the way: I hate you.)
So glad y’all enjoyed it in good company, Kevin, I only wish I could have stayed another day at the show. It was really too much to absorb in two short days.
.
For my money, it’s a damned consistent product over all this time, Sam. It’s certainly [i]much[/i] darker (in person it’s really more of a dull black; the flash on the camera seemed to bring out a lot more of the ruby brown color), and that’s owing entirely to the age. Imagine how you’d look after 50+ years in an airtight container! The good news is that this means what you’re buying today should be just as amazing half a century down the road. I’ve become rather obsessed with this tobacco, admittedly, and have gone to great lengths procuring these old vintages–in fact, if anyone reading this has some they’d like to unload, just shoot me a message and we’ll strike a deal. I did chat with a guy who had a cutter-top tin, but he wasn’t interested in letting it go…sigh.
Kevin and Romeowood: fascinating experience, great pictures and great review! Would you mind briefly saying how the 50 yr. old Escudo compares to a fresher tin? Was there a great difference in flavor and aroma, or just a few nuances? It’s not often you get to hear how an ancient vintage (in pipe tobacco years) contrasts with its newer incarnation, and some feedback on this would be valuable for those of us trying to decide how long to cellar coveted blends.
Incredible. Thanks for sharing the pictures and the story. It’s no wonder an old Cope’s tin is getting as much as it does on Flea-Bay.
@davicles
–
The newer stuff does not display the Perique-pepper, and has its’ sweetness a little more up-front. The aged tobacco was more subtle in sweetness. Overall, the Perique seems more hidden in the newer tobacco, and less subtle in the aged.
–
I should have said this in the article: My tastes were off in Chicago. The change in climate from my hot, humid state of Florida to the cooler, drier Chicago-area changed my taste.
–
Every time I smoked an English blend (which is what I smoke the most, but I like almost everything), it didn’t taste good. When I smoked Virginias or Virginia/Perque, they tasted much better than the oddly no-taste English blends.
–
Escudo is a Virginia / Perique, but I do not know how my tasting abilities could have still been thrown off. This is why I didn’t put this post in the Tobacco Reviews section, and made it a blog post / story.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the vintage Escudo, Kevin.
It was quite generous of Romeowood to leave it with you to share.