A Few Blends, Quick Ranks

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Aomalley27

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 8, 2021
763
1,701
Chicagoland area
Oops typo on that. The GLP blends are good, emp is great. I haven’t found a crossover like frog morton. The sweetness in it is totally unique to any other blend ive ever bought.
Not likely to find one either. The McClelland Virginia’s were what made FM so good.
I suppose you could always take some aged Virginia, and cut it into a regular English blend to try and get some reason of closeness.
 
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ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
2,770
9,071
51
Where NY, CT & MA meet
Not likely to find one either. The McClelland Virginia’s were what made FM so good.
I suppose you could always take some aged Virginia, and cut it into a regular English blend to try and get some reason of closeness.
As you said, no real substitute but there are some great sweet Latakia blends. Edward G Robinson and Wilke Lizzie Blood Red English are both fantastic.
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,984
50,245
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Different strokes for different folks, and that's not a bad thing.
I tried the Frogs and did not like them. I recently gave them away since I knew I would never smoke them.

With you on Dorchester, a little less so on Tilbury. But, a friend is sending me a sample made years ago before Germain's started topping it with their apricot topping. I'm looking forward to trying Tilbury as it was once made.

I love Dunbar. Lise some of the Esoterica blends, moisture level makes a big difference in flavor intensity in Dunbar.

Fillmore is an excellent Va/Per. I've smoked Fillmore fresh as well as aged, and I prefer it aged. I found fresh to be a bit rough around the edges and the flavors not quite as deep.

Escudo is no longer made, though something else is masquerading as Escudo these days. I won't buy it. I still have some tins of the Petersen's version that I'll pop every few years.
 
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GCW

Can't Leave
Nov 17, 2019
362
1,609
Seattle
Oops typo on that. The GLP blends are good, emp is great. I haven’t found a crossover like frog morton. The sweetness in it is totally unique to any other blend ive ever bought.
If you are looking at sweetened latakia blends I've got a few to recommend:

4noggins - Britt's Balkan
4noggins - Bald Headed Teacher
Boswell - Northwoods
Just for Him - Whiskey Bisquit Gravy
Country Squire - Hunting Creek
 

dcicero

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 23, 2019
591
2,886
Michigan
Different strokes for different folks, and that's not a bad thing.
I tried the Frogs and did not like them. I recently gave them away since I knew I would never smoke them.

With you on Dorchester, a little less so on Tilbury. But, a friend is sending me a sample made years ago before Germain's started topping it with their apricot topping. I'm looking forward to trying Tilbury as it was once made.

I love Dunbar. Lise some of the Esoterica blends, moisture level makes a big difference in flavor intensity in Dunbar.

Fillmore is an excellent Va/Per. I've smoked Fillmore fresh as well as aged, and I prefer it aged. I found fresh to be a bit rough around the edges and the flavors not quite as deep.

Escudo is no longer made, though something else is masquerading as Escudo these days. I won't buy it. I still have some tins of the Petersen's version that I'll pop every few years.
Mind elaborating on the Escudo comment? Petersen used to produce it?[/QUOTE]
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,984
50,245
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Mind elaborating on the Escudo comment? Petersen used to produce it?
[/QUOTE]
When Petersen made it, it was a terrific blend, and that extended into the early Orlic product. Once it switched to STG the components were switched out, and components have been switched out since then so that the blends doesn't much resemble what used to be Escudo. Aging it is a waste of time. I doesn't evolve like the Petersen, Gallaher, or Copes versions. The way that the Perique used in actual Escudo bloomed into a wonderfully fruitiness ain't happening with the STG incarnation. It barely changes over the years, kind of like the Portrait Of Dorian Gray.

So while tins stamped with the Escudo label are still being minted and filled with a coin cut "whatsis", Escudo is dead, just living a zombie afterlife.
 
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dcicero

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 23, 2019
591
2,886
Michigan
So while tins stamped with the Escudo label are still being minted and filled with a coin cut "whatsis", Escudo is dead, just living a zombie afterlife.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the reply. So what would be a replacement similar on flavor to Escudo, that would age well. And by the way, when I read stuff you write, I hear Sam Elliott in my head. Just sayin.
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,984
50,245
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
So while tins stamped with the Escudo label are still being minted and filled with a coin cut "whatsis", Escudo is dead, just living a zombie afterlife.
Thanks for the reply. So what would be a replacement similar on flavor to Escudo, that would age well. And by the way, when I read stuff you write, I hear Sam Elliott in my head. Just sayin.
First off, if you're happy with the Escudo you're smoking, there's no reason to change. The problem with imprinting on earlier versions is that you're unhappy with changes that don't provide a similar result.

I don't know of any current blends that are like the older versions of Escudo. I'm a fan of PS-LBF after a minimum of 4-5 years of aging, when it really blossoms. Before that it's cardboard to me. One of the reasons I stocked up on D&R Ten Year Blender's Bench Perique was that it had that same big fruitiness and I would add that to a Virginia to get that flavor. Unfortunately, that wonderfully aged Perique is no more.
 
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