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.
A Few Blends, Quick Ranks
- Thread starter dcicero
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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.
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.
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.
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
Mind elaborating on the Escudo comment? Petersen used to produce it?[/QUOTE]
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Yep... AC Petersen. (Supposedly using the old Cope recipe and original presses)
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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.
Your's should be good.
By 2013 it wasn't the same stuff. And a source has informed me that the tobaccos have changed again since then.
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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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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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.
1997 Petersen took up production from the defunct Gallagher. They then stopped importing to US. 2006 was when Orlik began shipping back to US, though they manufactured it two or three years before that.
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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