Frustrated by Escudo Navy De Luxe Rolls

[sablebrush52]

In book publishing, there’s the idea that the mega-sellers—the Stephen Kings and James Pattersons of the world—are the books profitable enough to enable their publisher to produce other books that are worthy of publication but which will never sell many copies. Without the mega-sellers, the others would never be able to see the light of day from a traditional publisher. (As a writer who is not likely to ever produce a best-seller—and has no interest in self-publishing—my own books have definitely benefited from this situation.)

Here’s my point: You’d think this could work for pipe tobacco as well. Given the dozens upon dozens of blends and brands that STG oversees, wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that some are profitable enough to fund an Escudo or a Peterson blend that is actually treated with the individualized care and attention they would have received in the past when produced by Cope’s/A&C Petersen or Dunhill/Murray’s? You mentioned Escudo…but up until the 1960s Dunhill’s individual ingredients were well-aged before ever ending up in a blend. That shifted as owners economized and streamlined. But I don’t see any reason why a company could not afford to return to that practice, assuming there were best-sellers to balance out the economics.

The alternative is that everything is becoming genericized as a handful of major blend/brand owners (such as MacBaren and STG) are using the same leaf and same manufacturing procedures for every single thing they produce. Since they are produced in the same factory now (and have been for almost two decades), Peterson Flake and Orlik Golden Sliced are likely made from the exact same Virginia leaf—when, in the past, they would have been: sourced from different growers, made from different leaf, aged differently and under unique conditions, produced on unique machinery, and humidified with different casings.

It seems to me that there’s still a market for blends that are truly distinctive in quality.

I agree 100%. You've stated the current situation admirably well. Blends are homogenized and indistinct compared with the blends of decades ago, and the quality of the components is heading downward. Smokers accept this in part because they've never experienced what these blends could be. Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.

Murray's made some steep cuts in processing of some of the Dunhill blends and STG is even further away, but it's what smokers know and they base their scale on that. STG is the McDonald's of the blending world. Reliable but not much more.

And they have no incentive to do better because it's not going to increase their profits. We're a niche market at best. People buy the current Escudo and think it's wonderful because they haven't been exposed to what it really was. Same is true with Balkan Sobranie, the Dunhill blends, Capstan, etc, etc. Denmark is where British blends go to die, though the Isle of Jersey is killing off Balkan Sobranie.

The idiosyncratic nature of blends developed by individual makers is mostly gone. G&H still produces some good blends. The Esoterica line is crumbing. McClelland was the last maker who maintained standards and closed up when they could no longer do that.

But there are individual blenders still doing some pretty good work with what vintage or high quality leaf they can find and I've been fortunate to get to sample some of that. They're people you're never heard of, mostly not in the US, not where you might expect. Small production, more expensive than the average smoker is accustomed to. Pretty expensive shipping. Is it the equal of what was on the shelf a few decades back? No, but it's a few steps above what is being marketed today.

The problem with trying to sell a premium grade of blend on any scale is that smokers largely won't pay for it. They think they're paying too much as it is. And because some of today's smokers have not smoked a really finely made blend, such as was made by Sobranie Ltd, McConnell, Rattray, W.D. & H.O Wills, etc, decades ago with components no longer available, and have no experience of it, they're quite happy with what they have today.

 

[briarblues]

I was waiting to see if someone else said it... but since STG took over Escudo, it is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Escudo in name and tin art only. It is not terrible, but it is not as awesome as it Escudo used to be. It definitely is not worth the premium prices that places are asking these days. If you get a chance to try one of the older tins, take it!

Couldn't agree more, that Escudo has changed. It is my daily blend of choice, and I enjoy it greatly, but compared to when it was under the Cope's brand ... a far cry......

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Couldn't agree more, that Escudo has changed. It is my daily blend of choice, and I enjoy it greatly, but compared to when it was under the Cope's brand ... a far cry......

Copes was acquired by Gallaher around 1952. In 1986, a collector named John Herring brought a knife lid tin of Copes Escudo to a show. By the tax stamp, it could be dated to 1948. He graciously opened it and a fair number of us were fortunate enough to get a bowl full. A transcendent experience. I had, at that time, tins of Escudo that still prominently said Copes on the label that could reliably be dated to the early 1970's. Very good tobacco, but in spite if it's age, the 1948 version still was more of a powerhouse than anything Gallaher ever tinned, not to mention current STG.

John Loring used to say that Gallaher was where good blends went to die. That was 30 years ago or more. The "downgrade" has been going on for longer than that.

Fortunately for me, things like Dark Birds Eye, Bob's Chocolate Flake, Bosun, Conniston, etc. are still recognizable to me as what I was first exposed to in the mid 1980's. Variations from batch to batch? Only real outlier I have had was a box of Louisiana Flake that was hopelessly dried out. Everything else, so far, has been within the range of what I have come to expect. I hope this continues, but for several reasons supply chains for ingredients are under stress, including in the so called "Commonwealth" growing regions that @gawithhoggarth utilizes extensively.

And also fortunately for me, I can enjoy lots of current production stuff from the larger companies. I just finished a bowl of MacBaren Virginia #1. Good easy smoking blend. There are lots of respectable choices out there. But most of them aren't the same today as they were yesterday.

 

[vosBghos]

The alternative is that everything is becoming genericized as a handful of major blend/brand owners (such as MacBaren and STG) are using the same leaf and same manufacturing procedures for every single thing they produce. Since they are produced in the same factory now (and have been for almost two decades), Peterson Flake and Orlik Golden Sliced are likely made from the exact same Virginia leaf—when, in the past, they would have been: sourced from different growers, made from different leaf, aged differently and under unique conditions, produced on unique machinery, and humidified with different casings.

It seems to me that there’s still a market for blends that are truly distinctive in quality.

This, and when looking at K&K, Solani Aged Burley Flake, Wessex Burley Slice, and the recent Cobblestone Hiking, the same stuff maybe slightly different casings but they are all sourced, produced, packaged, and distributed by K&K. As these globs devour and assimilate the smaller companies get ready for the New Tobacco World Order. I'm grabbing as many aged tins as I can and doing comparisons. Its bitter sweet for sure.

 

[ThermionicScott]

The last few posts illustrate why I like trying blends from Greg Pease and Watch City -- if nothing else, I can be reasonably sure what I get is in line with the original vision for them.

 

[rmbittner]

The last few posts illustrate why I like trying blends from Greg Pease and Watch City -- if nothing else, I can be reasonably sure what I get is in line with the original vision for them.

Regarding GLPease: Absolutely. (Haven’t tried Watch City.) And in that regard, C&D is successfully demonstrating how one manufacturer can produce two truly distinctive brands—maintaining each one’s unique identity—under the same roof. (I haven’t tried the Drucquer and Sons blends or the Two Friends blends yet. Maybe C&D is actually able to produce three or four truly distinctive brands under one roof!)