Contemplating an Escudo buy of 50 tins, I said to myself, are you sure you wouldn't want to split that up? So I started opening up tins,
Escudo
Solani 633
Chenet's Cake
Fillmore
Robert McConnell Scottish Cake
Davidoff Flake Medallions
GH Louisiana Flake
and smoked about a dozen bowls of each. Findings:
Escudo, the Flake Medallions and Dunhill Navy Rolls are much more alike than different, although there are differences (I smoked a tin of DNR a few months back). Escudo has the most Perique and is smoother than the Flake Medallions. One could do far worse than smoke Escudo every time he wanted a VA/Perique. On the other hand, I'm not sure I would want to choose my favorite from among Escudo, Fillmore and Scottish Cake.
Scottish Cake reminds me so much of Hal O' the Wynd with its deep, dark red VA goodness. More perique than Fillmore.
Fillmore's red VA is smoother but not as deep, and the perique is better balanced than in Scottish Cake. I like Scottish Cake very much, but as regards balance Pease has the more deft hand; just enough to make it noticeable, a pleasing presence, while Scottish Cake seems as if the blender wanted to establish a perique presence equal to the deeper red VA. I will buy more of both.
GH Louisiana Flake would be a great all day smoke. The chocolate topping is well done, not too much nor too little. For me the VAs are not as delicious as the last two tobaccos, but I'm not sure the blenders wanted to make it anything more than enjoyable, which it certainly is.
I can't remember just when I smoked Solani 633 last, sometime before 2005 would be my guess. My memory of it was far different than what I remembered, which was sumptuous VA. The tin I opened was 2 years old, and I must say that I was startled by the floridity of the perique. It exploded with flavor. I talked to Chris Tarler about Chenet's Cake this morning, more about which follows below, and he said that perique ages very well; a year in a sealed barrel under a great deal of pressure would certainly make the tobacco ferment, and apparently after blending it never stops. At any rate, perhaps the perique in this tin had fermented more than usual. I really don't know, but i was very impressed with the blend and will buy more.
A few more words about Fillmore. I noticed in it the same excellent VA that I found in Quiet Nights and Embarque: more full and savory. It's as if Pease has found a way to amplify VA. I know that that may sound overstated or simplistic, but other VAs don't hold up to his. Also, the 8 oz canister of Fillmore that had had two years of age displayed a very full aroma not only of fermented VA but also a smell of rot, which disappointed quickly, which is the case of the olfactory bonanza that newly opened tobacco emits for only seconds. Within minutes the rotten smell vanished, leaving the aroma of fermented VA. I certainly tasted nothing degraded smoking it.
Finally Chenet's Cake. I've smoked about a lb. of John Patton Cool Hand Fluke, which is 40% perique while Chenet's Cake is 35%. I found the latter in every respect a far better blend than CHF, which for me settles into two stark tastes, the boatload of perique and the presence of VAs. There is almost no integration. Chenet's Cake on the other hand tastes like a fine VA blend with a lot of perique, and although 35% is a good deal of perique, and although this is a very strong presence, the VAs bind its flavors within it. I will definitely buy more, but then again I like extreme blends, and it might not be as enjoyable for you.
Overall doing this comparison has reawakened my taste for and appreciation of VA/Perique. In my mind I had been thinking that although these tobaccos compliment each other wonderfully, in fact maybe the best of all tobacco pairs, even better than latakia and orientals, which also find excellence in each other, the taste not at all that complex. Was I wrong!
But in the meantime I spent the money that was supposed to buy those 50 tins on two great pipes, both of which I love, so no big deal.
Escudo
Solani 633
Chenet's Cake
Fillmore
Robert McConnell Scottish Cake
Davidoff Flake Medallions
GH Louisiana Flake
and smoked about a dozen bowls of each. Findings:
Escudo, the Flake Medallions and Dunhill Navy Rolls are much more alike than different, although there are differences (I smoked a tin of DNR a few months back). Escudo has the most Perique and is smoother than the Flake Medallions. One could do far worse than smoke Escudo every time he wanted a VA/Perique. On the other hand, I'm not sure I would want to choose my favorite from among Escudo, Fillmore and Scottish Cake.
Scottish Cake reminds me so much of Hal O' the Wynd with its deep, dark red VA goodness. More perique than Fillmore.
Fillmore's red VA is smoother but not as deep, and the perique is better balanced than in Scottish Cake. I like Scottish Cake very much, but as regards balance Pease has the more deft hand; just enough to make it noticeable, a pleasing presence, while Scottish Cake seems as if the blender wanted to establish a perique presence equal to the deeper red VA. I will buy more of both.
GH Louisiana Flake would be a great all day smoke. The chocolate topping is well done, not too much nor too little. For me the VAs are not as delicious as the last two tobaccos, but I'm not sure the blenders wanted to make it anything more than enjoyable, which it certainly is.
I can't remember just when I smoked Solani 633 last, sometime before 2005 would be my guess. My memory of it was far different than what I remembered, which was sumptuous VA. The tin I opened was 2 years old, and I must say that I was startled by the floridity of the perique. It exploded with flavor. I talked to Chris Tarler about Chenet's Cake this morning, more about which follows below, and he said that perique ages very well; a year in a sealed barrel under a great deal of pressure would certainly make the tobacco ferment, and apparently after blending it never stops. At any rate, perhaps the perique in this tin had fermented more than usual. I really don't know, but i was very impressed with the blend and will buy more.
A few more words about Fillmore. I noticed in it the same excellent VA that I found in Quiet Nights and Embarque: more full and savory. It's as if Pease has found a way to amplify VA. I know that that may sound overstated or simplistic, but other VAs don't hold up to his. Also, the 8 oz canister of Fillmore that had had two years of age displayed a very full aroma not only of fermented VA but also a smell of rot, which disappointed quickly, which is the case of the olfactory bonanza that newly opened tobacco emits for only seconds. Within minutes the rotten smell vanished, leaving the aroma of fermented VA. I certainly tasted nothing degraded smoking it.
Finally Chenet's Cake. I've smoked about a lb. of John Patton Cool Hand Fluke, which is 40% perique while Chenet's Cake is 35%. I found the latter in every respect a far better blend than CHF, which for me settles into two stark tastes, the boatload of perique and the presence of VAs. There is almost no integration. Chenet's Cake on the other hand tastes like a fine VA blend with a lot of perique, and although 35% is a good deal of perique, and although this is a very strong presence, the VAs bind its flavors within it. I will definitely buy more, but then again I like extreme blends, and it might not be as enjoyable for you.
Overall doing this comparison has reawakened my taste for and appreciation of VA/Perique. In my mind I had been thinking that although these tobaccos compliment each other wonderfully, in fact maybe the best of all tobacco pairs, even better than latakia and orientals, which also find excellence in each other, the taste not at all that complex. Was I wrong!
But in the meantime I spent the money that was supposed to buy those 50 tins on two great pipes, both of which I love, so no big deal.
