Escudo is well represented in my cellar and for good reason. This blend ages with the best of them. Although, I really enjoy this blend with just a year of age on it. At this time when you crack a tin it has an incredible tin note of muscadines. The smell takes me back to my childhood and stopping at fruit stands on the side of the road with my mom. The blend not only smells great but it also taste pretty darn good too. The blend supports a wonderful mix of fruit, spice and a touch of hay (particularly when it is young). Give this one a try if you have not done so already. Read Less

I don't write reviews often, but this one seemed to be a given. As is my usual practice, I opened a tin of Peterson EMP, the day after I got it, and the day before I smoked it. The introduction of air to a vacuum sealed tin always tends to excite the poor tobacco that has been deprived, and it gets it pretty excited. Well I must say I was incredibly happy to have EMP back. From the moment I opened the tin I could remember the wonderful scent of Dunhill EMP. From the moment of the 1st burn, everything was right in the world again. Thank you Peterson for picking this back up, and keeping it exactly the same!! Read Less

This is a great tobacco, but it is very sensitive to how you pack the pipe. It needs a bit of trial to get it right, but it is really flavorful and easy smoking with no bite once you get the packing and cadence down right. The 100g tin has a really long spiral flake and one needs to tear off enough to either rub out just a bit or stuff directly into the bowl with only a short drying time ... Read Less

Ive smoke about a quarter pound of regular and special reserve plum pudding now and they share a common thread... they are absolutely delicious. I do prefer the special reserve for it's added smoothness and depth of flavor. Normally i just prefer to slice off a slab and loosely crumble it into medium to large sized chunks for a solid 1.5 hour smoke. A word of caution: only prepare what u intend to smoke for the next pipe or day at most. I made the mistake of preparing half the brownie since i was smoking so much of it and then i ended up putting it aside for a couple months. The plum flavor will dissipate during that time. Smoked fresh the plum flavor is absolutely fantastic and is a companion from first light to last puff. Rich, smokey, mesquite, spicy, smooth, and truly a melange of fine smoky and plum flavors that is intoxicating in the best way. I dont deliberate on the flavors im tasting here, i just lounge in my chair and drink it all in and relax. A little mesquite here, a lot of campfire and leather there, and some spicy perique and cavendish throughout. Make no mistake though, this is more enjoyable with the plum flavor present and accounted for. If you like a rich english smoke its hard to go wrong here. Medium in body and mild in nicotine from my experience. Even after several relights it maintains its flavor and body without getting harsh. Special reserve ages magnificently, and gets even smoother and more rich/complex in flavor. In my opinion this is the best that SPC has to offer hands down, being a true stand out blend. If I may be so bold... both this blend and the original are easily in the top 10 best blends currently in production and for my preference top 3( even over penzance). As a lover of pretty much all tobaccos, and a guy whose rotation and preferences are forever shifting and exploring new blends, PPSR always finds ito way back to the top of my rotation. If you like English tobaccos I highly recommend trying this one. It may be a little pricey but it's worth every penny. ADDENDUM: In the time since I first smoked these blends, I've learned that I largely dislike the processing done on most* Sutliff and McClelland blends. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoy PP Special Reserve and other blends from these companies. Generally speaking I do not, however, so I figured it might be a good idea to add this info in case there are people with similar likes and dislikes. My opinion of PP Special Reserve remains unchanged for now (I'm about.to pop a fresh tin and begin the journey side by side with aged regular PP), and that is to say that it is pretty awesome stuff and extremely smooth. It might be impossible to make this one bite, once dried correctly. Seriously. Read Less

let me just say that C&D is a love or hate relationship for me, some of their blends are beyond amazing, and some are like.. did you guys even try this before you tinned it up?? this one, is very very very light on the aro side, just a hint of cinnamon, and a very very light clovey exhale, yet the vanilla comes through at the end of the bowl, this one has much more of a pure tobacco taste to it than it is an aromatic, it is very good and smooth though, for a non aro guy who wanted some holiday flavor profile, this would be the perfect tin, i do enjoy this baccy, but if your ordering this i would also suggest getting a tin of McCellands holiday spirit, that is pretty much my all time fav. just a suggestion. buy this baccy? yes! but it is not a flavor bomb by any means. Read Less

Wow, I really like this stuff! I can tell a definite difference from Plum Pudding Special Reserve, both are great. If you like the regular Plum Pudding, this should be next for your buying consideration. Has a great aftertaste. Read Less

This has been my go to blend since ever I opened up my first tin. The sweet smell of the “dressing” or topping initially entranced me to light up bowl after bowl. The complexity of Virginias and that sweet taste. It doesn’t disappoint! For me it does best in a smaller pipe. If you pick up a tin, get ready to set sail on the Royal Yacht. Read Less

This is my favorite tobacco, it's absolutely perfect. It's perfectly balanced, lightly smoky, slightly sweet, nutty creamy, and a little incense like from the orientals. It smokes cool with no bite whatsoever and has a wonderful aftertaste, I'm stocking up on this. Read Less

Seattle pipe club releases are like Christmas. The tobacco is a present that Nana knit you herself. It’s an amazing present . However she made you the same thing in a different color last Christmas, and on your birthday…and on Easter . It doesn’t matter to you though. You love it when Nana knits you things, but Nana’s a little senile, and you are pretty sure she is always drunk . You don’t care though , Nana knits the best stuff , even if it’s all pretty much a variation on the same thing. Uncle Bobby, on the other hand, he is getting really pissed about getting the same present from Nana . He punched uncle Dave in the face and is yelling about how Nana’s knitting was better before she started knitting the same thing over and over for more and more people . Uncle Bobby thinks that Nana is overextending her business model and using marketing to push her product rather then relying on quality and integrity... You just think that Nana makes a really good knit hat…Don’t be uncle Bobby. Read Less

I've tried lots of English style blends and this Artisan's Blend stands out above most others. Has a slightly sweet/sour note in the background that is distinctive and attractive. An excellent pipe tobacco. In my opinion it is better than the current editions of Dunhill blends. A very nice smoke in the evenings. Read Less

<p>Now I'm the first to admit that this review may be quite subjective - but this tobacco has made it to the top of my list and has become my all-day smoke; to the extent that I'm hesitant filling my pipe with any of the other great tobaccos in my collection.</p> <p>I love everything about Presbyterian, starting with opening the tin, feasting my eyes on the coarsely cut mixture of bright and dark leaves. This is accompanied by the delicious musty, earthy, and spicy aroma. The cut is ideal for the way I fill my pipe (similar, but not identical, to the 'air pocket' method).</p> <p>The tobacco lights easily, even when slightly moist from a freshly opened tin. When it has dried out just a little, it can be smoked all the way down from the first light, although I would rarely smoke a bowl in one sitting; that is no problem though, as it maintains its delicious taste and aroma, even after cooling down and sitting for some time before a relight.</p> <p>As a lover of Orientals, I find these tobaccos to be the star of the show, perfectly complemented by the Latakia and Virginia. I have always loved Latakia, and still do, but these days I prefer its use as a condiment rather than a major ingredient (as found in many English and Balkan blends); and in this regard, Presbyterian really shines. The components combine to give the tobacco a somewhat sweet, almost aromatic note, but one can sense that it is all natural, without any casing or flavoring.</p> <p>I love retro-haling, and this brings out even more flavors, adding a delightfully pungent note to the smoke; and to me that must be Presbytarian's greatest achievement - providing so many delicious flavors without resorting to anything artificial.</p> <p>As a previous reviewer has mentioned, my main regret is the fact that it is not available in bulk.</p> Read Less

I love the imagery of tall ships and a sailor's life. That's what I think of when I hear “Capstan” (with a Stan Rogers song playing in my head). But most people think of Middle Earth. Nearly everyone has heard that J.R.R. Tolkien smoked Capstan and possibly created the high fantasy genre in the process. It would be a stretch to think the tobacco alone made that possible and a discredit to his intellect. Having said that, it's not hard to see what he found so appealing about Capstan. What you may not know is that tobaccos age and mature and then peak. We all like to get a tin and eagerly crack it open and dive right in, but this leads to a lot of differing opinions of taste and experience. Not every batch is the same readiness and it takes careful consideration with a flake like Capstan to know if it's time to smoke or time to wait. I've had some that were wonderfully sweet and bready right away, but I've also had some that were bitter and sort of pungent from a freshly opened tin that benefited greatly from the passage of time. I believe that Capstan is good quality and that it's blenders keep in mind an end result that given various crops of tobacco require adjustments to be made if that end goal is to be consistent. If you find you have a negative experience with this flake, please don't throw it out in haste, be patient and return to it after a week, a month, 6 months...eventually you'll discover why this tobacco is revered. It is a survivor for a reason, don't be misled by rash decisions. Good things come to those that wait. Read Less

This tobacco is absolutely perfect. Orlik is like an old, dear friend or slipping into some comfy clothes. I prefer the smaller tin, which is probably mental - but it just tastes better to me this way. This tobacco has saved angry pipes who didn't like anything, and broken in some new pipes excellently. A standard; a classic. So terrific when your pipe aquires a taste for it after a few bowls. I cannot state enough how beloved Orlik Golden Sliced is. It is as perfect of a flake as one can hope for. A+ Read Less