Discreet Snus Review

Back again in Northern Los Angeles. Its warm and dry, my eyes are running, my Margarita is delicious, and i am once again dining in the company of Snus royalty, and this time, i met the KING! 

After Annoying him with talk of Northerner back in the day, the future of snus worldwide, poisonous animals and fun adventure vacation destinations, i get gifted with the greatest adornments of all. A huge bag of my beloved Roda lacket Los, yummy chocolates that put American and Australian candy productions to shame, a beautiful stainless steel snus tin that i will treasure for a lifetime and an assortment of samples for me to taste and review. Snus girl, knowing full well what my snus preferences are, hands me 3 small packets and immediately says, "Sarah if you dont want to do this, i will" haha, how could i refuse her pretty face!

So here i am, about to embark on another journey into the seedy underbelly of American "Snus".

I remember my last US Snus experience. It was 2009, so much talk was surrounding Rj Renolds, and as a former Camel Turkish Silver smoker, i just had to try the 'mellow' for myself. needless to say i had 3 portions, they tasted like crap, threw the rest in the trash and used the tin for a coin purse.

I am so hoping Discreet is going to be better. If its not i have nothing to show for it. no cool looking tin, just 3 empty plastic bags and a feeling of utter disgust and mouth violation. we shall see.

Discreet Snus, a brand from Virginia based American Smokeless Tobacco, has been around the traps for a few years now. Selling the business a while ago (and if the portions i have got are not already 2 years old) somebody has once again started production. It comes in 5 flavors: Full Flavor, Emerald Ice, Cool Mint, Strawberry and Peach. I have been given Emerald, Strawberry and full flavor so those are what i will review.

Im dragging my feet as you can see; i do not want to try this, and what i don't want to do i don't do, but my word i keep so here goes!

Upon opening the pouches the first thing you notice is the smell.  These people use so much flavoring they put V2 to shame! good lord! is this Snus or candy?? 

The portions are small and as dry as a nuns gusset.  They requite proper crushing with ones fingers before placing, otherwise you have a hard bullet in your mouth. 

I will break down the taste and flavor individuality as follows:

Strawberry portion: My favorite of them all. The smell of sweet berries with a slight medicinal undertone. Kinda like a Ricola, yummy and funky all in one. It reminds me of strawberry flavored salt water taffy, and being a food grade product, it would not surprise in the least me if they used the same flavorings meant for candy production. Very tasty and decedent with a slight hint of tobacco, a nice change.

Full Flavor portion: The smell; kinda like Camel mellow but not so mellow. A real hint of enhanced tobacco and pepper that is not present in the other two. My least favorite of the three though. If im going to have junk floor sweepings in a pouch, i want it to at least taste good. I like the flavor or REAL tobacco, not tobacco that has been enhanced with the taste of tobacco for the sake of trying to get something that should be present in the first place. It's a sweet smokey tobacco that people will either love or hate. put me in the hate basket please!

 

Emerald Ice portion: The smell of this is identical to Crest toothpaste. I dont know if its a good or bad thing but its true. Its unlike anything i have smelled in the Snus department. It has the slight tingle of super clean mint with a sweet aftertaste. By the smell i was expecting these to be laden with artificial sweeteners. Its there but no where near as bad as General Nordic mint or American marketed catch mint. This one wanders around the mouth a lot more then the rest, somewhat acts like a breath-mint..Bonus! not bad, not bad at all.

Mocca Mini Left Discreet Snus Right

Although Discreet will never make it in my line up of Snus, it does have some really good qualities that are worth mentioning. The pouches are very comfortable, packed to the brim and stay in place for a long ass time! I guess being dry has something to do with it as well, you will never get drip with these and they are smaller then all swedish snus pouches by at least a quarter (see picture) I guess they really do live up to the name Discreet.  Their highly flavored and scented and would appeal to American Dip users and women looking for a cigarette alternative (if it can get someone away from those products it has my respect!)

The nicotine level is decent at 7.4 mg's. I definitely did not need to put in two pouches, but that might be because i have just done three portions in a row. 

I do believe Discreet has a place in the Snus market. Live long, snus, prosper and come out with a tin already!

Adios.

Gotländskt Julesnus ( Christmas Snus) Portion Review

Gotländskt Julesnus (Christmas snus) Portion
Swedish Snus review

I just love these seasonal snuses that comes out a few times a year. It's fun, and you always look forward and long for the next one. I got a can of Summer Snus shipped to me from Gotlandssnus last summer. I loved that snus! I've been longing for the next Summer Snus since then.

Anyway, this is all about the Julesnus (Christmas snus).

I started with opening the can and smelling the product as I always do, and OMG this actually gets me in Christmas mood! It's really hard for me to take in the Christmas Atmosphere here in LA. It gives me this unreal feeling when seeing the Christmas trees and decorations out on a hot sunny day. I'm used to it being snow everywhere during Christmas in Sweden. (I'm not complaining about the weather though! Love it here!)

The smell of this snus is absolutely wonderful! I definitely think it smells of cloves, cinnamon and other Christmas spices. What my nose says is not always right so I checked Northerners description "A taste of Christmas! Flavor of ginger bread, cinnamon and glu wein." I bet it is clove in there somewhere as well. I'm very sensitive about that flavor ever since my husband put cloves in our pepper mill believing it was pepper. Leaving me wondering why all our food tasted like cloves for a month before I figured it out.

I put a portion in and at first I was kind of disappointed. I thought it would have more of this wonderful Christmas flavor but it actually came through more and more as longer I kept it in. The tobacco flavor which I actually am not to found of also came through very nice in this snus. It suits very well with these spices. I thought it could have a little more sweetness to it as the Jakobsson's snus does, but on the other hand I tend to eat a lot of sweets during Christmas so this might even it out a little. I also think the saltiness would make it good together with a Christmas beer.
This snus is runny, so for those of you who likes tobacco juice this is a really good snus. The nicotine level is good and both me and my husband compared it to Jakobsson's strong, although it's only 9mg of nicotine. It feels stronger than that. Jimmy explained to me that it contains more moisture than their regular snus so that's why it might feel stronger.
This snus is a little bit to strong for me to use in the morning (most snuses are nowadays) however I found it to be a great evening snus.

The snus tin is very nice. It's the same clean white tin as for the Jakobsson's snus and it has the same neat compass details as the other cans. It has really nice Christmas decorations all over it and is definitely a nice can to have laying around to raise the Christmas atmosphere. 

Go get yourselves a can of authentic Gotländsk Julesnus, it's definitely worth the money.

Pure Nordic Classic Portion Review

As you might remember I got a box of Pure Nordic goodies shipped to me a while ago. Since I'm not a big fan of classic flavored snus I gave a can to Sarah when i arrived to LA. Here's her review of Pure Nordic Classic:

Pure Nordic Classic Portion
Swedish Snus Review

I am super excited about this snus! Never heard of Pure Nordic before? That’s ok, neither have I!
I enjoyed almost all of my tin before I decided some research was in order. They are a brand new innovative company from Aalborg Denmark (although some say they are a subsidiary of V2, with the same can design, flavors and processing), but I believe them when they say they are new :)
Their products are what intrigue me the most.  They have a whole line of portioned snus (licorice, icemint, classic and wintergreen) and come in classic and mini pouch sizes, 2 varieties of los (classic and strong), a nicotine free variety, and a new cost effective large resalable bag.
Now we all know that Nordic is not the first company to come up with the whole value model.  V2 also has the snusX bucket; A large economy package in which you can add different flavorings, to create your own individual snus.
The Nordic pouch bag is an economy product where one bag equals 10 normal cans.  The cost however is only about half of the normal recommended retail price.  The pouches only need to have regular water added and left to infuse overnight.  This is what the snus industry needs more of, as we all know how expensive our tobacco addictions can be.  I am yet to try the value bag, and as long as the quality of the portions is not compromised, then I am already a fan.
Pure Nordic is one of the most non-threatening snus’s on the market. Key facts I was thinking about while enjoying these portions was how well rounded and adapting Nordic is. It’s the perfect snus to keep in the fridge and literally have anywhere anytime. The portion material is soft and dry with no drip or irritation. I have had my portions in for an hour with no ill effect.

The taste is almost indescribable as Nordic possesses qualities of many popular snus brands.  It has a citrus note like General, a good quality tobacco taste like Pioneer and Jakobbsons, and a ripe smoothness like Oden’s and Gotlandsnus.  I’m not saying it’s the BEST quality available, but it certainly is a cut above some of the others on the market.
Since there is no published information on the strength of Nordic, I’m guessing from how soon I need another portion that it’s between 11-14mg’s.  Adequate enough to last a long time without the need for more nicotine and the warm peppery tobacco taste makes you feel satisfied without the overpowering hit that strong portions can provide.

Nordic is also the perfect gateway snus as it is mild and possesses the flavor characteristics of many snus’s, thus making it a good jumping off point into other realms of the snus market.
All in all I really enjoyed my sample of Pure Nordic, The taste is nice, the strength good, it’s comfortable and definitely fills a void in my life for a good all-rounder snus for any time of day and any occasion.  I cannot wait to try all their varieties, especially the Los. Yay im a fan!

This snus is available in some stores in Norway as well as on their online web shop.

Oden's Cold Portion Review

Oden's Cold Portion
Swedish Snus Review

I have been well impressed with oden’s lately.  Their Wintergreen, Lakrits Licorice, Extreme and original classic have all been high quality, tasty and satisfying.  Picture it; A beautiful day in northern Los Angeles.  The sun is shining bright, our alcoholic beverages are kicking in and our tummies are slowly filling with chicken and fish salad.   You can imagine my surprise when Snus girl handed me a bag of goodies filled with the most delicious Scandinavian milk chocolate, e-cigs, smoke gel and assorted tins of snus. What caught my attention first was this beautiful little gem! I saw it glistening at me through the dark depths of the bag, and I immediately snatched it up for a closer inspection!  Of course the labeling is pure genius. Bright silver on solid black which screams look at me, touch me, open me and try me! Self-control has never been one of my strong points, so who am I to argue!

The smell is that of pure spearmint. I can only liken it to sticking your face into a bunch o mint and sniffing in so hard that the leaves block your nostrils and you are punched down in a sea of Mentha.  It’s a lot more pure and distinguishable then thunder frosted and unlike General Nordic mint, it’s cleaner and more authentic in both smell and flavor.
OMG the burn my friends! By far the most painful and Sterk of all Snus! It makes you want to scream out in pleasure it’s so amazing! Thunder has nothing on this, and it lasts for a good 20 minutes without any subsiding. When the throbbing finally stops you are left wondering what you have been complaining about all this time.  You desperately switch sides to try and get the pain back again but it’s gone, and you are left wanting the effects of the tobacco to dwindle, so you can do another portion as soon as possible.
This one produced a bit of saliva for me and I found myself getting up to spit a few times. Im guessing it’s my body’s way of trying to dilute the perceived irritant.  Definitely not a snus I would want to do on the move. I wouldn’t want the cute guy in the car next to me thinking I was some redneck dipper; after all I still have all my teeth and perfect gum health!

I have found that Odens cold is best kept in the freezer and used in the privacy of your own home.  Having these portions stored as cold as possible allows for longer flavor and burn and a more constant distribution of the nicotine, of which is 9mg, but because of the burn, feels more like 16!

The pouch size is that for all Oden’s products, regular wide, soft material and medium filled.  I wish they came in long portions, I really feel that that is the way of the future in oral tobacco products.  Somebody said the other day they could see my portion protrude down over my teeth so, I would rather have a longer portion that is discrete then one that is visible.
Surprisingly the flavor of Cold is not as strong as the smell. I guess the burn kind of overshadows the mint, but there is a definite taste there, especially when pressed with the tongue.
I cannot wait to get my hands on more Oden’s Cold!  It’s a little too powerful as a breakfast snus, so I have cleared a space for it after dinner to freshen my mouth and enjoy a different textural and taste component that no other snus can provide. You have been warned, but enjoy ok!

Available both to US, Europe and other countries here  

Julesnus

I love checking my mailbox right now. Look what I got this week!

Christmas snus from Gotlandssnus. Can it get any better than this?
Reviews will be up shortly.

When does snus tastes its best?

Some fun info a grey thursday morning in LA:

Sifo did a survey among Swedish snusers at the request of a snus-company. One of the questions they asked was when snus tastes its best.

41 % said snus tastes its best after morning coffee
37% said after a meal

Read the whole article in Swedish here

I know I've said it before, my best snus during the day is definitely after my morning coffee. Nothing can compare to the first snus in the morning.

I also like the last snus in the evening before I go to bed. Knowing it's my last snus during the day makes me enjoy it more.

What do you think? Which is your favorite snus during the day?

Thunder White Portion Snus!

I got this in the mail from V2 tobacco some days ago. It's the Thunder white portions! Reviews will be up soon. I've been hoping for V2 to make Thunder white portions since I first started snusing and finally they are here! It's so hard to find white portions with strong nicotine content. My husband has been trying to steal these from me since he first saw them.
Note to self: I need to get a safe-deposit box for our apartment.

Göteborgs Rapé Lime Review

Göteborgs Rapé Lime portion
Swedish Snus review

This snus has the most refreshing limey-citrus flavor ever! It doesn’t remind me of anything I’ve tasted before so I would say it’s quite unique and I absolutely love it, it is so refreshing! It’s almost better than having a candy in my mouth, that’s how much I like it!

The taste lasts and is strong for quite a while, at least for as long as I’d want to have it in my mouth which can be up to 30 minutes sometimes so long lasting for sure! I am not a beer drinker myself but this would be the perfect tobacco to use while sipping on a Corona on a hot summer day.

If anyone from Swedish Match is reading this I have a question; Does the smell of these pouches come as a perfume? Cause I just might buy it, haha! No but seriously it smells fantastic, I probably shouldn’t admit this but I have caught myself walking to my purse just to open the can and smell the pouches on several occasions. I normally don’t go around sniffing things like that but I am just madly in love with these pouches and the way they smell. And taste.

I even love the way the can looks even though it’s just the standard Goteborgs Rape’ can with a splash of green on the bottom, swirling all the way around the can. The green and blue combo with the golden can is just perfect! The pouches are slightly larger than the standard white portions, but you know what? That is fantastic because this snus is so good I almost want to put two pouches in at once.

Apart from being slightly larger they are just as nice and soft as the other white portions from Swedish Match – kudos to them for finding the perfect pouch softness! As far as nicotine content is concerned it’s medium strong and about the same as the regular Goteborgs Rape’ which I think works perfectly with the larger pouches.

I am so happy I got to try this snus, it it seriously the best one ever. If it was a man I would marry it! Don’t tell my husband that though, haha! If you haven’t tried this one yet you need to go to Northerner.com immediately and get some, I promise you won’t be sorry!