This month, I decided to mix things up a little bit. General White Portion has been my snus of choice for quite some time along with Goteborgs Rape'.
Lately, though, I've been finding myself a little bored. Unlike cigarette smokers, where (I at least) pretty much settle on a brand and stay with it for years, snus users have the occasional need to switch off to something new. Then when they ultimately come back to their former favorites, it's a new experience again.
Instead of the General White Portion, I bought a roll of Philip Morris 1847 White Portion (that's right, Philip Morris: makers of Marlboro "snus"...and don't think that didn't make me a little nervous!)
I replaced my usual roll of Goteborgs Rape' White Portion with Jakobssons Ice Fruit Portion, and out of curiosity (I wasn't going to risk buying a roll on this one) I bought a can of the new Nick (&J) East.
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14 comments:
I'm really enjoying the Elixyr power energy portion snus!! So far, it's better than the strong OffRoad, which is still good, by my inexperienced tastebuds. I'm getting TRUE 'energy' effects from one pouch-25 minutes in, the kind of buzz that can only be achieved by shotgunning a 24 oz. RockStar drink followed by strong coffee. I'm really enjoying your blogs also!
Aaron, you'd better wear a helmet so your head doesn't explode! :-)
Hey man. I'm down in Corpus I was reading your blog about the snus.
I've known about snus for a long long time (I'm from England), but
never got a chance to try it.
I used to be a smoker, but I switched to cigars (too exspensive), and
then to dip (too unsocial). I actually like dip. I guess, judging by
the reactions from the residents, I shouldnt. Indeed, I should be
country, by all accounts! Not what you would expect from an
Englishman, I.T. guy. I don't care. I like nicoteen. It's the spit
that I do care about; it is gross.
Anyway, I ordered:
1847 By Philip Morris Original 1pack
Ettan Portion 1pack
General Portion 1pack
Grovsnus Portion 1pack
Jakobssons Classic Snus 1pack
Jakobssons Ice-Fruit Snus 1pack
Kronan Portion 1pack
LD Black Portion 1pack
LD Portion 1pack
Skruf Cranberry Portion 1pack
Skruf Portion 1pack
and a random one!
Hopefully I'm gonna like this stuff. Odd thing is, I already have the
feeling I'm going to love it!
Hi Colin!
Glad you enjoy my Blog and thanks for visiting.
As to your Snus choices, going by MY tastes, your are going to LOVE them!
Happy Snusing,
Mr. Unloadingzone
Mr. Unloadingzone, I enjoy your blog very much and it is very informative. My father and I used to dip copenhagen for many years and one day my father came across snus on the internet and your blog. He bought us both a sampler pack and we have never gone back to the american snuff. I have enjoyed all of the snus that I have tried so far, except for roots and offroad. I had to throw the roots away, it was horrible. I share your passion for snus and am working on converting many of my friends to it. I have lived in Texas (Austin and Abilene) my whole life, so I can relate to you and the horrible marlboro and camel snus (not really snus).
I just recieved my new order from buysnus with many different new ones to try. Among them are: 1847, General Sterk, Gotlandssnus Yellow, Jackobson's Classic, and Knox portion. I really like the Gotlandssnus, it has a milder tobacco taste with some subtile hints of something else. I am only on my third portion, so I havent decided what they are yet. The taste is very clean and pure. It is not as strong as General, but the taste is nice. It is very good, you should try it in your next order. I have not gotten to the others yet, but I cant wait to try the General Sterk. Thanks for all the great info!
Hi Anonymous!
I really like your choices! I've been hearing good things about the Gotlandssnus Yellow and do have it picked for my next order. I tend towards the stronger tasting snus's like Swedish Match's General Brand, but I've been mixing it up a little bit.
The Jacobssons Ice Fruit I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would...it's in my rotation now...so I also planned on trying the Classic. I do love that taste of pepper in General, though.
The 1847 reminded be almost too much of General which is why I contacted Swedish Match. They confirmed that Swedish Match has absolutely nothing to do with Philip Morris snus; either the 1847 or that......NOT SNUS they sell here as "Marlboro Snus".
If you could, comment back here or email me with your thoughts on the General Sterk once you get to it. It's at the top of my next order and I'm eager to get some feedback on it.
Knox portion is a great snus for the money.
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Sincerely,
Mr. Unloadingzone
Alright, I have tried the General Sterk. Sterk does not compare to any General product that I have tried before, and I have tried them all. The first two differences that I noticed right away were: 1) Sterk is much more sweet than salty. In all other General snus the salty taste is more overpowering than the sweetness, although there is a hint of lemon there.
2) The taste is not as powerful as other General snus, such as onyx. Onyx has a very strong and powerful taste and has a dominating salty flavour.
The layout is the same as Onyx, with the pouches in a fanned, or star formation, as it says on the can. It also says Norwegian Edition on the side of the can. I am not sure exactly what that means. Also, Sterk does not seem as strong (nicotine) as Onyx. This may be due to the fact that Sterk is white portion and Onyx is not, causing a slower flow of nicotine. I have also noticed that the flavour does not last as long as most white portion snus does. I would not say that I am dissappointed, but it is definatily differt from all other General products.
I have finally located that elusive flavour hint in Gotlandssnus Yellow portion: oranges. It has a very faint hint of oranges and when you open the can you can smell it. I am still a fan. I hope this info helps on General Sterk, but you will have to try it for yourself to see what you think.
Hi Anonymous!
Thanks for your comments on General Sterk. I might try a can instead of a roll the first time based on your comments.
Sterk is Stark (or strong) in Norwegian. According to my friend at Swedish Match, it was originally developed for the Norway market and has been out a while. It's very possible they tailored the taste to Norwegian preferences.
Nicotine wise, it has 11mg. which does make it a strong. I'm not sure what the Onyx has, but Swedish Match has never advertised it as a Stark snus and I never noticed a bigger nicotine hit from Onyx than regular General portion. I'll have to look into that.
Since the Sterk is priced below the Onyx range; in the same range as the General white portion: and since you've tried them all, how does the Sterk compare to the General white-portion?
The Onyx is going to be more concentrated than any of the Generals as it's their flagship product. Did the Sterk last as long as a General white portion?
This is the first I'm hearing of a significant taste change from other General products. Does it still have the peppery aftertaste? When you say "sweet", is it sugary sweet or fruit-sweet? Does it taste real or artificial?
All things considered, does it taste good (although different) or is it a real let-down like the Nick (& J) East turned out to be for me?
Apparently, different markets have different taste preferences, so when Swedish Match designs a product (like the Sterk and the Nick (&J) East and West for a specific market, they tailor the taste.
I'll be making some overseas calls this week.
Thanks for the candid review! And I like orange so the Gotlandssnus Yellow stays on my next order.
According to Northerner.com General Onyx has 11 mg/g, the same as Sterk. But snusexpress.com says that it has 8 mg/g. I don't see anywhere where the nicotine content is available on buysnus.com. I am not sure who is correct on that one. Compared with General white portion, Sterk is less powerful in taste and does not last as long. This may be due to the less powerful taste as compared with General white. I prefer the General white over the Sterk based on the flavour. Sterk is just not strong enough. I have not been able to detect any peppery aftertaste. The sweetness is more of a fruity sweet. Just like all white portion snus, Sterk takes a little bit longer to get going than regular portion. The taste in white portion is supposed to last longer, but Sterk seems to start with a big fruit-sweet flavour and then lose it very quickly. It doesn't take long and I can hardly taste it anymore. The fruit taste is not as artificial as the offroad cranberry that you have mentioned before, but it is not as real as Roda Lacket or Goteborgs Rape either. Overall, to me it was a let down due to the hype and advertising that they used to promote it. Like you say in your reviews, this is my own personal opinion and my taste may be different from yours and others. It warrants a try to see what you think. Also, I know that you prefer white portion over regular, while I prefer regular. I will be interested to hear what you think when you get your next order. Please let me know what you find out from your phone calls.
I have a voice mail into a Director at Swedish Match. If I don't hear back today, I'll call on their cell # tomorrow.
Despite some other snus user reviews I've read fawning over the Sterk, your very specific analysis of the taste compared to General white will reduce my next order from a roll to a can.
I hope our tastes are different and I like the Sterk because I do prefer white portions, but considering the detail you went into, while there's a chance I may like it, it's not what I was expecting or hoping for. All I wanted was a General white portion with 11mg of nicotine.
Swedish Match has always kept Generals base flavoring the same. I assumed the same for Sterk, as people associate specific brands with specific tastes.
On the other hand, the Nick (&J) East is so radically different from the original that, even though they did make it clear in the ad copy, it was as though it was from a different manufacturer altogether. And it's become a "love it or hate it" snus....I've never read anyone say "the East is OK but not my favorite". It's either "I like it" or "It tastes like $%^$".
When I talk to Swedish Match, I'll clear up the Onyx nicotine issue too. I only visit the Northerner web site on rare occasions as I don't purchase from them, so this is the first I've seen someone publish Onyx as 11mg.
Frankly, I'm a little skeptical. Not only Swedish Match, but every other Swedish snus producer I can think of goes out of their way to put Stark or Sterk or Strong on their high nicotine product. It's becoming a big selling point as new snus users, especially those coming off or continuing cigarettes, are indicating in study groups that they want the higher nicotine.
The only exception I can think of (and I don't have an empty can to verify it) is skruf cranberry portion. The advertising copy says it has a "higher grade" of nicotine (whatever that means), but I don't recall seeing Stark on the container like their original does. And BuySnus.com does not include it on their Strong snus page. It's listed with the regular skruf portion.
Considering the focus studies referenced above, if Onyx IS only 8mg., I could see General coming out with a Stark version of it, though. Now if they would only come out with a Stark WHITE portion Onyx......
I prefer white portion, by the way, because they do last longer and I pretty much walk around all day with a portion in my mouth.
In fact, I'm falling into the habit of taking a portion of something fruitier, like the Goteborgs or the Jakobssons Ice Fruit as I get into bed. I may be getting carried away.
When I connect with them, I should hopefully be able to clear this all up.
Thanks for the really detailed taste description. It's a given that everyone has different tastes, but your detail makes it possible to make a reasonable guess.
Hello!
I posted a message in the meebo thing, then read this review on Swesnus.
I ordered from Buysnus.com and will again tonight. Your interest in Gotlandssnus prompted this answer.
I got a tin of Gotlandssus Anis Portion in my last order. Tried Anis cus I used to use a bit of Star Anise rolled with Drum tobacco from time to time. It seems to accentuate the citrusy flavour, almost bringing it out too much for this boy. I'd say I prefer the Lingon berry flavour in Goteborg's Rape #2 over Gotlandssnus Anis. Gustavus original is a close second.
I'm just stepping into the world of Swedish Snus, even after visiting there several times as a kid. Now I'll hope to go again and freely cross the threshholds of Sweden's own purveyors of lip tingling bliss!!!
Tack skall du har!!!
best wishes from the great white north!!!
Mark
Hi Mark!
Were you the one on Meebo named LaLaLa? My bad: I had to run out and forgot to change the setting from Available to Away from my Computer. Sorry!
I like to mix good flavored snus's in my rotation when I don't feel like a hard tobacco taste. Anis has never been a favorite flavor of mine so I ordered Gotlandssnus Yellow. I'm intrigued by the tobacco they use in Gotland. I'm not a real mint fan, but Jacobsson's Ice Fruit has become a favorite. I like the Rape #2 also.
I envy you your trip to Sweden: I'd be like a kid in a candy store!
Thanks for visiting and stay in touch!
I just discovered this blog. wow, great to know there are other Americans who have discovered the great taste and relative safety of snus as compared with other forms of tobacco. I order from northerner.com and my favorite brand is Ettan white portion. snus on !
Great reviews!
I first started with snus when I got a few tins from Camel. It was when they first started the test market for them, and they were in a round tin that looked an awful lot like a hockey puck, instead of the vaguely rectangular tin. I liked it a lot, but couldn't find anywhere to buy some, so I ordered a bunch of different cans from buysnus.com
You're gonna love this... they actually sent me a whole roll of Goteborgs Rape' white portions for free. I don't know if it was an accident, or what, but I flipped out because that package (shipped seperately) arrived before the very carefully selected assortment of loose and portion snus that I had ordered got in. I contacted buysnus.com and they told me to keep the roll. Talk about customer service! "Here, have a roll of snus that is more expensive than your entire order for free!"
I also found a place on e-bay to buy more Camel Snus, but after comparing it to the real deal, I've been giving cans away. Yeah, it's okay in a pinch, but it just doesn't compare. Thanks, RJ Reynolds for getting me started, but I'll let Swedish Match take it from here, lol.
So, I'm down to my last few cans of snus, and making a real effort to get rid of my pack-a-day habit of Camel Wides, and found your reviews to be very helpful. I think, based on your recommendations, I'll be trying a few examples of General portions next, as well as (the original) Nick(otine)& Johnny.
My first order had Offroad, (which was terrible) Lucky Strike original and white portions, CatchDry vanilla coffee portions, Kronan loose, and Diplomat loose.
I've found that loose snus is a pain in the ass. I may try it again when I have a prismaster or an icetool to make it more convenient, but for now I'll stick to portions. The Kronan loose was surprisingly good for the price, and if I do decide to give loose snus another go-round, it will be part of the mix.
If you haven't tried them, I reccomend giving the Lucky Strike a try. It has a very strong pure tobacco flavor, and lasts a long time. It has a really nice nicotine hit to it, and comes through very quickly, even in the white portions. It was almost too strong for a stupid newbie like myself, and I had to have a glass of water when I first put it in or it would upset my stomach a little. It calmed down after a while, and lasted several hours. The original portions are very moist, almost dripping, and very dark as well.
Thanks again for your reviews, they have influenced my next snus purchase.
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