Just released, and landed on my desk this morning. First impression, what a kick ass can! One thing that's often bothered me about Swedish snus is their effeminate packaging (white cans, frilly fonts, flowers etc)... well that is NOT the case with this one. It has an almost military issued look to it. Brown label, black can, GROV in big black letters with tiny "stark" accent in red... hands down the most BA, manly can I've seen. The portions are original (meaning they've been moistened) and a full 1g per serving (many only offer .7 or less). I've found myself double barreling snus (putting in two portions) because of this... with Grov Stark I don't feel the need. There is also plenty of slack in the portion for you to arrange the tobacco in a comfortable position in your mouth... that said, it feels a bit abrasive (and I will make it a point to do a follow up on whether or not it becomes irritating). Now to the taste, which I will sum up as very VERY good... bold tobacco and a bit of spice are up front... a mild citrus in the back... nothing offensive going on here... savory, straightforward tobacco. A little earthy... and even an ever so slight creamy note. This is a very pleasant snus! Nicotine hit is very good too, and I've had no problems keeping a portion in for up to an hour. It's as if someone took the sweet/fruity notes out of my old love Claq Qui, or took the bergamot out of General... and said here, have some pure, bold tobacco. There's a good chance I'm looking at a new favorite here. ***EDIT 4/22*** A few days under my belt, and no irritation in sight... the abrasive feeling never went a way, but it didn't tear my lip up either (as feared). Also, I'll confirm my original speculation... this IS a new favorite, in fact... it has a strong potential to become my #2 (behind roda lacket). I'll give it a few more orders before doing anything drastic like revamping my list... but I can't recommend this one highly enough.
Appearance: 10/10
Aroma: 10/10
Mouth Feel: 9/10
Flavor: 10/10
Nic Hit: 10/10
Drip: 8/10
Overall: 9.5/10
My collague told that Grov Stark is the best one he has had. I bought normal Grov some weeks ago and didn't find anything special in it. This week at Stockholm I found snus shop in at Kungs gatan. They had Grov Stark. This definetly "kick ass snus!". I needed to thow first one out after 5 minutes of use, because I felt I wouldn't be able to drive my car to the Viking Line ferry if I keep it longer :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I read your blog often thanks for your contribution to Snus users.
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