NEWS: General Harvest Special Blend

 

 

Aside from the slightly butched up (improved?) label, this appears to be virtually identical to the previous iteration... which I couldn't be happier about (having procured 3 rolls).  

REVIEW: Knox karaktär Purple White

 

I was really excited for this one. Of the precious few (added) flavors I'm able to tolerate in tobacco, licorice ranks among the top. This one is billed as licorice and black currant. It's a Skruf product, so no doubt, the quality will be top notch. And with that, let's dive in!    

Appearance: 10/10 One of the best looking snus cans I've ever seen. If I was 5 and had a favorite color, it would be this shade of purple right here. In typical Skruf fashion, the packaging is on point. Matte label with gloss embossed text, minimalist design... appearance strongly suggests quality.  
Aroma: 10/10  Licorice and tobacco hit the nose first. Exactly what I'm looking for in a licorice snus. Then some surprising complexity... there's something fruity behind it (we'll call it currants) and a hint of a sweet flowers (honeysuckle?) in the finish. Extremely pleasing to my nose.  
Mouth Feel: 10/10 Again, so impressed with how far Skruf has come with their portion material. Gone are the days of dry and irritating white portions... now they're soft and sleek. Oh, so comfortable.
Flavor: 8/10 Virtually all the experience with the nose is shared with the tongue. Licorice, tobacco, currant, flowers... the taste is phenomenal. You notice I give it a eight despite this... which I can most easily explain by saying, it wears thin on me. The first can was pure love... but the second or third? I found the licorice a little too loud. Still, to get an 8 as a flavored product is high praise from me.    
Nic Hit: 10/10 Regular strength, which is my preference these days. Lasts upwards of an hour.
Drip: 9/10 This is a fairly drip resistant pouch. That said, once it gets moist enough it will allow some (mud)slide.
Overall: 9.5/10 Licorice snus feels underrepresented of late, glad to see Knox filling the gap. Looks, smells and tastes amazing... if you're a fan of black licorice, I think you're going to love it.

SNUS 101: Life expectancy, care and handling of Snus

Let's start with best by dates.  They are an indication of quality, not safety (i.e. expiry or use before dates*).  Typically conservative, these are an indication of how long before it begins to dry out.  Drying being the primary quality concern for snus.  

*FoodSciencebabe does a really good job explaining if you want to more on this. 

Let me reiterate, there are virtually no food safety concerns with snus.  It's pasteurized and treated with more salt(s) than bacon.  No bacteria is growing here unless you introduce some super strain yourself.  

So, why do we freeze or refrigerate?  Quality (read: moisture loss).  The cooler it's kept, the slower the moisture evaporates off.

Safe to assume your snus will be at optimal quality up to (and often beyond) the best by date when refrigerated... and it'll keep damn near indefinitely frozen.  

Whether I freeze or refrigerate, I bag my snus before storing.  I'll buy the nicest gallon freezer bags I can find.  Why?  Odor migration.  Garlic, seafood (or any other potent smell) can make for a nasty snus experience.  

I keep a can of lös and a can of portions on me at all times.  It stays at room temp until I kill the can (2-3 days for the lös and up to 10 for the portions).    Never had any quality issues at this rate of consumption.  

Beyond that... I try not to "shock" my open cans with extreme temperature fluctuations.  i.e. leaving it in a hot car, taking a can from my pocket and putting it in the fridge.  Luckily, I'm a white collar powder puff that spends 99.8% of my life at a comfortable 69⁰ F... so it's rarely a concern for the snus in my man purse.  

Only other consideration is shipping.  In the dog days of summer if my order gets stuck in a dreaded customs loop in hot trucks/warehouses... it might lose a few weeks of "best by" to the heat.  Even then, it's barely noticable. US General is no longer even refrigerated.  So, all this thought and effort might be for naught.    

That said, this has been my practice for nearly 20 years... so even if it's baseless, it's habit (ritual?) I'm likely to maintain.  

Here's what Swedish Match has to say...

https://www.swedishmatch.ch/en/what-is-snus/qa/

Hope you find this info helpful, and... Happy Snusing!

How I hand bake (hybrid bake?) lös snus

Here's a video (likely my first and last)... text below if you don't want to look at my ugly mug (and listen to me prattle on).

                                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04QKFbPYFW4
 Step 1. Wash your fucking hands! Don't go picking your ass and touching something you're gonna put in your mouth... ya damn dirtball! Now that's outta the way... I start with a Prismaster. No, I'm not trolling you and no, it's not mandatory. That said, it's only a couple bucks and easy AF to procure. I like a portioner tool for hygiene (both pathogens and dirty finger nails), and consistency of dose/load. I still hand bake the resulting tobacco brickette/nugget. Using thumb and forefinger from both hands, I compress into a rectangular cuboid shape. Careful to apply equal and opposing pressure to each side, as firmly as possible without breaking form. Rinse repeat until I arrive at something akin to a regular portion in both size and shape. The more time/effort you invest here, the less likely it will be to break apart. When it comes to shape, the ideal is whatever requires the least amount of adjustment in your lip... I like to round the edges for comfort. Also, I don't see a lot of benefit to thick chonky prillas. Operating under the assumption nicotine is absorbed via mucosa, I aim to maximize surface area. If you don't get it just right, you'll have to squish it around in your lip. Causing the prilla to fall apart and leaving you with a mouthful of shit faster. Snus is also a little abrasive and for as much as I use, I end up with irritation if I'm constantly adjusting.

I hope you like this method. Experiment with different sizes and shapes until you find out what's comfortable in your lip.

REVIEW: General Harvest Limited Edition

 

Wow... a whole lotta hype surrounding this one.  I decided to take my sweet ass time (clocking in about a half a roll of each) just to make sure I did it justice. First thing you'll notice, I didn't specify white or original portion... because as persnickety as I am, the difference is truly just format.  Do you want the extra moisture or not? Personally, I (ever so) slightly prefer the white... because when I use portions, it's typically with discretion in mind.  The original delivers flavor faster (but drips faster) and arguably offers a little more comfort initially.  If I had my choice in format, it would be loose... in fact I dissected an entire can of each to scratch that itch (no discernable difference in taste)--yeah I'm a psycho.      

Appearance: 9/10 It's a fibrous cream label atop a plastic silver or gold can.  Gloss metallic and embossing really stand out.  It's clean, it's simple... I really like it.  Maybe it's the 'Merican in me... but I want a darker color scheme for 10/10. 
Aroma: 10/10 OMG, tobacco!!!!  Fresh earthy tobacco, with hints of straw, fallen leaves and oak.  There's faint tar and leather notes with chocolate and nuttiness buried even deeper in the background.  
Mouth Feel: 10/10 The portion material is spot on.  Gone are the days of dry and irritating white (or original) portions... now they're soft and sleek.  Oh, so comfy!
Flavor: 10/10  Surprise, surprise... everything present in the aroma is delivered in the taste.  Glorious wonderful tobacco (see above) and salt.  Additionally, there's a slight creaminess and a fair amount of spiciness.  This spiciness is often described as pepper (or horseradish) and that's accurate for the sensation, but know that it presents without the accompanying/associated flavors (i.e. black pepper is very distinct and there's none of that).  But I digress... this IS what snus should taste like.    
Nic Hit: 10/10 Regular strength, which is my preference these days.  Lasts upwards of an hour.
Drip: 9/10 This is a fairly drip resistant pouch.  That said, once it gets moist enough, it will allow some (mud)slide.  Again, a little quicker with the original.
Overall: 9.6/10 This is a phenomenal product where tobacco is the star!  I would seat this one squarely between Ettan and Grov in terms a flavor.  If you like either, I wouldn't hesitate to buy these by the roll.  Love, love,  love this shit...  definitely lives up to the hype!  Tobacco, salt and water...  just as the snus gods intended.  I sincerely hope this begets the start of a Renaissance in tobacco flavored tobacco... it's a welcomed departure from the koolaid or mouthwash flavored drivel they keep shoving down our throats en masse.  Fucking love it!     

REVIEW: Knox Red White Limited Edition

Considering I came back for a Skruf product, the release of this limited edition Knox seems serendipitous. It's billed as "tobacco with hints of red berry".  Being a huge fan of Skruf Tranbar, I was beyond excited to get my hands on this snus.  Ended up snagging rolls of it (and the new General Harvest products) despite having a fridge/freezer full of my favorites.  Thanks to a lifetime of supply chain management, my brain broke a little at the thought of running my inventory this long...  but sometimes exceptions must be made!    

Appearance: 8/10 It's an embossed metallic red label, on a plastic silver can.  The little dots remind me of a sparkling wine or craft hard seltzer product.  Not fantastic, but certainly not embarrassing either.  
Aroma: 8/10  After a big whiff, the first thing that comes to mind is Skoal Berry.  Mind you, that's a product I haven't tried in well over a decade, but this is what I remember it smelling like.  That's not a bad thing.  Despite being too sweet, it was one of my favorite Skoal flavors.  For those unfamiliar, it's largely (artificial) strawberry and raspberry.  Also, there's some similarity to Skruf Tranbar here too. 
Mouth Feel: 10/10 Again, Skruf has come a long way with their portion material.  Gone are the days of dry and irritating white portions... now they're soft and sleek.  Oh, so comfy!
Flavor: 9/10  As would be expected, much of what's present on the nose hits the tongue... only the flavor is markedly (mercifully?) less sweet.  It's berry forward... strawberry, raspberry and cranberry... the profile is tart, but well balanced, followed by tobacco and salt.  It's excellent.    
Nic Hit: 10/10 Regular strength, which is my preference these days.  Lasts upwards of an hour.
Drip: 9/10 This is a fairly drip resistant pouch.  That said, once it gets moist enough, it will allow some (mud)slide.
Overall: 9/10 An absolutely delicious limited release.  If given a slot on their permanent roster, I would probably opt for Skruf Tranbar over this (I see the artificial strawberry notes wearing on me)... but it's a really fun as a one off.  Zero buyer's remorse. 

REVIEW: Skruf Nyans Månstoft

 

Upwards of 8 years since I've bothered (read: been compelled) to review a product.  After consuming many (5+) rolls of this stuff... that's changed!  Skuf Salted Carmel!  This shit is a special kind of tasty...   TLDR; Yummy AF!

Appearance: 10/10 It's a pearlescent manila moon, embossed label that utilizes both gloss and matte finish set atop a black can.  Just screams quality (from a value line?).
Aroma: 10/10 Pipe tobacco hits the nose first. Behind that lies vanilla and caramelized sugar with hints of chocolate. There's also a confection note that reminds me of the old fashioned candy buttons.  You'll get some ammonia when it warms up (a few hours in the pocket), but aside from that... all kinds of delicious smells going on here.   
Mouth Feel: 10/10 Skruf has come a long way with their portion material.  Gone are the days of dry and irritating white portions... now they're soft and sleek.  Oh, so comfy!
Flavor: 10/10  Everything that hits the nose makes an appearance on the tongue.  Sweet vanilla, salty caramel and chocolatey pipe tobacco. This one comes on strong but mellows over time. It may be too sweet for some, but I find it complementary to the salt and bitter notes...  everything comes together in such a way that makes my mouth very, very happy.   
Nic Hit: 10/10 Regular strength, which is my preference these days.  Lasts upwards of an hour.
Drip: 9/10 This is a fairly drip resistant pouch.  That said, once it gets moist enough, it will allow some (mud)slide.
Overall: 9.8/10 Hands down one of my favorite portions.  Classic aromatic tobacco and the sweetness of vanilla caramel.  Absolutely delicious!  Pair this one with a nice chocolate, soft drink (especially cola) or a black coffee... you won't be disappointed.