Nordic Icon #1 and #2 - Reviews. 20 May 2019.

Back in 2018, Nordic Snus AB launched Nordic Spirit, their first nicotine pouch products. A few months ago, I also reviewed their limited Åre Edition 2019 version as well.  I recently found out about these and wanted to review them as well.  They contain chewing gum base like Nordic Spirit, but also a small share of white tobacco as well.  These are sold in Norway, but also along the border in Sweden, as well.  If you get them in Sweden, they'll look like the cans pictured to the left.  If you buy them in Norway, they'll come in the brown can design.  I've remarked in the past that I like that design a lot, given how minimalist it looks.  Nordic Icon comes in two flavors:  #1 Bergamot Wildberry and #2 Mint.

Nordic Icon #1 - Bergamot Wildberry

Flavor Description:  "Nordic Icon True White Bergamot Wildberry, is a white snus with a wonderful taste of bergamot and wild forest berries."
Can Contents:  13g can, 20 portions, 0.65 gram portions.
Nicotine:  14mg/g (1.4%), or 9.1mg/portion.

If you've had the Nordic Spirit Nicotine Pouches before, these products have the same aroma and flavor, but these contain tobacco and those don't. The citrus aroma seems to be a bergamot/orange mix, with a little tart berry aroma.  It kind of reminds me of cranberry and raspberry.  The portions are slightly dry to the touch, but still comfortable in the lip.  The flavor is more berry than citrus.  It's a sweet/tart berry taste, then the citrus in the background is like a bergamot/orange mix.  The nicotine strength feels to be about the regular strength level, maybe a touch stronger at times.  The flavor, on average, lasts up to about an hour; so you get a good amount of life out of these.

Nordic Icon #2 - Mint

Flavor Description:  "Nordic Icon True White Mint, is a white snus with a fresh taste of mint."
Can Contents:  13g can, 20 portions, 0.65 gram portions.
Nicotine:  14mg/g (1.4%), or 9.1mg/portion.

The aroma of this one is a mild aroma of menthol and a lightly sweet, gentle smell of peppermint. The portions, like the other one, are dryer to the touch than average but still comfortable. The flavor mild, lightly sweet peppermint flavor with a hint of menthol.  It's a pretty gentle taste, not too bold but not too weak.  The nicotine feels to be about regular strength, but sometimes a touch stronger. The flavor on average lasts up to about an hour, so it has a good amount of life to it as well.  If you've had the Nordic Spirit Mint before, this one tastes a lot like that one.  The only difference, I don't really notice much licorice in the flavor.

As far as these products go, they're definitely worth checking out if you're into white tobacco or nicotine pouch products!

Skruf Nyans: Solglimt (Vit Portion) - Review. 12 May 2019.

The Skruf Nyans line is a new line from Skruf reminiscent of nature. The name "nyans" translates to "shade" according to Google, but a viewer of our YouTube channel says it translates to "nuance", which sounds better. This line is designed to compete with other "modern premium" products. These are products like XRANGE, Lundgrens, and General One, which are premium products but with cheaper prices. According to the pricing at Snusbolaget, Nyans costs 30kr ($3.15 USD), Lundgrens costs 31kr ($3.26 USD), Swedish Match's One series costs 32kr ($3.36 USD), and the XRANGE series costs 33kr ($3.47 USD). So, with these products you get a good tasting snus but without having to spend too much!

The flavor description says this one has a taste of sour citrus. Skruf tells me the flavor is "sun glimpse". These products come in a 17.6 gram can with 22 portions for 0.8g portions. The nicotine content is 8mg/g (0.8%) or 6.4mg/portion. These also come in full size white portions, not slim portions.

When I opened the can, a surprising aroma jumped out at me: grapefruit! This was unexpected, as grapefruit isn't common in snus. In fact, I can only recall one snus I've reviewed the past 10 years with the flavor of grapefruit: Catch Collection Union Square: Sour Mint. The grapefruit aroma is gentle, sour, and tart.  The portions are pretty plump in the lip for 0.8 grams, and have a soft portion material, as well.  The flavor is very much like the aroma, a gentle, sour, lightly tart taste of grapefruit.  I really enjoyed the flavor of this one, as grapefruit isn't common in snus!  The nicotine strength on this one feels to be about the regular strength level, and I find the flavor lasts up to about an hour on average.

For a budget offering, I was impressed with this one.  I really dig the can design, and I love the taste of grapefruit!  As of the date of this review, I've only seen these products available at Snusbolaget.se, but I hear SnusCENTRAL.com will be stocking them soon, as well!

Skruf Nyans: Havsbris (Vit Portion) - Review. 12 May 2019.

The Skruf Nyans line is a new line from Skruf reminiscent of nature. The name "nyans" translates to "shade" according to Google, but a viewer of our YouTube channel says it translates to "nuance", which sounds better. This line is designed to compete with other "modern premium" products. These are products like XRANGE, Lundgrens, and General One, which are premium products but with cheaper prices. According to the pricing at Snusbolaget, Nyans costs 30kr ($3.15 USD), Lundgrens costs 31kr ($3.26 USD), Swedish Match's One series costs 32kr ($3.36 USD), and the XRANGE series costs 33kr ($3.47 USD). So, with these products you get a good tasting snus but without having to spend too much!

The flavor description says this one has a taste of fresh herbs. Skruf tells me the flavor is "sea breeze". These products come in a 17.6 gram can with 22 portions for 0.8g portions. The nicotine content is 8mg/g (0.8%) or 6.4mg/portion. These also come in full size white portions, not slim portions.

I was really excited for this one because I love sea-inspired products. When it was produced, I really loved the Blue Ocean snus. I also really liked the Lundgrens Marstrand (Limited Edition), which was recently rereleased as Lundgrens Västkusten.  This one honestly reminds me a lot of the Lundgrens Västkusten.  The aroma is a light, airy, mildly sweet floral smell.  The portions are pretty plump for only 0.8g and are quite comfortable in the lip.  The flavor is a pretty gentle taste.  It is a lightly sweet floral taste, with a mild taste of herbs in the background.  There's a very, very mild, almost peppery tobacco taste in the background, but it's not very noticeable.  The flavor, on average, lasts up to about an hour.  I find the nicotine strength to feel about the regular strength level, as well.

As someone who enjoys snus products that remind me of the sea, I really enjoyed this one.  It has a solid taste but with a lower price tag!

Skruf Nyans: Jordskott (Vit Portion) - Review. 12 May 2019.

The Skruf Nyans line is a new line from Skruf reminiscent of nature. The name "nyans" translates to "shade" according to Google, but a viewer of our YouTube channel says it translates to "nuance", which sounds better. This line is designed to compete with other "modern premium" products. These are products like XRANGE, Lundgrens, and General One, which are premium products but with cheaper prices. According to the pricing at Snusbolaget, Nyans costs 30kr ($3.15 USD), Lundgrens costs 31kr ($3.26 USD), Swedish Match's One series costs 32kr ($3.36 USD), and the XRANGE series costs 33kr ($3.47 USD). So, with these products you get a good tasting snus but without having to spend too much!

The flavor description says this one has a taste of earthy berries. Skruf tells me the flavor is "like a plant bursting through the ground". These products come in a 17.6 gram can with 22 portions for 0.8g portions. The nicotine content is 8mg/g (0.8%) or 6.4mg/portion. These also come in full size white portions, not slim portions.

When you open the can, the aroma is a very light, mildly sweet berry character and a light presence that reminds me of spruce. This one is hard to peg down, I've never really hard anything that this one reminds me of. The portions are pretty soft to the touch and pretty plump for only 0.8 grams. The taste is very interesting, and quite unique. There's this natural/herbal presence which seems to have a little hint of spruce to it. There's also this light peppery tone. The berry flavor is very mild in nature and is, as the flavor description says, a little earthy. I've definitely never tasted anything like this one before. The flavor lasts up to about an hour on average, and the nicotine strength feels to be about the regular level.

This one was certainly the most unique of the three.  I can't compare it to anything, so my suggestion is if you like unique flavors, you may dig this one.

Snubie's Cherokee Rose (Lös) - Review. 6 May 2019.

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Snubie.com, I've partnered with my friends at Snus.biz to release a special anniversary snus: Snubie's Cherokee Rose Lös! This product was named after my daughter, Cherokee, who was the reason I quit smoking. Because of her, I would go on to discover Swedish Snus, and launch Snubie.com! She is named after our Cherokee ancestry, and this product pays homage to that with a flavor inspired by the Cherokee Rose. Legend says the Cherokee Rose sprung from the ground where the tears of grieving mothers landed along the trail of tears. I did a much more in depth preview of this product, here, as well as a preview video if you want to check those out!

Snubie Cherokee Rose is made of Burley, Black Cavendish, and Perique tobaccos, which are soaked in rose oil before pasteurization and finished with jasmine essence. This product was also aged in oak barrels! The nicotine strength is between 10mg/g-15mg/g and the tobacco comes in the combo grind, which is a mix of find grinding and coarse grinding; this provides a unique flavor experience!  This product comes with a full 50 grams of lös snus, just like the good ol' days!

When you open the can, a very present, powerful rose smell greets you; it's just like putting your nose into a rose bouquet.  I find it hard to take my nose away from the can.  There's also a mild tobacco character in the background, behind the rose aroma.  The tobacco is quite moist, bakes well, and is comfortable in the lip.  I find the flavor releases pretty quickly, as well!  The taste is a sweet, present flavor of rose.  It's very bright and floral in nature.  The tobacco flavor is earthy, well rounded, and stays behind the rose but also serves as a nice compliment to it.  I find the tobacco stays pretty well baked in the lip, and I can usually keep a prilla in for up to about 45 minutes.  The nicotine strength feels stronger than the regular strength level, but not too overly strong.

I enjoyed this one, and I'm glad Snus.biz partnered with me on another product.  If you're interested in trying it, send an email over to hello@snus.biz and they'll get you hooked up.  If you like floral centric products, you'll enjoy this one!

Small Batch 9 (Banana) White Portion - Review. 5 May 2019.

Swedish Match has released their latest in the Small Batch series, this one with the surprising taste of banana!  So far, we have seen a wide variety of flavors in the Small Batch series.  At the bottom of this review, I'll list them all and link to my reviews of the previous Small Batch releases as well as my rankings of them.  Swedish Match describes the small batch series by saying, "We at Swedish Match have produced thousands of products over the course of a few hundred years. Our experts are experts in the correct sense of the word. But they have not been tired of developing new ideas. In order for them to get that opportunity - and for Swedish snusers to be able to share it all - we now launch a new range of products called Small Batch, where the flavor is replaced several times a year. Each flavor is produced in a small edition."

The flavor description of this snus says, "For the development of this product, we have gained inspiration from the taste balance between the banana and chocolate. Mature banana meets coconut and white chocolate. A rich and full-bodied taste that still has the undertones of tobacco."  It comes in a 24 gram can with 24 portions for 1 gram portions.  The nicotine strength isn't listed but I'm assuming it's regular strength.

Going into this one, I wasn't sure what to expect. This year was actually the first time I'd seen a banana snus released since I started snusing in 2009. A few months ago, V2 released the Thunder Heritage (Chew Bags) Limited Edition set, which contained a banana/mint snus, so it's interesting to see two banana products released in the same year. As far as this one goes, the aroma seems to be an even balance of banana and chocolate. There's also a hint of cocoa powder in the background, as well. It's not overly sweet, either. The portions are white, soft, and comfortable in the lip. As they come in the star formation, I do suggest fluffing them before you put one under the lip.  The flavor is pretty enjoyable and is certainly a dessert type snus.  The banana flavor is pretty apparent, and natural tasting.  It is accompanied by a smooth chocolate flavor in the background.  The two flavors actually work pretty well together.  The nicotine strength feels to be about the regular strength level.  The flavor, on average, lasts up to about an hour!  As far as this one goes, I really enjoyed the taste of it.  This wouldn't be a full time product for me, rather, it would be something I would use for a dessert snus after a good meal!

Small Batch Releases (Links to Reviews)
1/2018 - Small Batch 1 - Champagne
2/2018 - Small Batch 2 - Blood Orange
5/2018 - Small Batch 3 - Apple Mint
7/2018 - Small Batch 4 - Raspberry Licorice
9/2018 - Small Batch 5 - Coffee
10/2018 - Small Batch 6 - Mushroom
12/2018 - Small Batch 7 - Orange/Chocolate

3/2019 - Small Batch 8 - Gin/Pepper

5/2019 - Small Batch 9 - Banana

My Rankings of Previous Small Batch Releases
1 - SB#2 - Blood Orange
2 - SB#4 - Raspberry / Licorice
3 - SB#7 - Orange / Chocolate
4.  SB#9 - Banana
5 - SB#5 - Coffee
6 - SB#1 - Champagne
7 - SB#8 - Gin / Pepper
8 - SB#3 - Apple / Mint
9 - SB#6 - Svensk Skog

Göteborgs Rapé XRANGE Sparkling (Slim White) - Review. 4 May 2019.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Göteborgs Rapé, Swedish Match has launched Göteborgs Rapé XRANGE Sparkling (Slim White), a snus with the flavor of champagne! I also like to think they released this to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Snubie.com, which also happens to fall this month. Champagne wasn't a common flavor in snus until last year, but now this is the third champagne flavored product I've reviewed. Small Batch #1 (Champagne), the first release in the small batch series launched in 2018, had a flavor of champagne. Also, in July of last year, Swedish Match released a limited edition product called The Lund Edition (White Portion) to celebrate the release of their new store in Lund, and it had a taste of champagne. If you've had either of those, you'll know what to expect with this one in terms of flavor. What's interesting about this one, however, is that it is the first limited edition/special release in the XRANGE series, which is Swedish Match's modern/premium range.

The flavor description for this one says "Light tobacco character with elements of apple, elderberry, and slightly citrus and lavender."  It comes in a 16.8g can with 21 portions for 0.8g portions.  The nicotine content is 8.5mg/g (0.85%) or 6.8mg/portion.

Since this is the 100 year anniversary of GR, let's talk a little GR history! As early as the 1850's, there would be various snus mixtures in the ports. Sailors would collect ingredients from their journeys and use them in their various blends. Swedish sailors had a phrase, "The mood of a sailor is as good as the quality of his snus". Göteborgs Rapé originated from one of these blends. In 1915, the Swedish Tobacco Monopoly took over all snus production in Sweden. At that time, there were 103 brands of snus and 25 of them were from Göteborg. A "snus jury" would taste all these brands and narrowed it down to 5 brands. In 1919, Göteborgs Rapé was one of these registered brands, and it launched as Göteborgs Rapé No. 923. When the snus became a factory produced snus it became ground, instead of ripped. The white portion version came in 1997 and Goteborg’s Rape Original relaunched in 2015.

This one reminds me most of The Lund Edition, so if you've had that one, you'll recognize the flavor of this one. The aroma is a mild, tart smell of citrus, a little floral sweetness, a mild touch of pepper, and a little apple. The portions, being in the XRANGE series, are slim, soft, and comfortable in the lip. I notice citrus up front, which is mild, and tart in nature. Behind that, there's a touch of pepper, some lightly sweet floral notes, a mild tobacco character, and a hint of apple. The flavor lasts quite a while; I've found on average I can keep these in for a little over an hour. The nicotine strength feels to be about the regular strength level.  It's a pretty unique flavor.  Not something I could use full time, but a nice little change of pace!

This one is actually available to folks in the US, which rarely happens.  Usually Swedish Match keeps their limited/special products to the Swedish market.  If you want to try it, SnusCENTRAL.com is stocking it.  I'd suggest grabbing a can on your next order just to show SM there is a demand from US snusers for limited edition products!