Göteborgs Rapé Sparkling (Chew Bags) - Review. 5 December 2019.

Swedish Match/V2 Tobacco has released a new product with a champagne-inspired flavor: Göteborgs Rapé XRANGE Sparkling (Chew Bags)! This is a new chew product for the EU market. If you're not familiar with chew bags (or Nordic Chew), these are products that are made the same way as snus, but the tobacco is cut instead of ground, and the portion material is a little thicker so it can technically be chewed. These two minor changes make it legal to be sold in the EU where snus is banned. I know, it makes no sense, but that's the way it goes. The champagne flavor is becoming pretty popular, starting with Small Batch 1 in January of 2018, followed by the Lund Edition in July of 2018, then Göteborgs Rapé XRANGE Sparkling in May of 2019. G4 Fizzy, an all white version, came in July of 2019, followed by Zyn Lemon Spritz, a nicotine pouch version, in September of 2019.

This release celebrates the 100 year anniversary of Göteborgs Rape, and is said to have "a light tobacco character with elements of apple, elderflower as well as notes of citrus and lavender".  Each can weighs 13.2 grams and has 24 portions, for 0.55g each.  The nicotine content is 28mg/g (2.8%), or 15.4mg/portion.  Göteborgs Rapé is a personal favorite of mine, so this year I was more than excited to celebrate its 100 year anniversary/birthday!

When you open the can, the aroma is a mild, tart citrus aroma with a light floral hint, tones of pepper, and a mild touch of apple. The portions come in the slim white dry format, so they may not be as comfortable at first, but the more moist they get, the more comfortable they get. The flavor is citrus up front, which comes through in a mild tart way. There is a hint of pepper, some lightly sweet floral notes, a mild tobacco character, and a hint of apple. The nicotine feels to be around the extra strong level, and the flavor lasts 1-1.5 hours on average.  I was pretty impressed with this one, and how well it captured the flavor of GR Sparkling XRANGE, but in a chew bag version!  This is said to be a limited edition, so make sure and act on it before its gone!

Skruf SuperWhite: Frozen Shot #4 SuperSlim (Nicotine Pouches) - Review. 4 December 2019.

Skruf has released a new product in their Super White line, and it has a really long name: Skruf Super White: Frozen Shot (Super Slim) #4 Nicotine Pouches. Whew, that's a mouthful. One thing that isn't a mouthful is the portion size, because this is a super slim product (see what I did there?). The Super White line has grown quite a bit since it's launch, now containing Fresh #2, Fresh #3 Strong, Fresh #4 Extra Strong, Polar #3 Strong, Red Rhuby #3, Cassice #2, and Blackberry #2.  This is a first in the series, a super slim version.  The flavor description for this one says, "Skruf Frozen Shot has a fresh taste of mint. Skruf Super White Frozen Shot comes in super slim slim portions for the best possible fit under the lip. The mint flavor gives a fresh taste with a long lasting taste experience." Each can weighs 17.2g and has 26 portions, for 0.66g portions. The nicotine content is at the #4 level, which means it is an extra strong.

Here is a comparison between a regular slim nicotine pouch (right), and Skruf Super Slim (left).  You can see the portion is, of course, much slimmer.  Weighing only 0.66g each, that's a little lighter than the average snus portion, which is between 0.8-1.0g each.  Snus is already pretty discrete, but if you want to be even more discrete, these are the types of portions you could check out.

These products are moist, and feel like snus. Inside the pouch you'll find what looks like white tobacco, but isn't actually tobacco. This product contains plant fibers and nicotine. It feels like tobacco, looks like tobacco (other than being white), and feels like a snus portion in the lip, but isn't actually tobacco. This is an interesting product, because there are a lot of people who want to quit smoking, and many of them want to quit tobacco all together, but don't want to give up nicotine. That's where products like this, and Zyn for example, become important.

When you open the can, the aroma is a sharp, lightly sweet, present smell of peppermint. The portions are super slim, soft to the touch, and comfortable in the lip. There’s a light burn when you put one in, and then a mild cooling presence. The flavor is pretty refreshing; peppermint is very present in the flavor profile, and it comes through in a sharp, lightly sweet way. Being a super slim, it doesn’t feel to be extra strong, due to less material in the pouch. I’d probably place it around the strong level. The flavor, on average, lasts about 45-55 minutes. If you like the Super White line, and want something in a much slimmer version, this may be what you're looking for!

Kapten Vargtass (Extra Stark) Vit - Review. 3 December 2019.

Lingonberry, surprisingly, isn't a common flavor in the snus world. Kaliber+ Original, Göteborgs Rapé Lingon, and Mustang Lös are the only products I can think of that have a lingonberry flavor. AG Snus seems to have noticed that, as they have released Kapten Vargtass!  The flavor description for this one says, "Kapten Vargtass Strong White Portion has a lingering taste of lingonberry, with a traditional snus flavor as a base."  This product comes in an 18 gram can with 20 portions for 0.9 gram portions. The nicotine content is 15mg/g (1.5%) which breaks down to 13.5mg/portion.  If you're like me, and not familiar with the word "vargtass", I'll explain, because I had to look it up as well.

Vargtass, or "wolf's paw", is an alcoholic beverage containing lingonberry. From what I've read, it originates in northern parts of Sweden and Finland, which is why I'm probably not familiar with this one.  Honestly, I hadn't heard of this drink until I had to look up the meaning of the name of this snus. The drink itself is made of lingonberry and vodka. You can also make a Vargtass Royal by adding sparkling wine.

When you open the can, the aroma is a smell of lingonberry, a hint of wood, a mild tobacco character, and a hint of menthol. The portions are plump, soft, and surprisingly come with a little cooling presence once you put one under the lip. The lingonberry flavor is pretty present, and comes through in a fresh/cooling way, perhaps due to a menthol addition. There’s a mild tobacco character in the background, and a light hint of wood. It’s a very interesting and unique flavor. The nicotine feels to be about the strong level, and I find the flavor lasts about an hour on average.  It was a very interesting, unique flavor. I could see myself getting a can of this here and there when I'm in the mood for something different.

 If you're interested, I've seen SnusBolaget sells it for Sweden, and SnusMe sells it for the US.

Lyft Nordic Winter (Nicotine Pouches) - Review. 2 December 2019.

Lyft Nordic Winter is a new, limited edition nicotine pouch product from Fiedler and Lundgren. This is the second limited edition product they have released in the Lyft series, following Lyft Strawberry Bloom, which they released earlier this year.  It's interesting to see companies making limited edition nicotine pouches now, much like we see in the Swedish Snus market.  This one is said to have a "classic taste of forest, flora and berries". The flavor is said to be inspired by the Nordic Flora. Each can weighs 16.8g and has 24 portions for 0.7g portions. The nicotine content is 8mg/g (0.8%), or 5.6mg/portion.

One thing I really like about this one is that it has the flexlid.  If you're not familiar with the flexlid, it's an expanding, rubbery catch lid that grows as you put more used portions in the top.  If you're someone like me who uses the catch lid, this is very beneficial when you have to go a full day without being able to empty the top.  And, as I've mentioned before, this is one of the greatest snus related inventions of all time, in my opinion.

If you're not familiar with Lyft, this is a nicotine pouch product. Meaning, it contains nicotine but no tobacco.  These products are generally for those who want to quit smoking, or tobacco in general, but may not want to quit nicotine.  Nicotine pouches usually contain some form of plant fiber (these contain E460 cellulose), and nicotine. Lyft also uses xylitol as a sweetener.  Nicotine pouches look a lot like portion snus, and are just as discrete and comfortable in the lip!

When I open the can, I notice a smell of spruce, pine, and a mild/dark cranberry type smell. It’s very outdoorsy, but for some reason also makes me think of Christmas. The portions are slim, and quite soft in the upper lip! The flavor is wintery, and Christmasy. There’s a nice taste of spruce, a hint of pine, and a woodsy type presence. The berry flavor is dark, and reminds me of cranberry. The closest thing I can think of for this one is that it almost reminds me of a nicotine pouch version of Lundgren's Skåne Vit.  The flavor generally lasts about 45-55 minutes on average.  The nicotine feels to be around the regular strength level, as well.

I really enjoyed this one, mainly because it's such a unique flavor compared to other nicotine pouch products.  I think Fiedler and Lundgren should keep this one around full time, because it provides a unique alternative to those who use this type of product.

Svenskt Exportsnus (Lös) - Review. 30 November 2019.

Swedish Match has resurrected another lös product, Svenskt Exportsnus! This is probably the most literal snus product I've reviewed before, because it is Swedish ("svenskt"), and it's one I am reviewing in the US that was exported to me ("exportsnus"). So, the name is extremely fitting.  This was a snus that was originally sold from 1970-1998, and for this return Swedish Match has made 75,000 cans.  Needless to say, it is a limited edition.  Like the other two, once they're gone - they're gone!  When this one launched in 1970, there was a growing demand for snus products with a milder taste character, and this one was released to meet that demand.

This is the third in a series of products resurrected by Swedish Match. Mörkbrunt Lös came in late 2018 to kick off this series, followed by Rallarsnus Lös in the summer of 2019. Now, Svenskt Exportsnus has joined the series to close out 2019. Robin Rydgren, Brand Manager at Swedish Match, had this to say about this release: "We have now re-launched three classics from the past, Mörkbrunt Snus, Rallarsnus and now Svenskt Exportsnus. The idea was to also do something for the approximately 200,000 lös snus users found in Sweden, since much of our product development was focused on portion products. It's been a really fun project where we dusted off old recipes and tried to emulate the originals as best we can."

The flavor description for this one says, "Dark tobacco character with elements of rum raisin, smoke and jasmine." Each can weighs 42 grams and has a nicotine content of 7.5mg/g (0.75%).  The can looks like other Swedish Match lös cans, with the gold lid and the paperboard can.  The design emulates how Svenskt Exportsnus originally looked, but in a more modern format.

When you open the can, the aroma is a dark, but mild, tobacco character with a hint of smoke.  The lös tobacco itself is soft, moist, and very easy to handbake, much like with other Swedish Match lössnus!  The flavor of this one is relatively mild, but dark in nature.  There is a light hint of smoke, but it's not too overly smoky.  I didn't really get any rum, raisin, or jasmine in the flavor profile.  It seems to taste like a darker Göteborgs Prima Fint.  I can usually keep a prilla in for around 40-50 minutes, and it has a long lasting flavor.  The nicotine feels to be around the regular strength level with a 1-1.5 gram prilla.  I enjoyed this one, and I'll finish the can, but it doesn't stand out by any means.  I was really hoping the rum and/or jasmine flavors would be more apparent.  A friend of mine grabbed this for me from SnusBolaget.se, but I imagine web stores that ship to the US will eventually pick it up as well!

Update:  SnusCENTRAL.com just added this to their e-store, so it is now available for a limited time.  LINK:  https://www.snuscentral.com/loose-snus/1064-Svenskt-Exportsnus.html

Offroad X: Arctic Xplorer (White Dry) - Review. 29 November 2019.

I reviewed this one back in 2016, but it has gone from 15 to 20 portions, so I'm revisiting it today.  Due to Swedish law recently passed, snus cans must now contain at least 20 portions, so since it now has more portions, I figured it deserved a new review!  Offroad X was the first super, mega strong product release by V2 Tobacco, and has a total nicotine content of 45mg/g!  The flavor description for this one says it has "an intense refreshing taste of mint/menthol".  Each can weighs 13g and now has 20 portions, for 0.65g portions.  The nicotine content is 45mg/g (4.5%), which breaks down to 29.25mg/portion.  Needless to say, it's quite a strong product!

As far as the product itself goes, nothing has really changed about it.  So if you've had it before and enjoy it, you now get the same product but with more portions!  The aroma of this one is a very sharp, lightly sweet smell of mint.  The portions are of the white dry type, so they may not be comfortable at first, but as they get more moist, they do get more comfortable.  Also, being a mint product, there is a light cooling presence with this one in the lip.  The nicotine on this one hits quickly - within about 5 minutes of having one in, I'm already feeling the kick.  The flavor develops slowly, and has a lightly sweet mint character, balanced out with a light hint of menthol.  The nicotine comes in pretty steadily, and within 10-15 minutes, it's hitting pretty hard.  You nicotine enthusiasts out there will probably enjoy this one.  I can't keep these in for long due to how strong it is, but usually with white dry products the flavor lasts about 1-1.5 hours.

If you've had it before, it's the same product now, but with more portions.  Same flavor, same nicotine kick, same Offroad X!

Skruf Super White Chew Bags: Fresh #3 - Review. 27 November 2019.

Skruf has released two new all white products for the EU: Skruf Super White Chew Bags! Today, we're talking about the new mint flavored one, Fresh #3. I've reviewed the snus version of this one in the past.  What's interesting about these is that nicotine pouches are legal in the EU, so Skruf didn't technically need to call these "chew bags", but they did anyway for some reason.  When it comes to the flavor description for this one it says, “Skruf Super White Fresh #3 All White Chew Bags has fresh taste of spearmint.”  Each can weighs 18.7g and has 22 portions for 0.85g portions.  The nicotine strength is 3/4, which means it is a strong product.  If I had to guess, it’s probably between 12-14mg/g.

Here's a look at what is inside the pouch. Skruf's Superwhite products are completely free from tobacco, but still contain nicotine. This product actually contains plant fiber instead of nicotine. Again, I'm not sure why they called this product a "chew bag", as nicotine pouches are legal. These nicotine pouch products are a good alternative for people who may want to quit tobacco, but not quit nicotine. By using these, they can still enjoy nicotine, but are free from tobacco.

When you open the can, the aroma that greets you is a sharp, lightly sweet smell of peppermint. The portions are very soft, and comfortable in the lip; they feel like regular snus does. There is also a nice, fresh cooling presence in the lip when you put one of these in. The flavor is a present peppermint flavor which comes through in a lightly sweet, fresh way. I don’t notice spearmint, despite what the flavor description says. The flavor, on average, lasts about 40-50 minutes. The nicotine feels to be firmly at the strong level - not too strong, not too weak!  If you like mint products and want to try something free of tobacco, this one is a pretty good alternative.  It has a fresh taste, solid nicotine content, and some comfy portions!