Snus.biz Dark Rum Lös - Review. 21 September 2018.

The rum flavor isn't very common in the snus world. Since 2009, the only two I've reviewed have been the Kardus 2009 from Swedish Match, Anno 1852: Rum Lös, a Snus2 house brand. GN Tobacco has been developing La Morenita, a rum snus, for many years now, but it still has not materialized. I was excited to hear that Snus.biz developed a rum snus, because it's not a very common flavor! It also comes exclusively in the lös format, which is quite exciting. I've reviewed some of their other products in the past, including their regular lös and a product we developed together, Snubie: Blood Orange and Goji Berry Lös, so I know they make a high quality product!

Snus.biz describes this product by saying, "To make this delicious snus, we used Appleton Estate, a Jamaican rum aged for 21 years. Appleston Estate has a deep taste with tones of fried nuts, vanilla, nutmeg, almonds, warm nuances of coffee and cocoa, notes of molasses and oak. The nicotine content ranges between 15 and 25 mg per gram, this is caused by the presence of alcohol and strong varieties of tobacco in the product. The nicotine delivery is soft and smooth. This will appeal to cigar lovers and those who like to stretch out with pleasure. Ideal for use in the evening, after a delicious dinner when you are relaxing at home."

The rum aroma is quite present when you open the can. It's smooth, a little chocolatey, and accompanied by an earthy tobacco presence and a little oak. The lös is soft, moist, and easy to handbake; I've found it stays together quite well in the lip. The flavor is absolutely delicious! The taste is very rum centric; it is the most present component to the flavor. There's a chocolatey taste in the background, and light notes of oak. There also seems to be a very light nutty taste, as well. There is a rich, earthy tobacco flavor that works quite well with the present rum flavor.  There's also a little spice flavor in the background, which I suspect is from the rum.  The nicotine strength depends on how big you bake your prillas. At 1 gram, it feels to be around the extra strong level. I imagine if you went larger than that in size, you would feel quite a kick. The flavor lasts a long time, as well; I've found I can enjoy the flavor for around 45 minutes or so, and the lös stays well packed in the lip with little breakage.

If you enjoy lös snus and want something with a rum flavor, this is a must try.  It is absolutely delicious!

Black Jack Chewing Bags - Review. 11 September 2018.

Last year in November I reviewed four SNIX Snus products. Now, it looks like the folks at SNIX are launching a chew bag product for the EU market! If you're new to Nordic Chew/chewing tobacco/chew bags, I did an in-depth video you can check out that goes more into. Basically, these chew bags are made the same way to snus, but labeled as "chew bags" or "chewing tobacco" to be sold in the EU where snus is banned. In many cases, the tobacco is cut instead of ground, and the portion material is thicker so they can technically be "chewed". However, I've never chewed them, I just use them like snus!

I don't have a flavor description for this product, but I do know it's made in Slovenia and comes in a 20 gram can with 24 portions for 0.83 gram portions. The nicotine content is 22mg/g (2.2%) or 18.33mg/portion. If you want to buy them, you can check out SNIX Snus on Facebook or visit their website.

When I first tried these, I expected them to taste like the Black Jack Snus, but I found it tastes more like their Nesmark Snus. When you open the can, the aroma is a little peppermint, a little menthol, and a little pepper. Being a mint/menthol product, there is also a mild cooling presence in the lip. The portions feel like regular white portion snus, and are soft to the touch and comfortable in the lip. The flavor is much like the aroma, a mild peppermint taste accompanied by menthol, a faint tobacco character, and a little pepper. The nicotine strength feels to be at the extra strong level and delivers a solid kick. The flavor lasts around an hour, sometimes a little bit more, so there's a good amount of life in these.

If you're in the EU and can't get snus, but can get chew bags, these are worth checking out.  Especially if you're a mint lover who wants something strong!

Snubie: Blood Orange & Goji Berry Lös - Review. 10 September 2018.

In December of 2017 I released my first ever Snubie branded snus - Snubie Brandy Alexander, a collaboration with V2 Tobacco. We had it on the market for a year, and then delisted it in September, 2018. I didn't make any money off this product, I just thought it was neat to have my own snus product on the market. However, a lot of people said to me, "Chad, where is a product for the lös fans?" Well, I decided to work with Snus.biz, a snus company in Ukraine that makes Swedish Snus in the lös format only. Today, I'm going to be reviewing my second ever snus product - Snubie: Blood Orange and Goji Berry Lös - a small batch product that only comes in the lös format!

A side note - this is not the product I did a survey on (when I asked you all what flavor you wanted to see in a snus product).  That is a separate product I'm working with V2 on which will come in the portion format.  It's still in development.

I did a long preview article on this snus, so I won't go too much into the background on it, but you can check out this article if you want to know more. Snubie Blood Orange and Goji Berry Los is a small batch product which contains a blend of latakia, Virginia, and burley tobaccos. It is flavored with Sanguinello blood orange from Spain which contributes a tangy, sweet citrus taste, and organic goji berries from China, which contribute a slightly tart, slightly sweet fruit taste which is reminiscent of cranberry. The tobacco is aged in oak barrels from Massandra, which is a winery in Crimea. For this snus, the lös comes in the "combo grind" format, which is a mix of coarse grinding and fine grinding, and allows the flavor to release differently from traditional lös snus! The product comes with a full 50 grams of snus and a nicotine content of 20mg/g.

The aroma is an earthy tobacco character, which is accompanied by a tart citrus smell and a muted berry smell, which comes through like a very mild cranberry. The tobacco is quite moist, which I really like, and is very easy to handbake. I find a quick release of flavor, and a quick release of nicotine, as well. The flavor is interesting. The tobacco flavor is very present, but I notice the citrus to be just as present as the tobacco. The citrus flavor is up front and comes through in a tart and tangy way. The tobacco is earthy, mildly leathery, a little smoky, and has a touch of pepper. There is a light hint of oak, which probably comes from the barrels used. In the background, there is a light berry character, like a mild cranberry taste, which also contributes a faint sweetness. I find the lös stays together well and there is a long-lasting flavor character; I can enjoy this in my lip for about 45 minutes. The nicotine content may sound high, but I found with my usual 1 gram prillas it feels to be at the extra strong level. It turned out really well, and I really am impressed with the taste!

How to order?

So, you're probably asking, "How do I get this stuff?" Snubie Blood Orange and Goji Berry is available for order now! To order, email hello@snus.biz.  Make sure and keep an eye on your spam box, as sometimes replies go to your spam box. The cost is 7.00 Euro, or $8.17 US per can. They accept payment via PayPal, so you'll need a PayPal account to purchase. This isn’t a cheap snus due to the quality of ingredients used; it is truly for the snus connoisseur who wants a premium tasting product!

I really enjoyed making this snus with Snus.biz and I hope you enjoy it!  It truly is a small batch, premium product with a great taste!  Once you've had it, let me know what you think!

Small Batch #5 Kaffe (Coffee) - Review. 8 September 2018.

The final release in the Small Batch series from Swedish Match is here, and #5 has a taste of coffee! Small Batch 1, released in January, had a taste of champagne. Small Batch 2, released in February, had a taste of blood orange. Small Batch 3, released in May, had a taste of apple and mint. And lastly, Small Batch 4, released in July, had a taste of raspberry and licorice. All of those were white portions, but this one is different - it comes in the original portion format! The flavor description says, "Small Batch No 5 has a dark and roasted tobacco character with a taste of freshly ground coffee, cocoa and walnut. The roasted tones in the coffee complement the tobacco and provide a balanced taste. A nutty flavor with cocoa liqueur adds extra flavor. The original portion format fits the darkness of the product and makes the taste experience clearer."  This snus comes in a 24 gram can with 24 portions for plump 1 gram portions! The nicotine content isn't listed, so I'm not sure what it is.

The flavor of coffee isn't a common one on the market today. Kapten Mini Cafe Vit (AG Snus) and Olde Ving 99 (GN Tobacco) are the only two coffee flavored products currently produced.  I will preface this review by saying I'm not a coffee drinker, but I was still interested to try this one out.

When you open the can, the aroma is a dark, roasted coffee smell. There also seems to be a little chocolate and a little vanilla to it. The portions are plump one gram portions and are exceptionally moist! There is a quick release of flavor with this snus. The taste is a lot like the aroma. The coffee flavor is up front, and is dark and rich with a roasted quality to it. There is also a pretty present flavor of chocolate behind the coffee. Though it isn't listed in the flavor description, I swear I notice a light hint of vanilla in the background. There is a mild tobacco character in the background, which seems to remind me of the base tobacco in Göteborgs Prima Fint Lös.  I like that this product isn't too overly sweet.  I don't know what the nicotine strength is, but it feels to be in the regular strength to strong range. The flavor lasts up to about 45 minutes, which is the usual for most original portions. Though I'm not a fan of coffee flavored products, I did enjoy this snus.

Final Thoughts on the Small Batch Series

Now that all the Small Batch products have been released, what's next?  I know on the Swedish Match webstore, you can rank these products, so perhaps the most popular one will be released as a full time product.  That's what I'm hoping, at least, because I really enjoyed a few of these and would love to see them full time.  Now that I've had them all, here's where I rank them.

1.  SB #2 Blood Orange - My favorite of the series.  This is easily one I would add to my full time rotation.  The flavor was absolutely fantastic.
2.  SB #4 Raspberry Licorice - It was hard to rank the top 2, but I gave Blood Orange the edge.  However, I would also order this one and keep it my rotation.
3.  SB #5 Kaffe - I'm not a coffee fan, but I could see myself ordering this one again.  I enjoyed it.
4.  SB #1 Champagne - This one was good, but not something I'd probably use a lot of.  But, I'd probably get a can here and there.
5.  SB #3 Apple Mint - I ranked this one last because there's already enough mint products on the market.  There is also an apple mint product on the market made by Swedish Match.

General Snus Redesign - Review. 6 September 2018

Earlier this year, at the 2018 Snus Con, it was announced by Swedish Match that a redesign was coming for General Snus sold on the US market. A redesign usually isn't big news, but in this case, it is. The old cans were much harder to see or discern the difference between. If you asked a clerk for a can of General White, they had no idea what you were talking about. These new cans make things much easier for consumers and retailers. They also stand out a lot more and will hopefully help more people switch from products like cigarettes or dip to safer products such as Swedish Snus!  I've reviewed all these products in the past, so in this "review" I'm going to show what the old cans look like compared to what the new cans look like.  I'll also put a link in each review to the products so you can check that out if you want to know more about the product itself!

One thing that is important to note is that the new labels do not peel off like the old labels did.  The new labels have a raised General logo, and you can't peel the top label off to find another one (or coupons) underneath.  So please don't peel your General Snus labels off!

These new designs should be in stores soon.  Once your local stores start selling out of old product, you'll start seeing these pop up for sale!

General Original Portion

Left, the old design.  Right, the new design.

Check out my review of this product - here.

This new can design seems to draw on the Swedish General Original Portion design (same product, but a different look).  The bronze/cold color stands out much more!

General White Portion

Left, the old design.  Right, the new design.

Check out my review of this product - here.

This is another one that seems to draw on the Swedish design for General White Portion.  It has a white/silver look to it and stands out much more.

General Mint

Left, the old design.  Right, the new design.

Check out my review of this product - here.

For General Mint, they kept a similar blue color, and it seems to pop much more!

General Mini Mint

Left, the old design.  Right, the new design.

Check out my review of this product - here.

General Mini Mint kept a blue color, but is a little lighter in color to differentiate it from General Mint White (Large).

General Wintergreen

Left, the old design.  Right, the new design.

Check out my review of this product - here.

I'm not a Wintergreen fan, but I like the new design more.  It definitely catches the eye!

For a closer look at the redesigned General Snus cans, check out the video below!  I go product by product and compare them and show you the cans in detail!

Skruf Super White Cassice - Preview. 1 September 2018.

Skruf is releasing a new product in their Super White product line:  Skruf Super White #2 Cassice.  This is a snus with a flavor that isn’t predominant in the snus world:  Blackcurrant!  Years ago, Swedish Match had a product I really loved, Catch Blackcurrant, but it was discontinued.  I’m excited to see Skruf bringing this delicious flavor back to the market!  Snusbolaget.se has the nicotine listed at 16mg/g and a 17.3 gram can.

I hope to see this available soon for webstores shipping to the US, because I can’t wait to try it!  

SM Launches Göteborgs Rapé XR Strong / Discontinues GR Strong White. 31 August 2018.

Today, Swedish Match announced they have discontinued Göteborgs Rapé White Strong. However, they also announced a product to replace it! Today, Swedish Match launched Göteborgs Rapé XRANGE Strong White Slim. Swedish Match says, "XR Göteborgs Rapé Strong has the classic Göteborgs Rapé flavor from 1919, but in a more discreet format, which tastes longer, drips less and has more strength. Göteborgs Rapé is one of the most recognized snus products. It was Swedish Match's first White Large product and it has since been released in Slim format. There is a demand for stronger snus and we therefore released Göteborgs Rapé White Large Strong last year. Now we take the next step and start selling a stronger Gothenburg Rapé like XR. XR GR Strong is a strong slim white portion."

The flavor description via SM's webstore says, "Strong portion in slim white format. The flavor is the same as the XR Göteborg Rapé and has a light and spicy tobacco character with clear elements of lavender and juniper, as well as some wood and citrus."

This product comes in a 16.8 gram can with 21 portions for 0.8 gram portions.  The nicotine content is 13.5mg/g (1.35%), which breaks down to 10.8mg/portion.

This product is available now via Swedish Match's webstore and should hit the others soon, as well!