Skoal "Snus" Mint & Smooth Mint - Reviews. 17 January 2011.

Disclaimer: Granted, I do write about American "snus" from time to time, but the focus of my blog/website is introducing people to REAL Swedish Snus. When it comes to snus, REAL Snus comes from Sweden. There's a difference, and the difference is big.  In fact, the reason I put "snus" in quotes when talking about American "snus" is because I don't consider it to be real snus.  Please read this article or watch this video to learn the difference for yourself.

Review Updated 4 November 2017

It's hard to believe it's been 6 years since I first reviewed Skoal "snus".  In fact, this article still remains my most read article out of all the articles I've written.  I'm glad, because Americans who are discovering these products are able to go on to learn about real Swedish Snus after learning about the American products.   Now, let's talk about this product.  Skoal "snus" was launched in 2011, a few years after RJ Reynolds launched Camel "SNUS".  Skoal "snus" is made by USST, the United States Smokeless Tobacco company.  They also make Copenhagen dip and, of course, Skoal dip.  What's interesting about this product is that Camel "SNUS", according to the can, uses 100% imported tobacco, whereas the Skoal "snus" can says it uses 100% American tobacco. The Camel "SNUS" cans are more oblong, while the Skoal "snus" cans look much more like standard American dip cans.  These cans contain "15 spit-free tobacco pouches".  It's interesting that they're called "pouches", because in the Swedish Snus world we've always called them portions.

I wanted to do a comparison, for our Swedish Snus audience, between Skoal "snus" and real Swedish Snus.  The first thing you'll notice is how incredibly huge these Skoal "pouches" are when compared to a regular size Swedish Snus pouch.  The other thing that stands out is the way the tobacco looks.  The Skoal "snus" tobacco is much dryer, and also much more fine cut.  The Swedish Snus tobacco is much more moist and clumpy.  The Skoal "snus" pouches are also more dry to the touch than Swedish Snus portions are. While Swedish Snus is discrete when you put it in the upper lip, the Skoal "snus" is much less discrete and creates a noticeable bulge in the upper lip.

Skoal Mint Review

When you open the can, the aroma that greets you is a sharp, overly sweet peppermint smell. There’s also a tobacco smell in the background that seems to have a dirty presence to it. The pouches are huge, and are slightly uncomfortable in the lip. When you put a pouch in the lip there’s a mild tingle and a light burn. The taste begins immediately with sugar, and then you’ll notice a light taste of peppermint and tobacco mix in. The tobacco flavor, like the aroma, has a dirty quality to it. It’s very odd tasting. The flavor is overall extremely sweet and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. The product doesn’t have much nicotine to it, either. I can’t say how long the flavor lasts, because I can usually only keep these in for about 15 to 20 minutes before they become to sweet and I have to take the pouch out.

Skoal Smooth Mint Review

This one has a mellow, sweet spearmint smell to it. Much like the last one, the pouches are huge and slightly uncomfortable in the lip. If you’re going for discretion, you won’t find it with these products. This one also has a mild tingle sensation and a light burn when you put one of the pouches in your lip. Like with the last one, you’ll experience an almost immediate taste of sugar. There’s a very sweet taste of spearmint with what seems like menthol in the background. The tobacco taste in the background is milder than the mint flavor but still seems to have that dirty quality to it. There’s also hardly any nicotine to speak of in this product. I can’t say how long the flavor lasts, as I can usually only keep this one in for about 15 to 20 minutes. After that it’s just too much sweetness for me to endure.

So, 6 years after I tried these products they're just as bad as I remember.  And I want to be clear, I went into these reviews trying to be as objective as possible, but I couldn't find much positive to say about them, especially when real Swedish Snus is so much better.  If you're a Skoal "snus" user, please read this article or watch this video to learn about the differences between American "snus" and real Swedish Snus. Whenever you're ready to dive into the world of Swedish Snus, hit up our Snus FAQ at Snubie.com to learn more about the real stuff!