The Phantom of Snus: Brown Los & Classic Los Reviews. 1 October 2011.

These are reviews I've been wanting to do for quite some time now. Until now, I've been wondering what the difference was between "classic" and "brown" when it came to V2's Phantom line. And as I've been catching up on reviews of V2's products lately, I felt these were good to finally get to! The product description of Classic Loose says, "....traditional Snus aroma slightly peppery with hints of citrus and a smooth, round taste." Classic Brown says, "....a snus with traditional snus aromas and a robust flavor of pure tobacco and smoke aroma. Smooth round taste." So let's get to it.

Talking cans, the V2 Phantom cans are as simple as they get. A name, a type, and portion/loose. Nothing fancy. I recently reviewed Phantom Classic White, so it'll be interesting to see how all this compares to the portions I've tried. If you're a value conscious snuser - los is a great way to save money. And when it comes to V2 products, they're the cheapest around. I've wrote an article about The Vogel Brothers & V2 Tobacco in the past, and for a small company they're not doing too bad. They have a new factory under construction set to open soon - so I think we can expect more to come from them in the future.

Starting with Phantom Classic Loose, the aroma is much like what I've had in the past with Phantom Classic White, a clean citrus aroma. The taste is a clear, clean citrus taste with a little salt balance kicking in the background and a mild sweet quality. It has the classic Swedish Snus taste in a clean, crisp package. For a value priced snus, it isn't too bad. The citrus taste is mellow, not too strong, and lasts quite some time as far as flavor goes.

Moving on to Phantom Classic Brown Loose, this is one I've never had before so I've been interested to see how it differed from Classic Loose. The aroma of this snus is a kinda earthy, peat type aroma. It has a "dirty" quality to the aroma, it's hard to explain. The taste is pretty interesting. It takes a little while to develop but once it kicks in, it's quite good. It has a pure tobacco flavor with a little salt balance, much like a Grovsnus, but with a lingering smoky quality like I've detected in the past in the Lucky Strike line. All these elements are present but quite mild. The flavor of this snus doesn't stand out, but the mild amounts of it that exist bring it together in a pretty enjoyable little package.

So all in all, both snuses aren't bad. They're affordable, one has a classic snus flavor, one has a mellow tobacco flavor. If you're price conscious - or like loose, they're worth checking into.