Small Batch 20: Agua Fresca - Review. 16 July 2021.

Swedish Match's Small Batch series has been around for a few years and has seen 22 releases.  Twenty regular releases, with this one, and 2 Chef's Edition releases.  The 20th addition in the Small Batch series brings the popular flavor of Agua Fresca to this snus.  If you're unfamiliar with the line, this is how Swedish Match describes it:  "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."

When it comes to this product, here's the details:

Flavor Description:  "Agua Fresca is Spanish for "fresh water". The term is used for healthy, non-alcoholic drinks consisting of fruits, herbs and berries. Agua Fresca is common in Central America and to some extent the United States where it is bought fresh on the street or in juice bars.  The taste is inspired by the drink world with notes of melon, cactus, cucumber and a bunch of mint."

Can Contents:  24 grams, 24 portions, 1 gram each

Nicotine Content:  Unlisted, assuming regular strength to strong

As always, this product is only available in Sweden so a special thanks to Michael K, a good friend in Sweden who always helps me procure these products that are, for some reason, not available for folks in the US to order online.

I was pretty bummed that I didn't get the cucumber in the aroma and flavor.  I was really hoping that cucumber taste was going to be dialed up.  Cactus, mint, and melon seem to be the heavy hitters here.  In the aroma, melon comes through clearly, along with hints of cactus, tones of mint, and a mild tobacco aroma.  The portions are pretty soft, but need a quick fluff because of the star formation wedge shape.  There's also a light cooling presence in the lip, perhaps due to the mint inclusion.  In the flavor, I pick up a light tobacco base, along with a gentle cactus flavor, a smooth flavor of melon, and a fresh hint of mint.  The nicotine feels about regular, maybe a little above.  The flavor, on average, lasts about 50-55 minutes.

Rating and Final Thoughts

This one ended up at 3.38 out of 5.  For the entire Small Batch series, this one ranks at #16 out of the 22 releases I've had so far.  It's not bad by any means, just not my favorite one I've had yet.  The cucumber flavor missing was something that bummed me out, because I really wanted a huge cucumber flavor in this one.  But still, it is a tobacco product, which we rarely see any of anymore thanks to nicotine pouches taking over.  So, I'm still glad I got to try it.  We get so few actual snus products these days that I appreciate any I can actually check out.  Stay tuned, Small Batch 21 just launched and once I get ahold of it I'll post a review of that one, too!

Entire Small Batch Series Ratings:

1 - SB 2 – Blood Orange 

2 - SB 4 – Raspberry Licorice 

3 - SB 19 – Sakura 

4 - SB 14 – Citron/Lakrits 

5  SB 18 –Ginger Beer 

6 - SB 12 – Pink Grapefruit 

7 - SB 7 – Orange/Chocolate 

8 - SB 9 – Banana 

9 - SB 5 – Coffee 

10  SB 17 – Hot Shot 

11  Chef's #2 – Höstskörd 

12 - SB 15 – Tropic Colada 

13 - SB 10 – Rosé 

14 - SB 1 – Champagne 

15 - Chef's #1 – Punsch 

16 - SB 20 – Agua Fresca 

17 - SB 16 – Old Fashioned 

18 - SB 11 – Popcorn 

19 - SB 8 – Gin & Pepper 

20 - SB 3 – Apple Mint 

21 - SB 13 – Salty & What? 

22 - SB 6 – Svensk Skog 

Rating for this product: