Islay Whisky Snus (Original Portion) - Review. 26 May 2023.

It feels like it's been ages since I've had this one.  I remember in the early days of the COVID pandemic, this one disappeared.  For some reason, it was still available in Norway, but outside of that it was nowhere to be found.  Recently I saw it back in stock on SnusMe.com, so it looks like GN Tobacco has brought it back!  Islay Whisky Snus was originally conceived by snus guru Conny Andersson in 2012, and launched in 2014 when he was working with GN Tobacco.  He left there around 2015, but GN continued to produce it.  I'm not sure if anything has changed with this one after he left, but I'll share some background on it from back when it first launched.  This is a 100% lamina snus (meaning all tobacco, no filler).  The tobaccos originally used were sourced from Nicaragua, Pennsylvania, South Africa and Ghana.  It is barrel aged in Scottish whisky casks from the same distillery the whisky comes from.  GN launched the original portion version in 2012, followed by white portion and loose in 2016.

Also, the product methods are a little different for this one.  This is how GN described it when it launched:  "We use the ancient traditions, we sweat the tobacco in the fire room instead to pasteurize it. Pasteurization is an effective and quick process and has advantages in mass production. The time consuming perspiration was the way that all Swedish snuff was produced until 1981. When one sweats tobacco and does not stress it you get a cleaner and clearer tobacco flavor in the finished snus."  Some have wondered if this affected the snus or the relative risk, but the TSNA levels are virtually on par with other snus products that are purely pasteurized, so it isn't a concern.  Again, all of this info is from when it was originally was made and I'm not sure if any of that has changed since then, but to me the flavor is the same which is the main thing I look at.

The flavor description says "A flavor of pure tobacco with whisky from the Scottish island of Islay".  Each can weighs in at 20 grams and contains 20 portions, for 1 gram portions.  The nicotine content sits at 12mg/g (1.2%), which breaks down easily to 12mg/portion due to the 1 gram portions.

So, it's been a few years since this one has been around.  Has anything changed?  Well, as far as the experience and flavor profile I can say I don't notice any differences.  The aroma is a rich, earthy tobacco smell with hints of smokiness.  I notice some wood notes, and a little whisky in there.  The portions are nice and plump, semi-moist, and quite soft under the lip.  The flavor is where this one really shines.  I don't really drink whisky, but I don't like this one for the whisky taste.  I like this one because of the tobacco character.  It's a smoky, rich, dark tobacco base.  I pick up hints of oak, and just a little whisky in the background.  The nicotine kick is quite nice, delivering at the strong level.  It's not too strong, and feels comfortable in release.  The flavor lasts a good 45-50 minutes, on average!

Rating and Final Thoughts

I didn't rate this one the first time I tried it, but I did recently rate the Norway version of this one.  My rating is the same for this one - 4.33/5.  It's an incredible snus.  Even if you don't like whisky, the tobacco base alone in this one really shines.  Whisky lovers will enjoy it, sure, but even those who don't like whisky can get into this one.  I'm glad to see it back in production again, because this used to always be in my rotation.  Thank you, GN, for bringing it back!

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