Puck Chew Bags (Icing and Spearing) - Review.

About a year ago, I reviewed Puck Snus: Spearing and Icing.  These are products made by The Snus Factory.  I was recently browsing SnusExpress' EU store and found these, Puck Chew Bags.  Chew bags are products made the same way as snus, but they have thicker portion material and cut tobacco, which allows them to be sold in the EU.  Chew bags seemed to become less popular as nicotine pouches came out (and were easier to sell in the EU), but occasionally we still see new chew bag products popping up.  These have the same cool looking hockey puck cans, but one difference:  they have black portions!  You don't usually see black snus or chew bag portions outside of Swedish Match's Onyx Snus.  But, here we are, two new black portion products in the Puck series!

Puck Spearing

Flavor Description:  "An icy flavor that combines cool Swiss menthol with sweet and smooth tones of spearmint".

Can Contents:  16 grams, 20 portions, 0.8g each

Nicotine Strength:  23mg/g (2.3%) / 18.4mg/portion

Review:  When you open the can, a smooth, lightly sweet, gentle aroma of spearmint comes through.  There's also a little menthol in the background.  The portions are black, but are the same material as white portions.  They're regular size, semi-moist, and moderately soft.  Also, since it's a mint product, it has a nice cooling presence in the lip.  The flavor is pretty solid.  It's a mild, gentle taste of spearmint with light hints of menthol.  I also like that you can taste some tobacco in the background.  In terms of strength, it feels to be about the extra strong level.  The flavor, on average, lasts about 50-55 minutes.

Puck Icing

Flavor Description:  "An ice-cold mint flavor that combines Swiss menthol with a touch of peppermint".

Can Contents:  16 grams, 20 portions, 0.8g each

Nicotine Strength:  45mg/g (4.5%) / 36mg/portion

Review:  In the aroma of this one, it's a mild, lightly sweet aroma of peppermint.  It also has light hints of menthol in the background.  The portions are black, but the same material as a white portion.  They're moderately soft, and come with a nice cooling presence in the lip.  The flavor is a fresh, but mild taste of mint.  It's a gentle peppermint flavor, with subtle hints of menthol, and a light sweetness.  I also enjoy that I can taste the tobacco in this one.  This one has a very strong kick to it, well over the ES level.  I can't keep it in for too long due to that, so I can't speak to the flavor longevity.

Rating and Final Thoughts

I rated Spearing at 3.25/5, and Icing at 3/5.  Spearing rated higher because it was lower in strength, but also higher because I like spearmint more than peppermint.  Icing was a bit too strong for me.  Heck, Spearing was a bit too strong for me, but not as strong as Icing.  If you use chew bags and enjoy mint flavors, you'll probably enjoy these if you like a stronger product.  One big bonus for both of these is that the tobacco flavor isn't masked by the mint flavor.  Most products mask the tobacco taste, but this one doesn't do that!