Small Batch 23: Pomander - Review. 28 November 2021.

Swedish Match's Small Batch series has been around for a few years and has seen quite a few releases. Most of them have been regular Small Batch series releases, but they've also done two Chef's Edition releases. The latest addition in the Small Batch series is called Pomander!  I didn't get to review #22, sadly.  My friend in Sweden ordered it for me, but it got lost in the mail.  Sadly, since Swedish Match doesn't let people outside of Sweden enjoy these, I have to jump through hoops to get them to do reviews.

Now, 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: "Small Batch # 23 Pomander is inspired by the British-American tradition of decorating oranges with dried cloves. This fragrant decoration has also gained a strong foothold in Sweden, where it has become an obvious part of the interior during the dark winter. Small Batch # 23 Pomander has a strong taste with hints of dark chocolate, orange and cloves topped with hot streaks of ginger." 

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

Nicotine Content: Unlisted, assuming regular strength to strong

If that sounds familiar, it reminds me a lot of a Small Batch snus I had before, Small Batch #7, which also had an orange/chocolate taste.  Now, without further ado, let's dive into this review.

I really enjoyed the Small Batch 7 flavor when it was around, so when I heard about this one, I was quite excited.  When you open the can, a dark chocolate aroma greets you with natural hints of orange.  There's a light hint of ginger in the back, and subtle notes of clove.  The portion is the standard white portion, and it does come in the star formation format so I suggest giving it a little fluff.  In the flavor, the orange is tart, present, and natural.  There's a nice dark chocolate taste which is semi-bitter, and semi-sweet.  I pick up a subtle note of ginger, accompanied by some light touches of clove.  The nicotine strength on this one feels about regular, and the flavor kicks around for about an hour, on average.

Rating and Final Thoughts

I rated this one at 3.88/5.  It's a pretty solid tasting snus.  This is one I could definitely see myself ordering more of and keeping around for occasional usage.  Not something I'd use full time, but definitely something I enjoy enough to keep around.  In fact, when looking at my overall Small Batch series rankings (you can find them below), this one ranked at 8 out of 24 I've reviewed so far.  I know, it's a very informal list, it's mainly just how I feel about them at the time when I review them.  But, it ranks pretty highly, so that's pretty impressive.

Overall Small Batch Series Rankings

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 23 – Pomander

9 - SB 9 – Banana

10 - SB 5 – Coffee

11 - SB 17 – Hot Shot

12 - Chef's #2 – Höstskörd

13 - SB 15 – Tropic Colada

14 - SB 10 – Rosé

15 - SB 1 – Champagne

16 - SB 21 – Rosenhagen

17 - Chef's #1 – Punsch

18 - SB 20 – Agua Fresca

19 - SB 16 – Old Fashioned

20 - SB 11 – Popcorn

21 - SB 8 – Gin & Pepper

22 - SB 3 – Apple Mint

23 - SB 13 – Salty & What?

24 - SB 6 – Svensk Skog