Black Buffalo was founded in Chicago in 2015. They currently manufacturer their products in North Carolina. The brand was originally created to be an alternative to traditional dipping tobacco. In 2020, they submitted PMTAs to the FDA, which may be a reason Imperial wanted them, to save some of the leg work. Black Buffalo is made of leafy greens from the cabbage family, so this is a tobacco-free product. They used tobacco derived nicotine in their products. They also use a barn curing type of process to yield a product that is similar to traditional dipping tobacco.
As a tobacco alternative, Black Buffalo is much different from your traditional nicotine pouch. First, let's look at their long cut. This looks a lot like traditional dipping tobacco. It's moist, easily pinchable, and packs well in the lip. A can weighs 1.2oz, or 34.02g, which is similar to a can of traditional dipping tobacco. They have a zero nicotine version, and their standard version comes with 7.5mg/g.
They also make a pouched version. These look very different from traditional nicotine pouches. These are meant to emulate a dipping tobacco pouch, but in a tobacco-free format. The cans weigh 0.82oz, or 23.25g each. Their website says the cans contain 16 pouches per can, so they should weigh 1.45g each. I took my scale to them out of curiousity. On average, I was counting between 14-18 pouches per can. They actually weighed, on average, between 1.01-1.18g each. So not quite the 1.45g I was expecting. That being said, the pouches are quite big. They're soft, moist, and fill out the lip really well. These have a nicotine content, for the nicotine version, of 11.25mg/pouch. They also make a zero nicotine version.
Now, let's check out the flavors. I recently went shopping around town, and found a handful of their variants. I couldn't find their Straight flavor or Blood Orange flavor anywhere, but I did find Mint, Wintergreen, and Blood Orange.
Flavor Description: "A crisp blend of peppermint and spearmint with just a hint of sweet".
My Review: Their mint pouches remind me a lot of your traditional mint dipping tobacco product. The aroma is a rich, fresh, sweet smell of mint. Behind it, subtle hints of smoke. In the flavor profile, the sweet blending of peppermint and spearmint is nice, but it's not as one dimensional as your usual nicotine pouches. It's rich, it's earthy, it's smoky, it's very flavorful. The nicotine version has a nice kick to it, and feels to be about the regular strength level. The zero-nicotine version is pretty enjoyable for the flavor, but without the extra nicotine kick.
Flavor Description: "Rich citrus flavor with hints of raspberry and smoke".
My Review: I love the flavor of blood orange, so I was pretty excited to see a long cut version. In the aroma, it's citrusy, slightly sour, and slightly sweet. In the flavor, I enjoy the blood orange taste a lot. It's sour, it's tart, it's tangy, with just a little sweet. There is a subtle fruitiness to it, perhaps from the raspberry they mention. It also has an earthy, smoky character, which is enjoyable! The long cut, with a proper pinch, packs a pretty solid nicotine kick to it!
Flavor Description: "Rich citrus flavor with hints of raspberry and smoke".
My Review: Much like the last one, this one packs a very enjoyable blood orange character. This one has no nicotine, so we'll just talk about how it tastes. In the aroma, an earthy aroma with a blood orange presence to it and hints of smoke. The blood orange flavor is present, it's tart, it's slightly sweet. It has earthy undertones, a subtle fruitiness, and a little smokiness.
Flavor Description: "A bold, bright wintergreen flavor".
My Review: Now, the traditional wintergreen flavor! These taste a lot better than other wintergreen nicotine pouches I've had on the US market. They're aren't overly minty, which is nice. In the aroma, a rich, earthy, smoky aroma with present tones of wintergreen. The flavor is very bold, and rich. The wintergreen taste is front and center, and has these undertones of wood, and smoke. The nicotine version has a nice kick to it, about that regular strength mark. The nicotine-free version is still just as tasty, but without any added nicotine.
Flavor Description: "A bold, bright wintergreen flavor".
My Review: Much like the last one, this one has a beautiful wintergreen aroma. It's rich, it's earthy, it's smoky. It's not overly sweet, nor is it too smoky. The wintergreen flavor is rich, and classic. It's not overly minty like a lot of US nicotine pouches. The wintergreen flavor is front and center, but behind it a rich, earthy tone. There is some smokiness to it, but it's not overdone. Very tasty.
Rating and Final Thoughts
It's been ages since I've had Black Buffalo, and I've never done any reviews of them, so this is my first rating of these, too! First, I didn't do any ratings of the Zero Nicotine versions. When I take "Effect" out of my score, the Zero Nicotine versions often average higher than the regular versions, which doesn't work for me, because I like the nicotine versions more. So, they won't be rated.
But, I can tell you what I thought of the nicotine versions! Blood Orange Long Cut was my favorite, at 3.67/5. The others, Wintergreen Long Cut, Wintergreen Pouches, and Mint Pouches, actually all averaged out about the same, 3.17/5. These were pretty decent products though. A good dip alternative. I'm not sure nicotine pouch consumers would enjoy these, but I think folks looking to quit dipping tobacco might like them.
Also, to my snus audience, try out the long cut. It's a pretty neat experience. You don't have to spit, since it's not fermented tobacco, so these are pretty easy to use, and fun to tste!
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