Welcome to the wonderful world of Nasal Snuff. I hope you will find this Guide both helpful and informative. I have tried to pool together information and resources that I have collected over my time using snuff so that you can have them all in one place.
I. Types of Snuff
There are a gazillion different snuffs out there. Below is a breakdown of the major categories or types of snuff as well as a few representative examples of each class.
1. Plain Snuff- is unscented and relies on the expert blending of various types of tobacco for its flavor. Don’t let the name fool you there is nothing plain about this snuff. When done right plain snuffs offers some of the most complex, flavorful, and exquisite snuffs around. Examples:
Samuel Gawith Blue Crest
Dholakia Sparrow (Green)
Gawith Hoggarth Kendal Brown
2. Toasts- like the plain snuffs, toasts tend to be made from unscented tobacco (not always but usually). The difference is that here the tobacco has been toasted giving it a nutty and often times slightly smoky character. Toasts tend to be dry and finely ground and thus can be challenging to take. Challenging or not they are well worth the effort and represent some of the best snuffs around. Examples:
Fribourg & Treyer (F&T) High Dry Toast,
Wilsons Irish High Toast #22,
Toque Toast and Marmalade
2. SPs- SP stands for Spanish and harkens back to the way snuff first came to Europe. These snuffs tend to be flavored with Bergamot and/or other citrus flavors. They represent some of the most popular and skillful blends in the snuff world and are often a snuffer’s all day or go to snuff. Examples:
Toque Original,
Wilsons Best SP,
Samuel Gawith No.1 High Mill
3. Floral Snuff- are more typical of the French influence. These tend to be perfumed snuffs and feature blends of such scents as geranium, lavender, Rose, and Jasmine to name but a few. Examples:
F&T Kendal Brown,
Toque Berwich Brown,
Wilsons Jockey Club
4. Dessert Snuff- dessert snuffs tend to be sweeter and flavored with everything from mint to chocolate to coffee. Examples:
Wilsons Crumbs of Comfort,
Toque Peach,
Wilsons Irish Coffee
5. Medicated Snuff- medicated snuffs use menthol and often eucalyptus in their blends. Examples:
McChrystal’s Original and Genuine
Hedges L260 'The Snuff'
6. Schmalzler- Schmalzler Snuffs are traditionally German snuffs made of fermented tobacco. Thus they tend to be very moist, coarsely ground, and rich in flavor. Often they smell like a Christmas desert from the old world. Examples:
Bernard’s Klostermischung
Bernard’s Brasil Doppelt Fermentiert
7. American Scotches- American Scotches tends to be dry, finely ground, and varying in degrees of smokiness and molasses undertones. American Scotches come in two basic varieties Sweet and Plain. Each of these shares the basic characteristics of American snuff with the sweet being sweeter and the plain being smokier and a bit harsher as a general rule. Examples:
Navy Sweet,
Railroad Mills Plain,
W.E. Garrett Plain
8. Everything Else- There are a whole host of outstanding snuffs that do not fit neatly into any one category. Some share characteristics with two or more groups. Others are in a class by themselves. A few outstanding examples of this group are:
Bon Bon,
Prins Regent,
Macuba
(all from Molens De Kralingse- AKA Dutch Windmill),
Toque Spanish Gem,
Wilsons Best Dark
II. Methods
To get the snuff into your nose, you will need to develop a workable method. Method involves two parts: (a) controlling your breathing and (b) taking the snuff (pinch it, spoon it, thumb it, or take it off the back of the hand). The point is that you need to develop your snuff taking skills. I know of no better introduction than Snuffhouse’s Beginner’s Guide. Check it out: snuffhouse-guide.pdf
In the meantime there are a couple of basic things that you can do to get started
1. Get the right snuff. Snuffs that are dry and finely ground are not the best place to start. Packard’s Club snuff is amazingly easy to handle as are most Toque Snuffs. When buying, just read the reviews or ask.
2. Breathe right. Do not snort snuff, don’t even sniff it. Rather, relax and just smell it. Snuff is light and it will not take much to get it into your nose. Many folks find it helpful to take a full breath before they begin taking the snuff. Regardless, half the battle is remembering to SMELL and not SNORT
3. Right placement- you don’t want the snuff deep in your nose but rather closer to the front. Notice the space where you finger is when you pick your nose. That is where you want the snuff to go
4. Be patient- we all had those sneezing, eyes watering, and head blown off moments. It will take a little time, practice, and experimenting but you will get it down.
III. Nose care
Do I need to take any special measures to clean my nose? No. I find a good hot shower in the morning is all that is required. However, some like to use a saline nasal spray especially during the winter when the nose tends to be dry. Others swear by something called a Netti pot but I don’t find it to be necessary at all.
V. Ammonia
The fresher the snuff the more it will smell of ammonia. This has to do with the way snuff is produced. Thus, if you get a new tin and it smells like cat piss don’t panic and don’t throw it a way. Instead, take the top off and let it air out, stirring it occasionally. This may take anywhere form an hour or two to a whole day.
VI. Resources
In addition to Snuson’s growing snuff section, there are a few on line sites that you will find indispensable.
1. Snuffhouse.org- a wonderful forum full of great folks and fantastic information. Many of our members take part there as well. http://snuffhouse.org/
2. Snuffreviews.com- a great resource to learn about various snuffs. The snuffs are listed by manufacturer. http://snuffreviews.com/list.php
I hope this Guide has been of some help. May your nose and lip be ever full.
