REVIEW: Marschall Schnecke by Grimm & Triepel

[Frosted]

What I find with the British is they tell you one thing and then vote completely differently. I hear so much anti European sentiment but when it comes to a referendum, I'm scared that the British will actually vote for the EU. It's hard to say though as the British are generally proud of their Pound and their sovereignty. I think the British also realise that we are quite different from people on the continent. Being an island probably contributes to that.

[squeezyjohn]

Back to the tobacco snail himself.

I'm giving this product a good run today instead of snus - I'm having doubts about using this as a good snus replacement simply because the great tobacco flavour is so strong that it get's tiring after a while of use. I use oral tobacco a lot through the course of the day and therefore I prefer the more subtle tobacco-ey flavours.

I'm also not quite getting the kick of nicotine I'd really like from this stuff - by that I mean that I'd like a bigger kick and if I'm upper lipping it, I need to use more of the product than is comfortable to keep in my lip.

However - I have found a new way of using it to counteract the second of my worries: If you slice the rope of tobacco REALLY thinly with a knife (1mm slices or less), you end up with a mass of what is essentially long-cut snus/dip without the juice. You can then press that in to a pris of lös and upper lip that feels not that different to Kardus limited edition snus under the lip (if you soaked it in whiskey or rum then I reckon it might taste almost as good too!). With the tobacco in this cut up form I find the nicotine comes out much more readily due to the increased surface area available to get the nicotine out.

I'm not ruling out this product as a replacement for snus that is freely available in the EU - but it's definitely a good option, especially with the slicing up technique. It just has such a strong natural flavour to it.

I think my preferred option of making snus from first principles will still be the best solution to a complete lockdown on snus in the UK though - whether the tobacco be home-grown or bought in. But if I wanted to try and recreate the Kardus of 2009 which was an amazing snus - I think this would be a great starting point.

Cheers

Squeezy

[lxskllr]

If you like it snus style, maybe a shredder would streamline the conversion process.

[crullers]

This is very interesting and I think I may give one of the other Grim & Triepel offerings a try. 25 bucks is a bit much to lay out for the snails in case I don't like them. Has anybody tried the other Grim & Triepel chewing tobaccos? Are they small bits like Oliver Twist or Piccanell? It won't hurt to look for some snus alternatives over here because I'm sure that if the worse case scenario plays out in the E.U. - and I hope it doesn't - snus may become much harder to obtain or become prohibitively expensive. Plus, other governments will probably follow suit like lemmings.

Also squeezyjohn, props for your home growing thread, I'm seriously considering giving it a go here next year.

[Frosted]

Thanks Squeezy.
I find this with all tobacco except snus. Initially it seems good but after long term use I get tired of it. Snus just doesn't do that so it's going to be difficult to replace.

Keep looking. When I get paid at the end of the month I intend buying a Kendal and a pigtail.

[squeezyjohn]

Cheers Crullers - growing has been fun. The other stuff by Grimm & Triepel are all very similar to each other. They are slightly different shape and strength of mini-twist tobacco the same kind of diameter as OT and Picannell but in slightly longer "sticks" rather than bites.

The main thing to know is that all the other Grimm & Triepel stuff is really quite sweet with a fruity flavour - it has more in common with a US chewing tobacco like Levi Garrett in terms of sweetness. Also - to my taste it seems to be fire cured tobacco although I have no evidence other than my tongue to tell me that.

Cheers

Squeezy

[squeezyjohn]

Keep looking. When I get paid at the end of the month I intend buying a Kendal and a pigtail.

By all means do that.. But I'm pretty sure you'll absolutely hate it ... unless you smoke it in a pipe.

[crullers]

OK Squeezy, thanks for that. I don't think I'll bother with the other Grimm & Triepel then. Not really interested in the sweet stuff.

[squeezyjohn]

And crullers - do have a go at growing if your climate will allow it, even slightly! The price of a few seeds is not that much but the satisfaction of making something you could potentially use that would otherwise cost you loads is a very good thing indeed.

I visited London Ontario on business a few years ago in the summer and it seemed a good bit warmer than we get it in the summer here in the UK if that's any help.

Cheers

Squeezy

[crullers]

And crullers - do have a go at growing if your climate will allow it, even slightly! The price of a few seeds is not that much but the satisfaction of making something you could potentially use that would otherwise cost you loads is a very good thing indeed.

I visited London Ontario on business a few years ago in the summer and it seemed a good bit warmer than we get it in the summer here in the UK if that's any help.

Cheers

Squeezy

Well Squeezy, if you ever find yourself back over this way I hope you look me up. I've lived in London for 10 yrs and I'm just an hour west of there now. There is a bit of tobacco grown here my way, there used be a lot more. I worked one summer in my early teens in the burley fields and it's back breaking work. There is a lot more grown the other side of London in the Delhi-Tillsonburg area still. Here's a tune for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6EiYbRTv4M

[Frosted]

Squeezy sent me something in the post today. Now he said he'd send me a taster of this chewing tobacco but he very generously sent me a whole whorl of it.
I was quite excited about trying my first properly roped tobacco.

Larger than I thought it would be and rubbery. It's a great big wad of rolled roped tobacco leaves with a slightly unpleasant and strong aroma of I dunno.
Cut a slice and in it went. Comfortable with pleasant enough taste and yeah, there was enough nicotine. No need to spit. Just leave it in the side of the mouth and chew a bit when nic is required. After three slices of this I found my mouth drying up in a weird way which was a big let down for me so I'm afraid its a thumbs down just for that.
Squeezy, thanks very much indeed for letting me try this....if you want it back I'll post it tomorrow, or I can pass it to someone else.
It's frustrating, but snus is so incredibly good compared to other smokeless.

[squeezyjohn]

Hi Extreme - glad you got it.

I sent you a whole snail because ... guess what ... I'm not getting on with it either! It's not because of a weird mouth syndrome - just the taste is a bit freaky and strong after a while despite promising so much. You're right ... snus is the best - but the likes of you and me aren't allowed it - who knows what we did in a previous life?

I was hoping this snail tobacco could be a "last resort" but it's not even really that - it's not as bad as the British made rope tobacco for chewing - but it's also not really as good as a snus substitute - so I'm back on the original plan of growing and making all my own snus!

Extreme - please pass it on if you can find someone who wants to try it. I haven't tried flavouring it yet which might help in the taste stakes. I have 4 snails left here which is plenty enough for me!

Cheers

Squeezy

[Frosted]

You're a gent Squeezy.

It does taste a bit funky and Im surprised you didn't get weird mouth.....and you say that its better than British? British must taste of ass lol.

Good luck with the snus making. I don't know what snus makers secrets are, but they make something that in its natural form tastes of butt into a work of art.

[squeezyjohn]

British must taste of ass lol.

I think I just found my new signature!


Frankly with a little bit of kit (no more than for home brewing, say) you can make your own los - it's not very difficult as long as you have raw air-cured tobacco to make it out of - and a little bit of cooking skill with flavouring it. Growing and curing has seen me on the start of a much longer and more complicated journey though - that's the more tricky bit. Los is fine - I love the tradition and I love the flavour - I do like portions though - they just work for me 80% of the time whereas los doesn't so much due to the lack of ability to clean my mouth out in some situations. I'm still looking in to how I can make portions.

Don't let the taste of the Marschall Schnecke put you off the idea of raw air-cured tobacco - it's not a good representation - the snail tobacco is fermented I'm almost sure of it - and so much so that it tastes kind of agricultural. Despite not even being fully cured yet my air-cured rustica tastes a million times nicer that the snails - it's kind of sweet and also naturally salty and has a little taste of tea mixed with dried hay - I'm hoping that with a better and longer cure that I can get a deeper flavour - but currently there's nothing funky about it - and I think it will work just fine as an ingredient in snus.

Cheers

Squeezy

[Frosted]

That was very interesting. And yes - you got what I couldn't describe - something agricultural even to the extent of it being like eating a raw potato in the way that it leaves you with weird mouth. Maybe it is the fermenting.

Sweet, salty, tea mixed with dried hay sounds pretty cool.

Unfortunately I've nowhere to put a greenhouse or I'd definately give this a go. Hopefully when we move up the ladder, or out of London I'll get the space - I'd definately give that a bash myself.