Adapting a very old recipe for Köpenhamnsnus

[squeezyjohn]

Well I can report back that it's a bit of an acquired taste ... but it's certainly got something going for it. It's strong, dark and aromatic and the tonka bean really brings out all the aroma of the tobacco - more so than any other ingredient I've tried as a flavouring. It kind of reminds me of Gellivare snus.

However - it has a strong taste of the ammonium carbonate and salmiak (ammonium chloride) which makes it far more pungent and salty than most currently available snuses on the market.

I don't think the recipe is a keeper - but I do think it's a great thing to have attempted and to taste something that approximates such an old recipe is very interesting indeed.

[Thunder_Snus]

Sorry mate - I should have kept you up to date ... It was a disaster, totally unusable and a waste of good tobacco! Trust me - it was not worth sending to anyone!

That's too bad squeezy. I wish I had an interesting hobby like making my own snus....unfortunately the second i get free time i waste it on tv

[squeezyjohn]

Well ... then you should get away from that devil TV and make your life a whole lot more interesting LOL (I'm guilty of the same when there's something good on though)

My philosophy is that even if these experiments go wrong horribly like that one did ... I learn more that way about how the process works than the money spent on the tobacco and ingredients could ever buy me. At the end of this process of dabbling with different types of tobacco, processes and ingredients I might just get close to being capable of making something truly great.

As for you Thunder_Snus ... it's a million easier for you in the US to get hold of top quality whole leaf tobacco at rock bottom prices ($10-$15 per lb for the best stuff in the world) - you should really consider making it your hobby too if you use snus because it's great fun and will save you lots in the long run. Some of what you can make if you're not too experimental is miles better than the stuff they sell.

[squeezyjohn]

An update to this is that it has sat and aged in the fridge for a couple of weeks to get rid of all the funky ammonia smell ... and it has turned out a great rich full flavoured snus like nothing else I've ever had! It certainly doesn't taste like Cope!

The only addition to the recipe was that I added a tiny splash of Highland Park single malt whisky to add to the old classic taste as the mixture was a little dry. The tonka bean taste is pretty strong but it complements the tobacco nicely ... if I was going to alter the recipe at all I would put in something to add a little sweetness - and the original recipe called for pulped dried figs - so that figures. But as it is I have ended up with a completely dark, manly, snus and a very good recipe! Probably a bit rich and strong for everyday snus usage ... but still brilliant and reminiscent of some of the rich aromatic pipe tobaccos.

It is everything that Probe should be ... and isn't!

[lxskllr]

Sounds good Squeezy. Could you mix it down with something more neutral to mellow it out?