Mellgrens IPA white

[codyg140]

So I've been waiting to try this snus since the first batch I missed out on last year and finally got some to see what the hypes about..

first thing I learned is that AG snus lent a hand in some way because the cans are AG. Second thing I learned was this stuff is potent on the nose! Has a very pungent scent of citrus, almost reminded me of general white. Then I noticed the portions, now these ARE white portions but they are SO DRY! I have some thunder white dry open right now that has more moisture to it, though I have heard a similar complaint about connys white version of crafted snus, so maybe that's how he prefers it.

now the taste... If you like General you will probably like this, I don't really get anything amazing about this snus. It definitely has a citrus taste to it and I get kinda a herbal/floral taste as well but that's about it.

I had high hopes and ordered a roll of the white but honestly it will probably end up on the tobacco exchange.

perhaps paired with a good beer it might be a better experience but all I could give it is a 2.5/5

[squeezyjohn]

I have to say I feel very similarly to you cody! The loose is definitely a lot better than the dry whites - but it's still lacking something.

Here's my review

Bear in mind that I never got to try the first batch and so I cannot compare it to that. Now, I'm a beer drinker, and I have to confess that I really love some of the old traditional English IPAs that are only subtly stronger and more hoppy than a standard pint of bitter, but I don't often enjoy many of the new micro-brew inspired "IPAs" which use huge quantities of "in your face" citrusy hops that claim to taste of grapefruit and peaches, those brews for me are massively over-flavoured, one-dimensional and mocking the complexity of the centuries old art of brewing with one dismissive flick of it's ridiculous hipster hair. (or should that be hopster hair?)

Anyway - I've already lost track of what I'm doing, see, I really love flavours and I really notice them too! Now on to the snus: the first can I opened was the Mellgrens IPA single cut loose and the first thing that hit me is that this is still VERY fresh as I got a nose full of ammonia!! Secondly the cut is great - it's far more like dip than any long-cut snus I've had before and as such you cannot bake it easily and it's far better with stuff like this to simply shove a pinch straight up there which I did! The smell of the snus flavouring is very nice and very pronounced and it smells very lemony - but not like the kind of lemon you'd get from lemon oils or bergamot - more lemongrass and full of herbal top notes. Apparently it contains lemon verbena herb and I think that probably is what I'm smelling.

So the taste: My initial reaction was that it's the closest thing to my favourite discontinued snus Gotlandssnus Yellow that I've tasted since they stopped making it and it's true that initial citrus blast is very similar, as is the slight bitterness that develops while using it (which may or may not be due to the hop oils - but tobacco can be bitter anyway) ... however that taste promise faded fairly fast as my brain expected the next step of tasting a rich, chocolatey, malty tobacco coming through all that citrus that I always got with the Gotlandssnus - but with the Mellgren's it was not forthcoming ... I got no real tobacco flavour at all and all that was waiting for me was a rather sharp beery hop flavour that became increasingly bitter and almost like a marijuana funkiness but there was no real depth. Maybe the long-cut nature means that less tobacco aroma is released, or maybe it's just over-perfumed, but what started out as almost brilliant became a little bit disappointing at the end. Just like a real beer needs a balance of malt and hops, real snus needs a balance of tobacco and flavouring - this IPA mirrors the imbalance of it's micro-brew hipster chums.

And what of the white portions? Well - personally I never enjoy a white portion as much as an original, and I enjoy dry whites even less, so my opinion on these are probably biased from the beginning. What can I say? If I didn't get the nicotine hit, I could have sworn I was sucking a piece of paper soaked in perfume ... it's the same high quality flavouring as in the loose, but there's no connection with the tobacco for me at all and I got none of the hoppiness from these either.

All in all - I'm slightly disappointed, but that's probably because it gave me a brief glimpse of my long-dead favourite ... and for that it gets a few brownie points!

[Dodgerdave]

Not the best reviews, but I'm going to have to get a can since snuscentral started carrying this snus.

[codyg140]

Not the best reviews, but I'm going to have to get a can since snuscentral started carrying this snus.

FYI I've got 7-8 cans of the portions in my freezer I'm looking to trade if you weren't making an order for awhile and wanted to try a can or two or seven

[Dodgerdave]

Thanks for the offer, but I actually placed an order last night.