Here is a rare thing for me in today's reduced circumstances of living in the EU - a brand new snus - and one which by all accounts should really tick all the boxes I personally like. I will try and be as objective as possible.
The can
People who have bought a Jakobsson's product before will recognise the white design with the trademark compass ashtray lid which is very well made and functions well ... just as you would expect from Jakobsson's! The design is on a white background ... and to me that say's one thing ... Skruf! It is red and white writing on a white background and as a snusser it's impossible to not think Skruf. But here we have the addition of a very well executed bit of gold printing for the brand name ... and it looks beautiful. Yes - the Dynamite font is a bit clichéd, leaving me to expect a wild-west wanted poster on the reverse. However all I found was a health warning and en expiry date! The whole can design is great - one of the best new ones to come out in a long while.
So I open the can and find 20 plump very moist original portions within the can - they even look just like Skruf Xtra Stark. And the smell is very intriguing. It's got that kind of smell you only really get with the top-end starks. Strong dark tobacco and the ammonia from it's strength - but not too much. And there's something else in there ... I can't really put my finger on the scent accompanying the tobacco, but it's herbal, floral and fruity all at the same time. I thought that this was a pure tobacco recipe from the talk around this snus, but it sure smells like there's something else in there - it could be oriental tobaccos. It's smell and taste is less like Skruf Stark and more like the newer Nord 66º offerings from Skruf.
The snus
This is a very nice snus indeed. Salt is just right, taste is lovely, dark and rich, aroma is ... aromatic! Strength of nicotine is Extra Strong - it feels like around 18mg. It is not sweet in the way General Extra Strong is, and it hasn't quite got that fermented flavour of Skruf Stark - but it's in the same ballpark with a slightly fruity edge to it that reminds me of the Swedish Camel snus. The portion does drip a bit quicker than either of the two aforementioned classic starks - and the juice that drips is definitely quite potent - leading to a bit of throat tickle if I'm not careful. Portions are well filled and the material is a little rough - but not in a bad way - slightly rough means the portion stays put and doesn't go slimy.
Conclusion
I really like this one ... I apologise for the continual reference to Skruf. But Skruf is a massively well made quality snus ... and so is this. It's slightly different. By Northerner's current pricing (and taking in to account that there's 20 in a can whereas Skruf has 24 a can) - the prices are almost the same too. There are 2 reasons I will probably not replace Skruf Xtra Strong with this in my orders:
1) Availability - currently we in the EU don't have many avenues and Snusline beats Northerner's US operation hands down for service, price and speed. This Dynamite is not available from Snusline whereas Skruf is.
2) The drip and sheer strength of flavour becomes very strong towards the end of the portion use. It's almost too much for me. It's a nice flavour - but I find that Skruf doesn't drip all over my teeth as much.
If you like a full, rich tobacco flavoured stark portion - you'd be absolutely nuts not to give this one a try ... it's of the highest quality - and that is a rare thing in a new snus. Try it!
Comment