Islay Whisky Portion

[piks101]

Online only.

That is what I figured. I told him to order online hold for pick-up at UPS and pay online with prepaid visa. I will probably add to my next order and send him a few tins.

[Thunder_Snus]

That is what I figured. I told him to order online hold for pick-up at UPS and pay online with prepaid visa. I will probably add to my next order and send him a few tins.

One might ask why your friend married this individual?

[piks101]

wife is stickler on budget has no real idea cost of dip/snus relative to usage. why wake up a sleeping dog.

[squeezyjohn]

My review for Islay Whisky Snus

Let me get straight to the point here - I've seen other reviews saying it doesn't taste strong enough of whisky, or saying that it's not a massively strong flavour ... and that misses the point of this snus completely. Islay Whisky Snus is made with an attention to detail, tradition and craftsmanship like no other snus that has been made since 1981 - it tastes completely different to all snus I have ever tasted and I think that is fantastic.

When I speak to older Swedish people who use snus they always lament how all snus has changed beyond recognition since Gothiatek was introduced to Swedish Match (who back then had a monopoly on all snus making). The reason was health - which is a great thing - using steam pasteurisation rather than fermentation, and air cured tobacco instead of fire-cured has brought the TSNA levels of all snus down massively - but at the cost of the traditional taste. With the expertise of Connie Andersson and the ambition of GN tobacco we now can taste this traditional taste once again.

So the snus itself - well, when you open the can the smell is completely different to anything else I've ever had from commercial snus - if anything it's more like a fairly natural american dip. It smells sour, smoky, chocolatey and you can just detect the whisky - it's kind of like Cope mixed with Ettan.

And the taste of the portions - well ... it's not an instant hit - at first it's very salty - then the subtle whisky kicks in and finally the rich tobacco comes flooding through in the taste. It's a very natural tasting snus - absolutely delicious, rich and slightly smokey without being overpowering. But do yourself a favour if you have a tin of this and cut open 2 portions, shake out the snus inside and make yourself a nice fat prilla of los (it won't stick together brilliantly - but you can do it) ... the difference in the way the flavour gets going is totally different and a 100% improvement. I've noticed this with my own recipes - with a natural tobacco snus you loose 80% of the taste when you put the snus in portion bags and it's exactly the same here - portions only really work when there is a whole lot of flavouring going on with essences and oils involved.

As stated before - the tin is really classy and the perfect package for what is undoubtedly a truly premium product.

Conclusion:
9/10 - A truly crafted gem of a snus - a premium product with a fully justified premium price tag. It would have been 10/10 but it's soooo obvious that it was screaming out to be a los snus product to be perfect - but still absolutely worth getting in portion form.

[squeezyjohn]

In addition to the review I have a couple of questions - Maybe GN could answer:

Because Islay Whisky Snus is fermented rather than pasteurised - does this snus contain much higher TSNA levels?

Every time I've made snus with fire-cured tobacco it has tasted bad - is this because I am doing it at temperatures that are high and changing the taste?

[piks101]

In addition to the review I have a couple of questions - Maybe GN could answer:

Because Islay Whisky Snus is fermented rather than pasteurised - does this snus contain much higher TSNA levels?

Every time I've made snus with fire-cured tobacco it has tasted bad - is this because I am doing it at temperatures that are high and changing the taste?

Well the process still seems to be a pasteurization method of sweating not a standard fire-cured tobacco. See below:

The tobacco has been barrel aged (in the actual whiskey casks from Scotland) to develop it's maximum flavor! The tobacco is 100% Lamina, meaning no filler, only pure tobacco. The snus is also produced differently, "We use the ancient traditions, we sweat the tobacco in the fire room instead to pasteurize it. Pasteurization is an effective and quick process and has advantages in mass production. The time consuming perspiration was the way that all Swedish snuff was produced until 1981. When one sweats tobacco and does not stress it you get a cleaner and clearer tobacco flavor in the finished snus." The cans are all numbered, which stresses further how limited this snus is and the effort that went into the details of producing a small batch, to ensure the utmost quality. http://chadizzy1.blogspot.com/2014/0...uary-2014.html

[squeezyjohn]

No - it isn't pasteurised ... it is fermented - that's what that text says and also the blurb on islaywhiskysnus.com - the swedish word is Svett which means literally to sweat the snus - it is the old way of making snus and because it happens at lower temperatures it allows some microbial action on the tobacco ... which leads both to a delicious flavour ... and unfortunately to the production of TSNAs too.

I don't know whether fire-cured is definitely used ... but it sure tastes like it is ... and there is no liquid smoke included in the ingredients which is the case for many brands of snus.

I can definitely taste the fermented nature in this snus which is why I find it so delicious - but I was asking specifically if the snus had been tested for TSNAs and if it was much higher than average for a modern snus.

[Snusdog]

Great review SJ!!!!

And also a good question........I hope GN will find time to pop in and give us some clarification (he has had some health issues- so keep him in your thoughts and prayers)........

Regarding TSNAs.......my guess is that the levels are still negligible.........but it would be interesting to hear.

Also, I loved your suggestion to try it as los...........the test version I had of this was los and it was fantastic!

GN........how about a special snuson release of Islay los


Get better brother!

[piks101]

No - it isn't pasteurised ... it is fermented - that's what that text says and also the blurb on islaywhiskysnus.com - the swedish word is Svett which means literally to sweat the snus - it is the old way of making snus and because it happens at lower temperatures it allows some microbial action on the tobacco ... which leads both to a delicious flavour ... and unfortunately to the production of TSNAs too.

I don't know whether fire-cured is definitely used ... but it sure tastes like it is ... and there is no liquid smoke included in the ingredients which is the case for many brands of snus.

I can definitely taste the fermented nature in this snus which is why I find it so delicious - but I was asking specifically if the snus had been tested for TSNAs and if it was much higher than average for a modern snus.

What text are you referring to? The text I posted states pasteurized not saying it is correct. I would also be interested in the TSNA content vs today's post 1981 standard Swedish pasteurization process.

[R.B. Kazenzakis]

I am a big fan of this snus, and am also very curious about the TSNA levels. I wonder whether the text "sweat the tobacco in the fire room instead to pasteurize it" is imprecise, and is meant to read "sweat the tobacco in the fire room instead of pasteurizing it". That would be consistent with the rest of the text (i.e., the snus is made in the pre-1981 manner).

[Snusdog]

What text are you referring to? The text I posted states pasteurized. I would also be interested in the TSNA content vs today's standard Swedish pasteurization process.

Here is an exert from the text you quoted..........it actually states right the opposite

"We use the ancient traditions, we sweat the tobacco in the fire room instead to (i.e. instead of) pasteurize it.

[piks101]

Here is an exert from the text you quoted..........it actually states right the opposite

Well... you're inserting "of" it say's "to" pasteurize, so two different meanings. The the text specifically says a different method to pasteurize not that it isn't pasteurized. We need someone from GN to chime in to clarify.

[squeezyjohn]

Yes - Chad simply used Google Translate in his blog which is always an imprecise science! If you're going to translate something properly it really needs a bit more research than just copy and paste and a language algorithm! However it's difficult to see even his translation as saying that the tobacco is pasteurised unless you don't read the whole thing!

The text in Swedish says:

Vi använder oss av gamla traditioner, vi svettar tobaken i värmerum istället för att pastörisera den.
Pastörisering är en effektiv och snabb process och har sina fördelar i en massproduktion.
Den tidskrävande svettningen var det sättet som allt svenskt snus producerades fram till 1981. När man svettar tobaken och inte stressar den, får du fram en renare och tydligare tobakskaraktär i det färdiga snuset. Vissa saker var bättre för

Which means:

We use the old traditions, we ferment tobacco in a warm room instead of pasteurising it. Pasteurisation is an effective and quick process and is an advantage in mass-production but before 1981 all Swedish snus was produced by means of a time-consuming fermentation process. When you ferment tobacco, it retains far more of it's natural compounds and aromas giving a clearer and cleaner flavour in the finished snus. Sometimes the old ways are the best.

[squeezyjohn]

In fact ... here you go ... my attempt at a translation of the whole blurb on www.islaywhiskysnus.com written by Connie Andersson:

"The coming together of a tobacco expert and a small company from the north (of Sweden). Ancient traditions and craftsmanship is brought back to life and mixed with new ideas. Good tasty tobacco is brought back to Jämtland. The tobacco is aged in barrels from Islay and without stressing it, we sweat our tobacco in the warm-room...

Tobacco
We chose the tobacco varieties simply based on their taste, so some of them are not commonly used in snus production. Today, our colleagues in the tobacco industry choose their varieties based on price and TSNA count - and of course that is also extremely important for us. But flavour is always our main priority.

100% Lamina
The snus industry today uses the mid-rib (stem) of the tobacco leaf along with plant fibres as a cheap filler - these things give neither taste nor nicotine. We take the more expensive route and use only pure tobacco (the lamina) to make this snus as high-quality and flavoursome as possible.

Fermented Tobacco
We use the old traditions, we ferment tobacco in a warm room instead of pasteurising it. Pasteurisation is an effective and quick process and is an advantage in mass-production but before 1981 all Swedish snus was produced by means of a time-consuming fermentation process. When you ferment tobacco, it retains far more of it's natural compounds and aromas giving a clearer and cleaner flavour in the finished snus. Sometimes the old ways are the best.

Barrel Aged
We store a percentage of the tobacco in used whisky casks from the island of Islay in Scotland. This is a method sometimes used to produce premium cigars giving an extra dimension to the tobacco. Then we flavour the tobacco with our favourite whisky from Islay - the same one where we got the barrels.

I've made this snus for myself with flavours I like. I enjoy good tobacco and spirits ... and if no-one else likes it I have enough snus to last me many months!

Conny Andersson"

That makes a lot more sense than whacking it in to Google translate does! Chad - if you need me I am available at very reasonable rates!

[Skell18]

I like it, john I'm glad someone else gets the sourness in it, I have ordered 5 rolls!