Well - here is a review of the most expensive snus I have had the pleasure of buying in the last couple of years! The good thing about snus that comes with a £86 (US$130) price tag for 150g (just over 3 normal cans of loose snus!) is that it come with expectations ... so at least we all know what we're expecting ... the best damn snus we've ever tasted right?
Wrong!
It has a lot to live up to. Swedish Match created special midwinter long-cut Kardus special editions from 2005 to 2012, often curated by Connie Andersson and most of those married specially selected tobacco types with exclusive boozes from around the world to make some of the most delicious de-luxe snus experiences I have ever tasted ... the pinnacle of which was the 2009 Kardus marrying Argentinian tobacco with some fine rum. This year's attempt to refresh past glory comes from an award winning chef called Magnus Nilsson rather than a tobacco genius like Connie Andersson and it really shows!
SO TO REVIEW THE SNUS
It is a very plain tobacco affair ... and I know quite a bit about this from experimenting with making my own snus and I'm a long way from being an expert in the field! ... plain tobacco has the ability to create the most amazing subtle flavours within a snus once it has been processed - but you really need to understand the individual tobaccos you are using - and you also really need to understand the way the flavours develop when they darken during the snus-making process. Because this snus tastes very much like some of my early attempts to make my own snus - I really don't believe that the people employed to make this snus have the expertise they claim to have!
The taste is very dark and almost acrid at times - like chewing on the end of a well-smoked cigar with all the ammonia and bitterness that you would expect from that experience. It is possible to taste fruitiness and nuttiness that is inherent in the tobaccos that this snus was made from through all that - but you have to really try hard! The reason for this imbalance is clear ... making a snus from a tobacco blend that is too heavy on the dark and pungent varieties and freebasing it with too much alkali has resulted in a snus which is clearly made from some fine tobaccos but is ultimately too harsh, bitter and burnt tasting to be a premium product. It would be nice for the celebrity chefs to be eliminated from this process and to reinstate people who understand tobacco and the snusmaking process!!
Ultimately it's a fail. The concept is great ... a premium, seasonal snus that is something special for the discerning snuser ... I agree with that 100%. The packaging and design is sublime with a brushed stainless steel tub within the kind of packaging you would expect from a premium aged whisky ... but still this product fails in the worst way possible. It doesn't actually taste very nice.
Kardus 2016 comes in at about £86 including postage from Sweden ... it's unlikely that anyone could get a tub for less than £75 ... and the sublime and perfect 2009 Kardus cost me £43!!!!
CONCLUSION
Swedish Match are resting on their laurels ... no question about that ... Kardus is a premium brand that has been built up over 8 years of hard work and endeavour. They have succumbed to the cult of celebrity and allowed a celebrity chef to make them a very poor premium snus to sell to the small amount of mugs like me prepared to shell out a large amount on luxury snus. It has a flavour profile which is too dark and bitter and lacking in depth and complexity which makes Ettan seem like the best value snus in the world! I know full well that I can use tobacco grown in the UK and make a snus which is better balanced than this one ... and that makes me both very sad and very happy!
I will not trust this company to sell me another premium snus ... this one is really so disappointing! I'm sure they know that is the case but they also know that they will probably sell all of their stock of 2017 Kardus to somebody and ultimately they are a large company who don't really care as long as the money is rolling in. I would advise caution!
Wrong!
It has a lot to live up to. Swedish Match created special midwinter long-cut Kardus special editions from 2005 to 2012, often curated by Connie Andersson and most of those married specially selected tobacco types with exclusive boozes from around the world to make some of the most delicious de-luxe snus experiences I have ever tasted ... the pinnacle of which was the 2009 Kardus marrying Argentinian tobacco with some fine rum. This year's attempt to refresh past glory comes from an award winning chef called Magnus Nilsson rather than a tobacco genius like Connie Andersson and it really shows!
SO TO REVIEW THE SNUS
It is a very plain tobacco affair ... and I know quite a bit about this from experimenting with making my own snus and I'm a long way from being an expert in the field! ... plain tobacco has the ability to create the most amazing subtle flavours within a snus once it has been processed - but you really need to understand the individual tobaccos you are using - and you also really need to understand the way the flavours develop when they darken during the snus-making process. Because this snus tastes very much like some of my early attempts to make my own snus - I really don't believe that the people employed to make this snus have the expertise they claim to have!
The taste is very dark and almost acrid at times - like chewing on the end of a well-smoked cigar with all the ammonia and bitterness that you would expect from that experience. It is possible to taste fruitiness and nuttiness that is inherent in the tobaccos that this snus was made from through all that - but you have to really try hard! The reason for this imbalance is clear ... making a snus from a tobacco blend that is too heavy on the dark and pungent varieties and freebasing it with too much alkali has resulted in a snus which is clearly made from some fine tobaccos but is ultimately too harsh, bitter and burnt tasting to be a premium product. It would be nice for the celebrity chefs to be eliminated from this process and to reinstate people who understand tobacco and the snusmaking process!!
Ultimately it's a fail. The concept is great ... a premium, seasonal snus that is something special for the discerning snuser ... I agree with that 100%. The packaging and design is sublime with a brushed stainless steel tub within the kind of packaging you would expect from a premium aged whisky ... but still this product fails in the worst way possible. It doesn't actually taste very nice.
Kardus 2016 comes in at about £86 including postage from Sweden ... it's unlikely that anyone could get a tub for less than £75 ... and the sublime and perfect 2009 Kardus cost me £43!!!!
CONCLUSION
Swedish Match are resting on their laurels ... no question about that ... Kardus is a premium brand that has been built up over 8 years of hard work and endeavour. They have succumbed to the cult of celebrity and allowed a celebrity chef to make them a very poor premium snus to sell to the small amount of mugs like me prepared to shell out a large amount on luxury snus. It has a flavour profile which is too dark and bitter and lacking in depth and complexity which makes Ettan seem like the best value snus in the world! I know full well that I can use tobacco grown in the UK and make a snus which is better balanced than this one ... and that makes me both very sad and very happy!
I will not trust this company to sell me another premium snus ... this one is really so disappointing! I'm sure they know that is the case but they also know that they will probably sell all of their stock of 2017 Kardus to somebody and ultimately they are a large company who don't really care as long as the money is rolling in. I would advise caution!
dark, bitter, harsh.. like a General loose without flavor, i thought it was a bit finer grind this year as well (But for an classic low flavored snus, why not)
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