First Four swedish poritons!

[eli]

Well I just tried my first 4 portions of real Swedish snus.

They are(in order of current preference):
Lucky Strike Original Portion
General Onyx
Skruf Cranberry Portion
Ettan Portion

The Jury's still out on General Onyx, right now it's starting to release a bit of flavor, definitely getting the pepper-citrus hit, it's quite pleasant)

All are far and above the camel snus I had been introduced to snus with (now called "gateway snus" as they are small, sweet and totally inoffensive).

Now did I pop in any of the above and just think "oh yummy!" well, to be honest, no.

The Ettan was the first, the pungent aroma and initial earthiness at first offended my palette, but after about 5 minutes that calmed down and I started noticing more nuance, wasn't bad, after about 30-40 minutes though the ride was pretty much over.

Second was the Skruf Cranberry, the cranberry aroma was quite strong at the start and was really the first flavor to assault my senses. After that the tobacco started coming through and the cranberry became a very pleasant background note. I could easily see this portion entering a regular rotation, but not one I'd want all the time.

After Dinner I popped in a Lucky Strike, the initial flavor was not near as assaulting as the ettan and the middle was quite enjoyable, there was a subtle sweet-smoky flavor that I really liked. I consider this one a winner all around.

I'm currently enjoying a General Onyx portion, and I see what the raves are all about, nice citrus and pepper notes without overpowering the tobacco taste. It being a "white" portion it can handle a little more sucking than original portions (which I got in the habit of with those dry camel things the past couple weeks).

I should say that the tobacco flavor in the swedish snus is much better at abating my cigarette cravings than the sweet camel versions. I'm keeping the camel tins I have left as an "emergency backup" if my shipment ever gets delayed.

Now, I have a culinary background, and I feel like someone who has been drinking Boone's Farm flavored wines and have now switched to a Heavy Bordeaux. The initial shock of the Ettan portion in comparison to previous experience may account for its current "bottom of the stack" status. I think there's a level of taste to acquire here but I am definitely hip to the deeper levels inn complexity of flavor and once I become more accustomed to the baseline snus-tobacco flavor I'm sure I'll appreciate the nuances even more (also probably more so as my sense of taste and smell come back after years of being abused by cigarettes).

Now it's time to pop 36th Chamber of Shaolin into the DVD player, enjoy the remainder of the ride with this Onyx and then call it a night.

Happy Snussing!

[eli]

Well I hate replying to my own posts when no one has said anything in between, but I left my Ettan at home yesterday and finally popped my second portion in this morning.

Wow, what a difference a day (or two) makes. I believe that two things were at odds with my first ettan portion.

1.) it was my first Swedish portion, definitely some "culture shock" there.

2.) It was straight out of the box they'd shipped to me, so several days at room temperature, 36+ hours in the fridge really dulls the initial juicing.

3.) After snusing lucky strikes all day yesterday I've learned a bit more on how to handle original portions as opposed to white portions, to me the white portions take a bit of "flushing" with saliva to really get going, original portions however, do not, and punish you for doing so.

I also tried the Tre Ankare Mini Portions yesterday as well as the Catch Dry Cassis-Menthol. I liked the both ok, the Catch really reminded me of the camel products in both mouth feel and level of actual tobacco taste.

[Xobeloot]

Good to hear that you are enjoying them. It definately takes some getting used to in terms of each type of portion. Wait til you try the loose. You will find a flavor release unlike any portion!.

As far as the Catch goes; I had guessed that it would be similar to the Camel. Camel snus is made by Swedish Match and is in the "dry white mini portion" category just like the catch dry line. I assume the Catch is a bit less sweet and more enjoyable than the Camel which was targeted at the American public? I had never had Camel snus until several months after I had been using swedish snus. At first I couldnt stand the stuff, but it grew on me. I still cant stand the original, I quyite enjoy the spice, and the frost is a nice after dinner mint.

[eli]

Yeah the camel snus was very much driven to hit the amrican market with what I feel was the "least offensive" form they could find.

Really I find nothing offensive about the camel snus, they're sweet give a small nicotine hit and that's about it. I liked the original and the spice, the frost just didn't grab me.

I'm enjoying the swedish snus more and more each day. I really like the Lucky Strike Original (anyone have any opinion on Lucky White vs. Original?), and the can is about the best around, found myself playing with it all day, also the metal can kept the snus cool in my pocket for most of the day as well.

I've got the Ettan, Tre Ankare, and Skruf Cranberry with me today.