General Sterk: Odd Review..thoughts, anyone?

[Mr. Unloadingzone]

Hi!

I'm not due to place a snus order for another week so I haven't tasted the General Sterk yet but have been very eager to as I like the General Brand taste and I assumed that the Sterk white portion would taste like the regular white portion with 11mg of nicotine instead of 8mg.

Then I got this comment on my blog:

Alright, I have tried the General Sterk. Sterk does not compare to any General product that I have tried before, and I have tried them all. The first two differences that I noticed right away were: 1) Sterk is much more sweet than salty. In all other General snus the salty taste is more overpowering than the sweetness, although there is a hint of lemon there.
2) The taste is not as powerful as other General snus, such as onyx. Onyx has a very strong and powerful taste and has a dominating salty flavour.
The layout is the same as Onyx, with the pouches in a fanned, or star formation, as it says on the can. It also says Norwegian Edition on the side of the can. I am not sure exactly what that means. Also, Sterk does not seem as strong (nicotine) as Onyx. This may be due to the fact that Sterk is white portion and Onyx is not, causing a slower flow of nicotine. I have also noticed that the flavour does not last as long as most white portion snus does. I would not say that I am dissappointed, but it is definatily differt from all other General products.

I asked him for more details on the taste and he replied:

Compared with General white portion, Sterk is less powerful in taste and does not last as long. This may be due to the less powerful taste as compared with General white. I prefer the General white over the Sterk based on the flavour. Sterk is just not strong enough. I have not been able to detect any peppery aftertaste. The sweetness is more of a fruity sweet. Just like all white portion snus, Sterk takes a little bit longer to get going than regular portion. The taste in white portion is supposed to last longer, but Sterk seems to start with a big fruit-sweet flavour and then lose it very quickly. It doesn't take long and I can hardly taste it anymore. The fruit taste is not as artificial as the offroad cranberry that you have mentioned before, but it is not as real as Roda Lacket or Goteborgs Rape either. Overall, to me it was a let down due to the hype and advertising that they used to promote it.

It never occurred to me that Swedish Match would change the taste as it was targeting the Norwegian market....but look what they did with Nick (&J) East.

Has anyone who has tried the Sterk found it tasting different than what we're used to with General? Any feedback on the Sterk would be greatly appreciated.

[Xobeloot]

I haven't tried the sterk, but I will correct one thing there. The Onyx is basically a white portion in a black pouch. Same packaging as Triumph which is a white portion in a white pouch, so I don't see where the white format would cause any difference between Onyx and Sterk.

[sagedil]

I have tried Sterk and would generally agree with much of what that reviewer said, other than I like it a lot, probably better than General. It has been so long since I tired Onyx, but yeah, definitely not as strong.

He is correct as to the slight sweetness. Very yummy to me, but then again, I have been having one Triumph a day which I like very much. But I don't find the sweetness of Sterk to be very strong, just a slight sweet to me, and one that I appreciate very much

Much of my snus is white now, so I am used to the slightly slower uptake. But the nicotine delivery is very good. I have not found it lasting any shorter than any other white I use.

I love most strong nicotine snus, and have some at least every day. I love N&J still, and Mocca+ is really yummy. But don't want to overdo the N&J, so like having alternatives. If I had to choose between General Sterk and N&J West as an alternative, I would choose the General Sterk. It will definitely be on part of my rotation now.

[Mr. Unloadingzone]

I haven't tried the sterk, but I will correct one thing there. The Onyx is basically a white portion in a black pouch. Same packaging as Triumph which is a white portion in a white pouch, so I don't see where the white format would cause any difference between Onyx and Sterk.

I didn't know that about the Onyx pouch. I prefer white portion since it lasts longer. Northerner's website said Onyx has 11mg of nicotine. I've never read it had more than 8mg. Typo or is Onyx a black/white portion Stark? (THAT I would like!)

[Mr. Unloadingzone]

I have tried Sterk and would generally agree with much of what that reviewer said, other than I like it a lot, probably better than General. It has been so long since I tired Onyx, but yeah, definitely not as strong.
He is correct as to the slight sweetness. Very yummy to me, but then again, I have been having one Triumph a day which I like very much. But I don't find the sweetness of Sterk to be very strong, just a slight sweet to me, and one that I appreciate very much
Much of my snus is white now, so I am used to the slightly slower uptake. But the nicotine delivery is very good. I have not found it lasting any shorter than any other white I use.
I love most strong nicotine snus, and have some at least every day. I love N&J still, and Mocca+ is really yummy. But don't want to overdo the N&J, so like having alternatives. If I had to choose between General Sterk and N&J West as an alternative, I would choose the General Sterk. It will definitely be on part of my rotation now.

Wow, I'm really surprised they would change a General's taste without at least mentioning it in the ad copy. I think I'll try a can instead of a roll next order. Thanks!

[RobME]

True, General Sterk 'flavor' doesn't last long, and it's not as rich tasting as Onyx by any means. I do like the taste of it but I wouldn't call it fruity, at least, not in the same sense that I'd call Triumph fruity & sweet - which it truly is, but in a balanced kind of way.

I didn't know that about the Onyx pouch. I prefer white portion since it lasts longer. Northerner's website said Onyx has 11mg of nicotine. I've never read it had more than 8mg. Typo or is Onyx a black/white portion Stark? (THAT I would like!)

Yes, Onyx is a white portion Sterk (11 mg. nicotine), in a black pouch.

[Grim]

Onyx is a true white portion. I liked it. Lil too much for ym stomach at first but definately first rate all the way. Plus it just looks classy.

I havent had the general sterk but czar, a buddy of mine on these forums, ordered some and should have it tomorrow or friday.

[sagedil]

All this talk about Onyx, I just had to dig my tin out of the freezer. Damn that is some good stuff. Yeah, Sterk is MUCH milder. Not as mild as General Silver, but close (much better than General Silver IMHO)

[Mr. Unloadingzone]

All this talk about Onyx, I just had to dig my tin out of the freezer. Damn that is some good stuff. Yeah, Sterk is MUCH milder. Not as mild as General Silver, but close (much better than General Silver IMHO)

I just checked the product description of Onyx at Swedish Match's US website. They are calling it Onyx White Portion and says that it has 11mg. of nicotine. So it's officially a white portion stark. Is anyone else surprised but me? I've never seen it described that way on other websites including buysnus.com. :?:

[sagedil]

Well Buysnus does have it listed under the white snus, so perhaps that was a hint. :P

But you are right, they don't have it listed with the other strong snus.

[Mr. Unloadingzone]

Well Buysnus does have it listed under the white snus, so perhaps that was a hint. :P
But you are right, they don't have it listed with the other strong snus.

Hmmm, I only tried Onyx once a while back and could have swore they had it listed under the regular portion snus section. In fact, I remember being disappointed at how long it took to kick in compared to General regular portion. Now knowing it's a white, that explains it. Maybe they moved it since then to the white portion section.

So that raises the question if they already have Onyx as a white portion stark and no one here, on my blog, on anywhere else I look is going crazy raving over how much more wonderful the Sterk is, why all the hype from Swedish Match?

[Mr. Unloadingzone]

All this talk about Onyx, I just had to dig my tin out of the freezer. Damn that is some good stuff. Yeah, Sterk is MUCH milder. Not as mild as General Silver, but close (much better than General Silver IMHO)

So after trying the Onyx again, is the Sterk still in your rotation with Nick (&J) West? Also, aside from the drop to 20gr. of snus in the West, did you notice a taste difference between the West and the original Nick and Johnny Stark with 24gr of snus?

[sagedil]

Yeah, General Sterk will definitely stay in the rotation. Just as an individual snus, I like it.

West doesn't tastse anything like the original N&J. For one, it is a definite white. Much more muted flavor, without the slight sweetness of N&J. In some ways, General Sterk tastes closer to the orignal so to speak than West does to regular N&J.

But I never was looking for West to be anything other than it is, a strong white portion that tastes like tobacco. As I have mentioned in many other posts, anytime I over do a single snus, I start to not like it much. So having multiple options like General Sterk, and N&J West just help ensue that I keep variety in my snus. I always will have a strong open, both for my morning snus and those moments in a day when I want the extra nicotine, I am grateful now that I don't have to risk overdoing N&J

[GenuineSpirit]

I appreciate your reviews on General Sterk. I have not tried General Sterk yet, I am finding I enjoy Nick and Johnny Portion and Skruf Strong Portion, Do you think I would be happy with them?
I have General Onyx which I will have every now and then and have tried General white which just didn't do it for me.
So is the new taste different enough That I should try them?

[jamesstew]

I received my GenSterk late last week and although I like it, it will not be taking N&J's place as my morning and nic-fit snus. Sure, it does taste like General, maybe with a more pronounced lemon taste but I agree that the flavor does not last. I also have a problem with the fact that it has quite a bit of liquid smoke added, noticeably more than the regular General. I tend to have problems swallowing and irritation after using snus with lots of smoke extract added. Lastly methinks my brain has been conditioned to associate the slightly sweet taste of N&J with nicotine, nothing better with coffee IMHO.