Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

[RealmofOpeth]

I'm all out of snus!
I haven't committed myself to one brand yet (I like variety).
So I don't plan on buying any rolls.
But I need suggestions on what are some worthy snus to try out.

I like a nice mature and complex taste. Nothing too sweet/fake but I also like unique flavor. Doesn't induce too much spit, and doesn't wreak havoc on the throat if it does. I also like to have a good dose of nicotine as well. Not into the rich stuff (like roots L&L) that makes your head spin and stomach churn though. lemony and fruity flavors are nice. toasty/smoky tobacco flavor with interesting hints is nice.


So far, I have tried out and think of the following:
knox loose (very good)
n&J portion (pretty good)
goteborgs rape no2 white portion (great)
general mini portion (not bad but the minis reduce taste)
granit maxi portion (great lemony taste)
probe whisky portion (so-so)
catch eucalyptus white portion (blah)
landstroms loose (when i'm in the mood)
roots lime & licorice loose (too rich, nauseating)
roots pilsner loose (too generic, not so great)

I think that's it.

I'm curious if any of the following brands (and any of their variants) would likely suit my tastes (I don't hear about them much or at all)
metropol
wise
grovsnus
ettan
tre ankare
kronan
LD
goteborg prima fint
gellivare
gustavus
gotland
offroad
montecristo
romeo y julieta
kicks
level
mocca

I also live in Illinois which is central US. Since it's late July, and therefore supposed to be hot at any given time (it's been nice lately) and likely to take a while to get here being in the middle of U.S. in a hicktown....was wondering what's the quickest way to ship and how to enable that with the snus shops (buysnus and northerner)? How much does it usually cost for some type of super fast shipping?

[alex]

I don't have a lot of different tastes under my belt, but 1 vote for General Onyx

[Coffey]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

metropol
wise
grovsnus
ettan
tre ankare
kronan
LD
goteborg prima fint
gellivare
gustavus
gotland
offroad
montecristo
romeo y julieta
kicks
level
mocca
onico

I also live in Illinois which is central US. Since it's late July, and therefore supposed to be hot at any given time (it's been nice lately) and likely to take a while to get here being in the middle of U.S. in a hicktown....was wondering what's the quickest way to ship and how to enable that with the snus shops (buysnus and northerner)? How much does it usually cost for some type of super fast shipping?

Well as for what to try, I will just give a list of which ones I like, and you can go from there.
Ettan- I have only had the loose, but it is great, nice tobacco flavor.
Kronan- I love this one, both loose and portion. Easily one of my favorites, taste like some kind of tropical fruit, I think Craig spoke of this as well in another post.
LD- Don't waste your time on the gold or Blue, both are bad knock-offs of better tasting brands. But the Red isn't bad, and the Black is great if you like licorice.
Gustavus- Something about this one really bothered me. Tasted like plastic or something.
Offroad- Love the Original Loose, the wintergreen is a little too fake tasting, Cranberry is just alright, and again licorice is good if you like the taste.
Level- Just awful, one of the worst I've ever had. No offense to anyone who likes this one, if there is anyone.
Of your list, those are all I've had, hope this helps some.
Oh, and as for shipping, I live in a small town in Michigan, and just got an order at the start of the month. It was all fine, and the week I got it, it had been in the 90's. I just used regular post, and it was here in 5 days. If you are cheep like me and want to use the regular post, order on Sunday night our time, because it is already Monday morning in Sweden, and it usually gets shipped right out and gets here by the end of the week. Sorry for the length of the post, but I hope it helps.

[RealmofOpeth]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

Sorry for the length of the post, but I hope it helps.

no that's very helpful. thanks.

longer posts the better

[Zero]

Toasty - if you haven't tried Lucky Strike, go for it. They're the 'warmest' snus I've ever tried - nice deep tones and great with a cup of coffee. Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta would also go in this category, the latter perhaps a touch sweeter and more aromatic, the Montecristos a bit bolder and mellower.

Nice taste - Diplomat is quite nice, I think, both loose and portions. Citrusy, like general, but coarser and a bit sharper, maybe lighter and fresher flavour.

Tre Ankare sort of sits in the shadows but it's a highly underrated portion, imo. Plain flavour, but stocky.

Gotlandssnus has lovers and haters, I think they're ok - pretty middle-of-the-road, but again with their own unique subtleties. Fruitier, maybe, I would say.

Offroad will probably make you sick if you don't dig strong flavours. It's a bit too saturated for my tastes, but some like it.

Gustavus is worth a try - it's another General try-hard, but it has its own unique taste.

Grovsnus is well worth a try - it's a proper lumberjack snus. No fussy flavours, just nice ballsy tobacco. It was the first snus I tried and it's still one of my favourites. Like ettan, but perhaps a bit less ambivalent... they both know what they're about, keeping it simple, but Grov seems a bit more proud of it :lol:

For the rest, either not much to say or I haven't tried them. Prima Fint isn't bad - very finely cut, so it's almost like paste, but simple tobacco flavour.

Dunno...hope that helps? Pokemon snus, man...gotta get 'em all :lol:

[Zero]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

Gustavus- Something about this one really bothered me. Tasted like plastic or something.

I noticed this too - sometimes with some swedish match snuses as well. I found that after a day or two being out and "breathing" a bit, the plastic-y taste went away. Don't know what causes it, but it seems you can "air it out" to get rid of it. Maybe just the glycol they use to keep it fresh before it's done absorbing moisture - a bit too fresh from the factory :lol:

[RealmofOpeth]

Toasty - if you haven't tried Lucky Strike, go for it. They're the 'warmest' snus I've ever tried - nice deep tones and great with a cup of coffee. Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta would also go in this category, the latter perhaps a touch sweeter and more aromatic, the Montecristos a bit bolder and mellower.

Nice taste - Diplomat is quite nice, I think, both loose and portions. Citrusy, like general, but coarser and a bit sharper, maybe lighter and fresher flavour.

Tre Ankare sort of sits in the shadows but it's a highly underrated portion, imo. Plain flavour, but stocky.

Gotlandssnus has lovers and haters, I think they're ok - pretty middle-of-the-road, but again with their own unique subtleties. Fruitier, maybe, I would say.

Offroad will probably make you sick if you don't dig strong flavours. It's a bit too saturated for my tastes, but some like it.

Gustavus is worth a try - it's another General try-hard, but it has its own unique taste.

Grovsnus is well worth a try - it's a proper lumberjack snus. No fussy flavours, just nice ballsy tobacco. It was the first snus I tried and it's still one of my favourites. Like ettan, but perhaps a bit less ambivalent... they both know what they're about, keeping it simple, but Grov seems a bit more proud of it :lol:

For the rest, either not much to say or I haven't tried them. Prima Fint isn't bad - very finely cut, so it's almost like paste, but simple tobacco flavour.

Dunno...hope that helps? Pokemon snus, man...gotta get 'em all :lol:

yeah, that's what i'm thinking...the pokemon thing. thanks for the thoughtful reply though. i just got done watching this artsy-fartsy show on PBS about the british painter Turner. the way the presenter talked about the art really did a good job of using description to make the art come to life. (i'm not a big art fan but i can enjoy some...it's nice to have somebody sort of explain the points...i rarely 'get it' on my own)...but your descriptions remind me of that which is a good thing. very descriptive.

even still, its very hard to get a concrete idea of what an untasted snus is like unless tasting it for oneself. i don't plan on spending more than $80 total though so that's why i need a little nudging...to stay away from stuff i really won't like. (though sometimes i like things others usually don't...sprats, smoked oysters, olives, random stuff in the cooking cabinet... and hate things others usually don't...wintergreen comes to mind)

:lol:

i wonder if there's a snus with a sprat/fishy taste out there anywhere

[RealmofOpeth]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

Gustavus- Something about this one really bothered me. Tasted like plastic or something.

I noticed this too - sometimes with some swedish match snuses as well. I found that after a day or two being out and "breathing" a bit, the plastic-y taste went away. Don't know what causes it, but it seems you can "air it out" to get rid of it. Maybe just the glycol they use to keep it fresh before it's done absorbing moisture - a bit too fresh from the factory :lol:

Could it be the freshly molded plastic 'tins' they pack the snus into? Often plastic will give off some type of aroma (i.e. new car smell) simply because it's just been made and releases some of it's constituents into gas...not a chemist, but I know it happens. perhaps they need to use a better can-making process, ingredients, or let them air out longer before putting snus into them. or maybe their factory isn't partitioned and the aromas from the plastic making section fill the air where the snus is made...i dunno...


given that, why do I get the impression that snus appears on the web as coming in metal tins (or like the one above in the icetool/snuson pic appears to be, a waxy cardboard can)....yet all i've seen personally is plain plastic ones?
I tried to get a co-worker one time to get into snus and he immediately started thinking it looked sorta 'pretend' or childish...because american dip (namely, skoal and cope) usually have a metal lid at least and cope has the 'distinguished' waxy cardboard container and metal lid. then again, he also was concerned i was trying to give him some mary-jane laced 'backy from those crazy Europeans. but i was a bit surprised myself when i got them in the mail with them all plastic.

it's a bit odd to call plastic cans 'tins' or even cans for that matter. I wish they all came in all metal or a cardboard base. kind of a meaningless issue i suppose as well.

[Coffey]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

Don't know what causes it, but it seems you can "air it out" to get rid of it.

Thanks for the tip Zero, I normally just make a pris and toss it back in the fridge. If I can ever get the nerve to order this one again, I will try letting it breath a little bit.

[phish]

ettan - The king of tobacco flavoured snus

diplomat - Amazing snus currently getting through a roll of this stuff. Coarse cut, cirtus flavour.

romeo y julieta - Great portion, also have a roll of this. It's flavour is mainly tobacco but its aroma is aniseed. If you like Rape No.2 then you will probably like this.

tre ankare - Didn't like this at first but it grew on me. The flavour is very subtle. Low nicotine levels

mocca - Small and makes you feel like a girl when you get out the pastel coloured tins in the pub :P

offroad - If you don't like strong flavours don't go for this

LD and level - two of the worse in my opinion

onico - No nicotine....enough said!

[Zero]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

Could it be the freshly molded plastic 'tins' they pack the snus into?

Could be that too - very possible.

given that, why do I get the impression that snus appears on the web as coming in metal tins (or like the one above in the icetool/snuson pic appears to be, a waxy cardboard can)....yet all i've seen personally is plain plastic ones?

Metal tins are :

Diplomat
Romeo y Julieta
Montecristo
Lucky Strike
(that it?)

Waxy paper tins are all swedish match *loose* snus (except nick&johnny), but their portions are in plastic tins. All the rest are plastic.

[Zero]

mocca - Small and makes you feel like a girl when you get out the pastel coloured tins in the pub :P

I've not tried mocca on principle because of this :lol:

[Subtilo]

Re: Snus shopping spree...chime in with suggestions!

Metal tins are :

Diplomat
Romeo y Julieta
Montecristo
Lucky Strike
(that it?)

Offroad and Mocca also. Offroad's is by far the coolest tin IMO - just plain black and simple (if you get rid of that awful sticker). Too bad I hate the snus itself :roll:

The Diplomat tins are nice too! Very stylish.

[Subtilo]

I actually use the Offroad tin as a toolbox now. Speaking of Knight Rider ... 8)

[Zero]

^ nice 8)