Skruf Stark Loose

Skruf Stark loose contains 10mg of nicotine per gram of snus, and has 42 grams of snus per can, making it a strong variety of snus. Since loose snus is generally priced the same as portioned snus is, you can get almost double the snus for the same price (you do lose some of the convenience of having portions though) by purchasing loose.

Upon opening the can, I was greeted with a nice aroma of tobacco and bergamot. The snus was finely ground and quite moist, making it very easy to form. I used my 3mL IceTool to create a fairly large portion, and the portion held together in my mouth very well for half an hour. The flavor began as having a medium-strong bergamot flavor, which eventually gave way to a smoother tobacco flavor as time went on. I found the overall flavor to be smoother than the portioned skruf stark, and there was not nearly as much of a burning sensation with the loose. I enjoyed it, but I do really like the strong flavor of the portioned variety.

Overall, Skruf Stark Loose is a great tasting snus with a dominant tobacco flavor. Its higher nicotine content packs quite a punch, and because its loose you have more control in how much snus you use at once. If you’re looking for a tasty yet milder alternative to portioned skruf, give this snus a try!

Sometime within the first week of February, a limited edition of Göteborg’s Rapé called Åre will be released. The Åre edition is the same as the original Göteborg’s Rapé, except with a different can design (similar to how Swedish Match released the Joint Challenge edition of Göteborg’s Rapé which had a pretty awesome camouflage design). In addition to Åre, a kardus version of GR will go on sale during the same week.

Göteborg's Rapé Åre

During the second week of February, Swedish Match will ship the first member of this years Catch Collection snus, called Catch Lafayette Street. It’s a mini white portion snus with .5 grams of snus per pouch, and each can comes with 20 pouches. The flavor is supposed to be spearmint, which sounds pretty tasty.

Catch Lafayette Street Promo Banner

Also during the second week of February, General Strong Mini White will be released, with .5 grams of snus per mini portion. Since I like the size and kick of Thunder Mini portions I’m looking forward to Strong Mini White being able to pack a punch while at the same time be discreet in any situation.

General Strong Mini White

The last snus to be released in the second week of February is General Long Extra Strong, however the catch is that its for Norwegian markets only. I’ve reviewed General Long and Strong before and enjoyed it, so I think those who are looking for a stronger snus with minimal drip will enjoy this one. Each can will come with 24 portions with .9 grams of snus per portion. The nicotine level is approximately 2% per portion.

General Long Extra Strong

Once these snuses become available, I’ll do my best to post some reviews of each one!

After holding a contest to bring back their Brandy Alexander flavor, V2 Tobacco has announced that the contest has ended, and that they will be bringing back their Brandy Alexander flavor sometime in the near future. Also, the V2 Coffee Supreme snus will be coming returning as Offroad Coffee Supreme, giving coffee fans something to cheer about. On the downside, V2 plans to retire their Chrome series of snus sometime in the near future, so I suggest stocking up on the chrome series now if you’re a fan.

Brandy Alexander

In addition to the new snuses being released by V2, the folks over at Gotlandssnus have introduced a new flavor called Jakobssons Melon. I’ve never had a melon flavored snus before, but it sounds delicious and I look forward to giving it a try! I’m a big fan of the fruity apple flavor of Gotlandssnus Green, so I have a feeling that I’m going to really like the taste of the new melon flavor. Jakobssons Melon is a strong portioned snus, and has 14mg of nicotine per 1 gram pouch.

Jakobssons Melon Snus

Finally, Taboca AS has introduced a new variety of snus, the Taboca White Extra Strong Portion. It is described as being “a white, extra strong portion snus. Tobacco flavor with hints of bergamot. A bold, distinctive packaging distinguish from other, traditional brands.”  I enjoy having tobacco flavored snus along with coffee, and this extra strong variety seems like it just may give me the kick I need to start my day off right! As an extra strong variety of snus, I imagine that it will have between 16 and 22mg of nicotine per 1 gram pouch.

Taboca White Extra Strong

 Expect some reviews for these great new flavors sometime in the coming weeks!

From a public policy standpoint, reversing the ban makes sense because it promotes tobacco harm reduction by offering people who enjoy nicotine a much safer alternative to cigarette smoking. I find it highly hypocritical to see that cigarettes continue to be permitted sold in the EU, yet safer alternatives such as snus remain prohibited. Christofer Fjellner and Europeans for Snus have been doing good work in spreading the message and increasing public awareness towards the cause.

In other news, I have purchased a Canon dSLR camera along with a tripod in order to take better review photos for visitors of Snus Authority. During the next few weeks I will also work to replace some of the older photos I have with newer and higher quality ones. Below is a comparison between photos taken with my older camera and my newer one. With the newer camera, you can see the texture of the snus much better, which should come in handy for loose snus reviews.

I’m also working on getting some new brands of snus in order to review, so stay tuned!

Kardus 2011 Photographed With The Old Camera

Kardus 2011 Photographed With The New Camera

The 2011 Kardus!

The Kardus came in a beautiful wooden box stained yellow to match the Brazilian Carnival theme. The word Kardus is etched on the top of the box rather than on the bottom like last year’s. Inside the box is a sealed plastic container which holds 100g of snus.

This year, Swedish Match has revealed that they have only added salt and the Brazilian beverage cachaça to the Kardus tobacco. After adding the secondary ingredients, the tobacco is allowed to sweat, which pasteurises the snus and makes it slightly milder and tastier. The tobacco selected for this year’s Kardus was harvested in Rio Grande do Sul Brazil and is organically grown.

When I first opened my box of 2011 Kardus, I was greeted with an aroma of cachaça, with slight undertones of oak and tea. The cut on the snus is long cut, however it is not as coarse as the 2010 Kardus was. The snus didn’t hold together well in my IceTool, so I took a pinch and placed it in my lower lip like I normally do with dip. I find the slightly finer cut than last year creates a bit more saliva, but it is nice not having to spit unlike when I dip.

The 2011 Kardus is a Long Cut

The flavor of this year’s Kardus was quite tasty. During the first ten minutes of having a pinch in, I detected a dominant spicy flavor which slowly revealed undertones of sweetness over time. The flavor wasn’t as strong as last year’s Kardus, but it definitely had a nice burning sensation to it and I was able to keep my pinch in for about half an hour. I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty certain that this year’s Kardus has a similar nicotine level to last year’s which seems to be slightly stronger than regular loose snus.

The 2010 and 2011 Kardus Boxes, Beautiful!

In conclusion, I’m enjoying this year’s Kardus quite a bit. The minimal ingredients included in the Kardus really allow for the natural flavors of the tobacco to come through, and the Caraçha adds a delicious tinge of sweetness. If you’re interested in giving this year’s Kardus a try, I highly suggest ordering soon as it is only available in limited quantities. Only 100 boxes are to be sold online, with 600 boxes being sold in shops in Sweden and 200 in Norway.

Brandy Alexander

In addition, JuleSnus is back at most online retailers (along with eggnog in stores), and I couldn’t be happier! I had the opportunity of trying JuleSnus last year, and I really liked its unique taste. Be sure to stock up, because this one is going to be only available for the holiday season.

Julesnus, a winter delight!

Finally, the kind folks over at BuySnus have shipped me the new 2011 Kardus to review. I am anxiously awaiting the package to arrive in order to see how it compares to last year’s Kardus!

one of the oldest consumer containers was called Kardus, or “letter tobacco”, since one wrapped the snus in paper, resembeling a letter. Now, this traditional way of packaging snus is done at the Tobacco & Match Museum in Stockholm.

Each Kardus package contains 250 grams of snus, wrapped in the traditional kardus format.

After this second release of Ettan Kardus, Swedish Match intends to release three additional snus blends in the Kardus format;  Goteborg’s Rapé, Goteborg’s Prima Fint, and GrovSnus. These brands were specially chosen to be prepared in the Kardus format because they are the only brands still sold today that were packaged in traditional letter format. Expect these new Kardus blends to become available sometime in 2012.

The Blends of Kardus soon to be available!

I look forward to trying the Prima Fint Kardus, as Prima Fint is the only blend of snus in this lineup that I have yet to try but have always wanted to. I’m also looking forward to trying this year’s limited edition 2011 Kardus!

Win a USB Mini-Fridge!

The past winners so far have been the following lucky individuals:

Week 1

Eric B., Batavia, OH
Joseph G., Louisville, KY
Ross T., Holliston, MA
Ben B., Chicago, IL
Jon L., Johns Creek, GA

Week 2

Steven M., Warren, PA
Wayne K., Warner Robins, GA
Jared H., Yucca Valley, CA
Chris C., Sound Beach, NY
Michael R., Hazlet, NJ

This Year's Kardus

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kardus, it is a limited edition snus which is labeled as being “a highly exclusive snus for the true connoisseur.” Every year Since 2005, a new and unique Kardus has been crafted by Swedish Match by selecting blends of the finest tobaccos around the world and combining them with incredible flavors in order to create the some of the highest quality snus blends available.

From what I have learned from Swedish Match, the tobacco being used this year comes from Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and is organically grown and air cured. The tobacco is then flavored with cachaça, a local speciality made from freshly squeezed sugar cane juice in southern Brazil. In describing the manufacturing process, Swedish match claims

We add only salt and this year, cachaça. After this, the
tobacco is allowed to sweat. The sweating pasteurises the
snus and makes it slightly milder and tastier.
Conny Andersson, a tobacco expert with Swedish Match, claims that

The fragrance is a complex blend of newly ground coffee and a delicate nuttiness, soothed by a sweetness that is reminiscent of figs. The flavor is a combination of spicy oak tones, herbs and new-mown hay.”

Caipirinha, Brazil's National Cocktail

I look forward to trying this year’s Kardus, which is going to be available for purchase during week 43 (at the end of October). It should cost 600 SEK (approx. $90 USD). The Kardus is available in a very limited run, with 800 boxes total. 600 of these boxes will be available in Sweden, and 200 in Norway. In addition, 100 of these boxes will be sold at online retailers.

First off, General Long Sterk is to be renamed General Long Portion Strong sometime near the end of October and early November. The snus will continue to have the same great taste, and only the name will be changing.

General Strong Portion

Secondly, the 2011 Kardus will soon be available, and from what I’m hearing, it is going to be a treat! This year’s Kardus stimulates the senses and delights the palate, with a unique profile that evokes the spirit and joy of Brazil. Finely selected Brazilian tobaccos, from the southern Rio Grande do Sul state, are craftfully blended and gently aromatized with cachaca, providing a flavor and finish that only this national liquor can give. I had the pleasure of trying the 2010 Kardus and found it to be delicious, so I am looking forward to hearing more information about the 2011 version. Expect more information on the 2011 Kardus later on this week in a separate blog post.

Finally, the folks over at SnusDirect have been kind enough to supply me with a coupon code in order to get Snus Authority readers a discount on their snus orders! Simply enter the coupon code SNUSAUTHOR during checkout in order to receive 10% off your order. If you order snus frequently (like me), this can amount to a pretty large discount over time!

Happy Snusing!!!
James