Kardus 2012

A few days ago, I awoke to the sound of the postman at my door. Much to my surprise, it was a package of the 2012 Kardus from the folks over at Snus Direct! For those of who who are unfamiliar with Kardus, it is a limited edition premium snus released each year before Christmas. Every year, a different blend of tobacco and flavoring is used, and I have enjoyed both the 2010 and 2011 Kardus tastes, so I was excited to give this year’s version a try. Only 600 numbered Kardus boxes were produced this year, making it a truly rare snus.

Limited Edition!

The first thing I noticed about 2012 Kardus, was how nicely packaged it came. The outside of the box contained a small book highlighting how the Kardus was made, and was wrapped in a nice gift style wrapping. The box smelled strongly of wood, which was hand crafted in Sweden. This year’s version of Kardus contains carefully selected hand picked tobacco from the small village of Cincho in western Spain. The snus was much darker than the previous versions of Kardus, and appeared to be black in color.

The flavor was very rich

Upon opening my box, I noticed a strong ammonia smell, combined with sherry, tobacco, and licorice. The smell of this year’s Kardus was very strong as well as fresh. After I placed a portion in my mouth, I immediately noticed a spicy flavor, which I imagine comes from the sherry. The sherry itself is called Cuco Oloroso, and it comes from a Spanish town called Jerez. The sherry has an elegant and nuanced nutty fragrance and flavor with elements of dried figs, sultanas, light syrup and licorice, and some of these flavors were present in the snus. The salt content was optimal, and I didn’t find this year’s Kardus to bee too salty. I was very surprised how rounded out the tobacco flavor was. Although it was present during the entire time, it was subtle and didn’t overpower the other flavors.  Over time, the tobacco flavor began to become stronger, and the other flavors diminished. I kept my pinch in for about an hour before I began to lose flavor.

Rather than make a portion out of Kardus, I simply put a pinch in my lip as I do dipping tobacco. The tobacco is hand cut instead of being ground (like most snus brands are), so it is easy to keep in your mouth. The snus produced a tingling sensation similar to Skruf Stark, and I quite enjoyed the feeling. My only real complaint was that afterwards I needed to rinse my mouth out, as pieces of tobacco tended to get stuck in my teeth.

In my opinion, the 2012 Kardus is delicious, and it has been my favorite Kardus to date. The tobacco is cut to just the right size, and it stays together well in my mouth. The flavors are also interesting, and it is neat to see how the flavor transitions over time. If you’re a fan of tobacco flavored snuses, or are simply looking to try something out of the ordinary, I highly recommend picking up some of this year’s kardus over on Snus Direct. If you use the coupon code snusauthor during checkout, you will receive a 10% discount as well!

Focus Pointe Global is looking for male Tobacco Users (cigarettes, snus, and/or snuff) ages 19-44 to participate in an upcoming paid market research study about Tobacco Products taking place in Manhattan in late-October. Earn $75 for sharing your opinions in a 1-hour focus group! There are no sales involved; your answers will be kept confidential and used to help a major tobacco company make improvements to its products and advertising. If you’re interested and live in the NYC area, take this quick eligibility screener to see if you qualify: http://bit.ly/48184CY

ABOUT US: Focus Pointe Global is a national market research agency that pays people for participating in focus groups and interviews. These are legitimate opportunities to make extra spending cash, and usually take less than 2-3 hours of your time.

If you don’t live in NY, you can still participate in other market research studies in your area on Tobacco Products and a wide variety of topics! 

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Once I opened my can of Strong Melon, I was instantly greeted with an aroma of juicy watermelon. Many of my friends commented on how sweet the snus smelled, and even those who don’t snus felt that it was a nice aroma. As soon as a put a portion in, the aroma of sweet melon transferred to a taste of a very ripe watermelon mixed with a tad of banana, and it was extremely pleasant. I wasn’t able to detect any tobacco taste, and even when the watermelon flavor subsided, I noticed a sugary taste instead of tobacco. The portions were slightly moist and fit comfortably in my mouth, and I felt that I could keep a portion in for about 40 mintues before the drip began to become too overpowering for me. I received a nicotine buzz fairly quickly on, but it wasn’t as powerful as other strong varieties of snus.

Jakobsson’s Melon Strong has a tasty watermelon flavor

In summary, Jakobsson’s Strong Melon is a great new entry catering to a growing population of people who enjoy fruit flavored snus blends. I have had Strong Melon in my daily rotation for about a week now, and I find that it is a great shift from the tobacco flavored brands that act as. However, because of the sweetness I can’t see myself using this as an everyday snus.

Using the coupon code SNUSAUTHOR you can save 10% on your purchase Jakobsson’s Strong Melon at Snus Direct.

When I used to smoke it was difficult to get my nicotine fix while playing sports, and I could always tell that smoking negatively impacted my endurance. Once I finally made the switch from smoking to snus, I noticed that not only did my endurance improve, but I could also enjoy it while playing! Here are some of the sports that I’ve had experience snusing and playing:

Hockey – Being from Canada means that I’ve grown up playing hockey in various organized leagues as well as social beer leagues with friends. I find that mini portions are great to use when you’re playing, because they fit well in your mouth and give you a slight nicotine kick which in my experience helps me to stickhandle better.

Golf – I’ve previously written on article on the joys of golfing and snus, and I find that snus goes quite well with golf. I can hit the ball better with snus in, because it helps me to relax and smooth out my swing.

Baseball - I like playing softball, and I find that snus goes excellent with both baseball and softball. Many baseball players chew tobacco or use dip, but snus has the advantage of not needing to spit. I find that since quitting smoking and switching to snus, I’ve been able to run the bases faster, and feel less out of breath when I do.

Cycling – I bike a lot to get around the city in nice weather, and it is a great source of exercise. I find I have no problem cycling with snus in, and I’ve seen my stamina improve quite a bit since I’ve given up smoking. I can now bike faster and for longer, and no longer feel out of breath.

Overall, if you’re an athlete who smokes, I highly recommend taking a look at trying some snus. Not only will you find your endurance to improve, but you’ll also be able to enjoy nicotine during gametime! If you’ve any experience with snus and sports, feel free to share it in the blog comments!

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!

You can purchase Skruf Stark Los on Snus Direct with a 10% discount using the coupon code SNUSAUTHOR at checkout!

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!