Tasting order?

[RRK]

I just got my first order of snus from Sweden and I was wondering if there might be a good order for tasting this sampler. It is the Swedish Match portion sampler from getsnus.

Including: General portion, portion maxi, and portion silver.
Nick and Johnny stark
Probe whiskey
Kronan original
Ettan Original
and Grove.

The only snus I have used to date is Triumph which isn't too bad. I am going to start with the General original portion but after I finish that can what order might you guys recommend and what are your favorites out of this bunch? I don't really like flavored tobaccos but bergamot sounds interesting since my tea of choice is Earl Grey. :?:

[Anthony]

If I had to choose for myself, right now I'd take the N&J. But I don't think it will really make a difference other than N&J is pretty strong.

[tom502]

I am curious about the taste and satisfaction of the General Silver Portion.

[chadizzy1]

I would start with Ettan first if you're not used to Swedish Style snus, then woke up with Grov and General. Just my suggestion though, you should do whatever you feel is best.

[sagedil]

Welcome to Snuson RRK

I am so biased here. I first tried snus 2 1/2 years ago. Had never had anything even close to it, had never dipped, only smoked. But Ettan was my first. And I always thought I made the right choice. Ettan is just classic snus, one of the first ever. Start there.

general is the main snus in Sweden, but is a tad more flavored than Ettan. Grove is another standard tobacco flavored snus as well.

Save the flavored stuff and the Nick and Johnny until you have had a can or two of the straight stuff. The Kronan is somewhere in the middle. More "flowery" than most.

And btw, about as good of a first order as I have ever seen. Either you are just really smart, lucky, or did some research first. Well done on that!!!!

[Snusdog]

And btw, about as good of a first order as I have ever seen. Either you are just really smart, lucky, or did some research first. Well done on that!!!!

I agree. Great first order mate!

I also would start with the Ettan. Then I would alternate back and forth between flavor and plain- to offset the flavors and make them stand out more. Something like this:

Ettan
General
Grov
Kronan
Probe
General
N&J

Hope this helps. And welcome to the forum. Keep us posted on how it goes

[daruckis]

i find nick and johnny and general to taste pretty similar.

[lxskllr]

I
I also would start with the Ettan. Then I would alternate back and forth between flavor and plain- to offset the flavors and make them stand out more. Something like this:

Ettan
General
Grov
Kronan
Probe
General
N&J

That's a good order for trying them. I'll add that I wouldn't use 1 can at a time. Open them all, and you can better see how they compare with each other, and some snus is better than others for different parts of the day. In your order above, Ettan and Grov would be my coffee snuses. General is good for a mid day snus, and Probe is nice at night. Of course that's me. Everybody has different preferences, and flavor perception, but you get the idea.

Welcome to Snuson :^)

[RRK]

Thanks for all the replies.

Going from a Triumph strait to a General portion was not a very pleasant experience. Not bad enough to spit it out but kinda like following a glass of Kool-Aid with a dirty martini.

I will go ahead and open up a few more cans and definitely try the Ettan next.

I am a cigar smoker so I really appreciate the tobacco flavors but I don't see that the salt adds anything positive. I also don't really add much salt to my food so maybe you guys could recommend some of the less salty varieties. I'm not looking for sweet necessarily, the Triumph is a bit too sweet for my tastes, but I do think that tobacco has a bit of sweetness to it naturally. I know everyone needs to go through an acclimation period.

BTW, I can't take much credit for the choices in my order since it was the standard portion sampler from Swedish Match.

[tom502]

The salt was killing me at 1st, but really, after a week or so of regular use, it is not noticeable.

A slight sweet, and I think would be less salty snus, would be General Wintergreen, I suspect the same of the other wintergreens, the Cranberrys, licorice.

[sagedil]

RRK,

Standard afvice for folks first trying Swedish snus, especially after coming from the sweet American stuff.

Ignore your first impressions. It takes between a week and 10 days for your body to acclimate to the salt. What you are tasting today is far different from how it will taste in a few weeks.

So keep that in mind, keep using, and be patient.

other bit of newbie advice. If you don't like a snus at first, just set it aside. Go back to it in a week. Still not liking, set it aside again, and try it in a month. Especially at first, your tastes will rove all over the map. So common. Snus that someone doesn't like at first eventually becomes a favorite.

And welcome to a wondrous new adventure. :wink:

[RRK]

Yeh, I have read about the acclimation period and all of that I just don't see how salt helps a tobacco. Also, I kinda hate mint flavored tobacco I think it kinda covers up all of the good flavors. I think some fruit flavors can mingle well with the tobacco flavors if they are not very strong. Coffee, tea, red wine, liqueur, whisky, chocolate... etc. but salt? It just seems contradictory to me. Like how some people put salt on watermelon, yuck.

[tom502]

I like salt on watermelon, and apple slices.

Not sure why it's used, maybe without it, it'd be real bland? Maybe it helps preserve it?

[lxskllr]

Scandinavians love salt in general. They salt the hell out of everything. For snus in particular, I think a lot of is necessary for the production process. I'm not a big salt fan, and I NEVER use a salt shaker at the table, but I like the salt in snus, and I think it really ads to the flavor, especially in the plainer snuses.

[RRK]

I think they just eat too much salted fish up there and need it to activate their taste buds. Personally my mouth waters plenty without it.

My wife eats salted lemons almost everyday. Just not my thing.