New Snuser

[ZBar31]

Hello Everyone. I have chewed tobacco (Red Man) for going on 33 years now. I live in Dallas and was fortunate enough to be a "test dummy" for Marlboro Snus. I understand that it is a far cry from the Sweedish snus and am now ready to take the next step. Inasmuch, I am seeking advice. Where do I start on the "real" stuff? What is the best brand for the rookies?

Any and all advice is appreciated!

[databat]

If you want loose, Roda Lacket bakes up very easy. I just got my first tin of loose today. It also has a wonderful flavor. Just don't play with it once you put it in or it'll start running, and you'll look like you've been eating mud. :P

As far as portions go, it all depends on what kind of flavor you are going for. Your first portion of real snus, all you will be able to taste is the salt until your taste buds adjust. This can take up to a week, but usually less. For me it was 1/4th of a tin.

After that, you will be able to pick up on the subtle flavors that makes it wonderful. I personally like Gotborgs Rape No. 2. It has a smooth, mild flavor of lingonberries. Even when I was just starting out, I couldn't taste any salt in it. If you are looking for a bergomot flavor, skruf original or skruf stark (for more nicotine). Gustavus Original has a strong citrus flavor and a decent nicotine kick. Check out the blog link in my sig. I'm writing up reviews for the different brands as I try them out. I'm fairly new to snus as well, but hopefully it will help you out.

Oh, and welcome to the forums.

[chainsnuser]

Welcome to the forum, ZBar31!

The only snus, I've used so far, that comes quite close to a chewing tobacco taste, is Offroad Cranberry. Snus is a just totally different world.

Don't miss to try Ettan lös and Skruf Stark Portions, if you want to know, what snus is all about (taste-wise and nicotine-wise ). I personally use snus mainly, but also mix in chewing tobacco (Oliver Twist, Kruse, Piccanell) regularly for a change of pace.

Cheers!

[databat]

Off Road Strong Cranberry portions is surprisingly good for the price. Buysnus.com sent me some as a mystery tin. It doesn't taste like candy at all. It has that tobacco with a mild cranberry flavor to it. Personally, I like Skruf Stark portions better, and it seems to provide a better nic hit, but the Off Road is a nice change of flavor that I like every now and then. I still save the Skruf Stark for those really bad days at work. :P It gets the job done, and keeps me from going postal on my co-workers hehe.

[RealmofOpeth]

note that red man, chewing tobacco in general, dip, etc...are all very richly flavored tobaccos with a sort of syrupy coating.
snus on the other hand does not usually have such a relatively rich flavor in comparison. some snus's are flavored more strong than others, but you may be underwhelmed by how less flavor most snus's have. i was disappointed at first, but then i realized the flavor was just 'lighter', cleaner, etc....the tobacco in snus is not fire cured either.
but you also may notice, like others have previously mentioned, the saltiness. for some reason this doesn't register much on the radar for me.
what i noticed most was the intense burn...but it went away after about a week.

using dip again after having adjusted to the more nuanced snus, it's revolting. that stuff just tastes like syrup laced with drano or something. it's akin to having been used to drinking just water/diet drinks, and then all of a sudden having a regular mountain dew or some other ridiculously sugary drink. Like I said you may be put off by the lack of flavor or some other snus-feature, but you will come to realize it is just a higher quality form of tobacco that takes a little getting used to, no more, if even close, to the amount of getting used to it took to like chew,dip, etc.

[ZBar31]

Okay Folks,

I'm stopping by Up In Smoke in Irving, TX today to purchase my first REAL snus. As I have told you, I have moved away from Red Man chewing tobacco to Marlboro and Camel snus [sic] and am ready for the next step. I can't wait. I will give you my updates as I try the new REAL stuff.

[lxskllr]

I meant to get back to this topic... I would suggest Probe for a RedMan replacement. It comes the closest to American chew imo. I have a can of lös in the freezer, but I haven't tried it yet. The portion version is one of my favorites though. The flavor is like tobacco and bourbon(big surprise :^P), but it's more abstracted than you might expect. Both flavors are like what you would use when describing a flavor for a unrelated product if that makes sense. Kind of like a wine. When you say it tastes like tobacco and bourbon, it doesn't really, but it hints at it, and has those flavors in a abstract kind of way.

[RealmofOpeth]

Okay Folks,

I'm stopping by Up In Smoke in Irving, TX today to purchase my first REAL snus. As I have told you, I have moved away from Red Man chewing tobacco to Marlboro and Camel snus [sic] and am ready for the next step. I can't wait. I will give you my updates as I try the new REAL stuff.

BTW if you're looking for brands that are richly flavored, closest to the chewing tobacco flavors...be sure to check out Nick & Johnny, Skruf, and Knox. these all have a rich tobacco taste and taste closest to chew in my opinion. You wont find these in american shops of course. Also, N&J is being discontinued in the loose format.

[UprDeck]

If you want loose, Roda Lacket bakes up very easy. I just got my first tin of loose today. It also has a wonderful flavor. Just don't play with it once you put it in or it'll start running, and you'll look like you've been eating mud. :P

That's funny... My first ever tin of snus was also RL loose. I had exactly the same experience. I loved the taste, and I still think it is about the easiest to bake up compared to the others I've tried. But I totally agree, the "mud mouth" was a real issue for me until I figured out I couldn't poke at it like I could with American dip.

I still kind of have a soft spot for RL, though I haven't bought it again lately.