Rosinski snuff

I do hope you log these in at the https://snuffhouse.vanillaforums.com/discussion/9973/new-snuff-reviews-site#latest https://snuffreviews.wordpress.com

They are all really good. I have the 5 above, and as I already have said, try them. They are a little pricey, but really unique, and the jars are first rate, reusable, and have a very nice seal on the inside of the lid. In fact, I’m going to have a few spoons of Goldapper as soon as I post this.

I’ll post my Uckermärker review as soon as I try it! At this moments it must be somewhere across France, but it should arrive on the next week, I presume.

I’m taking my time to review these wonderful snuffs. They deserve serious concentration to appreciate their subtle and unique construction (for lack of a more elegant term). Scenting is natural and applied with a focus on the tobaccos. Very well done and the jars are freaking gorgeous. First up, Driesener: Driesener: Coarse, dry, very green in color with a distinct herbal note in the jar reminding me of fresh parsley, basil and thyme among others. I’m not sure if those are additions or inherent in the tobacco. It sits well in the nose with no irritation at all; very comfortable. There’s an anise/fennel note coming through before the scent settles down and presents an aroma similar to a freshly mown meadow filled with wildflowers, clover, wild grass and wild herbs. Outside, in the rain, it takes on a more intense culinary herb quality that is wonderful. Not sweet, more of a savory character that also delivers a nice nicotine hit that is perfect for all day.

Due to the colour, herbiness, and nic hit of the Driesener, would it be fair to assume there is some Rustica or similar in the make up of this snuff?

@50ft_trad I don’t think so, but that’s just speculation on my part. Rustica tends to give me a migraine-like experience; all the aura and light show without the headache…migraine light, I guess. I get none of that from this superb snuff. It really has a culinary theme running through it. There could very well be an uncured burley varietal in there, and those have some serious nicotine embedded in their DNA…there’s a chlorophyll thing in this that reminds me a little of fresh cut grass, and that could come from uncured tobacco, applied in moderation. Whatever the artisan is doing, he’s doing it damn well. This is a keeper. I don’t think it will age worth a tinker’s damn, so I plan on hoovering it up my hooter quickly. It really is that good.

1 Like

Rustica tends to give me a migraine-like experience; all the aura and light show without the headache…migraine light, I guess.

I get those sometimes, though the trigger for me is usually (but not always) high stress. First started happening when I was in grad school. I eventually found out it’s called an Acephalgic migraine. Not as fun as an acid trip, but I’ll take it any day over a headache. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acephalgic\_migraine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillating\_scotoma Interestingly, When Nicot first introduced tobacco to Catherine de Medici, it was as a snuff she could use as a remedy for her migraines, which apparently worked well enough that she endorsed the use of the plant as a medicinal herb. Must have been the tabacum species, as the rustica, even if it doesn’t blow a neurological fuse, would have left Catherine doubled over with hellish agonies. Even with my high tolerance of nicotine, rustica kicks my ass.

Interesting comments @chefdaniel re Driesener. I too, don’t think there is Rustica in it at all. I don’t have your ability to detect all the subtleties in it, but I quite enjoy it. Perhaps the “herbal” quality is due to the tobacco not being aged, as most tobaccos are. In the same vein, I recently took out a small handfull of my, last summer’s Hopi Rustica, that I had stuffed into a coffee can and let sit in a window sill all winter…it was warm and moist, yellowish green. I put some into a coffee grinder, sieved a little pile, snuffed up a few little piles. It had the same “green” type of scent in the nose as the Driesener, though not as good overall. It made me think the scent was actually chlorophyll, or some similar un-fermented type of tobacco smell… it didn’t have a big rush of nicotine or harmaline, or whatever the Rustica magic ingredient is, but it was nice anyway.

OK, so I finally sampled my Uckermärker. First things first: the packaging. It comes in that inkwell-shaped container with a wide screw top, both “sealed for freshness” and with a seal on top. There’s not a better container on the market, IMO, even if it makes the snuff a little bit pricier. The grind is medium to coarse, tough it doesn’t adjust to what you will expect from an average “gros” snuff, as the moisture is on the low side and it’s a little bit gritty to touch. “Hum -I thought when I first took a pinch- I don’t think this will be nice to my good old nose”. But I was wrong, quite wrong, in fact. Upon entering the nose, it’s scent turned from the mellow but “serious”, Schmalzler-like smell that it had on the container to a wonderful symphony of natural aromas that blended some fresher characteristics (what you’d expect from a Molens Virginia, like Bolongaro) with an underlying sweetness and a very subtle hint of smoke that is unlike any other “smoky” snuff I ever tried. There’s the more obvious smokiness of Latakia AO and Gekachelter Virginie, there’s the subtle but disctint smoky undertones of HDT and Viking Dark, and then there’s this mysterious but rustic smoky scent that blends perfectly with the dark and sweet tobacco. As @chefdaniel said of the Driesener, Uckermärker’s scent benefits from being taken outside, with the wonderful smell of the tobacco coming to life in even brighter shades of brown and red. The definition of Uckermärker as a “smoky snuff” that Mr. Rosinski himself made , while a perfectly valid moniker, doesn’t do justice to the overwhelming complexity of the final product. In fact, this snuff is bound to join the pantheon of “unscenteds” that are far from being just “plain”: along with the finest of toasts, the historical Bernard’s and Viking Dark, to name a few. If I have to compare this creation with an established name on the market, that would be Bernard’s Klostermischung: some roasted coffee/sweet chocolate notes, along with smoke, are to be found on both of them, but I’d be damned to choose just one. Right now, I’m partial to the Rosinski: less coarse and less of a mess, probably. I’m quite happy to have the opportunite to witness the revival of the wonderful world of plain snuffs which, upon the demise of the Seville and Italy factories and the undisputed hegemony of the menthol/scented German occupied until now a minor place on the market. But this are good times for snuff, and the number of historical recreations and artisan snuff makers are a good proof of that.

1 Like

@MarvinLapsus Excellent review and spot on with my own opinion of this fine snuff. My notes parallel yours with great precision, so now I’m reluctant to post. It is an outstanding example of a smoky snuff that doesn’t overwhelm. There are so many layers in this it’s hard to identify them…which is a damned good excuse to buy more (in case my wife asks…it’s research). The texture combined with the lack of moisture were confounding at first, and I too was expecting a sneeze fest. Nope. It was as comfortable in the nose as any snuff of greater humidity and didn’t set off any mustache staining “forward drip” like some of those snuffs tend to do. As much as I like Gekachelter, Black Rappee, London Brown, Scotch Black and others in that genre, I think this one is going to take center stage when I’m feeling that familiar craving for “a smoke”.

1 Like

@chefdaniel Thank you very much! I’d gladly review the others, but as my budget is very very tight I only ordered this. And as you and @mrmanos seem to be very enhusiastic about the brand as a whole (and I trust your judgement because I tend to agree with your criteria) I have even greater desire to try them all. I agree with you on the cmplexity department: it manages to be attention demanding and ever-surprising but also subtle, well defined scent-wise and very moreish. I bet your wife is going to believe your research to be very hard.

The more I read about these Rosinski snuffs, the more I am certain I must acquire a few.

My favorite one was Goldapper, followed by Stargarder.

Hi, guys, have just read through this thread, feel a bit like a blushing school boy now :slight_smile: To avoid speculation about the Driesener - no, no rustica involved, just an old East German cultivar that I stumbled across and it turned out to be perfect for green snuffs… Have to grow it myself as it needs a little extra care that does not fit into modern agriculture… This year, I have planned for more of it, so hopefully I will not run out of it before the next harvest.

I’ve been hitting the Stargarder pretty hard today, after a few pinches of Goldapper with my morning pot of dark roast Brazil. Stargarder with hot Assam tea with milk and sugar right now. Damn. Great snuff, one that reaffirms my thinking that the true measure of a tobacco artisan is the ability to coax the inherent scents and flavors from the leaf before adding anything. I do detect what seems to be honey, but that could very well be the result of some alchemy on the maker’s part.

1 Like

Hats off to you @MarvinLapsus and @chefdaniel for your greeat reviews of this fine snuff. I only wish I could write as well as you gentlemen do. I now have a more solid foundation of the scents, tobaccos, and nuances of Mr Rosinski’s fine snuffs. I have one jar of each of five different Rosinskis, keep them stored by themselves, only use at night while reading or watching Borgias or Wolf Hall. Thanks for the great posts. Both of you are such excellent writers. Its late at night now where I live, so I will take out my box of Rosinski snuff and enjoy these creations with an increased appreciation!

1 Like

@chefdaniel - there must be alchemy involved, on the Polish beekeepers part who makes what he calls heathland honey, which I use for fermentation. Great honey with an incredibly intensive scent, have tried other honeys but they just did not do the same. Just digging into your Pumpernickel Toast again, which I can´t leave my hands off… Wakes up appetites, brings back childhood memories of happy trips to Czech countryside restaurants. That´s what I expect of a good snuff - not to “smell of”, but to make you lean back and let your mind wander. Congratulations to this snuff (and your others, as well!), great craftmanship.

2 Likes

Rosinski snuffs have found a prominent place at the top of my daily rotation. My HDT is getting jealous. There isn’t one that I don’t thoroughly enjoy…often. I’ve gotten close to wiping out my jar of Stargarder. When it’s truly wiped out I’m going to wipe it out again, with a good scrubbing and use it as an ink well. Beautiful packaging for beautiful snuff. Kudos!

The Stargarder and Goldapper are my favorites. Mr. Rosinski is an artist.

kathnertabak has to be my favorite of the four I have tried. Two others I have not put my nose to yet but may tonight. The other two with menthol I did not order but may in the future.

1 Like