"SUNFFING" with DRAGON BRAND MADRAS SNUFF!

@volunge I agree, its the strongest! The aroma reminds me of Toque Quit but with way higher nicotine levels. Tears with every big pinch !

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Closest Dragon’s rival is SVS Madras, but you can buy it only in India and probably some Indian groceries in London (Wembley, namely; as was mentioned by @London_Jack in this thread ten years ago: https://snuffhouse.com/discussion/2266/indian-snuffs/p4 ; worth searching in Southall shops, too).

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@volunge Is Dragon toasted like MG Madras? Turns out I am not a big fan of such.

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Yes, it’s toasted, but less. And I don’t get much of ghee from Dragon. It’s different from the rest I tried (NC, Umbrella, NB, DS, SVS, MG). Dragon feels drier than MG and has sour note, similar to Dholakia’s Madras Toast. It’s tasty plain snuff, not overtoasted.

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Maybe it’s my imagination but I got some rustica notes in Dragon Madras…anyone else?

p.s. scentwise

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@tobaccobob, a spot-on note, rustica is sour. I recall @newbiesnuffer mentioning sour notes in MG Madras, too (suspecting it turned stale). Now MGM label lists “Sun cured country tobacco” among the ingredients. I suppose “country tobacco” stands for N. rustica. It’s the exact meaning of latin word rustica (= rural). In many languages the name of N. rustica is “rural/country/peasant tobacco”.

I don’t detect sourness in MGM, but it can be explained by deep-toasting, which alters the organoleptic properties of the leaf itself. Dragon is less toasted (at least to my nose), and I was pleasantly surprised by the sourness, which I dig. I felt it in the first batch of Dholakia Madras Toast, too. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t be too surprising to find out that all Madras snuffs are made of rustica.

@indiansnuffjnf, could you disclose which Nicotiana plant do you use for your Dragon? N. tabacum or N. rustica?

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@volunge - just to confirm, I got sour notes in NB Madras from a tin which I had procured couple of years back. I did not detect any sourness from it when I had first procured it - perhaps it was the ghee that got rancid over time? Until now my batch of MG Madras is quite toasty, thankfully.  

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I have a question about these madras snuffs.  Are they light colored (tan) like English toasts?  I’ve searched all the threads but no answers or photos regarding color came up

Cheers

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No, they are darker. The lightest one is Dholakia Madras Toast (DMT), very different from Janta Dragon Madras and 6 Photo MG Madras (MGM). Dragon is a somewhat darker than DMT. MGM is the darkest of the three.

MG22

Left: WoS Irish No.22 (upper layer, light) and Six Photo MGM (bottom layer, dark).
Right: a mix of both - “MG22” - one of my favourite snuff blends. Colour is similar to that of Janta Dragon Madras.

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i hope snuffstore.co.uk  to restock on Janta Dragon Madras 100g containers ! its the best snuff

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@volunge Yes we use rustica for the Dragon, because it has the maximum nicotine capacity and provides a great treat to our customers.

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@indiansnuffjnf, thanks for confirmation! Could you tell us, please, when will it be available again at snuffstore.co.uk?

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Second @volunge comment. I tried to order from mrsnuff but it was out of stock

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@volunge @Snuffalufagis @ManxSnuff We are waiting from a long time for the next new order from MrSnuff, as many of our products are shown out of stock on the website. Hope they reply soon with the new order.

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I get a bit of a cigar note from this snuff, strong and enjoyable, I got a small tin of this to see if I would like it but I will be ordering it in a 100gm tin when it comes back into stock on the Snuffstore website.

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I wonder if Dholakia Madras Toast contains n. rustica.  Probably a difficult question to answer

I ordered some and I’m wondering what to expect.  Nicotiana rustica doesn’t agree with me.  I can use it and it gets the job done, but it doesn’t really give me a kick if that makes sense

@Gormur, which rustica snuffs did you try?

@volunge Toque Quit and 6P Cheeta.  The Cheeta does have a kick, but I did read here that it was a blend so it’s probably something else in there

I tried these, too. Just like you, I didn’t find Quit any stronger than solid medium. I’m not sure if there’s any rustica in it. Now Cheeta, rustica or not, is much stronger. Only Vikas @sixphoto can tell us, if it’s pure rustica or a blend of rustica and other tobaccos. I’m also wondering if “country tobacco”, listed among the ingredients on the 6 Photo M.G. Madras label, stands for rustica (latin name Nicotiana rustica literally means country tobacco). Out of everything I have tried, this snuff is one of the strongest in the nicotine department and is on a par with Toque USA Whiskey & Honey, SWS St. James Parish Blend (both contains rustica), NTSU Black/Taxi Red and the discontinued V2 Thunder snuffs.

Vikas has previously disclosed that LA Natural and Green Dragon are rustica snuffs. I would rate the kick as solid medium. Neffa Ifrikia is another rustica snuff, but I don’t find it super strong. But don’t get me wrong, it is satisfying.

I think Cheeta Chhap Gul and Snafu Plain are rustica snuffs, but this is yet to be confirmed or denied.

As stated by the manufacturer himself, Janta Dragon Brand Madras is made from rustica. This is probably the strongest snuff I tried. S.V.S. Madras is very similar. Dholakia Madras Toast is least potent among Madras-type snuffs.

There are many varieties of rustica, they have different content of nicotine, citric acid and other compounds. There are green and yellow rustica varieties as well. To make it even more complicated, the kick of snuff - and I mean any snuff, made of regular tobacco or rustica - depends on the amount of alkali(-s) in the composition of particular snuff. It explains the wide range of potency.

Sorry for reiterration. Those in bold are the strongest snuffs (imho).

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@volunge - tried the Dragon Madras just now. First impressions: It is a nice Madras style snuff and has a good burn. Youre bang on with the comparison with SVS Madras, but this one is still a tad bit drier and the tobacco is darker.

I have some observations with respect to ghee in Madras snuffs. I personally do not smell any ghee in this, but there is a fresh toasted aroma of the tobacco; not that I can smell ghee in the SVS Madras. Also, not sure if there is a tiny amount of ghee in it which I am unable to detect. I am not sure which of the Madras snuffs have ghee in them, but I think most of them don’t have any ghee or only have miniscule amounts. The only snuff with the most noticeable ghee for me was NB Madras, and then Umbrella Golden (amongst the ones I have tried until now). NB Madras sadly not being available anywhere for me to procure a fresh stock of. The problem with these snuffs was w.r.t. storage, which I havent encountered with any other Madras snuff (until now). The snuff would remain fresh only a few weeks. Result was that when I stored 4 tins of NB Madras in a glass jar, and others in their original tins, I started getting a sour odour in it which was very off-putting. I had to bin more than 7 tins of NB Madras simply because I went to them after a few months of storage. The same was the case with many tins of Umbrella Golden snuffs which had an amazing mild aroma of ghee.

So the question for me in reviewing Madras snuffs would also depend on their shelf life in glass. In that case perhaps the Madras snuffs with no ghee in them store better than the others? 

Would love to know yours or anyones experience, tips or observations in storing Madras style snuffs. 

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