French Carotte by Wilsons & Co. (Sharrow)

Well this is what F&T says about the French Carotte, This is from Behind the Bow WindowsFrench Carotte. Snuff blending allows for infinite variety, since the many bases and well-nigh limitless perfumes give the expert ample scope for experiment. Sometimes, a happy combination of ingredients is arrived at with gratifying results. This happened with French Carotte. As a mixture it is new but the components were in use over two centuries ago. In earlier time the word “Carotte” meant the roll of tobacco from which snuff users grated their own; today it names one of the finest bases, smooth and retentive, deserving only the best of perfumes. One such is sandalwood oil which is distilled from the aromatic wood of a small evergreen tree grown in the East, and has a delicate non-cloying aroma faintly suggestive of incense. Combining these select ingredients has produced a charming snuff of unique distinction. French Carotte’s natural flavor ingredients include:Sandalwood Oil & “French Carotte” Essence

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I hope snuffster doesnt mind if I quote his review off snuffreviews.com but I think he sums it up wonderfully here: “Sweet and spicy with what tastes like a hint of sandalwood. This is one of those old fashioned English snuffs that reminds me of Gentlemen’s clubs or Victorian London, just somehow not a modern flavour and all the better for it.” What a fantastic snuff! This snuff goes down well with a nice bit of smooth jazz in the background, I would say this is the John Coltrane of the snuff world :stuck_out_tongue:

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I’ve come to the circumspect decision this is my all time favourite snuff! Would anyone else put it up there?

I loved it when I first tried it (see post above), but now I can’t stand it. When I first started snuffing, the florals were my favs, now I can’t stomach them as much.

I think this snuff is a love it or hate it variety. I prefer the F&T version - it seems more complex and interesting; the Wilsons version is less spicey, sweeter and more dominated by sandlewood. It is the easiest snuff to take I have ever had, but it also has the lowest nicotine of any snuffs I have tried. Perhaps it is bulked out with French carrots.

I just tried the WoS version of this for the first time. I like it but was caught totally off guard by the experience. It immediately brought to mind the scent of a fancy ladie’s soap or an old fashioned barber shop. It has an old world smell to it but in a very agreeable way. For me its a very mood enhancing floral that beckons a formal state of mind while still permitting a relaxed tone. Its not my favorite WoS blend but I can see ordering more of this in the future. It definitely has a distinct aura that can anchor it to certain memories or occasions. Its easy to take and the scent lingers a good while. Some may be put off by the ‘soap’ type tang on the initial draw. Overall, I’m glad I tried it. Based upon this one I may get around to trying the F&T version.

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I do get the carott right away, not like the raw vegetable but more like a carott cake or something baked. I also see what people mean when they talk about the old world talcum powder/soap scent. For me it’s too perfumed to really take a large pinch of all day the way I like to do with mcCrystals Hops, so I am thinking of cutting it with some high toast just to lessen the perfume.

The power of suggestion amazes. A carotte is a twist of tobacco that is taken to a rasp for snuffing. Carrots would make a decent filler although completely unnecessary. Chicory more likely, but again who would cut their tobacco with useless fillers?

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“…but again who would cut their tobacco with useless fillers?” Cigarette manufacturers?

I think it was a rhetorical question.

Back to the snuff, I think this is a great classic. Its one of the ones that always feels to have an ‘old fashioned’ flavour for some reason.

I doubt whether Wilsons is still making carrots. The original receipe for manufacturing carrots or “Karotten” is as follows. First you have to sauce tobacco leaves, in the original style that will take a week or two. Then you have to weigh about 2.5 kg wet tobacco leaves sort them out neatly, roll them in a linnen cloth and and pull a rope thightly around it. Leave it for 2-3 weeks and regularly turn them upside down. Then refresh cloth and rope and leave it again for 2-3 weeks. After that remove rope and cloth and pull a thin rope (ficelle) around the bundle of leaves. Than the fermentation period starts. The carrots are stored for at least 6 month, 2-3 years will be better (some literature says up till 10 years) and during this period the carrots are regularly turned upside down and and the lowest in the heap on top. Then the carrots are ground and sieved and your snuff is ready. At the moment our St. Omer carrots are stored (fermenting) for about a year and a half, so I hope that our St. Omer No. 1 snuff will be ready by the end of the year. Jaap Bes.

I find the F&T French Carotte to be preferable to the Wilson’s version and find it very good in the morning as it is easy to snuff and even though it is dry it stays where it is meant to in the nose. Enough nicotine without too much burn and doesn’t clog my nose. Nice snuff probably quite good for beginners and experts alike.

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I just took a pinch and smelled the tin and I definately do get carot. I do understand about the carrots of tobacco. Maybe it’s a play on words? But there IS essence of carot in this, I’m almost certain. Snuffmiller, are your carrots going to be available for purchase? I’m very impressed that you followed the old method and would love to try one, grating off a bit and sniffing it when neeeded.

Perique tobacco is fermented in carrottes. I’m not sure it can be made in any other way. But that’s why there are so few sources of Perique – processing it is incredibly labor-intensive.

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yeah I get carot in the F&T one. Other people have noted carot with out reading the tin too. I swear I read in some wilsons literature that at least the F&T one had french carot essence. Either way it doesn’t matter because that is what I belief and continue to belief. And damn it reality is very mutable.

OR perhaps the mixture of sandalwood and other essences winds up smelling like baked carot bread or cake, and they named it after what it smelled like? Maybe it doesn’t have carot in it, but it does smell like carot cake to me, not just because of the name. At any rate as I said I find myself mixing it with High and Dry Toast to lessen the perfume. It also reminds me of Mysore Sandalwood Soap, something which I am quite fond of.

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I think the quit with snuff sandalwood is more mysoreian seeming in my opinion.

The best part of this snuff is how it pleasantly scents one’s mustache for the rest of the day.

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