Roslein

Describes as being inspired by a mix of flavored with bitter almond, attar of roses and ambergris, which comes from some species of sperm whale, is one of the most valuable raw materials in perfumery. It’s rare, and the fragrance it exudes is just as rare. In perfumes ambergris is used as a fixative and its presence can be best described as marine, animalic and sweet. The only rose snuff I’ve had aside from this is Toque’s version which is a masterpiece. SWS’ version is a dark brown tobacco with a coarse, moist grind. MrSnuff’s description is it is Sumatra leaf flavoured with pure attar of roses from Isparta in Turkey, ameretto di saronno lazzaroni from Italy and ambergris from the Chatham Isles. Its out of this world. The scent is light and uplifting. A wonderful rose scent, with a slight bitter; almost like Tanqueray. The scent lingers for a good 20 minutes, but is not overpowering. It is perfect. I’m not into overly sweet perfumes, so this is not an all day for me, but a perfect desert snuff. It is a must have for a collection because of its exotic perfume scent. Amazing and a definite gift for any ladies who are interested in snuff. A MUST TRY!!!.

Yeah, I forgot to comment on the texture. Good observation…you’re absolutely right!

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Thanks for the great review. I haven’t tried Roslein yet but your review has put it on my must get list.

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It is an essential item in my snuff bucket list.

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In the book A Pinch of Snuff (1840) this recipe is called “Violet Strasburg”.

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@lunecat

I did find this URL to a scan of that book, but the text search for “Violet Strasburg” failed to find it.

Pages 30 and 31 of the book in the link you posted.

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Here’s the passage in plain text, complete with misspellings, punctuation errors and all: “Violet Strasbukg. This once popular snuff is now rarely seen or rather smelt. A few dowagers, inhabiting apartments in Hampton Court Palace, who fondly cherish their recollections of the good old times, tap their gold and silver receptacles, with courtly solemnity; and, as they lift the subtle powder to their " right honourable noses," think of the days when they were Maids of Honour, or Ladies of the Bedchamber; discuss topics long gone by; and, under the influence of her late Majesty Queen Charlotte’s favourite mixture, talk of the Prince of Wales, Mrs. Fitzherbert, Mr. Pitt, Charles Fox, Sheridan, and “that naughty man” Colonel Hanger, as though they had but yesterday encountered in their walks, beings who have long been reduced to dust, as impalpable as that occupying the fair, though somewhat shri- velled fingers 'of the antique gossips. Violet Strasburg is an admixture of Rappee and bitter almonds, reduced to a fine powder, to which am- bergris and attar-gul are added. We remember when vast quantities of this composition were manufactured by the house of Ricketts and Son, of Bristol ; the demand for it, some thirty-five or forty years ago, was extreme.”

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This snuff made me realize what roses actually smell like. For the longest time I thought roses smelt like just water but, this snuff with its amplified smell made me notice that is kind of its smell to me! Still don’t care much for the smell of roses though. Good snuff though.

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I do have to add that I got this snuff about a few weeks after stopping smoking cigarettes so a lot of scents have been amplified to my already sensitive nose.

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786 Sorry for the necromancy, but the reference to Violet Strasbourg compels me to remind my compatriots that it was a favorite of George Washington, who would order several pounds at once along with several pounds of Scotch snuff. I’ve lusted after it for years.

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Great comments @chefdaniel! I enjoy this snuff very much, though I don’t use it often due to it’s cost and my lack of funds. I’ve never had a snuff with ambergris, but it is a wonderful ingredient.

Wasn’t it Washingtons wife that loved Violet Strasburg?  I recall reading that somewhere

786  @n9inchnails, yea, I’ve heard that his wife is the one who liked it; I’ve also heard that George would mix this with scotch snuff.  Idk which (if either) is true.  I’ve seen Washington’s order for supplies from England which included three pounds each of best Scotch snuff and Best Violet Strasbourg.  A biographical sketch by a man who knew George Washington mentioned in passing that he snuffed “half-scotch” snuff but I don’t know what that means; whether there was at the time a kind of snuff commonly known as “half scotch,” or whether he mixed scotch snuff half and half with something else (the Violet Strasbourg?).  My searches for the term “half scotch” yielded only references to that biography, but that was six years ago fwiw.

@slobandtom: that’s very interesting about Washington. Where did you find that information? I have tried mixing some very old Garrett Scotch with Toque violet. The resulting snuff was pretty nice. The Garrett I got on ebay a few years ago. It was still sealed, in the big 5 ounce glass jar but it had lost it’s original scent. But it mixes well with newer snuff.

786 @mrmanos, around 2010 there was a snuff knowledge contest in the course of which much research was needed; I came upon these bits of information in the course of that research but I can’t recall the specific webpages or anything.  The supply order is fairly well-known: https://books.google.com/books?id=OAxDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA305&lpg=PA305&dq=george+washington+supplies+“3+lbs+best+scotch+snuff”&source=bl&ots=9UEYUz2UY0&sig=jV413msWv7jhzr1SRPnAHqv4qvw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiytdHd5aTLAhXD4CYKHUsbBr4Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=george%20washington%20supplies%20"3%20lbs%20best%20scotch%20snuff"&f=false
Sheesh!  I had no clew the address would be so gargantuan!
For the reference to half-scotch snuff see Charles Moore’s “The Family Life of George Washington,” the full text of which can be found here: https://ia802609.us.archive.org/8/items/familylifeofgeor008680mbp/familylifeofgeor008680mbp.pdf
Sorry I don’t have a page reference; I’ll see whether I can produce one, though the entire book is not without interest in its own right.
edit: some new stuff has come to light.  I found the relevant quote about half-scotch snuff; but this was said of Washington’s nephew, Bushrod Washington, who distinguished himself as a justice of the Supreme Court in the first half of the nineteenth century, and not George.

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