Some advice needed here please!
My latest MrSnuff order arrived yesterday containing two jars of Abraxas - one Cerise and one Club. Last evening I tried the Cerise. I was a little concerned that the lid seemed loose, but the snuff had not dried out, so I decanted some into a snuffbox. First sniff was a little silage-like, but nothing else. So, snuffbox went in my pocket to warm up, and a couple of hours later I tried again. I got the faintest whiff of what might have been cherry, but only fleetingly. Silage still reigned supreme.
This afternoon I tried the Club. This had a sticky plastic death-warning on it as a seal, and the lid was nice and tight. Same deal - put some in the snuffbox, let it warm up. First pinch was like inhaling vinegar. OK, I thought, let’s let it air a bit, so I left the box open on my desk. My wife came in and asked if the cat had left something nasty on the carpet… After an hour or so the vinegar-like burn was much less, but I’m still not getting much except for a similar silage-like smell to the Cerise.
It’s not that I expected that I was going to love them both, but the exceptional reviews had led me to expect there to be much more going on than I can detect. I don’t think my sense of smell has gone - a small pinch of SG Special M reassured me on that - so what’s going on? What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? (The snuff box in question is a Dixons pewter one, by the way.)
Only genuine silver snuffboxes are good enough for Abraxas.
That is certainly _ not _ how it should taste and as you say the reviews - plus all the private comments made to me have not highlighted anything like this. The loose top sounds worrying; when they leave my premises they have been checked and double checked for tightness. I have no explanation for this and I’m happy to replace or refund if you PM me your mailing address.
It sounds like the fresh snuff ammonia phase. Also remember that stronger tobaccos have scents that are very distracting when taken for the first few times. Once you get past or used to the “silage” you will find the scenting. In my experience some of my worst first sniffs have become my favorite snuffs. Some examples would be; Maccoboy, Black Rapee, Feinster Kownoer, and even Princes.
@Juxtaposer - thank you. I was wondering if that might be the case. Funnily enough, I liked SG Black Rapee very much the first time I tried it, but I can see what you mean.
@Snuffster That’s very kind. I will persevere for a while, as I am new to anything other than mass-produced snuff, and I hope I may get more advice here. I have PMd you at greater length!
No problem, let me know if you change your mind. They are both pretty complex snuffs and not to everyone’s taste. The club certainly has a tart aroma which is the neroli and lemon essences but in the nose you should start to get the true flavour after using it a while. Cerise is a similar case, despite the name (I admit to a penchant for fancy ones:) it is a snuff that has cherry in it rather than a cherry flavoured snuff, if that makes sense and it has five other flavourings in the sauce so the cherry should be there somewhere but not hitting you on the back of the head. As juxtaposer points out you will also get the ammonia tang when it is first opened. If you air it for a couple of hours and then let it warm up in a pocket snuff ( pewter is fine) you should get the leathery, deep flavour that I try to convey. Which is all well and good but won’t be of much use if it’s just not to your taste, in which case let me know:)
I noticed with the abraxas I got that it’s been getting better the farther I get into the jar. I’m not sure if that’s the case with the club or cerise but I wouldn’t be surprised If some of the flavor sank to the bottom of the jar for whatever reason.
The impression I get from all the reviews and lots of private comments is that you either love or hate it, with not much in between. Which is an interesting place to be as a producer - the challenge, obviously, being to make snuffs with a wider appeal. Time will tell if I am only capable of making this type of product:)
I liked the snuff a great deal, although not being a drinking fella I stay away from snuffs with an alcohol theme/fragrance, so can’t use it longterm.
I used to enjoy a quality drink every now and then, but I have too many meds in my system to drink at all anymore. I like the ones with scents of alcoholic beverages because I can still enjoy the aromas and such without the bad reactions in my system.