Today was spent mainly trying the plain American scotches in my collection, those being Starr, Bruton, Dental, WE Garrett’s, Tops, and vintage Square and Honest. As far as individual reviews of these snuffs are concerned, there are various members of this forum who do a much better job than I can in that regard, so I’m not going to waste anyone’s time writing a review that leaves you no better informed than you were before reading it. I’ll just say that in my opinion they are each enjoyable enough that you should have one in your collection, but just one will suffice, as MOST are similar enough that I suspect that the average casual snuffer wouldn’t be able to identify one from another. (This is identical to my opinion of nearly all the American sweets I’ve tried thus far, by the way, with Tube Rose being the most notable exception.) My personal favorite here is Starr, followed closely by Bruton. To my nose, they are different enough from the others to be identifiable, and more importantly, uniquely enjoyable enough to stand out. If I ever buy another plain scotch for myself, it will be one of these (though given how difficult it is for me to acquire Starr, I’ll certainly use it very sparingly unless and until that changes). The similarities between several of the plain American scotches is a bit disappointing to a novice snuffer such as myself, but then being new, I guess I expected the differences between them would be as substantial as those between the three Bernard’s schmalzlers I presently own. With far less daylight between them, I feel somewhat let down, but again, they are all enjoyable, and given that they keep well long term, I don’t have to worry about running out of snuff for quite a while since American scotches currently make up the largest part of my collection (mostly sweets though). However, I won’t be sad at all to see most of the plains I own go, and was ESPECIALLY disappointed by Honest and Square, the opinions of others having left me with high expectations. Pfft! If you like them fine, but I couldn’t find anything at all to get excited about. I guess that’s down to different tastes. So it goes. Anyway, thanks to Chef Daniel for the Starr and the incredible OM Bananas Foster sample!
@snuffanybody recently received an extensive collection of American scotches from Our Wicked Uncle Squinty. Alex’s videos on Youtube have demonstrated his A-Class schnoz so I hope he decides to give us a few reviews!
So far my only American scotch snuffing has been with Starr, and WE Garrett Sweet. I can see how they would all seem very similar because even in my limited experience… the sweet felt essentially the same-- with some powered sugar added? Regardless, I love em both!!
@Tobe Thanks for buying up your local supply so you can spread the wealth to us poor people without access to these brands!
Knowing they are all so similar is also comforting since they are only going the way of the dinosaur, if you can obtain some types you know you are not missing out much by not being able to find that one rare unobtainable brand some guy on the internet gave such a high review of. That being said I buy any reasonably priced one I can, and occasionally spend evenings trying to discover one of the top secret recipes. The closest I’ve come was finding a recipe that was heavily redacted, with the readable portion using code words. Le sigh.
I’ve been on a similar journey with these snuffs and have spent some time these last days trying to discern the differences. I have more brands coming soon. It is very hard for me to articulate what differences I do detect. This might be because the differences are so subtle as to be imagined. More time and samples will be spent on this, though. I do think that if you like one, you’ll like the others, with the reverse also true. I am not bothered that I spent time and money to find this out–it isn’t a lot of either. Thanks to Tobe and the chef, I’ll be trying all the ones in the OP soon, though Garrett and Bruton are already in the trial. The worst I find out is that they are so similar that I spent postage to find out I’d be just as happy getting Garrett down the street. I have seen enough comments about Starr that I expect a pleasant difference in that one. I’m anxious to try it, as well as Tube Rose, which I expect to be different from the sweets I have tried. @snuffsahoy you’re looking through the tobacco industry document archives for recipes? I have spent a good deal of time there, though never looked for American snuff manufacturing. I will look into the scotch makers when I have time. I don’t even know the names of most of the original mills.
I think I have it now, need some time off work to acquire ingredients. I’ll post a thread about it once I get everything
Super!
You are so right on different taste. Every nose is different. I read many reviews before I buy; sometimes I am left down others just hit the right spot. As for plain scotches the level of smokiness is a contributing factor. They all deliver a good amount of nicotine. Also batches will have variations.
As for Vintage scotch it depend on where they were stored. The paper tins can pick up surrounding scents I had one it reminded me of my fathers sock drawer where he hid his playboy mags. The tins also will with any rust even glass jars with metal tops. I have run into a few that were un usable. So the next time your on ebay you may get lucky or you just may get trash.
@basement_shaman Based on my experience with the scotches I have, I won’t be looking for any more vintage offerings on eBay. It’s just not that serious to me. That said, I did just score a nice deal on a bunch of Starr, so eBay is still a valuable resource for me to find hard to locate or RECENTLY discontinued snuffs.
It really is a crapshoot. Sometimes really good sometime- crap.
I went through all the American Scotch bundle packages provided by Tom at Nicotine Rush years ago. After all was said and done, Railroad Mills, Square, and Honest plain snuffs were my final favorites, with WE Garrett and 3 Thistle plain runners up for honorable mention. Tom LOVED Rooster and, given the name of his business, I can understand why…but it wasn’t for me in the long run. I didn’t get on well with the sweets, except Buttercup which wasn’t too bad. Given the scarcity of American snuffs, I now rely on Wilsons High Toast 22 as my substitute, and I’ve grown to love some of Bernards Schmalzlers.
@Z_2K I haven’t thought about Tom for years. He’s where I procured my lifetime supply of Rooster. 
@Z_2K American snuffs aren’t scarce, just hard to find outside of the south. I can find most everything except Starr and Navy Plain at this one nondescript Georgia supermarket I tend to be near once or twice a month. I try to get American scotches people want whenever I pass through there. If there’s anything in particular you’re interested in, let me know and I’ll grab it next time I’m in the area.
Okay, I don’t mean to sound like I’m keeping the location a secret… Food Depot #27 (may be wrong on that number) in Marietta, GA. It’s the only one in the town I believe. They have most every American snuff that I can verify is still in production, excluding the ones mentioned previously. So if you live nearby or know someone who does, now you can get your hands on them without my involvement.
@toby, good to know. I can only procure WE Garrett sweet in my town. I would like to try more.
@Tobe, is that the Food Depot on South Marietta Pkwy SE?
Yes it is! 1.15oz and 4.65oz cans of most current American scotches on the wall to the far left once you enter the store.
@Tobe, thanks!! I’ll be visiting in a couple weeks. Will be close by. Looking forward to actually seeing snuff on a store shelf
@jmahes One stop and you can pick up a lifetime supply of American scotches! FWIW, it can get expensive real quick if you want one of everything, as the 4.65oz tins are about $16 each, except for the Dental, which is around $18. However, the 1.15oz tins are between $4 and $5, though not everything may be available in that size.
@jmahes Looks like we have a winner?
@RailroadMills, I think we do!