Just realised I have 4 dark snuffs around the place and I’m having a craving to try them all out. Wos Best Dark F&T Santo Domingo & Princess Special Dean Swift Black Watch I used to just toss the best dark into my mixes which was great for flavour but the grind was usually to coarse and I would find little lumps in my pinches but it was not bad. Trying some Santo Domingo at the moment. Have put some in a 5gram tin to give it a proper try over a day or so and then will repeat the same with the others and see if I can work out whether I like one or some more than the others. They all seem similar only varying in the amount of peaty richness or roastedness but since they are all from Sharrow that probably has a lot to do with it. How did they get the tobacco this dark or was it just a dark kind of tobacco to start? Anyone know much about this type of snuff? They seem as though they would be nice with a beer or whiskey but are fine on their own. Are the dark snuffs from the other brands much different? thanks in advance.
Samuel Gawith are the masters of coarse, dark snuffs IMO. If you haven’t already, give these a try, but only from tins/bulk, not tap boxes. KB Original KB Scented KB Special London Brown Lavendar Dark Scotch Black Black Rappee Cob Dark Princes Dark Also made by SG are the Viking range Viking Dark Viking Peach Viking Brown Viking Spear
Also Viking Menthol which used to be SG Menthol Brown And Peppermint Dark Also Black Coffee seems popular but I’ve not tried it.
NTSU Black is coarse, dark, powerful and deliciously dungy.
Yeah NTSU is a good one, once the ammonia fades which takes a couple of minutes. It has a powerful nicotine hit too but it takes a good five to ten minutes to feel it. I also feel your nose gets used to the ammonia somewhat. I hated this when I first got it but I like it more and more every time I take pinch. A LOT of the SG snuffs are like this. I think they do coarse snuffs the best of anybody. As for how the tobacco becomes so dark I believe it has to do with the length of fermentation.
Just had a small beer test with the Santo Domingo and I think it does work. I tried some basic lager and it almost became a sort of ale when using the SD. Probably would be really rich with Guiness which I like of course and have grown up with, living in Ireland. Thinking that I still prefer the Best Dark so far which is maybe just because it’s the first I ever used and liked it from the off. The SD seems a bit more earthy strong so I think I prefer the lighter BD. Thanks for all the suggestions. The Dean Swift is really dungy so I’m leaving that to last and going to air it pretty well but I actually did like it when I gave it a quick try originally. Very like the Best Dark but more potent.
oh, all this talk of santo domingo makes me want to get another tin… was my first real favourite, though i may dry and grind it a little more.
I’m really enjoying the moist coarse snuffs at the moment. Latakia AO1860, Scotch Dark and Anarkali are three samples I got from @Firestarter0 in a recent trade, and I’m really liking them. I also have jarred up Kendal Brown, Black Rappee, Kendal Brown Special, and a couple of others which I’ll be moving onto once I’ve polished off these samples
As for how the tobacco becomes so dark I believe it has to do with the length of fermentation.
@horus92, you are indeed correct, like a maduro cigar the longer a tobacco is fermented (and the higher temperature), the darker the tobacco leaf gets. Some cigar manufacturers cheat by dyeing a cigar, I’m not a fan of that practice. Latakia 1860 all the way for dark snuff. Santo Domingo is also great.
Samuel Gawith are the masters of coarse, dark snuffs IMO. If you haven’t already, give these a try, but only from tins/bulk, not tap boxes. KB Original KB Scented KB Special London Brown Lavendar Dark Scotch Black Black Rappee Cob Dark Princes Dark Also made by SG are the Viking range Viking Dark Viking Peach Viking Brown Viking Spear
I’ve had the pleasure of using all of the above listed SG
@tboyer or @SnuffySnuff . You two seem pretty familiar with these dark snuff so maybe you can answer this question. Which SG snuff is closest (or the same) as Viking Dark that they also produce. The Viking range is a bit dearer and it would be good to have a standard SG substitue to buy in bulk. Thanks.
That was an interesting nights sleep. All through the night I had a strong scent of Santo Domingo even though I cleaned my nose out and went back to using my Toast blend a hour or two before bed. Also a sort of twighlighty zone sleep as when the local lorry driver starts to warm up his lorry parked right outside a 2am (like a roaring dinosaur) I awoke but felt kind of paralysed. Tipped the rest of the SD sample into my Rose /Best SP/ McC O&G blend and going to try the Princess next. Think the SD might improve some with age. Currently it’s very fresh and malty. Just tried the Princess Special. Really can’t find any difference between it and Santo Domingo except a finer grind with the Princess???
@tboyer or @SnuffySnuff . You two seem pretty familiar with these dark snuff so maybe you can answer this question. Which SG snuff is closest (or the same) as Viking Dark that they also produce. The Viking range is a bit dearer and it would be good to have a standard SG substitue to buy in bulk. Thanks.
Viking Dark is pretty unique. It’s nearest equiv SG may be Scotch Black? Where are you buying bulk? Mysmokingshop Viking bulk is cheaper than SG bulk!
@tboyer or @SnuffySnuff . You two seem pretty familiar with these dark snuff so maybe you can answer this question. Which SG snuff is closest (or the same) as Viking Dark that they also produce. The Viking range is a bit dearer and it would be good to have a standard SG substitue to buy in bulk. Thanks.
Viking Dark is pretty unique. It’s nearest equiv SG may be Scotch Black? Where are you buying bulk? Mysmokingshop Viking bulk is cheaper than SG bulk!
I was just going to use Snuffme in the 250g tubes. BTW, thanks for the Scotch Black recommendation. Will have to try it. Much appreciated.
Several SG snuffs appear to use the same base as Viking Dark, Black Coffee for instance, but none are plain. Scotch Black is coarser but similar in scent.
Several SG snuffs appear to use the same base as Viking Dark, Black Coffee for instance, but none are plain. Scotch Black is coarser but similar in scent.
Do they have the same hearty dose of nicotine?
Why are some snuffs “dungy”? Just how they turn out? or is something added? Is amonia added also or a result of the curing?
@I_snuff_therefore___ I think it’s just a natural smell tobacco has. Some tobacco smells like grass, or hay, some smells really sweet and spicy, some is like black pepper, some is like pine, some is like dung. I love the dung snuffs personally. Ammonia is a result of fermentation, but I sort of wonder if ntsu has added ammonia because it is pretty damn pungent.
Do they have the same hearty dose of nicotine?
Oh yes! 
@I_snuff_therefore___ I think it’s just a natural smell tobacco has. Some tobacco smells like grass, or hay, some smells really sweet and spicy, some is like black pepper, some is like pine, some is like dung. I love the dung snuffs personally. Ammonia is a result of fermentation, but I sort of wonder if ntsu has added ammonia because it is pretty damn pungent.
@horus92…an addendum to what you stated about NTSU… This is my take on ammonia, the NTSU is so fresh when jammed in those little plastic tubs, that the snuff itself still continues to so call “ferment” in the tubs and produces that ammonia smell, I doubt it’s added ammonia, as it fades quite quickly in nose. Same fermenting as it did when it was all tied up in Bugs Bunny Land. Please correct me if I am wrong??? As Franks Hot Sauce Commercial says: " I LOVE THAT S__T " I put that s__t on everything, no seriously I put that NTSU so far up, it’s wedged between my eyeballs. TOTALLY INCORRECT WAY OF SNUFFING, that’s the only one I use like that and love the ammonia smell…