I cannot find any difference between CoC and PM. I’m pretty sure PhilipS will be able to shed some light here.
COC is a pure spearmint taste. PM is similar but has some menthol in it too. You can feel it in your nose more than taste it.
So is Prime Minister and Extra Crumbs Of Comfort the same thing?
No, PM has even more different MLS (menthol like stuff) in it, and I always thought ECOC had a little bergamot, but that might just be my imagination.
I agree that they’re really close, but there’s a tiny difference between the two. Nachman may have just nailed exactly what it is. It’s like the subtleties between McC O&G and Highland Ice. More alike than different, but aficionados of one over the other could probably spend half an hour arguing what makes their favourite better.
O&G and Highland Ice are as different as night and day to me. Crumbs of Comfort and Prime Minister are not the same either. WoS has 5 spearmint snuffs, all different to each other.
@Xander, wish I had a nose like yours. The only difference I detect between CoC and PM is tha the PM gives me a sort of burning sensasion after a while and sometimes makes me sneeze. CoC is smoother but it SMELLS the same as PM. I’m glad I’ve only got a medium tin of PM and 2 large tins of CoC. Will you please name the 5 spearmint snuffs from WoS?
Prime Minister and Crumbs of Comfort are not snuffs I’m interested in, but the website declares the following: “Crumbs of Comfort uses spearmint as one of its many ingredients, while Country Mint has spearmint on its own. Prime Minister is a glorious mixture of nearly all the various mentholated ingredients with spearmint as the top note.” Both C of C and PM must have been introduced during the tenure of Mark Chaytor because they were certainly not available when I started taking snuff. I know for a fact that Extra Crumbs of Comfort was part of the Grand Sharrow Range introduced in 1984 and I suspect that C of C and PM were probably introduced (like so many others) in 1977 for the Celebration Range (Queen’s Silver Jubilee). The much older Sharrow Mint (never abbreviated to SM to avoid confusion with Sharrow Medicated) was simply renamed as Country Mint. Anyone frequenting G Smith & Sons on the Charing Cross Road in the 1960s will probably remember the original ‘Crumbs of Comfort’. Actually, C of C was not a snuff but a unique Victorian snuffbox fashioned from a tiny book, deriving its name from the title page. It was not for sale. I wonder what happened to it and the other unusual boxes on display.
@ PhilipS: I saw a book shaped snuffbox with the words, “Crumbs of Comfort” on Ebay about a year ago. I didn’t pay it much heed at the time. I thought it was amusing, and then forgot about it. Perhaps it was not unique? @ Pieter: The five are: Country Mint, Crumbs of Comfort, Extra Crumbs of Comfort, Spearmint Plus and Prime Minister. The last three contain menthol. I think CoC has a bit of a peppermint undertone which sets it apart, either that or some sort of spice. Country Mint I’m very fond of as its a nice soft, sweet plain spearmint. Prime Minister I like as it has a nice blend of camphor, eucalyptus, menthol and spearmint. Extra CoC and Spearmint Plus, I’m less fond of. They have a bit too much menthol for me. I recommend the Country Mint most if you haven’t tried it yet.
You guys just reminded me of my just once. Can’t it happen just once that I make a snuff order and remember to add all the snuffs I’ve been meaning to try. Hopefully I’ll remember the Prime Minister next order.
I once heard that CofC is a remake of Snuffy Charlottes favorite snuff. Can’t remember who told me that, but it was a long time ago.
“I saw a book shaped snuffbox with the words, “Crumbs of Comfort” on Ebay about a year ago. I didn’t pay it much heed at the time. I thought it was amusing, and then forgot about it. Perhaps it was not unique?” @Xander -that’s very interesting although what you saw must have been a wooden copy of the original Crumbs of Comfort snuffbox. It is mentioned in several texts as probably being unique, including that by C.W Shepherd. Who knows, stranger things have happened and it is not altogether inconceivable that Smith’s famous box ended up in the hands of some philistine who sold it on Ebay. I don’t suppose you could find the link by any chance?
"I once heard that CofC is a remake of Snuffy Charlottes favorite snuff. Can’t remember who told me that, but it was a long time ago. " According to the book ‘The Manufacture of Snuff’ (page 24) “The records of Fribourg & Treyer … disclose the snuffs and their quantities ordered by both Charlotte and her son (George IV). She repeatedly ordered Marrocca in ten-pound jars and Masulipatem, which was packed in pint bottles like claret.” Marrocca suggests Morocco and it was from here that nana mint was/is harvested. This is probably the source of what you heard long ago. However, I doubt whether this now lost snuff recipe was much like either Crumbs of Comfort or F&T’s current Morocco. Although F&T still made Masulipatem until quite recently the original was sourced entirely from India, and was reputed to be very strong in flavour.
I ordered CofC, ECofC and prime minister on my latest order. Crumbs of Comfort I like a lot, very moreish. Prime minister however was not to my liking, like it didn’t know whether it wanted to be a menthol or spearmint, the aroma’s seemed to clash IMHO. A bit like mixing whiskey and pernod - both are spirits but the 2 don’t go so well together. My ECofC is still waiting to be opened I’ll let you know the verdict - I don’t know if the CofC can be improved on as the bite and mintyness seem just right for me right now. Highland Ice is my preferred menthol over O&G, the aroma seems clean and crisp with no cloying after smell - I used to love O&G but can’t be doing with it now the lingering smell is just not pleasing for me. Highland Ice is like a good single Scottish malt of the menthol world for me.
@ PhilipS: I’m afraid there is no link, as old auctions expire from the site a few months after their closing. I just looked now and it is not in current or past listings. I can’t remember if it was wood or metal. I do remember it had some sight damage, which the seller had pointed out. I dismissed it at the time, because It was too large for a pocket box. Although it did stick in my memory a little seeing the words “Crumbs of Comfort” on it. I remember thinking that CoC must be a really old snuff blend. I have since seen many book-shaped snuffboxes, but not that one again. As you say anything is possible. It may well have been the original that found its way there. Had I known then what you have just informed me, I would have had a go at it myself or brought it to the attention of the forum.
@Alex - Thanks for checking. The snuffbox at Smith’s shop was made from an actual 1900 first edition copy of the American book by Allie M Felker. A lined rectangular hollow cut from the pages holds the snuff. The craftsman who made it was obviously inspired by the title although the book’s moralising contents - chapters on Good Cheer, Trust in God - have nothing to do with snuff. Had it been the original then the seller would doubtless have stressed that it was made from an actual book rather than a block of wood. Speaking of Ebay items of interest - I saw a tatty plastic Pöschl tap-box of ozona President snuff being auctioned as an antique box. Amazingly it had numerous bidders. Perhaps they fancied that this was the box held by Lincoln during his address at Gettysburg or Washington during the Declaration of Independence. Unless he was naive himself the seller must have been laughing his head off at their gullibility, and bought several hundred fresh boxes full of President snuff with the proceeds. I wish now I had posted the link here for the amusement of others.
So I’am guessing that Crumbs Of Comfort the book not snuff was like some old time Chicken soup for the soul book. That is hilarious.
@bob Why does that suddenly conjure up the idea of Toque Chicken soup Snuff as a Kosher alternative to Cheese & Bacon?
cause you’re crazy sir. That might be extra good for your next cold.