@Nachman - The attraction is the huge jolt of nicotine you get. I think a sweeter, milder snuff than Honest would be better for a first time experience. Honey Bee is good or Dental Sweet or Garretts Sweet. Take your pick. It takes a little adjustment at first like every other kind of tobacco use. Go ahead and drop a quarter teaspoon into the crease of your lower lip and let your lip close around it. Saliva seeps in and tobacco juice trickles out. Swish it around your mouth and spit it out since you are new to this. Then take a sip of water, just enough to cleanse the palate. Just leave the “chew” in place and don’t poke it with your tongue. Once the flavor is gone, spit the whole thing out and rinse. You will feel a lot of nicotine after your first real “chew”. BTW almost all US snuffs are largely used orally. Us snuffers represent a tiny fraction of market.
Fortunately haven’t tried any American dry snuffs yet, trying to correct that soon, but have tried some English dry snuffs as dip: Samuel Gawith’s Black Rappee and Scotch Black work well as dip being coarse and moist. Little harsh on gums though so some salt, water and calium bicarbonate added and we have snus like in the 18th Century.
Just tried some Tops, Garrett and Honeybee, all sweet. They were all pretty damn good but honeybee was the best out of those three. Some of the sweets seem to turn bitter rather quickly but not honeybee, it was sweet as honey for quite a while! Next up…I’m going to force myself to try a few non-sweet scotches.
I just can’t understand why anybody would want to put snuff in their mouth. Why spoil something that is clearly meant for nasal use? Stefan
Go ahead and try it Walrus. (-; Tom502 got me curious and the American Sweets do taste very good!
I just spot checked a few of my scotches, the warning label on several says " This product may cause gum disease and tooth loss." Hard to imagine that happening from nasal use! : )
The American Scotch snuffs have a history and intended use as oral snuff. Now, way back when, when snuff 1st came to the US, it may have been nasally used. Like Swedish snus used to be nasal snuff too. I don’t know it’s exact history, but it evolved into moist snus. Bruton Scotch Snuff as an oral tobacco, is what led to Copenhagen Moist Snuff. But while it has a dual ability, as it’s dry and powdered, American Scotch snuffs have been used as an oral snuff more than not, and continues like this today.
Occasionally I’ll put a pinch in the lip, then snuff a pinch. It fills my world with snuffness. I can feel a nice nico-buzz that way too. But I only do this once in a while.
Under “Tooth Powder”: While dental hygiene has improved immensely over the ages, tooth powder has actually been around for quite a long time. The Egyptians used it, for example, as the did ancient Asian cultures. Europeans tended to use plain toothbrushes with no water until around the 1800s, when tooth powders became popular. Many people made their own tooth powder, and some commercial preparations were actually quite dangerous, due to the use of toxic filler ingredients. Toothpaste began to be marketed in the late 1800s, although it did not catch on immediately. For a very basic form of tooth powder, you can take advantage of the reaction between baking soda and peroxide, which will help to whiten your teeth while cleaning them. Tap a small amount of baking soda into your hand or a small dish, and pour peroxide over it. Dip your toothbrush in the foaming mixture and brush as you would normally. You can also use plain baking soda and water, if you prefer a tamer brushing experience. I’m thinking, ‘Dental Sweet’ here as an alternate?
I doubt that Bruton led to Copenhagen. Copenhagen was founded in 1822.
Bruton did lead to Copenhagen, the UST book says this: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ple21b00 Copy and paste.
Nice publication, Tom! Love that old stuff
@ tom502 And an excellent resource, thanks for sharing that site.
Yes, that’s a nice read, and very interesting. But I must confess, I may have been, or be, technically wrong, with my assertion that Bruton led to Copenhagen snuff. I could not find this explicitly stated, but the publication does give the impression that dry scotch snuff predates the moist snuff, of which Copenhagen is one of the oldest. I would be curious to see a date that Bruton scotch 1st became a product, though we do know WE Garrett scotch has a very old copyright. But from this publication, snuffs started nasally, from European tradition, then became more enjoyed orally in America, then somewhere down the line, Copenhagen snuff was invented. It would be interesting to see a “family tree” like graph that shows the connections and evolving history.
Weyman and Bruton were not the same company until 1901… Copenhagen was first made in 1822. Quote from the brochure: “It was made and sold by Weyman & Brothers as early as 1827, over a century ago (USST now dates it at 1822). And legend tells us that the recipe originated in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark. from which it takes its name”
that would explain why snus reminds me of copenhagen then wouldn’t it.
Yes, before trademarks. I did find Bruton listed at 1898, and WE Garrett at 1870, but like Copenhagen, I wonder when these items 1st started, as they would have been before trademarks possibly, or when the 1st marketed scotch snuff came about, and what it’s name was?
Levi Garrett dates back to the late 1700’s.
I think the best way to take scotch snuff by mouth is to drop it in carelessly if that makes sense. You don’t want to pack it in a tight wad in the front of your mouth because it’s just too dry, you miss most of the flavor and nic that way; you want it to coat your mouth. I just take a big pinch and drop it all over the side of my mouth and then swish it around, then drop another pinch in. Great taste (though it still doesn’t last forever) and powerful nic hit. I get a lot of flavor for five minutes, then it dies down and I’ll leave the snuff just sitting there for another 10-20 minutes or whenever I get sick of it and then spit it out. Not sure if this is the “right way” to do it. Historically southerners, especially women, would “dip and rub”, using it like a toothpowder just like they do today in India. You’d take a pinch and, apparently, rub it vigorously on the gums with your finger or a twig or something like that for a couple of minutes. I have trouble imagining exactly how this worked but it’s what I’ve read. I’m dipping some Bruton right now, giving my nose a break today.