Noticed that fans of this one seem to be few and far between. In the short time since I started Snuff, it’s emerged as one of my favourites. The only thing going against it are those tiny tins and no option to purchase it in bulk…or at least 25g.

I do, and some one here (ermtony i think) found a link of a candy store that sells Top Mill in 25 gr tins.

J&H Wilson’s I presume. It’s my favorite SP and I can see it being a staple in my orders. NicotineRush sells 25g tins of this. I don’t know if it’s my favorite snuff, but it’s in the top three along side Toque Natural & Spanish Gem. I like the feel of the grind, the moisture is perfect, the flavor has a solid punch but not like a slap in the face. What I like most about it is the earthy, leathery base that is almost immediately present and has decent staying power. The first one in a while provides some good burn (which I have come to love) that can get the waterworks going and best of all it keeps me uber-clear all day. I suspect it’s cleanliness of my nose/sinuses/everything is due to me being able to get this snuff seated perfectly every time. This is, of course is supported by the grind and moisture.

I like the Top mill, but maybe I haven’t spent enough time with it to say it’s that much different from the Sp no 1, which is available in the larger tins, and is now one of my favorites. I may also be odd in that I like those little blue boxes. They hold more snuff than I typically use in a day, and thus far I haven’t had any problems with leakage or accidental spills when using them.

@wickedkitchen Checked out both Toms for Top Mill No.1 (Nicotine Rush & Snuff Store) but couldn’t find the 25g. tins.

This is the store Sweet GreetingsYes ermtony found the store and he and myself bought the last four 25g tins. Just looking at the web-site it would appear they do not sell snuff any-more.

I like snuffegnugen can’t really tell much difference between JH SP No. 1 and Top Mill. I love the SP No.1 and it is my favorite SP snuff.

never tried either but i love medicated no. 99. which if their version of sp is as well done as their version of medicated then I’am sure it’s perfect.

I like it. There is a definate differrence between it and SP no. 1. I find its flavor is similar to Samuel Gawith Yellow Crest.

Here is a link from ermtony’s site that shows the snuff (incuding the large tin of Top Mill) that they used to carry:Sweet Greetings Snuff Selection

As I said, they seem not to have snuff any more.

Bookmarked Sweet Greetings sometime back. Great range of boiled sweets and sherbets, but no more Snuff. :.(

The Tins we got where old as they had the old health warning. But on opening them you heard the nice sound of the rush of air. As fresh as the day packed……

Part of the problem with this snuff is that it was a traditional mining snuff sold almost exclusively in the North of England in small newsagents shops and the like. When the mines closed there was still a demand and you still see it up there. Another reason for it staying available in the North is that it is popular among some older members of the Asian communities who use it as a dip or phan Outside of the North, I’ve never seen it anywhere apart from online. In my book its certainly one of the great overlooked snuffs and well worth trying when you see it online or happen to be in a newsagents in Burnley, Lancashire. A plain SP type snuff but with some nice smoky character in there. For Southern UK snuffers you often find its cousins SP No 1 and Medicated 99, again both great snuffs. It was my wife who found it on sale just around the corner to us by the way so marrying her was definitely the right thing to do. ‘Smokers Paradise’ usually have it in and around London. Also shops in Boroughs in London with a heavy Indian/Bangladeshi mixture of people often sell the SP No 1.

snuffster, quiet a few years ago while in London I came across a young hippy type, chain snuffing from a J&H Wilson little blue tin. He was in the Hall of a tube station near the newsagents. I assumed that is the place he got his snuff from.

But was it Top Mill?

@ Xander, I like to think it was!

i would punch 3 people and their moms if I could find this in a 25g’er. Its hard to tell what the snuff is supposed to be like in those small tins. Usually its dry, but SP1 is relativley moist out of a 25.

Get a Brit friend to order you one from The Black SwanOr maybe even write to them directly. I’m sure they will take cash.

I’d really love to get my hands on a large tin of Top Mill. I wonder if Tom at Nicotine Rush can manage to get any?

Got my first tin of this snuff and good it is. Nice tobacco base and moderate flavouring with distinctive character, easy to use and delivers a decent nic hit. And these small rectangular tins are coolest ever!

We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one. I hate those little rectangular tins with a passion. Sadly the search for a large tin of Top Mill continues.

www.thebackyshop.co.uk does large tins of Top Mill. £2.90 a chuck I believe. Stefan

I’m currently living in the US, and unfortunately the Backy Shop won’t deliver to US addresses. I keep hoping that Nicotine Rush or Mr. Snuff will be able to get the large tins.

I use Top Mill frequently and really like it. Compared with other SPs however, it’s #6 in my reckoning, behind J&H Wilson SP1, Wilson’s Best SP, Wilson’s Tom Buck, Toque SP Extra and Toque Original. I’m really into the SPs, and Top Mill is good, and better than several. The tobacco base is different from SP1, REAL different, and that’s all the difference in the world. Regarding the freshness of Top Mill, Tim at snuffstore.co.uk says he gets orders every 2 - 4 weeks from J&H Wilson and will certify the freshness of a large package before shipping if there’s a concern. I had a BIG concern and I got it fresh and know it. Also, according to Tim, who’s in a position to know, J&H Wilson has not produced Top Mill in the 25 gm containers for apprx. 5 years, if I remember correctly. So, if you can find a store around UK that has 25 gm containers of Top Mill, I’d go for it real fast! With all the SPs, having it in a larger quantity somehow makes it taste better. Wilson’s Best in the 25 gm container is just better than in the smaller containers. I can’t explain it, but it’s true of all the SPs. I’m in the minority who really like the small J&H Wilson box. Use a small rubber band to be certain it’s closed in your pocket. No sweat. It’s handy, and pinches are easy. As noted by others in this thread, J&H Wilson SP1 is also somehow underrated at present. But it is one GREAT snuff. But only in the 25-gm container. Big difference. The base tobacco is SOOO good, and the mix is somehow mysterious every time I use it. So I keep coming back to it. Same for Wilson’s Best SP – it’s just mysterious and keeps calling.

Very bizzarely, after what I posted last, I saw some in a market stall in Romford. It was a head shop type thing selling poppers and fake grass, he had a tray of very stale top mill. I bought some but it was like dust - first time I’ve seen it on sale in the South.

@lageorge: Thank you for that information. It’s frustrating that J&H Wilson offers SP No. 1 and Medicated No. 99 (fine snuffs both) in the large tins, but only sells Top Mill in the little 8g box. I guess thast the large tin of Top Mill wasn’t a big seller for them.

Top Mill No. 1 is available in the large tins. These are new ones. Not old stock. I know as I’ve had some from there. The health warning is current and the snuff is nicely moist and fresh.

Whoa! very exciting to me! And Black Swan will ship to US. I’m ordering, along with a few other items, and let’s see what happens! I DO expect the large container to provide a more delicious Top Mill #1.

Should do, they are difficult to open vacuum packed cans and hold the flavour and moisture in until the vacuum is popped.

Black Swan does not ship to the US.

They will if you do a bank transfer, but won’t take credit cards.

I like it. As has been pointed out before, Top Mill is very much the traditional northern cloth caps, clogs, belt n’ braces type snuff which has never found the same favour in the south as its sibling SP. No,1. Although no longer made at Westbrook Mill in Sheffield it is still the same snuff in body and flavour. From a 1970s booklet J & H Wilsons say this about their Top Mill - “Very similar to S.P No.1, but with added flavour in a higher concentration. This however does not encroach on the taste of the balanced blend of tobacco. “ - and that’s all, unfortunately. I prefer J & H Wilson’s two remaining and very pungent SPs to t’others from Sharrow, but they are increasingly difficult to obtain and are also considerably more expensive. Since the snuff became available in the vacuum-sealed tins (an improvement on the old 1-lb and 1/2-lb tins or tiny pocket boxes) the pungent reek of factory-fresh snuff might be a little off-putting to some. Also, removing the limpet-like lid with the assistance of a coin (as recommended on the tin) is as likely as opening a safe with a damp squib. A stick of dynamite is preferable for both safe and snuff tin.

I find a very substantial screwdriver usually does the job on those vacuum sealed tins. And I’ll stress the “usually”!

i have large quantities of top mill small tins

Black Swan website has been down for ages, can’t order tins but would love to.

i have large quantities of top mill small tins

I know Dave,aka Mr. Snuff, was looking into a source for the large tins. Haven’t seen them on the site yet, though.

He said he couldn’t get them. I’m curious how Black Swan got theirs, or they are very old. I won’t buy it again in the little boxes. I’ll wait for a source to turn up with large tins before I buy it again.

the little boxes look cute but the vacum tins are the real deal. Even if sometimes you get one that was sealed by magic and not vacum. When they are sealed with magic they become hard to open in fact even after you break the seal they’ll still be hard to open due to residual mojo.