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.
Top Mill!!! I really can’t recall what my first snuff was, but it might have been this. My nose finds it quite different from the SP, less burning, more of a glow. I was all excited about seeing the link to the large tins then I remembered: an Imperial Tobacco product. I’m not the slightest bit inclined to put a fraction of a penny in their pockets. I won’t belabour the point other than to say that they sell “product”. ‘Twas ever thus. I’d rather enrich the little guys who actually are passionate about what they do. But it is a very good snuff tho’.
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.