I cracked open my first tin of Samuel Gawith Kendal Brown Special the other day.  First pinch, I wasn’t that impressed.  In fact, I liked it less than the Kendal Brown Original (which I’d only ever had in the tap box before, and which went desert-dry after a week or so).

I shook just about a day’s worth into my “snuffbox” (an empty 10g WoS tin, which is not airtight) and the next morning it was like a different snuff.  It had improved dramatically.

So, my question: Is it normal that some snuffs benefit from some air first, when taken right out of the vacuum tin?  Or am I just imagining things?

Most get ammonia when first opening a tin. you either like the fresh scent or loathe it. It your personal taste so do as you like.  

I personally like the ammonia- infested freshness and the Aired out outcome.

I typically have to air these out, same with a lot of the Viking range. Personally I’m not a fan of the ammonia scent so I decant into smaller snuff tins and let those air out. I made the mistake of airing out the entire Viking tin and started to go dry before I could get through it, now I just use a small empty Toque tin if I am heading out.