As so many newbies find one or two snuffs, get interested, and and then want to make an order online, but are baffled by the variety and sheer quantity of snuffs, they come to the Snuffhouse forum for advice. Most of the time they are not familiar enough to do the research either on the forum or in the various’ shop description, or that it is too time consuming for them. Oftentimes they may give up and order without knowing what they are getting, and wind up disappointed. Hence we get a Frequently Asked Question: “What snuffs do you recommend for (fill in the blank)?” Usually, if i feel like answering I can try to tailor to the person’s specific request, or I will say, get a few from each of the major snuff makers and a few of each type of snuff. After that they will know what they like and what they don’t (more or less). I know this same topic was started by Alex years ago in the FAQs, but that thread is really gotten cumbersome and perhaps its time to start anew. I figured I would prepare my own definitive list and let the experiencd snufftakers of the ISTA chew it over as sort of a rough draft. Now, some snuffs are not to my personal taste on the list, but all snuffs I would pick becuase of either their wide availabilty or becuase they are definitive of their company or style or region. Or they were picked because they have a large popularity. I’m leaving off a lot of my favorites, but this list isn’t for me. I feel the list should avoid obscure snuffs and redundant snuffs. For instance I list Wilson’s Best SP. Its Not my favorite SP. Its not even my favorite SP from Wilsons, but its the one we use to compare the others to, better or worse. So its “essential.” BY BRAND : American Snuff Company (Conwood) W.E. Garrett Scotch aka Levi Garrett easily the most widely available scotch snuff in the USA W.E. Garrett Sweet & Mild mainly due to its availability Arnold André/Swedish Match Singleton’s Super Menthol long time classic menthol even though its changed hands a few times Rumney’s Export another long time classic menthol Bernard Alt Offenbacher Köstlich one of Bernards best plain snuffs Brasil Doppelt Fermentiert Certainly Bernard’s flagship product and a well respected schmalzler Zwiefacher The classic snuff/schmalzler pairing De Kralingse Latakia Ao 1860 good plain Latakia flavor and the base for one sector of the company’s range Hollandse Bolongaro good plain fermented Virginia and base for Bon Bon Prins Regent best (subjective) of the Virigina base of the company’s range Dholakia Kamal standard perfumed Indian Manjul standard perfumed Indian Sparrow plain strong Indian Sparrow Cool menthol plain strong Indian Swiss Chocolate most popular of their “Western” flavors Fribourg & Treyer Bordeaux representing the Perfumed English snuff category High Dry Toast one of the most well known Toasts. possibly more popular than Wilsons 22 Santo Domingo mild perfumed plainish rappee type Gawith Hoggarth CM Camphor Menthol well respected English medicated snuff Dry Orange one of very few orange snuffs, and one of GH’s most popular Kendal Brown depending on who you ask, this is the best Kendal Brown Sea Breezes outstanding representation of the herbal scented snuffs Imperial Tobacco Hedges L260 “The Snuff” long established and very well known English medicated snuff J&H Wilson SP No. 1 the UK’s most widely available snuff, and a well resepcted SP type Leonard Dingler Magnet Menthol South African, but also seems very popular in Switzerland/Germany Taxi (Blue) Well known plain South African snuff, and very strong, course and moist M.L.P. DistributorsNtsu (Black) very strong and notorious South African snuff. comparable to Taxi McChrystal’s Clove love it or hate it are the only options, but its the definitive clove snuff Original & Genuine quite likely the world’s most popular English medicated snuff Mild Lemon outstanding representive of fruit/citrus class Stammheimer Hopfen unique Hops scented snuff Violet outstanding representive of the floral class Pöschl Gawith Apricot probably the world’s most popular (and widely available) snuff Glestcher Prise Pöschl’s flagship product, and also extremely widley available Ozona President one of Pöschls more popular offerings Ozona Raspberry probably second only to Gawith Apricot in worldwide poplarity Red Bull Pöschl’s answer to the English medicated snuff Samuel Gawith Black Coffee repesenting coffee scented snuffs Black Rappee SG’s specialty is the rapee types. this seems the most well known after the KBs Irish D Light a well respected Toast Kendal Brown Original the original KB, and best depending on who you ask Kendal Brown Plain another one vying for the KB top spot Princes Dark English perfumed, rappee grind Princes Gold English perfumed, SP grind SP No. 1 High Mill a solid, classic SP Swisher Honey Bee probably most widely available sweet scotch across USA RailRoad Mills Maccoboy the last of its breed, representing American maccoboy snuffs Railroad Mills Plain Scotch easily obtainable and good plain scotch snuff Starr Scotch Mildest and plainest of the scotches, most beginner friendly Three Thistle Strong representative of strong scotches Toque Blueberry Toque excells in fruit snuffs, particularly flavors no other company does Chocolate well done and self explanatory Coke gives you an idea about this company’s sense of humor and creativity Natural one of few soild unscented snuffs (or choose Toque Quit for high nic version) Original excellent modern SP type. as good as the established classics Peach best (subjective) peach snuff Raspberry comparable to McC’s but maybe a bit better Spanish Gem sweet and tasty, almost everyone loves it Whisky & Honey best example of Toque’s flavored Toast snuffs U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Rooster Perhaps not as widely available as Bruton, but a better example of this co’s Strong Scotch Red Seal likewise not as widely available as Carhart, but better example of USST Sweet Scotch Wilsons of Sharrow Apricot considered by many to be the best of the flavor type (w/o menthol) Best SP the definitive SP and WoS’ long time best seller Brunswick Wilsons’ “black rappee” and shows they can do more than 1 grind Crumbs of Comfort most well known spearmint snuff Irish High Toast No. 22 be sure its the “22.” This is the definitive Toast. Honey Menthol good medicinal character, very popular Lavender excellent representative of this specific herb (rather than herb blends) Queens Extra Strong aka Tom Buck another good and well known SP Rose long time well known floral SM classic English medicated (menthol eucalyptus) SM Blue classic English medicated (menthol camphor) Also plan on listing same snuffs by style/region
Very good idea, I like the concise nature of it and the fact that we have to keep our personal best out of it for the sake of neutrality. I also think it is best to keep out very complex snuffs such as Grand Cairo or even the whole Fribourg and Treyer range (Blasphemy!). But it seems that new users find these snuffs hard to take due to their complex nature. I would add the following:Wilsons of Sharrow Honey Menthol a well done flavored menthol, one of the most popular flavored menthols Apricot arguably the best non-mentholated fruit snuff of their range and perhaps the best of the flavor_Toque_ Original a traditional SP of the purist nature Blueberry a solid good fruit snuff sans menthol Berwick Brown a new twist on a classic niche Absinthe the only aniseed snuff that I know of without menthol Whiskey and Honey considered the best snuff made by Toque Rose clean floral scent without any cloying nonsense I will add more later…
What about some Poschl snuff? And McChrystals O&G is a must in any snuff collection. No snuffer can live without it.
Yes, good ideas. Like I said, I got tired after working on that for an hour, so left it “in progress”. I did Wilsons first then did A thru D. Now I am worried there are too many on the list.
Chirs, I’m looking at the F&T list at the moment. I feel I disagree. I think a few of them should get included. At the least HDT as the second most well known Toast. Bordeux I’d also consider as a leading member of English Perfumed “class”. Also I’m thinking about Santo Domingo or Princes as rappees, one but not both. On Toque: yes a few should get added. I’m just staring “F” now. Not sure about rose, as its very similar to Wilson’s rose, and one or the other should go in. I listed Wilsons due to its venerated status (not saying its better). On the Absinthe: good call, except that McChrystal’s Anisette and WoS Aniseed & Eucalyptus have no menthol. At least one solid Anise snuff should be in the list. Hopefully you guys will have debated it out by the time I get to “T”. Pieter, I will add some Pöschl tonight. (also I picked up your 3 Thistle today)
Updated and finished initial rundown. I think that’s too long a list, though. I welcome comments, insertions, deletions etc. Still waiting on the deliberation on the an anise representative, and also need a peppermint rep. This is not ready for prime time as they say. Chris not sure if I should add Berwick Brown. Not as well established and venerated as the KBs and its more like the scented ones which I did not include. What do the rest of you think? PS No offense, Roderick. Its an excellent snuff, just very young.
Judging by the deafening silence broken only by the sound of distant chirping crickets, I must assume that I have a really bad idea here. 
Good list. Maybe worth an up date as a few have gone or had a name change. Also there are several new snuffs that some would say deserve to be on the essentials list.
Tempted to list all the ones that I have stashed away that have been discontinued >:) In all seriousness though, I would be struggling to comment on many of the newer iterations. My SG and GH snuffs are all premerger, and I dont know with any real certainty what changes have been made or who is actually producing the flour. My Viking are all from the original SG site too, as are my Jaxons, and while we know that Jaxons has switched mills (to either WoS or McC), there seems to be no certainty what changes may have happened with the production of Viking. As such, I’d need to rely on those who have bought and sampled their snuffs after the changes to comment on them. It is sad to think my bulk stashes of Burgundy, Brunswick, SP Scotch, GH KB Plain, and London Brown may never be replaced, and my bulk stash of Firedance and Celtic Talisman might not be like for like if I ever do order more. All those need to outlive me. Thankfully my Toque favourites, my WoS and FT favourites which survived the cull, and McC Mild Sicillian Lemon Burst, are all safe and unchanged for the foreseeable future. Toque listings should include Ambrosia, Spanish Gem, Berwick Brown, Chocolate, Toffee, SP Extra, Blueberry and Raspberry for certain. WoS listings should include Tom Buck, Best Dark, Rows, Grand Cairo, Royal George, and Grove at the very least. Plus stick the whole Fribourg and Treyer line in, along with Rumneys Brown. Kailash and Anarkali need to be on the list too.
It’s funny how things have changed within 10 _ 15 years for British snuffs. When I first tried snuff SG & HG had such a wide range like WOS. Toque was the new snuff staring out then. Toque now produce the largest range after 10years. They have done this with some funky and good quality snuffs. Guess they targeted a new generation and the smoking ban in pubs probably helped.
@beantin, Toque (i. e. Roderick) was (and still is) really active online, particularly here and in other tobacco devoted forums. We can’t underestimate this fact, as well as Toque’s penetration into the US market.
On the contrary, GH/SG are absolutely passive online. You even can’t procure their products online directly.
WoS do run their online shop and make attempts to adjust and stay up to date (renewed website, modernised packaging line, recently introduced tester-size 5 g tap tins).
@volunge Want you said is 100% right. A lot of the British manufacturers have not moved with the times.
Toque are good online and also have very good tins for storage and use. The WOS & McChrystal tins are a big issue for most people as they are terrible. I must admit I just decant the WOS & McChrystals tins as soon as I get them. But I have now started to buy my preferred snuffs in bulk tubs as they stay fresher longer.
WOS 5g tap tins are also not the greatest. I got a few of them and they don’t seal well or suit finer snuff. It is basically a J&H Wilson’s tap tin, with the plastic base and tin top. It is no world changer in my book, but it is a start. At the end of the day we buy the product inside and want this to be as good as possible, for a reasonable length of time.