Well I found a type of snuff that I had been searching for for some time, one with a pronounced cigar taste. I had sought out this taste and smell with Braniff Caribbean, but the menthol in that one just ruined it for me. I was hoping to find it in the Neffa Ifrika, but no dice. I had caught hints of it in many snuffs, but it remained elusive. Imagine my shock at finding it in a ten gram tub of Grunt! Let me explain, I love the coconut hint and strong punch of Fubar Grunt, it has been my go too since early in my snuffing experience, so much so that I went out and stocked up on a Kilo of bulk last year, no regrets there. Well do to the PACT act Grunt had been sold out, and the replacement batch, to me, never equaled the original. I am sure that a new batch was made, and it lacked the coconut and had a rather strong odor of what I thought to be rancid Ghee, at least that is what I thought and the small quantity that I bought to sample has failed to please. After Grunt came back it sold out again and was missing for months while I assumed they made a new batch, I keep tabs of when it is unavailable everywhere. So when it came back again I ordered a ten gram tub to check it out, and the initial taste was shockingly similar to Swiss chocolate, but with weird undertones. I have carefully aired out this batch and it has achieved a wonderful cigar note, but one I find to be way too rich for everyday use. It overwhelms my nose and is quite sharp, almost burns. Now I like the burn of the original Grunt, but it moderates very quickly, this one persists. I am just posting this as an observation over time with what I assume to be three separate batches. Only the original large quantity of Grunt has the ability to satisfy as an everyday snuff, and the bulk has been carefully preserved and has only become better. But this last sample is as far as can be from the original, and the last batch still possesses an off flavor. I enjoyed the cigar note of the last batch, a real treat, but it will not go in the everyday snuff box. I would be interested if anyone else has noticed this, and if I just got a bad sample. BTW my second somewhat rancid sample was a 250 gram tub, I sent it back and received a second tub from a different supplier with the exact same character, is has muted some with age, but there is no mistaking that they are two different animals. Sorry for the long post, but this has bothered me for a while, and seeing a bunch of new snuffers ordering this on the mailbox thread has me wondering just what they are getting, hopefully a slight coconut, moderate burn, strongish nic, with a great tobacco finish, that is what it should be!
Oh yeah grunt is very cigarish in my onionion. Though I find wilson apricot to be cigarish. Sometimes toque natural is cigarish too. Sometimes. I’ve noticed that plain tobacco snuff never seems consistient.
Whalen, Thanks for the indepth review. As a side note…I have alsways thought that Toque Natural Toast had the smell of an unlit cigar
usaly. Though the last tin I got didn’t quite smell much cigar like at all. Still really good but more of a decent cigarette unlit smell.
I have a ten gram of grunt that tastes like you describe (a slight coconut, moderate burn, strongish nic, with a great tobacco finish) I love it. I just got 50 more grams because I like it so much. I will use it everyday. Hopefully the 50 grammer tastes the same!
double post.
I got a 10g of Grunt in my last order, along with the swiss chocolate. I’ve never tried either of the two but I’m aware that Grunt is supposed to have at least a slight coconut flavor. After using both of them this evening, I must say that I cannot tell a huge difference between them. I don’t smell any coconut with the Grunt. I really don’t know why that is. Perhaps its too fresh or needs to air out or something. I thought the Grunt had more of a chocolate flavor than anything else. The swiss chocolate was alright but not as pronounced as I had imagined. Perhaps my 10g pack of Grunt is from the same batch as the one you got, Whalen, that you said was “shockingly similar” to swiss chocolate. It makes me wonder… I hope both of them will taste better after I use them for a while and they get aired out and stirred up.
Seems like Grunt has changed for some reason. I have a 50g tub here that is totally different than the first time I tried Grunt. Big disappointment. Tried airing it out to no avail.
Anyone else notice that almost every natural snuff gets the same type of things said about the tin to tin variances? I think this maybe a part of the reason that flavored snuffs are the most produced. Even in scented snuffs I tend to notice some big diffrence in the base tobacco scent from tin to tin. Not much diffrent then the way the apples or oranges I get at the supermarket seem to be diffrent from batch to batch. (yes I did just compare apples and oranges to snuff).
I can really see a batch variance at work here. It does make sense that natural tobacco snuff would be so susceptible. I am just really taken back by the rather dramatic change in these snuffs. The chocolate was really noticeable at first with the last batch, but the pronounced cigar that developed was also a positive change. I may experiment with adding some Dholakia Blast coconut toffee to see if I can skew it back more to my liking, or at least more like what I expected. The ideal would to have the hint of coconut along with an enhanced cigar, while still keeping the burn manageable. I hate to think of those who try Grunt for the first time and are not able to get the true feel for what makes it such a lovely creation. That slight coconut and great tobacco combo is hard to beat. Makes you wonder what controls the maker has in place.
I think that if it were just openly stated that there is natural variation in natural tobacco everybody would understand but grunt I don’t believe is a natural tobacco.
Sparrow green is the base tobacco for Grunt as far as I can tell. Nice cigar like notes but the Sparrow is not oiled and dry as a bone. Good stuff!
I just received my order from Mr. Snuff and decided to try the FUBAR grunt first. Taste like chocolate and cigars to me but very nice. I dont really smell the coconut 
Also i took a rather large pinch and felt no burn ive heard so much about.
Grunt to me smells like some kind of cleaning product. I have only been snuffing for a month though. Perhaps my taste will develope. I know for a fact I can’t go wrong with W.E Garrett. That’s my go to snuff. Everything else is just an amusement.
My understanding is that the problem with maintianing consistency in taste lies with the actual tobacco cultivation. When you buy your tocacco from a leaf supplier he has typically collected from many different farms, some of which are quite small holdings. Every field of tobacco is different for a multitude of reasons - slightly different planting times; sunlight; harvesting times; fertilizer quantity may be incosistent; pest and pest control; drying; packing; leaf vs vein vs stem; storage; age etc etc. The tobacco blender is charged with combining a whole bunch of gunni sacks of chopped leaf in such a way as to, as far as possible, maintain consistency. Obviously the more/stronger flavors you add, the less important this blending becomes. Just like beer, if you want every snuff to be nearly identical you tend to sacrifice quality. Compare Bud with a micro-brew. You have to lower the bar to a level that is relatively easy to repeat again and again, year in year out. When you find one you love, hoard and savor it…it may in actual fact NEVER be repeated exactly. But then again the exciting thing about it is that even within one brand and one flavor there is a whole world of variety to try. It never gets boring in other words. 
Dave
I’ve made my own “grunt”. Mixed Levi Garrett and Toque Original 50/50. It makes me grunt with pleasure.
Pieter - I would think that the addition of some White Elephant to that mixture would make you grunt and squeal! Dave - Well thanks to you the original Grunt is well represented in my humidor, I absolutely treasure that stash, and I understand the trouble with maintaining consistency, especially with the Plain snuffs, I really do dig the cigar in the latest one, not so much the chocolate, although I like chocolate, this new batch has such a pronounced cigar that it should be snuffed with cognac, which is an experiment I highly recommend. Try it! This one is growing on me although it is quite rich. I am waiting for it to finish airing naturally, I think it may age great. Now I am considering a tub to share with friends.