At first, I didn’t find this snuff appealing at all. After a few days though, I’ve begun to appreciate it. It is very complex, at first I just got a dark, fusty tobacco scent from it. Now, I get cedarwood and something bitter and floral. Reviews describe it as violet. The finish is leathery, it reminds me of Toque’s Berwick Brown. Good, antique smelling snuff. Quite high in nicotine.

A small group of snuff using friends have labeled this one: Enchanto Domingo. For me, it’s the top F&T blend. Like a forest after a summer rain, dark earth, cedar, leather, subdued florals. Unique and delicious…totally enchanting.

it’s not my favorite F&T but up there. I like maccouba the best

I recently got this and so far all i get is soft tobacco scents. But I rather like that.

My Daughter said it smell like Hamsters, now whenever I use it I can picture them running on their wheel. It must had been their cedar bedding. I like it, reminds me of happier times. I usually mix a little with a lot of Dholakia White and some times an American Scotch.

My son had a guinea pig as a pet when young and I and other member agree brings the old-school barnyard back to the nose. I like it dry as a bone on the hottest day of the year.

It’s really one of my favorite snuffs and I don’t know why I don’t have it in bulk. It is one of the very few snuffs in the world whose added scents blend seamlessly with the tobacco so you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. When I read about it initially I thought “F&T snuff with violet? Yawn” and didn’t get around to ordering it for nearly two years after I started snuffing, what a loss! This is NOT a violet snuff, this is a godly snuff that happens to include a hint of violet.

OK, this is gonna seem a little weird…the earthy aroma aspect of Santo Domingo is like a strain of streptococcus…which is naturally occurring in USA Pacific Northwest forest soil. A good Summer rain (very common around here) will cause the bacteria to ‘bloom’ and it gives off a characteristic aroma. Close your eyes and think of the aroma that would result from kicking up a big hunk of dark dirt in the woods (lol). That’s it! Maybe I should call it “Strepto Domingo”? (groan) Whatever. But it’s what makes it so excellent… the soil & cedar & floral & tobacco thing makes it unique, and delicious.

The violet tag is a bit misleading - it’s absolute of violets, which is made from the leaves rather than the flowers, which seems to give more of an earthy scent. Coupled with the cedar it’s a winner for me. I’d put this in the same category as WoS Best Dark, but less floral.

For me, it’s the best of the F&T line - even moreso than the much-vaunted High Dry Toast (though I’ve not tried Old Paris yet, and I have some high hopes for it). I love the stuff - the aroma doesn’t linger quite as long as I might like, but the grind/moisture is such that it lends itself well to large pinches or frequent smaller ones, and that helps alleviate that particular problem.

I really like it on hot dry days.

idbowman, if you haven’t tried it you might also like Princes and Princes Special.

The first snuff I was introduced to was SG Black Rappee, interestingly enough the second snuff I was introduced to, was F&T Princes Special. I of course still take both, and I think you may like Princes Special along with Princes.

Santa Domingo is a damn fine snuff, as are some other F&T offerings. My last tin suffered a bit in storage, but it is definitely one I will get again

Great snuff when humidity drops to 70 or less or makes a mess. Still is excellent anytime tho!

Really nice snuff. I have to have a very clean nose to get the subtle scents. One 50 gm tin of it lasts me a couple of years as i don’t take it very often. But the tin keeps it moist.

I should be receiving Santo Domingo this week, never tried it but looking forward to it

I had to decant my last 50g. This snuff had made the can decay. I thought it be safe, being it kept it fresh. I had taken this picture awhile back. You can see the paint is rippled on the side and the bottom has a deposit of decaying aluminum.

Use the glass jars!!! You guys should know the drill!!

It’s probably my all-time favorite snuff - Morlaix and Wilson’s of Sharrow Best SP come second and third. My only problem with it is that I can’t use it all day. It’s more a special occasion snuff for me - same with Morlaix and all the other F&T snuffs I’ve tried - the scents are amazing, but a bit on the heavy side - not saying that’s a bad thing.

@basement_shaman , yep I agree- I received two 50g tins. One was perfect, the other totally messed up…outside looked ok but inside aluminum rot and dust ( sparkly metallic crud )—decanted the good one and need to return the other— this snuff is great though!

Two of my favorite snuffs are F&Ts, but that said, @basement_shaman if it does that to a tin (especially one as heavy as an F&T tin), I would be very hesitant to put it in my face. That’s just scary.

@Hitsuzen , it because of the salt, salt and aluminum Love each other

I personally rate Santo Domingo (once listed in the Guinness Book of Records along with Cafe Royale as the world’s most expensive snuff) as the best of the recreated range. Although it no longer contains Cuban tobacco it is, as far as olfactory memory serves, little different from the original. As others have pointed out, Wilson’s Best Dark (once fully mellowed after airing) is not too dissimilar to Santo Domingo in flavour, and I buy the former in bulk as a cheaper alternative for that pleasant violet taste. Wilson’s Princes is another bulk purchase and again benefits from a good airing to develop the full subtlety of flavour. It is a cheaper alternative to F&T Princess and I consider it just as good.

Yes it is redolent of antiquity, reassuring like holding a leatherbound first edition of Johnson & Boswell’s journey through the Hebrides; a subtle snuff and gentle. It, like JR Justice, is a snuff for grownups who have moved on from bubblegum flavours, but where JRJ provides the perfume of a salon and the nicotine bite of witty conversation, Santo Domingo is a library and a fireside, possibly with a glass of madeira or Islay malt. I’d be interested to know how long it was in the F&T catalogue - any historians aware?

@smasty - As I recall the Santo Domingo was one of the earlier offerings (though I don’t recall the date), Bureau, Dr J. R. Justice and Morliax were all much later offerings.  

MisterPaul, thank you, sir. I’ll pursue it.

Fribourg & Treyer Santo Domingo became my favourite black stuff recently. I have found cedar oil combined with sandalwood oil and some absoulute violet on dark fired base tobacco as pretty interesting and tasty combination. Tobacco appearance is almost black with dark brown spots in tin, smell smoky, woody earthy with very decent carbolic smell as old railway sleepers during sunny day. Grind demi gros, easy of snuffing I’d say medium a tad easier to use if snuff spoon is used compare if pinched. Nikotine hit is on medium to high level with slover release due grind. Nose burn is pleasant and refreshing. Higly recomeded. Jack

love this one and I have to say it all comes down to the cedar. All of it. In fact someone should make a cedar scented snuff with nothing else. That is all

If no one replies to this I’ll just create a new thread but I have a problem. Santo Domingo smells right out of the tin. Quite pungent in fact. But once it’s in my nose I get nothing. Maybe a faint smell but not what I should be getting from a good F&T snuff. Same with old Paris. The scent doesn’t linger like it should. Very odd because Bordeaux and Macouba linger quite long. Any ideas? Maybe a faulty batch?

This is the only Fribourg and Treyer I’ve tried so far, but the scents weren’t that strong in the nose. In fact, I think they were subtle. So it’s probably the way it’s supposed to be.

I don’t find Santo Domingo to be full flavored at all in the nose.   As many have mentioned, it reminds me of an old library with worn leather, dry wood and musty books.  The aromas are complex but fleeting.   Still I enjoy it very much. 

Interesting…

I’ve tried this out for the first time in the last few days, and my first impressions were that it was my favorite of the F&T line. Very atypical of F&T, yet sill distinctly complex and refined. I get a definite pungent aroma when it’s in my nose, but I’ve not spent enough time with it yet to have an opinion on longevity.

Will comment more when I’ve spent some more time with it,

After spending a little more time with it, I agree @spyder. Fleeting it certainly is! A shame, as I really like the initial aromas.

Perhaps they made it that way on purpose … so you top up more frequently. 
When I want aromas that hit like a train and keep going, I stick with Schmalzlers and stuff from Old Mill.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. This week has been an outright Schmalzler fest… and, well, today my first OM order turned up… … and I’m hooooooooovering up that damned PVT!

I think Santo Domingo opens up more when outside, especially in more rural areas, or at night and the temperature starts to comes down.

Good point @Trackerdex, I’ve not yet given it a fair run in the crisp autumn air.