Whenever I get into a vice, pastime, lover or author, I dive in head first and devote vast sums of hours and dollars. I am impatient to taste all the flavors, whatever they may be. So it has been with my return to snuff. A madness has taken hold that will qualify me for America’s Biggest hoard-Mongers, or whatever the reality show is called. My snuff stash upon my return to snuffing is staggering in both quantity and variety. I also bought a few so-called “Snuffing Accessories,” only to find that what I like best is to pinch from a snuff box. I inevitably spill snuff down my sleeve trying to use my anatomical snuffbox, overfill spoons…and aside from the Posh Ultimate, I have found bullets to be useless. I have spent hundreds of dollars, at least 25% of which have been spent on Royal mail and its various service levels. I of course overspent during august, when MS offered free shipping. Am I bragging or complaining? Neither. I will have snuffs to review, trade, sell, preserve, hoard and share through at least Mayan Doomsday. All this however is not the point of this discussion. I simply wanted to draw a comparison between an alcoholic stocking a lavish home bar and a snuff taker who fills his cabinet with no earthly idea of what he’s doing. Always a solitary snuffard, I find myself mixing flavors just for the hell of it. The first cocktail was an accident, pure and simple. Some Prime Minister, some Crumbs of Comfort, some Bernard’s Naseweis and/or Poschl Snuffy and a dash of Schneiburg Weis, a half tap box of 4 year old Mild Lemon, some Red Bull and some Sparrow Cool were tossed over a few weeks’ time into a TightVac container. As the crazed “snuffologist” continued this mad experiment, WoS Extra Menthol was added to the mix, along with some Wilson’s Lemon ice. Lemon peel was seated at the top of the stack and the container sealed. It’s freaking delicious. Amazing. I can snuff this cocktail all damn day. Did I write down proportions/measures? Time the aging with the lemon peel? Make any freaking notes *at all*? Hell no. Today I made a mix and sort of kept notes. I found the Toque Espresso to be too mild in coffee flavor, the Dalakia Swiss to chocolatey and the Toque vanilla just right. I actually used my talking gram scale. here’s the mix: 48 grams Dholakia Swiss Chocolate 18 grams Toque Vanilla 24 grams of Toque Espresso. Results are disappointing. While really, really tasty, the coffee just isn’t there. In retrospect, I went way too heavy on the chocolate. If I can find the tin, I have some Tia Maria around here somewhere. In the meantime, I put the mess into a tightly sealed cobalt glass jar with 8 organic Mexican Altura coffee beans, dropped the jar into a coffee bag so as to remember the contents, and marked the date. September 11…hard to forget. Experiment #3 and how an otherwise perfectly good violet snuff was compromised. Kind of? I had 8 grams of 6P motia that I had snuffed down to roughly two grams in a plastic snuff box. I hadpreviously opened a small MC Violet (10 gram?) The violet was unexpectedly pleasing. I never thought I’d be into florals when I started snuffing. I started snuffing with the original Dr. Rumney’s and Ozona Raspberry years ago, so, the strong, sweet violet was a nice surprise. But i had to go and dump about 3/4 the tin’s total contents into the 2 grams of Motia. I mixed both very well, but I swear to you, sometimes I can’t tell whether the violet is kicking the Motia’s kundalini or if the Motia is serving the violet’s shakti. I like it, and I can always get more MC Violet. But again, note the imprecise record of measurements used…haw. I’ll never find that recipe, a-gain…oh no… If there is a point to the preceding paragraphs, it is this. Be gutsy with your snuff. Just like a mixologist at a bar, you have a shelf full of top-shelf stuff. Time to invent the next Cosmopolitan, Screaming Orgasm or Mojito. But maybe take better notes than I do.

I too like playing with my snuff and coming up with combinations that might not have otherwise existed. Some times you can get a really great snuff cocktail that just blows your nose away… I should probably take your suggestion and be more precise with notes, but I’m usually too lazy and just want to enjoy the snuff… Also, I love the passion in your posts. It’s fun to see and I’m glad I’m not the only one going looney with my snuff.

I love the passion, too, Uncle Squinty! Well said There was a good list of Toque cocktails listed awhile back which may give you a few ideas http://snuffhouse.org/discussion/2686/a-wonderful-list-of-toque-cocktails

@Uncle_Squinty kindred spirits reside here.

I have never made a mixture. I shall try this.

I’ve made some mixtures but never on the scale of that chocolate vanilla espresso combo. I’m going to try something like that now though. I once had a tin that was just odds and ends of all sorts, slightly mentholated, sweet and spicy. When I broke a tap box of Bernard’s Brasil Doppel Fermenteit or whatever exactly it’s called I put the remainder in there with it and that made things even more interesting. I had inadvertently created a halb schmalzer.

@Uncle_Squinty I don’t have NEARLY the collection you do… yet. But every time I convince myself I’ve made my last order for a while, Mr. Snuff adds points to my account… either for old orders or approved reviews. Can’t let those points go to waste, right?!

A great and entertaining post and I understand the pastime bit. I only got back into snuff last week but I am already building a list for my first online order. No doubt at some point I will also start experimenting with blending my own. Keep enjoying your cocktails

LOL Chris… If you live anywhere near Minnesota, PM me and I’ll sell/trade/share. My wife truly believes I have lost my snuffin’ mind. See, the snuff is only half (or a third?) of the whole story. The snuff obsession immediately follows the e-cigarette obsession and is beginning to include the snus obsession… just so I can lose the one-flavor-stinks-all cigarettes I have smoked since age 18. On the whole, I am enjoying snuffing and snus the most, with snuff being the clear front runner. Today I made a BIG mistake. I thought I had three containers of MC O&G, a 10 gram, a 25 gram and an older tap box. So, without getting sighted guidance, i just dumped the three into a jar to preserve them. I love O&G, but I go through it so slowly that it would go bad if I didn’t decant it, right? Thinking I had really screwed up when the O&G containers I *intended* to decant into a single jar turned out to be several different snuffs. Don’t ask me what’s in there, although I know for sure that 20 grams of Poschl Mix, 10 grams of Konigsprise, 25 grams of MC O&G, about 10 grams of Viking blonde and a sachet of Poschl Spearmint went in, as did about 2 grams of Toque Spanish Gem and the rest of my Menthol Marvel Mixture described above. So what the hell? I combined it with most of a 100 gram of Perlereuter schmalzler and seived the whole mess before decanting it. Anyone in SE Minnesota that wants to stop by and taste, PM me. LOL It’s actually *really* good; another fortunate accident. Like I said, i got a lot of snuff. LOL bag of Poschl Perlereuter schmalzler. I seived everything together and packed it into a jar. It ain’t half

@Uncle_Squinty I am in London so a bit far from Minnesota. At least that means that I have easy access to all of the UK snuff producers so I can build up a good stock. I hope your new blend matures nicely.

I went way overboard when i first got into snuff, then i swam to the bottom of the ocean by learning how to make snuff. From mortar and pestle to electric grinders, sifters and seives, scientific scales…it goes on and on! now i am in search of the perfect snuff box

@Uncle_Squinty - Your preaching to the choir!

Not preaching to the choir. Just revealing my own silliness, which i hope readers will find entertaining. Also thought to get some feedback on how my halb schmalzler is going to turn out. BTW, first taste of the accidental 200 gram (!) mix is quite delicious. I just don’t know how I’ll snuff through 200 grams, one large pinch at a time. Currently sniffing some J&H Top Mills. A nice little SP, but why do they only sell it in 8 gram plastic smash boxes? (Rhetorical question). I also snuffed a little Q-Snuff Sandalwood, which I will probably end up throwing away. Don’t like it at all. Ah, back to the mortar, the pestle, the screens, the grinder and the glass jars. This is more fun than cooking, perhaps because it’s low in calories. I love to cook anyway, so this is a fun outlet. And as someone pointed out, snuff isn’t the most expensive thing one can buy…even at the massive levels I have been doing for the past month.

May I suggest saving the sandalwood snuff. It may be useful in your mixing experiments. Sandalwood is one of few valuable fixatives found in perfuming. A little mixed in can extend a scent even strengthen it. I’m just saying once you get the hang of things you might want to have it.

@ Juxtaposer. Sure you’re right. I should have thought of that. Okay then, I’ll have to hold onto the Q-snuff sandalwood, although I think there must be better sandalwoods out there. While I have your attention Juxtaposer, two things. First off, thanks for all the great snuff reviews. Secondly, great screen name; the first time I read it I actually laughed aloud. Very clever. Thanks for the idea about saving the sandalwood to use as a fixative. Smart.

@ Willymac Thanks for the link, although why Toque is required…not sure. Not to derail my own discussion here, but I love Toque and have anumber of flavors in at least 10 gram tins. Toque snuffs however, seem to be a bit lighter on flavoring than other brands; iI presume it is because Roderick doesn’t use artificial flavors? for some of the cocktails lised in the discussion you pointed me to, other snuff brands might make stronger tastes. Well, it’s time to put something up my nose. I just discovered that my elbow won’t fit…

I haven’t tried Q-Snuff Sandalwood but if it turned you away from trying WoS Sandalwood I think that would be a shame.

@Uncle_Squinty you say your elbow won’t fit. Well that’s cause you haven’t tried enough. Eventualy your elbow will fit.

LOL @ Bob. I tried that argument on my wife. Different orifice, not the elbow, same idea.

mouth? I’ve had that problem too

This ones going in the gutter fast.

No, oh ye of filthy minds. But I’ll leave the details up to your imaginations. (I was actually talking about trying to fit a too-large sofa through a too-small doorway, but play on, play on…) LOL

The way I heard it it was a very small chair into an aircraft hanger? That was the way she told it!

Nice, Whalen…very nice.