Hi, Today, me and a buddy went to a nice Indian buffet restaurant, which has a grocery store next to it. I have been wondering if they had any snuffs, knowing my favorite brand is Dholakia, from India. Well, they did have some snuffs, though no Dholakia. Thye had 3 which I never heard of, not being in the know about Indian snuff anyway, so I got all 3, which were cheap as well. They are: Photo 5 “Himalaya Snuff”, by Khetu Ram Rishamber Das, Delhi TAS Rathnam “Madras Snuff”, by Jayaram Rathnakumar, Madras Sugandhsagar “Rose Snuff”, by Pitamberdas Anandji Mehta, Gujarat The last one I just now notice has a “Best Before Aug 2008” date, but we know dry snuff lasts forever, plus it was sealed. I have not even opened these yet, I’ll post on this thread what each one is like.
Sound like interesting finds Tom, I’ve never heard of any of them. Stefan
Check www.snuffindia.com
Great finds, Tom. I was told that you can find various Indian snuffs at Indian grocery stores as well.
OK, I have opened the 1st one, Sugandhsagar Snuff, by Pitamberdas Anandji Mehta, Gujarat Edit: It says 50g and Rose Snuff. It’s a big round can, maybe 2in tall, 3in across. It’s shorter and wider than the Dholakia 50g tubs. It was rather hard to open. It has decorative paper on it, a metal embossed lid. I had to take a knife and edge it around the metal top(a little rusted looking, but very slightly), and I removed that top strip of paper, and I had to find the edges of the lid and pry it bit by bit. I really need to transfer this to a better container. The whole can is metal as well. The aroma is very nice. It’s a brownish/red color. Has a picture of a rose on the label. After finally getting the lid off, I have it here on the table, after cleaning up a little spillage while wrestling with the lid. But it’s all there. If I had a web cam, I’d take a pic, so I’ll try and be as descriptive as I can. It looks really nice, and it was only $1.99. Smells very good too. My nose is a little bit stopped up right now, not bad, I only had 2 sniffs of Ozona Spearmint earlier. So I’ll try some anyway. I’ll use my snuff spoon. Mmmm, this is very nice! I just did a small bit with the spoon in each nostril. It even seems kinda coolish… hmm, maybe a slight menthol… this is really good stuff. It doesn’t have that disagreeable aftertaste I experienced with some other floral snuffs, like QWS Jasmine, and Wilson French Carrotte, and African Jewel(sorry Pieter). This is a big can. I may have to get a few back up can’s(just to have) next time I am out that way. This is really good snuff. I don’t get out that way very often, and this is the 1st time since I started snuffing that I was in that area. OK, after relishing this a bit, it’s still in my nose and noticable, I think I am getting that aftertaste, but with this it is very slight and is not dampering the experience. I’ll try a bit more. Second time as good as the first, though now I am getting a little nose water, which is common with me. Just did a slight nose blow. Could really smell it as I did that. Still retains the flavor. Gonna do a 3rd one, as I have only been using very small “bumps” with the small spoon. OK, this is a great find. Most places have an Indian community, and I suspect an Indian grocers, I’d recommed searching them out, and see if they have tobacco snuff. All these containers had their company name and the word “SNUFF” on them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find if they have it at all. I’ll report on the others later.
Ok, been a little while since the 1st one, which was very nice, and I scooped some into a smash can to take to work with me tomorrow. Now on to the next can. As you know, I had no idea what I was getting, other than these are snuffs. So the next can opened is: Himalaya Snuff, by Photo 5, Khetu Ram Rishamber Das, Delhi Metal can, taller than the other, I guess 2.5in tall, square body, I’d guess 2in across. Just pryed off the lid. Has the number 5 and some Indian writing on it, embossed. On the paper design that covered the metal lid, under the price sticker, it says Photo Paanch Snuff. The color is like charcol black. Hmmm, interesting. It’s like a hard cake, yet the powder easily is scraped off it. The smell is slight, and has a… not sure, maybe a menthol like smell. This one is totally different from the other one. Well, I’ll try it… Oh my… this is nice… I think I like this one better than the other one. My nose and sinuses are opened. This is like a great menthol, but different. Not sure I get any flavor, but I get a very nice coolness and opened nose passageways. I feel like I am on the top of the Himalayan mountain and breathing in cool clear air. Another good one. Different, nice, cool, lasts good too. This one has a weight listed I just now notice, it says 50g. It was $2.99. Yep, 2 down, and one more to try. I’ll post when I open that. PS. They also had little bags of Betel Nut stuff. I didn’t get any, but does anyone know what that’s all about? And Pan Masala. And they also had bags of tobacco packs and the label said 100% Spit Tobacco, and what looked like metal cans of cigarette tobacco for $4.99.
This is very interesting Tom, how about some pics?
Now on to the 3rd can, the "Madras Snuff’, see above for full name/info. This is in the tall skinny can. If you ever get this one, be sure to open it over a piece of folded paper, and slide the large fallout into a smash box, I swear 5gs fell out of the lid of this one. Ok, I think the effects of the previous ones are about gone now, and my nose seems clear(enough). Comes in a metal round can, maybe 4in tall, and maybe 1.5in across. The weight listed is 50g. Color is a light brown. Also very caked solid, and had to scrape it, which it easily comes off in fine powder. This one was $2.29. Ok, now the spoon try. Hmm, a little nose burn. Tobacco flavor, strong, pleasant. I don’t detect any flavor additions. Just a nice tobacco aroma. Good linger. I’ll try another sniff. Yeah, not bad. Kinda reminds me of Toque Natural. Yeah, this one is a decent pure natural tobacco snuff. Not like a scotch or HDT. I like the aroma ones more, I think as I write this. But for a nice natural snuff, in the style of S’nuff, or Toque Natural, this isn’t bad. Well that’s my 3 I found today at the Indian store. These were the only ones they had too, I asked. A Natural, a Rose Floral, and a Medicated. 50g cans. $1.99, $2.29, and $2.99.
I found this on that companies website: Himalaya Snuff The black coloured Himalaya Snuff is our prevalent product in India. Its tremendous retail sales, indicates that it has become India’s favourite and widely recognised brand. As the word Himalaya symbolises, this snuff gives a cool sensation and freshens up a worn-out consumer. The right composition of musk, menthol crystals and high quality tobacco, makes it a classic blend of snuff. Packing available: 10g, 25g, 50g, 200g, 500g and 1 Kg http://www.snuffindia.com/products.html#proda This is from the 5 Photo Snuff site, it also says: What is Snuff? Snuff is a hygienic preparation of tobacco with aromatics, perfumes and menthol. It is to be inhaled through nose.
Very cool find. I would definitely be interested in finding an Indian market somewhere close by and searching for snuff. That would be quite an adventure. ~Snuffy
Nice find tom, will have to venture into an Indian store next time I find one. Great prices as well.
Here is a pic of the Indian snuffs I got today, with a few known snuffs for size comparison. The big round one is the Rose, the tall skinny is the Natural, and the square one is the Medicated.
Those are some pretty wicked looking tins! Thanks for posting the pic!
Great find Tom! I’ve been meaning to check out the local Indian market myself (Snuffy, as I’m not too far from you, I’ll post the names and addresses if I find anything). I was told by some Indians of two places to look, but they didn’t use snuff or Indian tobaccos themselves so they couldn’t be sure. I had heard of 5 Photo before. Tom, I imagine you have some good bargaining chips for trades now!
Pieter - interesting web site indiasnuff - but what nonsense you may read there: “Many European countries are promoting snuff in order to help people to shift from smoking to snuff-taking.” The situation is the EXACT opposite! Sweden can’t export to EU countries - Germany can’t export to EU countries. Snuff is not sold in several countries, including Denmark. Norway has a fair supply - but they are not in the EU! I have conducted a long correspondence with health organizations in Denmark advising to the Government - and all I ever heard was politically correct nonsense founded in total ignorance about snuff. They didn’t even know the difference between snus and snuff, and kept refering to research in chewing tobacco!!! Well, I just wrote to the Indian web site and asked them where on earth they got THAT idea from?
Now it seems that may be the actual case in New Zealand.
Apparently dip has overshadowed all forms of non-cigarrette tobacco to the extent that nobody in the medical or legal professions understands what snuff or snus are. Because of the bad reputation of dip for causing oral cancers (and I have no idea if that is even true, that is just the reputation!) they are painting snus and snuff with the same brush. I haven’t seen anyone point a finger directly at snus for a cancer link and certainly not snuff. If the accusations about dip are true I wonder why snus and dip seem to have different effects. Why is snus thought to be relatively harmless and dip accused of being so dangerous?
Snus is made in a totally different way, that’s why, and why you can swallow the juice, and you can’t with dip.
If that makes it safer then why don’t they change the way they make dip?
Hey thanks for posting this. Very interesting! Now I want to look for some Indian markets too. That would be cool to find some exotic snuffs.
Snuffbox- we should move this to the snus thread. But I know many people don’t like snus, and like dip. It is different.
fine by me!
The issue I have with these ‘unknown finds’ is that who knows WHAT is in the container, and therefore going up the nose. Third-world countries are not know for there adherence to quality control,or food and drug, standards and regulation, as recent problems with Chinese products support. I would trust ‘name brands’ such as Dholakia to be on par with European and Western standards, but these others I would be suspicious of. But, assuming tom502 has not yet expired since inhaling THESE snuffs, we can at the least presume that they don’t contain cyanide.
Well, if you read the Photo 5 Snuff website, which is were the awesomely great Himalaya Snuff is manufactured by, it’s been around a long time, and I would believe their quality control. I trust these snuffs fully. They are all very well made in my opinion. Now, I don’t think Dholakia is any “better”, they just use a more western package, to appeal to westerners more. But what’s in that package is what counts. If the Photo 5 Snuff site is correct, they have been arround since 1915, and the Himalayan Snuff is the most popular in India(and with good reason). And this store I went to, did not have any Dholakia. I think Dholakia just found a way to enter the western market, and went with it. And I do like their snuffs a whole lot myself.
This Himalaya Snuff is the best snuff I ever had.
well Tom, greetings from India! good research done on Indian snuff congratulation. have any idea about their manufacturing unit?did u check their snuff pack?..on that you will c PACKED BY…keturamram…hope you understood what i am trying to say…they are not manufcturer but just pack and market all their brands. any ways we are always with our Indian snuff suppliers…if you Love/like… any indian snuff…no matters what ever the brand is ,what matters to us is IT IS MADE IN INDIA.keep sniffing …cheers.bye
Hi Namrata, Thanks. I think I see what you mean, that they are the “distrubuter”? Anyway, I do like these new ones I picked in this thread alot, esp the Himalaya Snuff. I also continue to love Dholakia snuffs.
Tom, when you go back to that Indian shop will you do me a favour please? Ask them whether they stock any Viagra type snuff. I’m pretty sure they have managed to produce something like that already.
Well, I asked the guy for snuffs, and he said these 3 are the only ones he had. If you can find a specific Indian product, I’ll ask them next time.
thanks Tom!
I remember when I was a Gaudiya Vaisnava Bramacharya, I found this can of Tooth Powder, that was made of fish scales in a locker at the Sri Sri Radha Chandra Mandir, where I stayed at New Vrindaban Dham where I stayed. It was a very coarse black powder that was rubbed on the teeth, it did a good job, I wonder if this shop has that.
I had some of that toothpowder (not that exact one but something like it) from India. It is excellent! Much better than nasty chemical toothpaste, although spitting black suds after brushing your teeth DOES make your sink look unattractive!
Doh! I tried to post a review(my 1st) for Snuff Reviews website. I used the “add an item” under the “other” catagory, and in the description line, I updated my review that I posted earlier here, and hit submit, but then I noticed it says not to post a review here, so I don’t know what will happen. I don’t want to write it all again.
Yeah, but I re-edited what I had written. I don’t want to re-edit it again, but I might if I have to.
I called around to a few Indian groceries today. I’m not sure if they don’t know what I’m saying, or if they really don’t have the product. I’m thinking that I will have to actually go to the store.
Big- it’s ok, let’s just see what happens. cstokes- I’d recommend just going in them and looking around. Now the shop I was at, the snuffs where not in their tobacco area, but more near their hygene, stuff, and near the inscense. But they seem to be packed in cans, like the ones I found, or in bags even, but the word snuff should be on them. You might have to look around. I asked when I went in there, and said I wanted snuff, dry tobacco powder for sniffing, and the guy knew what I meant.
I’ll try to find some today after work.
I’m gonna try another store near me this Saturday. India makes alot of snuff, so their must be a market for it. I found a few manufacturer websites: sixphotosnuff.com aroraproduct.com umasnuff.com
Nicotine Rush or Mr. Snuff should investigate Arora Product. From the info on their site, they seem very eager to sell their products worldwide.
I was thinking that too.
I visited an Indian store in town today…they offered me, LOL, O&G, Medicated 99 and Taxi!!!
Was that all they had?
I just checked 2 stores that were close to me. Neither had anything. One store had an empty IPCO box, but that’s it.
Yes tom, that was all they had and it’s OLD, dusty and not sealed any more. I offered to take all their stock for half price but the guy only laughed!
Well, OK.
I don’t know what the deal is with Snuff Reviews. They never posted my submission, never got a reply or anything. I’m not gonna make the effort to review something if it doesn’t get accepted.
Inspired by all of this I attempted to find snuff at some local far eastern stores here in Dallas. There are many stores but so far the ones I tried came up empty. I wasted a lot of time and gas driving around only to find some cooking spices and betel nut concotions so far. There is still an endless supply of Garret cans around here tho including some giant tins of the stuff. (Seriuosly, Garret makes snuff the size of coffee cans) No one seems to know anything about nasal snuff in Texas so I’m wondering who is buying this stuff and how are they using it? I know that powdered snuff has been used as a form of pesticide here so maybe thats where its going.
Tom, snuff reviews is maintained by one of our forum members who, as I recall, has very limited free time. With a new snuff, he has to make an entry for it first. I submitted a handful of new snuffs to be added, waited a week or so and then they were accepted. Only then could I go back and write the review for each one.
Thanks Xander. I’m in no rush, just, you know…
Great find. I will have to check out the local Indian Markets. I did contact the maker of 5 photo, a decendant of the founder and he agreed to send me some samples. The gentleman does read the forum with interest but has yet to post here. I received on Friday three cans of snuff, Himalayan (in a round metal can!) The other two came in modern plastic cans, 25 and 50 grams. The Red label is a black snuff, actually violet if you take a close look and very similar to Himalayan, perhaps with a bit more mint . The 50 g container has a moist cake of fine, moist reddish powder, and Jasmine and menthol dominate the blend, although there is much more to it. A little goes an long way, and what sticks to your fingertip as you draw it across the cake is a good starting dose. The snuff does sting at first, but this quickly fades. These cans were packaged in May of this year, so the snuff is quite fresh. All had similar moisture and when first opened a bit of ammonia could be detected, but fades quickly. I don’t usually opt for such highly perfumed offerings, but these are very pleasant to take.
I hope they sell them somewhere I can get them hint hint.
I know, I’d lay down money for these(and others), but where to buy?
I wrote to a couple snuff makers in india (other than Dholakia) months ago. I don’t remember if 5 Photo was one of them, but no one replied. Stitch, did he suggest he might be starting to market them here? (Perhaps to our online merchants?) Obvioulsy some are getting in already via Indian markets. I managed to check one Indian grocery here, and didn’t find anything. They had some little tobacco things in individually sealed packets on a roll. The girl at the counter was young and didn’t seem to know what I was talking about when I asked for snuff. When I asked for tobacco, that’s what she showed me. There were interesting looking cans of something far back behind the counter. I asked to look at one, but I think it was some betel nut concoction. When I asked to look at another she kind of brushed me off. Her English wasn’t very good, so she wasn’t eager to communicate with me. I did get some good tea though, so not a total loss. There was an older woman who was very helpful to one other non-Indian customer, but she disappeard before I had a chance to talk to her. If anyone would know, she would. I’ll look for her next time I go in. There are a few more Indian markets here, and the surrouding region, so the search always goes on. One tobacco store I visited (of course had no snuff of any kind) but was run by an Indian woman. I went in one day asking for snuff, and she said she’d try to order and I should come back. I came back but she had no luck. I brought to show her my empty packets of Dholakia Kamal and Sparrow. Her face lit up when she saw them as if she had not seen that in a long time. She was kind of excited, though I really couldn’t understand her. She wanted to keep them but instead settled for writting the names down (in Hindi) on some paper. Sorry for the long post. Just kind of a related issue and something sort of fun that happened.
Be sure and check the “dental care” areas too when visiting these stores. We have some Viet stores too… I wonder if they “might” have something?
I did. I know they are used as tooth powder. I’d like to try Dentobac. There were some different sorts of tooth pastes, but no tobacco ones. Are there any specifc words I should be looking for, other than “snuff”? Are there any other English words on your tins, Tom, other than "snuff"and the proper names?
I knew that too, but thanks. No, didn’t see that either.
SNUFF was the main word on them.
ok, thanks. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have my hands on snuff and then put it back becuase I didn’t know what it was.
Oh, and not this weekend, but next weekend, I “might” be up that way, as I have a maybe lunch date with my buddy at the Indian restaurant, so if anyone wants any of these 3 they have,(5Photo Himalaya, Sugandh Sagar Rose, TAS Madras Plain) let me know in advance, and also I don’t mean to be a jerk or anything… but depending on how many want some, and the amount, and so forth, I may need to request some compensation of some kind.
I may be going there this coming Sunday instead.
Oh what the heck, I’ll take one of each. If the cake is dried out, I can restore the moisture. I love this stuff. It will be nice to have some in reserve. So one each of Rose, Himalayan and Plain. Give me $ a total with shipping charges and I will paypal you. Thanks.
If anyone else wants in on this, get with me, I am going Sunday.
OK OK, Namaste! The Indian Snuff dude has arrived! Me and the wife just had a wonderful Indian buffet for lunch, and walked over to the Indian grocery store. They had well stocked the 3 Indian snuffs this thread started about. To those that requested some, I have them with me now. I will contact you all and you can give me your addresses, and I will pack them up and ship them this coming Saturday, as I work M-F. I will be totally honest about the actual item cost and shipping fee, and if anyone wants to throw in any extra, that’d be nice, but not required at all. As I was going through the check out, it was obviously something the store guy doesn’t see much, I bet this was the most snuff he’s sold all year. He asked me something to the matter if I used all this. I said yeah, though maybe I should have told him I had snuff friends… I did ask him if he could get any different kinds, and he said yes, he would. So, I’ll keep a check on it. Also picked up a few extras for myself, as well as some stuff I was curious about. Ipco Creamy Snuff, Monkey Brand Black Tooth Powder, Vicco Ayurvedic Toothpaste, Chandrika Sandal Soap, Chandrika Ayurvedic Soap. Later,
Based on Tom’s good experiences I stopped into the 2 Indian shops within a few miles of my home (Phoenix, AZ). The first shop (which sold cigarettes and smokeless tobacco) actually had a mexican guy working the counter and after a few exchanges between my broken spanish and his broken english, I found out that they most certainly did not carry snuff. The other store I went into had a little old indian lady behind the counter. I looked around for a while on my own, and finally decided to interrupt her and ask about snuff. She was nice at first, but then when she finally realized what I was asking for, said rather rudely “I no carry that crap!” Anyway, this is a metropolis and there are many more stores so I will keep my eyes open, but no such luck thus far. “”
These snuffs are rather cheap, they are all in 50g tins, the Rose is 1.99, and the Madras and Himalaya are 2.99. I don’t know what amount the tax is on them, but I spent $60 total(which included items for me too). One thing I was curious about was the Ipco Creamy Snuff. The box even said “A Wonder Treasure of Tobacco Pleasure”. It comes in the packaging like toothpaste. I read the website to get an idea on how to use it. So I squeezed some out, into a napkin at 1st as it has some watery liquid, but then it comes out in toothpaste forum, though it’s more like a gel, and is dark brown. I put it on my finger and rubbed it on my gums. To me, it has a nice taste, and refreshing aftertaste. I kept it in my mouth about a minute, and then rinsed my mouth. It was OK, not sure what to think, as the method of application seems a little impractical… but then maybe I should view it like a gel dip. I also later used the toothbrush, but really just brushed my teeth with it, and rinsed. I think the 1st method was better. I’ll try this again later but keep it in longer, while using the finger method(talk about out of context). But like I said, the taste of it, and the after-taste was not bad at all… just not sure of it’s practicality of use. I also tried the Monkey Brand Black Tooth Powder. I thought this would be better, and have some strong refreshing herbs or menthol or something, but it’s really very slight. Not bad, but very bland. Using powder I have not done really for teeth brushing. I 1st just used my finger, and rubbed it all over my teeth and gums, and rinsed. Later I poured some on my tooth brush and tried that. Eh… I’ll try and use it though I don’t think I’ll get it again. Next time, I am going to mix some of it in a small little bowl thing, with a little water and see if maybe making a “paste” it might be better. Ah, the mysteries of India.
LOL… It’s BOWL not BOWEL.
I had to fix that. I knew something didn’t look right.
Pretty funny considering you were correcting someone else!
Tom, I think the idea behind IPCO is not to use it for the buzz but actually to clean your teeth. The buzz just being the fringe benefit. I read an article (Asia Times I think) where one of those got in trouble for calling it toothpaste since kids were using it, so they had to come up with the name creamy snuff. It was either IPCOs or Dentobac’s website where the testimonials were cracking me up. One guy said he brushed his teeth 8-10 times a day! LOL, I guess so! Tooth powder you can mix into a little paste yourself, that’s normal.
LOL, I remember those testimonials. I think it was IPCO.
Oh my, oh my… I am now able to stable myself and write this. I was doing some research on this Creamy Snuff, reading the website and what else I could find, and doing my personal experimenting. 1st off, this stuff is not toothpaste. I think people think this because of the packaging, and how it goes in the mouth, but what it really is, and better name for it would be, gelled dip. I did 2 fingertips of it, rubbed on my top and bottom gums, and set the timer on the microwave for 5 mins, while I mulled around the house. I spit the excess just like one would do with some dip in their mouth. In 3 mins, it was really hitting me. I felt really buzzed, like I had done a big clump of Copenhagen, or such. I had to go lay down, and was very hot and sweaty. Eventually the effect died down some. Overall, and not being a dip fan, I like this, and will do it again(lesser amount though). It has a good taste to me, and a mentholly aftertaste. I’m glad I got this. Them Indians are really something.
yep. and then pretty soon you will be wanting to do it 8-10 times a day like that testimonial guy.
Hi, All that took me up on offering to send them these Indian snuffs I have access to, they have been mailed out today. I packed them well, and sent them all 1st class. Please post when you get them, and what you think. If anyone else is interested, let me know, and I’ll get you some next time I am at the store. The Himalaya is $3, the Madras is $3, and the Rose is $2, and they are all 50g tins. Postage for all 3 in the US was $2.75. Poland was $9. 1 tin to the UK was $3. I think these snuffs are very good, and cheap for 50gs. The guy said he’d get some others last time I was there. So I’ll let everyone know. I go that way maybe once a month or so.
I may just have to do this sometime. The Old Man is starting to look at me funny when I start talking about getting more snuff. It’s the “WTH?? You have lots!” look.
Carol, you don’t know the half of it. To my wife, this is just a substitute for me smoking cigarettes. I never hoarded 200 different kinds of cigarettes, mainly because with 200 you’d probably only have 4 that were significantly different from each other. She just doesn’t get it. We’ve had fights over it. She sort of understands now I guess, but I got the evil eye everytime a new snuff package came to the house (even if they were from trades and such). Apparantly I spend too much money, and more importantly, too much time on snuff. (as if that were even possible, lol). I think some other forum members have had similar issues. Anway, I have a nice reserve that will keep me from buying for awhile.
To me, it’s a collectable hobby, as well as a consumable, like wine collectors, that have racks and basements… various brands, styles, all over the world, and something to share, and discuss, and even seek out rare stuff. It’s exciting, interesting, challenging, and enjoyable.
Xander, I feel your pain. This week I got a box from NR, that was OK, until it was followed by a box from Northerner, and a snus trade today. The evil eye was out in force.
I haven’t gotten the evil eye yet, just the “WTF?” look. I’m guessing that since he smokes, I’ll have a bit of leverage…for awhile! I’ve been hunting for a connection for the Gauloises black roll-ups he used to smoke before they became unavailable here. I found the stuff, but all the sites are in German, and I don’t know if they’d ship here, even if I could read it! If I could get him a couple 100g tins of that, I’d probably be good to get more snuff for awhile without an eyebrow raise.
Thank you tom502 for my can of Himalaya - looking forward to receiving it!
So, what’s the verdict? Mini reviews welcome.
I like them all. I like the Rose one best.
OK, I’ll do that. The Himalaya snuff is very nice, fine powder and fragrant, but not over the top. There is a subtle coolness to it and it is very pleasant to take. The example was a dried out from years on the store shelf, but aside from that, it was in reasonably good shape. It has a good nicotine lift, but one would OD on the scent taking enough to feel the nicotine. The Rose is a fine dry powder, plus very concentrated rose scent. A one note snuff, but what a note! The maker took added pains to preserve the freshness, placing the snuff inside a plastic bag within a modern hard plastic round box. The scent does not persist as long as the attar in Dholakia’s Ganga, making me suspect it is an artificial scent. The Madras is a plain tobacco snuff. The example was also several years old and there was some rust around the cap. Inside a block of dry fine powder, easy enough to scrape off some into a snuffbox. The scent probably was a lot more aromatic a few years ago, yet there is still plent left to like, especially when allowed to take up some moisture. This is a very strong, medium brown, fine grind. It hits hard, and has a lovely cigar note. This is a marvelous snuff, approaching the strength and complexity of the fabled Spanish Jewel. A fresher example even, dare I say, might surpass it. I’d bet dollars to donuts it’s made with N. Rustica.
I initially liked the Himalaya best… and maybe I still do, but they are all different, and appeal to when I want something different. I think the Rose is awesome, the Himalaya so unique and cooling, and the Madras so straight up and bold.
I may have to hit you up next time you go to your Indian market. They do sound interesting.
I don’t recall my can of Rose being in a bag, in a plastic can… mine was a metal can, and no bag. I’ll look again… but I’m pretty sure.
Mine was in a plastic bag inside a plastc can also. It expaned once I opened the bag, so pouring the whole thing back into the can was not possible. Mine were also a little dried out and the metal tins were rusty, but that was not a serious problem. A little scraping and chopping made the hard packed portions into snuff again. The rust was not severe enough to have flaked into the snuff. They were all packed very tight, nearly overflowing.
OK I was thinking about it and decided to take a closer look. In my mini review i said the Madras Snuff was strong like Spanish Jewel. Well now I have to say “not exactly” . In a word the Madras is not as strong. It does have a fine flavor and is plenty stong in it’s own right. I am no expert in Indian snuff, but to my naive nose it is very much like Dholakias’ Sparrow Green.
Having just tried these three, I completely concur with Tom. I detected no Menthol in 5 Photo, but really got a great whiff of Musk. It’s got an incomparable freshness to it. Reminds me a little of Sugandha Shringar incense. Sugandhsagar is a nicely scented Rose. The first toot of it hit my throat, but I got used to the almost American Scotch like grind pretty quickly. Indian Rose oil is a delight and this one did not disappoint. Noticed that this is made by Pitamberdas Anandji Mehta. The name Anandji roughly translates into English as “Sir Happy”. Good name, considering its’ after-effect. The T.A.S. Rathnam Madras is a plain Snuff with something extra. Can’t quite tell what the extra is, though. It reminds me of the smell of a field after a good drenching rain. These are all definitely world class products worth the attention of anyone who enjoys Snuff.
I need to get into this stuff, I love Dholakia which is the first and only Indian snuff I have used and (apart from the new ‘candy’ range) I think its great snuff with probably the most unique flavours of all the 2-300 snuffs Ive tried over the years.
I found some of the Sugandhsagar rose yesterday, at a great little grocery in Wheeling IL. I paid 2.99, but still a great deal, 50 grams worth. It sure is a strongly scented snuff! Very interesting and exotic. I would not take it all day like Toque Rose, but it is very nice as a treat. I saw some other tins behind the counter, but the guy seemed a little put out about going through them all. I’ll make another trip there someday soon.
sprang- if he has more Indian snuffs, that we can’t readily get, I’d be interested if you offer to get them and mail them. I did this with the ones I found. I am sure others would be interested too.
Nicotine Rush has Sun Snuffs now. I just got two 20g tins of the Pari which is fantastic. The Indian snuffs are my favorites by far.
sprangalang, I like mixing that rose with some WE Garrett scotch. Smoky rose Mmmmm!
If anyone has any Indian made snuffs they don’t like and don’t want, whisper me, if you’d like to get rid of them. I am exclusively only using Indian made snuffs. There are a small few I may not want. But if you are like me, in my hoarding phase, I had quite a few non favorite snuffs I decided to pass along. Oh, I should point out I’m mainly interested in the traditional styles. So don’t feel offended if I decline something.
I live in London, which has a high Indian population concentrated in Wembly and Southall, so I went on an Indian snuff hunt. After spending hours visiting lots of shops in Wembly, The only snuff I was offered was S.V.S. brand. This was available at most shops selling for 99p ( $1.50) for a 10g container. It was in a yellow plastic tube with push on lid about 2" long and 1/2" in diameter. There was a paper sticker on the container which said in english “Tobacco Kills”. Not very enlightened! Had a couple of sniffs and it left a tast of ghee (clarified butter) which lasted for hours.Didnt like it and was worried as I had never heard of the manufacturer, so chucked it in the nearest rubbish bin. Might try Southall when I have time to spare.
@ London Jack: That might have earned some good credits as a trade from lots of members here eager to get their hands on exotic snuffs. If you come across it again, let us know!
@ Xander: Will try to get there again in a week or so and get a 10g container. Hope to show a photo of it so you can see exactly what it is.
Indian Snuff suppliers dont seem very keen to do business. I cant even get a reply to my emails. In the last 6 weeks the score is as follows. Dholakia Tobacco (snuff.co.in) two emails sent. No reply. M/s Ranchoddas (snuffwork.com) one email sent. No reply. 5Photo snuff (snuffindia.com) one email sent. No reply. Umasnuff (umasnuff.com) one email sent.No reply Some years ago I was an account exec with a pulic relations consultancy. We always told our clients to: Respond promptly to all emails as this reflects the attitude of your company and its keenness to do business. Samples should be sent top priority as it is new business. If you do not supply samples, respond promptly and politely with the reasons why. If the market is small, look at its profitability as well as its size. The current price of 5g of Dholakia snuff in the U.K. is $1.30, yet 75% of Indias population earn less than $2 a day and 25% of those less than $1. Can you see someone on these incomes paying $1.30 for 5g of snuff?. Of course not. The profitability of selling Indian snuff in europe and the U.S. must be really high. This advice, unlike your snuff is completely free.
I agree, apart from Dholakia, and to a smaller extent 5 Photo and Sun, because they did make some effort to enter the world snuff market(via online shops). But, I don’t understand it either. I have sent emails too, to various Indian companies, one did reply, but said they were unable to send me anything. I’d be happy to BUY all their stuff, but for whatever reasons I don’t know, they either can’t sell, or are not concerned to sell. I guess they are happy just catering to India, but they seem to be missing out on a more expansive world snuff interest, and they could sell their snuffs at a higher profit than they do just in India.
Who knows. I would like to ask Dholakia how hard it was for them to break into the world market mostly from a legal standpoint.
Well either way, thank you for giving us your fine snuff.
Thanks Abhishek, That makes sense, and kinda what I was reasoning. But it makes a challenge for us international snuff hunters.
Just found Dholakia Karmal snuff being sold at about 1/3 of normal price if you you buy 30 packets. Its at snuff.me.uk under bargain snuff. Normal price is 80p for a 5g bag ($1.20) but they are selling 30 bags for £7.99 ($12.00). Noticed it when I went to order some more snuff. Dont know how long the offer will last but hope it will be of interest to some Indian snuff lovers.
This is another great Madras snuff! Does anyone know if it’s still available in Wembley or Southall?
On a similar theme to the previous post, I wonder if anyone could identify this snuff please? It’s nothing exotic/rare/collectible, I simply can’t figure out what I have bought.
6photo Kailash.
Ta!