Does anyone know if you can buy any J&H Wilsons snuff in bulk? And if so, where? My favourite ever snuff is Top Mill, but I can only ever find it in those crappy little blue tins and would love to be able to buy it in larger amounts. Any ideas anyone?

Isn’t this the snuff that was/is sold on street corners and whatnot? I don’t know if they sell it in bulk… I could be wrong but I thought I read something about this snuff…

Its pretty much the only one you can get in newsagents and corner shops etc in the UK, at least in the north. I’ve only ever seen it in the small tins, except in Black Swan but I don’t think they have the bigger tins in stock anymore.

Not available in bulk anywhere.

@snuffster Thats what I thought, do you know anywhere where you can get the bigger tins? Guess I’ll just have to buy 20 odd of the little buggers and decant them into a Kilner or something.

You can get the large tins here: https://www.thebackyshop.co.uk/products/jh-wilson-top-mill-no1-snuff-large-vacum-sealed-tins

Except that when I ordered a tin a month ago I was sent a bunch of the little ones… not good.

"Except that when I ordered a tin a month ago I was sent a bunch of the little ones… not good. " True. I am JH Wilson fan myself but i have to admit, that i would be a little bit upset with the distro.

I really don’t see why they can’t put it in the large tins anymore. They obviously have the tins, as the other two snuffs are sold in them. They obviously have the snuff, as they sell it in the worthless little boxes. Why can’t they put the two together? Even in a blank tin with a handwritten sticker would be fine.

JandH is made by big tobacco now, its one of those things that they probably don’t even know they produce at head office, like you get with some of the US scotch brands.

Does anyone know any contact details for the owner company?

I was thinking the same as Koba22, send them email demanding tins. Googling didn’t help there.

I believe it is made by Imperial.

It is Imperial, big tobacco, no owner just shareholders and hard business. Emailing them about larger size tins will get the same result as asking Phillip Morris to supply Marboro in 25 packs, ie none.

Well, we could start a riot or something, occupy their corporate headquarters like other activists do all the time.

I’ve contacted them throught their website, not sure how much good it will do as @snuffster said. If I don’t hear anything back from them I’ll give them a ring.

The thing is that the alteration to a line in a massive multi-national is a big thing and seriously profit/market led. The entire revenue for JandH is insignificant and It will, as a certainty, be point-blank impossible to find anyone to progess it. Snuff production is a residual thing for companies like this, and it’s just hanging in there because they are already set up to produce it. I wouldn’t waste a minute of my time on it but good luck - just be prepared for stone walls. If anyone does ever get them to sell it in bulk though, I will personally buy a 1lb for whoever manages it! But I should also say I never gamble. This does bring up a slightly different and more interesting angle though; smoking in the West is diminishing rapidly if not dying. There are still the massive Eastern markets, but big tobacco has historically put a lot of energy into maintaining profit in the West; Camel Orbs, Eclipse/Solo cigarettes to name a few of many. If the radar ever did hit the quiet back-waters of snuffing then we may see some interesting results. But then again we might just get lousy Camel Snuff.

Looking on the Imperial site, their UK profit increased by around £13m in the last year, and we’re still talking hundreds of millions of pounds overall. It would be interesting to see what happens if they ever do see the possibilities of snuff, but like you say, it might do more harm than good. It did only take a minute to email them, and I don’t expect any changes in production really, im just curious as to why only 2 of the 3 are packaged in the 25g tins, and not Top Mill, it seems a bit odd. We shall have to wait and see if they reply.

A petition might be more effective than a single email. Make one and I’ll sign it. These mega corporations seem only able to deal with other mega organizations (not individuals) so a petition, especially an organied one will have more effect than a single customer. Really, it just needs the “right” person in there seeing it, but with too many hands between you and him, who knows if he will. As for future profits, Swedish Match is very aware of the value of smokeless. Most of their reports indacate this. They are as big or bigger than Imperial, and have their hands in every form of tobacco and other things too.

I sent them request anyway, you never know, Sam Gawith and GawithHoggart changed their evil ways re tapboxes.

Well, good luck, let us know how you get on. There is sometimes a case for just having a go.

No harm in trying I guess. Trouble is it won’t get past the bottom rung of the ladder. Good luck with it though. Stefan

I’ve received an email from the Imperial Bristol office. It says they’re looking into my questions and will try to get me a full answer as soon as possible. I’ll keep you updated if I hear anything more.

That’s more of a response than I expected. Fingers crossed!

Gosh! Good luck. I’d love to be able to buy their snuffs in bulk. The tobacco in J&H snuffs is superb, and their SP is one of my faves.

@Tony same here. I thought it would be a generic response, sounds promising @Koba. Stefan

Aye, that is good news! I’ll be getting some #99 in bulk if they make it available!

J& Wilsons S.P No.1 must be held in affection by most British snuff takers, myself included. Chances are that any nipper calling in at a newsagent in the last century and sheepishly asking if they sold snuff would have been left holding the little blue pocket box in mute wonder before realization dawned. “Crikey! I‘ve just bought a box of snuff”. It was relatively pricey though, not leaving much change for bullseyes and none for Dan Dare. S.P No.1 was the first snuff I bought when I was about thirteen. Three thoughts occurred while standing outside the shop and furtively sampling it: 1. Cricko! It’s very different from Bordeaux (the only snuff tried before, courtesy of a kindly relative.) 2. Crickere! I don’t like it. 3. Crikey, Cricko, Crickere, Crictum! Did Dan Dare’s rocketship crash? Since S.P No.1’s distribution in the vacuum-sealed tin it has been my favourite S.P. Such a pity it isn’t cheaper and sold in bulk. Good luck with the protest.

My first pinch too, and that opening paragraph is like a set piece from my own past. I always have a soft spot for it because it was the finding of an old tin that made me a snuff taker. It took a long, long while before I could use it properly - not helped by a defection to Hedges for a long while as that was the second brand the little sweetshop sold. As time went on I added Players No 6, with occasional forays into Park Drive, St Mauritz and some in an exquisite packet which I think may have been ‘Sweet Afton’. I had also moved from the Eagle, to Lion, to more…lively…magazines. Seems a heck of a long time ago.

Time is an illusion so it’s really still happening. Or at least that’s what the aliens in Slaughter House 5 would say about it. (yes do take advice about what’s really happening from fictional creations [they don’t have any face to save, so why would they mislead you?]!).

As ever, the master dispenses his wisdom. Thanks Bob. No…really.

I’m really sorry you’re not able to buy in bulk. We used to sell SP No. 1 in pocket boxes (of course!) 28g airtight tins, 1/2 lb drums and 1lb drums. I fail to see how they can replicate the recipe now, it surely can’t be true to how it was manufactured at the mill and all those lovely lost recipes of the many brands we did, not just the plain ones…its very sad.

One would certainly think so, but strangely enough S.P No.1 seems identical to the original. Blessed if I can tell the difference at any rate.

I have just received this email from Rebecca Ivey, Product Executive at Imperial: Dear Duncan, Our 3 brands of Top Mill No 1, Medicated No 99 and Medicated No Airtight have been produced in a small tin format traditionally for many years. We have a very loyal consumer base with these brands and research has shown that they like this size and format. We would therefore not like to change the size of the tin for its convenience to those consumers. In the future we may look to modernise the packaging format should any new opportunities arise but the size would always stay the same. Kind Regards Rebecca Ivey I think the typo on the first line is supposed to read ‘Medicated No 99 and Sp No 1’.

This is my reply to the above email: Dear Rebecca, As I said in my original enquiry, both the Sp No.1 and Medicated No.99 are produced and sold in the larger 25g vacuum sealed tins and not just the smaller 8g ones. I was wondering why Top Mill No.1 is the exception to the rule as you do sell the others in the larger quantities. I appreciate manufacturing any of these snuffs in anything bigger than the 25g tins would probably not be financially viable, but as you already sell two of the three snuffs in the 25g tins, why not the third? As to your consumer base (of which I am a member) can I please refer you to this thread on the ‘SnuffHouse’ forum regarding J&H Wilsons snuff avaliabilty in larger amounts: http://snuffhouse.org/discussion/5223/jh-wilsons-bulk#Item\\_33 For us takers of snuff, being able to purchase our chosen brands in larger containers is both convenient in terms of the time that it lasts, as well as allowing the snuff to stay fresher for longer as the larger tins are vacuum sealed. Yours, Duncan Boughen

Good reply. I would also point out that due to PACT and such, bulk ordering is becoming more desirable to offset shipping. Unfortunately, I have a feeling from the tone of her letter that Ms. Ivey is totally powerless and/or doesn’t give a shit. Good luck tho, I’m rooting for you.

I wonder how old the “research” is. My guess, its from 1975. These big companies barely even know they make snuff. Most of them make no mention of it on their websites. Koba, you probably had them scrambling to find some info at all to at least give you a reply. I just want to add, that besides De Kralingse and Toque which are active here, Sharrow, McChrystal’s and Bernard’s have always been great about answerng questions and have had excellent customer service.

And Poschl too, they seem to be good with that sort of thing.

I have just found this thread with a refernce to ourselves. I am absolutely gob smacked you have had a reply from Imperial Tobacco! I used to know a guy fairly high up in Imperial Tobacco who couldn’t get any response regarding products himself and while reading the initial discussions in this thread I was going to suggest giving up but I stand corrected! Well done @Koba22! If they want to know if any retailers will stock it in bulk feel free to point them in our direction. @ermtony I see we sent you the small tins in a packing error. Firstly please accept my appologies. Did we rectify the problem for you? If you drop us a line on sales@thebackyshop.co.uk with your real name and order etc I shall make sure we sort something for you. Regards Kris www.thebackyshop.co.uk

No worries Kris! I used them anyway

@backyshop well I got the original reply as above, which didn’t make sense and didn’t answer any of my questions! I also found it rather patronising as it referred to their ‘customer base’ liking the packaging and the size. Well surely I am one of this ‘customer base’, and I want a bigger size, as do most people on here! I think in reality they don’t really know what they’re talking about when it comes to such a tiny subsidiary of their conglomerate. I have sent two emails since and only got automated replies, (out of the office etc) so I’m not holding out much hope at the moment. All I want is a 25g tin of Top Mill!

@ermtony, Please drop me an email to sales@thebackyshop.co.uk and i’ll make sure you get some free tins to make up for the inconvenience. @koba22 well you’ve got further than most of us could but it does sound like you’ve hit the Imperial brick wall! I’ve just rung our other outlets to see if they happen to have an odd tin kicking about but i’m afraid not! I’m sure if you rung round some of the small independant tobacconists/newsagents you would find a tin.

I asked at my local B&M and they only have SP No.1 and Medicated No. 99 in the 25g tins, no luck alas I agree that this makes no sense at all-the little tins are fundamentally flawed (the 8g tin of SP No.1 I have is like housedust), which is stopping me from trying Top Mill altogether. It would help if they revised the packaging-if they made the lids a tighter fit and maybe put a ring of soft plastic sealant around the inside of the lid, those 8g’ers would be a lot more useful.

@jinder i’m afraid they were discontinued a good few months back so it will only be the very lucky who stumble across a tin. Yes the little tins are flawed and are only good if you get a fresh tin. I can assure you that are tins are as fresh as possible due to our turn over but once you’ve opened it, it won’t keep for long. I always pop into tobacconists when out and about so if I see any large tins on my travels I shall snap them up and dish them out on here

@backyshop thanks! It’s good to know your tins are good and fresh, I’ll have to order some small-tin Top Mill from you, I’ve been meaning to get my hands on some for ages.

I find and this might be treasonous to some that the difference between SPNo.1, and Top Mill, is the same as Best SP and SP100, from Wilson’s of Sharrow, same flavour different grinds. Stefan

@Walrus1985 200 years ago you’d have been sent to The Tower for that! I have to disagree, I think Top Mill is far tastier than SP No.1.

yes, Top Mill No. 1 is the snuff!

Lol @Koba probably would lol. Stefan