Like many people on the forum, I was anxiously awaiting my Toque package to arrive. Snuffing my only Schmalzler-on-hand like a security blanket as I continuously refreshed the mail-tracking page multiple times per day.
Well, the day finally came, and a large package of Toques, McChrystal’s and others came in, helping me narrow my beginner palette to what I prefer.
And though my snuff-binge of all these new tins felt like a game of Battleship (many misses!), one snuff that I found to be a hit was McChrystal’s Highland Ice.
Talking with others on the forum, I had the feeling that I would enjoy mentholated snuffs, which is a large reason why I chose Highland Ice. And trying it for the first time, wow.
The first way I’d begin to describe Highland Ice is: smooth. There is no unpleasant burn to this snuff, even if you give a poor sniff and shoot it to the back of your sinuses, it still doesn’t cause that tear-jerking, eye-scrunching burn that you’d get with something like a fine dry. The tobacco is simply smooth and cool.
Getting into the scent. The snuff is very eucalyptus heavy on the front end. After this comes the mint and menthol, and underlying both of these is a scent I can only describe as green leaves. Not green tea leaves, but green leaves, like fresh deciduous leaves dewed on the tree. Not a strong scent, but an undertone that gives a complexity to things.
The coolness is immediately apparent throughout the nose, cooling down your sinuses and opening your nose. If you’re clogged up, it’s going to loosen things for sure. One way I’ve found this snuff helpful is to combine it with some simpler snuffs to open their flavor. Something like Toque Strawberry seems very one dimensional to me, but if I take a pinch of Highland Ice beforehand, it opens up a lot of the flavors/scents of Toque Strawberry (that’s probably why Toque makes many of their berry snuffs with a menthol version!).
While I can’t compare this to other menthols, as I am new to them, I would find this to be very beginner friendly, owing to its smooth and non-burn nature, as well as the up-front, yet nuanced scents.
If you’re looking for a smooth menthol that isn’t going to punch you in the nose, but rather give a relaxing cool, then McChrystal’s Highland Ice may be your ticket. And I can confidently say that Highland Ice has made me a fan of mentholated snuffs.
