Hi everyone!
I´ve been enjoying lately the Molens - Chocomint (Virginia version) and had grown curious about the latakia version of this great snuff, someone has tried both? somewhere there´s a mention that the Latakia version leaves a clearer nose not enshadowing posterior snuffs if I remember correctly…
Any more differences?
Thanks in advance!
Not tried either, but I have tried a number of their snuffs from both Latakia and Virginia ranges. So I can imagine what they must be like. Latakia is very different from most every other snuff. Its very smokey and dark. Are you familiar with the scent of Latakia?
My chocomint smells like marijuana, I can’t tell if it’s latakia or virginia though.
You should be able to tell. Latakia is very distinctive. The differences must be very great between these two snuffs.
The Molens Latakia is not actually Latakia it is dark fired Burley. The only similarity to actual Latakia is the smokiness. It’s very good though.
Yes. Psuedo-Latakia. Smells the same to me, but I’ve only smelled real Latakia once.
Apparently real (Syrian) Latakia came back into popular use a while ago, after a while of pretty much only being able to get Cyprian “Latakia” for a handfull of years. You could probably find some sold as a blending tobacco for pipe smokers.
@Theatre : lol, You must be having a really good time with your chocomint!
@Xander : Never smelled latakia, but after your comments I think it will add a tasty smokey undertone.
From the reviews I found here http://snuffreviews.com/list.php?Function=Items&Company=De+Kralingse seems that the Latakia version is more complex and lasting than the Virginia one , being a fan of the lasting snuffs I´ll give it a try for sure.
Damn… my “TO TRY” list is getting fucking long !!! XD
Apparently real (Syrian) Latakia came back into popular use a while ago, after a while of pretty much only being able to get Cyprian “Latakia” for a handfull of years. You could probably find some sold as a blending tobacco for pipe smokers.
this simply isn’t true. Some 20 years ago the Syrian government banned the harvesting of Syrian Oak due to deforestation. Very recently there has been some limited harvesting, but the people who had been involved with the production of Syrian Latakia have long since moved to other livelihoods or left this plane altogether.
There was a warehouse fire in 2004 that wiped out the supply. Only McClelland, who have their own storage facility of Syrian Lat, was unaffected. The McClelland vintage Syrian Lat blends are unique and irreplaceable, and once they’re gone that’s it. Buy some while you can. Better yet, if you can find one of the GL Pease blends that used Syrian Lat, they’re spectacular, but you’ll pay a premium to enjoy them if you find some.
The other modern blends that advertise Syrian (Ashton Artisan’s Blend, Solani Luxury English, Solani Black and White, MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian) are using Syrian from an unknown vintage and origin. It’s possible that there was a small cache of Syrian that K&K (the blender of Ashton and Solani) is using because those blends are quite good, but the MacBaren Vintage Syrian tastes nothing like any Syrian I ever smoked, so I don’t know what they’re using. They call it Syrian anyway.
For all intents and purposes, Cypriot Latakia is the real Latakia, as it is and always has been the predominantly used Latakia in pipe tobacco blends. Syrian and Cyprian have quite different characters, and traditionally Syrian was used to add its unique nuances to a blend, or by blenders looking to add words like Premium or Special to their product’s label.
I make my own Latakia snuff using pipe tobacco. My next blend will be Penzance.
I had been told that due to some change (political or whatnot?) about five years ago or something that the Syrian was finally being exported again. Maybe I’ll have to look into that some more, it’s possible my source had bad intell. I wonder if the Dunhills from 15-20 years ago used Syrian. I don’t know if I could tell the difference, unless tasting/smoking side by side. But to me the American dark fired is pretty different.