omg…you do? Ok, then I’m wrong. Maybe we should take a poll. If there are enough people that enjoy the ammonia maybe Roderik will come out with another flavor. 
All I hear is everyone asking how to get rid of that odor from freshly made snuff. edit; RODERIK!!! I just put up a poll over on the snus site to find out how many people like or dislike the Ammonia odor. Now I’m curious.
@ PremiumParrots I don’t think you understand the point I was trying to make. I never let the ammonia escape from my NTSU. It just wouldn’t be couth! It’s not that I love ammonia, it’s just part of the NTSU experience. I don’t like the ammonia smell in Toque because it doesn’t belong there. Maybe you should have asked “Do you like snuffs in which an ammonia scent is an integral part of the overall scent of the snuff.” Dholakia White also has a strong ammonia character that stays around a long time. @Kjoerup You’re right, of course, about all those snuffs we both love having plenty of character. But what is the internet for, if not to go off on inebriated rants every now and then!
Hi LHB, I didn’t realize that any snuff was supposed to have the ammonia smell. But I could well see it being intended if there are people that like the odor. If a snuff has an ammonia smell how are we to know if it is part of the manufacturers planned charactor or simply a by product of freshly made snuff?
Those scents are integral to the snuff experience but I think are a natural part of it, ie not contrived. From what Roderick says it seems that the ammonia smell is part and parcel of new snuff - some kind of side effect of the maturation. I don’t like it as a smell, and it airs out quickly on its own, but I do associate with factory fresh snuff - which is the only way to enjoy it (IMO) The snuffs that I can’t abide are those that are contrived and synthetic, That includes all of the new Dholakia range of candy, apple pie and the like. The more the final product is connected to the aromas and texctures of the base tobacco the better. Flavouring, in my view, should just enhance a great base, not be the snuff itself. Both Toque and WoS master this.
I find that the ammonia in NTSU and Dholakia white “heighten” the snuffing experience for want of a better word. I don’t find them offensive in the same way that I don’t find that occasional hit of soap that I get with lakeland pipe tobaccos to be offensive. It’s part of the experience. Ammonia is released from tobacco in the full curing process as those who have experienced tobacco curing can attest. I suspect that curing N. rustica to the point that there were no residual ammonia would rather ruin some of the other attributes (I don’t KNOW this to be true.). But indeed, there are times that I crave that strong snuff ammonia hit. Guess I’m just a weird white/NTSU junkie.
@ Snuffster… I totally agree with your entire post. @ Zanaspus…quote;Ammonia is released from tobacco in the full curing process as those who have experienced tobacco curing can attest. I suspect that curing N. rustica to the point that there were no residual ammonia would rather ruin some of the other attributes (I don’t KNOW this to be true.). unquote. I believe thats probably quite accurate. I say if your fresh snuff smells of ammonia [and its not intended to have that odor] and you are not a fan of that smell then simply let it dry out to your liking. Easily done. Thats one of the great things about snuff. You can adjust some aspects of it. If its too dry, moisten it. If its too moist, dry it out. If you don’t like ammonia smell, air it out. All that and there are thousands of combinations of mixtures of different snuffs to experiment with. Its pretty easy to make it suit your tastes. With that said…ENJOY!! I can see it now… it will take about 3 weeks before Roderik announces his new Ammonia Flavored Snuff. “Produced to replicate the delicate flavor of pee soaked urinal pucks”. I love it. I have to try every new snuff…at least once.
hi PP! I just discovered a urinal puck snuff! Try Raja#5 by 5 Photo. No pee in it though.
Thanks PP. I guess you could liken ammonia smelling snuff to those bunches of bannanas that you buy when they need a copuple of days to ripen. Just air it if you don’t like it and the problem is gone. The snuff just needs to ripen. Urinal puck snuff. Mmmmmmmmm…
I remember that discussion Roderik. I think everyone wants to know that their recently purchased snuff is truly fresh. The ammonia smell is kind of a certification that it is fresh. Its easy to elimiate if needed. I’m getting kind of excited thinking about the possibilty of a urinal puck snuff. not. I’d like to try some tho.
I never had access to Spanish Jewel, so cannot comment on that. Look, I just don’t like barnyard, old sock and locker room redolent snuffs. I never said that anyone who liked such things ought to be denied access to them. Have at it! I also strongly prefer that ammonia be dissipated from a snuff before use, but that is my preference. When I was a naïve snuff neophyte, I initially thought that Toque was the worst snuff in existence, and I couldn’t believe that anyone could like it. Silly me, I quickly learned that the ammonia is an undesirable element that should not be there. I buy from Toque regularly, and the first thing I do upon receipt of each package is to open up every tin and allow them to air out a few hours. I know to do that, but I wonder how many new users do.
I agree I think they should have an ammonia warning on snuffs. If I was roderrick I’d include a little piece of paper on new accounts that warns about the ammonia (of course if I was roderick toque wouldn’t be so freaken awesome). If I was not hipped to the ammonia smell effect I would have really had some bad feelings about toque since my first tin I tried of thiers had a horrible ammonia smell to it. I agree about how the ammonia smell is like a certificate of freshness. I recently got a macouba F&T snuff with tons of ammonia smell, didn’t like the smell but it excited me to know it was that fresh. My toque vanilla also had lots of ammonia (and was really frankly gross before being aired out.).
Man thats a really good point about Roderik warning people. A really good point. Think about all the people that try snuffing for the first time and their reaction if its really fresh with the ammonia odor. They would never take another hit if they thought all snuff smelled that way. A small warning on the label is something that Toque might seriously consider. I also leave my new tins of Torque open for a while as I don’t really like the Ammonia smell. I put up a poll over at the Beavis and Butthead site to see what others think about this ammonia odor issue. It will be interesting to see what everybody thinks. As far as the barnyard, sweaty socks odor goes…that, I believe is an accquired taste. I know about 3 years ago I tried the Spanish Jewel and didn’t like the smell at all. But I only had several pinches to try out. I tried it again a few months ago when I received a gram or so and I thought it was great. Same thing with Toques Cheeze and Bacon. The first few pinches I didn’t like at all but I knew others really liked it so I kept doing it for several days. It only took about 3 days before I thought that its great. In fact I think its the best snuff Roderik produces. I have a variety of Toques that I use on the rare occasion but that C&B is pure heaven. The SJ smells just like dung to me…but I have grown to love it. I’d take a pound if I could get it. Its possible that our overall tastes slowly change the longer we snuff. That certainly is the case with snus. Its also possible that subconciously we associate the great nic hit of the SJ and the C&B with the weird smell. And that might make us crave it more. Who knows?? Of course this is all speculation and my humble opinion. If you ask my wife she will always tell you that I am wrong…again.
Sigh!!! It looks like only Zanaspus gets the point I was indirectly trying to make, and I can tell he/she “gets it” by the snuffs referred to and the way they are discussed. Loving the ammonia character that’s integral to snuffs like NTSU Black and Menthol and Dholakia White HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FRESHNESS, or any other kind of rationalistic assesment of the sensory components of snuff! I don’t know how to say this without leading into a very off-color discussion, so let me imply it as indirectly as I possibly can: If F&T Bordeaux reminds you of the eroticism of a high-end brothel, NTSU and Dholakia White have the chest-pounding eroticism of a one-off encounter in the “ladies” section of an Interstate Highway Restroom while your wife is waiting in the car. I’m starting to thing that all y’all’s wives may be a little frustrated with all y’all, as a result of your never sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, if I make myself clear. Do I make myself clear without having to make myself clear!?! @ Xander You must have access to some extremely fine restrooms.
@LHB: I knew what you were getting at, and I really did not mean to derail your thread and turn it into a Toque freshness discussion. (Beavis and/or Butthead: “Heh! He said FRESHNESS!”) I don’t want to be with a woman who smells like barnyard and/or NTSU. I’ve heard people say that F&T French Carotte reminds them of you-know-what, but I can only conclude that they are 14-year-old virgins if they think that. The closest any of those F&T snuffs get to that is that some of them smell remarkably similar to a deodorant tampon, i.e. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
ummm…ROTFLMMFAOPIMP!!! carry on yea sorry for my part in the derail.
@ LHB: nope, its the urinal cake in one of those interstate highway restrooms. Actually those are kind of high class comparitively. Its like the urinal cake in the johnny-on-the-spot booths that they have on construction sites and fairgrounds. The nic kicked like a mule though. Dholakia Black with urinal cake is what it was like. Good idea for Toque to put a little sticker on the backs of the tins. American Spirit cigarettes send out instrucions not to pack their cigarettes, but to loosen them! Same kind of thing.
@Bob - what’s this? Pavement sucks? no way, dude!
I like a full diesel aroma. Barnyard and ammonia are better than rust or pus.
@LHB It’s “he” the last I checked, though at my age, I’m as effective as a she
The smoke from cigarettes smells pretty pungent to most non smokers, yet many smokers have the pavlovian dog sort of ‘I want’ response when smelling it. For right or wrong, if people are associating the smell with 'fresh strong snuff" and the resulting reward, then they just are I think something like that is going on here, plus frankly, commercial things that reek of perfume shops are all around us. Check out any ‘air freshner’ items to see my point. I’ll even go you one farther, the smell of a skunk even (as long as its not TOO strong) is not even that bad of a smell. A whole lot of ‘what smells bad’ are actually socially taught to us. to me, ammonia and other unusual not-so-marketable smells are the same way, especially when I have direct control over the intensity of which I’ll smell them (as you do with snuff and its intake). There is a point at which an actual barnyard is quite a miserable smell, no doubt, but maybe you remember your father or your granddad coming in fresh from the barn and the way he smelled, etc I just don’t think its sexual-smell based (the point I guess was being a bit driven at) EDITED to add: I would seriously really rather deal with a dog who’s had a run in with a skunk (and needs and old fashioned tomato-based bath) than some old woman who’s just bathed in her favorite crap perfume and then decided to inflict herself on an entire captive restaurant. (so many of these socially taught smells are far worse than anything our good earth can provide)