There are, within a typical lifetime, only a few experiences in life whereby one is given pause, causing one to sit back, reflect, and take notice of the joy that comes with the simple state of being alive. Abraxas Prince Regent reminded me of how lucky I am to be alive and to have the opportunity to enjoy such a completely unique and wondrous experience. It is unlike anything I have ever encountered, within or outside the world of snuff. During my short life on this crazy but beautiful planet, I have visited around 40 or 50 cultures in various locales around the world. I have had the good fortune of being able to taste and smell a wide range of exotic foods and spices, and have enjoyed pleasures strong or subtle as the case may be. Prince Regent is one of those memorable experiences that lifts me above the lackluster realm of mediocrity and transports me to a realm of astral beauty and wonder. Prince Regent, to me, is more than just a snuff experience, it is a peak experience. I am not exaggerating. Honest. There is no bullshit here. In fact, I find myself feeling inadequate as I struggle to find the words equal to what I wish I could be able to say about Prince Regent. And I find myself feeling like I am not doing very well at all. If I were to choose a single term for Prince Regent, it would be transcendent. This snuff goes far beyond the ken of good and even great snuffs. To me, it is in a class reserved for only those precious few snuffs that push the boundaries of what the mind ordinarily thinks of as pleasure or enjoyment or delectation. There is something magical about this snuff that I cannot seem to nail down. Is it the ambergris? Hell, I don’t know but it might be. Is it the antique cognac? Once again, I do not know. Is it something about its ingenious blend of the aforementioned ingredients combined with the vanilla, port, and geraniums? I simply do not have a clue. But I do know that this snuff, and its unique flavors and scents, provides a rare and seldom experienced effect of being both robust and ethereal. It blends both strength and elegance, each enhancing the other in dialectical polarity and balance. Even the base tobacco is rich and satisfying with plenty of nic. It is a snuff that is grounded in the world, but clearly has its origins in heaven. Don’t laugh at me, dammit. I am struggling here. Since this snuff arrived at my door I have not been able to stop smelling it. Even when I am not snuffing it I find myself continually picking it up to smell it, as if I might be able to finally comprehend this wondrous snuff with all of its nuances and refinement. Like a great vintage of Grand Cru Burgundy such as Le Musigny, or perhaps a classic Chateau Margaux, Prince Regent combines both power and finesse–a rare combination indeed. And in the case of wine, as well as with snuff, usually the one is sacrificed in order to highlight the other. To have them both contained and housed in a single entity is to able to experience the very apex of enjoyment. Thank you, Nigel. This is as good as it gets. Prince Regent is now my favorite snuff.

Ha. I notice that this miraculous, paradigm-changing, singular and uniquely wonderful substance is still not on MS.

Nor Snuffstore either! Seemingly unavailable anywhere? I revisited F&T’s Princes in anticipation yesterday evening Annoyingly, even though I’ve stored this tin in the fridge and it’s less than 6 months old it’s developing the ‘magic’ white spots of aluminium oxide :-(( (baby mason jar ahoy!) Fingers crossed that Nigel’s version is in the nice St. Casura SP plastic pot; that’s a very practical container.

Thank you for the review Fred, as ever you are much too kind. Prince Regent is off to the warehouse tomorrow morning (Friday) - as usual I am slightly behind schedule, apologies.

@fredh‌ As always a great review, but I do have to cry into my morning coffee that I’m still waiting. :(( As the southern belles are fond of saying “bless your heart”. I don’t think it means what it’s supposed to mean. =))

As the southern belles are fond of saying “bless your heart”. I don’t think it means what it’s supposed to mean. =))

Thank you @chefdaniel! It feels great to know that my heart is now officially “blessed.” This has never happened to me before and I feel wonderful. I cannot wait to tell my friends that my heart has attained the status of holiness and sanctity! And even though you just roundly insulted me, I feel so privileged and special in spite of it all! Very well done! =D> Despite all of your fantastic snuff blending and cooking talents, Daniel, perhaps you missed your calling. With your power to “bless” hearts using cryptic southern religious messages to convey sexually tinted insults… Maybe you should have been a southern preacher! >:)

@fredh‌ Glad to know a sense of humor still exists here these days. Those genteel southern belles can make “Mean Girls” look like Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa and Minnie Mouse all rolled into one. To say a southern belle can be a vicious species would be an understatement. If I get my heart blessed one more time, my eternity in hell will feel like a vacation. I’ll look into that southern preacher thing. Good advice. I think all you need to do is go to Quicky Print and have a few hundred business cards printed. Best five bucks I’ll ever spend. Cheers

@chefdaniel. LOL!

lol, chef, but you leave Minnie out of it.

Blimey, this sounds good! I’m guessing the ambergris fixes the ingredients allowing the snuff to impart a long lasting scent in the nose?

Blimey, this sounds good! I’m guessing the ambergris fixes the ingredients allowing the snuff to impart a long lasting scent in the nose?

You could be right about the ambergris @Franknsnuff, but I cannot say. From what I have read ambergris is difficult to discern as the different pieces of it tend to have variation in their scents. Curiously, while good, the length of stay of the scent in the nose is about average, to my perception anyway. It will be highly interesting to see other folks’ impressions of this marvel.

^^^Yes, I’m led to believe that ambergris is used as a fixative for scent, & not as an aroma in itself.

I am not sure this is the case. I think Nigel can answer whether the ambergris he uses has a distinct scent.

On it’s own there is no particular scent and it is noticeable by it’s effect. It is traditionally used as a fixative but I also found that it intensified the overall taste of the snuff. Apparently it does have a distinct taste when eaten and I have read that King Charles the Second used to like it, finely ground, on his goose eggs because it imparted a sweet, vanilla like flavour to them. Due to my limited supply of 'gris and a lack of goose eggs I have not tested this myself.

Thank you @Abraxas. Very interesting. According to the sites I visited on the internet, ambergris can have a scent that varies with different combinations of earthy/sweet/marine/animal odors, all the way to having no scent at all, as Nigel reports. Each piece of it not only looks slightly different but smells slightly different as well. And apparently, it needs to age for a while before the scent becomes pleasant, as it is apparently quite foul smelling when “fresh.” But apparently people have found chunks of it that has washed up on a beach. Reportedly, the stuff can sell for $10,000 to $20,000 per pound or more. For example: http://www.livescience.com/26785-ambergris-sperm-whale.html OR another example: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-21254718 As it is, ambergris can be either vomit or shit, it sometimes floats, and is found on beaches, far away from the sperm whales themselves. Please understand that I am no expert on this stuff at all, and have never seen it other than photos. I am only reporting what I have read on a few internet sites. FWIW.

By the way, after having enjoyed this remarkable snuff for several days now, I realize one more amazing thing about it that I did not report in my first post above. I believe that it is the most refreshing snuff I have ever had. I know I am filled with superlatives about this snuff, and could easily be perceived as being probably “over the top” about it, but please realize it is only my perspective and nothing more. But i am interested in the views of others on Nigel’s marvel of a snuff. But it remains my personal favorite snuff, perhaps until Nigel (or Johnny, or Roderick, or Daniel) come out with something better.

@fredh That’s it I’m definitley not getting any as it’s only going to spoil all my other snuffs by suddenly religating them all to also rans. Actually I am tempted to get some even though I’m still trying to recover from this Pneumonitis and still managing to resist using any snuff. Maybe I could be satisfied just smelling the contents? Is it coarse grind? Does it not resemble any other snuff even remotely as a comparison? Is it a floral? You are all we have to go on at present but your review is kind of lacking on basics so stunned you seem to have been. I’ve never considered snuffs in terms of “dialectical polarity and balance”? but I like to picture a happy Whale thinkng yes that’s nice that they appreciate my regurgitation.

A certain similarity to F&T’s Princes [one would assume]?

Still no sight of it being offered

@fredh That’s it I’m definitley not getting any as it’s only going to spoil all my other snuffs by suddenly religating them all to also rans. Actually I am tempted to get some even though I’m still trying to recover from this Pneumonitis and still managing to resist using any snuff. Maybe I could be satisfied just smelling the contents? Is it coarse grind? Does it not resemble any other snuff even remotely as a comparison? Is it a floral? You are all we have to go on at present but your review is kind of lacking on basics so stunned you seem to have been. I’ve never considered snuffs in terms of “dialectical polarity and balance”? but I like to picture a happy Whale thinkng yes that’s nice that they appreciate my regurgitation.

Good points, @I_snuff_therefore___. You are right. I was stunned by this snuff. And what I wrote was not really a review but just my personal impressions, and it was titled as such. I must admit that I reasonably expected something great because, after all, Nigel is a great snuffmaker and I have been impressed in the past by all of his snuffs (although I never tried his limited edition Club Snuff). But Prince Regent exceeded all expectations. The grind is coarse although it is not as coarse as the South African snuffs but it is on the coarse side nonetheless. I believe that Nigel made his early snuffs with a coarse grind and this may have been one of them. After all, Nigel put this snuff away for aging way back in 2010. Prince Regent has about the same grind as his Connoisseur Cerise. You asked if this is a floral snuff and I would answer that it is only partially floral in that it has a floral component. Nigel tells us that the blend contains geraniums and I assume this is the floral component as I do not know much about geraniums other than they are flowers. But there is also vanilla, port, and cognac that are not floral although they are quite aromatic. There is also the mysterious effect of the ambergris although I do not understand what that might be. But I would assume that if there were no effect from the ambergris, Nigel would not have used it. I generally do not like floral snuffs and if this one were any more floral I would not be so taken by it. Of course, there may be more ingredients to this snuff that Nigel has chosen to keep to himself but all I know is what he tells us. My nose tells me that this snuff is floral only in part. My nose also tells me that this snuff has a fresh clean scent that is quite refreshing. Part of the balance of this snuff is that all the components seem to be in harmony with none of them overpowering the other, so that each actually seems to contribute to the others. As for your question and that of @MisterPaul concerning its possible similarity to other snuffs, I have been bending my mind to try to find a point of comparison to another snuff. The only snuff in my range of experience that compares to Prince Regent is G. Smith & Sons George IV. I have a 20 year-old small tub of this and there is a vague resemblance to Prince Regent but not much more than vague. It is not really a point of comparison. The only currently available snuffs I can think of that are even vaguely reminiscent of Prince Regent might be Sir Walter Scott’s Thrice Brewed or possibly Auld Alliance, but once again this is vague. To me, Prince Regent seems like its fragrance is so vibrant and alive that the tobacco seems to be generating the scent as if it were its own. As for MisterPaul’s question about whether it resembles F&T Princes, I have only tried Princes Special and there is no resemblance between the two that I can see. Princes Special is very earthy while Regent does not strike me as earthy at all. I do not believe that there is a similarity to any of the F&T snuffs that I have tried and I have tried most of them. Nigel has written of his fondness for the old brands such as G. Smith & Sons and the original F&T and it is possible that he had a particular old snuff from one of the great houses in mind while he was crafting Prince Regent. I do not know. Sorry for the long winded reply.

@fredh Fair comments: I’m thinking that there must be some resembalance to F&T’s princes with the use of Geranium Bourbon that is common to several F&T snuffs (though crowded out in Princes Special). But, I’m sure that there’ll be further dicussion on that once it becomes available at the retailers. Still looking forwards to trying this one a lot

Thanks @fredh‌ I appreciate your impression and this added info is very helpful and perfectly winded. I’m personally glad that it’s coarse, doesn’t resemble F&T’s, does moreso Thrice Brewed and vibrant and alive sounds very good. Seems mighty appealing.

Regarding the inspiration for Prince Regent, it is pretty much as Fred says - the original F&T snuffs that were sold from their little shop in London, plus G Smith and Sons range as it was in the late 70’s, early 80’s when I first encountered them, not the modern Wilson’s made versions. Whilst it is inspired by the original Prince’s - and equally several others - it is not an attempt at a copy; at this distance in time that would be an impossible task.

I’m assuming this stuff will sell out in a day with all the hype around it. I’m hoping to get just 1 but if I don’t I’ll just get cafe 11 lol

Hannibal Lecter had ambergris added to Clarice Starling’s hand cream, that’s how they tracked him down…

Abraxas Prince Regent V.S.O.S 15g is now available on Mr.Snuff. Get 'em while they last. One batch only.

Yes. My order is in! (FYI, again Classic site would not process, Mobil site did.)

Well, here it is 6 weeks after the original post in this thread and all I can say is that everything I said in the original post still holds completely true for me. Prince Regent remains my favorite snuff at this time. I admit I have been using it sparingly because, sadly, it will never be available for sale again.

I’m using it in the evening, daily and it’s working very nicely that way. Even think I’m getting the cognac now once the initial very fresh geranium has calmed some. I bet it goes really well with an actual cognac or several. Definitely among my favourites but definitely for that occasional treat. Liking St.Casura more also for more regular use. I never thought I would get on with that one but it’s been a turnaround for sure again I think after the intial strong fresh edge has worn off some. The base tobacco is great. If I had to name a current absolute favourite though I’d have to go with Creme De Figue. It’s been around now for a while but still it’s simply brilliant. How does fig go so well with tobacco? How about somebody wipping up a Frankincense snuff next?

How about somebody wipping up a Frankincense snuff next?

I made my own using Toque natural base and this oil: Frankincense CO2 Select Extract from India

The few crumbs I had are gone now. It was very nice to have a few pinches though. At first I got floral. Then booze. Then fruity(maybe the port) tobacco. It really is impossible and maybe wrong to try and break it down to its individual components. The beauty is in the dynamic complexity of it all. Fantastic snuff!!!

I like the St Casura but all I get is tobacco. I know I should be detecting some bergamot and rose but I don’t, not even a little…unless it is blended so perfectly to the tobacco base to be indistinguishable?

Wow @OleFactoryHugh That’s pretty amazing about the St Casura as to me it has lots of scent in addition to the tobacco and pretty nice too. It’s sort of an individual thing though and unlike any other snuff and for me it seems as if there is also something cinamon about it. Uncle Squinty described Prince Regent as Fresh Grapefruit in his vid review and that really surprised me as I would never have thought of that (normally not a grapefruit imbiber) and yet I think it is a very accurate and fun observation!

Abraxas Prince Regent. Wonderful snuff. I get geranium, some citrus and a scent that reminds me of Angostura Bitters, which I think has grapefruit in the recipe along with valerian root, angelica and a few thousand other ingredients. Whatever Prince Regent has in it this is one of the most beautifully balanced aromas I’ve spooned up. The tobacco is well represented and is fabulous, the scenting applied with just the right touch, the mill is perfect and the experience lasts a good long while. I give it a 6 out of 5. St. Casura has a wonderful toasty note that I’ve not found in any other SP. That does not include WoS #20 which is a toast with latent SP tendencies. St. Casura is the only SP I like these days after OD’ing on them several years ago.

It’s morning still but I fancied starting my rotation with Prince Regent I think because it has a fresh uplifting feel maybe like a fresh breakfast Grapefruit? or Cognac? Anyhow I do wonder what it will be like when I/we all run out of this. I’m sure I will miss it. I can’t see that I will be able to keep any just sitting around. I will have to use it all. I’d still like it if a similar snuff were made even if it used slightly less expesive cognac/tobacco and took less time. If it approached being nearly as good as the current version I think it would still be a regular with me. Something like a St.Casura level version perhaps? but maybe better at a Premium Batch level. Anyhow I thnk it’s crazy if @Abraxas does not introduce something permenant based on this recipe? V.S.O.S = Very Special Old ? (Snuff?)

Thanks for the kind words guys, I really do appreciate them. I could make something along the lines of PR, @I_snuff_therefore_ , but it would be another one off batch because at the moment I just don’t have the hours in the day to add another permanent production snuff to my core group. PR is history - that bunch of ingredients will not be coming my way again, i.e the tobacco, the Hine and wonderful old port etc not to mention the ‘gris, but I don’t rule out a variant at some point - but it would be a variant or cousin, not an attempt at re-creating PR. I am currently formulating my next single run, in between re-stocking Mr Snuff with the usuals’, so it would be next year for a new PR type snuff. But, I really do take the SH opinion seriously so watch this space;) V.S.O.S = Very Special Old Snuff. It was a nod to the cognac which are usually designated as V.S.O.P. Best wishes and thanks again, Nigel.

thanks Nigel. @Abraxas I think this must be a Prince Regent day for me as I’m favouring it over all other snuffs today and have a freshly cleansed nose full of it again now to settle down for the evening. I have only been using snuff for this last couple of years but this PR special has surely been one of the most enjoyable experiences and I’m sure there will be more but this sets a superb standard. Just shows that expensive quality ingredients can and do produce fantastic results, in the hands of an expert of course. PR is a Premium Premium Snuff.

@Abraxas‌ Nigel, you are truly a gentleman and a scholar for sharing that info with us. It is such a fine snuff it requires every gram of restraint in my being not to overindulge in Prince Regent, as much as I would like to. I ration out my weekly portion into a wee one dram vial, which leaves me with the choice of discipline or going into a PR frenzy. The latter choice usually wins. I shared some when I first got it, but now I’m going to be unashamed about my greed.

So here it is 16 months after I started this thread. And Prince Regent has been long sold out and unavailable. Earlier in this month (December 8, 2015) I opened a precious jar of Prince Regent and tried it with my good friend Matt @matter at a pipe and tobacco gathering. He had never tried it.

I confess that when I first removed the plastic and opened the jar, I was disappointed The great Prince Regent flavor was there but it was marred by a mysterious “dirty” sort of flavor that both Matt and I noticed. I was very sad, I must say, and worried that I may never have the Prince Regent experience ever again.

HOWEVER! I tried it again 10 days later and all of that “dirty” flavor had blown off and that Prince Regent was once again the glorious and magical snuff it was back in August of 2014 when first released. 

This snuff remains utterly and completely fantastic and is one of greatest olfactory experiences of my life, in any category. I have tried over 320 different snuffs, and this is one of the 2 or 3 greatest that I have ever had the honor and pleasure to know. I have taken my hat off to Nigel so often that I no longer wear it.

In my opinion, if Daniel @chefdaniel, Johnny @johnny, and Nigel @abraxas were to stop making snuffs, or if they never started, the entire snuff world would be far more oriented around mediocrity, and serviceability with but a few exceptions. 

But with these three guys, we have an entire array of extraordinary, sensational, and phenomenal snuffs that take the snuff hobby into the realm of the wondrous and astonishing.

That’s my opinion–FWIW.

Well this is good news bad news.  I agree with you fred that Chef Daniel, Johnny & Nigel make far and away the best snuffs I have tried and the snuff world would be a far poorer place indeed without them.

Fred, I know you looked forward to sharing this wonderful & rare snuff with me: Prince Regent.  I was excited to try it naturally.  There’s kind of a feeling where you want to tell somebody who shares something so wonderful that you too are in awe of this.  You want to say, “Yes, I see the Unicorn too!”  So I was sad and reluctant to observe that Prince Regent had been dethroned and reduced to a dim memory of its glorious past.  Yep, it had a dirty, dusty smell/taste that overlaid the undertones of the components.  You were disappointed.  I was too.

But, it seems like the Mystical Unicorn has returned just as soon as you put the cap on and flew home.  I’m very happy the magic returned.  I hope I’m not like Tantalus, where every time I sniff the mixture the magic recedes from my senses.  Hopefully you’ll let me try it again in its rejuvenated state of snuffness.  Snuffs like you describe Prince Regent to be do not come along that often.

So why the hell doesn’t he make some more?

Well, Matt @matter, all I can say is thank you for your great response.

And in the future, may the “Mystical Unicorn” always be in your sight, in whatever context or category.

I took my time reading and pondering the recent comments on this thread before rummaging through my snuff fridge and getting a nice portion of this snuff into a clean small tin and warming it up a bit.  I didn’t get anything “dirty” from it other than a bit of snuff induced lumber in my Levis.  It was still a wonderful experience.  Maybe Fred’s jar had jet lag??

@chefdaniel—rotflmao!

Well, this thread made me search around the back of my fridge for a little jar of the stuff. It’s been there for a while. It seemed to be quite dry, but I forget what it was like in its original state. But it was still excellent. Honestly, though, I think I still prefer Premium Coarse. I’ve just opened a jar of Cafe 11 and that’s very good. Although I still think @Chefdaniel’s Fleur de Cafe is more of a real coffee snuff. Cafe 11 is more a coffee-chocolate liqueur to me.

Why is it not available anymore ? also anyone tried Abraxas Premium Batch Fin ?

Yea I wish I was snuffing back when it was available.I would have love to try(bought) it. And yeah I have been doing/enjoy once&while Abraxas Premium Batch Fin <–good stuff/snuff