Review: Bernard Klostermischung

This German snuff used to be a staple in my collection ten years ago so I had to buy it again. For those who aren’t speaking german, wondering about the box: Schnupftabak is the German word for snuff. Klostermischung means monastery mix. Now on to the actual tobacco. Bernard tells us that it is flavoured with rum and carries zero menthol. I don’t drink alcohol so I don’t know much about the different types of rum but from what little I do know, this seems right. That is the scent out of the box however. As a matter of fact, if somebody was going just by smelling the tap box, they might reject the tobacco straight away. It seems “plastic” and far too sweet. But that is only the box aroma. The tobacco itself immediately says Schmalzler, and loud. It is black, coarse, moist and brasil. The rum flavour is nowhere near as strong anymore and the darkness of the tobacco comes right up. If I snuff it like any other Schmalzler type, this one greets me with an unusual nose burn which fades away in just a few seconds. Unlike other tobaccos of this type, the Klostermischung also makes the nose run a little more. But most importantly, what about the flavour? In the nose the rum dissipates to a minimum and you might well believe that you’ve been snuffing a clean Schmalzler with just faint hints of the aroma. Again, comparing it with a straight Schmalzler, this is very light in flavour altogether. Already ten minutes after a pinch in both nostrils I have to wake up the flavour again by squeezing my nose except this light sort of flavour will stay with you for half an hour or more. What is the verdict? This snuff is for those of us who are very accustomed to English or other such snuffs and want to try something different. It’s for those of us who have been contemplating trying a German snuff or a Schmalzer and don’t know where to start. It’s for those of us who like a natural or lightly flavoured snuff that is not too strong. And it’s for those of us who like their snuff to taste like dark bread, a rainy forest in autumn, rustic with a hint of rum and dark chocolate. If somebody is a friend of Schmalzlers, they might find this snuff a bit underwhelming (especially since I’d rather call this a Schmalzler type of snuff rather than a Schmalzler, to make the distinction). Ultimately I can see a lot of people raving about it and calling it fabulous. I said it used to be a staple for me and I still stand by that. It just might happen to you, as it did to me, that this can be a stepping stone to the dark side and appreciating the wonderful world of Schmalzlers.