I have heard many good things about this snuff and it seems to be a favourite for many people. When I opened the tin, I was quite happy first of all because it is not one of the heavily perfumed, soapy kind of snuffs. It is very dark and not as fine as many other Wilsons of Sharrow snuffs. The manufacturer describes it as dark fired with scents of violet and cedar. I have been sitting on that description for a while because initially I could not detect the violet. That was before I read that description. The effect was that it was messing with my nose and mind so now I would at least agree that there is a slightly floral note. The point is, if you know it you might notice it but there is a good chance you will not. Other than that, I smell a lot of deep, rich, dark tobacco and a woody sort of charcoal scent. That might be the cedar but I think it is just the natural scent of the snuff as a result of the way it has been crafted during the manufacturing process. It is medium dry, not as super dry as some English snuffs but not too moist either. Because it is an English product, I can rule out any oil, so whatever moisture there is, it probably comes from water or something else. What I have done was to take a pinch out and put it on the back of my hand to pick it up from there. That works best for me. In the nose, the snuff almost entirely loses any floral scent that it might have had. The strong earthy tobacco flavour is what I can smell the most. There is very little burn and practically no throat drip. What is the verdict then? I am personally very used to dark snuffs, especially German schmalzlers. So this particular flavour of the Santo Domingo is not new to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I like it a lot. And I can see how somebody would see this snuff as great and amazing among the usual English products where it definitely stands out. That is all fair enough. What I don’t like is that the flavour fades away really quickly. I have to move and squeeze my nose already fifteen minutes after the pinch to wake the flavour up again. It is still there. If somebody likes this snuff, I would absolutely recommend to move one step further and try actual schmalzlers like Bernard’s doppelt-fermentiert or Fresko. The Santo Domingo fits well into that sort of line or tradition without actually being a schmalzler. But there is one last point I want to make. If I disregard the minute floral scent with that hint of soap which I can pick up from the tin, not in the nose, I want to say that Bernards Gekachelter Virginie could well be a very close brother if not almost a twin to the Santo Domingo and my recommendation is to compare for yourself. You might just discover a new path or snuff that you might not know about yet.
This is a fascinating review for several reasons, partly from the role that mental suggestion plays influencing the nose. I wonder what the results would be were a classroom of snuff-takers given identical samples butdifferent and intentionally misleading lists of ingredients.
Another excellent review and astute observation by @smasty . Psychology plays a huge role in our perceptions, especially if we are ingesting something into our bodies. Flavor is the intersection of smell and taste. That said, if the description left out the mention of violet you’d never even look for it. I’m speculating here, from personal practice, that the cedar is somehow toasted, which I do with a few of my snuffs. I use good boite nature cigar boxes of Spanish Cedar and toast or char the interior with my torch, load up the semi-finished snuff and store in a cool, dry dark place (a Coleman Camping Cooler) for several weeks or months; until it seems right to me. I’m not sure if F&T is using cedar essential oil or aging in wood. I do know that it has changed over the years especially when they stopped using Cuban tobacco, if I’m not mistaken it was Vuelta Abajo Piloto filler scrap that was used. I visited F&T many time while stationed in Brussels in the early seventies and tasted all of their snuffs. Couldn’t stand most of them. HDT hooked me for life and it continues to disappear into my face at an alarming rate. The only others that I could take with any frequency were Santo Domingo and Seville. I still have a few pinches of the old ones in mason jars and they’re still okay. Past their prime, but well done snuff. The comparison to Bernards Gekachelter Virginie is spot on, with the Virginie not having noticeable added scent, just nicely fermented very high quality tobacco. And a damn sight more economical. Cheers
Thanks everyone. I do enjoy reviewing snuffs.
Thank you for posting this review. It inspired me to try Santo Domingo again and I’m so pleased I did. When I first tried Santo Domingo and for a long time after, I did not enjoy it. I found it bland. My nose couldn’t detect the subtle nuances in this snuff so I didn’t appreciate it. I would have rated SD near the bottom of the F&T range. 5 years later and because of your review and because I had an unopened tin, I decided to revisit this snuff last week. On my first pinch my nose was delighted by the different aromas. I’m a huge fan of the pinch method, but I have to agree, the back of the hand approach works better with this snuff. The subtle violet aroma is more noticeable when sniffed off the back of the hand. It is a beautiful snuff and one I shall use on a regular basis from now on.
To me, it’s similar to WoS Best Dark, but the scenting is more subtle. In fact when I first got it I couldn’t see the point of it, but now the tin is almost empty I realise I’m going to have to get another one. Bugger. 8-|
Great review. I like this snuff, but only use it once in a while. I too, find it very similar to the Bernard Virginie Geck. I can only detect the violet absolute sometimes. If I take it as my first snuff of the day, I find all the scents, the cedar and violet, but if I take it later, after my nose has been snuffing, the aroma is lessened. Its one I like to buy in the 50 gm tin so I always have it on hand. MIne gets dried out a bit, then I add a slice of carrot, which seems to impart a little moisture, but doesn’t effect the overall character of the snuff.
A go to all day snuff for me. The smoky tobacco ness i love. As the rest, i really only get the smallest hint of violet Maybe 5% of the time. First time i opened an tried this, very disappointed, smelled just like chewing tobacco. A week later, loved the cedar smoke, and has been a fav ever since!