This is dark, almost black, medium moist, coarse gring snuff with very nice and strong tobacco taste. This was a surprise as I’m associating scotch with the American very fine and very dry scotches. It is very easy to take and easy stays in the nose. I’m taking it in very big pinches. This is the first so coarse grind snuff I try and I like it very much. I can feel its particles going up my nose. Its a very interesting and pleasant experience. Next time I’m going to order more coarse grinds like this.
You should like the Kendal Brwon snuffs and the soon to be introduced Berwick Brown snuffs by Toque. It nice to try different grinds as well as flavours.
I just got WoS Princes, Brunswick, and Best Dark, and these are all dark, coarse, and a bit moist. I like them.
All good stuff tom
@Lyubo, you should try some Taxi and Ntsu.
Ok I’m reviving this thread, because I cannot find this snuff anywhere online (except reviews). I can find Scotch Black, which the author of this thread seems to be describing, and I can find SP Scotch (which SG’s own website calls “Scotch” and lists it under the SP section.) Can someone prove to me it exists? Basically what I am asserting is: There are 2 SG snuffs with “Scotch” in their name not 3.
Xander, Here’s SG Scotch at snuff.me.uk. They also have it for sale in the 250 gram drums. I just ordered a drum of the KB Original a few days ago, so I thought I remembered seeing it there. http://www.snuff.me.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=SCT
There are definitely three - Scotch, Scotch Black and SP Scotch. All three are described on my site.
@ LHB: I’m almost certain this one at snuff.me.uk is the SP. All the snuff names appear photoshopped to a standard photo showng the label there. @ermtony: Your site was the first place I looked, naturally! Your description of the Scotch and Scotch Black seem rather similar. Did you have them both at the same time? I have Scotch Black and SP Scotch in my possession. No confusion between them at all. Samuel Gawith’s site under “Scotch” takes you to the SP Scotch. Mysmoking shop shows three, but under “Scotch” there is only 1 tin left in stock of the old round metal type. Nothing else. The snuff in the same photo is quite black. Do you still have both on hand? Could they have quietly just changed the name on the labels when they made the transition to plastic boxes? They did this with Princes Light (now its Princes Gold). I suppose writing to them would be too easy?
If you look at the types listed as available in bulk “Scotch” is coded SCT and “Scotch Black” is coded “SCTB.” The only SP is the No. 1 High Mill. I guess its possible that they’re misprepresenting the product, but I’d win a chargeback (if they woudln’t give me a refund) if they sent me SP Scotch instead of the Scotch Snuff as it’s represented on the website.
I have had Scotch and Scotch Black at the same time and they were different, though similar. The Scotch had a finer grind and light flavouring as I recall whereas the Scotch Black was plain and coarse. That was a while back so it is possible that the Scotch has been discontinued I suppose. The Sam Gawith site has Scotch listed under SPs, but that description does indeed sound like SP Scotch. Curious!
Right, that’s what I’m saying. It is very curious. Were yours in the old tins at the same time or one in the tin and one in the box? The SG site describes the Scotch Black as moist/course. Mine is BONE Dry and course. I shake the tin and it sounds like a box of marbles. I think it may have dried on its own though. I used to think these plastic dispensers had one redeeming quailty, that they would keep the snuff from drying out. It appears they are even less airtight than the old rust-prone tins.
I had them in the old tins. I’m sure it was before the plastic dispensers appeared. It should be possible to rehydrate your Scotch Black of course. As a moist snuff it’s very tasty so it must be worth a try. I do agree - the new plastic dispensers seem to be no better than the tins at keeping snuff in good condition. All well and good if you can get your snuff as required from the local shop, but that is no longer an option for most of us. I believe there are only two viable options for the snuff makers when it comes to packaging of small quantities. Either strong F&T style aluminium tins with the fixed sealing ring or plastic boxes as used for Ntsu. Either works for me though I do prefer the style of the former. Personally I stick to buying my favourites in bulk. Never a problem that way.
Scotch Black will go to the rehyrdation chamber tomorrow (which is an empty snus tin and a bottle cap full of water). Right now Black Rappee is in there. Both of these snuffs are very similar. I wholeheartedly agree with you on tins of small quantity. There seems to be no perfect design, every design sacrifices one aspect or another to gain a benefit elsewhere. The F&T tins are excellent, but not handy to take a casual pinch from. I have all my empty Ntsu/Taxi tubs saved. They are very useful but they are all currently busy. I worry about putting a snuff that’s too fragrant in them, as the plastic might absorb the scents.
Don’t forget that all Samuel Gawith’s S.P. sorts are available either plain or scented. According to their website, that gives 3 sorts: Scotch Black, Scotch SP Scented and Scotch SP Unscented. Maybe the plain “Scotch” is the “Scotch SP Unscented” ?
I have 22 of those Samuel Gawith 10g tins, and all of them are dry as toast. It’s not so bad with the Irish D Light and Original, but it kind of spoils the effect of the No.1 SP and especially, the Kendall Brown. On the other hand, I really rehydrated the Kendall Brown (sprayed it with water) and it didn’t seem to make all that much of a difference. Their grinds seem coarse in a hard, granular sort of way, rather than coarse in a “long cut” kind of way. I still love the old tire scent of the KB, and the way it feels in my nose, but it’s different from anything else except maybe dried out Taxi. With the SP, you can actually feel the granules when you pinch, which is like the direct opposite of the normal ultra smooth Toque grind. Maybe that’s the old style that so many are lamenting the passage of (or “of whom so many are lamenting the passage”) As far as plastic absorbing scents, I don’t think that’s a misplaced fear. I saved some screw top plastic jars in which I bought fruit, and no matter how hard I scrub them, the fruit scent remains embedded in them. I got some very hard, acrylic screw top smash boxes at Container Store which appear impervious to this, but they’re more expensive than the soft plastic smash boxes that all the snuff retailers sell.
@ BradMajors The SP Scotch is light to mid brown and quite fine in grind. The Scotch is nearly black and of mid to coarse grind. Definitely different!
So that makes it 4 with “Scotch” in their name! Yes, Brad, I had thought of that but I was trying to simplify my question. There is no question of the difference between the SP and the Black, but the old metal tin one just said “Scotch”. It seems more like the Black but it may well be different. So we need to clear that up.
Fair enough ! The only one I’ve tried in the range is the Scotch SP.
Its a good snuff; no doubt. I just wrote my thoughts last night on snuffreviews. Scotch Black bears almost no resemblance to it though. Scotch Black does bear resemblance to ermtony (et al)'s description of one simply called “Scotch” which no longer seems to be on the market. To me, Scotch Black, bears resemblance to Black Rappee, but not quite the same thing… Not enough reviews to compare my own against…