I’m just curious by nature. Does snuff have to be a serious subject? Is there room for some light hearted, good natured fun in snuffdom? Some goofy shit we shove up our noses for the pure fun of it? Or does snuff demand/require a certain and constant reverence? Should one have to genuflect before taking a pinch? There are occasions when only the finest food, exquisitely prepared and accompanied by the best examples of the vintner’s, distiller’s and brewer’s art will do. Then, there are occasions when a cheeseburger and a bottle of plonk fit the bill. I’m not talking about fast food and a bottle of Pear Ripple, mind you. If you can use schmalz in snuff, why not a bacon cheeseburger snuff just for the pure hell of it? Hell, Roderick is 2/3 of the way there already, and that Cheese and Bacon snuff is pretty damn good IMHO. I have the empty tins to prove it. I need to spend more time with my granddaughter and take a few pages, nay, chapters , out of her playbook and do things just for the sheer joy of doing it. I’ll take a pass on crapping my pants for now so she doesn’t think we’re in some sort of competition. Besides, she’d win in a landslide. With #2 on the way, I’m buying stock in whoever makes Pampers. Cheers
I absolutely agree. With this new “Prince Regent” we’ve all be graced (cursed, depending on your stance) with, it seems that the joys of taking snuff have been blindsided by trying to turn it into a battle of Artisan vs regular mill. Why can we not just enjoy both? SWS/Abraxas/Old Mill are all GREAT snuff brands. However, in the process of enjoying them, it seems we’ve lost the light we once cherished from makers like Toque, WoS, etc… We just need to stamp out the elitism, and go back to enjoying snuff for what it is.
I actually view snuff itself as folly - it is a “me” thing, it helps me relax, and I’m at an age where I don’t much give a shot what the general consensus around me is, hahaha. I really do not hold any one snuff in higher regard than any other ( yet ) - sure - I have favorites - but I know that they are the fave today but may be untouched tomorrow - such is life … I don’t need a cheesburger snuff - though I did just order bubblegum and banana, so … and if we get to just make up stuff, i think a Dr. pepper snuff would be baller … I have noticed that here in the forums some of my more light hearted posts seem to be misunderstood, but i think that is simple a variance in slang over the expanse of locals we have members form, making the intended humor harder to catch at times. ( the price regent comments a prime example )
@The_HP and @killeidoskope I’m a transplanted southerner. Born in Louisiana raised in California and a southerner by choice. I get it. Snuff is folly. That’s why some of us are so enamored with it. It is damned good fun to shove pulverized tobacco powder scented with everything from Cheese and Bacon to Grannie’s Undies up your nose just to see what happens. The famous last words of a redneck: “Hey, Ya’ll! Watch This!” I am so very excited to put my spoon to Nigel’s latest creation. Clearly this is a pure labor of love for him, with not a whit of commercial consideration. Just an artist putting his skills, passion, inspiration and love of the weed into a handcrafted masterpiece he is gracious enough to share with us. Nigel, Johnny, Jaap and Roderick are an inspiration, and we are truly blessed to have them, and their outstanding creations, among us. It is my humble opinion that THIS is the Golden Age of Snuff. Without these fine gentleman I would never have given a thought to translating a long and successful culinary career into crafting snuff. Not long ago I was a disabled and frustrated culinarian with no outlet for my passions and hard earned knowledge and skill. Thanks to these artisans I have found the perfect outlet, and I am putting every waking, and often dreaming, moment into turning culinary creations into olfactory pleasures. I am forever in their debt. That said, let’s all get off our knees (not you honey) and be thankful for the creators and each other for this rather eccentric, boisterous and wonderful community and hobby of ours. Cheers
Very strange thread. I may have to break out the guards and have this insurgency quoshed and it’s ringleader @chefdaniel chained to his grandaughters colouring in book. I ENJOY snuffs of all brands (except F&T) but I admit to being partial to a lot (not all) of the current artisan crop but especially most recently Prince Regent. I am certainly not “cursed” by it. That’s ludicrous. Got Spanish Gem out in the rotaion today also. Very nice. I am not I would say a huge snuff quantity user and so I will try and find my favourites and whether they be artisan or not those are then what I will enjoy. Serious or goofy doesn’t much come into it, more luck possibly but it is my opinion that the artisan snuffmakers that we currently have are the biggest movers and shakers presently and I welcome that. Competition can only be a good thing for all end users like ourselves at least one would hope so. Stamp out elitism? Battle of Artisan vs regular mill? What are you on about @kalledoskope. Will you be founding the Stamp out elitism in snuff revolutionary front? I have no problem enjoying snuff but obvioulsy some do.
I absolutely agree. With this new “Prince Regent” we’ve all be graced (cursed, depending on your stance) with, it seems that the joys of taking snuff have been blindsided by trying to turn it into a battle of Artisan vs regular mill. Why can we not just enjoy both? SWS/Abraxas/Old Mill are all GREAT snuff brands. However, in the process of enjoying them, it seems we’ve lost the light we once cherished from makers like Toque, WoS, etc… We just need to stamp out the elitism, and go back to enjoying snuff for what it is.
@I_snuff_therefore___ A strange thread from a strange man. (That would be yours truly). I’m not in the “cursed” camp myself but I support freedom of opinion, thought and speech in every shape, manner and form. That said, I am waiting like a child on Christmas morning for the postal-person to deliver my Prince Regent. I enjoy anything that is crafted with care, integrity and passion whether they be large, small, boutique or multi-national in scope. Contrary to what some of my ex-girlfriends have said, size doesn’t matter. It’s not the size of the boat, it’s the motion in the ocean and all that. I can enjoy a well made Wimpy with the same gusto and enthusiasm as a well crafted Saddle of Veal Prince Orloff. A steady diet of either would be boring to the point of suicide. A nice pile of chips as an intermezzo would be ideal, along with a proper pint of ESB. Old Milwaukee Light need not apply. Spanish Gem is an inspired and well done snuff that has a frequent spot in my rotation. I just wish I could figure out what in the hell is in that little “gem” of a snuff, dammit. Ginny has been consulted, and rejected your kind offer to have me chained to her colouring in book. She may be only two, but she has her own agenda and there’s no room for a chained up grandpa. Dammit.
OH!!! She’s ADORABLE!
See, kids aren’t so dumb. I think it’s just caramel or brown sugar and maybe a little date or something in the Spanish Gem or maybe mines died but I still like it. I know it’s tough the waiting. I really didn’t expect mine to arrive so quickly. I feel confident in saying that you are in for real treat. Prince Regent is simply one of the most enjoyable snuffs I’ve come accross in a long time and some people will get irritated if I’ve perhaps gone on about it a little to much but I think all will become clear once yours arrives. It’s just a snuff revelation, pure and simple but it won’t stop you still enjoynig your regular favourites. More that it expands the snuff horizon and I’m all for that.
I need a few rolls of paper towels to wipe the drool from my keyboard. Dammit. “Sir, you try my patience!” “Don’t mind if I do. You must try mine sometime.”
@I_snuff_therefore___ I’m on about how there is clear elitism on this forum. People are so enamored with the likes of artisan snuff that they have forgotten about those who aren’t so artisan. I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself, but I still stand by what I say. People should remember where they started not where they ended up. Ya know?
I need a few rolls of paper towels to wipe the drool from my keyboard. Dammit. “Sir, you try my patience!” “Don’t mind if I do. You must try mine sometime.”
I feel your pain. I’ll just have some more Prince Regent. Hey the pains gone. Just like magic. Sorry @chefdaniel. Hope you don’t have to much longer to wait. I can’t wait to hear your opinion on it. Is it as good as we have been saying?
Allow me to make an effort to calm troubled waters. My intention was not to start up a war between artisan snuff versus non-artisan snuff, whatever the hell that might be. My intention was to inject a sense of fun, child-like adventure and joy into our hobby. Every snuff has its place in our personal repertoire at any given time of day, season, experience level, age and/or mood. NB Madras is not an artisan snuff, but it’s been disappearing at an alarming rate around here. I tried to blame the cat, but my wife wouldn’t buy into that little bit of nonsense. So I accused her instead. The couch is far more comfortable than the chicken coop I’ve found. We are talking about ground up tobacco that we shove up our greedy nostrils. Not the freakin’ Mona Lisa or Rocket Surgery. Whether that pulverized weed be artisan or otherwise, I especially, should approach it from a child’s perspective; joy for its own sake. Not what others may think. Not what the latest reviews might endorse. Simply what makes us happy in the moment. Both @killeidoskope and @I_snuff_therefore___ are making valid points and making them with passion. This is a very good thing. Should this forum devolve into a mutual admiration society we will all be the poorer from it. We are all ladies and gentlemen, or we wouldn’t pursue this esoteric hobby of ours. I’m happy that we can all disagree without being disagreeable. Cheers
I just hoovered up a few grams of Spanish Gem, with a wink and a nod in an easterly direction towards the general vicinity of Berwick. This stuff is so f_____g good. It goes in easy, sticks around and baffles the shit out of me as to the recipe. Brown Sugar/Caramel/Dried Fruit/Toasted Sweet/Brown Spices/Excellent Tobacco/Outstanding Craftsmanship/Brandy(?)/Magic Fairy Dust? Is Roderick Merlin incarnate? Methinks that might be the case. The clean complexity of this snuff defies definition or examination. It is just really great snuff. Period. (IMHO)
I don’t do cheeseburgers, but Viking Dark comes in at ten cents a gram if you buy half a kilo of the stuff. That’s a pretty non-elitist pleasure in my book. And damn good snuff it is too.
@JakartaBoy Agreed. Viking Dark is in my top 5 lately.
Dholakia White is also great and widely popular amongst India’s scheduled casts and tribals, who must be as far away from “elite” as you can imagine. I agree with the chef about snuff (and food) made with integrity and passion. There are snuff that I feel lack those characteristics, I won’t mention brands to avoid a flame war. There are some brands where the tobacco seems to serve as some sort of base on which to smear sweet, sticky, saccharine flavors, and it’s not my thing. And I find people on snuffhouse who seem to share my prejudices. But so what? Seems to me like there’s ten threads with people saying “Where do you get the biggest menthol smack?” for every one talking about Abraxas and SWS. If a menthol smack is what you’re looking for, go to it with both nostrils, say I.
I just get nervous whenever I bump some Toque Coke and make sure I say the Toque part out loud instead of just telling my work mates " Yep, time for some coke …’
@JakartaBoy Agreed, again. I think the negative aspects come into play when a fan of a particular snuff “looks down” on someone who likes another snuff. That’s where it gets into the “serious” territory I was referencing. For example, Cafe 11 is a superb coffee snuff. I’m a huge fan, but I wouldn’t say that a fan of Coffee Kick or Coffee Bite is a lesser snuffer if that’s their choice. After all, it is their nose and their budget.
I just get nervous whenever I bump some Toque Coke and make sure I say the Toque part out loud instead of just telling my work mates " Yep, time for some coke …’
The other day I went out to a restaurant. I asked the bartender " can I have some coke " I was instantly tackled by some drunk DEA agent with a Cuban cigar in his mouth.
Bacon Cheeseburger? Sign me up to beta test! Honestly though, it always drives me crazy when tobacco hobbyists (I’m a crossover from the pipe world) take things too seriously. It doesn’t all have to be “indeed, this is an exquisite experience of rich leather with sandalwood undertones and a whisp of cardamom, my good sirs” (although that actually sounds pretty damn good, too). What the hell is the point if you can’t snuff/smoke something you actually like and that fits whatever your budget might be without feeling like you doing it right.