Sharrow Article by Smoking Pipes

General
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My apologies in advance if posted here before -

James Hanson, Vice Chairman of Wilsons & Co writes in 2022 that:

Markets for snuff are particularly brisk in Germany and Switzerland, with Belgium and Poland also large consumers. Wilsons snuff has not been available in the U.S. for the past few years. “But we’re very keen to try and get into America, again,” says James. “We had some success there and then we faltered when the new rules came in and we were not grandfathered with the FDA yet. But that is hopefully about to change very soon.”

That’s good news and hope it happens.

Up until fairly recently (about 2010) Sharrow Mills still used their ancient mill machinery for their specialist SS snuff which sadly is no longer made. Sad, also, because SS snuff used to be their most popular snuff after SP. SS stood for Scotch Snuff, introduced in 1840, and was, I believe, the only example of English high-dried Scotch (as opposed to Brown Scotch or Irish) still made in this country. It was modelled after the celebrated Arnold’s Scotch Snuff made by Rutters in Mitcham. Some have wondered if its demise had something to do with the unsavoury connotations associated with the letters SS but the truth is that it was not commercially viable to make for a dwindling band of connoisseurs. And so the old mill has been consigned to history.

Modern pulverisers, grinders and atomisers have now replaced the old machinery at Wilsons which once lent a flavour and character to snuff giving, in this case, a distinct ‘Sharrow’ taste.

Sharrow might have recipes from Samuel Gawith, and while the snuffs are not bad at all, it is impossible to duplicate the characteristic ‘Kendal’ flavour that came from milling using old Jumbo or the original 1792 machinery. It is for that reason that a previous MD, Mark Chaytor, claimed that it was impossible to duplicate a snuff using different machinery. That explains why the snuffs formerly milled in Kendal by Samuel Gawith are not quite the same.

4 Likes
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Very interesting Indeed. Thanks.

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What intrigues me most is Belgium, which he mentions in the first sentence.

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That article had been submitted here before but being an old duffer I missed it.

With the closure of Samuel Gawith at Kendal Brown House I only buy direct from Sharrow Mills and am now very limited in range. The Kendal Brown is something of a disappointment. Although not quite the same as the original, Viking Brown is still a firm favourite and is a good example of a snuff relying for its flavour and pungency solely on the tobacco used, liquoring in salts and the fermentation process, viz. a natural snuff. I also like Princes and Gold Label SP with Irish 22 and Grand Cairo bought by the tin for variety.

(On the website, Sharrow claims that Princes is made with Geranium and Bourbon which I have interpreted as Geranium Bourbon. Not a gambler, but I’d lay a small stake that it also contains tonquin essence to give it that vanilla-like higher note.)

The claim (obviously very true) that a particular mill imparts its own unique flavour which cannot be duplicated elsewhere is mentioned in Mark Chaytor’s 1962 book, The Wilsons of Sharrow: The Snuff-Makers of Sheffield.

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What intrigues me most is Belgium, which he mentions in the first sentence.

What is it that is intriguing?

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I just don’t remember anyone mentioning Belgium being a big market for snuff. I understand that they have one manufacturer, which is Sifaco, which produces one or two snuffs, but it is still not enough. Could this be related to the increased activity of immigrants in Western Europe and the increase in the consumption of e.g. neffa?