Hey everyone, This is my first post here at Snuffhouse, so firstly i’d like to thank you for having me on your board here. I had my first snuff a few years ago camping with a good friend. We had a tin kicking around for a long time that we’d break out every now and again. I used to keep it in my camping pack with my pipe. Recently however I received a small tin of Wilson of Sharrow Irish High Toast #22, and have fallen in love with it. I chew a lot of Copenhagen, bur have been phasing that out in favor of snuff. Earlier today I purchased a large can of Carhart’s Sweet Scotch Snuff, which i’ve also been enjoying. I’m posting today hoping to gain a little bit of insight into what makes these snuffs different. They have a lot of similarities in color and are both very finely ground. What is it that makes a Toast a Toast and a Scotch a Scotch? I’d really love to learn a little bit more about what goes into making the different varieties of snuffs, and trying them all as I can get my hands on them. Thank you all in advance! -Matt
Apologies if this should have been posted to the “Types of Snuff” board.
RainDog Welcome to Snuffhouse Glad you could join us. I believe Scotch was scorched if I remember correctly. Happy accident as are most tobacco creations like Latakia. A lot goes into snuff before it hit your olfactory, choice of leaf, blending, fermentation, saucing, grinding,sifting, and so on. Some english snuff are hydrated, Some german snuffs are oiled some are greased, Lighter snuffs like toasts are made from leaf stems, Dark snuffs have been fermented longer or colored. Some snuffs especially africans are still curing you’ll notice strong ammonia when first open ,you can use it right away some let it air out.The finer the grind the faster the absorption of the sought after vitamin N. I am a big fan of Indian snuffs for their exotic attributes. You have your artisan snuff that are well worth the price. One thing you should not do is buy any english snuffs that come in 10 gram boxes , it is stale before you get it. Enjoy your journey <:-P And check the trade thread for some deals.
There are a number of ways of classifying snuffs. The classic way is to designate them as fin demigros and gros. These refer to the grind from coarse to fine as follows: 1. The moist snuffs. These are black or dark in colour and gros in texture. Amongst the better known snuffs are included rappee, Princes and Kendal Brown. Rappee (past participle of râper, to grate, from Old French rasper, to scrape) is commercially made by a technique called the Paris method, pounding heavy dark tobaccos in brine and then fermenting it in large batches in cool rooms. After several years it is then remoistened (sauced) with brine and milled so that it is left coarse and moist. Some rappees are left plain. Others are subsequently flavoured with exotic scents such as Tonquin Essence, Musk and Geranium Bourbon. In ‘The Florists Manual’ of 1906 the author, William Scott, describes the compost for potted Geraniums as looking like black rappee snuff. The best examples of genuine rappee are Black Rappee and London Brown by Samuel Gawith. Neither offering is recommended to the beginner. 2. Medium or dry snuffs contain a mixture of stalk and leaf, golden brown in colour, demigros in texture, easily the most popular of the snuff categories. These include the S.P snuffs and are also known as Brown Scotch. They usually contain a portion of fermented tobacco (such as J&H Wilsons S.P No.1). Most of the snuffs made by Wilsons of Sharrow are brown Scotches. Scotch was exceedingly popular in Scotland in the 18th century – hence the name - and establishments that purveyed it in Britain were represented by an effigy of a kilted, bonneted Highlander standing outside the premises. The means of production is called the Rapid method and the flavourings are legion. 3. High dried snuffs, made chiefly from stalk, light biscuit in colour, dry and fin in grind. These include Irish, High Toast and American Scotches. The method of production of Irish is similar to that of Scotch, but before the stalks are reduced to powder, they are subjected to a roasting process in closed cylinders, which assists in imparting the peculiar smell by which these snuffs are characterised. They have their origins in the well-known story of Irish Blackguard (Lundyfoot or Lundy Foote). Until relatively recently (30 years ago) there used to be dry light snuffs manufactured in Ireland by groups such as Gallaher and Carroll. Apart from Gallaher’s ‘High Toast Well Scented’ these were delicately flavoured - much more caramel then toast, and with the consistency of talcum powder. The Dublin based P.J Carroll made ‘Irish ‘D’ Snuff’ that was surprisingly similar to S. Gawith ‘Irish D Light’. But not all Irish toasts were fin in mill. Irish manufacturer Grant’s claimed a genuine Toast, which was coarse in mill with a flavour like almonds. Most would agree, however, that high dry should be fin, biscuit coloured and (usually) unscented. The best example, in my opinion, is Irish High Toast No.22 by Wilsons of Sharrow. There are plenty of other snuffs such as German schmalzer, but above are described the three broad categories of snuff as understood in Britain which, in my opinion, provides the best and largest choice. There are also ‘Artisan’ snuffs made by enterprising enthusiasts here on the forum. As a note of caution – never purchase snuff in plastic snuff boxes. Drums sold by the pound of half-pound in weight are good as are vacuum sealed 25 gram tins. These will reach you in factory fresh condition. You may want to browse the websites of two of Britain’s oldest snuff manufacturers for an idea of the range available. Samuel Gawith (est. 1792) http://www.samuelgawith.co.uk/ Wilsons of Sharrow (est. 1737) http://sharrowmills-online.com/
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What a pity you can’t edit posts (or can you?). I meant from coarse to fine. Got there at last.
What a pity you can’t edit posts (or can you?). I meant from coarse to fine. Got there at last.
Yes, you can edit your post(s) In the upper right hand corner of the box your post appears in you will see a black gear like thingee, click on it to edit your post. Hope this helps…
Very cool everybody, Thank you for the information and insight. So far all my snuffs have been extreamly finely ground, but I have a big order on the way with a little bit more variety. I tried to mix it up as much as I could, while still getting some things I know I’ll like. Firbourg & Tryer Bordeaux (I’ve never tried a perfumey snuff, so this one is an adventure, but It gets great reviews) Firbourg & Treyer High Dry Toast De Kralingse St-Omer No.1 Viking Brown Hedges L260 (not a huge menthol fan, but I figure it can’t hurt to have one around) Bernard Postillion Bernard Klostermischung If I keep them unopened, Will they stay good? I’m assuming many of them have already had a decent shelf life of a few years, but then again who knows. The F&T High Dry was sold out in 50G’s, so I had to settle for 25.
“Yes, you can edit your post(s) In the upper right hand corner of the box your post appears in you will see a black gear like thingee, click on it to edit your post. Hope this helps…” Thank you ever so much for that insight, Perique.