@Gormur, which rustica snuffs did you try?
@volunge Toque Quit and 6P Cheeta.Ā The Cheeta does have a kick, but I did read here that it was a blend so itās probably something else in there
I tried these, too. Just like you, I didnāt find Quit any stronger than solid medium. Iām not sure if thereās any rustica in it. Now Cheeta, rustica or not, is much stronger. Only Vikas @sixphoto can tell us, if itās pure rustica or a blend of rustica and other tobaccos. Iām also wondering if ācountry tobaccoā, listed among the ingredients on the 6 Photo M.G. Madras label, stands for rustica (latin name Nicotiana rustica literally means country tobacco). Out of everything I have tried, this snuff is one of the strongest in the nicotine department and is on a par with Toque USA Whiskey & Honey, SWS St. James Parish Blend (both contains rustica), NTSU Black/Taxi Red and the discontinued V2 Thunder snuffs.
Vikas has previously disclosed that LA Natural and Green Dragon are rustica snuffs. I would rate the kick as solid medium. Neffa Ifrikia is another rustica snuff, but I donāt find it super strong. But donāt get me wrong, it is satisfying.
I think Cheeta Chhap Gul and Snafu Plain are rustica snuffs, but this is yet to be confirmed or denied.
As stated by the manufacturer himself, Janta Dragon Brand Madras is made from rustica. This is probably the strongest snuff I tried. S.V.S. Madras is very similar. Dholakia Madras Toast is least potent among Madras-type snuffs.
There are many varieties of rustica, they have different content of nicotine, citric acid and other compounds. There are green and yellow rustica varieties as well. To make it even more complicated, the kick of snuff - and I mean any snuff, made of regular tobacco or rustica - depends on the amount of alkali(-s) in the composition of particular snuff. It explains the wide range of potency.
Sorry for reiterration. Those in bold are the strongest snuffs (imho).
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@volunge - tried the Dragon Madras just now. First impressions: It is a nice Madras style snuff and has a good burn. Youre bang on with the comparison with SVS Madras, but this one is still a tad bit drier and the tobacco is darker.
I have some observations with respect to ghee in Madras snuffs. I personally do not smell any ghee in this, but there is a fresh toasted aroma of the tobacco; not that I can smell ghee in the SVS Madras. Also, not sure if there is a tiny amount of ghee in it which I am unable to detect. I am not sure which of the Madras snuffs have ghee in them, but I think most of them donāt have any ghee or only have miniscule amounts. The only snuff with the most noticeable ghee for me was NB Madras, and then Umbrella Golden (amongst the ones I have tried until now). NB Madras sadly not being available anywhere for me to procure a fresh stock of. The problem with these snuffs was w.r.t. storage, which I havent encountered with any other Madras snuff (until now). The snuff would remain fresh only a few weeks. Result was that when I stored 4 tins of NB Madras in a glass jar, and others in their original tins, I started getting a sour odour in it which was very off-putting. I had to bin more than 7 tins of NB Madras simply because I went to them after a few months of storage. The same was the case with many tins of Umbrella Golden snuffs which had an amazing mild aroma of ghee.
So the question for me in reviewing Madras snuffs would also depend on their shelf life in glass. In that case perhaps the Madras snuffs with no ghee in them store better than the others?Ā
Would love to know yours or anyones experience, tips or observations in storing Madras style snuffs.Ā
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@newbiesnuffer, I only had small amounts of both - a 6 g tub of Dragon Madras and that nice sample of SVS you have treated me with last year. Never had a chance to do a side-by-side comparison, but I recall them both being equally satisfying. I was referring to both as āthe most potent snuffsā on the market numerous times. And while there actually might be even stronger products ā honestly, I could mention quite a few: NTSU Black, Six Photo Cheeta, the discontinued V2 Thunder range and some of my own concoctions ā each of those stronger snuffs has some properties, which I find upleasant. For me, Dragon and SVS stand for a plain perfection. I enjoyed every single pinch and used them sparingly, as a treasure.
With an exception of Umbrella (and maybe NB), I donāt get any taste or smell of ghee in madras snuff, but most of them are greased. Whatever it is - true or fake ghee (vegetable oil) or mineral oil, itās there. You can tell the presence of grease by the texture - most Madras snuffs, pinched harder, stain your fingers. I mean, the powder sticks to
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@newbiesnuffer, I only had small amounts of both - a 6 g tub of Dragon Madras and that nice sample of SVS you have treated me with last year. Never had a chance to do a side-by-side comparison, but I recall them both being equally satisfying. I was referring to both as āthe most potent snuffsā on the market numerous times. And while there actually might be even stronger products ā honestly, I could mention quite a few: NTSU Black, Six Photo Cheeta, the discontinued V2 Thunder range and some of my own concoctions ā each of those stronger snuffs has some properties, which I find upleasant. For me, Dragon and SVS stand for a plain perfection. I enjoyed every single pinch and used them sparingly, as a treasure.
With an exception of Umbrella (and maybe NB), I donāt get any taste or smell of ghee in Madras snuff, but most of them are greased. Whatever it is - true or fake ghee (vegetable oil) or mineral oil, itās there. You can tell the presence of grease by the texture - most Madras snuffs, pinched harder, stain your fingers. I mean, the powder sticks to the fingertips. It is a tad harder to wash than a non-oiled snuff, and I feel the grease, rubbing my fingers under the tap. First batches of MG Madras were really sticky; current one is way less so (Iām even considering to add some extra ghee, but Iām not in the mood of making my own right now). DC is probably non-greased at all, and the last batch of Dholakia Madras Toast I tried about two years ago also seemed grease-free. And if thereās any ghee in Dragon and SVS, the amount is smaller than in Umbrella, NB or MGM. I canāt tell anything about the grease in NC Arya, but it is great snuff and I heartily recommend to arrange a trade or swap with a fellow who has an access to it.
None of the Madras snuffs you send were stale. At least I didnāt notice anything weird or off-putting in any of them. And I never received spoiled Madras from snuffstore.co.uk, bar the last 100 g tin of MGM, which I find odd - very different to all previous tubs and tins I had. It smells ok, but has unusual powdery texture (less greased than previous batches) and is lacking in potency; as if slaked lime has reacted with ammonium carbonate during the prolonged storage of snuff in the warehouse and formed calcium carbonate (=chalk) flakes, or the latter compound was used instead of slaked lime; or ammonium bicarbonate was used instead of ammonium carbonate - something like that).
I use snuff relatively fast and never hoard it. 100 g MGM tin used to last me about 2-3 months; a small tub contains one weekās worth amount. Just for the record, the air humidity is very low inside during cold season in my place. The only change in Madras that I have noticed during 2-3 months is the evaporation of ammonia. Thereās only a slight whiff of it in fresh Madras, but it dissipates completely towards the bottom of the tin. Still, fresh MGM used to retain satisfying potency till the last pinch even after 2 months.
It would be interesting to take a look at spoiled Madras and to try to figure the reason of spoilage. Did that off-putting sour odour in NB and Umbrella originate in airtight jar-stored snuff, or in the factory-sealed tins? Under dry conditions and stored in a tightly close container, ghee should slow down the natural conversion of slaked lime to carbonate, which otherwise would happen in snuf faster. On the other hand, I found NB and Umbrella being less alkalized - maybe the amount of slaked lime and (or) any other alkalizer present there is too small for preserving the snuff for longer time. And one more question - if you have tried taking a pinch of any spoiled Madras - did they become any weaker, potency-wise?
P. S. If I understand it right, in previous times most small manufacturers of Madras snuff used to sell fresh snuff, matured for 5-7 days. I think no one used to store it for long in the warehousesā¦ It was more demanded back in the day. However, all the Madras snuffs I tried have different composition (in some cases - different amounts of alkalizers, in other cases - different alkalizers and their combinations; also, different amount of grease and different tobaccos). Their shelf life span is probably different. A clear winner here, I would say, is Dholakia Madras Toast.
P. P. S. Have you ever stumbled upon S-S-S Madras? https://www.grocibro.com/index.php/product/sss-madras-snuff-nossi/?fbclid=IwAR1fZQyo-CqxTmr09KD-anP2FodVfHCYqrRNt4tCekMEkOyaHOUWXkj3vh4
@volungeĀ - The stale batch just had a sour note and the strength was relatively the same. I was unable to take more of it since the smell was so weird that I felt it had decayed in a way.
No, I havent tried the SSS. Might contact the seller to check. There are many companies producing Madras snuffs in India - especially the south region of India. The names which I have come across online and never got to try are TPS, SSS, NC Arya, NC, Sri Ambal and NVS. And these are just the names I have found online. I am sure there would be many other names which donāt show up on google results. Just try searching āMadras snuffā on Facebook and youāll know what I mean.Ā
The seller (or distributor) of NVS Madras is on Facebook and I am trying to get a hold of some to sample. By my limited chat with him, I figure he is not interested in sending snuff abroad (from India) - which is sad. I had asked this question to him for you.Ā
Not that Dragon and MG are bad snuffs by any means. They are very good (except in case of a possible change in a batch, which is, according to me, sheer bad luck). I wish I could just get hold of the perfect Madras snuff for me (like NB) and have a continuous fresh supply of it like a subscription :)Ā
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@newbiesnuffer if you like the dragon, you will also like the tps. And the nc is also great. But it is a little scented with clove I think.
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@HloridisonĀ - Thanks for letting me know. Would love to try them both. Despite I am in India it is really tough to get access to Madras snuffs. Brick and mortar stores are disappearing anyways. Most of the sellers have no online presence. Also, I think the reason is I stay in Mumbai (West India) and the Madras snuffs are local to the south region of India.Ā
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According to Paul, Dragon will soon be back in stock:
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Hello all,
Sorry for the delays butā¦
Dragon Madras and our other snuffs are back in stock.
Hope you enjoy them. :)Ā Ā
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A great snuff, just ordered 100gms from Mrsnuff, not my usual place but I didnāt want to wait for the snuffstore to have it in stock or miss out on it before it all goes.
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Simonās review:
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After seeing the consistency, colour, and the reactions of Simon, this product reminds me of the classic Madras- epitomised by the TPS. Dunno what forms TPS has taken in Europe. The next best to TPS was the NC Arya, Sadly both are not available where I stay. After a break in snuff taking, Iām drawn to it after reading the enthusiastic comments by Madras snuff aficionados here. Just got a tin of DS. Still miss the old Madras types. I think this one is a must try.Ā
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@Gokul, you need to try SVS Madras (if you still havenāt).
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Chadās review:
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@BeerandSnuff i had this in the selection box. Immediately bought the 100 gram tub. I love almost every snuff, but i think if i had to pick only one to use forever, it would be this.Ā
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@Just_Browsing The 100g tub is great value for such a quality snuff. Itās amazing how much they can pack into that tin.
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@just_browsing, along with HDT and WoS Irish no.22 it is one of the best plain snuffs Iāve ever had, I grabbed 200gms a few months ago because I really donāt want to be without this one.
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