Can any of the UK members advise me of the best online store to get the US brands? Any good/bad experiences ordering or shipping? Cheers guys
I donât know any online store that sells to EU. Cheers!
What is this fascination with US snuffs? Unless I am missing something, they arenât true snuffs but more of a dipping tobacco used by southern rednecks. Are there US snuffs that are the equivalent of English snuffs?
âWhat is this fascination with US snuffs? Unless I am missing something, they arenât true snuffs but more of a dipping tobacco used by southern rednecks. Are there US snuffs that are the equivalent of English snuffs?â Thatâs how theyâve been traditionally used in the US. Iâve only met one person, an elderly church friend of my mother many years ago, that dipped this snuff (never met anybody who snuffed it). She used W.E. Garrett sweet. Also, she was from the south. The plain ones are similar to the high dry toasts. Perhaps not as refined as the English high dry toasts but I find that they possess their own charm and potency.
A lady at my tobacco store dips WEG S&M, when I explained to her it was nasal snuff, she didnât believe me untill I started bringing in other containers of snuff from poschl marked nasal snuff. She thought I was crazy⌠lol
âWhat is this fascination with US snuffs? Unless I am missing something, they arenât true snuffs but more of a dipping tobacco used by southern rednecksâ None, Iâd just like to try some is all Macalpe - I said UK members to find experiences about shipping to the UK Well, thanks
âim in the south and the only people ive ever seen buying dry snuff are older ladies. ive inquired a few how they use it and they always say they put it in their lip like dipping.â Out of curiosity, are they black or white? I remember reading a comment somewhere online that claimed this dipping habit seemed to be limited to elderly, white southern women but, I seem to recall reading on this board, someone mentioned a black (male) soldier they knew that used the snuff in this way. Iâve lived in two states that had sizable transplanted southeastern populations - Arizona and Washington. In both of these states Iâve encountered the dry US snuffs over the years. In my current town, in Washington state, the US snuffs seem to be disappearing from the shelves, perhaps with the aging populations that once used them? I recall seeing, 15 years ago, WE Garrett scotch and sweet, Tube Rose and Dental Snuff on the shelves. Now all I see is WE Garrett scotch at one local grocrery and Walmart. Looking at the old logo image for Society snuff - an elegant Victorian or early 20th Century lady in profile - itâs pretty clear that these snuffs (at least some of them) were marketed at women.
More than likely, for the longest time it was socially unacceptable for women to smoke or use tobacco. In the UK you can always get Wilsons SP in small Asian stores, apparently Indian women dip it - but not in public. I think a lot of older women snuff takers out there snuff or dip in secrecy. I imagine your female snuff dippers were the same
âI think a lot of older women snuff takers out there snuff or dip in secrecy. I imagine your female snuff dippers were the sameâ I seem to recall a mention of nasal snuff and a woman in a Mark Twain story. I suspect that snuff taking (through the nose) may have been a socially acceptable form of taking tobacco for women at one time in the US at least (though I suspect dipping it may have been dubious). I remember an aunt telling me how shocked she was, as a young girl, to spy one of her female teachers smoking! This probably would have been back in the Thirties or earlier.
The American Snuffs were originally designed as a traditional nasal snuff. But during depression times it made a good cheap substitute for lip tobacco because it didnât have any flavoring/scents that would taste bad in the mouth. Its just good olâ tobacco, any one of them can be put in the nose or the mouth because of just being good quality tobacco. There was a time when the US was one of the major suppliers of snuff across the world along the time when Spain was one of the other major suppliers. Back in the day, the 2 most popular snuffs in the world were the Spanish snuff and the US Scotch snuff. But in all aspects it is a nasal snuff first and a lip tobacco second. steverino1958 you asked, âAre there US snuffs that are the equivalent of English snuffsâ? I ask are there any English snuffs equivalent to US snuffs? If you like plain snuffs, there are none better. They have a higher grade tobacco with great potency, more than any english snuff I have tried. They are considered an âadvanced snuffâ by many because they are such a robust snuff. The English HDTâs are later copies of American Scotch snuffs because they were so loved across the world and the English snuff companies wanted a share of that love.
Irish High Toast was an accidental development, not a reaction to anything going on across the water. In the 1760âs the Dublin snuff maker Lundy Foot left an unskilled operative to oversee the snuff drying. The story goes that this individual left it too long and it âtoastedâ. Lundy Foot initially thought of selling it off cheap but when he and others sampled it he found the distinctive burnt flavout to be palatable - hence HDT was born and within a few years was copied by other makers - its unlikely they even knew what an American snuff was. I donât know about American snuff being the most popular in the world (leaving aside most of the tobacco was grown there) as I have no information one way or the other but I would say this: things that are globaly impactive leave a trace - think about empires and the like. There is no trace of American snuff - in the sense that the occasional place still sells or uses it - in the UK or Europe (that I know of, but happy to be corrected) My information for HDT part of this comes from âSnuff and Snuff Boxesâ by Hugh Macauslandâ published in 1951, the second part is a hunch!
Following this isteresting comment we must to remember very important things : - TOBACCO comes originally from America - First European settlers in America were Spaniards. ( I say settlers âŚnot visitorsâŚhahaha) - First taking tobacco manner was snuff. And now a very important story extracted from " The Mill House of Sharrow Mills" : âProbably the most widely taken snuff in the world is the blend known as âSPâ. This blend obtained its name through a naval battle off the shore of a Spanish port, Vigo, in 1702. The French fleet was protecting a rich Spanish convoy of galleons which had sailed from the West Indies when a combined English and Dutch fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke attacked. One ship, the Torbay, under the command of Vice-Admiral Hobson was becalmed and trapped in a most compromising position. A contemporary chronicler writes, âAll this while Admiral Hobson was in extreme danger; for being clapt on board by a French Fireship, whereby his rigging was presently set on fire, he expected every moment to be burnt; but it very fortunately fell out that the French ship, which indeed was a Merchantman laden with snuff, and fitted up in haste for a Fireship, being blown up, the snuff, in some measure extinguished the fire, and preserved the English Man of War from being consumed.â This battle, for which Hobson received a Knighthood and a pension of ÂŁ500, was largely responsible for starting the popular fashion of snuff-taking in England. The booty from the captured Spanish galleons included a large quantity of snuff which was subsequently sold in London. Referred to as âSpanishâ by the clerks, they soon abbreviated this to âSPâ, thus originating the name of the most popular blend of all.â
The true story about the irish snuff maker accidentally starting toasted snuffs isnât entirely correct. Toasted or âfire curedâ snuffs have been around long before this âaccidentâ happened. That is just a story used as filler for a book. The story is one of the myths of how toasted snuff got to be known as Scotch snuff. The story goes, just how it go the name âScotchâ isnât clear, but there is a story, possibly true, but not authenticated, that a merchant in Ireland had some snuff in stone jars exposed to the heat of a fire on his premises, and as he could not afford to throw it away he sold it to his patrons without mentioning the fact that it had been scorched by fire. When the fire-scorched snuff was sold out, much to his surprise his patrons began to complain and demand more of that âsnuff with the scorched tasteâ Later the word âscorchedâ, so tradition tells us, was confused with the word âScotchâ, with the result that âscorchedâ snuff became âScotchâ snuff. But this was not the start of of a âtoastedâ snuff. And is not the only myth of how scotch snuff got its name. The other story goes as follows: "The name Scotch Snuff was started by the company Levi Garrett which began in 1782. Now in 1880 the company product was being shipped world wide. There is an old explanation that is being lost to history as to where the term âScotch Snuffâ was made. It goes as follows. The Scotch are sometimes referred to as penny pinchers. And of course you can imagine one dressed in plaid as squeezing a coin between his fingers to get the last value from it. This was to explain how this tobacco was to be used, a pinch between fingers. Now Scotch Snuff was made in a certain way. It is made with the darker leaves and stems which are deeper in flavor. They cure this tobacco with fire and is called âdark fire curedâ. This gives the tobacco its smokey flavor. In the 1720âs Garrets snuff started being produced in Delaware, this wasnât the only mill just the most famous. Many Scottish immigrants operated mills. Shortly after these mills were up, the snuff was being brought back to the British Kingdom and started to be sold around the world. It was halted for a while when they were fighting the British during the War of Independence. After the war it was again fully established in 1782. Snuff was a big product in the âNew Englandâ and you best believe it was exported for trade and funds. Before this time Spanish snuff was the biggest player in the game. That ended for a short time in 1712 when the Dauphine of France was poisoned after taking a pinch from a box of Spanish snuff presented to her. So having snuff produced in the new British Colonies was a big deal. You have to remember that all the snuff being made here were not known as âAmerican Snuffsâ until after we gained our independence. But being produced in America but not yet known as âAmerican Snuffâ, the snuff from America was known throughout the world because the tobacco grown here in the States had qualities far superior to any tobacco grown elsewhere and this holds true today. For a period after the âAmerican War of Independenceâ, the snuff produced in America was supplied in great numbers to the countries who signed treaties of alliance with the U.S. including France, Spain and the Netherlands. But during this time and prior the snuff being sold overseas was just known as either Spanish snuff or Scotch snuff just for the type of snuff it was. By the mid 1800âs the largest snuff factories in the world were located in the US. Among one of the products were Garrett snuffs including Levi Garrett Scotch & Rappee snuff. It was the most popular type of strong scotch/toast type snuff in the world. That time in the world this snuff was sold from bulk and you could go buy any amount you wanted. Wether it was 2 pounds or just enough to fill your snuff box. From the middle of the 1800âs to the middle of the 1900âs Garrett snuffs could be found in just about every corner of the world. It used to be as easily found as Poschl snuff is today. But this has declined as American snuff companies shifted focus to the rising popularity of chewing tobacco & dip. This is when snuff use was on a big decline and they started marketing their âsnuffâ as âdipâ. It became popular as dip because of the price for the amount. These companies used to get about 90% of their profit from the snuff sales but now has switched. Their chew and dip now makes the 90%. But this is one big reason why now you wonât find American snuffs in the European snuff shops. They have the same misconception as some of you fellow members that it is only a mouth tobacco. But Garrett snuffs can still be found across europe because a few of the members overseas have found it in their tobacco shops. If it wasnât for a few select online shops, most of the european snuffs wouldnât be known here in the US. When you really think about it, the first snuff was American Snuff since snuff was introduced to Europe from America in the 16th century . Indians in both North and South America were using tobacco in all forms including snuff long before the rest of the world new about tobacco. Spanish snuff which was the first snuff in Europe was actually American Snuff. Since the first tobacco plantations were started in the Americas by Spain and the idea of snuff coming from American Indians. Since the early 1600âs when John Rolfe started a tobacco plantation in Virginia, tobacco has been one of the biggest exports from America. By the 1620âs, 40,000 pounds of tobacco were shipped to England and total of over 119,000 pounds had been produced just from this one plantation. US tobacco continued to be one of the major suppliers of tobacco to the snuff mills overseas.
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Really GREAT REVIEW âŚI am really well impressed with the comments from Brian once more!!!
Yeah I have been watching the John Adams series as well. It is disappointing especially since Benjamin Franklin was considered the champion U. S. snuffer. He startled European courts by the care he used in carrying the right colored box for every occasion. But I think this show main focus is on John Adams political actions rather than everyday actions. HBO has had some great shows. May all time favorite being Deadwood.
hi, boobah204âŚband of brothersâŚ: " We few, we happy few, we band of brothersâŚ" (snuffers)
Thats a superb essay on snuff history, fascinating and thanks!
Curb Your Enthusiasm which probably has the best chance of having snuff in it at some point at least out of the shows mentioned.
Yeah I thought I would have seen it on Deadwood being it took place in the Dakota Territories around the 1870âs. But the biggest thing consumed was whiskey then opium/dope, chew, pipe & ryo. Along with feeding those killed to the hogs. Iâve got all the seasons on DVD so maybe I need to watch again and look closer at the crowds in the background. Your attention is drawn so much in the forefront you donât always notice whatâs going on in the background.
Troutsroker, thanks for your little essay on the history of snuff. Comparing some F&T HDT to WE Garrett Scotch, I canât say as I really notice the fire-cured component in the F&T. It certainly doesnât stand out the way it does with the American plains that Iâve tried thus far and the American is far more robust. According to the Sheffield Exchange the F&T is composed of Zimbabwe Flue Cured Stem, Dark Fired Leaf & Sun Cured Leaf. Do you have any idea what types of tobacco the American plains are typically composed of and in what quantities? I noticed in another post that you said the American snuffs are what you grew up on. Have you noticed any change in their quality or flavor over the years in the different brands? It always makes me nervous when I see an old establish brand like you mentioned (Square) being taken over by another company. But I suspect thatâs been true for all of these snuff over the years. I canât say thereâs anything wrong with the two Swisher brands, Honey Bee and Society, that Iâve tried so far but I canât say much for Swisher Sweets cigars. That may be a matter of personal taste though. I have to disagree with one thing you said above: âthe snuff from America was known throughout the world because the tobacco grown here in the States had qualities far superior to any tobacco grown elsewhere and this holds true today.â That may be the case with snuff (today or yesterday) but I donât think itâs the case with pipe tobacco. Iâve yet to find an American blend that compares with the stuff offered by Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. or Samuel Gawith. They seem to favor African, Indian and dark fired leaf in their blends which produce a good amount of strength and robustness unlike anything that Iâve encountered thatâs available in the US. Perhaps it would be possible to produce something comparable to a Gawith blend from American grown tobacco but it simply isnât done (at least that Iâm aware of).