Greetings Snustopians!I was sitting in my office this weekend here in beautiful Skruf Square, pouring over some of the past reviews we’ve done together, when I had realized that we haven’t reviewed an Extra Strong / Sterk / Stark portion snus brand in quite awhile! If memory serves me correctly, the last one we reviewed was Oden’s Cinnamon or Kanel so I thought to myself, there’s been a lot of talk out there on the other Oden’s Extra Strong portion flavors but not too much on Extra Strong Original portion! Until today!
Today we’ll be touring thru the third flavor in the Oden’s Extra Strong portion line, Original. I know what you’re thinking. “Hey Snus Guy, how could a relatively new brand of snus have an original flavor? Wasn’t Cinnamon the first flavor out?” Well, while I’m not entirely sure that Cinnamon was indeed the first flavor Gajane introduced in the Extra Strong portion line, I can shed a little light on the whole “Original” flavor name.
You see, in the beginning, snus manufacturers introduced snus as simply “snus”. Everyone knew that the flavor would inherently be of tobacco, salt and possibly bergamot. For example, Ettan, one of the oldest snus brands, first introduced snus back in 1822 and was flavored with just tobacco, salt and water. As snus began to evolve into the flavor assortment it is today, many manufacturers that began to add flavoring to their original recipes, needed to make a distinction between the “Original” flavor and its new flavor mixes. Thus, the “Original” flavor moniker was born. So, “original” on some cans of snus simply means plain tobacco flavor with a bit of salt. This is the case with Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus! I know, I took the long way to answer the question but, I hope this clears any confusion up. Back to the review!
As I said in the beginning Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus is another Extra Strong snus made by the folks at Gajane. The portions are made with the same tea bag material that Gajane uses in all its portion snus but the Original portions are a bit different than the Cinnamon portions. While the Cinnamon and Licorice portions seem to be overly wet, the Original portions are not. They are all classed as regular type portions which, as you all remember, go thru the additional wetting step to add a bit more moisture and flavor to the snus but, unlike its brothers, are not as wet. This makes Original’s portions stay in place longer but, delays the flavor release. Each portion of Extra Strong Original has a little less than 1 gram of snus and there are 24 portions in each can.
The Nicotine content in Extra Strong Original is the typical 17 mg per portion that all of Oden’s Extra Strong portions have making it still, to date, the strongest snus in the world! As I explained in the Oden’s Extra Strong Cinnamon, although there is a high amount of Nicotine in the Oden’s Extra Strong line, I really didn’t get the woozy, head spinning feeling one would expect with a high Nicotine snus. Rather, I got a real sense of calming with it! Although I still don’t recommend chain snusing it!
The can that Oden’s Extra Strong Original comes in is the same black plastic can that Cinnamon comes in with the Oden’s logo engraved on the lid. Unfortunately, there is no used portion compartment in the lid but, the engraving is pretty cool looking! I have noticed that the portions in Oden’s Original do tend to be inconsistently filled. What I mean is that some of the portions seem to have less snus in them. If I had to estimate a percentage of portions that are smaller, I’d guess probably around 10%. It may not be an issue with most Snustopians but, I figured I let everyone know!
The mouth feel with the portions are pretty comfortable no matter how they are filled. I’ve had a portion in for over 2 ½ hours with very little discomfort. Unlike Extra Strong Cinnamon, there is virtually no sliding or excess dripping of the snus with Original! Next up, the flavor!
I was actually pretty surprised with the flavor in Oden’s Extra Strong Original! “Surprised Snus Guy, you? We don’t believe it!” Yes, I know there is not too much that can surprise me but, Original did just that! But not like you would expect. While the flavor of Extra Strong Original is just as one would expect a snus that’s flavor is labeled “Original” would be, which is plainly tobacco and salt, it was the intensity of the flavor that actually surprised me!
The flavor is basic. By basic I mean just pure tobacco flavor with a salty element and a hint of black pepper but, unlike the Cinnamon, or even Licorice, where the flavor is immediate and intense, the flavor of Original is subtle and quite mellow. But just because the flavor is subtle, doesn’t mean it its short lived! The flavor seems to last for a long time! I’ve let a portion sit for over 3 ½ hours before the flavor died out. I still recommend the 2 ½ hour max for the best experience with flavor and comfort! So, what would go well to drink with Extra Strong Original? Let’s take a look.
As you may remember from our trip thru Oden’s Extra Strong Cinnamon (Kanel), I was a bit timid in trying one of my staple drinks, Monster Energy drink, so I decided to give it another go with the Original. While it still seemed to raise my heart rate a bit, the flavor was too strong for the snus. It seemed to drown out the subtle tobacco flavor. I got the same thing with my other staple, Diet Coke. I next tried a Black iced tea and it seemed to do the same thing! Here’s where I got confused. In all my time reviewing snus, one of these three drinks would always prevail against a lightly flavored snus. I gave one more thing a shot.
I normally drink coffee hot with a bit of sugar. I tried it with Original and I did taste a bit more of the tobacco flavor but, it’s beginning to turn warm outside here in Snustopia so, I tried it with an iced coffee. Wow! What a difference! The iced coffee I tried it with was just a plain Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee with a bit of sugar but it really brought out the tobacco flavor and the bit of sugar helped to balance out the salt. If you’ve never tried an iced coffee with a tobacco flavored snus, I highly recommend you try it, especially with Extra Strong Original.Another great pairing I found with Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus was iced Green tea. Not the flavored Green Teas that are out there, like Sobe or Arizona, just plain iced green tea. Since the tobacco flavor is light in Oden’s Extra Strong Original and the tea flavor is light in the green tea, both helped to enhance each other’s flavors.
So what’s my overall recommendation for Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus, you may ask? Well Snustopians, my overall recommendation is this: Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus is indeed just as strong as its siblings and has the same Nicotine effects as they do as well. There’s no head spins like you would expect from a snus with the highest Nicotine content on the market. Knowing this, I recommend that Snustopians who are big fans of the Extra Strong / Sterk / Stark snus give Oden’s Extra Strong Original a try but be warned, unlike it’s flavored siblings, Original’s flavor is pretty subtle.
Snustopians that want to try their hand at the Extra Strong / Sterk / Stark snus, but are a bit standoffish due to the effects, will like Oden’s Extra Strong Original because the Nicotine effects are not that strong. First time Snustopians, or Snustopians that have not yet strayed into snus with Nicotine contents over 9 mg, may want to consider starting off gradually and may find Oden’s Extra Strong Original much too strong to start the next level in the snus saga!
Speaking of which, like I did in the Oden’s Extra Strong Cinnamon review, I strongly advise against chain snusing Oden’s Extra Strong Original! As I did in the Cinnamon review, I sacrificed myself for all Snustopians and can tell you first hand; this is not a good idea! Even though there are no head spins, there can be some stomach issues related to using a high Nicotine snus back to back for a day so, please exercise caution when using Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion as well as any high Nicotine snus! I know, I know, that sounded like a public service message but, my Ministry of Information insisted on making sure we keep our fellow Snustopians informed!
Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus averages around $3.42 USD at Snustopia’s favorite place to buy snus, The Northerner. The Northerner carries all of Gajane’s brands along with all your other favorites and offer fast delivery and great customer service! If it’s your first time purchasing snus from them, just click on the banner to the right, and get 10% off your order! Just tell ‘em That Snus Guy sent you!
Well Snustopians, I hope you enjoyed our tour of Oden’s Extra Strong Original portion snus and found it fun and informative. I look forward to hearing your comments and questions and look forward to answering them as soon as I can!
As always Snustopians, until our next review,
Happy Snusing!
3 comments:
Snuscentral does carry all of Gajane's extra strong snus, but does not carry the classic 8mg versions.
Thanks for finally reviewing the Original flavor. It's my favorite of the super sterks.
I recently placed my first order for Snus and it was for Oden's Original. I am so excited being my only experience with Snus here in America is Camel's Mellow. Great review giving me plently to look forward to!
Hmmm, pretty strong stuff! I like it. It's enough to stuff my mouth once a day with it.
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