How To Choose Snuff
The question "how do you choose a snuff" is a lot like asking what your favorite flavor of ice cream or your favorite pizza topping might be. It's all in your mind. First question to answer is what are you looking for? A slow lingering snuff that is mellow and mild or a giant nicotine rush that feels like a blowtorch up your left nostril? Including anything in between, it's your call.
Let's talk the basics and go from there. Right off the bat, let's do the taxonomy of nasal snuff. There are two basic categories and they are mentholated and non-mentholated. The product split is roughly fifty-fifty. Next to consider is the strength and that is like a meter that goes from mild to off the charts, full mind paralysis nicotine hit. Now the degree of "buzz" required is highly subjective. Again, your choice. Bear in mind that usually the finer the grind, the dryer the snuff, the more potent it is. The darker the snuff usually means the moister it tends to be.
Thirdly, the flavors. The most difficult decisions are to decide what to finally toss into your basket. The choices are quite varied. So let's narrow them down. Let's say the set would consist of mentholated, spicy, spirited, fruity, floral and plain tobacco. Mentholated comes first in line because it is present in so many snuffs. All other flavor types can come mentholated. Menthol is a base and it has many subsets. Just go to the home page of Mr.Snuff and type in the search bar 'menthol'. There are literally hundreds.
Perhaps you don't care for menthol and would prefer a fruity, spirited, spicy or plain snuff? Then try typing one of them in the search box. You'll see the selection is less intimidating. I compare the search for snuff like an excursion of a five year old in a candy shop. You will eventually find something but the search is great fun. If you prefer you can check out some personal favorites here.
The usual suspects are the most popular snuffs. Poschl, McChrystal's, Wilsons, Bernard and 6 Photo. You will notice that snuffs tend to be regional and tend to differ by region. A German snuff is quite different than an Indian snuff from texture to blend. German snuffs can be buttery while Indian snuffs can be Sahara dry. Each region has it's own recipes and varieties that encompass the full gamut of flavors, textures and strengths. The most popular regions for snuff manufacturers are United Kingdom, Germany, United States, India, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa and Poland. I suggest you take a quiet Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night and peruse the collections. You are bound to find something that will tickle your fancy and allow you to be up to snuff!
I will also recommend you read the reviews. These little gems of wisdom from fellow enthusiasts may help to steer you in the right direction. I'll have a little bit to say about writing reviews soon. Above all have fun and enjoy snuffing.