Mint Snuff Review (Oregon Mint Snuff)

Way back during a previous failed quit attempt, I tried Mint Snuff.  I remember very vividly walking into a gas station on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington and picking up a can.  I also remember very vividly turning around about a mile down the road and returning to buy some Kodiak, but that’s cause I was an addict… not because of this product. 😉  So now that I’m quit and I’m clearly a big fan of these smokeless alternatives I thought I’d give it another try.  I reached out to Mint Snuff through their website www.mintsnuff.com and got some samples to try.

From the website:

“MINT SNUFF™ Non-Tobacco Chew & Pouches. “We help people quit chewing tobacco & quit smoking.”  Mint Snuff is a non-tobacco, herbal chew made of mint instead of tobacco. Safe to eat, safe to swallow.  Non-addictive, healthy alternative to chewing tobacco and cigarettes.”

For more of the Mint Snuff story check out their history here.

Initial Impressions

Each plastic tin contains either 1.2 oz of product or 25 pouches.  Upon opening the product itself (not the pouches) it’s got a nice “sweet” smell to it, and the product itself has a “gummy” feel to it.  Each can is completely full so there’s no need to pack it.  Each can and pouch has a “Best If Used By” date on the bottom.  This is an outstanding touch that you don’t get with all smokeless alternatives on the market.  Not that this is all that important, but the spit in my spitter had a greenish tint to it.  I’m not sure why this surprised me being that this is a produce made from mint.  That “fresh” minty feel stayed in my mouth long after I took my chew(s) out.

From the product can:
“Mint Snuff Spit-Free All Mint Chew is a healthy alternative to smokeless tobacco and has helped many chewers and smokers quit tobacco!  Recommended by health professionals as an alternative.”

From the pouch can:
“Caution!  Pouches have an extremely strong mint flavor.  You may wish to allow time between pouches to avoid mint-discomfort.  To use: Place a Pouch between your cheek and gum to let the flavor crystals dissolve slowly.  When the flavor diminishes, gently bite the Pouch to release even more mint flavors!  The juices are meant to be swallowed, the Pouch itself is not.”

Original Mint Snuff –  As I said earlier, the product feels very “gummy” but it’s got a nice sweet smell that’s not too overpowering.  There’s no pack necessary as it really holds together like glue.  This is more of a “shredded” product (akin to the “cut” of Hawken).  I suppose this would almost be considered a long cut product but there were quite a few “bits”.  Luckily I didn’t get a whole lot of “throat float” which is a very good thing.  Got a great minty rush when I initially popped one in.  Product has good spitibility that produces quite a bit of brown color.  Ironically, when cleaning out my spitter, that brown took on a greenish (mint) tint.  Even though this is a gummy chew, it’s very soft in my mouth and not very harsh at all.  This is a nice long chew with a ton of flavor.  Honestly, I was surprised how little smell comes from a product with so much flavor.  That said, if I had to choose, I’d definitely pick flavor over smell.  I’ve said many times that this is a “gummy” chew but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Essentially what it means is that it simply DOES NOT fall apart in my mouth. This is a very good thing.

Original Mint Snuff Pouches – As I’ve said in previous reviews, I’m a big fan of pouches these days.  As you’d expect, this has the same great flavor as the product above without the gumminess.  I really thought I’d have to go with 2-3 pouches to get the flavor, but a single pouch definitely gave me the flavor I was looking for.  As the can says, biting the pouch does indeed release a new rush of flavor.  This is absolutely outstanding.  A+++

Cinnamon Flavor Mint Snuff – There was an outstanding smell upon opening this can.  MUCH more than the Original flavor.  It’s still gummy, but by this point I’m realizing that’s just how this product is… no big deal.  I’m not a big flavored dip guy, but this has an awesome flavor.  I took a nice big hoss of this one and really enjoyed it for quite a long time with very little flavor loss.

Spearmint Flavor Mint Snuff – This is listed as the “new” Spearmint flavor on the cans I’ve got.  Once again a great smell upon cracking the can.  This is a very “fresh” flavor with much more  of a “pop” than the Original flavor.  I really get the “burn” from this flavor – ouch!  If I’m looking for a real product to compare this to, it would be Spearmint Skoal.

Wintergreen Flavor Mint Snuff – Outstanding flavor here with the same texture as the other products.  Good longevity and spitibility with this one as well.  I have to say that I’m thinking the flavor profiles of Wintergreen & Spearmint are FAR superior to the Original flavor.  Keep in mind that I was a Kodiak Wintergreen guy so that may be why.

Wintergreen Flavor Mint Snuff Pouches – Love, love, love these.  Great wintergreen flavor that really reminds me of those little white Wintergreen Lifesavers that come packaged individually.  I typically don’t swallow my chews, but gutting this one isn’t bad at all.  That’s a very good thing in my book.  This would be a great product for when you can’t or don’t want to spit.  As I’d expected, there is no brown spit with the pouch products.  These are my new breath mints.  To steal a line from Charlie Sheen: epic winning.

Beaver Chew – Not really sure what to expect here as it’s marketed and packaged completely differently than the rest of the line: www.beaverchew.com.  This is essentially a blend of the Wintergreen & Spearmint flavors.  If I had to pick one that it’s closest to, I’d say the Spearmint.  Good flavor, but I’m not sure it’s different enough from either.  Actually, now that I think about it, if I had to choose one this is probably my favorite of the 3 as it gets a bit of the Wintergreen and a bit of the Spearmint.  Suppose that makes sense.

The Pros

• Cost – $2.50 per can for both the product itself and the pouches.
• Pouches – both pouch products are absolutely outstanding.  HUGE flavor profiles, no bits to float around and no need to spit.
• In-store availability – They’ve got a very large network of brick and mortar locations that carry Mint Snuff products.

The Cons

• Gummy Consistency – If you’re looking for something that’s similar to real tobacco this isn’t for you.
• This is a “mint” product.  As such, all of the flavors have that “minty” flavor to them (makes sense).

Overall

Mint Snuff is a nice smokeless alternative.  I’m not using many of these products these days but I’ll definitely go back to the pouches.  The regular product has a very gummy feel to it, but once you get past that there’s some really good flavors here.  If you’re looking for a spot on Spearmint Skoal substitute, the Spearmint Mint Snuff is the closest I’ve found on the market.  I’d like to offer a special thanks to Bill and Kim at Mint Snuff for providing me samples to try and review.  If you’d like to get some you can find stores that carry the product or order directly from the site at www.mintsnuff.com

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