Amarillo Snuff Co Product Review
So I’m sitting in my truck this afternoon while my son has indoor baseball practice and I’m thrilled to finally bring you this review. I often say these reviews are ‘long overdue’ and that’s primarily because I’m really bad at getting these done on time. This one is REALLY overdue as I was sent some samples YEARS ago (back in May of 2018) and I never got around to reviewing them. I’m SO glad that they reached back out again because, not to spoil the lead here, they’ve got some GREAT products.
Introducing Amarillo Snuff Co. Today I’ll be reviewing long cut varieties of the following flavors: Wintergreen, Original, Classic, Mint, Lemon Zest, Peach and Black Cherry.
I’ve had countless comments here on the site as well as directly to my email asking me to review Amarillo product so I’m happy that I’m finally able to deliver on those requests!
Amarillo Snuff – Initial Impressions
As I’ve said in previous reviews, I’m primarily a pouch user these days. This is partially due to the fact that as I move forward in my quit I’m looking for something a bit ‘cleaner’. It has also been historically true because I was a long cut dipper and there really hasn’t been in my opinion too many good ‘long cut’ substitutes out there. This is no longer the case and Amarillo Snuff has some of what I’d consider some of the best long cut products on the alternative. The texture, cut, smells and tastes are top notch here.
Good smells and flavors for all products. I started with what I consider the ‘traditional’ dip flavors first: Wintergreen, Original, Classic and Mint. I then moved onto the ‘flavored’ products next. I’ll go into some additional details about each flavor below. All flavors were really moist and the cans were PACKED, almost to the point where I had a hard time getting that first dip out. This is a very good problem to have. They all packed well and produced a ton of deep dark brown saliva. Per their website all of their products, “are made with 100% food grade ingredients, and contain zero tobacco.” That said, I think it’s fair to say they are also safe to swallow, though I don’t think I’d recommend it.
All of these are 100% tobacco and nicotine free – otherwise I wouldn’t be reviewing them.
PLEASE NOTE: This review ONLY pertains to the NICOTINE FREE (NONE) version of these products. I have not, and will not try the versions of this product that contain nicotine. Amarillo Snuff DOES sell versions of their products that contain nicotine – if you purchase from them make sure you know what you’re getting. Luckily their website makes it very clear which version you’re buying.
The cans are high quality thick plastic with a couple of variations in the wrapping (some are plastic and some are paper). Overall the packaging and presentation are great, though as always I would have appreciated a ‘best by’ or ‘use by’ date.
Amarillo Snuff – Wintergreen
I always start out with Wintergreen as I was a Kodiak Wintergreen guy for the majority of my time as a dipper. This is a really good start to my sampling. Good Wintergreen smell upon popping the can and a nice flavor to go along with it. I said in a previous review that I’d just taken a whiff of Kodiak recently (not recommended for early quitters) so I remember quite well that one smells like. This is closer to Skoal Wintergreen but a very nice alternative. Lots of saliva and not too many ‘floaters’.
Amarillo Snuff – Original
These next two were most likely going to be my least favorite of the bunch. As I said, I was primarily a Wintergreen guy (with stops along the way with Mint and Cherry). If you were a Cope user this would be the one for you if you’re looking to emulate that flavor. I can’t say it’s spot on but it’s pretty damn close. For me a good measuring stick if if I crack the can and take a good whiff and get the ‘Cope Shivers’. CHECK. Not my favorite but again I wasn’t a fan of Cope or other non-flavored chews. That said, cut, texture and spitability are there.
Amarillo Snuff – Classic
Just as I’d suspected I wasn’t a fan, but again that’s totally subjective based on my tastes. This reminds me most of Skoal Classic or Skoal Straight. Once again great cut, texture and spitability, just not my personal cup of tea. However, I want to be clear, if you’re a Classic guy (or gal) I’d urge you to give this one a shot as you may really like it – the product itself is top notch.
Amarillo Snuff – Mint
I took a big old dip of this one and damn am I glad that I did. Brings me right back to the Skoal Mint days of the past. Yes, I realize this site is all about quitting dip and this sort of nostalgia can be seen a treacherous but I’m confident in my quit and if I’m going to do these reviews i’m going to be honest. The can on this one had a paper wrapping where the previous ones had sort of a plastic wrap. Not sure if this was just the samples I got or if all the Mints are like this but wanted to point it out. I can’t imagine anyone cares about the packaging, especially with a Mint flavored product that’s this good. Nice burn that really lets you know you’ve got a chew in. High recommend.
Amarillo Snuff – Lemon Zest
Back to the plastic can wrap here. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really have high hopes for this one. Most of the lemon products on the market, even if I enjoy the flavor they present, aren’t truly ‘lemon’ flavored. And many times when you get one that is it’s a really BITTER version of lemon. I’m happy to say I was dead wrong on this one and this is my favorite Lemon sub on the market. It’s not too tart, not too sweet and tastes… like lemon. I’m reminded slightly of a dessert that my mom makes called Lemon Lush which is a tremendously light and refreshing taste that comes through here. Big fan of this one.
Amarillo Snuff – Peach
Paper can wrap once again. This one was really nice. I never was a Peach dipper back in the day so I can’t tell you how close to the real thing this one tastes but it’s a really good flavor. This has that ‘warm’ peach flavor that I’d compare to a warm peach cobbler but without the spice. If you’re a fan of peach I think it’s fair to say you’ll like this one.
Amarillo Snuff – Black Cherry
I save this one for last because honestly this was the one that I was looking forward to the most. We’re once again back to the paper wrapping on the can. I’m not sure why but Cherry dips hold a special place in my heart and I just love the flavor. When I wasn’t a Kodiak guy I was chewing Skoal Cherry for many years. That particular flavor has a very specific taste to it which reminds me of the old school Cherry Lifesavers. This one is a ‘deeper’ flavor of cherry, hence the Black Cherry name. This a very, very good alternative and one that I’ll be returning to for certain.
Amarillo Snuff – Ingredients
Per the ingredients section of their website ingredients ‘may’ include the following: Corn Husks, Disodium Phosphate, FDA Approved Dyes and Flavors, FDA Approved Preservatives, Glycerin, Monosodium Phosphate
I did have two cans that had ingredients listed – not sure if I got old cans, new cans or what.
The Classic can I have lists the following ingredients: corn husks, disodium phosphate, dye, flavor, gylcerin, monosodium phosphate, salt, sucralose, sugar
The Black Cherry can I have lists the following ingredients: corn husks, FDA-approved dyes, flavors and preservatives, salt, sucralose, sugar
It also has the statement NO SALES TO ANYONE UNDER 18
Amarillo Snuff – Final Thoughts
I’m so bummed that it took me so long to get to this review – Amarillo Snuff has some INCREDIBLE nicotine and tobacco free products! They’ve got one of the best long cut products on the market and their flavors are really strong. If I had to rank them I’d probably go Lemon Zest (this was surprisingly awesome), Black Cherry, Wintergreen, Peach, Mint, Wintergreen, Classic and Original. But remember, 100% subjective based on what I like. Your mileage may vary.
All of the flavors that I reviewed above are currently available for purchase on their website. You can get single cans of all flavors, a five can roll and they also offer subscriptions. They also have a VANILLA flavor which I need to get my hands on. Believe it or not I just went through my desk drawer and found a vanilla can from way back when they sent me samples but it was dry – reviewing it now wouldn’t be fair. I’ll see if I can get my hands on a can and write up a review.
Amarillo Snuff can be found on the web at https://amarillosnuff.com/
Special thanks to Steve from Amarillo Snuff for providing samples for me to try and review. Sorry again for the LONG delay!
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Have you tried Amarillo Snuff products? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts!
I have to give huge kudos to Amarillo Snuff. This is how me and my husband quit tobacco and nicotine. We tried other alternatives and couldn’t do it. I know some people can just quit cold turkey, but unfortunately that wasn’t us. I had been a dipper for 34 years and him for 36 years. We started with the Amarillo Snuff Co. 1/2 version and we did that for 30 days. Then we bought their none and the 1/2 and we would put them upside down and empty their contents onto a cutting board and divide each into half and then put 1/2 of the none and 1/2 of the 1/2 into a can and mix up to create our own 1/4 strength. We did that for 30 days also. Then 60 days from the beginning of our journey, we switched to their none. This was hard, very hard, and we both had withdrawals, some worse than others, but after about 15 days, things got a little smoother and now here we are 2 years later, still 100% tobacco and nicotine free. We could not have done it without Amarillo Snuff. Our favorites are the Black Cherry none, Wintergreen none and Mint none. We love the texture, it holds together well, spits well. Just good stuff. We laugh about how we pay for a product that doesn’t do anything for us, but then again, it actually keeps us from the bad stuff. My heart doctor is thrilled with me quitting and we both feel so much better.
I’ve ordered Smokey Mtn, Hooch, Fully Loaded, Baccoff, Black Buffalo, Outlaw Dip, and Amarillo. Amarillo Snuff is the first one I’ve ever re-ordered. Not saying I’ll never order the other brands again, but I’ll definitely keep getting Amarillo.
I was a straight and cherry user mostly. I will say Smokey Mtn has the best flavor for straight that I’ve tried but it’s not incredible. I have not tried Smokey Mtn Cherry and I have not tried Amarillo Classic (it keeps being not available).
Amarillo Black Cherry really made me think I was using cherry tobacco again. Maybe too much. But I reordered.
Amarillo original tastes like soy sauce or liquid smoke. Not bad really if you want salty. I added pepper to mine for when I’m angry and want a salty burn. None of the flavors come with pepper to mimic the nicotine burn. But adding your own is easy. I use dehydrated and crushed habanero that I’ve been making for years.
Glazed Pecan tastes a little like pecan pie but I also keep thinking coconut.
The mint is just another mint to me. For any brand I think mint is safe because it tastes minty. While I’ve had mint tobacco I was not a regular mint user so I’m not picky on it.
Amarillo Vanilla is the best pinch to ever pack in my lip! Think creamy saltwater vanilla taffy for the taste. But Virginia’s finest slow cured tobacco for the texture. (I really don’t know much about Virginia nor about curing tobacco, but you get my point). I definitely reordered.
I also added lemon to my newest order as I have not tried that one.
Im 30 days quit today. I’ve been on a search for the best straight alternative. I’ve given up – not because I don’t believe it’s out there. Maybe it is. But I’m am totally willing to make these Amarillo flavors my go to. Especially vanilla. It’s way better than tobacco when it comes to flavor.
The makers said on Amazon that Classic (not Original) would be the closest to Copenhagen so I bought a can from their site. It definitely looks the closest of out of most of the herbal snuff I’ve tried, but taste… There’s a distinct smell of artificial smoke, but there’s not a particularly strong taste of anything other than soap, which is similar to other brands that claim to be close to Cope. The mouth feel kind of tricks your brain into thinking you have a dip in, which is good if you are trying to quit tobacco, I think it will help, but the taste was definitely not as advertised.
From a long-time Cope long cut user, the best bets for the Cope taste would be:
Schmitty’s Original – tastes like tea leaves a bit, not a super close match but overall good taste
Smokey Mnt straight – does taste like Cope straight long-cut, which was not my flavor of choice but I had it enough to know
Amarillo is a distant third
Great review. Does this product have pepper to emulate the burn? I dislike that and would prefer to steer clear of products with pepper?
Thanks Tim – no, pepper isn’t listed in the ingredients that could find and I didn’t get that ‘burn’ on any of these flavors. The possible exception was the mint and wintergreen but that wasn’t a ‘pepper’ burn… more of a ‘mint’ (like if you hold a breath mint in one place for too long)
Thank you sir. I have gotten myself down to three dips per week for about two years now. I think it is time to try to quit totally. Have tried many others, I guess I’ll try this one
Let us know how we can help. But realize that there is no fake dip product that will be the silver bullet for you. These products DON’T contain nicotine which is what your body craves when you quit.
You have to make a decision… DECIDE that you’re GOING to quit… not that you’re going to TRY to quit. Once you make that decision then just do it. Take dip OFF the table in your mind. It’s no longer an option. Quit today, repeat tomorrow.
It’s not ‘easy’ by any stretch but it’s just that simple. Give these a read, they may help you. When you’re ready we’ll be here… you will NOT be alone. And believe me when I tell you, it’s worth all the pain you’ll go through to regain your freedom.
https://www.killthecan.org/facts-figures/the-decision-to-quit-dip/
https://www.killthecan.org/change-your-vocabulary/
You CAN do this. You just have to want it. And make that decision.
I got five cans of this (Black Cherry, Mint, Wintergreen, Classic and Original). Tried Classic. It is the best substitute I have tried. Does not stay together great, but it is tolerable. To me, it seems like they were trying for a Bourbon taste. Didn’t totally dig it, but it was decent. For others, I can confirm that it did not have any pepper, which I do not like. Eager to try the others.