Hooch Rough Cut Review – New Formula

Back again with another product review from Hooch Snuff. I’ve reviewed Hooch several times in the past including my review of Hooch Snuff Peach Rough Cut, when they originally introduced Hooch Snuff Rough Cut and way back in they day when I did one of my first alternative reviews and took a look at their original product line. I’ve gone on record in the past saying that I’m a big fan of when companies don’t rest on their laurels and continue to strive to make their products better. Hooch is doing just that with their reformulated Hooch Rough Cut.

According to Hooch President & CEO Chet May, “Our previous rough cut version packed better than our regular (fine) cut, but wasn’t quite the same feeling as a long cut.  Our new version definitely feels very similar to a long cut tobacco product. We utilized a blend of kudzu and mint leaves in order to get the texture to that of a long cut.  Because of the kudzu / mint interaction, it packs better than pure mint leaves – leaving less floaters on your fingers after packing and is less harsh on the gums than pure mint.

The mint will affect the flavor for our rough cut version as compared to our regular cut.  The Mint and Wintergreen affects are not discernible.  The Peach, Whiskey and Cherry all have a slight additional sweetness and frankly I think it improves each of the flavors.  The Classic and Spitfire, both now have a background Mint flavor which tastes good, but isn’t quite the same as our previous version or our regular cut.”

Hooch Rough Cut Review

I’m happy to say that regardless of the tinkering that Hooch does to their formula they’re maintaining great spitability with their products. For those of you that are looking for a “close to the real thing” product that’s a key. All seven varieties have that which is a great thing. The cut itself (as shown in the video) is still not quite what I’d consider a traditional long cut, but it’s making great strides and far and away a superior cut to the traditional Hooch cut for me. I will say that this was also the juiciest (I’ll refrain from the word moist cause I know most people hate it) batch I’ve ever sampled and it packed GREAT.

As Chet said, the Mint and Wintergreen flavors here are completely unaffected by the formula change. When asked about the closest to the real thing I point to these as being super close to Skoal Mint and Wintergreen respectively. They’ve been spot on in the past and continue to be. Bravo.

As I said in my original Peach Rough Cut review, “If you don’t like peach, you won’t like this. If you do, you will. Simple as that.” I have nothing to add. Still a good Peach sub.

The added sweetness of the Whiskey flavor I was OK with. This one had the “warm” flavor of Red Man Golden Blend to begin with and the additional sweetness just adds to that recollection in my mind. I used to put a drop or two of Jack Daniel’s in my fake dips. Hooch is so moist these days that you may actually need to let it dry out for a day or to before you add any more liquid to it but this would be a good flavor to experiment with.

Classic and Spitfire were probably my least favorite of the original Hooch lineup and they continue to be but don’t take that as a negative. I’ve never been a “classic” flavored dipper as I was never a fan of Copenhagen or other “straight” dips. The Spitfire has a nice kick to it that got a bit hot for me as I tend to keep my chew in for a good long while. It’s sort of like when you’re eating hot wings… the first couple don’t bother you but as you continue to polish them off your mouth starts to feel the heat.

Hooch Rough is VERY close to the real thing.  For some this is a good thing and for others it may be a drawback.  Just know that when you pop in a chew of Hooch it’s going to be pretty darn close to the feel (and in some cases the taste) of what you remember… just without the nicotine.

The Classic and Spitfire, both now have a background Mint flavor which tastes good, but isn’t quite the same as our previous version or our regular cut.”

Hooch Rough Cut – Ingredients

Hooch does not list product specific ingredients on their website any longer. Here’s what they list on their ingredients page:

All of our food grade ingredients are the finest available.

• Kudzu Leaves: This plant is in the soy bean family and is also known as Pueraria. It has been consumed for thousands of years in China and is considered totally safe. We use only the leaves of the plant, not the root. The root contains high levels of pseudoestrogens and isoflavones which are commonly used in medicinal herbs. The leaves only contain very low levels of these components.
• Mint: We use a proprietary Kudzu and Mint blend in our Rough Cut Flavors to provide a texture similar to a long cut tobacco.
• Glycerin: Used to provide moisture to the product. It also provides a light sweetness to our product. We use only 99.7% Kosher glycerin.
• Soybean or Olive Oil: Used to maintain moisture and provide a better feel of our products. We use Extra Virgin Olive Oil in some of our products to help bring out the flavor.
• Caramel Color: Our Caramel Color is used to create the authentic brown expectorant (spit) you would expect. It is made from the burning of corn syrup.
• Cayenne Pepper: Provides that signature sting that is felt in real tobacco products.
• Salt: Used to enhance the flavor and increase salivation. About 1/15th of a teaspoon of salt is in each tin.

Each of our flavors contain one or more of the following:

• Tabasco Mash: This is comprised of tabasco peppers, vinegar and salt. We get out tabasco mash directly from the McIlhenny Company that manufactures the famous sauce.
• Mint Oils: Our Mint and Wintergreen flavors use essential oils distilled from the appropriate mint plants. All of our mint oils are manufactured in the U.S.
• Natural Flavors: Our Cherry and Whiskey flavors use only natural flavors.
• Artificial Flavor: In order to get as close to real tobacco for our Classic flavor, we use an artificial flavor. We also use an Artificial Peach flavor since most natural Peach flavors smell like dirty armpits.

Hooch Snuff Rough Cut is available on the Hooch website or on Amazon now. You can get single cans, a six pack or a sampler. Tell em KillTheCan.org sent you!

Special thanks to Chet May from Hooch Snuff for providing me samples to try and review and for proving a coupon code for KTC readers.

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Have you tried Hooch Snuff Rough Cut yet?  Contact us and we’ll add your review to the site!