See how the new issue towers over the old ones?

I admit that this is a minor complaint.

Inside the magazine we get an explanation of the size change: STE is now available at: major book stores; grocery stores; head shops; adult book stores; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adult book stores; and soon through  elementary school fundraising programs. And a short magazine gets lost behind tall magazines on the rack.

But don’t go driving around town looking for this issue.

Go get one at its home on the Internet.

They were selling three kinds: General Fresh Taste (a mini mint snus), General Original (pretty sure this is General White), and General Smooth Taste, which is something a little different. It’s a mini snus that is a little chocolatey and quite tasty.

But if you’re used to buying snus in the U.S., Sweden, or on the Internet, get ready for a sticker shock…

Bam. That’s CAD 17.91 (roughly the same price in USD) for one pack of minis. If you’re visiting Canada, you can take 200 grams of snus in without paying customs/going to jail. So depending on the weight of your snus, it’s probably 8 or 9 packs. But snus enthusiasts should give the new flavors in Canada a try if you find them.

Here are some more photos of General Smooth Taste:

Fresh seal:

The snus:

The stamp:

Here they are:

New York
Los Angeles
Minneapolis
Phoenix
Denver
Nashville
Ohio

And recall that they are already in Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia.

You can read more about it here.

Anyhow, I’ve found a nice alternative in Houston-based cidermaker Leprechaun’s Dry Cider, which is like a dry-champagne/cider hybrid. The point of all this is to disclose that I may have been taste-testing bombes de pomme before I sat down for tonight’s snus advisory. And I apologize in advance for anything I may say.

As you may recall, in my last update I made some jokes about Swedish counting conventions. Since then, I’ve learned that GR2 is no longer going by that nickname, and will now just be known as Goteborgs Rape Lingon. It also got some new duds to match GR Lime. Check it:

While I doubt that my blog led to the dropping of the “GR2″ moniker, I will still take full credit. I’m putting it on my resume now…

In other news, there’s General Long White Extra Strong. It’s about 16mg/potion. Too strong for me. Here’s the pic.

Also worth noting is that it’s only 40% water, so it’s a little drier than your average white portion.

And a new Catch is coming out:

I have a feeling of deja vu with this snus. A little googling leads me to Catch Cassis Menthol. I recall having that snus before, but I don’t know how similar or different this new snus is, which is described as “blackcurrant and mint, as well as a little violet and spice.”

Finally, the new Catch Collection is called Spring Street, another street in New York that is famous — like most streets in New York — for its falafel and streetwalkers. Swedish Match describes this incarnation of Catch as “mild nutty tobacco flavor with distinct hints of apple, cinnamon, a little ginger and a rounded sweetness.”

As soon as I get my mitts on this, I’m going to pair it with a bombe de pomme.

All these snus should be available at the end of April/beginning of May.

I think there is enough evidence to say it now… Swedes can’t count well above 2.

Check it out:

Lab Series 1
Lab Series 2
Lab Series 5
Lab Series 6

Goteborgs Rape (Not numbered because it’s old, probably before numbers)
Goteborgs Rape 2
Goteborgs Rape Lime

Just like “5″ doesn’t come after “2,” Neither does “lime,” guys.

Here’s the product description: Mild tobacco flavor with slight sweetness and tones of lime followed by a touch of herby mint. (21,6g and 0,8% nicotine)

I’m decidedly pro lime, but anti mint. So I’m hoping that “touch of herby mint” is quite light. We shall see. It’s the same strength and size that the others in the GR family now are after the Great Snus Diet of 2012.

GR Lime will be available online in early April.

Over the past week I committed myself to not using my usual snus. Instead I burned through most of the snus I got in New York. Some observations…

Yellow 01 is just as good as black 01. I was worried that the slight color change on the pack would affect the snus. It did not. You never know. Snus is a delicate, sensitive creature.Now you know.

General Strong White is really good. I was surprised at how tasty and satisfying it was for a little booger. I was sad when I ran out.

I like Catch White Eucalyptus. But mostly for one occasion. The first snus after brushing my teeth. Pretty much all snus taste like this after brushing, so why hide it? The dry versions of these snus are, well, dry. But this one is nice.

Nick and Johnny Radical Red is a very interesting snus. There’s a little spice and some cinnamon, and the longer you use it the spicier it seems to get. If it were a white portion and not strong, It’d be more my style. But it’s still a great snus.

And Lafayette Street is a mini, limited Catch that tastes like spearmint. Quite usable and nice for people who, you know, don’t like the taste of snus…

That’s just a guess.

To be clear, I don’t mean that the event was without a point, rather that there were several things going on at once. Here’s what I learned:

1. General 15-packs (Nordic Mint and Classic Blend) are going into 7 new markets. I don’t remember what they all were. A couple really big cities though… So this takes the total to 10 cities, along with with the existing ~3,000 stores total in Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia. I’m sure General Snus will make the announcement sometime soon.

2. Thanks to the partnership with Phillip Morris International, you can now find good snus in strange, far off places like Taiwan, Russia, Malaysia and Canada. Brands and flavors vary, although most are variations of General.

3. Kardus 2012 will not be Calvados. Very sad, but there you go.

4. I got a bunch of new snus to try. I haven’t cracked into them yet, but I will begin to do so in the coming days.

5. I think I’m the only person in the group who got on the subway. Dr. Snus is a man of the people. That’s not to say that I wasn’t concerned about the demonstrations by the strange blue-shirt-wearing hooligans that were inexplicably going on everywhere. But it shows you how bad the employment situation is in the region.

6. General Green Harvest may stop production in April due to limited tobacco supply. Stock up. I know I will. This is, in my opinion, one of the best snus ever made.

7. We taste tested single-region, non-flavored snus. I knew that tobacco from different places tasted differently, but I was surprised by how much different after the snus-making process. An interesting test you can do at home is with General White and General Green Harvest. The flavoring added to them is identical, I’m told. The difference is the tobacco.

Disclaimer: Swedish Match flew me to New York, put me up in a posh hotel, and wined and dined me so that I could write this blog.

I have a hard time believing it’s actually spicy. After all, red peppers range from rather sweet to something like death. Here’s a chart I stole to illustrate the differences, notice “red chile” near the bottom.

So this snus should have a tiny bit of fire in it. If it does, I like it — despite it’s kind of 1992 name of “Radical Red.” Remember. These N&J products are designed for Norwegians with bad haircuts, and apparently these dudes are radical and whatnot. Or perhaps it’s a snus for left-wing snus anarchists or something? I doubt it, considering the names of the other N&Js.

The other cool thing about this snus is that it’s a 20 pack at 1.1g instead of the 24 pack at 0.9g most snus got stuck with. So at 1.4% nicotine, you are looking at 15.4 mg.

Apparently there’s some bullshit new tax in Sweden. To keep the shelf price low, some of our favorite portions are going on 0.1 g diet. I’m not sure if or how the price will be affected here, but skinnier snus is anti-awesome. However, I wonder if we’ll see more snus like this new one because of it:

More nicotine, less weight is an interesting way to avoid some tax. This one doesn’t quite meet the level of a regular portion. The math looks something like this 0.5 grams x 1.2% nicotine = 6 mg per portion. Since General Strong White is now 0.9 grams, it weighs in at 10.8 mg of nicotine.

And a slimmed down regular portion would look something like this: 0.9 grams x 0.8% nicotine = 7.2 mg per portion. Unless, of course, they kick up the nico.

General Mini Strong White is set to come out Feb. 6.

Another new one is Catch Lafayette Street. It’s part of the “Catch Collection,” which you’ll remember means that it probably won’t be around forever — I think four months was the rotation in 2011, but that could have been changed. I’m still trying to figure out what the circular colors are on the tin. I see boobs.

This is only for Norwegians — at least for now. If you haven’t noticed a trend here, they’re like the lab mice of the snus world — especially for strong snus. Apparently, there’s something in the air or water in Norway that makes everyone a serious nicotine fiend. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Here’s the math: 0.9 g x 2% = 18 mg/portion. Don’t give this to drunk women unless you want them to puke in your lap.

And a few old friends are getting some new duds. G-Rape has a skiing version that looks a lot like the summer version.

Apparently “Are” is some kind of famous Swedish Swinger/Ski Resort. You can read about it here.

And the brand’s kardus is coming out.

01 is going from black to yellow.

And the 4th most boring snus in the world is going away…. Feb 6. If you like it stock up. General Smooth survived just about 11 months. Too dry for me. But still sad to see it go — if just for the cool tin.

That’s it.

XOXO

It’s not broken, it’s just the start of a new year.

A new year is such a glorious time. If you’re like me, you’ll tell really horrible jokes like, “I haven’t had a drink all year.” You can use great come-on lines like, “I haven’t had sex all year.” Or you can whine to your wife, “I haven’t bought any snus all year.”

As you can see from the banner ad on the left, snusdirect has joined the DrSnus family of supporters, which is a very good thing since my wife is rapidly burning through my Northerner cash with her Boost addiction.

So I ordered a few (41) tins from snusdirect to see if they were legit on Friday, Dec. 9. It shipped Monday, and even though it was in Austin on Thursday, UPS held it an extra day due to “adverse weather conditions.” It was raining very lightly that day…

Anyway, it arrived Friday Dec. 16 in one piece, so that makes five business days, but four if UPS weren’t afraid of a little rain.

Also, the snus had April 2012 expiration dates, which seems like more than enough time to burn through a mere 41 tins.

So when you realize on Jan. 1 that you haven’t bought snus all year, check out snusdirect for me.