Skruf Black Line: Ultra Strong (Original & White) - Reviews (Discontinued). 13 February 2018.

NOTE:  This product was discontinued in February, 2019.

I can't believe it's been a year since I reviewed Skruf Black Line! My, time flies. Skruf has released two new Black Line products and these, honestly, caught me off guard. Swedish Match recently went into the ultra strong category with snus products as strong as 2.6% (26mg/g), and now with these Skruf has joined them as well. I was wondering if Skruf would ever release ultra strong products, and here they are. Last year, at the 2017 Snus Con, Skruf came to speak about their products to the attendees of Snus Con. One night at dinner, they mentioned that they and Swedish Match felt there should be a cap at 2.6% nicotine strength. With other companies going as high as 43mg/g and 45mg/g, Swedish Match and Skruf believe that 2.6% was a good market cap for nicotine strength.  For a while, there's been a "race to the top" for nicotine strength, but it seems as though Skruf and Swedish Match feel that there needs to be a level that products don't go past in regards to nicotine strength.

These new Black Line products are the highest nicotine products in the Skruf range and come in very interesting flavors!  What's interesting about these two is that they don't have the exact same taste.  That's not usually something I see in products launched in the same range with the same name.  But Skruf has always done things differently.

Skruf Black Line Ultra Strong Mint Licorice (Slim)

The flavor description for this product says, “Skruf Black Line Ultra Strong Mint Licorice Slim Portion Snus combines quality tobacco with balanced notes of mint and licorice.” This product comes in a 21.6 gram can with 24 portions for 0.9 gram portions. The nicotine strength is 26mg/g (2.6%) which breaks down to 23.40mg/portion.

This one is pretty interesting, and complex. I’m not usually a fan of blending mint and licorice, but this one really caught me off guard! The aroma is a rich tobacco smell with a bold aroma of black licorice. There is a mild aroma of mint and menthol in the background, as well. In the lip there is a nice burn, and as the burn subsides I noticed a cooling presence about 15 minutes in. The portions are moist, soft, comfortable, and quickly release flavor. The flavor of this one is very interesting. It is a nice mix of black licorice, rich tobacco flavor, and a mild mint/menthol flavor in the background. The mint/menthol taste doesn’t take over the flavor, it’s a nice compliment. The licorice taste becomes more salty the longer I have it in, and it almost matures into a salmiak flavor. The mint/menthol flavor does die out after a while. The nicotine hits strong and quickly, within about 5 minutes. Skruf has always been great about their free nicotine levels and I can feel it with this product. The flavor also lasts around 45 minutes.  I was quite surprised by this one and I actually enjoyed it!

Skruf Black Line Ultra Strong Mint White (Slim)

The flavor description for this one says, “Skruf Black Line Ultra Strong Mint Slim White Portion Snus uses the high quality Black Line snus and blends it with the flavor of mint and eucalyptus.” This product comes in a 16.8 gram can with 24 portions for 0.7 gram portions. The nicotine strength is 26mg/g (2.6%) which breaks down to 18.20mg/portion.

This one is more of your traditional mint/menthol snus.  The aroma is a sharp smell of peppermint accompanied by a gentle hint of menthol/eucalyptus. In the lip I notice a cooling presence and a light burn. The portions are soft and feel comfortable in the lip. The flavor of this one is a present taste of menthol, eucalyptus, and a gentle, fresh hint of peppermint. The nicotine hits pretty quickly for a white portion and delivers a pretty strong kick! The flavor lasts a good amount of time; I’ve found I can enjoy this one for a little over an hour.  As far as mint products go, there's a ton of them on the market as it is.  But I did enjoy the flavor balance of this one.

Both of these products are good but I will say the original portion mint/licorice was my favorite of the two.  And that's big for me, because I don't usually enjoy the pairing of those two flavors.  The white portion mint/menthol was also pretty good, as well.  If you like really strong snus, these are definitely worth a try!

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