Snus and Drink Pairings

Today, I’m going to be talking to you about one of my favorite topics when it comes to smokeless tobacco products: drink pairings! As an ex-smoker, this is an interesting topic to me. I never was one to pair cigarettes with drinks. But, when it comes to snus and nicotine pouches, it’s a fun little sub-hobby you can get into. Today, we’re going to be talking about all the exciting drink pairings you can do with various beverages and snus products. There are a lot of beverages out there in the world, but I’m going to be focusing on the main ones that most seem to discuss - colas, coffees, teas, and beer.

We are going to kick things off with cola! Whether you’re a Coke or Pepsi person, or you like something a little more all natural, there’s no mistaking the sweet, refreshing flavor of cola. Whether you like the regular versions, or you’re more partial to Zero Sugar variants myself, there’s nothing quite like a caffeinated, ice cold cola. If you’re enjoying this tasty beverage, I’ll recommend a few products that I think are going to pair quite nicely!

Jakobssons Strongcola Original (Snus)

SnusExpress.com Product Description: “Jakobssons Strongcola Original – A flavorful original portion snus from the Swedish manufacturer Gotlandssnus. Its regular sized portions deliver strong nicotine kicks (14 mg/portion) together with a sweet and savory cola flavor that is topped with a dash of citrus. The humidified surfaces of its soft and comfortable portions ensure that they provide an instant and satisfyingly powerful release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: Obviously, the easiest way to go with this is a cola flavored snus. And the one that comes to mind is really one of the only ones out there, Jakobsson’s Cola Original Portion. It also is available in a Slim White Portion format. This one has a sweet, smooth taste of cola to it. The white portion version is a little more mild, but still has a similar flavor to it. But it’s a great pairing with a nice, icy cold cola!

Klint Cola Lime (Nicotine Pouches)

SnusExpress.com Product Description: “Klint Cola Lime 4 Strong Slim – A tobacco free snus with discreet and slim sized nicotine pouches that offers a feast for your taste buds! It delivers strong and stimulating nicotine kicks (11.2 mg/portion) together with a sweet burst of cola that is topped by a refreshing dash of lime. The filling used by its comfortable nicopods consists of a natural plant fiber mix. An innovative filling with some neat qualities. It ensures that they won’t stain and that they drip minimally, something that results in a long-lasting release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: There are a lot of cola flavored nicotine pouches out there. The one I reach for most though is this one, Klint Cola Lime. Klint is a pretty high quality nicotine pouch, and this is one of their best tasting ones. The cola flavor is quite nice in this one, but the lime is what really sets it apart. There’s just something about the tart taste of lime that works so well with this one!

Next, we’re going to talk about coffee! Whether you like it black or sweet, there’s nothing quite like pairing a warm cup of coffee with a pouch to start off your day!

Olde Ving 99 (Snus)

SnusExpress.com Product Description: “Olde Ving 99 – An original portion snus from the Swedish manufacturer GN Tobacco. A high-quality snus that delivers medium strong nicotine kicks (9 mg/portion) together with a robust tobacco flavor that is topped with tones of coffee and vanilla. Its regular sized original portions have humidified surfaces for an instant and powerful release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: Ordinarily, I would list Artisan Espresso here, which is probably the best coffee snus I’ve ever had. But, it’s been sadly discontinued. Now, in the snus category, there is only one coffee flavored snus left, and it’s this one, Olde Ving 99. If you want something on the nose, pairing coffee with coffee snus, this is the only one out there. It’s not bad, a little sweet, but still a good option for coffee lovers.

Ettan White Portion (Snus)

SnusExpress.com Product Description: “Ettan Vit – A white portion snus from Ettan and the manufacturer Swedish Match that treats you to a traditional flavor experience! It delivers medium strong nicotine kicks (7 mg/portion) together with a dark and robust tobacco flavor with hints of smoke, malt and subtle undertones of dark chocolate. These well-filled and white portions have somewhat dry surfaces that reduce their drip. Something that lengthens their release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: With Ettan Snus, it has a nice flavor combination of tobacco and light touches of chocolate. If you want more chocolate, you’ll want the original portion version. For me, I don’t want a lot of chocolate, so I usually will reach for the white portion over the original portion. But this one serves as a nice compliment to a cup of coffee!

VID Coffee Caramel Strong (Nicotine Pouches)

SnusExpress.com Product Description: “VID Coffee Caramel Strong – A tobacco free and all-white snus from VID and the manufacturer Kurbits with a creamy and sweet flavor profile. Its slim and discreet nicotine pouches deliver strong nicotine kicks together with a flavor that combines coffee with tones of caramelized vanilla.The filling used by its comfortable nicopods consists of a natural plant fiber mix. This filling eliminates any potential risk of them leaving stains while it also minimizes their drip, which ensure that they provide a satisfyingly long-lasting release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: Coffee flavored nicotine pouches aren’t super common, but this is one of the better ones out there. It has a nice taste of coffee to it, but with subtle hints of caramel and vanilla. Whether you like your coffee black, or with some sweetness to it, this is one that has a nice sweetness to it that pairs well with your cup.

I’m a big fan of tea, whether it’s sweet, unsweet, green, or Earl Grey, I love it. This is one of my personal favorite departments, pairing tea and snus. Much like those who love coffee in the mornings, some love tea in the mornings. And nothing starts the day quite like a pouch and a cup!

General White Portion (Snus)

SnusExpress.com Description: “General White Portion Snus – The white portion snus for you who want a classic snus experience! It delivers medium strong nicotine kicks (8 mg/portion) together with General’s iconic flavor of spicy tobacco topped by a fresh dash of bergamot and subtle hints of te, hay and leather. Its well-filled and white snus portions have somewhat dry surfaces that reduce their drip, which in turn results in a long-lasting release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: If you’re looking for one to pair with unsweet tea, Earl Grey, or green tea, one I always go for is General White. General White is one of my earliest favorites from back in the day when I first started snus, and I still find it to be one of the best pairings with a cup of tea. The bergamot flavor, the tobacco taste, the pepper, all of which are nicely complimented by a warm, or cold, cup of tea!

ZONE X Southern Breeze Medium Slim (Nicotine Pouches)

SnusExpress.com Description: “Zone X Southern Breeze Medium Slim – A tobacco free snus from Zone X and the manufacturer Skruf that offers a mild, fresh and summery flavor experience! Its all-white and slim nicotine pouches deliver medium strong nicotine kicks (5 mg/portion) together with a fruity flavor of sweet peaches and cooling tones of iced tea. The high-quality and natural plant fiber filling used ensures that these discreet nicopods won’t stain and that they drip minimally, which in turn lengthens their release of both flavor and nicotine”.

Snubie’s Thoughts: This one is a great pairing for sweet tea, or any kind of cold tea in general, such as black tea. Zone X Southern Breeze has a combination of peach and tea with a little sweetness to it. So if you’re enjoying a nice, cold class of sweet tea, this is one of the main nicotine pouches I’d reach for. It has a fitting flavor, and is a great pairing.

Ah, we have come to my favorite topic on this list, pairing with beers! There are several types of beers, and I’m not going to go through all of them, but I like to pair with pilsners, lagers, and IPAs personally. So, I’m going to make some general pairing notes that I think work well!

IPAS

IPA is my favorite style of beer, so I wanted to start off with this one. I like the citrusy, tropical taste of a good IPA, and it’s pretty easy to pair with snus and nicotine pouches.

Snus Pairings: With snus, I generally will look for something citrusy to pair with an IPA. This is going to be your more traditional flavors. For me, I’ll generally go for General Snus or LD Snus, as I like the citrus presence in these and I think it pairs best with IPAs.

Nicotine Pouch Pairings: With nicotine pouches, I usually will go one of two ways. Either citrusy, or tropical. For citrusy pouches, I’ll go for Ace’s Green Lemon, Klint’s Lime, or Volt’s Zesty Citrus. If I’m going to go tropical, Velo Tropic Breeze is usually a good pairing, especially for you more hazy IPAs. But my overall favorite pairing is Loop’s Jalapeno Lime. It pairs great with an IPA!

Lagers

My second favorite beer is the lager style. Usually, I’m partial to Sam Adams Boston Lager, but I have a few other favorites. To pair with this one, I usually look for more full bodied flavors that go well with the full bodied lager taste.

Snus Pairings: With snus, I’m going to reach for something like Grov Original Portion or Artisan Signature Blend. I find a full bodied tobacco taste pairs quite well with the rich, full bodied lager flavor.

Nicotine Pouch Pairings: These are a bit more challenging, and up until recently there weren’t really any nicotine pouches that paired well with lagers. Lundgren’s new Mörk nicotine pouch has a pretty dark, present taste that I find pairs well along with the taste of a lager.

Pilsners

Pilsners are more interesting. I usually work more with the light, slightly bitter, hoppy, bright taste of the pilsner when looking for a product to pair with. They can be slightly sweet, and of course malty, so this is a fun one to really test yourself with when looking for the right pairing.

Snus Pairings: I find something that’s a little lighter like Tre Ankare is usually good with a pilsner, or a lighter bodied tobacco taste like Ettan White. Both of these are pretty nice pairings for this style.

Nicotine Pouch Pairings: I’ll usually go for something lightly sweet, or even a little citrusy to pair with a pilsner when looking at nicotine pouches. One option is Ace Green Lemon, which is a little sweet, and works well with it.

The Bottom Line

There are a lot of other drinks out there that we could go into. I could talk about having a Pina Colada with Velo Caribbean Spirit, or enjoying a glass of red wine with Grov Stark Original Portion. These are just some of my suggestions, but you \will also find, as you use snus and nicotine pouches, that you find experiences, flavors, and pairings that work for you as well! It’s fun to keep a note, or a journal, of products that you find pair best with drinks. But, check out my list! I think you’ll find many of these to sound quite intriguing. So, grab a can of some of these on your next order rand give them a test. I’m sure you will enjoy them!