Expert Review★★★★★ Click to read Tap to read
For a snuffer looking for an intricate or deeply layered blend, Mule Skinner may come across as a little basic. There are really only a handful of notes here, but they are wonderfully paired and remarkably consistent: fire-cured tobacco, smoke, that peculiar acrid edge, and the faintest suggestion of burnt sweetness make up the experience.
Mule Skinner presents out of the pouch with an intense smoky aroma that is more than likely derived from its fire-cured base tobaccos. There is a subtle, or actually, not so subtle, wallop of an ammonia-reminding acridness that has been ever so lightly kissed with the smoky, oaky, woody goodness that permeates the tobacco. A uniformly lighter brown in colour, with no speckling present, this is a fine snuff, both in grind and preparation. There is a trace of burnt sugar underneath it all, but it is faint. The dominant character remains that of fire-cured tobacco, accompanied by a hint of ammonia and something reminiscent of the end of a candle going out. There is even a touch of what reminds me of the very end of cleaning a black powder revolver, where there is just a smidgen of that niter and burnt black powder remaining. That smokiness rides along the edge of the tobacco without becoming funky or barnyard-like. I initially associated the ammonia with fermentation, as I usually do, but I do not believe that is what is happening here. At the trailing end, you get the lightest touch of sweetness flowing through, almost like a caramelised pan being cleaned somewhere in a nearby room. To say you smell caramel would be a lie, but to pretend it was not there would be just as much of a lie. I often say that the best snuffs paint a scene, and I struggled a little bit to find the scene with Mule Skinner, but eventually one came to mind. Imagine the smoky goodness of a cast-iron pan that has just had a fritter cooked in it, caramelised onto the bottom, while smoke from the fire drifts through the air, carrying just a trace of that caramelised essence to the nose. You are not smelling caramel itself. You are smelling what remains of it through the smoke.
The moisture here is present, but just barely, providing enough to place the snuff in the nose without it becoming dusty, although it does come close to that thin line you toe. Moisture is light, with only the slightest of clumping in the pouch, and it does help prevent the dusty nature of drier snuffs. The fine grind aids in the release of Vitamin N, and there is an ample burn once placed. The nicotine here is a great energy booster; a long afternoon of lecturing was easy to power through. With most snuffs of a higher nicotine variety, I usually get a fairly significant post-nasal drip, but Mule Skinner did not elicit that effect. Instead, the burn and smoky tobacco notes combine to deliver a consistent experience, demanding a steady pinch in the nose, though I did not sneeze with this snuff. Definitely good for the rotation.