Catch Christmas Snus – Sweden’s first Julesnus

Merry Julesnus! Tis the holiday season once again and visions of Julesnus, or Christmas snus, dance in snuser’s heads. This year, instead of just reviewing the Gotlandsnus Julesnus and Nordstrommen Julesnus offerings, I decided to look into the history of Julesnus.

Sweden has a long history of Christmas-themed cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobacco, so it would seem like a natural progression to extend that flavoring to snus. Surely in the last 200 years, someone had produced a Christmas snus; a tradition which was born again in the early 21st century. I was very surprised by what I discovered.

There is a legend surrounding Julesnus stemming from an incident in December 1836. It seems that Hedvig Unz and JF Ljungolf were attending the same Christmas party.

As was his habit, Unz became extremely drunk and began wildly gesturing with his mug of GLÖGG, the classic Swedish warm Christmas drink. His arm banged into that of Ljungolf and Unz’s drink splashed into Ljungolf’s open snuff box of Ettan snus.

Ljungolf was incensed and stormed out of the party. He never said if he had tasted the GLÖGG-soaked Ettan but since he never produced a Christmas Snus, it’s safe to say he was not impressed if he had.

Unz was later found passed out in a snow drift and had no memory of the incident the next day. This is a common holiday occurrence within the snus-legendary Unz family to this day and also, as a bit of trivia, Per Andersson of JTI Sweden.

Catch Christmas Snus – Where were you in 2002?

The first true Julesnus was produced and marketed by Swedish Match way back in 2002. It was called Catchdry Christmas Snus and is still the only white portion Julesnus ever made. Like today’s Catch Collection, Catch Christmas Snus was a limited edition produced once and only once. Save the top one in the picture at left, there are few surviving sealed cans of Catch Christmas left.

Even if there were, the snus would probably be fossilized considering it’s extreme age. After all, 2002 was just so long ago; especially in snus years! I guess modern snus users will never know the taste of fresh Catch Christmas Snus ….or will they?

One of the most popular Catch Collection Limited Edition snuses was 2009’s Catch Cardamom/Cinnamon. In a shocking disclosure, Markus Ersmark of Swedish Match Northern Europe AB revealed that the recipe used for Catch Cardamom/Cinnamon was virtually identical to that of 2002’s Catch Christmas Snus!

Quick, fellow snus lovers; check your freezer stock! You too may find a can or two of Catch Cardamom/Cinnamon snus tucked safely away. Now knowing it’s origins, this will be a new and exciting taste experience from a completely different perspective.

You may also be able to increase your holiday gift budget (or pay off your mortgage) by selling a can or two on eBay at ridiculous prices. Remember the dollar is about as valuable as toilet paper right now and heading ever lower thanks to the Federal Reserve.

Since 10,000 USD is only worth about 150 EUR, some European pensioner could easily pay you a US fortune for your Catch Cardamom/Cinnamon Snus without even putting a dent in their monthly stipend. Just another helpful tip from SnusCENTRAL.org for surviving the recession/depression in Amerika 2010.

Modern Julesnus – Gotlandssnus and Nordstrommen

The Julesnus tradition we enjoy today was started by Gotlandssnus AB. In 2003, they created and released their first Christmas snus. It was called, understandably, Gotlandssnus Julesnus.

According to longtime Gotlandssnus executive Jimmy Karlsson, the recipe used in the 2003 Julesnus has remained unchanged to this very day. Karlsson describes the now familiar flavor as “a touch of mulled wine, gingerbread, cinnamon and cardamom.”

Flashback to 1836 and the Unz-Ljungolf debacle: today’s Julesnus flavor profile is the same as “GLÖGG” ! It may have taken 157 years, but Erik Unz’s accidental snus recipe had become reality…..and Ljungolf’s missed opportunity for Ettan Julesnus.

Since 2003, Gotlandssnus Julesnus has been released every holiday season. The only changes of significance have been the cans and labeling. The 2010 Gotlandssnus Julesnus Portion now sports new labeling and a catch-lid on top of the can. Inside the can where it counts, the original recipe lives on for multitudes of new snus users for years to come.

Gotlandssnus Julesnus lös was also the first loose snus I had ever tried. Back then, there was no SnusCENTRAL or other reliable single source for everything about snus. As such, I had no idea how large a prilla of loose snus was supposed to be….or not be. I stuffed in as much as I could get under both lips. The taste was great and powerful.

About 40 minutes later, while posting on another snus site, I became the first American to almost overdose on nicotine live on the Internet. When V2 Tobacco A/S added Julesnus to their product lineup a few years after Gotlandssnus, I was very careful when making my prillas of Nordstrommen Julesnus loose

Nordstommen Julesnus is also available in portion and loose snus versions, Nordstommen Julesnus follows the same general flavor profile of GLÖGG. Unlike Gotlandssnus, V2 continued to fine-tune their recipe each year through 2009. Patrick Vogel confirms that the recipes for 2009 and 2010 Nordstrommen Christmas snus are identical.

As to which is a better Julesnus….both. The Gotlandssnus Julesnus is more balanced in flavor where the Nordstrommen Julesnus is moister and highlights the mulled wine flavor more (perhaps the brothers Vogel are also kin to the Unz and Andersson curse of over-imbibing during the holidays?).

As I repeatedly have said for years, taste is in the mouth of the snuser. (except for Camel SNUS, Marlboro Snus, and a few others I won’t mention….these are all just horrid). I buy and enjoy both the Gotlandssnus and Nordstrommen Christmas snuses. For those new to Real snus, I would advise trying both and deciding for yourself.

A Very Merry Julesnus to You All,