Thunder Snus Frosted Extra Strong Portion Snus by V2 Tobacco

Can V2 Tobacco do no wrong these days? The buzz about the new flavors they are testing has been overall very positive. The elusive V2 Brown Snus which is being test marketed in Sweden right now should, according to SnusCENTRAL’s SnusCIA, have its flavor finalized and be available for world-wide sale in roughly 30 days. And then there is the newest entry to the Thunder Snus line: Thunder Frosted Extra Stark Portion Snus.

Thunder Frosted amazed me before I ever opened the can: the Best Before Date was January 19th, 2010!

How could they do that? Using my preferred method of going directly to the source, I contacted Patrick Vogel; co-founder of V2 Tobacco. His answer? While other manufacturers use paper labels to seal their snus cans, V2 is using PE-Plastic to seal the non-airtight gap between the can and the lid. It costs more but preserves the moisture and flavor much better and for much longer.

Preserving the flavor of Thunder Frosted is worth any extra expense: this is an incredibly great tasting snus! When I first saw the name Frosted, I lamented that the evil Camel SNUS had undermined a 200 year old taste tradition in less than three years. Once I tasted Thunder Frosted, I realized the only ones who were going to get “frosted” over this snus was RJ Reynolds.

Instead of the Swedish/Scandinavian Snus tradition being undermined, I think (and this is purely speculation on part but I hope its true) that V2’s name choice of Thunder Frosted was both a joke on, and a deliberate slap at Camel Frost. V2 made a phenomenal mint flavored snus and was throwing it in RJRT’s face. You go, V2! Camel Frost is a joke in terms of flavor, longevity of “taste” and every other standard that makes a fine snus. V2 makes this VERY clear with Thunder Frosted.

The taste is a refreshing mint which comes on strong but is quickly tempered with a noticeable tobacco flavor as well. This is not a piece of candy in a portion pouch. The mint to tobacco taste ratio is balanced just right which could not have been an easy thing to accomplish. Error either way and the snus will either be too minty or not minty enough. I’ll have to ask Patrick how many test batches V2 had to go through to nail down Frosted’s very distinctive flavor.

Not only does Thunder Frosted taste great, but like Thunder Original, lasts quite a long time especially for a portion snus. Both last longer than many white portion snus’s I’ve used. I’ve gotten over an hour and a half of great flavor out of both the Thunders before they start turning bitter. Considering both have 16mg/g of nicotine and especially with a mint flavored snus like Frosted, achieving this amount of longevity of taste without bitterness must have been a major challenge. With Thunder Frosted, V2 Tobacco makes it look easy.

I started this article by asking could V2 do no wrong these days? The answer is a resounding no they can’t or yes they can do no wrong…I should have phrased the question differently. Too many double negatives. So much for my impact ending!

I’ll just have to console myself with the fact that the Thunder Frosted portion in my mouth just hit the hour and a half mark and is still going strong. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to get another refrigerator!

Yours in Snus,

Larry Waters
The Snus Guru
Reporting From SnusCENTRAL.org