Oden’s Cinnamon (Kanel) Extra Strong portion snus. Review of Big Nic in the Extra Strong snus race!

While I was sitting in my cozy room here at SnusCENTRAL last week, pondering which snus I would review next, a mysterious, brown padded envelope was slipped under my door! The only markings on it were the words “To: TSG – From: UNZ. Please review!” Being the inquisitive type, I opened the envelope and a can of Oden’s Kanel portion snus fell out! Larry likes to be covert! He did the same thing to me a awhile back with a can of SPAM! (That’s a story for another day!)

So as not to have a repeat of “SPAMergate”, today we’ll be reviewing the latest leader in the Extra Strong / Ekstra Sterk / Extra Stark snus race, Oden’s Kanel (Cinnamon) Extra Stark portion snus by Gajane!

Larry was not the only reason I decided on Oden’s Kanel to review though. I wanted to get a review out on it while it was still new to most snus lovers! The other reason I’ll divulge at the end and it will surprise you!

Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is marketedby a new snus company in Sweden called Gajane. The word “Kanel” means “Cinnamon” in, no, not Swedish but, Norwegian! I know what you’re saying “Snus Guy! Is this snus made in Norway?” Nope, it’s made in Sweden. Let’s review the Extra Stark/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Strong race before we go forward and you’ll see why they chose the Norwegian word for Cinnamon!

The Extra Stark/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Strong race, as you may or may not know, started with General Ekstra Sterk portion snus. The reason why General developed a “High Nicotine” snus was based purely on the demand for one! Outside of Sweden, Norway is probably the largest market for Swedish snus in the world so, when that market called for a snus with a stronger Nicotine content, some snus manufacturers answered the call by creating high Nicotine snus and labeling them as “Norwegian Editions” or, using Norwegian words to describe the snus.

General Sterk and Ekstra Sterk are “Norwegian Editions” and Gajane named Oden’s Cinnamon using the Norwegian word for cinnamon, Kanel. To my knowledge, these are the only two snus manufacturers to use this classification to date. Yes, I know that Americans were clamoring for a high Nicotine snus as well, but America is still a virgin market for Swedish snus where Norway is established. I guess we have the Norwegians to thank for the Extra Strong/Ekstra Sterk/Extra Stark lines! So, now that we’re armed with that knowledge, let’s get on to the review!

Oden’s Kanel comes in two types, a regular portion type and a loose (lös) type. Today though, we’ll be reviewing the regular portion type. As I said, Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is a regular type snus meaning that it has gone through the additional wetting step. The portions weigh in at just under a gram per portion and there are approximately 24 portions per can with a whopping 17 mg of Nicotine per portion, which makes it the strongest snus on the market, to date! Unfortunately, the can’s lid does not feature a used portion compartment but does have the Oden’s logo etched on it!

The material used for the portions is the typical tea bag type and is very much like the material V2 uses in their portion snus. Since these are regular type portions, the material is pre-moistened which makes them pretty comfortable under the lip. Over an extended period of time though, they can be a little irritating. By “extended” I mean that I’ve had a portion in for about 3 hours when the portion began to get a bit irritating. Although the flavor doesn’t last that long, I recommend leaving a portion in about 2 hours max. Now, let’s go on to the flavor!

As you all know, I usually begin each flavor review by saying how the manufacturer describes the taste of whatever particular snus we happen to be reviewing. Knowing that, Gajane describes Oden’s Kanel as a portion snus of high quality tobacco with an exciting taste of cinnamon. When I opened the can, I was pleasantly surprised to smell a very distinct scent of cinnamon which was surprising. Why is it surprising, you ask? Because most snus I’ve smelled will usually have a very light hint of ammonia. The only other snus I’ve smelled that didn’t have it was Gotlandssnus Green! Ok, I went a bit off topic so; let’s get back to the flavor.

Since the cinnamon smell was so distinct, I expected the cinnamon taste to be overwhelming. I was pleasantly wrong! Although Oden’s Kanel portion’s predominant flavor is indeed cinnamon, it’s not overwhelming. The downside to this is the fact that the only flavor I can detect is cinnamon. “Snus Guy! What kind of cinnamon flavor do you taste?” I’m glad you asked!

The cinnamon flavor I taste is much like that of those little heart shaped cinnamon candies one would get for Valentine’s Day, complete with the little bit of heat that’s associated with them but with less of the sweetness. I attribute the burn in the back of the throat to the high Nicotine! Oden’s Kanel portion snus flavor really doesn’t have any tobacco taste even after 2 ½ hours. Actually, after about 2 hours the flavor goes kind of flat. Knowing that, I still recommend keeping the portion in for a 2 hour max.

Now, let’s talk drinks! “Hold on a minute Snus Guy! You forgot something! What about the Nicotine feeling and the surprise you had mentioned in the beginning!” Well, I didn’t forget! I wanted to save it for the end but, since you brought it up, let’s review it now.

Oden’s Kanel portion snus has 17 mg of snus per portion which really does make it the strongest snus on the market to date but, the surprise is the most important part! If you’ve read the General Ekstra Sterk review and the V2 Thunder snus review, you’ll know that I really didn’t feel the head spin or wooziness that other snus lovers got. With Oden’s Kanel on the other hand, I did! This snus can truly be crowned “King of the Extra Sterks” when it comes to strength!

To close this part of the review, I offer this warning: I really do not recommend using Oden’s Kanel as an “all day” snus or chain snusing it. I sacrificed myself for SnusCENTRAL and tried both. After the 6^thhour of chain snusing Kanel, it felt like I was kicked in the gut so, unless you like that sort of feeling, I took the hit so you don’t have to!

Now, let’s discuss drinks! My staple Diet Coke did do well to enhance the cinnamon flavor. Monster Energy Drink or any energy drink for that matter, tasted good but I could feel my heart getting ready to beat out of my chest so I really caution snus lovers on that combo! What really did go well were drinks that had fruity flavors like Sprite, 7 Up and fruit flavored iced teas. I liked it best with peach flavored White tea! The mild peach flavor in the tea went extremely well with the cinnamon taste in the snus and the light tea flavor in the drink let me taste a hint of tobacco flavor. I really recommend this drink if it’s available near you!

My overall recommendation for Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus is this, fellow snus lovers. Fans of the Extra Sterk/Ekstra Stark/Extra Strong race will love Gajane’s entry. Beware though, although the description states there is tobacco flavor in Kanel, I had a hard time finding it. The cinnamon is the main player! Experienced snus lovers looking to try a higher Nicotine snus can’t go wrong with Oden’s Kanel! New snus lovers on the other hand may want to start with the first in the line of strong snus, Skruf Stark, before trying Oden’s Kanel. Once you have an idea on how your body will react to that level of Nicotine, give it a try. Again, I really don’t recommend chain snusing Oden’s Kanel but, 4 to 6 portions a day should be fine! That’s my limit!

Oden’s Kanel Extra Stark portion snus can be found at the SnusCENTRAL Snus Shop and if this is your first order, enter the New Customer Discount Code that’s in the banner to the right and get 10% off your entire snus order!

Well fellow snus lovers, I hope you found our trip thru Oden’s Kanel Extra Sterk portion snus by Gajane fun and informative.You can also visit our Member Reviews Section and Snus Reviews by Larry Waters and Friends for even more reviews. SnusCENTRAL.org Members are encouraged to write their own snus reviews!

As always,

Happy Snusing!

That Snus Guy