Levi Garrett

Well, there is nothing even remotely rappee about this snuff. I think the "rappee" in the name is due to tradition. I'm sure they once produced a proper rappee when snufftaking was more common in the US. This is a scotch snuff, and one of the best ones made. It might be the oldest one as well. These brown plastic (once glass) bottles hold the fine, strong snuff. Its not too smokey as most of the ones from competitor USST are. Neither does it have that bitterness that they do. It also has a bit more in natural flavor going for it than most of the Swisher/Helme scotches. Its very smooth as well. Some confusion has arisen in regards to this and W.E. Garrett. They are, though, in fact one and the same snuff. The brown bottle label is more of a tradition than a name. W.E. Garrett is sold in cardboard tubes, which really do not do it justice. If you believe they taste different, its more likely a storage issue. This snuff packs a nice punch and its very fine and dry. Beginners should be wary of it.

This review is necessarily in two parts. The first part relates to some vintage LG I was sent. The second part is about fresh LG in a new 5.58 oz plastic jar. There really is quite a difference between them!

1. 40 year old vintage Levi Garrett turned out to be not only super-fine, dry and dusty, but also stale and fairly flavourless, except for a crypt-like mustiness. On rehydrating with water and orange peel the mustiness is much reduced and the palatability greatly increased, though it still lacks the expected smokiness. It has taken on the orange peel scent which sits very nicely with the scotch. I can see that's a combination worth experimenting with. I would be very interested to get hold of some fresh Levi Garrett, or at least some well-stored vintage Levi Garrett so that I can present a better review. No doubt when that happens we will have another 5 star scotch but for now two stars is as much as I can give it.

2. The fresh LG is a different beast altogether. It's smoky, smooth and very tasty with quite a punch of a nicotine hit. Although it is reckoned to be identical to the W.E. Garrett, differing only in the size of the containers used, the LG does seem to me to have a more 'rounded' flavour, which I think must come from it being in the larger container. Just a theory and I'm probably wrong about that! Definitely five stars now!