I was lucky to find my true love in my first mixed box of 10 gram Wilsons of Sharrow tins. The very first tin I opened was Irish High Toast no. 22, and it ticked all the boxes for me: it irritated my nose only minimally, and caused me precious little grief in the drip department, in addition to smelling absolutely lovely and packing plenty of nicotine. I promptly ordered a large stock of it and the snuff that later became my other great favorite: Fribourg & Treyer High Dry Toast.

I was devoted, right off the bat. Surely nothing could possibly give the mighty toast a run for its money, I thought. And I was mostly proven correct in my thinking, as the majority of the other tins in that initial sampler were heavily mentholated or sickeningly floral, both of which I was firmly not a fan of. And so I sealed them back up and packed them away and stuck to my toasts.

But one day I returned to the sampler and decided to crack one of the two tins I’d not yet opened: Gold Label. And to say that it was a life changing moment would be a massive understatement. Indeed, then next day I left my toast at home and snuffed it exclusively with no regrets. Like the toasts, it became an immediate bulk purchase. Upon finding out that it was classified as an S.P., I sampled a variety of others within the genre. Some were good, even very good, but nothing ever managed to top Gold Label for me.

Having slowly worked my way through the hundreds of grams of the stuff I jarred and carefully stored away when I last stocked up circa 2016, I just recently purchased two large tins of the current production to make sure it is still the Gold Label I originally fell in love with. I’m extremely happy to report that it is. I can’t believe the level of consistency Wilsons of Sharrow have managed to maintain with this stuff. Accordingly, earlier today I ordered a 250 gram tub so I won’t have to be without it for many moons to come.

The grind and moisture are my ideal—fine and extremely soft, and fairly dry. Not toast dry, but it’s nowhere near wet. And the scent, oh my… that clean citrus blast, the subtle floral tinge, and how it all rests perfectly atop the earthy/leathery/cocoa-y/vaguely sweet Virginia base… factor in the mild drip and very satisfying nicotine content and it all adds up to heavenly. I also admire its tremendous clearing effect. If I’m feeling stuffy, I always find myself reaching for Gold Label.

To wrap it up, I’ll still always be a toast man first. You’ll nearly never find me without a comfortable quantity of my beloved Fribourg & Treyer High Dry Toast or Wilsons Irish High Toast no. 22 on my person. But if I’m without my toasts, you’ll be guaranteed to find me with a snuff box full of Gold Label. Is this endorsement ringing loudly enough? I’ll say one last thing: I’m being entirely sincere when I say it is still to this day the only scented snuff I’ve ever taken all day long, and with great pleasure.

A monumental classic. Highest possible recommendation.