As much as I like the idea of mint, I’m not looking for a “burn my gums and make my mouth feel like ice cubes” kind of mint.
It’s kind of strange that The LAB pushes the xylitol angle here so heavily, because I wouldn’t call this “sweet” in the way so many of the white mini portions tend to be. The overall flavor reminds me of a really, really light Clorets or Dentyne gum. (And if memory serves, Clorets used to advertise that it contained xylitol. Dentyne has a separate xylitol line. Go figure.) For the first 10 minutes or so, I almost wanted to chew it like gum!
The slim portion size feels a bit larger than XR slim portions, and in my mouth, only feels slightly smaller than a standard portion. The material is very soft and comfortable, and while it definitely delivers a tingle, it’s, again, about the same as if you had put a fresh piece of Clorets or Dentyne spearmint gum where you’d normally put your snus.
This is the only offering from The LAB which doesn’t have “strong” in the name, but it comes in at 1.15% (not-strong is usually 0.8 – 0.9%). The label shows 2/4 dots for strength, and to be honest, I’m on the fence as to whether I’d give it 2/4 or 3/4. There’s a little extra kick there, but relative to other strong varieties, I don’t think it’s quite at that level.
Swedish Match advertises all of The LAB as: “a new Non-Drip formula, which means that the portion has less runniness and releases more flavor compared with our traditional portion products.” For the most part, it doesn’t seem much different than the Skruf Super White line. For the first 30 – 45 minutes, there’s not tons of drip, but beyond that, I was getting the same drip as any regular white portion.
Final thoughts: I picked up a roll of this without trying it first. Just based on the description. Thing is… that was the description for the old version of #12. Luckily, I don’t regret it. This is pretty decent stuff, and just about perfect for anyone looking to make the move from full flavor cigarettes. An unusual nuance I’ve noticed specific to #12 is that the flavor diminishes very fast once you’ve opened the can. This isn’t something you’ll be able to enjoy as much after a week or so.
Why The LAB decided to recycle the number 12 instead of calling this 13 or 44 or whatever, is a mystery.
. Flavor Portion Size Portion Comfort Nicotine Hit Drip (1=heavy | 5=minimal) Average