St George’s Day is today! I had the national holidays option turned off on my calendar so I hadn’t realised that it had come round again. While it doesn’t have the international impact of St Patrick’s day and Chicago colouring their river green, it is technically just as big of a day in the calendar, and in England, should be bigger.
There aren’t really any St George’s day traditions outside of Morris dancers and it doesn’t come with a fixed set of foods so I thought that we would look through the huge Snus Viking’s catalogue of flavours to find some that would feel appropriate for spring in England (now that it’s finally stopped raining for a bit).
Classic, Familiar Flavours That Fit the Season
You think of the weather changing for the better in England and what springs to mind is the countryside and apple orchards. Apple as a flavour works year-round, but it feels particularly relevant as things move into spring because it sits comfortably between sharp and sweet without becoming heavy. It also carries a familiarity that fits the tone of the day without needing to be overthought.
Options like:
cover a range of variations on that base. KILLA Apple delivers a more direct, fuller fruit profile, ZYN Apple Mint adds a fresher edge that leans into the seasonal shift, and CUBA Apple Juice pushes slightly further towards sweetness. All of them sit comfortably within a spring flavour profile without feeling out of place.
Other than gin, the most English of drinks is definitely Tea and it is another flavour that works well as a nicotine pouch flavour. It’s not a dominant category, but it offers something a bit different from the usual fruit and mint combinations. It brings a slightly deeper, more aromatic profile that still remains balanced.
provides that variation, sitting somewhere between subtle and distinctive. It works particularly well as a change of pace rather than something overly bold.
An English garden bursting into life is also one of the great things about this time of year and floral flavours become more relevant at this time of year as well. As everything moves into bloom, lighter and more delicate flavour profiles start to feel more appropriate. They don’t dominate in the way stronger fruit or mint flavours can, but they add a softer option that aligns well with the season.
both sit in that category, offering a more refined and understated profile that feels in step with late April rather than earlier in the year.
National Picnic Day and the Shift Outdoors
April 23rd also coincides with National Picnic Day, which lines up well with the seasonal change. With the weather forecast at the moment, there’s a chance that even in England you can plan a picnic rather than, like a barbeque, just do it now because the rain might come in a few hours. This is the point where outdoor plans start to become more realistic, and that has a direct influence on flavour choices.
Spending more time outside tends to favour lighter, cleaner profiles that don’t feel too heavy or overwhelming. That is where certain flavours start to stand out more than they would in colder months.
Elderflower is one of the clearest examples. It has a light, slightly floral character that is strongly associated with spring and early summer and is often found in gardens and in fields and hedgerows.
both reflect that balance, offering something fresh without becoming overly sweet.
With its use in a nice PIMMs, Cucumber also fits into that outdoor, spring-focused flavour profile. It has a clean, almost cooling quality that works particularly well when paired with mint.
captures that combination, giving a crisp and refreshing option that suits being outside rather than indoors.
Nice drinks are not the only thing that an English picnic requires and there probably should be some food there (if only to soak up the booze). Picnics are going to have something like scones or maybe a pavlova and for that you need some berries to go on top of the cream. This makes berry blends another natural fit as they are familiar, versatile, and easy to connect to lighter food and drink choices typically associated with spring.
all sit within that category, offering different balances between sweetness and sharpness while remaining consistent with the overall seasonal direction.
English Muffin Day and Comfort Flavours
National English Muffin Day also falls on April 23rd. While the origin of the product itself is more American than English, the idea of simple, familiar comfort food still fits easily into the wider theme of the day…and it has “English” in the name…come on!
Anyway, this naturally leads into flavours that you might put on an English Muffin, which might be slightly richer or more indulgent, without being overly heavy.
We don’t have any butter flavoured pouches but we do have some chocolate-based options such as:
Which bring that sweeter element, whether it’s smooth and mild or with a bit more depth and contrast.
And if you are having an English Muffin, I’d imagine you might want a cup of coffee to go with it which is a perfect time for an
offers a more rounded, slightly bitter profile that pairs naturally with sweeter flavours and provides a contrast to the fruit-heavy options elsewhere.
Shakespeare and Traditional Flavour Combinations
April 23rd is also associated with”National Talk Like William Shakespeare Day”, which is apparently the perfect way to celebrate the anniversary of his death (and maybe his birth as well).
Foresooth, gadzooks and ….. I’ve run out of Elizabethan words so we’ll move on from that and while we can’t talk like Shakespeare, we might be able to taste like Shakespeare with some flavours that are completely not contrived links to foods mentioned in the works of William
While not all of these translate directly, some modern equivalents work well enough.
In Twelfth Night, they mention cakes and although these were probably Shrewsberry Cakes (round, rose or lemon flavoured cakes) we have a similar cake flavour in KURWA Strawberry Cake
In Henry IV Part 2, they mention a Gooseberry Fool, which was a cream pudding with Gooseberries and mint. While we don’t have Gooseberry Mint flavoured pouches, we do have several flavours which mix other berries and fruits and mint.
all are close enough for me to count here and are lovely flavours, balancing sweetness with freshness.
Marchpane was an early form of marzipan which is mentioned in Romeo and Juliet. This one was quite difficult to find but we have a very close match in Chainpop Almond Vanilla, which has the Almond of Marchpane and adds Vanilla, which had come to England before Shakespeare’s time and was popularised by Hugh Morgan, Elizabeth 1st’s apothecary.
This means that it is definitely possible that Shakespeare had a Vanilla flavoured Marchpane just like that Chainpop Almond Vanilla
Cherry Cheesecake and Dessert Profiles
It’s also National Cherry Cheesecake Day which really isn’t very England related but my logic is that you might have it on a picnic and cherries have been in England since Henry VIII introduced them in the early 1500s. We also have a lot of flavours that that fit with it and I’m making up the rules.
Cherry flavours cover a wide spectrum:
ranging from sweeter profiles through to slightly sharper, more intense variations.
And while we don’t have a cherry cheesecake flavoured nicotine pouch we do have 2 Strawberry Cheesecake flavours:
Which combined with one of the Cherry pouches might give you that Cherry Cheesecake flavour for its special day.
A Consistent Direction
As spring settles in, flavour preferences naturally shift towards lighter fruit, floral notes, and fresher combinations that feel more suited to the change in season.
At the same time, there is still space for contrast. Coffee, chocolate, and dessert flavours provide variety without dominating the selection, giving a broader range that reflects both the time of year and the different ways people approach flavour.
