Capella 2026 NEW Flavors and XS Line Reviewed by SessionDrummer

Mixology Flavour Notes
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XS Fresh Watermelon (CAP) 1.25% (8-22-26) – Having tested both CAP’s Juicy Watermelon, and Succulent Watermelon, I was curious to see where this XS variant sat. It was different than the aforementioned, and has a lot of freshness to it. It was an interesting take on a watermelon with an almost “syrup’d” profile to it. It had both natural and some lighter artificial notes, which I put at about a 70% natural, and 30% artificial. It was not candied, but literally had a syrup undertone. Sweetness was a tick or two above mid-level which played to the undertones.

At 1.25% it was plenty strong and at about a 8.5/10 on the strength scale, and zero off-notes or complaints. About the only slight negative was that the syrup undertones, may have diminished some of the juicy aspects. Not dry by any means though. As far as the body/flesh notes, it was centered more around the juicy red, but with some lighter white, and a hint of rind, so it had the WM pretty well covered. Because it didn’t fully present as a natural, that might change your usage, but even as it stood, it was a good full package watermelon. Fairly sweet, plenty of red, white, with a touch of rind, and with a 70/30 natural/artificial ratio is what you got with this one. And yes, hehe, it was fairly fresh as well. Leaving it high at a 9.3/10.

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XS Italian Lemon Sicily (CAP) 1.25% (10-11-26) – My first thought on this one, was, “Thank God, a NOT over-sweetened Lemon Flavor” LOL. Honestly, that was it. OK, beyond that, this one proved to a rather interestingly complex Lemon. I didn’t know exactly what to expect from an Italian Lemon Sicily, and I couldn’t begin to tell you if it was a Limone di Siracusa, or a Femminello, but I can tell you it was good. It DID actually taste quite a bit different from a US lemon. In keeping with a Sicilian Lemon it was sharp, and was fairly acidic. This in no way was off-putting, and it really helped push it out of the “Yeah, it’s just another Lemon” category. Sweetness was unexpectedly quite a bit lower than mid-level, and it worked just fine.It was bright, but without ANY artificial notes, and not as many bright sparkly high end notes. It wasn’t without punch, but it seemed more centered around the mid-bright, and mid-body notes. Very natural tasting, fresh, and punchy. It had undertone hints of a white grapefruit, very below the surface that helped sell it. Some rind/zest, and a smidge of lemon citrus oil, ALL baked in there. At 1.25% after an above average steep time, it felt like I could probably push this one up to 1.75%. Fresh, natural, fairly acidic, with nice zest/citrus oil accents is what this one was, and I hate to say it, but it was unlike any Lemon I had on my racks, and that’s saying something. All in, a very unique Lemon profile that could push/pull any existing lemon recipe into a new and unique direction. Very unexpected, and good. Solidly a 9.7/10.

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XS Lemon Carioca (CAP) 1.25% (10-11-26) – Was looking forward to testing this on the heels of the XS Italian Lemon Sicily for a direct comparison. My first thoughts on this were, “Holly Hell” !!! Cooling !!! Now you guys KNOW, I don’t do cooling, right ?? OK, while this one was breaking in, I literally got nothing BUT cooling. I could have called it “Review Done”, but glad I didn’t. After it broke in, it started to take shape. Now, with the cooling, either after I got used to it (I don’t do cooling), or it broke in, the net cooling effect was about a 2/10, so VERY manageable, even for me, and NO clue why it came out of the gate like a box of dry ice. OK, I had never heard of Carioca, but it appears to simply mean from Rio de Janiero, Brazil. This one was very similar to the previously tested XS Italian Lemon Sicily, but with differences. There was COOLING, hehe, it had higher levels of sweetness, and it seemed more centered around the Lemon Zest, and Citrus oil exclusively.

With that said, it wasn’t bitter, which was odd, as that was expected. The sweetener presented as almost a lighter golden syrup, which when tempered with the lemon zest/citrus oil worked very well. Sweetness was just above mid-level. Very fresh, and natural, and had a fair amount of “zip” to it. Basically this one had great zest and citrus oil notes, tempered by a golden syrup-like sweetener, and some cooling. Even though I cannot use cooling agents, this amount of cooling in this flavor was a non-issue for me after it broke in. Rating it higher, for uniqueness. Yet another flavor that isn’t matched by anything on my racks. 9.1/10.

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XS Mango Top Rio (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) – Getting into this one, it tasted very similar to the XS Mango Ice, but with less cooling. While not billed as a “chilled” Mango, I still picked up on some minor cooling in it, and it was very low, maybe around a 1.5/10 on the chill scale, so a very light touch. It had the same orange/ yellow juicy mango profile, with sweetness a tick or two below mid-level. The cooling did add a bit of dryness on the finish, but not much.

At 1.25% it was plenty strong, and TBH, I wasn’t sure what the “Top” was in this one. Full bodied, and full spectrum, as it had mid, and brighter notes. When smelling it I did get an almost fresh, under ripe green but I didn’t get that when testing it. All in, another good, but similar fresh mango. I felt again that the slight cooling kind of clipped it just a bit on the finish, so leaving it squarely at an 8.3/10.

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XS Mango Ice (CAP) 1.25% (10-14-26) – Now, you know my utter DISLIKE for cooling agents, BUT, I feel I always have to remind you guys, especially on “Ice” flavor reviews. Your tastes may differ, so keep this in mind. Yes, I was hesitant, when I saw “Ice” in the name, I’ll admit it, BUT, the overall cooling “effect” was very low, maybe even at a 1.5/10 on the cool-o-meter. Now, that was great, but for my tastes, I always get “artifacts” when cooling agents are used in flavors. Not extreme, BUT, almost always there, and there were some with this flavor. The Mango in this one was very good, BUT, it was NOT a pure Mango. I got distinct notes that very much reminded me of Flavor Jungle’s Honey Peach. Now the Mango was the star, AND the top note, but there was a delicious honey undertone throughout, and some very light peach accents.

At 1.25%, it was plenty strong, and sweetness was at about mid-level. While not a “pure” Mango, it did present as fairly natural, and somewhat tropical. The Mango itself tasted almost like half juice, and half pulp/puree. Now the FINISH, hehe, that’s where the surprise came in. There was almost a deep amber golden syrup sticky-ness, right on the end. Sooo, recapping, a good pulpy orange mango, with light honey peach undertones, and an almost sticky golden syrup finish. VERY interesting. The cooling agent “artifact” I referred to above, was a slight dryness on the very end, minor, but still present, and is often present any time cooling is used. Marking down mostly for that, and deciding if the other elements supported the mango, or conflicted with it. A hard decision for the rating here, as our tastes vary. Decided to double rank it for you guys to try and be fair. As a PURE Mango, I would mark it down to maybe a 6.5/10, but as a Mano (WITH some other stuff), I’d rate it much higher at a 8.9/10. Good, interesting pairings, and the cooling effect very low. If you guys pick this one up, let me know what you think of the golden syrup sticky finish !!!

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XS Luscious Peach (CAP) 1.25% (10-11-26) – I picked up 3 main profiles on this one initially, and they carried through till the end of the test. A juicy yellow peach, somewhat dry white peach, and cooling. Yes, cooling. The cooling itself felt fairly minor, but it seemed to detract from the peach flavors a bit, and it had a somewhat dry/bitter finish. At 1.25% it was nicely strong, and both peach profiles were good, and very natural. Sadly they were tainted a bit by the finish. Not entirely sure the cooling agent(s) worked out as well in this flavor, as the few others I tested previously. Marking down, for the distracting (somewhat) cooling, and the dryness, and slightly bitter finish. Leaving it solidly at a 7/10.

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XS Peach Nectarious (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) – Was this one Peachy AND Nectarious ?? YES. Ok, pairing up Peaches and Nectarines is very common, and Capella did a good job of it here. The peach profile was yellow, juicy, and sweet, while the nectarine was sweet with some bite to it. This was an almost perfect pairing of the two, because the “bite” from the Nectarine really came in on the finish and did it nicely. It started out as an onrush of yellow peach, and finished with more of the nectarine. At 1.25% it was plenty strong, and sweetness was about a tick above mid-level. No pits or fuzz hehe, but beyond that, the peach and nectarine were very natural, and convincing. Juicy, sweet, and the two main profiles worked together.

No issues or complaints, NO cooling, hehe, and that was always a plus. All in, a great two profile flavor, that started out as a juicy yellow peach, and finished as more of a ripened nectarine. Neither left you wanting, and they did work well together in this flavor. Easily a 9.5/10.

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XS Mango Ice (CAP) 1.25% (10-14-26) – Now, you know my utter DISLIKE for cooling agents, BUT, I feel I always have to remind you guys, especially on “Ice” flavor reviews. Your tastes may differ, so keep this in mind. Yes, I was hesitant, when I saw “Ice” in the name, I’ll admit it, BUT, the overall cooling “effect” was very low, maybe even at a 1.5/10 on the cool-o-meter. Now, that was great, but for my tastes, I always get “artifacts” when cooling agents are used in flavors. Not extreme, BUT, almost always there, and there were some with this flavor. The Mango in this one was very good, BUT, it was NOT a pure Mango. I got distinct notes that very much reminded me of Flavor Jungle’s Honey Peach. Now the Mango was the star, AND the top note, but there was a delicious honey undertone throughout, and some very light peach accents.

At 1.25%, it was plenty strong, and sweetness was at about mid-level. While not a “pure” Mango, it did present as fairly natural, and somewhat tropical. The Mango itself tasted almost like half juice, and half pulp/puree. Now the FINISH, hehe, that’s where the surprise came in. There was almost a deep amber golden syrup sticky-ness, right on the end. Sooo, recapping, a good pulpy orange mango, with light honey peach undertones, and an almost sticky golden syrup finish. VERY interesting. The cooling agent “artifact” I referred to above, was a slight dryness on the very end, minor, but still present, and is often present any time cooling is used. Marking down mostly for that, and deciding if the other elements supported the mango, or conflicted with it. A hard decision for the rating here, as our tastes vary. Decided to double rank it for you guys to try and be fair. As a PURE Mango, I would mark it down to maybe a 6.5/10, but as a Mano (WITH some other stuff), I’d rate it much higher at a 8.9/10. Good, interesting pairings, and the cooling effect very low. If you guys pick this one up, let me know what you think of the golden syrup sticky finish !!!

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XS Mango Top Rio (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) – Getting into this one, it tasted very similar to the XS Mango Ice, but with less cooling. While not billed as a “chilled” Mango, I still picked up on some minor cooling in it, and it was very low, maybe around a 1.5/10 on the chill scale, so a very light touch. It had the same orange/ yellow juicy mango profile, with sweetness a tick or two below mid-level. The cooling did add a bit of dryness on the finish, but not much.

At 1.25% it was plenty strong, and TBH, I wasn’t sure what the “Top” was in this one. Full bodied, and full spectrum, as it had mid, and brighter notes. When smelling it I did get an almost fresh, under ripe green but I didn’t get that when testing it. All in, another good, but similar fresh mango. I felt again that the slight cooling kind of clipped it just a bit on the finish, so leaving it squarely at an 8.3/10.

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XS Raspberry (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) – Literally my FIRST thoughts on this one were just “Get It” !!! Review over LOL. OK, if you check my Master Review List and search Raspberry, you’ll see ALL 38 flavors and one-shots that I’ve tested, and that’s a LOT of Raspberries. I have and use both Capella’s Raspberry, and Raspberry v.2 but have never solo tested either. My current go-to fav’s for reference are MF Wild Raspberry, and INW RB (Malina). This one wow’d me right out of the gate. It had what I call, “Tart and Sparkle” going on. The raspberry presented as a fully natural combo, of a sweet raspberry, and a tart raspberry. Although not billed as a “Red” is leaned heavily that way. The tart profile(s) were somewhat similar to INW Malina.

At 1.25% it was perfect strength wise, and sweetness was about 2 ticks above mid-level. The pairing up of the sweet, and tart could NOT be overstated here, as the two were perfectly balanced, and just provided a somewhat complex overall profile, and very full. I don’t mind my fruits sweetened, but if there is no punch, tart, or sharp kicker, they can present as bland. I thinkn that’s why this one worked so well for my palate. JUST enough tartness to really help it pop. Dark, mid, and bright notes abound with this one, and NO florals, soapy-ness, or off-notes to complain about. IMO, this one is a Big Bottle Approved one, and dare I say, let’s Release the Kraken on this one, and just drop it like it’s hot with a 10/10.

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XS Ripe Watermelon (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) Having tested a few Watermelons from Capella, I was interested to see how this one fared. My initial thoughts were, “Somewhat Candied, but not CANDIED”, and “Some nice melon-y, and rind notes here”. Alright, now to explain the whole candied/not candied thing hehe. I was sweetened, and a few ticks above mid-level sweet, and had some candy aspects, but never fully went candied if that makes sense. The body notes were about a 50/50 mix of natural artificial, and it just barely leaned to the artificial. It also had some pretty authentic and generous melon-ish notes, and a touch of rind. It wasn’t dry, or juicy, but somewhere in the middle.

At 1.25% it was plenty strong, and did linger a bit after the finish. As far as WM’s go, it was actually a very “smooth” WM. Now it’s not like Capella could have added some Watermelon Zest to it, but it felt like it needed just a touch of “pep” or “zing” to make it punch a little better. With that said, it was not a flat flavor. Smooth, very flavorful, sweetened, with good almost melon notes, and a hint of rind that was a 50/50 natural/artifical blend. Not complaints other than the whole, “How would I add a touch of zing to this”, and even at that, that was a minor complaint. NO seeds, hehe, and leaving this one fairly high at a 9.2/10. Could def. pull the full freight in a WM mix.

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XS Spearmint (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) – This flavor was somewhat of a mystery when testing, and it was hard to completely nail down. A fresh Spearmint was the star of the show, and underneath it I’d swear I was getting very light tea notes. Yes, mysterious. At 1.25% it was somewhat strong and at about a 6/10 on the strength scale. I feel like it could be pushed up a bit, maybe even to 1.75%. At the 1.25% testing weight, it was a very “fast” flavor, and before you know it, it was gone. VERY quick finish. I didn’t get any cooling from this one (yay), and the light spearmint was very natural tasting, and with even lighter hints of spearmint oil (the taste, mouth effect not actual oil LOL).

Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and just enough to give it a sweetened effect. Convincing, just somewhat light at 1.25%. Clean, natural, and with no cooling. No off-notes or complaints other than the very relaxed presentation at the testing weight, may be improved by increasing the strength. Finalized it at a 8.7/10.

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XS Strawberry Carioca (CAP) 1.25% (10-17-26) – Well, a few nice little surprises in this one. Overall, the main profile was that of a Sweet Strawberry, with good jam and pectin notes, but nowhere near enough for it to be a “jam”. There were some very interesting undertones in this one, that took me a while to finally nail down. The best I could come up with were possible very light green apple, and green/white strawberry notes. They were very low in the mix and hard to isolate to identify. In concert, they really helped “fatten” up the profile in this SB, and give it some nice depth, and complexity.

At 1.25% it was good strength wise, and sweetness was 2 ticks above mid-level, but it worked here. If I wasn’t mistaken I’d have sworn there was a hint of cooling in this one. Realizing I don’t like cooling or coolers, if I was correct, it was just a hint, and maybe at a 0.9/10 on the chiller scale, to fear not, very minimal. No off-notes, nothing squirel-y, but there was a slight dryness on the finish which IS a dead give away of cooling, but easily covered up in a mix. All in, a bright, juicy Sweet Strawberry, with very good jam and pectin notes, with some sneaky interesting undertones. Minor markdowns for the slight chill, and dryness on the finish. Leaving it very high at a 9.0/10.