Rolling on to the THIRD Super Concentrates Series with these, the NEW 2025 Flavor Releases from NomNomz.
Sadly I had two bottles that got fragged out on the trip across the pond. The Lemon and the Mandarin. The Lemon completely dumped in the bag, which then worked to destroy the rest of the labels LOL !!! Nomz was accommodating and hooked me up with two gift certs, and I’ll be picking those two up on my next order, and I’ll update this review thread.
All will be mixed at 1.5% which has proven to be a great testing weight for their SC’s, and in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier base.
All steeped at least one week, and tested in the SteamCrave RDTA v.1 running dual 24ga. Kanthal vertical coils, with Koh Gen Do cotton. Either fresh, or dry burned coils and fresh cotton before every test, and tested at 65 watts.
Caramel (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%/2.5% (11-8-25) – This one smelled next level in the bottle, but something went a little sideways when testing it. You’ll notice I started this one out at my typical 1.5%, and then brought it up to 2.5% just to make sure it wasn’t underpowered. It was caramel-y, but something just seemed to be holding it back from becoming a full on Caramel. Even at the higher rate it never fully bloomed, and tasted somewhat muted. There was a persistent, albeit fairly weak undertone on the finish which kept reminding me of a cinnamon. I’m sure this wasn’t intentional, but that was the note I picked up. It was only present on the finish.
At 2.5% it was still not what I would call strong, and maybe a 6/10 on the strength scale. As far as “getting it done” as a stand along Caramel I’d say (like the strength rating) it got about 6/10 of the way there. The finishing mystery note kind of pulled it off target. Not terrible, but not the main driver for a Caramel. All in it was a caramel-y flavor, somewhat weaker, with a light, almost cinnamon-ish, slight bakery note on the finish. Leaving this one somewhat lower, and at a 6.5/10.
Coconut (Milky Note) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (11-8-25) – I will admit that when I saw, “Milky Note” I was curious. Hell, I was curious to see if Nomz could pull off a great coconut, and they DID. First (and final) thoughts on this one, were it was EXACTLY like the center of a Mounds candy bar, BUT, layered in a delicious creamery. Yes, an almost perfect representation of a sweetened, shredded coconut, and yes, riding on a creamy, milky carrier. No off aftertaste, no astringent or dry finish, and NO suntan lotion !!!
At 1.5% it was almost perfect saturation wise, and I’d rate it at a 9.4/10 on the strength scale. No off-notes or complaints, with NONE of the aforementioned typical coconut “shortcomings”. Even WITH the delicious creamery/dairy carrier that the fresh coconut shreds were riding on, I could still almost taste the shreds. VERY impressive. Most impressive beyond the actual realistic taste, was how the creamery/dairy was below the coconut JUST enough, to accent it, but not to pair with it, or overshadow it. The first two notes I wrote were, “Mounds”, and “Dragons Blood”. Many more uses for this one, but you get the idea. If you love a fresh, natural coconut, sweetened and shredded, on top of a delicious creamery/dairy carrier, you’ll LOVE this one. Almost as perfect as my current go to, Delosi. Leaving it almost perfectly at a 9.85/10.
Cola (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (11-9-25) – The moment I started testing this one, there was no doubt it WAS a Cola. Fairly neutral as colas went, and I couldn’t directly compare it to a Coke, Pepsi, or an RC Cola, but if I had to pick one, I would choose RC as the closest match. At 1.5% it was fairly strong, and at about a 6/10 on the strength scale. There was just a little bit of fizz right on the finsh which was a nice touch. This one had a HARD road to climb to get up to my all time favorite Sobucky Cola, who’s taste AND fizz were unequaled. At 1.5% it was very good, but felt like it could just use a little more.
No off-notes or complaints with the exception of a minor dry-ness on the finish. Taste wise, it was a good generic cola, with a hint of fizz on the finish. Tasty, but not a superstar. It felt fairly placed at a 8/10, as it was better than many of the other colas out there.
Crepe (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (11-10-25) – As with everything pancake, (and crepes), I went into this one with sky high hopes. Some of them were dashed, and others not. Crepes should be a lighter version of a pancake, sometimes slightly egg-ier, denser, less cake-y, and fairly neutral overall. I spent some extra time with this one, JUST to be sure. It had some lighter pancake-y, kinda crepe-y notes, BUT, and this is/was the big one, I also had a healthy dose of AP during the entire middle and finish. I actually struggled to 100% verify it was AP, but if it wasn’t, it would sure make you THINK it was. AP ?? Yes, Actetyl Pyrazine. From Bull City Flavors, for the uninitiated …
Roasted, nutty, bready and yeasty, with popcorn and corn chip nuances …
I’m going to classify that note as fairy obtrusive, and not constructive towards the total flavor profile. Basically, once I tasted it, I couldn’t NOT taste it. IMO, it was a shame, because BENEATH it, there was a pretty good, light, sweet, almost pancake batter-ish crepe wanting to come out, but it was overshadowed by “the note”.
At 1.5% it was strong overall, and I’d rate it at an 8.5/10 on the strength scale, with sweetness a tick or two above mid-level. Whenever I have a flavor that goes “side-ways”, or has some peculiar notes, I spend some extra time, just to make sure it WAS, what it was. Not terrible here, but the AP, or AP-ish note will make it more of a challenge to work with. Dropping this one down a bit to a 5/10.
Fig (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (11-12-25) – I spent a little extra time with this one as well, trying to really decode what was going on with it. TBH I not only have a fig tree in our yard, but have been completely spoiled by The One that broke the mold. ALL fig flavors are chasing Medicine Flower Fig for the top spot IMO. NOW, comparing actual extracts to manufactured flavors is probably unfair, so I’ll try and keep this as fair as I can. This one presented as Fig-ish, BUT, not entirely a pure Fig. I def. got some Fig from it, but it was almost more of a puree than a straight Fig. This one was actually fairly hard to crack, but I finally settled on a combo of a fairly natural red fig, paired with light Pear, and lighter apple notes. Hehe, YES, that is what I finally settled on. It was good, and leaned heavily towards a red fig, which is freshly picked and just almost ripe, as compared to a darker, more brown very ripened Fig. Still good, and with some nice pizazz and punch to it. I did continue to get an almost pear-like undertone in there, and hints of green apple.
At 1.5% it was fairly present, and I would rate it at a 6.9/10 on the strength scale. I bumped it up to 2.0% with no real change in saturation. Sweetness was just at mid-level, and it did have a very natural, and fresh overall taste. I tried to come up with a different assessment, but kept coming back to the same profiles/notes listed above. It tasted fairly complex, and was a good flavor, but just not a complete fig. No off-notes, and my only want would be simply, some more fig LOL. Good flavor, interesting, and complex, with plenty of fresh nuances, and leaving it fairly high at a 7.9/10.
Ginger Bread (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Grapefruit (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Jujube (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Lemon (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% BROKEN
Mango (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Mandarin (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% BROKEN
Mirabelle Plum (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Strawberry Pie (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Tarte Tatin (SC) (Nomz) 1.5%
Tiramisu (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (11-7-25) – FIRST ONE on deck, and hooking it up for @McDuckie. Just in case not everyone knows what’s really in Tiramisu, there are a lot of players in there all fighting each other, so getting it RIGHT right can be almost impossible. Nomz however, figured it out. 100% done, finished, solo this all day, and shut the front door !!! What a GREAT way to start off this series. EVERY element was in there, and the only one I wasn’t 100% sure of and that was the exact booze element, but I’m leaning towards Brandy. The rich and dark espresso led the way, with the cream/mascarponne just behind it, followed by the lady fingers, then cocoa, and a hint of boozy-ness on the finish. You can literally (I did), solo this all day long and just keep coming back.
At 1.5% it was as strong as you could want, and ZERO off-notes/complaints or wants with this one. The ratios, or relative strengths between the individual notes was utterly perfect. Sweetness was just about mid-level, which worked. Wow, because normally, early on, I would be thinking about how I’d tweak/fix/enhance a Tira, but not this one. The bold/dark/robust espresso paired with the cream were probably the center stage players with the other elements perfectly enhancing/pairing with them for some relative-ness. All in, this one was 100% done, and ready to go. It’s going to be HARD to put this one down and test the rest of the series. Handily a 10/10. Release the Kraken, and don’t be afraid to get a BIG bottle.