Pecan Nut (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-18-24) – 100% of my previous Pecan testing has always been in the “Butter Pecan” realm, so this one was a first. Out of the gate, there was no mistaking this as a “nut” flavor. There WERE some great Pecan notes in there, but they weren’t consistent, nor the star of the show. What pecan notes I did get were fairly natural, with a darker, earthier tone that helped sell them. But, as mentioned previously, they came and went. Whiel nowhere near a “creamed” flavor, there was a certain creamy-ness TO it, with some mid-level sweetness. This one might work better as a nut mixer or baser, as opposed to a main Pecan note. What was there was great, just maybe not enough of it. The most consistent profile, nutty/earthy was very interesting, and would be either a love or hate profile, and because it stayed in the “nutty” range, I didn’t take off too much for it, but more of the "not Pecan 100% of the time. It felt like it was 60-65% of the way there, so leaving this earthy lil’ nutter at a 6.5/10.
Cherry (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-18-24) – To this day, I still get anxious when testing new cherries, as many offer up healthy doses of soaps, perfrumes, florals, even medicines. Guess what ?? Not THIS ONE !!! Nope, nadda, zip. I even torture tested this one for you guys (at the end of the review). OK, this one was a damned delicious RED Cherry, that was surprisingly below mid-level sweet, with NO off-notes. Very accurate, clean, and RED were the big three here. Trying to nail down exactly the cherry comparisons was tough, BUT, it tasted like 50% maraschino, 35% cherry juice, and 15% cherry Jello. Now that’s an over simplification but you get the idea. At 1.5% it was good enough to not want to increase it, and it was a natural/artificial split, and ball parking it at 50/50 felt good.
The lower than mid-level sweetness was a surprise, and I wondered if adding a few drops would help or hurt, but I didn’t. It was soo good and tasty, with no off-notes, I HAD TO crank it, because SURELY it would blow up, right ? NOPE. Doubled it to 3.0%, and still, it did NOT go sideways. Clearly that was PAST the ceiling, BUT, no florals, soaps, medicines, none. So, it is a very friendly Cherry to work with. 1.5% should really be the solo limit for your sanity. Now it was a complex cherry with the big 3 profiles I listed above, and at times I did get some Compote notes, but it was absent of any Black Cherry notes, leaving it squarely in the Red red camp. There was just a smidge of tartness on the finish to help round it out, but only a smidge. Color me impressed. If you want a red maraschino-ish medley-ed cherry, with cherry juice notes, and a hint-o-cherry jello, this one will work for you. I don’t think it was perfect, but it was getting REALLY close. Leaving it at a very cherry 9.75/10.
Biscuit (Buttery) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-19-24) – This one was a strange one out of the gate, and at first I thought I had borked the mix up. Re-mixed it, and YUP, it is what it is. What it was, was a rather mish-moshy sweetened, bakery, with some biscuit, some cookie, maybe even a loose graham all mashed up. In comparison to the other biscuits I’ve tried from NomNomz (and Chefs), this one never really took shape, and/or took off. At 1.5% (and other percentages), it was full enough, and was just below mid-level sweet, and there were no offensive notes, just not a clearly defined “biscuit” or even “butter”. It probably had some butter in there, but most times something is billed as a “butter” it’s got THE BUTTER coming at you. Sadly I could not see this pulling the “biscuit” freight, and would be perfect as a mixer/baser in bakeries, etc., but not the main note. Not terrible, but it just never really came into focus, and it felt like a “fiver”. Leaving this one at a 5.0/10.
Milkshake (Strawberry) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-19-24) – From the start this one tasted like it was 80% of the way there. The Milkshake profile was there, BUT, it was also kind of “milky”, and it felt trapped in between a shake and milk. The strawberry was mostly artificial, and while good, lacked a little bit of punch that would have helped it POP on the finish. It was plenty full @ 1.5%, and didn’t feel like it needed to be increased, and it was a few ticks below mid-level sweet. Mouthfeel was fairly present, but felt like it could be increased just a bit, along with the “shake” notes. All in, this could easily be tweeked, and while not terrible, it just felt like it needed a little help. In keeping with the 80%, finalized this one at a 8.0/10. Tasty, just not complete.
Banana Flambe (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-19-24) – I didn’t want to test this RIGHT after the Banana, so I could get a fresh take. I think it was @Mikser that asked if we needed this one as well as the Banana. It depends. This one was quite a bit different than the OG Banana, as it did not have the green, or mashed notes, but def. more of a somewhat “boozey”-ness to it. Every time I’ve ever eaten Banana Flambe it’s always been with Dark Rum, and this one DID have a nice booze overtone. The banana notes were cooked/fried, but without any greasy-ness or notes. I think there was some light brown sugar-ness, hiding below the booze, as it peeked out from time to time. It was far less creamy than the OG Banana, and somewhat more acidic, which made it more authentic. I didn’t pick up any overt butter or cinnamon, but it’s possible they were buried lower in the mix. All in, a pretty authentic, boozey, fried banana flambe, with light brown sugar notes. At 1.5% it was very full, and I couldn’t pick out any off-notes. I didn’t get any ice cream in this one, and that’s actually fine, add it if you want it. All in, a good showing, and hard to mark down, with my only “wants” being maybe a smidge more butter and brown sugar, but minor “wants” at that. Finishing up the 3rd tester while writing this, it felt good, very high, at a 9.5/10. If you have, want, or like the OG Banana, this one is plenty different to pick up as well.
The dark chocolate is spot on profile of cadbury darkmilk. Its borderline mill chocolate with that nice subtle bitterness of dark chocolate.
Blueberry (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-23-24) – I decided to spend some extra time on this one, as it was proving to be rather hard to completely nail down. This is because it WAS pretty complex, especially for a Blueberry. I got all KINDS of notes, and nuances from this one. For starters, it didn’t seem to delve as much into the darker notes of the BB, but more so the mid-dark, mid, and brighter notes. At times I felt it leaned more artificial than natural, and other times not. Some times I got more of a sweetened almost candy-like nuance from it, but not candied like you would think, but more of a blueberry rolled in sugar crystals. Some times I even picked up on a VERY natural tasting musky-ness, which often times is a BAD thing, but in this case (and some other BB’s), was a PLUS, and added to the natural-ness of it. Basically, this one was a very good BROAD spectrum BB, which covered all of the things mentioned above, and did it actually, quite well. Because of where it fell on my “BlueBerry Spectrum”, it seemed like it would be stellar in Milkshakes, Muffins/Bakeries, and def. in Cheesecakes, to name a few, with numerous other uses. Although it didn’t delve into the deeper, darker notes, it covered most of the “must haves”, and presented differently at times, which made it all the much better. This one really covered a LOT of bases. I finally had to place it, and doing so at a high(er) 9.6/10.
Watermelon (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-24-24) – By POPULAR demand, well kinda, hehe, diving into the Watermelon. I knew when mixing this one up, that it would be a "different’ watermelon, and that continued during the testing. The big take-away (for me at least), was it was not centered around the “red” juicy watermelon much at all. It did taste more like a mashup of the “white” part of the watermelon, along with some fairly present honeydew, and almost cantaloupe notes. In order of strength and ratios (guessing), I’d say 60% white watermelon, 30% honeydew, and 10% cantaloupe. There were some very light “red” wm notes, but the “white” and other melon notes were far more domiant. If I’d tested it without knowing the name, I probably would have thought it was a “Melon Medley”. It was a mix of natural and artificial, and did have some lighter candied notes. This was interesting as it was below mid-level sweet. It was very smooth, with no reat tart-ed-ness, or sour, and no overt off-notes, but there was a just ever so slight perfrumy-ness to it. Now, it was soo minor, that I almost didn’t think it necessary to mention, or take down for it, but just ever so slightly, it was there. It was so light that in a mix it would disappear. Overall, not a bad “Melon Medley”, but as a stand alone Watermelon, not so much. Not terrible, and still very useful, just not a stellar stand alone. It seemed like it was in the 5.0-6.0 range for my personal rating system, so I finally settled on the higher score, and left it at a 6.0/10.
Banana (Candy) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-25-24) – I had ASSUMED this was just going to be a full on Banana Runtz candy before testing, BUT, that didn’t prove entirely accurate with this one. There was some LIGHT runtz notes in there, but overall it seemed more like a relaxed mashup of the OG Banana, and a bit of the Banana Flambe. It was somewhat sweet, but still below mid-level. At 1.5% it tasted a bit less present that both the previously tested nanas from Nomz, and did have a creamy undertone. No off-notes, but I can’t say that it completely took off as a banana candy. It was somewhat candied, but never took shape as a candy. Tasty, very different than expected for sure. You could use this IN a runtz / candy mix, but it wouldn’t be the driver in the mix. No off-notes, and again, a nice different approach, just not sure if it hit the mark. Probably about the best comparison I could make would be a somewhat smooth artificial/natural, lighter banana. Tasty, but can’t give it the high marks for a candy banana. It was good enough to still drop at a 6.9/10.
Blackcurrant (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-25-24) – “Darker”, and “Complex-ified” were the two take-aways with this flavor. While this flavor might not have 100% of the tart kick that real BC’s have, it was def. in the ballpark. With just below mid-level sweetness, and just enough tart on the finish it was a tasty one. While hard to classify, it’s core revolved around a darker berry, with slight earthy tones, and just a hint of floral-ness. I know, I know, “But florals are bad” !!! In this case they were minimal, and added to the authenticity. Hints of dark(er) raspberries, blueberries, and light wine notes, kept this one mysterious, dark, and complex. At 1.5% it felt like 85% of the way there strength wise, so not overly strong or overpowering. If you like delving into the darker, more mysterious berry blends, this one will work for you. Having very few “eaten” BC’s to compare this to, it was fairly convincing, and authentic. I struggled with the final score, but with no off-notes, take-offs, or “wants” I decided to leave it fairly high at a 9.0/10. Dark and mysterious.
Raspberry Wafer (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-25-24) – When mixing this one up, I had two thoughts. “Wow, this smells great”, and “I know this flavor”. Turns out that the Wafer was stronger, but almost identical to the OG Wafer from Chefs that I had tested previously. As was, and still was the case with it, I still didn’t get a lot of “wafer” from it, but that’s probably a matter of wafer opinion, but I got much more of a FW Waffle Cone, some other bakery/ies, and maybe a touch of AP. Now, having NOT tested the four OTHER Raspberries from NomNomz yet, I can only assume that one of them was in here. AND, the two profiles paired perfectly together. With the whole wafer/biscuit/cookie debate aside, the Raspberry had JUST enough sweetness, and tartness to break through the bakery elements, It tasted mostly natural, with some jammed, and candied accents. The two main profiles did pair very well, and it was damned tasty. No off-notes, or complaints other than the definition of “wafer”. Minor take-offs for that, but that was it. Too good to mark down much, and decided to leave it super solidly at a 9.5/10.
French Vanilla (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-26-24) – As most of us know, French Vanilla isn’t about a specific vanilla bean, but the inclusion of egg yolks, and a rich custard flavor. Yeah, NomNomz got this one right !!! Some vanillas are very flavorful but are also fairly thin, and light, NOT with a true FV like this one. It had all of the typical vanilla bean goodness, BUT, just ladled in a rich eggy, custardy bath. Rich, rich, and more rich. This one was rich, and dense enough to really have some mouthfeel. Custard lovers rejoice, as you could almost solo this one, and get your fix on. The vanilla wasn’t overshadowed by the eggy custard, but it DID play second fiddle to it. Not so much that it was imbalanced, but I’ll crudely place it at a 45% Vanilla, 55 % eggy custard ratio. This one had quite a bit more “weight” than a thin vanilla, so much so that I wondered if there was a light bakery in there, lower in the mix. Tasty, somewhat creamy, not a full on custard, but with plenty of eggy notes, this one just worked. No off-notes, and at about mid-level sweet. Although I don’t typically migrate towards eggy-er custard type flavors, this one was too good to ignore. Again, very close to perfect, and it’s not always about what I PREFER, but what i TASTE !!! Another 9.9/10 here folks.
Chocolate (Milk) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-27-24) – Despite some confusion, this is not a Chocolate Milk, but a Milk Chocolate, … kinda. First the good, there were NONE of the somewhat typical rubber bands or band aids in this one, and that’s always a plus. It was very clear in the tester, and didn’t seem to gunk, so more plusses. BUT, it was only a “so-so” Chocolate, and not very “Milk” Chocolately to my tastes. It was more of a mid to almost dark chocolate with a FEW lighter choco notes, but missing was much of the creamy, dare I say “milky” tones that typically fatten, and smooth-en up MC’s. There was a very slight amount of creamy-ness, but only very slight. It literally teetered on JUST almost having some bitterness, but not quite, and there was a somewhat dry, almost astringent finish to it. It seemed to be a combo of a natural and artifical choco, and actually wasn’t bad as a chocolate, but I don’t think it sold the “Milk Chocolate” very well. I know I could EASILY fix it, with some cream, and bavarian cream. Sweetness was quite a bit lower than mid-level, and off-notes would be limited to the aforementioned somewhat dry, astringent finish. It actually wasn’t a terrible chocolate, and I’ve used far worse, but expecting to roll right out onto Milk Chocolate goodness with this one, would take a little help. I finalized this one at a 6.5/10.
Creme Anglaise (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-28-24) – This one was quite the interesting one to test. Unlike much heavier, denser Custards, this one was actually very true to a pouring custard. YES, a pouring custard. Def. going to push this to the other end of the Custard scale, as it was much lighter, smoother, and more refined than the heavy custard pack. It was very similar to a thinner vanilla pudding with just a HINT of eggy custard. Somewhat creamy, smooth, and with some super clean vanilla accents. The vanilla wasn’t spicy or overpowering, but always there, and riding on the sweetened, creamy carrier. It was a somewhat (not entirely), lighter flavor, and I briefly considered up’ing it past the 1.5% weight, but enjoyed it so much, I didn’t bother. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and there were no off-notes, or even a single complaint that I could come up with. All in, it was a VERY accurate CA, with some very nice creamy-ness, and mouthfeel, pudding elements, a hint of eggy custard, and clean vanilla accents. I guess my only “coulda, shoulda, woulda” would have been just a pinch more, AND, that may have been resolvable by increasing it slightly. As it stood however, almost perfect. Easily a 9.5/10.
Asperule (Woodruff) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-28-24) – Wow, what the heck was THIS flavor ?? I’ve never heard of, tried, or ever eaten (or drank) Woodruff, so this review will reflect that, with utterly NO comparisons to give you guys. Now I can GUARANTEE that this one was NOT in my typical wheelhouse, BUT, that didn’t stop this test, or it proving to be a VERY interesting flavor. Wow, I don’t know where to begin. OK, there was a certain floral-ness to it, along with some almost earthy undertones, some sweetness, and an indescribable spicy note. Light “almost” cinnamon maybe ?? After researching this one a bit it seems like “teas” are one of the typical uses of this, and strangely enough, I could see that.
Further testing did reveal a persistant, but recessed vanilla note as well. This was like NO OTHER flavor on my racks, and I’m toying with possible uses for this one. It smelled a bit different in the tester, than when TESTING the tester, which added to the mystery. Maybe “chai” like would also be a somewhat accurate description. Vanilla chai with light florats, and a hint of spicy-ness is about as close as I can get. Very nice at 1.5%, and sweetness was just below mid-level, and off-notes, LOL, I have no clue. The floral-ness/ notes were light and actually non intrusive, as the spicy, light vanilla-ish came out as the predominant profile. It actually grew on me, which is quite interesting. Now, as stated above, Scoring this was going to be tough, as I can’t begin to tell how accurate it was, or not, but from what I could read up on the plant, it appears to be accurate, and I have to say, once it settled in, was very tasty. I’m going to go out on a limb, and leave this at a 8.75/10 folks.
Brownie (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (2-29-24) – Alright, something was going on with this one, and it took me a bit to finally figure it out. I smelled chocolate in the bottle, but I wasn’t really tasting it in the tester. Maybe light, to VERY light, but hehe, I know what this is. It’s a BLONDIE, not a BROWNIE !!! Now I only know this because I’m not a real choco-head, and actually almost prefer Blondies. Very light cocoa/choco taste, which was almost completely overshadowed by a pretty decent bakery base, that did resemble a blonde brownie. At 1.5% it was a little underpowered, and felt llike maybe a bit higher for solo’ing would be better, and at about mid-level sweet. I didn’t get an overwhelming taste of brown sugar, which is very indicitive of a blondie, but some light buttery and caramel notes. Maybe the more accurate name would be a “Blank Slate Brownie”, because you could EASILY push/pull this one directly INTO a brownie, or better, over to a full on Blondie. I did get some very convincing baking powder from the bakery, and it just sold it perfectly. Very tasty, super easy to turn into whatever you wanted, but not really a brownie. Despite the “not brownie”-ness of it, the bakery elements were so good and accurate, I think I’m going to get a bigger bottle. Knocking this one down only for the lack of the needed cocoa/chocolate to push it into a true brownie, but that’s it. Leaving this one at a 6.0/10 only for that reason. Tasty.
Sweet Lime (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-1-24) – Cold Pressed, or Distilled, I have no clue, BUT, it tasted pretty limey to me. It was not the strongest Lime I’ve tried, or at least a 1.5%, and it felt like it might have needed about 25% more “oomph”. It was sweetened, but not in an overpowering way, and it landed at about mid-level sweet. Depending if you wanted/needed more sweetener in your mix(es) may, or may not include/exclude this one because of that. As far as the actual lime to sweet ratio, I might put it as high as 55% Lime / 45% sweet to better explain it. What was interesting was the sweetness offset any tart or sour to it, which left it as a rather “smooth” or “not sharp” lime, which again might, or might not be what you were looking for, depending. Taste wise, it was accurate, and fairly natural, and there were no off-notes, but I have to admit to missing some of the mouth pucking tart-ed-ness that limes can often times bring. Even with da sweetz, I could see tons of tea, drink, even desert uses for this one. All in, it simply tasted like 75%-80% of the way there, and I decided to leave it squarely at a 7.5/10. Very tasty, just slightly subdued by some of the sweet.
Lemon Meringue Pie (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-1-24) – This one smelled great in the bottle, and couldn’t wait to test it. Out of the gate, it had all of the big 3, crust, lemon, and meringue. The crust was fairly present, accurate, and good. The meringue tasted below the crust and lemon in the mix, and while nowhere near dominant, managed to somehow stay alive in the mix. The lemon seemed to really accurately portray the lemon filling. Now I wish it had just a bit more “punch”, but trying to keep lemons punching has always proven difficult to say the least. As a whole, no mistaking it was a LMP, and the ratios were well done with just enough of each. Sweetness was a tick or two above mid-level, and that worked here. No off-notes, or anything out of place. As I worked through the 3 testers (as I often do), I kept thinking, “What would I add”. I might add a smidge of INW Biscuit, and just a touch of a bright Lemon to add some punch, and a little more “bite”, as overall it was a smooth flavor overall, and a little “zing” would help it pop a little. As a whole it worked, and was better than many LMP’s out there, with no real complaints, but only two minor “might adds” for my own tastes. Leaving this one higher, and finally settled on a 9.0/10.
Toffee (Butter) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-2-24) – Right out of the gate, there was no confusing this for anything other than a Toffee. Buttery, sweet, and much darker than a caramel, which was exactly what a Toffee cooked to the higher temp “Hard Crack” stage should taste like. I got hints of butter, but much more of the buttery smoothness. Obviously not as creamy as a caramel, but it still had a creamy-ness to it. Continuing to test this one, just revealed even more buttery-ness, and rich darker notes. I didn’t get any overt chocolate or nuts, but that was a NON issue because this one was that tasty, AND, a blank slate, if you wanted either of the two. As far as off-notes, there were none, and it was just a tick above mid-level sweet. VERY hard to put down. Overall, it covered a fairly full spectrum of Toffees with some light, more mid-dark, and even more DARK-dark notes. At times I thought I caught a hint of burnt in the darkness, and instead of that being a negative, it just worked to sell it’s authenticity even more. If you like Toffee, you will like this one. At the end of the third tester, I was convinced, it was perfect as is, with no choco or nuts, and was easily be run as a solo. Just short of perfect IMO, and leaving it at a sky high 9.9/10.
Coffee (Irish) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-3-24) – If you’ve never tried a “true” Irish Coffee, you should. It’s only got 4 ingredients, and one HAS to be Jameson’s. Well it doesn’t HAVE to be, but it SHOULD. All four ingredients were here, Dark Coffee, some Cream, Sugar, and Whiskey. The only thing I couldn’t tell was if the sugar was brown or not, but I think it was. The coffee was bold, and centered around mid-dark/dark, with just enough sweetness to carry it, but not overload it, just enough creamery to take the acidic edge off, and a splash of whiskey. This flavor captured everything it needed to, and it was perfectly balanced. At 1.5% it was very full, and sweetness were just below mid-level, and I had no complaints, off-notes, or “wishes”. Very tasty, simple yet complex, and very hard to let go of for the next flavor test. Struggling to find anything to nit-pick, I could only dredge for wishing for a HINT more of the Whiskey, but even that, was almost too minor to bring up. If you like Irish Coffee, this one’s for you. Another JUST almost perfect, and leaving it at a 9.9/10 as well.