FA Almond is one of the most versatile flavors you can use. It can add sweetness, bite, volume, crunch, as well as make things creamy, all depending on how you use it. I've always liked this flavor, as it always added a nice depth to flavors lacking some volume. But as of lately I have been using it in almost everything. In creams it adds a nice nutty aspect, giving depth to a lacking custard flavor while keeping the creaminess. In fruits it adds spice and crunch, to a flavor that might be lacking some character. With bakeries it adds a layer to build on. For example, a standard raspberry danish may need some more depth to it to really emulate a thick mouthfeel. So add in some FA Almond and you can build in another fruit, like a touch of Forest Fruit, without worrying about bogging down the original mix. It's really a fucking great flavor. Taste it, you can vape it straight or with a vanilla and it's delicious.Also, an absolute if you want to make macaroon flavors. This flavoring is seriously a MUST have.
That being said, a beginner should learn the flavor before using it. There are a lot more ways almond can turn a mix into something bitter and nasty. So just be careful when using it. Think about how you would add Almond Extract into real food, this is a good way to use FA Almond. Once you get good with it you can make other flavors do some interesting things.
Recommended Percentages:
- Creams - 1-2%
- Fruits - 1%
- Bakeries - 2-3%
- Vanillas - 0.5-1%
- Tobaccos - 2-3%
- Cocktails - Would not recommend unless in Amaretto's or Coffee flavors then at 2%
So in conclusion, it's an extremely versatile flavor with an amazing flavor profile. It has the ability to turn a mix into something with more depth and character, and can sweeten a lacking one. There a so many ways to use this stuff. If you like my recipes and like to mix up what I post, stock up cause it's going to be in a lot more recipes from here on out. It's just so versatile. There are substitutes, like TFA's or INW, but the % ratios I do not know, so if anyone wants to post that I'm sure it would be helpful. This is be updated periodically throughout it's post life to include more notes. Something I love about reddit. Thanks guys.
And don't forget to watch my stupid YouTube Channel DIYorDIE. It would be cool if you'd subscribe and like and shit, I like to post my recipes and flavor notes there. But /r/DIY_eJuice will always be my home.
These are fantastic notes. Really spot-on. Particularly helpful are the percentages specific to different genres of flavors.
For those who haven't used it, FA Almond is not a top-note, or nasally-prominent flavor. It acts in a very subtle way that accurately emulates using almonds/almond extract/almond milk in a recipe. Many mixers are thrown off by its lack of "popping" almond flavor. This, however, is partly what makes it so versatile.
FA Almond, like real almonds, provides a "warming" effect and ties together disparate flavors. Think peaches, caramel and butterscotch, fig, other nuts, chocolate, citrus and brown sugar.
If you're looking for something similar to TFA Toasted Almond without the "toasted" element, look elsewhere. Inawera Almond would be a better bet; it's more prominent as a "manufactured almond" flavor but much less versatile. It's one of the only other pure almond flavorings widely available.
Avoid FW Toasted Almond. Capella Toasted Almond is passable depending on your recipe but still adds the toasted flavor FA Almond avoids.
If you're looking for a more candy almond, FA Torrone is also fantastic. It's their almond flavor with a bit of sweet candy nougat (Italian style hard nougat, not like a Snickers) and a teensy bit of honey. It contains acetyl pyrazine so avoid high percentages to dodge a corn chip flavor. Combining FA Almond and FA Torrone tends to overwhelm.
I slightly disagree with avoiding use of FA Almond in cocktails; it really depends on the pairing. It does work well with FA Brandy and FA Liquid Amber.
Thanks for putting a spotlight on this flavoring...it truly is great!
Yup I think we pretty much covered it. Good work as always bro. Glad to know you love Almond as much as I do. It's just an awesome ingredient. And yes for whiskeys and the like almond is excellent in as well. I forgot about those. I'm still fooling around with Torrone. It's a really fun flavor, but a fickle one. More notes and videos coming soon folks! This community is getting bigger and better by the day. And I'm loving every second of it.
I'm much more of a fan of CAP toaster almond than FA almond, I bought FA almond as I couldn't get any CAP almond at the time and replaced it in a couple of my recipes just to try, suddenly ( for me ) they lost the bite they had. Same deal with TPA Toasted almond too.
I use CAP toasted almond around 1-2% mostly in tobaccos. FA RY4 is really nice with CAP almond.
FA Almond is a great flavor. I really enjoy mixing it at 0.5% with the jammy, FLV Strawberry @ 1.5% to get a pretty unique taste. You could probably even double those percentages. Here's an example for anyone interested:
Ingredient|% :---|---:| Almond (FA)|0.5 French Vanilla (CAP)|1 Marshmallow (FA)|3 Strawberry (FLV)|1.5 Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (TPA)|5 Whipped Cream (TPA)|2
Thanks much for this. I'm much better at writing than at mixing juice, so rather than piling on to that (which I hereby also do) here's what I'd rather do: 'hey Wayne, consider writing your video scripts out before you record them. your posts here are super sweet, and to the point. your videos are super sweet but could be more concentrated content-wise.' I hope that doesn't hit you the wrong way, it's really meant as constructive kudos.