WEEK 49
Welcome back to another thread for sharing your impressions of single flavors.
>Share a few words or a bunch on flavors you've tried recently, good or bad. > If they sparked an idea you'd like to pursue, made you regret buying it at all, or were just really good standalone. Let us know what you thought
Check out the last thread for examples of what that looks like!
Thanks to /u/RancerDS and all the people sharing their impressions week after week we have notes on over 900 flavors compiled here
Guess I can share my notes on the colas I did for Noted.
Part 1:
Category: Booze and Cola
Flavor: WF Rum & Cola
Notes: Straight up hard rum & cola. Neither the rum nor the cola in this appear to be very strong. They are both very sweet and almost nothing odd comes to mind. Although, the rum has a bit of a smokey off note. Not sure if intended, but it doesn't ruin anything. The flavor over all is alright, but the cola is a little flat in it and doesn't really appear much. Would actually fit really well if used as a rum.
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Flavor: Wrecka Bourbon Cola
Notes: There are an odd pressence of playdough in this one. The bourbon is VERY strong and the cola is a little bit there in the backgrund, just enough to sweeten the bourbon up and get a wiff of cola. There are no doubt this is an alcoholic flavor. I also find some odd notes of cococnut on the exhale in this, which oddly fits in, but not something I would expect from a bourbon and cola.
It's very harsh around 4% and I get some tightness from it.
Category: Cherry Cola
Flavor: VT Cherry Cola
Notes: As expected, this is just perfume. I don't detect any cola in this, it's just disgusting perfumy floral shit. It's not even a good cherry.
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Flavor: CAP Cola Cherry
Notes: Bit of perfume, very small bit of cola. Pretty bad. Bad cherry in a weak cola. I does have some hints of both unlike VT cherry cola.
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Flavor: TFA Cola Cherry
Notes: We're still in the perfume/floral territory. Still not a very good cherry nor a very good cola, but slightyly better than the previous two. Can probably be tweaked by adding other colas and be enhanced slightly with some sweetener. But none the less, it'll never be super.
Category: Dr. Pepper Types
Flavor: HS Pepepr Soda
Notes: I don't even know what this is supposed to be. Dr Pepper it's definitely not. I'm not getting a soda vibe from this either. I can't pin point what the hell this is supposed to be. Just an odd bland flavor with a little plastic. No thanks.
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Flavor: FA Dr. Who
Notes: This taste more like an actual diet cherry cola, than a Dr Pepper. Not a bad taste at all, but not a Dr Pepper. They didn't get the almond quite right. It does have hints of it, which can be confused with a bad marzipan, which again can be confused with an ok-ish cherry. So if they renamed this a cherry cola, it would be acceptable for that. Does not taste like a Dr Pepper Cherry may I add.
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Flavor: TFA Dr. Pop
Notes: We're getting close to a Dr Pepper here. It lacks some sweetness and the almond is not totally on point, but it's in the right direction. I think with just the right amount of sweetener, this could be getting close enough. It does have a slightly plastic off-note, but I think it could be covered up by adding maybe a little bit more of a sweeter cola into this. Needs work for sure. No fizz.
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Flavor: MB Dr. Beat
Notes: This is probably as close to a Dr Pepper as it can get in this category. It has a bit of funky herby vibe going on and I pick up nice round almost creamy flavor, without being full on cream. Got some nice sweet almond going, but not as much in the direction of a Dr Pepper would have it. I also know that this contains sucralose, which is it passes more acceptable and probably fixes some of the things wrong with the previous ones tested. It has a nice soda vibe going, but with minimal fizz.
And part 2:
Category: Cola
Flavor: TFA Cola Soda
Notes: Has a harsh taste and also a taste of burnt sugar free cola. Like a cola that has been exposed to fire while still in the plastic bottle. Pretty gross. No fizz.
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Flavor: TFA Cola Syrup
Notes: Definitely an additive. It's kinda sour but has some cola vibe to it. None the less, it's what I would add to other stuff that needed a hint of cola. Lots of off notes of vinegar.
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Flavor: HS Red Cola
Notes: I don't think China has any idea what a Coca Cola is. I pick up some odd anise off notes from this - which if you're me is fine, but for normal people is a no-go. The cola flavor is there, but it's very hidden. So I wouldn't call this much of a viable cola, but it's not the worst one I have tried.
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Flavor: FW Cola
Notes: Let's start with the good part of this one. The cola note is actually not too terrible. It's mediocre at best. It has some depth in the syrup and it's not too boring. The bad part is the plastic off note. And it's gross. Too forward with the plastic and there are many other colas that are far superior to this. You could probably cover up the plastic with a ton of sweetener, but then you're still left with a mediocre cola.
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Flavor INW Cola
Notes: This is a an odd one. I'm picking up a lot of candy notes and some lemon notes from this. The cola note is not too strong in this and the candy is very forward. It has a taste like a good amount of CAP Jelly Candy going on. It doesn't taste bad, but it doesn't taste too much of an actual cola either. I'm sure it would be a nice accent in a cola gummy/candy mix. Wouldn't work as a main cola note.
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Flavor: LB Cola Freeze
Notes: I don't understand the "freeze" part of this, cause it has zero cooling in it. Also the cola flavor is dull and boring. It's just something sour and very boring. I'm not really impressed by this at all. It lacks something to make it really pop and sweeten it up, cause this is just a dull sour cola flavor. It's bee a no thank you for me.
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Flavor: VT Cola
Notes: Let me be honest. It's boring. It has some ok-ish sour cola notes to it and it also has some syrupness in it. but I'm not blown backwards by this. It's a bit too flat to really be interesting and the cola itself is a tad on the weak side, so it would disappear quickly in a mix. It doesn't really bring a lot to the table so even as an accent it wouldn't be very viable. It has a small amount of a plastic off note going, which kinda ruins the experience. I don't hope cola actually tastes like this in Australia.
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Flavor: TFA Cola
Notes: TFA Cola, which I assume is the original (I also hear some words of it getting discontinued?) lands itself right in the middle of all the mediocre cola flavors. It's nothing special. Nothing exciting, it is what you'd except from a mediocre cola flavor. I'm lacking a little bit more depth in, but it's viable for what it is. I'm not picking up any off notes but it has a more sour tone to it, compared to the other TFA cola flavors.I could really do with a little bit of sweetness here and a little more undertones of spices and syrup. It's not a bad flavor, but it's not near the best ones either.
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Flavor TFA Cola Fizz
Notes: Run of the mill generic boring cola. Has some depth in the syrup, and the cola is the flavor you'd find a typical discount cola candy. It's a little flat and not particular interesting. No terrible off notes though. But why is it called Cola Fizz? There are zero fizz in this and I think TFA's commercial department are just pulling names out their asses.
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Flavor: MB Fizzy Cola
Notes: Good amount of fizz that leaves your tongue tingle a little. So they did that right. The cola isn't so strong, but combined with another good cola, I think you have something good going on here. It does have a bit of harshness to it that gives me some chest tightness, but I think if used as an accent, it wouldn't really matter a whole lot. I kinda like it. I don't find any off notes, but the cola could be a little stronger if used on its own.
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Flavor: WF Cola Gummy
Notes: Sugar free cola gummy really. I pick up an off note of vanilla, which I'm not sure is intended but nothing that ruin anything. Could be a viable cola to use for a vanilla coke mix. It needs a little more cola to really make the cola push through. I dig it.
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Flavor: FLV Cola
Notes: Pretty close to a generic cola. Imagine a generic cola with no sugar or fake sweetener added to it and you'd have this. All around pretty good and there are no odd off notes in it, but does need a form of sweetness to really shine and pop. No fizz detected however. Slightly weak in flavor as well.
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Flavor: FA Cola
Notes: FA Cola is more or less your standard generic cola. Nothing odd about it, maybe borderline boring, cause it's just a plain cola. It has some harshness to it which is not to be confused with fizz. It has a decent amount of deeper syrupy note going on. The downside of FA Cola is, that it doesn't do well in a mix with too many things added to in. It become super weak in a mix which makes FA Cola a tad hard to work with. No off notes, definitely needs a sweeter cola to play with.
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Flavor: CAP Cola V2
Notes: It has some sweetness in it and it also has some deeper syrupy notes which both are really good. Got a bit of cola gummy going, which also makes this pretty good. It has a touch of cinnamon which aren't too much nor too little. However, there is a bit of a burnt plastic off note. It's not much and I can't see it appear in a mix, but for a standalone it's kinda there in the back once you first notice it. None the less, it's an alright flavor really.
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Flavor: HS Blue Cola
Notes: It seems like China knows more about Pepsi than Coca Cola cause this is actually not bad. Like most colas, it is a little weak in flavor, so I can accept that. This has a pretty good cola vibe going on actually with some deeper and sweeter syrup notes. I dig it.
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Flavor: DV Classic Cola
Notes: Now we're talking! This is an amazing cola. Like many others it has the taste of a generic cola, but does with an amazing grace and actually tastes really good. I don't find any off notes in this and it does have a little bit of sweetness going on with a syrupy texture, that many other colas lack. I really dig this one and could vape it on its own. The cola is strong enough to hold up on its own with a few other ingredients.
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Flavor: CAP Cola V1
Notes: This is actually pretty good! It has a great amount of sweetness going on and some deeper syrupy notes, which makes it almost sticky. Reminds me of an actual good cola gummy. Compared to many other cola flavors, this actually packs a bit of a punch. It also has a nice note of cinnamon which aren't too much nor too little. Just perfect. I really like this and could probably vape this on it's own.
Wow, TFA Cola was one of the first concentrates I got a couple years ago and all I got from it was burnt rubber. Like... if you ever had a snowmobile shred it's belt and smelled it, or ever helped someone who was stuck only to realize later they just shredded their brakes because they weren't stuck but had the parking brake on... that. I can say I did like the CAP Cola.. but after 007 the colas I have are just gathering dust. Going to try the WF gummy and DV for kicks, part my long quest to make my own version of a Cola+Grape+Dew..soda..thing, where 007 hasn't proven not to be the cola base I'm looking for.
What I actually wanted to say more: watched the noted, thanks for putting your notes up so I don't have to troll the video again!
These are awesome flavor notes, thanks for the great work!
Is the DV Classic Cola much weaker than CAP Cola V1? Do you remember the percents tested?
DV Classic Cola is slightly less weaker than CAP Cola V1, but still so very different. If I could, I'd rank the side by side, because to me the are equally good.
I'd say 4-5% for a main note for DV Classic Cola, and somewhere along the lines of 1-3% for an accent.
Glad you liked the notes!
My Cola notes are nowhere near as extensive as /u/Kittybit8 's but here we go:
TFA Cola Syrup - It tastes like if the act of refinishing furniture was a flavor. Harsh, astringent, tastes more like a terrible mix of chemicals than any kind of soda I can imagine. I had a hard time vaping it. Lots of citrus and some cherry-like sweetness but overlaid with chemical that tastes unsettlingly like wood varnish.
TFA Dr. Pop- It has a little of that spiced cherry-vanilla taste of a knock off Dr. Pepper, like Dr. Thunder or whatever, right there in the top note but it’s so weird and waxy beyond that that it’s like vaping a Dr. Whatever scented candle and it leaves a strange chemical taste in my mouth. It’s really a shame because it smells kinda like DP in the bottle, but even when I licked some 4% sample off the back of my hand it had that strange chemical taste.
TFA Cola Fizz - It’s not fizzy cola. It’s like an additive that might work to make another cola flavor possibly give the impression of maybe being fizzy, but it would have to be a cola, or maybe a root beer, because there is a little cola in there. Nothing like sprite or some kind of fruit flavored fizzy drink, it would ruin that. Too spicy. Has some acidic tartness like a citrus without any specific flavors and some spice on top, but not anything by the way of caramelly syrupy sweetness like a cola should have. Instead it’s sharp, nearly astringent, and kind of green, also very thin and top heavy. I don’t know how well it would really do fizzy but with that sharp spice it could definitely liven up a flat soda flavor.
CAP Cola - That is not good. Warm, generic cola syrup, thick and sweet, but with a weird chemical off note that makes it taste like a flat store-brand cola laced with some kind of cleaning product, pledgy. Yep, that’s what it is, there’s some lemon to it, which isn’t super out of place for a cola which should have some citrus, but this is like a pledgy lemon. Also a touch of cherry in there.
WF Rum & Cola - This one let me down. It’s like some pepsi-ish store-brand cola with a really slight taste of rum mixed with cola but it’s just a touch, like seriously watered down Rum and Coke, no real booze to it. Actually not a ton of flavor at all, overall, it’s soft. It does have some depth and a nice sweetness to it, and it’s a not bad flavor, but it needs both more rum and a sharper cola to even be what it’s supposed to be.
LB Cola Freeze - The name implies cooling but there isn’t any. Maybe it’s supposed to imply that it’s like a slushy, so you’re not looking for fizz, which makes sense. And it’s very sweet and thick feeling, though the flavor itself is fairly light, and there’s a touch of florality to it though that seems to be coverable. Definitely needs to be mixed with a stronger cola top note and would be nice if it finished with more flavor, though it seems like it could work to fill out the middle of a cola duo or trio or have some role in a recipe. It’s not bad. I’ve tried mixing it 4% and 1% with FA and that tastes like it needs at least twice as much of both flavors.
HS Blue Cola - Clearly another flat storebrand cola. It’s supposed to be Pepsi and it really is a little more pepsi-like in that it’s a more citrusy cola, not as spicy, dark, caramelly as a more coke-like cola. It’s sweet and has a little body to it. Other than the flatness I really don’t get anything weird or off with it, though the taste that lingers is, oddly, more bubblegum than pepsi. I don’t think that’s as much a problem with this flavor in particular or just a reminder of how much bubblegum and cola have in common, flavor-wise.
FA Cola (USA Pleasure) - It tastes like flat store-brand cola. Top heavy. It’s a little thin, not very concentrated for FA, not very sweet, and not very saturated at any concentration, but it doesn’t have any glaring off-notes. A little too citrusy, but probably not to such a degree that it would be a big problem in a mix.
WF Cola Gummy - Tastes like one of those cola gummies without anything glaringly wrong. It’s less thick and chewy than I’m looking for in a gummy and seems to be missing that real gummy taste, to such extent that I think you could easily use it in a cola recipe. It’s sweet and it tastes like flat cola, like other cola flavors, which all kind of taste more like those cola gummies than actual coca cola anyway. It’s a little softer and not as punchy as I usually want from a cola, but that might make it a better cola for some situations or a good layer for more depth with another cola. I’d add some FA with it.
FLV Cola - It tastes like cola that’s a little less flat than others. It has a spicy top note that comes within striking distance of fizzy. It also has a lot more syrupy sweet depth to it, but it’s a little dry. And there is a strange cherry-ish fruitiness. Not a bad cherry off note, just a cherryish fruit note. The dryness is going to be the biggest issue with this one, it needs to be mitigated to feel like a beverage.
007 Cola is the best cola. https://alltheflavors.com/recipes/121307#007_cola_by_alfredpudding Just add whatever you want to that.