I figured I would release my notes from tonights episode of Noted, concerning black licorice.

They are ranked from worst to best.

So here goes:

One shots:

DV Jack Black:

DV’s website reads: “From the mists of the mysterious DV Flavoritory comes Jack Black. Evocative of the famous ‘Black Jack’ confectionery, with its alluring all-day aniseed with a dab of liquorice and a dark fruit twist, ‘Jack Black’ is sure to electrify your taste buds from the very first vape!”

Ugh gross. First thing I taste is a perfumy blackberry that just lingers from start to finish. I feel like I just licked a perfume sample in a magazine.

It’s very harsh on the throat and I wouldn’t take this much higher than 2%. I tried 3% and it was disgusting.

There’s not a hint of licorice in this. It’s never been there.

03/03

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SA Green Fluid:

One shot with licorice, anise and lime.

Barely any licorice or anise. Plenty of lime and cooling. Which is all good, but it doesn’t match the label at all. Even on SA’s website, there’s a picture of licorice next to the bottle, which is quite odd since the licorice is barely present in this.

Decent lime, but not fit to be called anything with licorice.

02/03

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SA Snake V2:

Oneshot strawberry, citrus, vanilla and licorice.

More menthol with weak hints of vanilla and slightly stronger notes of citrus.

I find absolutely no licorice or strawberry in this at all.

If it were just a flavor aiming for menthol with a hint of citrus, then it would probably be decent, but in terms of licorice it’s a fail.

01/03

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Flavors:

OSDIY Licorice Torpedos:

There’s absolutely no licorice in this. What there are though, is vomit and banana peel and I don’t understand why. This is bottled suffering and should be avoided by pretty much anyone.

That’s all I have say about this.

13/13

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Sasami (SI) Licorice:

What the hell is this even? There’s hardly any licorice in this. It tastes like burnt wood with a touch of menthol. Seriously, it’s like you lit a licorice root on fire and breathed in the fumes. THIS IS NASTY. I can’t even describe what the hell I’m vaping.

12/13

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FA Black Currant Licorice:

Not a black currant nor a black licorice.

Has an odd off-note of a unidentifiable berry tea with minor hint of anise spices and it’s only because I know it’s there. Disappointing flavor.

11/13

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VT Black Licorice:

This is just a gummy anise and not a licorice. This is getting a little ridiculous calling anything anise licorice. It’s not. It’s a completely different thing. It can be used in licorice yes, but it’s NOT licorice. This is stupid.

No hint of black licorice what-so-ever.

10/13

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INW Licorice:

It’s was SUPER weird - It's a typical case of you reading the label and expect a flavor, but you're getting something else.

The flavor here has nothing to do with licorice - not in the sense of anise or salmiak at least. It does have tones of it, kinda like VT Fig, but the flavor for this one is almost a spot on spiced prune.

It does lack some throat hit and that spice is hard to detect what is - but it's there.

The spice comes with some smoked notes as well plus it has a very delightful round texture.

u/isuamadog said and I quote: "almost smoked, like you took a prune and toasted it on the grill".

What makes this one really unique is the almost jelly-ish body it has. It's sweet, but not sweet as a candy - natural sweetness would be the correct term.

Pairings for this would definitely be bakeries and tobaccos and definitely with other licorice flavors as well - such as FA Black Touch.

Can also be used with darker fruits - but should probably be kept away from the more brighter fruits.

In a mix, this can probably be used anywhere from 0.25-1%.

09/13

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FA Pernoir:

Aniseed flavor, barely a licorice, despite the fact that it’s supposed to be a mix. And I get it. It’s based on the liquor Pernod.

By all means it’s not gross and I can find some good use for in terms of beverage vapes, but calling it a licorice would be wrong. Much like calling anything aniseed-flavored a licorice, ~~you dumb americans~~.

08/13

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WF Salmiak Licorice (salty):

Considered how hyped up this flavor has been, I find it to be rather disappointing. First mistake is to call it a salmiak. There’s barely a hint of salmiak in this. Next is comparing it to salty licorice, which it barely achieve the level of. It’s weak and kinda boring to be honest.

The positive about it though is that it serves as a good starter-licorice for people who want to try and mix anything with licorice. It doesn’t really stand out much in a mix, other than some background notes, but it cannot stand on its own. What it does do good though, is to add some darker notes to another licorice if this is wished for.

I had hoped for much more from this, but it’s a huge wet fart for me.

07/13

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DV Licorice:

Sort darker and more natural licorice. Very spot on an English type of licorice you’d find in the type of candy called Allsorts.

It lacks a little sweetness for my sake and haven’t really got any salmiak in it. I can tell it’s based around aniseed, but not so much that the spice is much present. This is a pretty good alternative if you aren’t really looking for the tongue-numbing effect salmiak based licorice flavors often brings.

Great for a more natural darker candy type of licorice vape and I could see this being used in beverages and tobaccos too.

06/13

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FA Black Touch:

Where Black Touch shines, is that it’s not based on your typical candy licorice, but based around your natural licorce root.

This means two things: It’s not very fit for a candy since it’s far too natural. But if you’re looking for a licorce note for things such as tea, tobacco or a floral vape where you need a licorice note, then Black Touch is close to perfection.

It’s not a strong flavor overall, doesn’t have much of a zing, but it’s deeper and much more floral.

05/13

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LA Licorice:

Notes of candy black licorice. Not the strongest, but some hints of salmiak. I can tell that it’s not an anise based licorice, so I appreciate they actually went the salmiak route.

Lacks a little mouthfeel and is a bit dry.

Could be a good substitute for stuff like FM Drop or CAP Licorice.

04/13

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FW Black Licorice:

I really like FW Black Licorice. It has some great notes of deeper northern European black licorice, with a great note of salmiak. Good amount of zing and decent mouth feel and it hits the tongue in a pretty good way.

It’s one of those few licorices that can stand perfectly fine on its own and doesn’t really need any help. Could perhaps be a little darker to be perfect, but it’s barely noticeable that its lacking. I’m actually quite surprised by this, concerning how many FW flavors are pure shit.

03/13

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FM Drop:

Drop is straight up delicious candy licorice with a solid salmiak base. It fit’s incredible with candies and to me this is close to perfection for a licorice flavor.

It can pretty much stand on its own in any recipe that would need an upfront main note of a candy licorice.

I really enjoy it and I tend to use it quite often for the more simple recipes with a few other things such as citrus, mint or some type of berry.

While the OG bottles physically suck, then the flavor is pretty spot on and should be in any stash if you like licorice.

02/13

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CAP Licorice:

This will always be a winner to me.

It’s spot on Northern European black licorice with the perfect amount of salmiak.

Great deep and darker notes of the licorice that fit into so many thing whether it’ll be a candy, a beverage or hell even a dessert. The mouthfeel is a little dry and a bit chalky but I kinda like that.

Great front-runner licorice and doesn’t really need any other help, but still leave enough room to twist it by adding another more subtle licorice.

What I appreciate the most about CAP Licorice, is that you can throw pretty much anything at it that would fit with a licorce. The list is long, but among the best things I can think of would be citrus fruits, any sort of tart berries – black currant, black berry, raspberry and strawberry. Mints and banana, mango, passion fruit. Great with exotic fruits. Also suitable for beverages.

Great for beginners as well and does a great all-around job for a licorice.

Small downside is, that it gets bullied by sweetener a lot, mostly – ironically, their own Capella Super Sweet. But I have had decent results with FW Sweetener.

01/13