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.
Going to mix your lemon cream sugar cookie first, right now😉
Darn makes me wish I’d have gotten that Irish Coffee.
Raspberry (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-3-24) – BACK into the Raspberries from NomNomz with this one. The thing I liked best about this one, was it was just different enough from all of the RB’s on my racks. It tasted a little like this one, and a little like that one, but no direct comparisons. It seemed to be a 50/50 mix of natural to artificial with neither taking the lead. It was fairly candied however, and at about mid-level sweet, it seemed somewhat “smoother” overall. There was just a hint of tart on the finish, but only a hint, as the “candied” washed over it fairly fully. No florals, medicinals, or perfumes present, and no off-notes to complain about. My tastes lean heavily towards all natural RB’s, so keep that in mind regarding my scoring. As far as “colors”, it tasted like some red, more black, and no blue for comparison. Tasty, semi-complex, and fairly candied was what this one was, and it did taste good. The somewhat “candied”-ness of it could (not assured) limit some uses, or at least as the primary RB driver. Very tasty, and my only “wishes” would have been a little more natural, and a little less candied, BUT, that’s on MY list, hehe. Still a good one, and hard to fault, and finalized it @ a still very high 8.9/10.
Peach (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-3-24) – Wow, this peach had an interesting profile that I’m not sure if I’ve ever gotten from a Peach flavor before. It almost had the FUZZ nailed down. YES, you could almost taste it, like you were biting into a fresh peach. Now, that was only best way to describe the effect it had, because no, it wasn’t a “fuzzy flavor” LOL. It presented as an almost entirely natural peach, but with notes from both yellow, and white peaches. It had a slight dryness on the finish, and not sure if that was what was fuzzing it up, or maybe even adding a little bit of “ripeness” to it. Probably the latter. At 1.5% it was “kinda” strong, but felt like maybe a bit more, possibly 2.0% might have helped it a bit. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and it had none of the “canned” or “syrup” peachy-ness. No off-notes, and it stayed consistent till the last tester with no real shifts. All in, it was a natural mashup of a yellow and white peach, somewhat sweet, with an almost tangible “peach fuzz” nuance. Might not be the star of the peach show, but definitely a big player. It felt good around the 8.7/10 mark.
Hazelnut (Roasted) (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-3-24) – Holy HazelnutZ !!! Wow, this one required NO break in time in the tank, and was 100% spot on from beginning to end. Having previously tested Chefs Creamy Hazelnut I was interested to see how, or if they differed, and they DID. This one was NOT creamed, but still had a slight creamy-ness, and it was very true to the natural creaminess. Earthy, darker, and slightly toasted undertones swirled around with this one, and on the finish, you almost got a hint of the paper skin on the actual nut(s). Sweetness was about a tick below mid-level, but was in no way overpowering, or out of place. This one was a VERY well constructed Hazelnut, and with the actual nut profile, along with the earthy, darker, slightly toasted notes, along with the slight natural creaminess, it was the whole thing. I will admit to not using Hazelnut as often as many other flavors, but this one, may just be the new King. The more I tested it, the more realistic it became, and even from a “Not Often Hazelnutting” guy, it was impressive. Sounds weird saying it, but I’m going to RELEASE the Kraken on a HAZELNUT ?? !!! Yes. 10/10. To authentic, natural, and complex NOT to.
Sure that gets a 10 but not butter toffee lol. Sounds amazing. Ill def pick that one up next time i order. These noms imo are the best flavor release ever imo. So many serious bangers
Hehe, well I even admitted it.
Dang it SD, I just got a order in from them and now It looks as though I have to place another one! You should be getting a commission from them for all the business I’m sure you bring them just from your reviews…maybe I should rephrase that, you should get a commission for all the business I give them based on your subliminal messages aimed directly at me!!! 
Sorry @TimWV. I appreciate the kind words. May want to hold off JUST a bit longer, the Red Currant is in the SteamCrave and BOOOM. Can’t put it down.
Thank you.
Red Currant (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-3-24) – Tart, Red Berry Bliss !!! Wow, this was spot on, and the added tart, and acidity made them possibly the best RC I have tried to date. Very natural tasting with little to no artificial distraction. You could taste the little red berries from beginning to end, and it never let up. The flavor was so accurate, I didn’t get a HINT of any other non currant flavor in this. The tart, sweet, and acidity were perfectly paired, which left it hyper accurate, and zingy. I wish the RB had this much pop. No off-notes, florals, or soaps here people, just clean, zingy, red currants. It was perfect at 1.5% without needing any changes, and sweetness, while tempered by the tart, and acidity, stayed just below mid-level. Often, when I’m testing “currant” flavors, they are in the ballpark, or “kinda”, but not this one. Full on, all go and no quitting here. Even though this flavor was a stellar one, I did look hard trying to find anything out of place, or off, but I couldn’t. If you’ve never tried currants, or been let down by other flavors, you should buy this one now. This one, was a perfect 10/10. Release the Kraken again, and that’s TWO in a row now.
Waiting for it!!!
No was just waiting for the responses of red currant getting a 10 also 
. Lol
Ooooooooh.
ROAR !!!
Vanilla Cupcake (SC) (Nomz) 1.5% (3-5-24) – Trying to explain or define a “cupcake” is quite hard, and I’m sure making one is equally hard. This one had a great vanilla overtone with SOME cupcake-y undertones. It was def. not cake-y, and much more cupcake-y. No baking soda notes, or frosting that I could pick up on, but it was still tatsty. While somewhat creamy, it was not a vanilla cream, and if the “cupcake” could have been a bit higher, I think it would have worked a little better. Sweetness was about mid-level, and no off-notes, baby powder or otherwise (long story) present. Maybe increasing it a bit might help, but I suspect as far as the cupcake, it was, where it was. Very tasty, and not off-target, and the somewhat softened vanilla was damned good, just not 100% sold on the (you guessed it), cupcake. At times, I got light almost “batter” notes, which I think helped it out a bit. No “bakery” notes, which worked, as that would have pulled it into a cake instead. Good, tasty, vanilla-y, just needed a little more cupcake-ry. Leaving this tasty one at a 7.5/10.
Got it …I have only cracked open 2 that i alresdy have , I bought this bc i like caps Sweet Currant but it never wowed me.
Im curious…When you test Cupcakes what are you looking for to say Yep its a cupcake? Is it frosting or something else that makes it different from a cake flavor? I think of cupcake as i do a cake , i cant get it out of my head that they are just smaller cakes
I’ll be very curious to hear what you think of that RC. It ticked ALL the boxes for me.