Capella 27 Fish SL
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.14 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: CAP SilverLine 27 Fishes, 2 and 5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 5 days.
Flavor Description: A pretty solid, slightly muted Swedish Fish Flavor with a full mouthfeel.
The flavor here is definitely in the ballpark of swedish fish. Tastes like an aggressively "red" candy. Capella themselves calls out red licorice and raspberry, and I could definitely see either of those. This does seem to have a bit more of a generic red licorice vibe than straight swedish fish. I also pick up something that tastes a lot like an artificial bright red cherry as an accent. Maybe missing just a light bit of tartness and deepness for an actual swedish fish, but it's definitely recognizable.
This actually has a pretty great mouthfeel. Very dense and chewy, with some of that sticky waxiness from actual swedish fish. Doesn't feel like a straight ahead gummy candy, whatever they're doing here mimics that half way between a jelly candy and gummy bear thing that actual swedish fish have. Isn't a big chemical mess like most other candy texturizers.
I do feel like this flavor could stand to be a bit more vibrant. It feels a bit muted overall, like the flavor feels just a half-step in the background and is a bit hazy through that texture. Might be fixable with some sweetener, but solo it feels like the flavor is struggling a bit against the texture here. It tastes like a swedish fish, but it doesn't quite have that mouthwatering vibrancy of actual candy. Just cranking up the percentage doesn't seem to help, as it just starts to push some off-notes to the front.
The only other explicit swedish fish flavor I've tried is TPA's Swedish Gummy, and this seems to be a pretty big step up. This is noticeably less harsh and floral than the TPA Version, and the mouthfeel is quite a bit more like actual swedish fish. I feel like TPA's version does the deeper part of the flavor a bit better, but 27 fishes is a whole lot more palatable.
Off-flavors: While this definitely tastes "red" it probably has a bit too much of a cherry or red licorice vibe to really hit swedish fish outright, but it's fairly close. The cherryish part of this gets a bit plasticy and chemical at higher percentages.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate. Not as punchy as TPA Swedish Gummy.
Percentage testing: I'm not getting too much out of this at 2%. Some light gummyish mouthfeel but not a lot of actual flavor. Pretty mellow down here, although the mouthfeel might be useful.
At 5% this is quite a bit more full. I'm getting a relatively clear candy flavor out of this but it feels a little bit muted and in the background. There's some cherry off-notes creeping in around the edges but it isn't particulary harsh or plastic. Mouthfeel is pretty solid.
Trying this a bit higher at 8% on a day steep, the flavor still feels a bit flat, but it is fuller. I'm getting more aggressive chemical off-notes but it's not awful for a bright candy flavor. Mouthfeel is legitimately sticky and full.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably start around 3% as an accent flavor, primarily for mouthfeel. I'd probably use this as a primary flavor around 6-7%.
Uses & Pairings: Passable as single flavor red swedish fish flavor solo, probably with a bit of sweetener to try to fill out that flavor a bit. I threw a drop of FA Blackcurrant in my remaining 5% sample, and even as a shake and vape its seeming to fill this out a bit more, so that's promising.
At lower percentages, this is probably going to be a pretty decent candy texturizer. Flavor is pretty weak down there, but I'm still getting some solid texture without much that tastes chemical or weird. If that little bit of red isn't going to clash with your profile, this will probably end up working a lot better than FW Gummy Candy or CAP Jelly Candy as a texturizer. I'll be doing 27 Bears tomorrow, so I'll have a better grasp on how it compares.
TPA Red Licorice is already pretty thick, but this could make it even thicker and chewier. Should also work really well with some added strawberry or non-floral raspberry.
Second Opinions: Still fairly new.
Shoutout to ceedee99uk for linking reviews from PeegoreVapes in another thread.
There's a review up from "S.R.B." on the Nicotine River website: "I can not recall ever having eaten Swedish Fish, so I can not accurately say if it's on point with how actual candy tastes. As for this flavor, it's very delicious just by itself. I mixed it in 70vg 30pg at 6%. If doing max vg, I'd go a little higher, but not by much. Perhaps a percentage point or two." Never trust anyone who hasn't had swedish fish.
Here's the product page from Capella. Their description: "Catch this red-licorice aroma, jelly raspberry treat. A smooth, sweet, chewy sensation, reminiscent of your favorite fish candy that is sure to compliment your next recipe."