Cherry vape flavours: sweet, black, sour and cherry cola

Sweet red cherry is bright, juicy and fruity. Black cherry is deeper and darker, with a rich, almost wine-like body and a hint of almond. Sour cherry, think morello, is tart and tangy. Candy cherry tastes like cherry sweets or glacé cherries: sugary, bold and unmistakably artificial in a fun way.

The almond note matters. A compound called benzaldehyde smells strongly of almond and is a big part of classic cherry flavouring. A little gives depth, too much gives that cough-sweet impression. If you have been put off cherry before, try a different style from our cherry range before giving up.

Cherry rarely goes solo. The most popular combinations each have a strong personality:

• Cherry cola: a fizzy soft-drink classic, as in the Elfliq Cherry Cola.
• Cherry bakewell: almond sponge, jam and icing, like the Double Drip Cherry Bakewell.
• Cherry fizz: sour, sherbet-style cherry sweets.
• Red fruit mixes: strawberry, raspberry and cherry, sometimes iced.
• Cherry menthol: dark cherry with a cool finish.

Cherry also turns up in plenty of mixed red fruit liquids as a background note, where it adds depth without stealing the show. The almond note in cherry is exactly why bakewell works so well: the flavours were made for each other.

Cherry works on any kit, but the style you choose decides which kit suits it best. Fizzy and sour cherry are at their sharpest in a mouth-to-lung pod with a 50/50 nic salt. Dessert cherry like bakewell opens up in a sub-ohm tank with a 70/30 shortfill, where the extra warmth brings out the sponge and almond.

Keep the power moderate with fresh cherry, as it can tip into medicinal territory when overheated. Nicotine is addictive, so choose strength to suit your device rather than your flavour. Answer the question below for a starting point.

The cough-syrup impression is the number one complaint about cherry vapes, and it has a simple cause. Many medicines have long used cherry flavouring to mask bitterness, and that classic cherry recipe is heavy on the almond-like note. Our brains link the two, so an almond-forward cherry instantly reads as medicine.

The fix is choosing styles that lean elsewhere. Black cherry has more depth and dark fruit. Sour cherry leads with tartness. Cherry cola wraps the cherry in spice and fizz. And mixing cherry with other red fruit dilutes the almond note so it adds richness rather than taking over.

Overheating makes the problem worse, so keep cherry at moderate power.

Fresh and black cherry sit around average for coil life. Candy cherry and cherry cola are sweeter and brown coils sooner, while bakewell, with its sponge and icing, behaves like any other dessert and gunks cotton fastest.

Cherry pairs well with a short list of partners:

• Cola: the classic soft-drink pairing. Read more in our cola and soda guide.
• Almond and sponge: bakewell.
• Raspberry and strawberry: a bright red fruit mix.
• Chocolate: black forest style, rich and indulgent.
• Menthol: cool and dark.

Steer clear of pairing cherry with citrus-heavy blends unless you enjoy a sharp, sour clash.