Have you been vaping for a while? If you started vaping more than a few years ago, there’s a good chance that your first vape juice included tobacco-flavored cartridges. There’s also a good chance that you quickly abandoned those tobacco cartridges in favor of a sweet flavor like candy, fruit or mint.
Vapers Prefer Sweet E-Liquids…
Why did you switch to a sweet vape juice? Most likely, it was for two reasons. The first reason was because your vape juice’s “tobacco” cartridges used e-liquid that was made in China and tasted terrible. The second reason was because people simply like sweet flavors. A massive survey of adult vapers conducted in 2018 showed conclusively that most vapers prefer e-liquid flavors other than tobacco. It also showed that smokers are more likely to quit successfully with non-tobacco vape juices.
…But Tobacco Vape Juice Has a Special Allure
While tobacco vape juice isn’t the industry’s most popular flavor category anymore, it retains a certain allure for former smokers. Back when you were a cigarette smoker, you probably reached the point at which you smoked more for the nicotine than to indulge your enjoyment of tobacco. That’s why you switched to vaping – to satisfy your addiction in a way that didn’t involve inhaling smoke.
It may not have always been that way, though. When you weren’t smoking your usual cigarette brand, you might have occasionally splurged on finer tobacco products like hand-wrapped cigars, aromatic pipe tobacco or more expensive cigarettes. You might think wistfully about some of the tobacco products that you used to buy, but you’re afraid to do something like buy a cigar now because you’re nervous that it could start you on a path that ultimately leads back to you becoming a full-time smoker again.
At the same time, you may find yourself growing a bit tired of using nothing but sweet e-liquids. After a while, sweet flavors start to become so overpowering that you feel like you can hardly taste anything else. Your palate needs a break; it’s time for something with more of a savory profile.
It’s time to give tobacco e-liquid a second look.
Does Tobacco E-Liquid Taste Like a Cigarette?
Let’s get one thing out of the way before we begin our roundup of the world’s best tobacco vape juice. No; even the very best tobacco e-liquid still doesn’t taste like a cigarette. That’s not possible because e-liquid doesn’t create smoke – and most tobacco vape juice contains no actual tobacco. Now that you’ve switched fully to vaping, though, there’s a good chance that the flavor of a cigarette isn’t actually what you want. What you’re looking for is a vape juice that captures something of the essence of fine tobacco – something that’s reminiscent of the tobacco products that you used to buy when you were craving something really special. That’s what today’s great tobacco e-liquids attempt to deliver.
How Do Companies Make Tobacco Vape Juices?
Aside from one exception – which we’ll discuss in a moment – tobacco e-liquid doesn’t contain tobacco. Instead, e-liquid makers use various flavors and aromas to suggest the complexity of tobacco with its combination of savory, sweet, nutty and grassy notes. It’s similar to the technique of blending scents in perfumery. A few perfumes do use tobacco distillate as a component, but a fragrance can have a very tobacco-like accord simply because it uses a variety of woodsy and smoky notes that suggest tobacco. Modern vape juice production has become every bit as advanced as haute perfumery.
What Is NET E-Liquid?
A few vape juices actually do contain tobacco. Those are the NET – or Naturally Extracted Tobacco – e-liquids. NET vape juice includes a tobacco extract that’s created by steeping tobacco leaves in a solvent – such as water or propylene glycol – for several weeks or months. The resulting extract is filtered to remove minute tobacco solids, and then it’s used just like any other flavoring compound. A bottle of NET e-liquid may contain just a few drops of tobacco extract; it’s powerful stuff.
Since NET e-liquids do contain tobacco, it isn’t known how they compare to other e-liquids from a safety standpoint. For that reason, the demand for NET vape juice isn’t high. If an e-liquid contains tobacco, it will say so on the label.
The Best Tobacco E-Liquids
With that information out of the way, let’s explore the best tobacco e-liquids on the market today. Some of these vape juices are relative newcomers to the vaping scene, and others are tried-and-true classics that have remained at the top of the sales charts for years. The thing they have in common is that they all represent the pinnacle of modern e-liquid flavor development.
VCT by The Finest Signature Edition
There’s no way to talk about the best tobacco e-liquids on the market without mentioning some of the wonderful things that the leading vape juice makers have done to blend the savory flavor of tobacco with the sweetness of dessert flavors. That’s exactly what you’ll get when you try a bottle of VCT by The Finest Signature Edition. VCT stands for Vanilla Custard Tobacco, and you'll rave over the flavor with every puff when you try this delicious vape juice.
When you vape VCT, it’s sometimes difficult to tell where the tobacco ends and the dessert begins because of how flawlessly blended this e-liquid is. The tobacco note is a smooth and slightly nutty impression of a classic Virginia tobacco, while the vanilla custard note has just the right amount of seductive vanilla and eggy richness. Needless to say, this is a vape juice that you’re not likely to grow tired of any time soon. Custard has always been one of the most popular dessert notes to blend with tobacco, and VCT by The Finest Signature Edition is one vape juice that absolutely gets it right.
American Patriots by Naked 100
American Patriots by Naked 100 is proof that, as much as people may love dessert e-liquids these days, there’s still plenty of room for a vape juice that presents a more traditional tobacco flavor and does it well. While American Patriots may deliver a traditional tobacco flavor, though, there’s nothing traditional about the way it’s executed. This vape juice is a far cry from the foul-tasting vape juices that you may have experienced if you started vaping in the early 2010s. This isn’t some chemical-laden concoction from China; it’s an American creation that captures the classic experience of smoking a cigarette made with American tobacco. It’s grassy, nutty and incredibly satisfying.
Don’t forget that you can use the coupon code “NAKED100” when checking out to save 10 percent on our full selection of Naked vape juice!
Tobacco Trail by Cuttwood
Tobacco casing is the time-honored tradition of infusing tobacco leaves with various flavors during the production process. It basically involves spraying the tobacco leaves with syrup while they dry, so they’ll absorb some of the flavors of the spray and take on the characteristic flavor profile of a particular cigarette brand. Licorice, cinnamon and honey are three flavors commonly used in tobacco casing. Although casing is a technique that’s still used for cigarette tobacco today, you won’t specifically taste any of those flavors in the final product because flavored cigarettes are no longer legal in the United States. In the past, though, it was possible to buy cigarettes made with honey-toasted tobacco – and they tasted pretty darn good. Tobacco Trail by Cuttwood is a throwback to that time. It’s got a base note of smooth tobacco and a top note of rich honey to impart a hint of sweetness that keeps the palate happy without tasting like you’re vaping dessert.
Creamy RY4 Butterscotch Reserve by Glas Basix Series
If you’ve been vaping for a while, one of the e-liquids that you might remember is RY4. Originally created by a Chinese lab, RY4 was one of the first tobacco e-liquids ever released. It combined a tobacco flavor with notes of vanilla and caramel to create an interesting flavor profile with a slightly dessert-like sweetness. Although Chinese e-liquids didn’t remain popular in the United States once companies began to produce their own e-liquid domestically, many people do have fond memories of RY4 – and many e-liquid makers continue to make their own variations of that flavor today. Creamy RY4 Butterscotch Reserve by Glas Basix Series is, in our estimation, the best RY4 e-liquid on the market today. In this vape juice, the vanilla component plays in the background while the juice’s primary notes of tobacco and butterscotch take center stage. It’s a superlative vaping experience for anyone who loves a tobacco e-liquid that delivers a real sense of decadence.
No. 00 by Beard Vape Co.
Is there any flavor combination better than coffee, cream and tobacco? When you were a smoker, your first cigarette of the day – enjoyed with a cup of coffee, naturally – was surely a major highlight. No. 00 by Beard Vape Co. captures that experience with a blend of coffee, tobacco and cream flavors. It’s one of the highlights of Beard Vape’s massive flavor lineup, and it should be a mainstay of any tobacco lover’s vape juice collection. Beard Vape really worked hard on the coffee aspect of this e-liquid’s flavor profile, creating an experience that tastes like enjoying a rich espresso with a thick layer of frothy steamed milk.