Lost Mary Nic Salts – Cherry Ice

Cherry, but the cold kind

Cherry flavours in vaping usually go one of two ways: cough-syrup sweet, or thin and artificial. Lost Mary's Cherry Ice in the Nic Salts range dodges both traps by leaning on the sour side of cherry rather than the sugary side, then finishing with a genuine cold snap instead of a token menthol whisper.

The first inhale is fruit-forward and slightly tart, closer to a fresh black cherry than a glace cherry or cherry cola. There's a faint stone-fruit skin bitterness right at the edges that keeps it from tasting like cherry sweets, which is the detail that separates this from a lot of cheaper cherry vapes on the market. As the vapour sits in the mouth, the ice starts to build rather than announcing itself immediately, so the opening feels fruity first and cold second.

By mid-vape, the two elements are properly balanced. The cherry stays present the whole way through instead of getting washed out by the menthol, which is a common problem with ice flavours that overdo the cooling agent. You get a rounded cherry taste with a cold undertone running alongside it, rather than cherry flavour then a separate blast of ice.

The exhale is where it earns the "ice" part of its name properly. There's a crisp, almost frosted quality to the finish, and the cherry note lingers as a faint tartness at the back of the tongue for a good while after you've stopped vaping. It's a satisfying finish rather than an abrupt one, closer to biting into a cold cherry than sucking on an ice cube.

Who reaches for Cherry Ice

This one suits people who want fruit without sugariness. If Blueberry Raspberry Ice is bright and energising, Cherry Ice is a touch more grown up and restrained, better suited to someone who finds a lot of fruit vapes cloying. It works well as an all-day flavour precisely because it doesn't overwhelm; you can vape it steadily without the sweetness building up the way it does with candy-leaning flavours.

Evening use suits it particularly well. The tartness and cold finish feel less "wide awake" than a menthol-heavy blueberry or citrus flavour, so it sits comfortably after dinner or during a wind-down without feeling like a jolt of energy. It's also a solid choice for anyone switching over from menthol cigarettes, since the cooling gives a familiar throat sensation while the cherry keeps things from tasting purely medicinal.

Cherry Ice against the rest of the fruit-ice family

Set it beside a strawberry ice and Cherry Ice comes across noticeably less sweet and a bit more sour, with more of that stone-fruit skin character. Against watermelon ice, which tends to be watery and delicate, cherry feels denser and more concentrated. And compared with a cola or cream soda style flavour, cherry is fresher and less syrupy, without the caramel undertones those flavours usually carry.

To keep your taste buds from flattening out on it, try rotating through the week rather than sticking with one pod flavour permanently:

• Swap in a citrus or watermelon flavour on alternate days to give your palate a break from the deeper cherry notes.
• Save a tobacco or menthol-only flavour for mornings, then bring Cherry Ice back for the afternoon or evening.
• Avoid stacking it with another dark berry flavour back to back, since the similarity can make both taste muted.

A couple of practical notes

The cherry flavour reads most clearly on a slower, gentler draw rather than a hard pull, which tends to emphasise the ice more than the fruit. Give the coil or pod a few puffs to warm up if it's just been opened; the very first draw from a brand new pod can taste slightly muted compared to the second or third. And as with any e-liquid, keep it away from heat and direct sunlight, since both the cherry note and the cooling agent degrade faster in warm conditions.

Cherry Ice, answered

Is Cherry Ice sweeter or more sour than typical cherry vapes?

It sits closer to sour than sweet. If you're expecting something like cherry cola or cherry sweets, this leans more towards fresh, slightly tart cherry, which is the point of it standing apart from more sugary options.

Does the ice overpower the cherry flavour?

No, the cherry stays audible throughout rather than getting buried. The cooling runs alongside the fruit rather than replacing it, so you shouldn't end up with a flavour that just tastes like plain menthol.

Is this a good flavour for someone new to nic salts?

Yes, the balance between fruit and cold makes it approachable without being bland. As with any nic salt, start on a lower strength if you're unsure how much nicotine you need, since UK nic salts go up to 20mg/ml and it's easy to overshoot on your first purchase.