Four Seasons eJuice Review – The Tobacco Chronicles

Disclosure: The Four Seasons eJuice line was sent to me without purchase from Four Seasons for the purposes of review. I will endeavor to provide a fair, unbiased, and comprehensive review of the products described below, while also giving my personal thoughts and opinions. All products described in the review below contain nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

I need to explain something about all six flavors of Four Seasons eJuice. I hate them.

The reason I hate them is not that the juice is bad. I hate them because I’m a former smoker. I hate them because they taste so much like tobacco, it’s uncanny. They aren’t sweet. They aren’t chemically. Four Seasons are the closest thing to real tobacco I have tasted in eight years of vaping. And I don’t vape for tobacco anymore. So, I hate Four Seasons.

But…

If you’re still smoking, and want to keep smoking and think flavors other than tobacco aren’t for you? I dare you to try a bottle of Four Seasons eJuice. Any of them.

The folks over at Four Seasons didn’t just go, “Let’s make a tobacco vape juice,” threw some artificial flavors into a beaker, and slapped a label on it. They extracted their flavors from real tobacco leaves. They crafted their packaging to look mature. To look, frankly, like a pack of cigarettes. Everything they’ve done was geared towards providing smokers who wanted to quit the authentic taste of their chosen brand. And they knocked it out of the park.

But for me? I haven’t smoked for a year and a half.

I have a headache. Let’s begin.

Four Seasons eJuice – The Rundown

[American Tobacco]

Of the six varieties in the Four Seasons eJuice line, American Tobacco is probably going to be the most approachable and/or most familiar to those wanting to quit smoking. One of the first things you’ll notice about this eJuice is the very low sweetness. As a sweetener is one of the main constituent ingredients in eJuice, it’s rather remarkable that Four Seasons has managed to tone this down to the point where it doesn’t taste like you’re smoking a Swisher Sweet.

Both the sniff test and the finger test come off as slightly sweet, aromatic tobacco. It’s earthy and with slight notes of oak and caramel. It reminds me most of that first whiff from a freshly opened pack of Reds.

On vaping American Tobacco, you get that same light, caramel-y sweetness, combined with a strong flavor of tobacco, and a slightly ashen aftertaste. It falls flavor-wise somewhere between a Marlboro and a Camel. Make no mistake, this is the real deal tobacco eJuice right here. There’s no candy or fruit or chocolate. You are quite literally vaping the extracted essence of real tobacco leaves, and it shows in every puff.

Like I said in my preamble, I’m not keen on this stuff. I’m at the point where even the smell of real cigarettes makes me curl my nose in distaste. But I can still recognize quality even if it’s not to my liking. If you’re a current non-menthol smoker and want to start the path to quitting, go grab a cheap mod and a bottle of this eJuice.

[Desert Tobacco]

Desert Tobacco is the unofficial Camel-alike of the Four Seasons eJuice lineup. This mimics the flavors of a dry-aged, Turkish tobacco blend. Significantly less sweet and much lighter than American Tobacco. It’s probably the lightest flavored of the line, without compromising on the tobacco taste.

Smell wise and finger test, you really don’t get a lot of information. It’s all in the vaping. And when you do vape it, you get a nice dry, delicately spicy tobacco taste on your tongue. Less earthy and oaky than American Tobacco, but increasing the nuttiness and leather. The tiny hint of sweetness that this eJuice imparts on your palate serves to enhance the flavor, rather than making you think of candy.

Whereas American Tobacco makes me think of a nice black cup of coffee before starting a shift at work, Desert Tobacco makes me think of a neat scotch after the day is over. Light on the taste buds but unmistakably tobacco, this was one in the line that I might actually continue to use after I’ve finished reviewing them.

[Menthol & Menthol Tobacco]

Okay, so like, these two were a complete trip for me. So much so, that I had to let them steep for an entire month before I could write about them.

As a former menthol smoker, I naturally gravitated to these two juices the most. But when I opened them, fresh out of the mail, there was something…odd going on. I knew that FS had made these juices in the same way they made all the rest of their line. By extracting the natural flavors out of real plants. But there was something off.

When I first took a sniff of Menthol and Menthol Tobacco, I got a very distinct grassy, citrusy aroma. Tasting them on my hand, the same thing. Freshly mowed lawn. So I had to vape them. When I did, while the menthol was very clearly there, and quite strong, there was also a very distinct “off” flavor, that I can only describe as biting into a stalk of lemongrass. From there, I fell down a chemical rabbit hole in my search for information.

As it turns out, one of the chemical production methods to Menthol utilizes what’s called Citronellol. This lemony aldehyde (found in lemongrass and the main ingredient in Citronella oil) is converted to a mint-scented terpene called Isopulegol, which can then be distilled to make pure Menthol. This explained the lemony flavor I was experiencing in my menthol eJuice.

So I let them steep for a month to see if that lemon flavor would dissipate. And lo and behold, that particular VOC gave up the majority of its ghost. There’s still a slight hint of it in the scent and taste it off the finger, but vaping it is straight menthol.

And boy, what a menthol. This stuff is strong. If you’re unprepared for the potency of its cooling effect, it very well might make you cough.

As far as the Menthol Tobacco eJuice…

It slides right past Camel Menthol and Newports, and firmly into the “I’m smoking an icicle” zone of Kools. The tobacco flavor of it is strongly reminiscent of the Desert Tobacco. It lacks the robust punch of American Tobacco, but it also lacks the sweetness. If I were transitioning away from cigarettes today, this is the one I would buy.

Super cold, and strangely citrusy fresh off the shelf, if you can afford the time to let them age, you’re going to find two of the best menthol eJuices on the market. The Menthol by itself would make an astounding mixer for other eJuices. Menthol Tobacco is great for quitting the analogs if menthol ciggies are all you smoke. Top shelf stuff.

[Turkish Tobacco]

Turkish Tobacco nowadays is most commonly known as part of the blend that makes up Camel cigarettes. But back in the day, there were several brands that featured 100% of the small-leafed, sun-cured varietal. In addition to that light, aromatic type of tobacco, Four Seasons goes a step further. Adding Latakia tobacco, which in addition to being sun-cured, is hung and smoked to bring a robust, spicy, nutty note to the original style. Latakia is not commonly found in cigarettes but is an essential ingredient in English-style blends of pipe tobacco.

On the nose, you can tell right away that this is much different from the other juices in this line. You get a pleasantly nutty aroma in addition to the tobacco scent. Tasting it on the finger provides that same nuttiness, but with a distinct sweetness.

When you vape Turkish Tobacco, you’re struck with the sweet-spicy blend of oriental and Latakia tobaccos used in this eJuice. While distinctly sweeter than either the American or Desert Tobacco juices, it’s well balanced with the peppery, mace-like aroma on the front of the palate. It’s rounded out in the back of the mouth with a soft, caramel note, the harshness of the tobacco fading away to a pleasant, lingering sweetness that defines the aftertaste.

Turkish Tobacco has always been highly prized (and consequently, more expensive) than domestic types of tobacco. For that reason, there aren’t a lot of cigarettes that contain it anymore. If you’re looking for an accurate tobacco flavor that’s got a little hint of sweetness, but not enough to taste artificial, then this is the eJuice from Four Seasons you’ll want to try.

[RY4 Tobacco]

Ah, the venerable RY4. Vaping wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for this caramelized tobacco eJuice and its countless derivatives. A tobacco line just wouldn’t be complete without a version of it on its roster, and Four Seasons is no exception.

On the sniff test, you get a strong scent of vanilla and burnt sugar. The finger test is the same, although the flavor of the tobacco beings to emerge at this point.

Vaping it is an experience. You’re struck with the strength of tobacco flavor from the American Tobacco, but it’s wrapped in a chunk of caramel. There’s a peppery hit at the back of your throat, but the vanilla sweeps in to mellow it out. The sweetness fades, leaving that peppery tobacco as the aftertaste, but it’s not so strong that it’s harsh.

For those seeking some sweetness in their tobacco eJuice, or those simply wanting to try another variation on RY4, this is worth looking into. Out of all the RY4’s I’ve tried, like with all the blends in Four Seasons, it represents the most authentic tobacco eJuice I’ve sampled. Again, not my cup of tea, but I’m certain it’s just right some someone out there.

Conclusion

This review took much, much longer than I expected it to take, and I’d like to apologize to the folks over at Four Seasons for the delay. I’ve had an avalanche of things going on in my personal life that made it downright impossible to focus on writing, including severe medical issues with immediate members of my family which saw two of them hospitalized. (Not Covid related, but life-threatening nonetheless.)

The Four Seasons eJuice line is a mixed bag for my tastes. While I definitely appreciated the flavors of the Badger Hill line in my previous review, these ones are scary authentic in their flavors. I honestly never thought I’d experience an eJuice that replicated real tobacco smoking, but Four Seasons shattered that concept. I suppose the only nitpick I’d have for this line, from a purely objective standpoint, is that they only sell them in 30ml bottles. A dedicated vapor can wipe out a 30ml bottle in a few days to a week. At an MSRP of $15, while cheaper than buying smokes, it’s still pretty pricey, at least to me.

Pros:

• Shockingly authentic tobacco flavors
• The packaging is very clean and reminds me of a pack of cigarettes
• Virtually zero throat hit

Cons:

• Significant wick ghosting
• Expensive
• From flavor to flavor, there are only subtle differences in flavor and potency

Sizes sold are:

• 30ml bottles in 0, 3, 6, 12, and 18mg of freebase nicotine;
• and 30ml bottles in 30 & 50mg of salt nicotine.

Lukas

Having started vaping as a way to stop using cigarettes, Lukas metamorphosed into a regular vape enthusiast over the past seven years. Utilizing his extensive knowledge and problem-solving skills as a regular at his local vape shop, it only made sense to parley that, along with his writing skills, into making vape juice reviews. While conspicuously absent from social media, the 35-year-old former chef now uses his free time by making spectacular home-cooked meals, reading voraciously, and dabbling in multiplayer computer games. Oh yeah, and he vapes too.