What Does “Ice” Mean in Vape Flavours? Cooling vs Menthol Explained

Last Updated on September 3, 2026 by Digital

If you’ve browsed vape flavours before, you’ve probably seen names like Strawberry Ice, Blueberry Ice or Blackberry Ice.

The fruit part is easy enough to understand. But what exactly does “Ice” mean? Does it mean mint? Menthol? Or simply that the flavour feels cold?

The short answer is that Ice usually describes a cooling sensation added to a flavour, rather than a completely separate flavour of its own. Menthol can also create a cooling effect, but the two terms aren’t always interchangeable.

Here’s how to tell them apart.

What Does “Ice” Mean in a Vape Flavour?

When Ice appears in the name of a vape flavour, it generally means the main flavour is paired with a noticeable cooling finish.

Take Strawberry Ice as an example. Strawberry is still the flavour at the centre of the profile. The “Ice” element adds a cool sensation around or after the fruit rather than replacing it.

The same idea applies to other combinations:

• Blueberry Ice – blueberry with a cool finish
• Blackberry Ice – darker berry notes with cooling
• Strawberry Ice – sweet strawberry balanced by a colder finish

How strong that cooling feels can vary considerably from one formulation to another. “Ice” tells you the general direction of the flavour, not an exact cooling level.

Is Ice the Same as Menthol?

Not necessarily.

This is where flavour names can become confusing because Ice and Menthol can both feel cool, but they don’t always taste the same.

Menthol has a recognisable character of its own. Along with the cooling sensation, it can introduce minty, fresh or herbal notes.

An Ice profile can be different. Its purpose is often to create the sensation of coolness while allowing the original fruit flavour to remain prominent.

A simple way to think about the difference is:

	Ice / Cooling	Menthol
Main Purpose	Adds a cooling sensation	Adds cooling plus a recognisable menthol character
Taste	Can be relatively neutral	More distinctly minty or menthol-like
Effect on Fruit	Often keeps fruit as the main flavour	Can become part of the flavour itself
Example Experience	Strawberry followed by a cool finish	Strawberry with a more noticeable menthol note

The exact result still depends on the formulation, so the name alone won’t tell you everything.

Why Does Cooling Change the Way Fruit Tastes?

Cooling doesn’t simply sit beside a flavour. It can change the way you perceive that flavour.

Think about watermelon or berries served chilled compared with the same fruit at room temperature. The ingredients haven’t suddenly become different, but temperature and sensation can change the overall experience.

A similar idea applies to vape flavour profiles.

Cooling can make a sweet fruit profile feel:

• Crisper
• Fresher
• Less heavy
• Sharper on the finish

This is why adding Ice to a naturally sweet flavour such as strawberry can create quite a different impression from strawberry on its own.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the Ice version contains less sweetness. The cooling sensation can simply change how that sweetness comes across.

How Strong Is an Ice Flavour?

There isn’t a universal scale.

One of the mistakes people make when reading vape flavour names is assuming every product labelled “Ice” will have the same level of cooling.

In reality, one Ice flavour might have a gentle chill at the end of the draw, while another can feel noticeably colder from the beginning.

The fruit itself can influence your perception too.

A bright, sweet strawberry paired with cooling may feel quite different from a deeper blackberry profile using a similar cooling element. That’s why comparing Ice flavours purely by the word “Ice” doesn’t always tell you which one will feel colder.

Ice vs Mint: What’s the Difference?

Mint is another term that often gets mixed up with Ice and Menthol.

Mint is primarily a flavour. It has a recognisable fresh, green and slightly sweet character.

Ice is primarily about sensation. It describes the cooling effect around another flavour.

Menthol sits somewhere between the two, because it creates a strong cooling sensation while also having its own distinctive taste and aroma.

So a fruit flavour can feel cold without necessarily tasting strongly of mint.

That distinction is particularly useful if you enjoy chilled fruit profiles but don’t necessarily want a pronounced mint flavour.

Why Are Ice and Fruit Often Paired Together?

Fruit naturally gives flavour makers plenty to work with.

Sweet profiles such as strawberry and blueberry can take on a cleaner finish when cooling is introduced. Richer fruits such as blackberry can feel less heavy when paired with a colder sensation.

There’s also contrast involved.

Your palate picks up the sweetness and aroma of the fruit while the cooling element creates a different physical sensation. That contrast can make a relatively simple two-part flavour feel more distinctive.

It’s the same reason sweet and sour combinations work well: opposites can make each other easier to notice.

Exploring the TOMORO Max Ice Flavours

The TOMORO Max flavour range includes three dedicated Ice options:

Blackberry Ice

This is the darker of the three profiles. Blackberry Ice combines a richer blackberry character with a cooling finish, helping the overall flavour feel crisp rather than overly heavy. 

Blueberry Ice

Blueberry Ice offers a softer and rounder berry profile. The blueberry sweetness is balanced by a cooler finish, creating a combination that feels fruity and refreshing without losing the character of the berry. 

Strawberry Ice

Strawberry is familiar, bright and naturally associated with sweetness. Strawberry Ice pairs that familiar fruit profile with a refreshing cooling finish, making it quite different in character from non-Ice strawberry combinations such as Strawberry Lychee.

These three flavours share a cooling theme, but they aren’t simply the same Ice base with a different name attached. The fruit underneath still plays an important role in the overall profile.

For the complete range, see our TOMORO Max Flavours Guide.

How Do You Choose Between Ice and Non-Ice Flavours?

Start with the sensation you prefer rather than trying to pick the “best” flavour.

If you enjoy a cool, crisp finish, an Ice profile may be a natural fit.

If you prefer to focus more on the sweetness, tartness or aroma of the fruit itself, a non-Ice combination may make more sense.

For example, someone looking for strawberry has several quite different directions within the TOMORO Max range:

Strawberry Ice adds cooling.

Strawberry Lychee adds a softer, aromatic fruit note.

Strawberry Coconut Watermelon moves towards a more layered tropical profile.

The strawberry is familiar in each case, but what surrounds it changes the experience.

If you’re comparing fruit, mixed-fruit and cooling styles more broadly, our Vape Flavour Profiles Guide explains how the main flavour categories differ.

Final Thoughts

“Ice” on a vape flavour doesn’t simply mean “mint”.

It usually tells you that the main flavour has been paired with a cooling sensation, often while keeping the original fruit profile at the centre of the experience.

Menthol is more distinctive, bringing its own recognisable character alongside the cooling effect, while mint is a flavour in its own right.

Once you understand that difference, names like Blackberry Ice, Blueberry Ice and Strawberry Ice become much easier to read.