VELO Freezing Peppermint, Reviewed: 10, 14 and 17 mg, the Coldest Ladder We Sell

We carry eight VELO cans, and this is the one people buy in 5-packs. VELO Freezing Peppermint is a peppermint pouch with a strong menthol cool that lasts longer than the mint does. It comes in 10, 14 and 17 mg, and it tastes the same at all three strengths. Not many cans let you move up in strength without changing flavor, and none of ours do it as cleanly. It's also the coldest can VELO makes.

The flavor

It starts with sharp peppermint that isn't sweet and doesn't taste like candy, and then the cold comes in. Most cold pouches peak in the first five minutes and fade along with the flavor, but here the menthol shows up a little after the mint and sticks around after it's gone, so the last ten minutes are more cold than mint. Our guide to cooling words like ice and frost covers how VELO names its peppermints after the weather, and Freezing is the most extreme of them. It's a slim pouch, moist enough to start fast, and it doesn't drip.

The three strengths

• 10 mg: the everyday strength. Same cold, same mint, and a level most VELO users are comfortable with. If you're new to VELO, start here. If you're new to pouches altogether, Polar Mint at 8 is a gentler place to start.
• 14 mg: where most regulars end up. It feels a bit colder than the 10, but that's the nicotine. The recipe is the same.
• 17 mg: the strongest VELO we sell, for experienced users, one pouch at a time. Our post on the strongest pouches you can buy online shows how it compares.

Since the flavor doesn't change, this is a good can for working out the strength that suits you. The VELO strength guide explains how, but it comes down to going up one strength at a time.

Against the other VELO mints

Crispy Peppermint (10 mg) has a steady bite and a medium cool. It's more peppermint and less freeze. Peppermint Storm (10 mg) is brighter and bites harder than Crispy, but it's still not as cold as Freezing. Polar Mint (8 or 14 mg) is spearmint with a deep cool on top, which makes it a different kind of mint altogether (this post explains VELO's mint names). Of the four, Freezing is the only one where the cold is the main thing you taste.

Against the rest of the store

The 14 mg sits in the same range as White Fox Double Mint (12 mg) and ZYN Cool Mint Slim (11 mg), and it's a lot colder than both. The closest cans to the 17 mg are Full Charge at 16 and ZYN Menthol Ice at 16.5. Menthol Ice is the only one of those that's colder, since menthol is its whole flavor. Our mint roundup tried all of them side by side if you want the full comparison.

Who should skip it

Skip it if you want mint without the deep cold (Crispy or White Fox Original are better picks), or if menthol tastes medicinal to you. If you're in your first month of pouches, you should be on the 3 to 6 mg cans, not this one. And it's really a winter can, even though we sell it all year.

It's $9.99 a can. You'll find it on our VELO page and at the top of our peppermint page, and we ship to adults 21 or over.

Quick answers

What does VELO Freezing Peppermint taste like?

Sharp peppermint with a deep menthol cold that lasts longer than the mint. It's the coldest can in the VELO lineup.

What strengths does VELO Freezing Peppermint come in?

10, 14 and 17 mg per pouch, with the same flavor at each strength. The 17 mg is the strongest VELO we stock.

Which strength of Freezing Peppermint should I start with?

10 mg if you already use pouches, 14 if you're a VELO regular. Start one step below the strength you usually use and move up one at a time.

Is VELO Freezing Peppermint stronger than ZYN Menthol Ice?

The 17 mg Freezing Peppermint has slightly more nicotine per pouch than Menthol Ice at 16.5. Menthol Ice tastes colder, because menthol is its whole flavor.

WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.