Exactly my experience as well. I always add nic to sft and test mixes.I’ve tried that but while I can get a rough idea what the flavors will do, it’s not really the same as what they do with nic. I can always taste nic. And I also think flavors develop differently with nic in the mix.
It can be done, if one really must conserve to that extreme, but it’s not ideal, and I’d expect makes it more complicated for a new mixer.