Balsamic vinegar tastes like a mellow tart vinegar rather than a strong acid vinegar, like traditional white vinegar. Balsamic vinegar has an underlying sweetness with notes of fig, molasses, cherry, chocolate, or prune. The sweet flavors are especially prominent when balsamic is cooked down or reduced. Traditional balsamic should pick up the flavors of the wood it matured in, and may have a slight smokiness.