Regardless of the countless juice reviews you may read, either praising or bashing both popular and unheard flavors - as you may have heard - the only definitive factor in whether "the juice is good" is your personal experience with it. You have to try what's out there for yourself to find what exactly a profitable vape truly is.
That being said, there are 4 known dimensions that create the overall experience in the vast and constantly evolving universe of vaping:
1st Dimension: Scent from the Vial
2nd Dimension: Feel from the Vape (Inhale)
3rd Dimension: Taste from the Vape (Exhale)
4th Dimension: Scent from the Vape
All of these should factor into finding a preferable e-liquid to vape. You can love the flavor of one, but the people you constantly find yourself around hate the outside scent of it. You can love the throat hit of a menthol flavor - that cool chilling effect - but on the exhale, it tastes like "old people cough drops". You can be intoxicated by the smell of a juice right when you get it in the mail (after waiting a whole week), but upon vaping, realize it tastes nothing like you though it would or might even require another few days to a week of steeping.
The consequences of experimenting with e-liquid are too numerous and painful to count, but while the payoffs are few and far between, it truly makes each of those moments an unmistakable win.
That being said, there are 4 known dimensions that create the overall experience in the vast and constantly evolving universe of vaping:
1st Dimension: Scent from the Vial
When your new e-liquid comes in, you do what we all do - shake it up, pull off the cap, and take a long anticipated whiff. You may squeeze the bottle a little while trying not to spray your face with juice, or maybe you take off the dripper cap and try wafting a decent scent into your all too hopeful nostrils. But you’re aware, having been disappointed with unfamiliar e-liquid in the past, that this smell can either be spot on with your expectations or extremely misleading.
I had a bottle of some cotton candy from a local store that smelled exactly like cotton candy when I sniffed it in the vial – I had originally purchased it for my wife who’s fonder of the sweet stuff; however, when she vaped it, it tasted like burnt cotton candy. We even switched from a cartomizer, to a clearomizer, and then to an atomizer (all at standard resistance and all on a standard 3.7V eGo battery) and the taste was the same. I had to double-check that the bottle didn’t read “Burnt Cotton Candy”.
I had a bottle of some cotton candy from a local store that smelled exactly like cotton candy when I sniffed it in the vial – I had originally purchased it for my wife who’s fonder of the sweet stuff; however, when she vaped it, it tasted like burnt cotton candy. We even switched from a cartomizer, to a clearomizer, and then to an atomizer (all at standard resistance and all on a standard 3.7V eGo battery) and the taste was the same. I had to double-check that the bottle didn’t read “Burnt Cotton Candy”.
2nd Dimension: Feel from the Vape (Inhale)
This is where most of the harshness of the juice comes from, which at times can totally negate any flavor whatsoever. Depending on the amount of nicotine or additional flavoring (menthol, citrus, etc.), the texture of the vapor can dramatically fluctuate, even with the exact same liquid flavor base.
So you fill your equipment of choice with the juice, screw it on the battery, adjust the voltage (if you’re so lucky), and take a moderate drag. More often than not, you won’t taste what you smelled from that vial on the inhale. After all, how could you possibly smell a throat hit or a flavor that may linger only on your tongue?
So you fill your equipment of choice with the juice, screw it on the battery, adjust the voltage (if you’re so lucky), and take a moderate drag. More often than not, you won’t taste what you smelled from that vial on the inhale. After all, how could you possibly smell a throat hit or a flavor that may linger only on your tongue?
3rd Dimension: Taste from the Vape (Exhale)
Upon breathing the vapor out, you’re reminded of the first dimension. You may toot a little out of your nose or, after taking a long drag, let the vapor flow out of your mouth, slowly rolling the flavor across your tongue. This is where you really expect results and where the real flavor of the e-liquid comes to life. Whether you use cartomizers, clearomizers, or atomizers (the most true to the flavor), whatever your weapon of choice, this is where you get the actual taste of the juice.
4th Dimension: Scent from the Vape
This is probably the most elusive, unpredictable, and to others (non-vapers mostly), the most important aspect of vaping. While you’re busy smelling and vaping your juice and making little O-rings with the vapor, there’s usually an additional smell from all your plumes that goes unbeknownst to you.
I was smoking a pipe tobacco blend that tasted really bold and satisfying when suddenly, my wife piped up, asking if I was “sucking on a drunk, fat man’s ...”. After quickly retiring that particular juice to only using it in the car by myself, I got another pipe tobacco blend to try which she insisted smelled like this brand of maple brown sugar oatmeal she loves. Though the taste to me was quite similar, the smell of the vapor that lingered around was dramatically different to say the least.
The most important idea of this dimension is that you can’t really experience it for yourself – being the vaper, the effects of the 2nd and 3rd dimensions cloud your perception of an outside taste or smell of whatever juice you’re vaping. It’s definitely something to remember when vaping around other people, especially when you’re trying to sneak a vape some place where it’s frowned upon.
I was smoking a pipe tobacco blend that tasted really bold and satisfying when suddenly, my wife piped up, asking if I was “sucking on a drunk, fat man’s ...”. After quickly retiring that particular juice to only using it in the car by myself, I got another pipe tobacco blend to try which she insisted smelled like this brand of maple brown sugar oatmeal she loves. Though the taste to me was quite similar, the smell of the vapor that lingered around was dramatically different to say the least.
The most important idea of this dimension is that you can’t really experience it for yourself – being the vaper, the effects of the 2nd and 3rd dimensions cloud your perception of an outside taste or smell of whatever juice you’re vaping. It’s definitely something to remember when vaping around other people, especially when you’re trying to sneak a vape some place where it’s frowned upon.
All of these should factor into finding a preferable e-liquid to vape. You can love the flavor of one, but the people you constantly find yourself around hate the outside scent of it. You can love the throat hit of a menthol flavor - that cool chilling effect - but on the exhale, it tastes like "old people cough drops". You can be intoxicated by the smell of a juice right when you get it in the mail (after waiting a whole week), but upon vaping, realize it tastes nothing like you though it would or might even require another few days to a week of steeping.
The consequences of experimenting with e-liquid are too numerous and painful to count, but while the payoffs are few and far between, it truly makes each of those moments an unmistakable win.
