There are some basic flavors you always want to have in your arsenal as common fundamental components of many (not all of course) tobacco blends.
Ethyl Maltol
Some describe this as "cotton candy" flavored but I really don't pick up on that myself. It is a very useful staple component because it adds some sweetness and also a little body and can help make "dry" or "harsh" mixes a little "wetter" or "smoother".
Different people take different approaches to EM. You can buy "10%" but I kind of wonder about this because they usually claim to be in PG. The solubility of EM in PG is ~7.7%. So they are either not 10%, or they are supersaturating solutions which can lead to temperature instability, or they are adding some ethanol to get a clear solution.
I don't like to bother with speculation. I make my own EM solutions. I use 50-50 PG/VG base which will definitely not dissolve 10% EM, but 5% is no problem.
I use a set of small jewelry scales which can be had on eBay for a modest price.
EM Mix:
0.5 gms (500 mgs) Crystal EM Powder.
10 mL 50-50 PG/VG Base from a syringe.
Mix in a vial, and set in a hot water bath. Shake vigorously, and keep heating in a water bath. It will take a while but repeat and eventually you will get a clear, stable solution.
Addition Rates:
1-4 Drops per 3 mL mix. At 4 drops the mix is becoming noticeably sweet.
Vanillas
Many tobaccos have a vanilla note and fans of some cigars and pipe tobaccos may like distinctly vanilla flavored products. Vanilla can be useful as a flavor, and sometimes is useful to mask weird flavors, although of course you now have a distinct vanilla taste.
There are many forms of vanilla available. I am not a fan of food extracts because many have solids and all have high ethanol amounts. This is another component where I prefer a well defined source, so I use Ethyl Vanillin crystal and make my own stocks.
Ethyl Vanillin Stock:
0.5 gm (500 mgs) Ethyl Vanillin Crystal
10 mL 50-50 PG/VG Base
Mix in vial, heat gently. A clear solution is easily prepared.
Addition Rates:
1 Drop of the EV stock in a 3 mL mix will provide a distinct vanilla taste. Anymore and you are definitely making vanilla mixes.
If you want to just add a hint or faint note of vanilla, simply take the stock and do a serial dilution until you find the level you want by adding a drop. Example, you can take 1 mL of the stock and cut it further into 4 mL 50-50 PG/VG base. If that is too strong, take 1 mL of the stock and cut it into 9 mL 50-50 PG/VG base. Etc Etc until you get to the level where a drop of the final dilution provides the vanilla note you are looking for.
Caramel
OK, Caramel deserves a little discussion. Cigarettes contain a LOT of Brown Sugar. I tried adding Brown Sugar to a mix - once. It made it very harsh and added little else. This makes sense if you think about it. A vaporizer is not very hot. Sugar is not volatile. So Brown Sugar is probably mostly just ineffective in e-juice.
Caramel is simple caramelized (heated) sugar. Now, when a cigarette is burned, the heat caramelizes the sugar. An atomizer does not generate enough heat. So Caramel can be viewed as a flavor, but it can also be viewed as an additive that functions like Bown Sugar in a cigarette because it is aleady caramelized and suitable for a vapor while Bown Sugar is not because it never gets hot enough to caramelize in an atomizer while it does in a cigarette.
Now you may like Caramel as a flavor. It is not a favorite of mine. But I use it regularly in e-juice as an "Analog Brown Sugar Additive", well, analog ;-) that is suitable for vaping.
Caramel adds a little sweetness, body, and smoothness.
Depending on what you like it can also add a lot of actual Caramel flavor.
This is a complicated one because there are so many "Caramels" out there. You will have to experiment to find what you like. I look for body and smoothness and not so much a lot of caramel.
My personal choice is FlavourArt "Caramel". Just the "Caramel" flavor.
This specific flavor adds body and smoothness, is not overly sweet, not too "caramelly".
Addition Rates:
FlavourArt Caramel I use at 2-4 drops per 3 mL.
Acetyl Pyrazine
Described as popcorn, graham cacker, roast flavor, sometimes "corn chips". Not sure how to describe it, but I regularly add it to tobacco mixes. I use the ECX Signatue AKA TPA AKA TFA Acetyl Pyrazine which is 5% in PG.
Addition Rates:
1 Drop per 3 mL.
Smoothes
There are various products out there that purport to smooth, mellow, body tobacco mixes. I have no idea what they are. My guess is they have some malic acid and probably modify pH, but just guessing.
I can't really say they do much, if anything, but don't seem to hurt. I add them just as a matter of practice (go figure). I use FlavourArt Vape Wizard.
Addition Rates:
FlavourArt Vape Wizard - 1-2 drops per 3 mL mix.
So those are what I consider the basic standard tobacco mix "auxiliaries".
Next up we'll move on to actual "flavoring" flavors...
Ethyl Maltol
Some describe this as "cotton candy" flavored but I really don't pick up on that myself. It is a very useful staple component because it adds some sweetness and also a little body and can help make "dry" or "harsh" mixes a little "wetter" or "smoother".
Different people take different approaches to EM. You can buy "10%" but I kind of wonder about this because they usually claim to be in PG. The solubility of EM in PG is ~7.7%. So they are either not 10%, or they are supersaturating solutions which can lead to temperature instability, or they are adding some ethanol to get a clear solution.
I don't like to bother with speculation. I make my own EM solutions. I use 50-50 PG/VG base which will definitely not dissolve 10% EM, but 5% is no problem.
I use a set of small jewelry scales which can be had on eBay for a modest price.
EM Mix:
0.5 gms (500 mgs) Crystal EM Powder.
10 mL 50-50 PG/VG Base from a syringe.
Mix in a vial, and set in a hot water bath. Shake vigorously, and keep heating in a water bath. It will take a while but repeat and eventually you will get a clear, stable solution.
Addition Rates:
1-4 Drops per 3 mL mix. At 4 drops the mix is becoming noticeably sweet.
Vanillas
Many tobaccos have a vanilla note and fans of some cigars and pipe tobaccos may like distinctly vanilla flavored products. Vanilla can be useful as a flavor, and sometimes is useful to mask weird flavors, although of course you now have a distinct vanilla taste.
There are many forms of vanilla available. I am not a fan of food extracts because many have solids and all have high ethanol amounts. This is another component where I prefer a well defined source, so I use Ethyl Vanillin crystal and make my own stocks.
Ethyl Vanillin Stock:
0.5 gm (500 mgs) Ethyl Vanillin Crystal
10 mL 50-50 PG/VG Base
Mix in vial, heat gently. A clear solution is easily prepared.
Addition Rates:
1 Drop of the EV stock in a 3 mL mix will provide a distinct vanilla taste. Anymore and you are definitely making vanilla mixes.
If you want to just add a hint or faint note of vanilla, simply take the stock and do a serial dilution until you find the level you want by adding a drop. Example, you can take 1 mL of the stock and cut it further into 4 mL 50-50 PG/VG base. If that is too strong, take 1 mL of the stock and cut it into 9 mL 50-50 PG/VG base. Etc Etc until you get to the level where a drop of the final dilution provides the vanilla note you are looking for.
Caramel
OK, Caramel deserves a little discussion. Cigarettes contain a LOT of Brown Sugar. I tried adding Brown Sugar to a mix - once. It made it very harsh and added little else. This makes sense if you think about it. A vaporizer is not very hot. Sugar is not volatile. So Brown Sugar is probably mostly just ineffective in e-juice.
Caramel is simple caramelized (heated) sugar. Now, when a cigarette is burned, the heat caramelizes the sugar. An atomizer does not generate enough heat. So Caramel can be viewed as a flavor, but it can also be viewed as an additive that functions like Bown Sugar in a cigarette because it is aleady caramelized and suitable for a vapor while Bown Sugar is not because it never gets hot enough to caramelize in an atomizer while it does in a cigarette.
Now you may like Caramel as a flavor. It is not a favorite of mine. But I use it regularly in e-juice as an "Analog Brown Sugar Additive", well, analog ;-) that is suitable for vaping.
Caramel adds a little sweetness, body, and smoothness.
Depending on what you like it can also add a lot of actual Caramel flavor.
This is a complicated one because there are so many "Caramels" out there. You will have to experiment to find what you like. I look for body and smoothness and not so much a lot of caramel.
My personal choice is FlavourArt "Caramel". Just the "Caramel" flavor.
This specific flavor adds body and smoothness, is not overly sweet, not too "caramelly".
Addition Rates:
FlavourArt Caramel I use at 2-4 drops per 3 mL.
Acetyl Pyrazine
Described as popcorn, graham cacker, roast flavor, sometimes "corn chips". Not sure how to describe it, but I regularly add it to tobacco mixes. I use the ECX Signatue AKA TPA AKA TFA Acetyl Pyrazine which is 5% in PG.
Addition Rates:
1 Drop per 3 mL.
Smoothes
There are various products out there that purport to smooth, mellow, body tobacco mixes. I have no idea what they are. My guess is they have some malic acid and probably modify pH, but just guessing.
I can't really say they do much, if anything, but don't seem to hurt. I add them just as a matter of practice (go figure). I use FlavourArt Vape Wizard.
Addition Rates:
FlavourArt Vape Wizard - 1-2 drops per 3 mL mix.
So those are what I consider the basic standard tobacco mix "auxiliaries".
Next up we'll move on to actual "flavoring" flavors...
