For what it's worth, here is my 2 cents on the VZ concentrated flavors I've tried thus far. I'll start with the usual disclaimer that I don't pretend to have any special gifts, talents, or abounding experience in e-liquid mixing or tasting. These are just my honest random impressions of these flavors at this point in time. My tastes and sensibilities have been known to change over time. I like to think they evolve
, but whatever. I reserve the right to change my mind or contradict myself in the future.
These VZ super concentrated flavors are just the ticket for super low maintenance mixing for the lazy DIY'er. Right up my alley.
Unless I explicitly state otherwise, I've mixed these at 2-2.5%(1 drop/ml base) and using a 75%PG/25%VG 24mg/ml nicotine base.
First off, the initial batch of 6 flavors I purchased from VZ several weeks ago when I first got sucked into the vortex.
Real Cig - Good solid straight ahead no nonsense tobacco flavor with a real kick to it. It got a good bit stronger with steeping after even a few hours and then days. At the recommended 2.5% this flavor was much too strong for me, it tasted more like a mild cigar. Good to add punch to other flavors at this level, which is how I usually use cigar flavors, but I wouldn't be able to vape it for extended periods at that strength. I dropped to 1-1.5%(6 drops to 10ml base) for my next mix which toned it down to the point that I could now vape it by itself. Still though, I'm more likely to use this as a tobacco base for blends as opposed to standalone. That's in large part because there are so many other VZ tobacco flavors that suit me much better for standalone vaping, not because it isn't an outstanding flavor in it's own right, which it most certainly is. I do really like the flavor of it though and expect I'll always keep a batch of it on hand for mixing at the very least. I hardly detected any sweetness in this mix if at all, and what little I do pick up could be entirely due to the 25%VG.
Virginia Flu Cured - I find this to be an outstanding tobacco flavor. Similar in many ways to the HFC, especially when starting out(before steeping). It's delicious and robust but not quite as bold or complex in flavor or aroma especially after days and weeks of steeping. That's neither a positive or negative, it just depends on what I'm in the mood for. Sometimes I like lots of complex flavor, at other times I find it too busy and distracting. This flavor is very analog like to my taste. I would have to say this is one of my 2 or 3 favorites thus far, and the one I'm most likely to vape standalone on a regular basis and for extended periods due to it's balance and restraint. I highly recommend it.
Honey Flu-Cured - Another outstanding tobacco flavor. Starts out before steeping rather similar to the Virginia, but unlike that one the flavor and aroma become much richer with time. After a couple of weeks it seems to me to have as much in common with the French Pipe as the Virginia, landing sort of in between the two, with an almost pipe tobacco like richness and aroma like the French Pipe but much more subdued and without the more exotic aromatic elements of that one. It retains some of the analog like qualities of the Virginia but not to the same extent. I highly recommend this flavor.
French Pipe - Lovely, rich, exotic tobacco flavor and aroma. The aroma has what I can only describe as a sort of medicinal/therapeutic quality, somewhat analogous to menthol but without the taste or aroma of menthol. That probably doesn't sound enticing but I don't know how to describe it any better. I used to smoke a pipe many years ago and this flavor is reminiscent of pipe tobacco in my opinion. I've been enjoying vaping this flavor as much as any of the others I've tried. However, after a while it can become a bit much and overload my senses, and I need to switch to a simpler and more straightforward flavor for a while before returning to it. Boba's Bounty, though completely distinct and even more complex in flavor, has the same effect on me(sensory overload), as much as I absolutely love it. Of the VZ tobacco flavors I've tried to date I find this one to be the most interesting. Another highly recommended tobacco flavor.
Cappuccino - I commented on this one here on ECF a couple weeks back(and on the VZ web site) so I'll just regurgitate that here if you'll forgive me for quoting myself.
"I got some in yesterday and mixed a sample batch up about this time last night at the recommended 2.5%. I won't claim to be an expert on a wide range of Cappuccino flavors,and I really threw it in at the last minute as I'm mostly into tobaccos, but I'm definitely diggin' it. Just the right strength, very lightly sweet, and no burnt taste like you get with some coffees(haven't tried the VZ coffee yet). I liked this one right off the bat, and this morning after only about 12 hours steeping it was even tastier. I dripped some after reading your post and I'm grooving on it as I type. As it steeps it seems to be acquiring a smoother creamier quality than I detected at first, or even earlier today, and the flavor has continued to improve. It has a very nice aroma, it's very flavorful, and leaves a very pleasant taste in my mouth. The only Cappuccino I've had before was the Dekang which I had about a year and a half ago and didn't like very much at first but ended up acquiring a taste for and enjoying. This one is MUCH MUCH better, so I'm very happy with it. "
Pina Colada - I also commented on this one a couple of weeks ago, more regurgitation, more shameless self quotation. "Flavor and aroma are exactly as I'd hoped, just like the real thing, which is to say very nice indeed. Slightly but not overly sweet. Both the pineapple and coconut come through clearly and are very well balanced. Very tasty, pleasant and relaxing vape. Although you get a prominent aroma of pina colada on exhale it dissipates very quickly and is barely detectable, if at all, even a few feet away, so it makes for an ideal stealth vape. I've vaped it every day at work since I got it a few weeks ago with no one around me the wiser."
The following flavors were sent to me on a complimentary basis by VZ for sampling purposes. I am providing my honest feedback which was the only thing requested.
Orange - I should preface this by saying that orange is not a flavor that I would normally choose for vaping, and in fact I don't vape a lot of fruits in general. This was a complimentary sample for testing. Having said that, the flavor and aroma of this orange are spot on, extremely accurate. It was much tastier than I anticipated. In the aroma I get both a whiff of a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice and just a hint of the zest of the orange rind. The level of sweetness is very well balanced, and the taste left on the tongue is like the pulp of a fresh ripe orange. While I can't say that it's likely to become a favorite flavor of mine any time soon, I will certainly vape this from time to time when in the mood for a change of pace, so it certainly won't be going to waste. I would expect that someone who is already a fan of vaping orange flavors would be even happier with it. Also, after trying it I'm now, strangely enough, just a little curious about the Mandarin orange flavor. I mixed this at 24mg nic, 75/25 PG/VG base and 2-2.5% concentration(1 drop conc. per ml. of base).
Key Lime - This one was not on my short list to try, but very welcome nonetheless as I really like key lime flavor in general as in pies and limeade, and enjoyed vaping it before from another vendor. This one is better without a doubt, a delicious refreshing flavor. The flavor and aroma are every bit as accurate as the other fruit flavors. The experience is like drinking a glass of freshly squeezed key limeade. Like the orange, you get just a little hint of the rind in the aroma, and the taste has just the right balance of sweetness and sourness. This one is right up my alley. I've been stealth vaping this one at work a good bit. Not that it lacks anything, but I wonder how this might go with a touch of koolada, or maybe some cream and something else to create a key lime pie flavor. I see a few experiments with this in my future.
Blackberry - I received this as an advance complimentary sample for testing which was fortunate for me since I'd been waiting for it to go up for sale for a good while. It has a very accurate flavor and aroma of fresh ripe blackberries with just the right balance of sweetness. It really is quite delicious. I don't vape a lot fruits but when I do I'm usually partial to berry flavors and this ranks with the best I've had. This is one of the few VZ concentrated flavors that I'm curious to experiment with at higher percentages. Not that it's weak by any means at the nominal 2.5%, but I'm curious to see what it does at a little higher percentage. I mixed this at 24mg nic, 75/25 PG/VG base and 2-2.5% concentration(1 drop conc. per ml. of base).
Apricot - Like the other fruits, this is also uncannily accurate in both taste and aroma. What makes this flavor stand out even above the other VZ fruits I've tried is that where the others are refreshing and satisfying, this one is actually filling as well, lol. Not only does it taste and smell like a fresh ripe apricot, I feel like I'm actually eating one, as crazy as that sounds. I've not experienced that with a fruit flavor before. This one more than lived up to all the hype.
Chocolate - On par with the better chocolates I've had. I don't know that I can go as far as saying it's the best I've had, but it's certainly not far off. Very nice rich chocolate flavor with no hint of the burnt taste that plagues some chocolate vapes. It also got smoother, richer, and tastier the longer it steeped. It blends very nicely with other flavors. I've already tried mixing it with a bit of vanilla and Dunhill and it was very good. I liked it mixed with Real Cig instead of Dunhill even better. I have plenty of other flavors in mind to mix it with but have not had the opportunity to yet, such as hazelnut, cream, coffee, almond, coconut. I mixed this at 24mg nic, 75/25 PG/VG base and 2-2.5% concentration(1 drop conc. per ml. of base).
Vanilla - Really nice fresh vanilla flavor. Lightly sweet, but not overly so. A really excellent and versatile mixer, which is how I normally use vanilla as opposed to vaping it standalone. It tends to spice up and enhance just about any other flavor without overtaking it. I find it's great for taking a bit of the harsh edge off some of the stronger tobaccos without detracting from their flavor. So far I've enjoyed it with the Real Cig. and Dunhill particularly, sometimes with a touch of chocolate as well. I honestly can't think of anything I would want to change about it. I mixed this at 24mg nic, 75/25 PG/VG base and 2-2.5% concentration(1 drop conc. per ml. of base).
Dunhill - As outstanding as the Virginia in terms of flavor and long term vapability(not a real word, I know
), and maybe even more so. It has a bit more bite to it than the Virginia, a hint of mild cigar flavor I think, but it's extremely tasty. From the first time I tried it I kept getting a strangely familiar vibe from it. It's very, almost eerily similar to a flavor I've had before but I can't put my finger on it. The one I'm guessing is C&D from AVE, but I'm not sure as it's been a while and I don't have any more of it laying around. I could be way off base on that but it's definitely very familiar. If anyone has some AVE C&D and this VZ Dunhill could you please tell me if I'm crazy?
Black Fire/Island Tobacco - Really nice tobacco flavor. Like the French Pipe and the Honey Flu, I get a robust flavorful almost pipe tobacco vibe from this one as well. This one is much more subdued though, more along the lines of the Honey Flu but with a distinct flavor all it's own. Having said that, it's downright delicious now after steeping and still getting better. It reminds me a lot of an RY4, but with the sweetness provided by something other than caramel. I'm terrible at this but I want to say it's vanilla and maybe something else I can't quite put my finger on. There might even be a barely noticeable hint of some sort of nut as well, but I'm not sure. It has an almost addictive quality like RY4 because it's so smooth and with that pleasant lightly sweet lingering aftertaste on the tongue. I would expect someone who's a fan of RY4s might like this flavor also. I'll admit I was not bowled over by this flavor in the least at first, especially in comparison to my other favorites, but after steeping for days and trying it a few times it gradually grew on me to the point that it's neck and neck with my 3 or 4 faves like the VFC now, and maybe even slightly ahead, which has really surprised me.
The following are a second set of complimentary samples I received from VZ for evaluating. I haven't spent as much time with these, but here are my first impressions. If some of the flavors morph on me after more steeping(as they often do) I'll update my comments accordingly.
snickerdoodle - I didn't know what the heck snickerdoodle even was until I googled it after receiving this. It's sort of like a sugar cookie with cinnamon from what I gather. I don't think I've ever had them before, and I was never much into sugar cookes, but I was still intrigued and kind of looking forward to what this might taste like all the same. It's very sweet smelling and tasting, with a pleasant flavor, but I'm not sure it's my cup of tea as far as vapes go. Oddly, it reminds me a little of a Dekang red bull I have laying around somewhere that I never finished, minus the cherry flavor. Nothing about the flavor really screams cookie to me either. I've had french toast and waffle flavors before that tasted surprisingly realistic, so I guess I was expecting to get more of a bakery taste from it, which I don't at all. I'll update if that changes after more steeping. Again, I'm not qualified to say whether this accurately replicates the taste and aroma of a snickerdoodle since I've never actually had one. I've started playing around with using this as a mixer with real cig and vanilla and I must say it's not bad at all.
licorice - I wasn't expecting to like this one since I've never been a fan of licorice, especially black licorice(and that's putting it mildly). From what I read it's more of a red licorice flavor, so that was a plus. Honestly, I wouldn't have known this was licorice if I hadn't been told. It smelled like cherry, not fresh but candied. It has a sweet and pleasant enough flavor. Oddly, I like this more than the snickerdoodle, but it's really not my sort of thing either. I get the sense that if I were to combine a little of this with the snickerdoodle, it would be even more red bull like. But since I'm not really a fan of red bull either, I'm not inclined to do that. If you're into red licorice this might well be your thing even if it isn't mine.
Milk Chocolate - This one clearly needs more time to steep before I can render a real opinion. The bottle of concentrate definitely had a nice chocolate aroma to it, but after first mixing it, I didn't pick up any scent of chocolate from my sample. When I tried it a couple of hours later, I only picked up a creamy flavor, not chocolate. After a half day or so the chocolate began to come through. Unfortunately, the chocolate to me has a bit of burnt aspect to it. I've gotten this from several other chocolates before, but not the regular VZ chocolate, which seems much smoother, less harsh. I also feel like I'm getting just a slight hint of coffee, but that could well be my imagination, lol. As of right now I'm not crazy about it. Maybe I need to play around with the concentration percentages. I was very surprised that I liked this flavor the least of these three.
I'll throw out another couple things I really like about these VZ flavors. First, they're all pretty innocuous in terms of the aroma not carrying for large distances and taking over a room. This surprised me because many of them are very aromatic on exhale, but I find the aroma dissipates pretty quickly for some reason. This is definitely true of the fruits, and to a surprising if slightly lesser degree of the tobaccos. Prior to this I had a hard time finding stealth vaping flavors that I actually enjoyed. Second, they are all(at least the ones I've tried) very atomizer/cartomizer friendly. Much less gunking on average than I've grown accustomed to. This was an unexpected bonus. I have a clearo that I've been using exclusively at work for stealth vaping mostly fruit flavors(pina colada, cappucino, apricot, blackberry, etc.) and the wick still looks the same as it did after it's first use, only barely discolored.
I'm finally putting in my next order today. I'm getting Hazelnut(been waiting forever for this), Almond(a pleasant surprise that I saw appear out of the blue yesterday but had been fantasizing about, lol), coffee, and Black&Mild(the first flavor I really wanted but it was either out of stock or the timing wasn't right).
After I pried the bottle out of his hands I am happy to report its fantastic. RY4-ish cigar anyone?
