Note: I originally started this as a thread in the DIY section, but there is a limit to how many times a post can be edited, so I'm moving the post to here. I will not be making any further updates to that thread, only this one.
About Perfumer's Apprentice
The Perfumer's Apprentice is a professional fragrance and flavoring business, located in Felton, CA. They have been serving perfumers and flavorist online since 2004. Recently (February 2010) they began a line of flavors for the e-liquid Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market.
What sets Perfumer's Apprentice apart from the major flavor houses is their level of personal service. They listen to their customers and respond quickly to their needs, creating flavors their customers ask for and modifying flavors to better suite the DIY e-liquid community.
Perfumer's Apprentice's flavors are on par with, and in most cases are much better than, the large US-based flavor houses, such a Bickford. Capella and LorAnn. Their flavors are of a much higher quality than flavors from the mass market, such as Adams or McCormick.
I just received my first batch of Perfumer's Apprentice flavors on April 26th. My plan for this Blog is to try each flavor, alone or in mixtures, and give you my impressions.
Apple Flavor: It smells like Jolly Rancher Green Apple candy when you first open it, but the flavor itself is more subtle. The flavor is that of a freshly riped Red Delicious apple with a hint of the green Golden Delicious apple. It is not tart like a Granny Smith apple but there is a slight level of tartness, just enough to make your mouth water. I used the ratio of 5 drops per 3ml for my sample. This flavor could easily be an all day vape for me.
Bavarian Cream Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. Mixed some with my Coffee Infusion and it gave it a nice vanilla creme flavor. In a stronger coffee concetrate, along with some sweetener, it makes a very passable Kahlua.
Black Cherry Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. Tried this in a cheesecake mix of 5ml with two drops each of black cherry, cheesecake and graham cracker. I tried it with just one drop of black cherry at first and the flavor was too subtle.
Blueberry Flavor (Current Version): This flavor is not like you popped a handful of Blueberrys in your mouth. It is more along the lines of what you'd experience as a blueberry flavor in blueberry muffins or pancakes, where the flavor has diffused throughout the muffin or pancake. I used this as the fruit flavoring in a cheesecake mix and it's awesome. Perfumer's Apprentice will soon be offering a new version of Blueberry flavor at a higher concentration. My sample was mixed at 6 drops per 3ml.
Cheesecake Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. I used this, in conjunction with Blueberry and Graham Cracker to make a Blueberry Cheesecake mix. To 5ml, I put in two drops of each, yielding a nice overall flavor. At this ratio, the blueberry is there without dominating the other flavors.
I called Linda when I was ordering and asked her specifically if the cheesecake flavor had graham cracker flavor in it. It doesn't, just the cheesecake filling in the flavor.
Chocolate Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. When opened, it smells like Hershey's Cocoa powder.
Cinnamon RedHots: Smells and tastes like the candy. I don't think this flavor is going to mix well with others. I like cinnamon in my coffee, so I put some of this in with my coffee infusion - not the right cinnamon flavor for something like that. By itself, it rocks.
Cotton Candy Flavor: Not vaped yet.
Graham Cracker Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. Smells exactly like graham crackers, but more pronounced. Surprised at how dark it is, a very dark brown. Surprisingly, the flavor is actually very subtle in a mix. In my blueberry cheesecake mix I couldn't taste it at all with just one drop. The second drop made the mix just right, the perfect balance or graham cracker crust, cheesecake filling and fruit topping.
Jamaican Rum Flavor: Smells exactly like Capt. Morgan's Spiced Rum as soon as you open the bottle and tastes just like it, too. I put two drops in a 3ml sample bottle and thought I was vaping the real stuff. Probably not an all day vape, but definitely one for the evenings.
Milk Chocolate Flavor: Not vaped yet. Smells a little stronger than a Hershey's chocolate bar and more buttery than the regular chocolate flavor.
Maple Flavor: Pure maple syrup is made by collecting the sap from the sugar maple tree and boiling it slowly until it condenses 40 to 1, i.e it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. Even then, the syrup is thin because it contains no additives and it has a very distinctive flavor. This is the flavor of Perfumer's Apprentice Maple Flavor. This is not Mrs. Butterworth's or Aunt Jemima. This is pure Vermont Fancy Grade maple syrup in a bottled flavoring.
By itself this flavor is not overly sweet, just the crisp, clean, unaltered flavor of maple comes through with a hint of sweetness. When mixed with The Perfumer's Apprentices Waffle flavor in a 1/3 maple, 2/3 waffle ratio, it gives just the correct amount of maple flavor, resulting in one of the most pleasant vapes imaginable.
I see no reason why this couldn't be used to make your own imitation maple syrup at home. Some water, some corn syrup, boil to blend and flavor to taste. Simple.
English Toffee Sample Flavor: Not vaped yet. Will try this by itself and mixed with milk chocolate to see how close I can come to a Heath Bar.
Cola Sample Flavor: A very good cola flavor. Not Coke or Pepsi exactly, RC Cola maybe? This is another one of those flavors just begging to be mixed. It would go well with Whiskey as well as Rum, Black Cherry or Bavarian Creme. My sample was mixed at 6 drops in 3ml.
Waffle Flavor: You open the bottle and it smells like a waffle hot off the waffle iron. I mixed this flavor with the maple flavor - breakfast in a vape! It tastes exactly like an Eggo waffle with maple syrup. In my 3ml sample, I mixed 6 drops of Waffle Flavor with 3 drops of Maple Flavor and the proportions were just right.
I think the Waffle Flavor could also be used in other recipes, such as Cinnamon Roll - a little Waffle, a little Cinnamon and some Bavarian Cream, or with Milk Chocolate for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
About Perfumer's Apprentice
The Perfumer's Apprentice is a professional fragrance and flavoring business, located in Felton, CA. They have been serving perfumers and flavorist online since 2004. Recently (February 2010) they began a line of flavors for the e-liquid Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market.
What sets Perfumer's Apprentice apart from the major flavor houses is their level of personal service. They listen to their customers and respond quickly to their needs, creating flavors their customers ask for and modifying flavors to better suite the DIY e-liquid community.
Perfumer's Apprentice's flavors are on par with, and in most cases are much better than, the large US-based flavor houses, such a Bickford. Capella and LorAnn. Their flavors are of a much higher quality than flavors from the mass market, such as Adams or McCormick.
I just received my first batch of Perfumer's Apprentice flavors on April 26th. My plan for this Blog is to try each flavor, alone or in mixtures, and give you my impressions.
Apple Flavor: It smells like Jolly Rancher Green Apple candy when you first open it, but the flavor itself is more subtle. The flavor is that of a freshly riped Red Delicious apple with a hint of the green Golden Delicious apple. It is not tart like a Granny Smith apple but there is a slight level of tartness, just enough to make your mouth water. I used the ratio of 5 drops per 3ml for my sample. This flavor could easily be an all day vape for me.
Bavarian Cream Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. Mixed some with my Coffee Infusion and it gave it a nice vanilla creme flavor. In a stronger coffee concetrate, along with some sweetener, it makes a very passable Kahlua.
Black Cherry Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. Tried this in a cheesecake mix of 5ml with two drops each of black cherry, cheesecake and graham cracker. I tried it with just one drop of black cherry at first and the flavor was too subtle.
Blueberry Flavor (Current Version): This flavor is not like you popped a handful of Blueberrys in your mouth. It is more along the lines of what you'd experience as a blueberry flavor in blueberry muffins or pancakes, where the flavor has diffused throughout the muffin or pancake. I used this as the fruit flavoring in a cheesecake mix and it's awesome. Perfumer's Apprentice will soon be offering a new version of Blueberry flavor at a higher concentration. My sample was mixed at 6 drops per 3ml.
Cheesecake Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. I used this, in conjunction with Blueberry and Graham Cracker to make a Blueberry Cheesecake mix. To 5ml, I put in two drops of each, yielding a nice overall flavor. At this ratio, the blueberry is there without dominating the other flavors.
I called Linda when I was ordering and asked her specifically if the cheesecake flavor had graham cracker flavor in it. It doesn't, just the cheesecake filling in the flavor.
Chocolate Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. When opened, it smells like Hershey's Cocoa powder.
Cinnamon RedHots: Smells and tastes like the candy. I don't think this flavor is going to mix well with others. I like cinnamon in my coffee, so I put some of this in with my coffee infusion - not the right cinnamon flavor for something like that. By itself, it rocks.
Cotton Candy Flavor: Not vaped yet.
Graham Cracker Flavor: Not vaped by itself yet. Smells exactly like graham crackers, but more pronounced. Surprised at how dark it is, a very dark brown. Surprisingly, the flavor is actually very subtle in a mix. In my blueberry cheesecake mix I couldn't taste it at all with just one drop. The second drop made the mix just right, the perfect balance or graham cracker crust, cheesecake filling and fruit topping.
Jamaican Rum Flavor: Smells exactly like Capt. Morgan's Spiced Rum as soon as you open the bottle and tastes just like it, too. I put two drops in a 3ml sample bottle and thought I was vaping the real stuff. Probably not an all day vape, but definitely one for the evenings.
Milk Chocolate Flavor: Not vaped yet. Smells a little stronger than a Hershey's chocolate bar and more buttery than the regular chocolate flavor.
Maple Flavor: Pure maple syrup is made by collecting the sap from the sugar maple tree and boiling it slowly until it condenses 40 to 1, i.e it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. Even then, the syrup is thin because it contains no additives and it has a very distinctive flavor. This is the flavor of Perfumer's Apprentice Maple Flavor. This is not Mrs. Butterworth's or Aunt Jemima. This is pure Vermont Fancy Grade maple syrup in a bottled flavoring.
By itself this flavor is not overly sweet, just the crisp, clean, unaltered flavor of maple comes through with a hint of sweetness. When mixed with The Perfumer's Apprentices Waffle flavor in a 1/3 maple, 2/3 waffle ratio, it gives just the correct amount of maple flavor, resulting in one of the most pleasant vapes imaginable.
I see no reason why this couldn't be used to make your own imitation maple syrup at home. Some water, some corn syrup, boil to blend and flavor to taste. Simple.
English Toffee Sample Flavor: Not vaped yet. Will try this by itself and mixed with milk chocolate to see how close I can come to a Heath Bar.
Cola Sample Flavor: A very good cola flavor. Not Coke or Pepsi exactly, RC Cola maybe? This is another one of those flavors just begging to be mixed. It would go well with Whiskey as well as Rum, Black Cherry or Bavarian Creme. My sample was mixed at 6 drops in 3ml.
Waffle Flavor: You open the bottle and it smells like a waffle hot off the waffle iron. I mixed this flavor with the maple flavor - breakfast in a vape! It tastes exactly like an Eggo waffle with maple syrup. In my 3ml sample, I mixed 6 drops of Waffle Flavor with 3 drops of Maple Flavor and the proportions were just right.
I think the Waffle Flavor could also be used in other recipes, such as Cinnamon Roll - a little Waffle, a little Cinnamon and some Bavarian Cream, or with Milk Chocolate for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
