I've been hearing a lot about Sterling Cloud's Vanilla Cream Cookie Filling, and Pound Cake. Little to NO good intel on them, so a PERFECT time to get INTO them !!!!! Mixing now, stay tuned ....
With little to no good info out there, finalized the testing weight at 2.5%, and we'll see how that plays out. Testing at 65 watts, on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual Kanthal 24 ga. vertical coils, with fresh KGD cotton and dry burned coils before every test. All steep 1 week +, and run in a 70v/30p/3mg base.
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Coconut (Sterling Cloud) 2.5/3.5% (8-17-24) -- FIRST ONE ON DECK !!!!! After much research, there seemed to be about ZERO information about these flavors, so I'm going to be better hone in on percentages, as we go through them. For the FIRST flavor from Sterling, this one was impressive. Missing were some of the very common overly dry, almost acrid notes found in many other coconuts. This one tasted roughly 90% natural, with just a 10% smidge of artificial, and with JUST enough creamy-ness to keep it smooth. It was NOT a dry flake coconut, but more of a semi moist coconut. No suntan lotion here, and actually no real off-notes to even complain about. There were HINTS of coconut milk, but just hints, which again, kept it from being a dry flake coconut. Sweetness was a FEW ticks below mid-level, which was interesting, as many coco's are overly sweetened. This one was a "full package" coconut with some flake, some milk, and a little cream, so it covered all the bases well. I started this one at 2.5%, and pushed it up to 3.5% to see what would happen, and it increased only marginally, with no bending, so 2.0-2.5% seemed like a solid SFT weight. With no complaints, and this one covering a broad range of coconut nuances, decided to leave this one pretty high, at a
9.4/10.
French Vanilla (Sterling Cloud) 2.5/3.5% (8-17-23) -- With French Vanillas it's ALL about the egg. Egg YOLKS that is, and YES, they WERE in this flavor. As always, I have to temper my expectations, as FV's are not Custards LOL. I started this one off at 2.5%, and moved it up to 3.5%, which I preferred, as it was fuller, and richer. This one was MAYBE, one of the BEST FV's I have tried to date. At the higher rate, it was very full, and tasty. Tasted to my tastes like a SPOT ON FV. No thin or weak and water vanilla here, but a very realistic French Vanilla. In keeping with real FV's it wasn't spicy, but had some good mid, and dark(er) vanilla notes, WHICH, had a very authentic egg yolk-ed-ness to it. Not a custard, not buttery, and not creamy, but the taste/nuance was there.
When I increased from 2.5% to 3.5% it didn't increase linearly but it DID improve all around, so the uber sweet spot might be 3.0%. I did have the distinct urge to toss it into some Ice Cream, just to see if it would pull it over to the FV side, but pairings are outside the scope of this review. Spot on delicious, natural, and authentic at 3.5%, and sweetness was mid-level. No off-notes, wants, or "could haves" for this one, and it was a hard one to put down. Clean, accurate, natural, were the take-aways. Yet another high score-er here folks. Leaving this one very high at a
9.8/10.
Graham Cracker (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-17-24) -- For starters, you guys KNOW, I have a S'mores problem. Chasing the dragon NEVER ends, and that INCLUDES, a realistic Graham Cracker. I know basically EVERY GC out there, and with the exception of Real Flavors SC (my current Go To), they all fall short for a myriad of reasons. I can tell you this, smelling this one in the bottle, they might has well just mashed up graham crackers and put it in the bottle !!!! Wowza. Immediately I knew this one was right up in the "Top Shelf" stratosphere that I put RF's in. This one was THAT good. I can't tell you guys if it knocks the RF off it's pedestal without doing a direct A/B comparison (maybe later), but for now, let's just call it a spot on natural GC.
No "kinda", "sorta", or "somewhat close" 's here, just full on GC. No hints of coconut, cinnamon that would detract/distract from the authentic GC that is was, and/or limit it's uses. Now I'm not saying that even WITH the aforementioned coconut, or cinnamon are/were bad, this one was just DEVOID of them. Blank slate. Traditional Graham Crackers are made with Graham Flour, but [you can fake it with all purpose flour, and whole wheat flour](https://www.thekitchn.com/homemade-graham-crackers-recipe-23201040). Crisp, accurate, were really the only two things you needed to know from this one. At 2.5% it was perfect, and no off-notes, or errant profiles. Sweetness was a little below mid-level. There were aspects/nuances of light honey and maybe some brown sugar, but you couldn't really overtly taste them. I got some grainy-ness from this, but not a lot. There was even an almost malt, light boozy-ness on the finish. I think anyone trying this one, would be hard pressed to disagree. Although I know the very slight boozy finish would easily be buried in a mix, I will take off for it JUST a pinch. This one was too good, authentic, and accurate for any other take-offs. Big Bottle Approved.
9.9/10. JUST almost perfect.
Key Lime (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-18-24) -- Coming directly off of the Sterling Cloud Graham Cracker, I wondered how this one would pair with it. I'm thinking, pretty damned good. Look, this is the FOURTH one from SC, and was ALSO great, so either I picked really good, or they just know how to flavor flavors. This one, had all the right notes for a Key Lime. Somewhat less acidic than a Persian Lime, but also somewhat sweeter. It was multi-dimensional, and changed/shifted throughout the vape, with just a hint of zest on the finish. Yes, this one was SOO good, I actually STOPPED, mid review, to mix up a Sterling Cloud Key Lime Pie.
At 2.5% it was very full, but felt like it might need a hint more, so the SFT percentage might be closer to 2.8%. Natural, natural, and MORE natural was the big take-away with this one, without any hints of candied, or artificial. It really DID scream to be put into a KLP. No off-notes, and not even any "wants", with maybe the exception for just a bit more. Sweetness tasted just below mid level, and it worked. I gave up trying to find faults with this one, and if you have been let down by your current KL's, you should pick this one up. Yet another Big Bottle Approved. Like the Graham Cracker, very close to perfect.
9.9/10.
Marshmallow (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-18-24) -- This one took a little to "settle" for testing, and at first, I wasn't sure about it, but once it "settled" I did. This one shifted slightly from tank to tank, so writing this will be interesting. The majority of what I got was indeed a partially fluffy marshmallow with some hints of the dry powder outside on the finish. At times I almost got light chocolate notes from it, but only very slightly. It reminded me loosely of FLV's Marshmallow. Somewhat creamy, a good semi-thick mallow, and some good mouthfeel. With my S'mores obsession never abating, I will be loading this up with the Sterling Cloud Graham Cracker, just to see how it pairs.
Tasted very good at 2.5% and sweetness was about mid-level, and no off-notes, with the aforementioned slight, light chocolate note. Not a marshmallow fluff, or tiny marshmallow, but a good full sized marshmallow. It felt like it was about 80-85% of the way there, so I settled on a scoring of
8.5/10 for this one.
Meyer Lemon (Sterling Cloud) 2.5/3.5% (8-21-24) -- I tested this one at both 2.5, and 3.5%, and it never really took off for me at either percentage. It was fairly hard to completely nail down. It had some interesting aspects of a natural, artificial, and almost candied/fizzy-ed Lemon. Yes, all in one package. I did spend some EXTRA time trying to isolate it but I couldn't. It stayed fairly confusing to my palate throughout the tests, and not because it was terrible, but because it was rather a blurry Lemon. At both weights it was still somewhat light, and at the 3.5% it may have STARTED to fold (overflavored), but only slightly. Because it seemed to really be all three of the Lemon types listed above, I couldn't see it as a primary Lemon driver in a mix, but def. as a mixer. With all of the types it straddled, it was indeed natural, artificial and candied-ish all at the same time. I think my favorite aspect to this flavor, was the fizzy, almost fermented finish that it had. Not terrible, but a rather blurry, cofusing one at that. No off-notes, but just really lacked focus. Dropping it down fairly low due to that. It felt pretty fairly placed at a
3.5/10. Probably best, as a mixer in Lemonade styled mixes.
Orange Cream (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-23-24) -- Yet another tasty one from Sterling Cloud here. I think I went into this one THINKING (assuming) that it would be a Orangesicle, but it wasn't. What it WAS though, was a very good orange, tempered with/by some creamy elements. The orange profile was very well done, with a natural/artificial split, which was about 50/50. I also got a little Tangerine out of it as well, and there was a VERY believable almost citrus oil/rind note on the finish, which just, plain WORKED. It actually really helped sell the orange/citrus. The cream was present, fairly neutral, but well below the citrus, and acted more as a carrier, than a main note. It helped to smooth it out JUST a bit, but only JUST a bit, and didn't overly soften the orange, or smooth it out too much.
At 2.5% it was very good, full, and strong, with sweetness being actually a couple of ticks below mid-level. I didn't get any off-notes, or even have any complaints. The orange, cream ratio would be close to 65% orange, 35% cream it that helps. Because the cream was behind the orange, it was harder to fully flush out, and I didn't get a ton of Vanilla from it, but it MIGHT have been in there. All in, an impressive showing from SC, and YES, it could easily be pulled INTO a Creamsicle.
With no issues, and a very accurate pairing, leaving this one high(er) at a
9.2/10. The citrus oil/rind on the finish REALLY sold me on this one.
Peanut Butter (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-23-24) -- Earthy was the main take-away with this one. Good or bad, you decide. This one presented as fairly natural crushed nuts, with a light creamy backdrop, and light sweetness. Along FOR the ride, was a fairly predominant "earthy" undertone that stayed from beginning to end. I blew through three testers just to make sure it didn't abate after the flavor was broken in, and it didn't. To me, this one never completely solidified as a PB, but it was close. The earthy undertone sometimes tasted almost toasted, but not always, and it kind of wandered around throughout the test.
At 2.5% it was very solid, and not lacking or weak, and the sweetness was fairly light, and half way below mid-level. Although not bad, I don't know if this one could carry the main PB in a mix. Def. used as a mixer though. Crunchy natural peanuts, in a light creamy carrier, slightly sweetened, with an earthy undertone, is what you got with this one. For my tastes, I chose to chalk up the earthy-ness as an off-note, and marked down for that. It felt fairly placed at a
6.9/10.
Peanut Butter Cup (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-25-24) -- The MOST interesting thing about this flavor, was how the chocolate seemed to wash out most, if not all of the earthy-ness that I'd gotten from the SC Peanut Butter. That just goes to show you how single flavors are under a microscope, but paired, CAN indeed shift/change. Now I didn't get a screaming, "Peanut Butter Cup" from this one, but I did get a decent chocolate washed over a Peanut Butter. Let's say it was IN the ballpark, but not stellar. The choco was hard to completely separate from the PB to fully analyze, but from what I could extract, it tasted more like a Milk Chocolate. No band aids, or rubber bands, so THAT was a plus, but just a middle of the road MC.
The two paired well, just about average in overall taste. At 2.5% it was full, and didn't feel thin or weak. Sweetness was just below mid-level, and because most (not all), of the earthy-ness had been paired out, no real off-notes or complaints. This one while OK, just was about average. After the third tester, finalized it at a
7.0/10.
Pound Cake (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-25-24) -- I'd been wanting to DIVE into this one, as soon as the Sterling Cloud flavors arrived, BUT, I held off. There were literally NO notes on ELR, and only one recipe. That was pretty surprising, as this was a pretty good flavor. NOW, first things first, it didn't completely sell me on a Pound Cake. (Gasp ..........), I know. It did have some great pound cake aspects, BUT, it was almost TOO smooth, with no grains to it. It had a delicious buttery-ness to it, and an almost cupcake / batter aspect to it. It was more like a buttery vanilla batter or cupcake mixed WITH a Pound Cake. Hehe, yeah, that's actually pretty close.
Very smooth, and almost rich at 2.5%, and sweetness was just below mid-level. No off-notes or real complaints. Even thouh it never fully materlailzied as a full on pound cake, it will be used quite a bit. With it's smooth batter-like, almost cupcake like vanilla buttery-ness, I can see it having LOTS of bakery uses. Maybe not the main pound cake driver, but with a little help, it will be IN the mix, none the less. If I were rating purely on taste, I'd give it a
9.6/10, but for it's namesake, I'll have to decduct just a little, for being ALMOST a pound cake. I struggled where to leave this one, and after the third tank I finally decided on a
7.5/10.
Smore (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (8-27-24) -- You guys know me, or most of you do, and those who do, KNOW I love the S'mores. Still chasing the dragon trying to nail down just that PERFECT mix. It's actually a lot harder than it would seem. Getting the right flavors is only HALF the battle, getting the RATIOS is almost harder. Sterling Cloud did a great job with this flavor. I loved their Graham Cracker (above), and the Marshmallow was pretty good. I haven't solo'd their Choco, but it's in THIS one. The stellar Graham Cracker was here, along with the MM, and there was some pretty damned good choco in here as well. I prefer a S'mores where the GC doesn't get buried under the chocolate, and that's exactly how SC did this one. The GC was almost the top note, with the Chocolate in 2nd place, with the MM in a close third. VERY well ratio'd
I won't repeat the GC, and MM intel here, but they worked VERY good here. At 2.5% it was great, and hard to put down. Sweetness was just at mid-level, and I didn't pick up on any off-notes. About my only complaint would be a slight dryness on the finish. The choco tasted like a mid-dark chocolate, which worked perfectly here, not dark, and not a milk choco. No smoke, fire, or charring here, but I didn't miss them. If you like S'mores, you'll love this one. Taking off only for the very slight dryness on the finish, and leaving it high at a
9.510.
Sweet Potato Pie (Sterling Cloud) 2.5/3.5% (8-31-24) -- RIGHT out of the gate, I'm going to WARN you, this one IS, BBA (Big Bottle Approved). Wowzer. To be honest, when mixing these up, THIS was the one that stood out. Guess what, it STILL stood out !!!! I caught myself mixing up ANOTHER bottle, and I still have other flavors to review. Yes, this one WAS excellent. I don't think I've ever reviewed a SPP before, so this IS a first. This one was literally SPOT ON, for a Sweet Potato Pie. Started out at 2.5%, felt like it needed a little more, and 3.5% drove it home. Very accurate SP pie filling with some light spice, and a slightly creamy undertone. The crust on this one was stellar. It reminded me of FA's Apple Pie flavor, where the crust stole the show. It didn't entirely steal the show, as the SP filling was on point, but the crust was up near the TOP of the good crusts. No graham crust here, but more of a INW Biscuit crust, with a nice light buttery undertone.
The "spice" level was about perfect, with JUST enough presence, and not TOO much. I couldn't fully decode it, whether cinnamon, nutmeg, or clove, and could have even been a combo of them, but needless to say, it perfectly suited the flavor, and worked to ACCENT the overall profile, without overshadowing it. The SP filling (as I'm calling it), was very accurate, and not pumkin-y, and was very natural tasting. Smelling it in the bottle you'd SWEAR, you had a slice sitting on a plate in front of you. Yes, it was THAT good. At 3.5% it was very rich, and full, but didn't increase linearly from 2.5%, so perhaps 3.0% might be the SFT sweet spot. ZERO issues, complaints, or off-notes. My third tester is literally running DRY, forcing me to put it down, and write this review. Release the Kraken again folks, Big Bottle Approved, and landing it at a JTDG (Just Too Damned Good)
10/10.
Tiramisu (Sterling Cloud) 2.5/3.5% (9-1-24) -- This flavor had most of the telltale characteristics of
a real Tiramisu. Dark Espresso, Hints of Cocoa, Vanilla Wafers, and a delicious creamy-ness. I started testing at 2.5%, but (like a few others), felt it needed a boost, and rode the rest of the test at 3.5%, where it tasted much fuller. While having more than a few profiles, I could fairly easily pick them out, as opposed to being a mashup, or blurry blend. SC did a good job balancing out the cream/creamy-ness and the espresso, so neither overran the other, and the creamy undertones did not obliterate the nice acidic edge to the espresso. I couldn't tell if the vanilla notes were more from the cream or vanilla fingers, but it sat right in the middle of the mix.
No issues, or off-notes, and at the higher 3.5% it was full, but not overblown. No off-notes or squirrel-y-ness, and sweetness was two ticks below mid-level. About my only "want" would have been just a little MORE of it. Even at the higher rate, it felt like it could use JUST a bit more. Tasty, accurate, but just felt a little short. Finalized this one at a
8.9.10.
Vanilla Cream Cookie Filling (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (9-2-24) -- I think this one might have been the one that brought Sterling Cloud flavors onto my radar.
@Str8V8ping had mentioned it recently, and I saw @Lynda_Marie tested it as well. This one put the Yum, in the Yummy. Very tasty, and it did have a lot of elements of an Oreo, or Hydrox cookie filling. It tasted like that was paired with an almost Vanilla Frosting. Now together, these two profiles simply worked. The creamy elements were very well done, and were not dairy creams, but exactly like the artificial cream cookie filling. At 2.5% it was spot on delicious, and sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, which was accurate, and surprisingly non-fatiguing. No off-notes, complaints, or wants with this one. Simply put, it was an oreo cooking filling paired with a delicious vanilla frosting. It wasn't billed as a frosting, and the overall profile was soo good, it didn't feel right to mark down much for that. I finally decided on a
9.5/10.
Vanilla Custard (Sterling Cloud) 2.5% (9-2-24) -- LAST one on deck in this series. Right out of the gate, I could tell this one was VERY similar to the just tested Vanilla Cream Cookie Filling. This was more of a light pudding custard, as opposed to a heavier, denser, eggy custard, so that may decide if this is right for your needs already. My personal tastes have started to lean more towards some egg in my custards, but not overly eggy, so keep that in mind regarding my ratings. Continuing what
@Str8V8ping commented, it does appear as if Vanillas are indeed one of Sterling Cloud's strong suits. The vanilla was rich and front and center, and leaned towards a Madagascar. Along with that were some delicious pudding notes, but not a full on pudding. Mouthfeel was above average, but not what I would call heavy, or dense.
At 2.5% it was damned good, and full, with no need to increase the strength. There was a very interesting almost vanilla icing note on the finish. Even without any heavy egg notes, I could see this one getting a LOT of use. No off-notes, complaints, or issues after 3 testers, and it was hard to put down. Sweetness was about a tick above mid-level, which tasted good for this flavor. In summary, it was a very good Vanilla Custard, sans any eggy-ness, paired with a great Vanilla Pudding, that finished with a light and wispy Vanilla Icing. Yeah, it was good, and that about summed it up. Scoring proved to be tricky, as I really have grown fond of having SOME egg/eggy-ness in my custards, and this one had none, yet, it was damned delicious, and hard to put down. I'll leave it at this, if you crave eggy custards, it would be a
6.5/10, but if you preferred less eggy, and more pudding like custards, it would be much higher at a
9.7/10. Pick YOUR preference, and reference that score. Even being sans eggy-ness, I'm going to be using this one a lot.
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