www.bullcityflavors.com
Alright people, JUST mixed these up, and they are **STEEPING**. With only the Rich Vanilla to worry about, I decided on a short 1 week steep, and a 3.5% testing weight.
> As always, these are mixed and steeped as listed, in a 70v/30p/3mg base. Tested on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual vertical Kanthal 24ga. coils, with Koh Gen Do cotton. Fresh or dry burned coils w./ fresh cotton before every test. Tested at 65 watts.
These flavors were provided free of charge for the purposes of these reviews, but you'll get it, like I get it.
**Baja (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- FINALLY (after a short 1 week steep), breaking into this BRAND NEW Series from Bull City Flavors. Because it was a BRAND NEW line, I had to guess as the percentages, and this one I started out at 3.5%, but bumped up to 5.5%. It was much fuller at the higher weight, but not linearly, so the single flavor ceiling might be closer to 5%. At the higher weight, it was VERY close to a Baja Blast Mountain Dew. No other way to put it. I almost did a double-take, to see it the flavor was Teal colored LOL. Exactly like the soda, it was centered around a sweet, smooth lime, with some lighter Pineapple accents. There were possibly some other fruits in there, but they were to hard to pick out, with the exception of maybe a mango.
At 5.5% it was fairly full, and at about a 7/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was just about mid-level, and I couldn't pick out any squirrel-y notes, and/or any complaints. About my only want would have been just a bit more saturation, but that was about it. VERY true to a Baja Blast. There was a slight fizzy-ness, but only slight. All in, a great first one, from this batch of first ones, and leaving it high at an
**8.8/10**. You CAN do the dew with this one.
**Blueberry (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- I also started this one out at 3.5%, but 5.5% proved to allow it to open up a lot more. This one was a VERY interesting take on a Blueberry, as it straddled not only a natural blueberry, but also a slightly candied/jammed. A VERY interesting medley. I think that blueberries are one of the FEW flavors, where a little "funk" actually IS a good thing, and this one had JUST enough, to add to the overall depth, and realism. Just a TOUCH of funk.
At the lower 3.5% weight it was good, but just wasn't as full and deep, as it was at the higher weight. Strength wise, at the higher weight, I would give it an 8.9/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid level, and I could find NO off-notes to complain about. All in, this was a very "fresh" take on a blueberry, which was fairly complex, with natural, candied/jammed nuances, along with just enough of the funky-ness. On the finish, there was also a nice little punch, which presented as slightly tarty, almost somewhat fermented, which in this flavor, was an absolute PLUS. Very complex, tasty, and didn't leave you (or me) wanting. Leaving this near the top end, at a
**9.4/10**.
**Blue Raspberry (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- 3.5% felt a little thin, and 5.5% worked much better with this one. Tart, Sour, and Blue were the big take-aways with this one. The good news is Bull City Flavors left out the Blue #1. It doesn't matter how many people you talk to, no one really knows what's in a
Blue Raspberry. Some seem to have banana, pineapple, even cherry on top of a tart raspberry. This one seemed more centered around a blueberry, sharp/tart raspberry combo. Perky, tart, and fairly artificial, but true to the actual ICEE flavor (for those of you in the US).
No off-notes, and sweetness was surprisingly lower than expected, at a few ticks below mid-level. I typically don't like over-sweetened flavors, as you can't take it out, BUT, I think this one might actually benefit from a touch of sweetener, to help it POP more. Kudos out to BCF for not over-sweetening it, as that left it up to US to decide. At 5.5% it wasn't a screamer, and it was about a 7.5/10 on the strength scale. All in, a good tart raspberry/blueberry-ish combo with lower than expected sweetness levels. Leaving this one fairly high at a
**8.5/10**.
**Candy Cane (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- Like the previous flavors, I started out at 3.5%, and quickly bumped it up to 5.5% where it was much fuller. This one smelled literally, EXACTLY like a candy cane in the bottle, and when testing it, that's EXACTLY what I got. One of the most impressive things for my tastes, was that there was very little cooling effect, which is very common in many/most mint flavors. There was a slight hint of cooling on the finish, but that was IT !!!! I don't use cooling agents, so that was a big deal for me.
At 5.5% it was very good, and at about a 9.5/10 on the strength scale, and I had ZERO wants with this one. No off-notes, and even though it was billed as a "candy" it actually came in a tick or two below mid-level sweet. Very authentic, and literally, a perfect candy cane, nothing more, nothing less. Bull City Flavors did an outstanding job with this one, as it wasn't simply a sweetened peppermint, but they really captured the almost "smooth" candy texture if that makes sense. Very good, and I can't believe I'm going to do this for a "mint" flavor, but release the Kraken folks, too spot on not to.
**10/10**. Get your peppermint bark recipes ready.
**Cherry (BCF) 5.5% (12-10-25)** -- Initially (because of past cherry incidents), I was hesitant to try this at the higher 5.5% as some cherries can go nuclear when tested too high. My fears however, were misplaced, and this one did NOT hit DEFCON 1 levels. It presented as a fairly artificial cherry, with hints of natural. It actually reminded me of a mashup between a Luden's Cherry Cough Drop (no medicinals), and a Rita's Water Ice Cherry. At the 5.5% weight it was fairly strong, and at a 8/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was just below mid-level, and I didn't get any scary off notes from this one.
It leaned heavily towards an artificial maraschino, and there was some slight dryness on the finish. Overall it was very smooth, and missing much of the tart or bite that some fresh cherries have. If you need a natural cherry, this one may not work out for you, but for smoother, artificial needs, this one would work out. All in, a very smooth, heavily artificial cherry. Saturation levels were great at 5.5%, and the only knock would be the slight dryness on the finish. Leaving it high at a
**9/10**.
**Coffee Candy (BCF) 5.5% (12-8-25)** -- The moment I started this test, I was immediately struck with, "This is just like an RY4, but for Coffee" !!!! Yes, that was my first thought, and I was never able to shake it. I don't think I've ever had a "Coffee Candy" (or a Candied Coffee, more on that later.....), but this flavor made me wish I had. Because I ended up increasing all of the previous flavors to 5.5%, I've moved this, and all the remaining up as well. At 5.5% it presented as a pretty believable (you guessed it), Coffee Candy. It tasted like a mix of both coffee and espresso, at about a 60%/40% Coffee/Espresso split. After the finish there was a great lingering just slightly bitter coffee/espresso note, which completely worked here.
The carrier for the caffeines seemed to be mostly caramel, but I swore I was getting a light vanilla cream note in there as well. Sweetness was just above mid-level, which worked for a "candy". No off-notes, but I had one thought. I kept thinking it was more of a candied coffee, than a coffee candy, which I think worked in it's favor, as the focus was more on the coffee, than the sweet. It was an outstanding flavor, and I'd probably give it a 10/10 on just the taste, but the "candy" part had me somewhat unconvinced. It was soo good, I didn't feel right marking it down too much for that one aspect, so I finally decided on a
**9.5/10**. Very good, coffee w./ espresso, layered on top of a creamy, slightly vanilla'd carrier, with a touch of caramel. DAMN good !!!!
**Grape Slush (BCF) 5.5% (12-11-25)** -- Right Out Of The Gate I had two big take-aways from this one. First, I was GLAD as hell that BCF did NOT taint this flavor with ANY COOLING !!!! The second, was it was EXACTLY what it claimed to be. If you wanted cooling, you could ADD it, and DAMN, this tasted exactly like a sweet, grape, almost candied syrup that you would pour over shredded/crushed ice, and enjoy on a hot summer day. EXACTLY. As previously mentioned, I stopped playing around with 3.5%, and just started testing at 5.5%, and this one POPPED at this weight. I don't think I've ever done this before, but I"m giving it a 10/10 on the strength scale. Grape, grape, and MO grape here people. I could try and list a hundred different comparisons to try and convey exactly what it tasted like, like grape bubbleyum, grape nehi, tart grape candies, but I think you get the idea. It was almost entirely artificial, with only hints of natural grape, sweetened higher as you would expect for a slush/ie syrup, and kissed off with just a bit of tart/sour on the finish.
The grape profile was actually kind of complex, despite being a one dimensional "artificial" grape, as it wandered around a bit, and sometimes it would make me think of grape bubble yumm (the grape, not the gum profile), other times a grape nehi soda, other times simply a great candied syrup. It didn't really keep you guessing what it was, but it kept you interested if that makes sense. Sweetness was a couple of clicks above mid-level, but never reached "cloyingly sweet' status, and it worked for the flavor profile. All in here, BCF nailed the flavor, as it tasted to me exactly as it should, and at times, it reminded me of how I responded to my first tests of Medicine Flower Blueberry. Blueberry explosion !!!! Well, hehe, this was a GRAPE explosion my friends. Not natural, not like the fruit per se, so if you want that, look elsewhere. If you want something to make a Grape Slushie, WITH, the ability to add cooling if you WANT to, get this flavor. I can't not release the Kraken again with this one.
**10/10**. Zero hesitation.
**Mango (BCF) 5.5% (12-14-25)** -- Out of the gate, I could tell this one was going to cover MORE of the Mango spectrum than most. My current go to has been Flavor Express Mango which excelled at the bright and punchy notes. Kind of syrupy, but never a full on "syrup-ed" flavor, nor candied. Sweetness was about 2 ticks above mid-level, and without any off-notes to complain about, it did have just a touch of mango funky-ness, that did help sell it even more.
At 5.5% it was damned full, and near the top of my Strength-O-Matic strength scale, and it landed at about a 9.2/10 on the strength scale. This mango was really a FULL spectrum flavor. Juicy, bright yellow and orange punchy notes, sparkly high end notes, and even more of the mid, and mid-dark lower notes to fully round it out. Syrup notes, but not sickly sweet, and just a touch of funk. It was honestly, very hard to fault this one, or decide where it might NOT work out. About my only "ehhh" was a slight dry kick on the finish, but only on the finish, and very minor. Leaving this juicy one high at a
**9.2/10**.
**Peach (BCF) 5.5% (12-14-25)** -- Moving onto the Peach, and 2nd to last in this series from Bull City Flavors. At 5.5% this one presented more of a semi-vague yellow peach. I mean, it was actually a GREAT flavor, and had aspects of a juicy yellow peach, fairly natural, and with some nice syrup-d notes. It just didn't feel like it made it 100% of the way there. Throughout the tests, I kept getting the aforementioned notes, along with a light apricot, and if you can believe it, an almost red delicious apple. Now, hehe, this wasn't an apple flavor, but I did get some of that in the mix.
At 5.5% it was present, but not what I would call strong, and maybe an 8/10 on the strength scale. I didn't get any definitive "off-notes", but it still felt like it could use a little help getting across the full on peach finish line. With that said, I could see loads of uses for this one, but maybe not as the primary yellow peach driver. Very tasty, but not 100% of the way there. Leaving it squarely at an
**8.1/10**.
**Rich Vanilla (BCF) 5.5% (12-14-25)** -- Moving on to the LAST ONE in this series, and maybe the one I wanted to test the most (kinda). Right from the start, I could tell, this wasn't going to be a "regular" vanilla ride. I picked up on a few notes from this one, a Madagascar Vanilla, an interesting bakery undertone with caramel, and nutty-ness (??), some light spicy-ness, and a creamy carrier. WOW, talk about a complex flavor. The creamy undertone/carrier was a very interesting inclusion, and it stayed present, but below the main vanilla note, and helped bridge in the caramel, bakery, spicy notes. The nutty-ness was a guess, as it wandered around a bit to avoid complete isolation.
At 5.5% it was almost too damned good, and almost assaulted you with it's rich, creamy, vanilla. I would put it very high on the strength scale at this percentage, about a 9.7/10. It tasted very solidly in the Mada camp with it's darker notes, and slight spicy-ness. The amount of notes/nuances might sound like a lot, but as a whole they worked in concert, and presented as, well, a pretty Rich and Interesting Vanilla. I have to say, it had a lot more than I had expected it to. I could see a LOT of uses for this one, and honestly, I can't think of another flavor on my racks that it was like, and I've got a LOTTA racks, so that's saying something. No one wants to buy a flavor, only to dupe another one (or more), that they already have. You won't with this one. If you are in the mood for a hella surprising "vanilla" flavor, madagascar based, with light bakery, nutty, and spice notes, riding on a smooth creamery carrier, you might want to look at the BIG bottles for this one. Sweetness was about mid-level, and it worked here, and I could not find any off-notes, complaints, or hell, even any "wants" with this one.
I love it, when I can close out a series, especially a NEW series, with a banger, and that's exactly what happened her folks. Releasing the Kraken one final time in this new flavor line from BCF with a
**10/10**. I have quite a few "Vanilla-Head" friends, and I can't wait to hear what they think.
**Root Beer (BCF) 5.5% (12-10-25)** -- After @Lynda_Marie asked me I'd tested this one, I bumped it to the front of the line. I was curious to see what she tasted, but as always, I don't read ANY other reviews, before I complete mine. Let me start this by saying, if you love a traditional, old school, home made Root Beer, you should BUY this flavor. Period. Bull City Flavors really nailed this one. Before I get into the specifics, the thing that most impressed me, was that I could actually TASTE the individual ingredients, and they were in an almost perfect ratio. Right out of the gate you were slammed by a very good Wintergreen, followed directly by an almost as powerful anise/black licorice, and it finished with a somewhat creamy vanilla note, topped with JUST the right amount of cinnamon. Now, even though I could easily pick out those notes, they summed together into just a damn near perfect Root Beer.
At 5.5% it didn't taste like it was smashing the ceiling, and it was about a 9.9/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was about a tick above mid-level, and I, hehe, GAVE UP trying to find any complaints, wants, or issues with this one before I even finished the first tester. This one was SOO good, that it might have just knocked my current secret weapon [Tasty Puffs Rasta Rootbeer](https://tastypuff.com/product/rasta-rootbeer/) off of it's perch. I didn't get any overt "fizz", but it did have a little bite to it, that honestly, worked just as well. NOTHING was lacking in this flavor, and as you may have guessed, it's BBA (Big Bottle Approved). In closing, one of the other great things about this one, was it didn't present as a "generic" RB, or even a Fanta, or Shasta, but as an honest, Homemade, Old School Root Beer. Releasing the Kraken on this one folks. NO hesitation.
**10/10**. Can't wait to throw this in with some LB VIC !!!!
**Strawberry (BCF) 5.5% (12-12-25)** -- As the number of Strawberries on the market increases, I always wonder if the one I'm testing will be different, or unique in any way from all of the others I've tested. Luckily BCF made it easy on me with this one. It WAS fairly unique, and that's always GREAT for me when testing. It presented as a fairly "artificial" strawberry, but with some unexpected TWISTS. It was candied, but maybe almost more of a syrup, or syrup'd might be more accurate. Throughout the tests, I did keep getting some damned nice jammie notes, and some high end, sparkly notes. The initial on-rush was very full, and with some jammie notes, but the mid and finish morphed into a smoother strawberry. It actually proved to be fairly complex throughout my tests. I kept getting a light under tone that I had a hard time nailing down, and I think it was similar to a juicy white grape note. Very light, but still there, and worked very interestingly along with the SB notes.
At 5.5% it was full, and I'd rate it at about a 8.9/10 on the strength scale. No real complaints other than a slight dryness at the very end. I got brief, very slight natural notes, but overall it was 98% artificial. My first mixing thoughts were Strawberry Milks, SB Malted Milkshakes, etc., and it would power them very nicely. I think we can all agree that coming to market with a new and unique SB is hard, but BCF did it, with this one. If you're looking for a realistic natural, this one isn't for you, but it you are in the mood for a VERY good, unique, and complex artificial SB with some nice tart, and syrupy jammy notes, this one SHOULD be on your list. As a general rule, I don't mark down purely for artificial or natural for that matter, and it is/was a great SB. My only complaint would be the ever so slight dryness on the finish, but that was minor. Leaving this sticky sweet one very high at a
**9.6/10**.
Pick some up from Bull City Flavors:
www.bullcityflavors.com
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