Newb reviews. Where was that beaten path?

[amolson]

Hello all,

Where I'm coming from. Smoked analogs for about 20 years, more or less, often less. When I could afford them, I'd get a pack of European/UK/Premium sticks. Sobranie, Galoises (original, not filters), even original Camels and Lucky Strikes. I also smoked a pipe and just went back to it. Heavy English and Balkans mostly, but with the occasional oddball aromatic. Yeah, I like burning dirty socks.

So that said, when I looked at vapeing, the whole idea of sucking on a candy all day was not my thing. Then the 'boss', my wife, decided to quit smoking. She's still, I think, using Blu, blech. Not interested. But, I'd seen kids (college age) in my lab vapeing. Huh, well, not all of them can be candy freaks. So I did a little looking around.

And found all KINDS of information. Yeesh. Finally landed on Virgin Vapor's site. FLOWERS!!!! Ooooh, roses, violets, jasmine, where's the lavender ... ? (Annette is working on it.) So I ordered some with what I could figure out might be something to vape them in, maybe. But it was taking forever. Like HOURS!!! So well, students vapeing, maybe there's a B&M around here?

One right up the street! Ended up with a basic eGo rig and a bottle of EC Blends Fire and Ice. Never looked back. Still light up a bowl occasionally, but now I can really taste and smell it.

I like Latakia tobaccos and complex, rip your face off (in a nice way) flavors and twisted mint/spice weirdness and pure florals with all their peppery base goodness. There are probably not going to be a lot of fruits and sweets here. So as I hunt down the odd, unusual and downright weird of the vapeing world, I figured I'd post my discoveries off the beaten path.

Unless otherwise specified, I'm using a vv battery with a Kanger mini-Protank of some kind. Usually 6mg, sometimes 12, but as I'm a total newb, I really can't tell the difference except I don't get high when I chain vape the 6. That's why I'm leaving that stuff out unless there's a surprise. For me a throat hit is inhaling off a pipe, cigar or Galoises. Probably why I don't notice when it happens unless it's extreme. Same with price; if it's either way high or low, I'll mention it, but y'all know what the standard prices are.

To start out with, what I have so far.
EC Blends Fire and Ice. At the B&M I tried a number of ECBs more common vapes. This was the one that was the most acceptable. Cinnamon and mint isn't a favorite flavor of mine, but it certainly works. Got it at 12mg and if you inhale it straight to your lungs, well, lets just say if I've ever smoked a Galoises, it actually gets in spitting distance for hit. Wow! Ok, no, no stinky, no, don't want stinky. A great first vape and one I highly recommend if you're trying to avoid analogs. Straight up cinnamon and menthol, a little like the old Camel fire and ice cigarettes.

EC Blends Black and Gold. Honorable mention. They reminded me a very tiny bit of a Sobranie Black and Gold, albeit far simpler and sweeter. Still, it might be something to try if you like those.
(Note: EC Blends are amazingly good for the price. See margarita below for contrast. None of the ones I tried at the B&M were bad.)

Next B&M I found wasn't as good, but they were nice enough so I found something to add to the stash.
Fusion Vapor Krankberry Definitely berry candy in there with a bit of tang sometimes. Not over sweet and with occasional base earthy/herb notes under the berry. Just as a good berry should have and too many berry candy flavors miss. It's good, and not a tank buster, so it gets a place in the rotation.

Final B&M (30 miles away) had Namber juice. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Blueberry Violence - Blueberries and cinnamon. Real blueberries, not the candy type. Tart, a little musky, a little tannic which goes perfectly with the cinnamon, bringing out the woodsy, smokey taste of the bark. Even a little heat from the cinnamon, because there's very little sweet to this one. Almost an ADV. The only juice I've ever refilled a tank with.

Tom's Vanilla Peppermint - Oh, cool, vanilla and peppermint that's NOT candy. Or at least not modern candy. Imagine having stored a bunch of old fashioned candy canes in a jar with a few vanilla beans. The pepper of the mint and the chewy floral of a good vanilla bean go beautifully in this blend. This isn't $5 a gallon peppermint ice cream here. This is a granita with finely crushed peppermint and the yummy, creamy seeds of perfectly cured vanilla beans. Hold the dairy, thank goodness.

Rad and Plenty - Me and my black licorice. Love me some black licorice. And this is the old red and white candy without the calories. And like that old candy, it's not over sweet. Just a hit of sugar, like the candy coating, to keep it from biting too hard. Still bites though, nicely, like when your sweetie decides you've spend enough time on ECF and it's time for bed.

The Slenderman - Uh, oh, um, can tell why the description on this one is so weird. Probably the best way I could describe it is starfruit flavored. It has that same "I can't decide if I'm citrus, tropical or a berry" attitude. Very nice and light. Great summer vape, sitting on the porch, trying not to melt because you don't have AC. There might have been some mint in the same county as the juice, but I'm guessing there's actually a little grapefruit somewhere in this one's ancestry. It will give a little mint taste if used in very small quantities.

Then I got my first vapemail. It had some CE4 clearos I got for dirt cheap and since it was cheap, I thought I'd try their margarita.
MyFreedomSmokes.com - Margarita OMG. I've had some awful margaritas in my life, including bottom of the line tequila with lime flavored mixer and it wasn't this bad. It bites (at 18mg), is sweet and just nasty. Nevermind. There's a little lime to it, somewhere, I think from the standard flavor vats with a bit of zest bite/bitter occasionally, but ... gah. If there was any agave taste, I sure missed it. At least with a bad margarita beverage, the lousy tequila will numb your tongue before you get the second sip. There was no rescue from this one.

So now I'm waiting on my Djarum WTA from Aroma Ejuice. Never did let myself smoke cloves, so I wanted the best I could possibly find. I'll let you know how it is ...

 

[amolson]

Ok, Aroma Ejuice Djarum WTA

I like to break my own rules, so here goes. This stuff is bloody expensive. $1.20/ml, 10ml bottles only. That said, I really wanted to try a WTA. I'll probably also give their regular Djarum a try in comparison. It's like half the price.

But yeah, I like it. I like it lots. Growing up I knew lots of people who smoked clove cigarettes. Sure I thought about it, but I also knew clove oil was a major irritant. Putting it in my lungs seemed like a seriously Bad Idea (tm) so I never did more than occasionally steal a drag off someone else's.

But this is cloves without guilt. I can't say if it's because of the WTA, but I take a vape and put my PV down. Can't tell it from a lighter analog in any significant way and I've had analogs with less of a hit. The whole mouth and chest feel is incredibly similar. At least close enough with all the various random brands and styles I've ended up smoking over the years.

However, again I don't know if it's the WTA but it also gets me high. This is some serious stuff here. Well, I'm also toking it, not vaping it. Yeah, like I was Smoking. But it's sooooo good!

Yeah, it's really, really good. Now having only had a few puffs on a clove cigarette in my life, the last many years ago, I can't tell if it really is like a Djarum black. However, as a thing in and of itself, it's wonderful. It's all clove and smoke and cinnamon and cardamon and that funky hippy 60's flower child goodness followed by a really nice mellow buzz.

Just wish I had one of those low ohm massive power dildo mod things. I have my poor VV maxed at 11 watts and I bet it would rock much higher. This was one where the higher I pushed it, the tastier it got.

So, not for the faint of heart or wallet (or lacking in equipment) but a great vape. Now I'm going to go wander off and see if I have any tie-dye in my closet ... peace man

 

[amolson]

And now for something completely different, as I promised. I did something odd with the equipment this time as well. Instead of using one of my usual tanks and mods, I used one of the very cheap, obviously Chinese, almost disposable eGo knockoffs. You know, the kind that comes in hard plastic with a cardboard back? It does the job. If I find anything different, I'll post it, but I don't know that I will.

The reason for this is I ordered this whole package from Virgin Vapor before I knew much of anything at all about vaping. But the reason I'm passing it on, is with this little guy, you get a trial bottle of juice and it would probably be great for a present. "Hey, try this. I thought you'd like this flavor and it'll get you started." For $15, with a little bottle of VV's 'awesome sauce', what's to loose? Gas station disposables are more expensive if you figure in how long even a little bottle of real juice will last. It even comes with a charger and who can't use a spare one of those?

So, here goes.
Virgin Vapor - In Vino Veritas
It's not at all what I expected. This is what cognac dreams of being in some ideal alternate universe. What was that you said? You heard me, this is the distilled essence of what it is to be a dry white wine. It's the spirit and the intent of wine. Its the musky, floral, complexity of the Platonic ideal of white wine without the more plebeian shackles to which real wine is tethered to the earth.

My goodness this stuff is amazing. I can vape this for hours just trying to figure it out.

It's not sweet, it's not even really fruity, except in the sense that all fruit has this mystical joie de vivre waiting inside it to be brought out by the art of fermentation and/or distillation.

I keep trying to bite the clouds to get more of it. To figure it out and to wallow in it, just like an amazing wine or more, an amazing brandy/cognac.

THIS is what vaping is all about, I think. To take something and instead of just sticking that flavor in a vapor, instead to transform it into a vapor that reflects the art of the original flavor. Yum!!!

 

[LisaR]

I'm enjoying reading your reviews so far. You have quite a way with words! I hope to hear more!

(BTW, loved your description of In Vino Veritas. You'd be fun to go wine tasting with!)

 

[amolson]

First off, thank you Lisa. I like wine tasting. We have wine walks (crawls?) here where I live and I've sure been tempted sometimes. Maybe if I ever have any real money again. (However, there's this whiskey bar downtown I've been avoiding since I moved here. Much prefer whiskey.)

Now, on to the next Virgin Vapors flavor. I wasn't so very sure about this after ordering it. Some reviewers were a little meh and I've had really bad luck with tobacco flavors, but ...

Virgin Vapor - Dark Side of the Moon. This isn't your drug store's tobacco vape. And just like good tobacco, it's not a simple flavor. Definitely chocolate, but more of a dusky, smokey chocolate, which is really where the tobacco comes through. As a hint rather than a smack upside the hayud. And while this isn't a subtle blend, it still very much has what I'm learning to recognize as a master's touch. It has that complexity of flavor although it's not a top end unsweetened chocolate. But then I don't think it was meant to be. It's more approachable than that, like an old friend with benefits. And like that old friend, it's no size 4, thank goodness.

Every once in a while I think it's a little sweet, then the tobacco saves it. Yup, definitely a nice fun size 10 or 12.

It's also a total delight with the Djarum clone from Aroma with the album Dark Side of the Moon playing in the background.

Technicals: Do NOT turn the power up on this one. As low as your mod will go. I had it on 3.0 V with a 1.8 ohm CE4 and it got a little fried (this is a really cheap passthrough) until I moved it to my v3 at 6 W. Light and easy does it. Also, this stuff is incredibly thick, murky and dark. I'm thinking I'm not going to be putting it in any of my regular toppers until I get it its own head. (I'm doing my testing in cheapo CE4's so I don't have to worry about one flavor running into the next. Works and is probably closer to how most people will actually vape stuff, rather than dripping.) A bottom coil would be much better than the CE4 as well. But any tweaking is worth it.

Yeah, Dark Side of the Moon, Djarum Blacks, a little Floyd ... total trip. Need some Heavy Metal comics or Odd Bodkins to make it complete though. And a magic cookie wouldn't be amiss ...

 

[amolson]

"Now put down the PV and come review this thing."

"Do I have to?!"

Virgin Vapor - Blue Violet

Before I start, I have to admit I'm a serious violet candy junkie. The little white ones that come in a tin from the UK, Violet Crumble, you name it.

This totally blows them all away. It is a one trick pony, but boy is that pony nice. (Ye gads, I just ran out of battery on my v3! Love passthrough.) It's good to have the lung capacity of a whale. The only vape, smoke or other that I can't help but inhale all the way down. Even after 20+ years of analogs, I still go off the scale on lung capacity tests if I have no asthma going on.

And this is totally worth every last cc. Just to be able to slooooooowly draw it in, and in, and keep going, and oh, yes, every last note. The sweet floral fragrance on top, the slightly tart/herbal of the petal, the light traces of fresh almost mint that is violet and at last the peppery bite only flowers have. Only if you really, really draw it long and hard do you get the grape, berry center, but violets are like that. They're elusive, shy flowers in the wild only found by the most persistent.

There's absolutely no soap, perfume, or alcohol crud in this at its sweet spot. Even if it's not quite tuned in, the worst is a little soapy that's unavoidable with florals, but it doesn't last. I'm running at 9.5 W with a 1.5 ohm coil in a pt2 on a v3, fyi. It took a while to get there, but it was worth every vape. I'd say a VV or VW mod is a must on this one. It's very finicky.

As a note: at least in cooking, something like this is the hardest to pull off at the top level. It's relatively easy to make a killer chili. There are so many ingredients as long as you're close, good enough. However, to make a perfect roasted chicken, that's hard. This is the same kind of thing. It's relatively easy to make a vape with lots of flavors, but to get a single flavor down just right, particularly one that's inherently complex like violet has to be a bear. Great going Annette!

Now, if you don't like florals, this isn't going to float your boat. If you get it and discover it's not your style, give it to me.

 

[Nermal]

Sure would appreciate it if you try Aroma's clove without the WTA. A PM would be welcome in case I don't see the thread again.

 

[amolson]

Ordered and on the way, Normal. LOVE the sig line. That's me.

Thanks for reading!

 

[amolson]

Ok, today's flavor. Well, the first of today's flavors. I decided to try some more 'normal' flavors as well as my usual oddballs. Just because I'm inconsistent that way. So now for something completely normal.

Virgin Vapor - Orange Creamsicle
I was going a little crazy with samples from VV and had read Spinfuel's review, so I decided it was worth a shot. I like orange creamsicles a lot. Especially in the summer when it's hot and I'm in the mood for something sweet. A rare occurrence, but it does happen. That said, yup, this is a creamsicle. It's very much a creamsicle. It's a very good creamsicle. Uh, get the point?

It's most definitely not too sweet, not too tart and has a lovely true vanilla and cream finish. With just that little touch of sweet that the classic has instead of the sharper bite of the more updated orange and cream combinations. Now this isn't a 50 cent piece of orange colored sugar water with that nasty rubbery ice cream substitute, no. It's the real thing.

Without the drips, sticky accidents, or chewing on the stick. Ok, I almost miss chewing on the stick and there's almost a hint, somewhere in there, of stick. Might just be because the flavor is so true to the original my mind is creating the idea of a stick. Never was good with the stick and it'd probably be worse now that I have a mustache.

Which I suppose brings me to the point. This is a creamsicle for adults, where you can have your childhood treat without calories and without looking like, well, an eight year old, except they're usually better at these things than adults, having had more recent practice. It's a stealth orange creamsicle!

Whoda thunk it?

 

[firephly]

Love your reviews! Keep it up!

 

[amolson]

Hmmm, I had to think hard about this one. It's going to be a bit odd.

Virgin Vapor - White Cherry Crush
I'm getting a really weird vibe off this one, and I think it's because 1) I'm very new to vaping, 2) I'm still using stock equipment (particularly the stock rayon wick) and 3) my tastebuds are being really flaky. Sometimes, if I'm really, really careful and slow on the draw, I can taste most of this, but if I'm not, there are huge holes in it. Like the cherry part. And the tartness. Everything but the top note from the skin sweetness. I don't think it's the juice, although steeping it will probably help, but rather more a combination of the three above.

When I can get all of it, it's delish. Real cherry, not cherry flavoring, center note with the sweet, almost icing like top note found in white or golden cherries. As usual with VV, it's a complex symphony. And my ears are stopped up ... at random ... in frequency bands. It's quite frustrating. I think this one could be great, if I had better equipment AND tastebuds that didn't keep going on the fritz. You know what it's like when you get out of the swimming pool and have water in your ears. Then it moves and you can hear. Then it moves back and you can't. One ear, the other one, then they both pop and ... it's much better until you breathe. Then you can't hear a bleeping thing. Like that!

Which is why I'm writing this even though it's not completely a review of the juice itself. So, for what I can tell ... for those of you been doing it for a while and do have all the equipment, you'll probably love it if you love real cherries. This is NOT cherry flavoring or canned cherries with liquid. Even unsweetened, they're not the same. These are white or Queen Anne cherries like you would find at a road side stand on a warm, sunny day in the the Pacific Northwet. (And those of you who live there know jut how rare that is!) BUT, if you're a newb, I'd say pass on this for a while. I don't think I'd even want to try it in a cart. Chances are you'd be wasting your money.

Now a top coil, or even a double bottom coil might be better, maybe. I had a pt3 double coil head that died on me after like 2 uses. It's now reading 0.7 ohms. Hrmph. So bottom line, great flavor when I can find it, but for newbs or people with minimal equipment, you might want to put the money aside and wait.

That's what I'm going to do. Stash it for a while and then come back to it with cotton wicks and maybe even an RBA or dripper. It could be awesome, but like trying to find your glasses when you don't have your glasses on, it's a little crazy making as a newb. I want to love it, but I can't always find it!

 

[amolson]

Now back to the more general run of my usual favorites.

Virgin Vapor - Night Blooming Jasime
Another wonderful floral. I wasn't quite sure about this one, as I've never eaten jasmine except with other things. But as usual, Annette got it spot on. It's sitting on the porch, on a warm summer night in San Diego, with the luscious fragrance of night blooming jasmine twining around the old stucco and adobe. It's stars twinkling above in the humid, soft, gentle air.

Notice I'm not talking flavor. What VV managed to do, was get something that actually isn't all that tasty, to taste like it smells. You know how so many things smell fantastic and then you bite into them and they're soapy or floral or downright bitter. At this strength, jasmine shouldn't be this deft. And it is, it is the idea of jasmine and what it should taste like if it tasted like it smelled.

Even more, jasmine is incredibly sweet in the air, and there's no tongue sweetness at all. Now how DID she do that? The tongue flavor is that classic floral almost peppery (but not) herbal lightness. If you don't do florals or eat flowers, the culinary terms don't really fit. It's like trying to describe a rainbow in terms of turnips.

Technical: Again, I had to put this on my v3. Even the Spinner was rude to it. The flavor is so light, almost crystalline, the spinner just didn't cut it. I also don't know if I'd drip it. It's really intense in a protank single coil and the added intensity of the dripper might mangle it badly. And take it easy with the power. I ended up with 7.5 W on a 1.8 ohm coil. If you push it, it tastes like soap and feels like inhaling it, too. Blech!

It is generally known that fragrance is the first trigger for memory. This is a memory in a bottle. The perfect vape for enjoying a summer evening after a lazy afternoon on the boardwalk in Ocean Beach. Sand between your toes, ocean breeze in your hair (or in my case what's left of my hair), your sweetie on your arm. Ahhh, paradise, I remember thee well.

 

[amolson]

Mmmmmmm ...

And as usual, I can't leave anything alone. Sorry Annette, if you're reading this. I sorta got creative ...

Virgin Vapor - Death by Chocolate/Hazelnut
Ok, I smelled the hazelnut, and the chocolate, and they both smelled like hazelnut and chocolate, respectively. No real surprises there. Very good hazelnut and chocolate, so ... but while I like both of those, they get boring. Sure a good chocolate is great, as is a hazelnut, but what I really like is hazelnut and chocolate together.

So I did. And boy is it good. The ultimate adult Reeses. Ultra dark chocolate and rich hazelnut, sans calories. Especially since neither the chocolate or the hazelnut seem to have any more sweet to them than they need. It's almost buttery, with a rich unctuous vapor that twines around a dark center. I want to say bitter, but most people cringe at that. It's the bitter of the best chocolate, that doesn't claw at your throat but rather acts as a dusky seduction to things better kept away from the light.

And amazingly, the chocolate marries the hazelnut and plays with it, teasing the normally sweet nuttiness into a complex dance. It's cafe au lait without the coffee or the cream. But the same marriage of sweet, rich and bitter plays with the senses and turns Virgin's normally excellent juices into a filigree of light and dark.

Technicals: This one can wander through quite a range of power settings and I'm not entirely sure if it has a particular 'best wattage'. You vape it low, and the hazelnut shines. The run it up, it gets more chocolate. This is one I'd love to see a mod where you could curve the voltage. (Something no one has created yet, unfortunately.) Myself, I like it a little on the low side, but I'll turn it up some occasionally to catch the darker notes. I mixed these half and half by putting equal amounts in a CE4 and shaking it. Note, unlike Dark Side of the Moon, both of these flavors are clear so I don't expect any problems with coils or wicks getting all gunked up..

I just couldn't leave well enough alone. The smell of the hazelnut was great, the smell of the chocolate was great, but wow are these two fantastic together. Even better, depending on the wattage/voltage, you can change which flavor predominates. To paraphrase an old commercial, "Hazelnut. Chocolate. Hazelnut! Chocolate! ***WHAM!!!*** Hey, you got hazelnut in my chocolate. Well, you got chocolate in my hazelnut. <yummmmm> Two great tastes that taste great together!"

 

[amolson]

Sure would appreciate it if you try Aroma's clove without the WTA. A PM would be welcome in case I don't see the thread again.

By request.

I have to give Aroma a definite 1st place on, "Wow that's FAST!!!" for their shipping. Ok, they're a little more expensive on the ship, but 2 days, max, cart to door. Ok, I'll forgive them for the extra cost on shipping. ($6 compared to the more usual $3ish)

Now I will admit I just threw this in my new atomizer. But then everything I'm doing here is new. This is a thread for new vapers. That's the point. So a head's up. There was a difference, but it was like the difference between my Spinner with a CE4 and my VV3 with a mini-protank, not something everyone will notice and nothing that significantly changed the actual flavor profile overall.

That said, side by side, on taste, you might be able to determine which is the WTA and which is the regular. Maybe. If you really knew flavoring and food and had spent years studying food. I'm close, having been married to or been in relationships with professional chefs for over 20 years. Most people, probably not. Especially not new vapers. It's incredibly subtle.

And where it lies is in the body, if this were a wine. The WTA is just a little bit more robust, in the sense that it's a slight bit more chewy and has a bit more of lingering finish. It's like the difference between Throwback Pepsi and Modern Pepsi. If you can sense the difference there, then you might be able to catch it here. It's a slight variance in the mouth feel, primarily.

That said, yes, the WTA will get you a LOT more high than the regular. If you're chain vaping like a chimney, love cloves and want to slow down the vaping, then try the WTA. If you're fine with how fast you're vaping or don't want the additional hit, stick with the regular. It's far cheaper and actually, I'd say, easier to vape.

Myself, I don't think I'll get another WTA after comparing the two. However, for a brand new vaper who has a heavy analog habit (like 2 PAD or more) and likes clove cigarettes, the WTA might be a good transition to nicotine only vapes. I wouldn't stick with it though. It's just too strong. I nearly couldn't finish the mini-Protank 2 full of it. And I smoked non-filters. It's that strong, I think because of the combination of the clove and the WTA.

So I'd say it's a mixed bag between the two. If you really want your fix or can't vape for long periods of time, then the WTA might be a good addition to your repertoire. Especially as a dripper. Do a few drops and you'll be pretty set, just like doing an analog. I'll be sticking to my atty when I try Devil Dogs as well, just because of the 'overload factor'. A cigar or pipe is great, but more than 30-45 minutes worth gets to me.

But if you just love clove cigarettes and want the taste without the damage, stick with the regular. Its cheaper, easier to vape and doesn't try to hump your leg like a New Orleans summer.

 

[amolson]

A real quickie here. Yeah, right, like that's going to happen. I do love to hear myself chatter on.

I've heard all kinds of things about ordering from Alice in Vapeland and Ahlusions. Um, no problems here. Just saying is all ... one rat research and all that.

But neither one gave me any problems. For Ahlusions, I never even noticed they had any time restrictions on their ordering and AiV, I just woke up when they said the portal would open and ordered what I wanted.

It wasn't like trying to get passes for Comic Con San Diego or anything like that.

 

[amolson]

You know, while I love VV, I'm about ready for something different. They're all great, don't get me wrong, but like eating one restaurant's food all the time, even a great restaurant, the flavor profile starts getting a little repetitive.

That said, I think this will be the last VV for a while. I only have two of their left I haven't done more than use an atty on and for me that's not enough to really grok a flavor.

Virgin Vapor - Kona Velvet Milkshake
Now this is a complete departure for me, as I'm not a coffee drinker, don't like coffee flavor, can't stand the smell of coffee, but love white Russians. Ok, and I needed another flavor to fill out the sampler trio.

And it's pretty darn good, if not a white Russian. What I'd say it is, however, is the absolute perfect substitute for the "2,000 calorie an ounce triple cream, latte, espresso with extra caramel with whipped cream on top death to any diet or budget in a cup" from the local coffee shop. Sure, there's coffee in there somewhere, but mostly to prop up all the other stuff. It's more as if someone super caramelized the caramel, instead of a blond caramel, a dark, nutty brown caramel or the really good crunchy caramel bits you sometimes find on the edge of flan.

Yes, to me, coffee always tastes burned (I think I'm missing the coffee gene), however this just escapes hitting my "coffee, blech" button the same way white Russians do. It's just not enough coffee. Which for those of you coffee lovers out there, be aware of. It's more of a coffee note than a coffee vape. The buttery, velvet, creamy richness is worth every last hint of coffee.

Now if the folks at VV were to make this with Death By Chocolate instead of their Kona coffee, I'd be in vapevana. I may go recommend that ... excuse me folks.

 

[amolson]

Now a completely normal juice from that place pretty much everyone here knows and loves (or loves to hate), Mt. Baker Vapor.

First, however, a PSA. I love getting deliveries earlier than expected. Even the Post Awful said it shouldn't get here until Friday. Now why Friday when I could go pick it up faster, I'd love to know, but there you have it. Ordered on Sunday and got here on Wednesday, despite the USPS saying it was expected on Friday. Even better, I asked for this flavor as a sample and got it. Cool beans! Way to go MBV. Maybe I won't be mixing my own.

Mt. Baker Vapor - Cherry Limeade
Yup, that's what this is. No surprises, no frills, tastes like Sonic's cherry limeade. Maybe a little light on the taste, but I'm using a Protank II on a Spinner. Get real. It's not going to be smack you in the face flavor on a little bitty single coil rig like that. Best cranked to the max. It's still a little meh, but with Flavor West flavoring, you're not going to get complexity or really deep flavors. (This will probably be the first flavor I throw in the new Kayfun clone I have coming, however. I just want to see if I can get it to really pop.)

And that's just fine by me right now. I was seriously jonesing for something a) not minty, b) tasty and c) relaxing. Big complex flavors aren't relaxing to me, they're interesting and lovely and tasty, but not for all the time. I mean I love me a big ol' local bred, raised, finished and aged rib eye steak. We have some of the best beef in the world here. But more often I want, well, Sonic's. That's what this is, a good ol' fashioned Amurrikan drive-in flavored soda, sans calories.

Afterward: I pretty much agree with everyone on MBV at least from this one rat under study. It's plain jane, normal flavored, no surprises ejuice. No problem with that in my not at all humble opinion.

 

[amolson]

Yeah, I'm new. I'm trying all the flavors.

Mt. Baker Vapor - Blood Orange
Figured I'd try this one because it would be an easy DIY. And it would be. It's Flavor West with all the usual stuff to make it ejuice. Tastes like a decent orange candy.

There just isn't a lot to say. Which describes this juice. Not bad, but nothing really worth writing about.

 

[amolson]

Hmmm, going through them at a pretty good clip today. Not a good sign.

Mt Baker Vapor - Demon Energy
Energy? Where? I'm afraid I'm going to have to put this one down as tired. Ok, maybe energy if you're a kid eating sugar frosted sugar bombs cereal. Ok, it's not that bad. It doesn't have any soap or perfume notes, no nasty aftertastes, just not a lot of anything. I mean yeah, it'll give you nicotine, but that's about it. Might be a good vape to lighten/sweeten something you find a bit too strong or sour.

I think if I didn't like The Slenderman from Namber so much, I wouldn't be so down on this one. They're very much in the same category of light, semi-citrus with a bit of melon, maybe grapefruit/mint, but the MBV is like trying to drink over sweetened Wyler's after a master mixologist's take on the same flavor palette. It just falls flat on its face ... and then falls asleep. So much for energy.

 

[amolson]

Got my Ahlusions order! Very nicely packed. Incredible attention to detail with everything just so. Can tell the guy running this shop is a Marine. No bells or whistles, just perfect.

Also surprisingly fast. Ordered last Thursday, so one week. And considering it had to go most of the way across the country and almost everything I ordered was on their 3-5 day delay list. I think they say 3-5 days as a worst case, no surprise there. So, I'm going to do these in no particular order. What a surprise ... not!

Technicals, since I don't want to interrupt my discussion of the juice in the middle. Used my VV3 with a Kanger mini-pt2, nothing fancy but it will eat plastic, so be warned. On power, um, whatever you feel like. At low power, it's an airy, delicate little wisp of a vape, at max (11W on mine) it's a big, bold but still somehow still incredibly deft vape. This would be a great one on a twist, if they ever made one with flat voltage. I don't think I'd put it on a PWM device if you can taste the difference, however. It would get all fuzzy around the edges. And this is not a fuzzy vape in any way. For my own tastes, I also like to vape it a little on the lower side. which seems to bring out the herbal a bit more. But then I change my mind and crank it up, so be creative.

Ahlusion - Ahlusion's Blue Fairy
Let go. Let go! Come on, I need both hands for this one. Seem to have gotten my VV3 attached to my hand. Good, there we go. Now I can type. From the name, it's pretty obvious this is Ahlusion's take on La Fee Verte or absinthe. And boy did they hit the idea of absinthe without the massive kick or overwhelming bite of the original.

Now for those who have never had or even know what the fuss is all about, a little background. I've known people who've had Czech absinthe (generally considered one of the worst) and people who've tried the good stuff. Generally, it's an insanely strong (alcohol wise) spirit (not a liqueur, it should have no added sugar) flavored with anise, grand wormwood and 'secret herbs and spices' like many traditional spirits and liqueurs. The closest common spirit available in the US is Bacardi 151 and some traditional absinthe was nearly as strong. This was great for extracting the flavors but hard on the liver. It got a bad reputation and was banned early in the 20th century in most of Western Europe and the United States. However, it is possible to buy it again in many places and people are restoring as many of the old recipes as possible, without the toxic additives that were probably responsible for many of the effects commonly attributed to absinthe.

Now what in the blazes does this have to do with an eJuice? Well, often enough when people try to make an absinthe flavor they dump in a ton of anise and call it good. That's not what Ahlusions' did. From what I know of the original and what people have said, Ahlusions took the idea and ran with it. Not a bad thing with something that varies so incredibly in the wild. Regular absinthe, as found around the world, varies from an anise flavored rotgut that will make even the most desperate alkie puke to $250+ a bottle creations that can create hallucinations through sheer bliss. It's not one thing.

And that, I think, is where Ahlusions nailed it. Instead of trying to copy something that has no standard, they created an anise based ejuice with the herbal, slightly citrus, maybe a little tiny bit of bitter but most of all entrancing idea of absinthe. Each vape changes, but not in the normal way of 'this note, that note, this other note' but rather a very complex interaction of all its flavors. It's an ephemeral, delicate creature half hidden in the woods but every glimpse gives you another sense of the whole. Not that it's flavorless, but rather it's not grabbing onto your tongue with claws of anise.

I don't even know if I'd call it licorice. Certainly anise has a lot of licorice, but it's not the same. In the same way cherry Twizzlers aren't cherry. Now Namber's Rad and Plenty is licorice, and a very nice one. This is more herbal, nutty, even a little bite at the finish in the way of green, growing things.

Which may well be part of how the fee verte got her name as well as the color. Imagine being able to vape a high Alpine meadow with the anise as the lacy icy clouds far over head and the cool breeze against your face. It's light in the sense of it being something that illuminates the dark. Well done. Oh very well done!