When I first started out (a short couple weeks ago) I was looking for the tobacco taste as well. I've found that it's the familiar throat hit and the act of inhaling that takes the place of an analog. I think many find that any flavor that you like works good. Well..maybe not bacon.
Thanx everyone for all your input and advice. I guess when i think about it, you're right....it's the familiar throat hit that concerns me most. I smoke marlboro reds because of the harder throat hit or "burn" you get from inhaling, then of course it's the brand i'm used to so other blends, even if they are on the harsher side, don't do it for me, though, if i have no choice and jonesing, i will smoke anything but menthols. menthols are gross to me and make me want to puke. On occasion (when i could get them from friends who traveled to cuba), i used to smoke these unfiltered cigarettes from cuba that i really liked but they weren't the kind of analog you could smoke a lot since they were super strong....took a toll on my lungs if i smoked too many. They just had a sort of "purer" tabacco taste with a hint of sweetness to it....went really well with my morning espresso. i imagine that they don't put the tons of chemicals we get in our analogs in the u.s due to cost.
Anyway...i digress. i just ordered the Ego and a bunch of small bottles of juice. i got some from freedom smoke and got their marlboro flavor with 2 different nic levels and pg/vg mix. i also got their wyatt earp (i think it's called), a capuccino flavor, a cuban blend, a chocolate and a caramel....so i guess it'll just be a matter of trial and error and finding out what nic level, flavor, and pg/vg mix i like best.
i feel motivated to really make this work, (especially due to the $10/pk cost in my area), so i'll try my best to be patient and just keep trying till i find the right juice. I imagine it's also a matter of aclammating ones' taste to something different such as when i switched from coke to coke zero (which has zero calories)...now that i replaced coke for coke zero, i actually prefer it to regular coke....same goes for switching from sugar to equal in my coffee, which at first i didn't like. My main thing is that i don't want to go through the crazy withdrawals like i did even when on the patch or nic gum that i've tried in the past....it's also the whole inhaling/exhaling mouth thing along with the throat hit. If i could successfully get those 3 combos satisfied, then i think i would be willing to put up with the flavor "growing pains" that may come with this transition. i recently tried quitting (which lasted a month 1/2) and was thrilled with the fact that my apt. and i no longer smelled like a filthy ashtray, which, of course, i didn't notice while smoking.
i'm taking the plunge and looking forward to try this alternative. Aside from the health aspect, it just kills me to think of the amount of money i've wasted and still waste on this addiction. Between my boyfriend and i, we spend more on analogs than we do on our rent! Insane!