This is written mainly for Cigar Smokers or Pipe Smokers that for whatever reason might be interested in Personal Vaporizers (PVs aka E-Cigs, although I'm not a particular fan of the term "e-cig".)
I suppose first I'll tell you that I am a pretty well seasoned cigar smoker. I do not nor have not smoke(d) cigarettes regularly, although I did enjoy a rather occasional Camel or Turkish blend cigarette. I looooove cigars though. I typically smoke about 2-3 sticks a day. Been doing so for quite some time and my humidors are always stocked and aging specific sticks. My wife wanted me to kick the habit, or at the very least cut back due to having the kids around. I think she was also getting tired of the ash and after-odor. Anyway she bought me a Vaporzone Pro Starter kit for me and 3 e-liquid flavors from the same vendor. Specifically, these flavors were Cuban Cigar, Swisha (a simulation of hookah tobacco), and Bourbon.
Now, obviously I was (and still am to a certain degree) skeptical. The subtle nuances of a really good cigar are amazing if you are into that kind of thing, and I have a really hard time believing that can be artificially reproduced. That being said, I gave it a go anyway, as my wife brought up an interesting point...I often compliment and describe my stogies as having particular flavor profiles such as nutty or espresso, for example an Alec Bradley Black Market having a creamy texture with essence of cocoa and a subtle hint of cherry with delicate tobaccos. She pointed out that these "flavors" can be purchased directly and asked what would be the difference? Well, I was kind of stumped and didn't want to sound like a pompous ... so I decided to find out what exactly the differences were so I could argue the topic better.
Well after experimenting a little bit, and browsing these forums as I did so, I thought I would share these experiences so anyone else in a similar boat would hopefully have a reference of some sorts. I am not going to give full reviews on the e-liquids I have tried, as I am a beginner myself and probably wouldn't be able to do a great job and such reviews are kind of beyond the scope of this anyway.
I can tell you though that the Cuban Cigar e-liquid from Vaporzone doesn't taste remotely like a Cohiba. Not even a Red Dot. Not even any cigar for that matter. It tastes artificial and almost grape like. So that was strike number one, and honestly almost made we walk away completely. I was pretty turned off.
However I stayed my course and tried the Bourbon next. To be honest I was surprisingly impressed. It didn't really capture the depth of a good Bourbon but it tasted like a generic Bourbon would, although not quite as pronounced...kind of vapory, if that doesn't sound ironic.
At any rate I felt confident trying the last one and took a few pulls from the Swisha. It tasted pretty good. Something I could definitely enjoy, but not very complex, but a stronger flavor than the bourbon...but compared to my stogies...still quite light.
I should mention that I only had one flavor shot per Bottle of E-Liquid I tried. (Vaporzone apparently lets you add up to 3 shots.) If you really enjoy your cigars, I'd probably recommend upping the flavor shot to 2, although do so at your own risk as I haven't tried this yet but if I purchases from Vaporzone again I certainly plan to.
I also went for 36mg Nicotine strength using the logic that a cigar smoking session would be about on par with this level. In all honesty I'm not entirely sure if the nicotine absorption is the same, but I actually plan to step down a notch as the level was just a little bit much, but not terribly so. If you are into Bold or Full Flavor stogies, it's pretty close and while I do enjoy Fulls, they don't really do it for me as an everyday smoke. This might be an area that you have to play with, but I would definitely see it as a pro in favor of vaping. If there's a flavor you like then you can adjust the strength to simulate a mild, med, or full depending on your personal preference when you sit down to puff. It would obviously require multiple bottles of the same flavor with varying nicotine strengths, but these bottles are about on par with the cost of a single or in same cases a couple decent stogie(s), but you could probably get around 40 to 60 sessions out of a single bottle (30ml) depending on the shape and size stogie you are attempting to emulate.
As far as "smokability", I found the vapor experience to be fairly close to the smoking experience. Personally I think I would prefer much more and thicker vapor than what the Vaporzone Pro seems to offer, but there might be multiple other factors involved that I need to do more research on. I don't inhale, but I am an avid retrohaler and the vapor can definitely stand up to the task, even allowing some extra flavor characteristics to kick in as you would expect. The experience even without inhaling was satisfying (although not so much with the Cuban Cigar flavor).
I would also enjoy a much more complex flavor profile of the e-liquids. The ones I have are a nice novelty, but seem rather simple compared to what my palette is used to. I have had some people on these forums recommend natural extracts in e-liquid form, which I most definitely plan to investigate.
All in all I would compare my entire experience to having a good cigar at about a 6.5 out of 10. I have certainly had worse cigars, but I think most aficionados would get bored with the flavors I tried pretty quick, as I know I did and found myself swapping between Bourbon and Swisha on the fly to try to add a bit more to the session. Despite it having the reputation for being a more "advanced" technique for vaping, I would suggest a drip set up pretty much from the get go to come close to the real experience with changing flavors, although with other more natural extract blends this might be a non-issue using a cartomizer or a tank setup, I really can't say.
So, to break it down....
Pros
This will pretty much let you home in on just about any flavor you want to experience
You can, for the most part, dial in on your nicotine preference on the fly
The vapor seems like it can emulate actual smoke fairly well, but you'll likely desire something capable of producing rich & thick clouds from the get go
Retrohaling works as it should
Some liquids still offer an aroma when vaped, although it doesn't seem to be nearly as strong.
Cons
The flavors I tried were simple, and often sweet, requiring to change liquids on the fly to get a well rounded satisfied "smoke".
The vapor doesn't have much bite, if you enjoy a decent bite. Although the retrohale did give a nice nasal bite on some liquids, though likely from the high nicotine i used. This could also be flavor dependent.
I'll revisit this later on after I get a chance to explore more options. Hopefully this helps!
I suppose first I'll tell you that I am a pretty well seasoned cigar smoker. I do not nor have not smoke(d) cigarettes regularly, although I did enjoy a rather occasional Camel or Turkish blend cigarette. I looooove cigars though. I typically smoke about 2-3 sticks a day. Been doing so for quite some time and my humidors are always stocked and aging specific sticks. My wife wanted me to kick the habit, or at the very least cut back due to having the kids around. I think she was also getting tired of the ash and after-odor. Anyway she bought me a Vaporzone Pro Starter kit for me and 3 e-liquid flavors from the same vendor. Specifically, these flavors were Cuban Cigar, Swisha (a simulation of hookah tobacco), and Bourbon.
Now, obviously I was (and still am to a certain degree) skeptical. The subtle nuances of a really good cigar are amazing if you are into that kind of thing, and I have a really hard time believing that can be artificially reproduced. That being said, I gave it a go anyway, as my wife brought up an interesting point...I often compliment and describe my stogies as having particular flavor profiles such as nutty or espresso, for example an Alec Bradley Black Market having a creamy texture with essence of cocoa and a subtle hint of cherry with delicate tobaccos. She pointed out that these "flavors" can be purchased directly and asked what would be the difference? Well, I was kind of stumped and didn't want to sound like a pompous ... so I decided to find out what exactly the differences were so I could argue the topic better.
Well after experimenting a little bit, and browsing these forums as I did so, I thought I would share these experiences so anyone else in a similar boat would hopefully have a reference of some sorts. I am not going to give full reviews on the e-liquids I have tried, as I am a beginner myself and probably wouldn't be able to do a great job and such reviews are kind of beyond the scope of this anyway.
I can tell you though that the Cuban Cigar e-liquid from Vaporzone doesn't taste remotely like a Cohiba. Not even a Red Dot. Not even any cigar for that matter. It tastes artificial and almost grape like. So that was strike number one, and honestly almost made we walk away completely. I was pretty turned off.
However I stayed my course and tried the Bourbon next. To be honest I was surprisingly impressed. It didn't really capture the depth of a good Bourbon but it tasted like a generic Bourbon would, although not quite as pronounced...kind of vapory, if that doesn't sound ironic.
At any rate I felt confident trying the last one and took a few pulls from the Swisha. It tasted pretty good. Something I could definitely enjoy, but not very complex, but a stronger flavor than the bourbon...but compared to my stogies...still quite light.
I should mention that I only had one flavor shot per Bottle of E-Liquid I tried. (Vaporzone apparently lets you add up to 3 shots.) If you really enjoy your cigars, I'd probably recommend upping the flavor shot to 2, although do so at your own risk as I haven't tried this yet but if I purchases from Vaporzone again I certainly plan to.
I also went for 36mg Nicotine strength using the logic that a cigar smoking session would be about on par with this level. In all honesty I'm not entirely sure if the nicotine absorption is the same, but I actually plan to step down a notch as the level was just a little bit much, but not terribly so. If you are into Bold or Full Flavor stogies, it's pretty close and while I do enjoy Fulls, they don't really do it for me as an everyday smoke. This might be an area that you have to play with, but I would definitely see it as a pro in favor of vaping. If there's a flavor you like then you can adjust the strength to simulate a mild, med, or full depending on your personal preference when you sit down to puff. It would obviously require multiple bottles of the same flavor with varying nicotine strengths, but these bottles are about on par with the cost of a single or in same cases a couple decent stogie(s), but you could probably get around 40 to 60 sessions out of a single bottle (30ml) depending on the shape and size stogie you are attempting to emulate.
As far as "smokability", I found the vapor experience to be fairly close to the smoking experience. Personally I think I would prefer much more and thicker vapor than what the Vaporzone Pro seems to offer, but there might be multiple other factors involved that I need to do more research on. I don't inhale, but I am an avid retrohaler and the vapor can definitely stand up to the task, even allowing some extra flavor characteristics to kick in as you would expect. The experience even without inhaling was satisfying (although not so much with the Cuban Cigar flavor).
I would also enjoy a much more complex flavor profile of the e-liquids. The ones I have are a nice novelty, but seem rather simple compared to what my palette is used to. I have had some people on these forums recommend natural extracts in e-liquid form, which I most definitely plan to investigate.
All in all I would compare my entire experience to having a good cigar at about a 6.5 out of 10. I have certainly had worse cigars, but I think most aficionados would get bored with the flavors I tried pretty quick, as I know I did and found myself swapping between Bourbon and Swisha on the fly to try to add a bit more to the session. Despite it having the reputation for being a more "advanced" technique for vaping, I would suggest a drip set up pretty much from the get go to come close to the real experience with changing flavors, although with other more natural extract blends this might be a non-issue using a cartomizer or a tank setup, I really can't say.
So, to break it down....
Pros
This will pretty much let you home in on just about any flavor you want to experience
You can, for the most part, dial in on your nicotine preference on the fly
The vapor seems like it can emulate actual smoke fairly well, but you'll likely desire something capable of producing rich & thick clouds from the get go
Retrohaling works as it should
Some liquids still offer an aroma when vaped, although it doesn't seem to be nearly as strong.
Cons
The flavors I tried were simple, and often sweet, requiring to change liquids on the fly to get a well rounded satisfied "smoke".
The vapor doesn't have much bite, if you enjoy a decent bite. Although the retrohale did give a nice nasal bite on some liquids, though likely from the high nicotine i used. This could also be flavor dependent.
I'll revisit this later on after I get a chance to explore more options. Hopefully this helps!
)
