About to make my first batch of E-Liquid - What should I make first?

[locomikey5150]

Dear ECF Friends,

I'm all set to get started on my first batch of DIY e-liquid ever, and I'm looking for a little input on what to start with. I've done my homework and am confident on the safety practices I'll need to employ, but I'm feeling very indecisive on what to make first since I don't want to make something I'll regret, considering steep time and my limited supplies. I am going to start with just single flavors before diving into complex recipes, and have everything I need to get rolling. I plan on making 5ml batches to start, and in case it makes a difference to flavor percentages, I'm shooting for 40/60 (pg/vg) at 6mg nicotine (think I have ratios dialed in with the help of an online calculator, but am definitely open to suggestions). I have PG, VG, 100mg nicotine base (PG), 1,3,&5ml syringes (and blunt tipped needles), a 50ml graduated cylinder (don't think I'll need this yet due to small batches), 2 empty 15mL bottles, along with all the safety equipment.

I had a limited budget and only have a couple of available bottles to put the juice into at this point, so what would you choose with the following flavors (along with recommended %; not sure if I should go with what's listed on their respective websites):

Arbuz (watermelon) - IWA
Exotic (fruits) - IWA
Sliwka (plum) - IWA
Bahraini Apple Gold - IWA Wera Garden
White Grape - FA
Cheesecake - Hangsen (wondering if I screwed up getting this one, as I've read folks here saying it tastes like popcorn, ugh)


Along these lines, any thoughts on what flavors to get next that go well on their own? I didn't get any sweeteners or additives either, and I'm wondering if there are any you'd recommend or if they're overkill for a newbie.

Thanks in advance for your time/help!

 

[dannyv45]

The choice of what to start with is completely up to you but you are smart to make single individual flavors to start with. A suggestion would be to make 3, 10ml test batches of each flavor and start with the average recommended amount. I see your using inawera which seems that everyone likes to measure in drops so an example would be

If the recommended amount of Exotic (fruits) - IWA was 7 drops then do one batch at 6 drops the next at 7 drops and the last at 8 drops. Then taste, steep then taste again. You will quickly find out which is close to what you want and be able to adjust up or down from there.

 

[JimzDogz]

When I started mixing DIY this chart helped a lot. The chart gave me a good starting point, I made adjustments from there. This chart is for Flavourart flavors, but I still use it as a rule of thumb when using flavors for a first time. The charts for other flavor manufacturers are listed across the top, just click to see those.. The numbers in the yellow column is an average that the testers used.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr..._hQ6Fu8HdEwwR2dLRUJlVjlabEN1NG1ucktuUVE&gid=0

 

[locomikey5150]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.

dannyv45 - I'll definitely try the side by side comparison. You're actually a big factor in why I went with so much Inawera to begin with. You've been very helpful in my DIY quest and I appreciate it.

JimzDogs - That's a nice spreadsheet and I'm going to add it to my bag of tricks.