Adding Pure Grain Alcohol

[Todd Geer]

So if the flavors themselves (verified by an email to/from FlavorArt rep) contain some kind of alcohol, and the purpose is to help them "infiltrate" into the base, does it make sense to add even more PGA when concocting to speed up the "steep" time?

Anyone every tried this?

I've put some PGA in one or two at most just to dilute and make thinner, but not sure that did anything.

I know that aging is the way to go, period. But - recent purchase direct from a manufacturer had them to me within about 6 days of receiving an ingredient he was missing, suggesting that 2 to 3 weeks (it's a caramel/custard/vanilla thing) wasn't necessary. Because of some other "steeping" or "infiltrating" or "emulsifying" process?

I wish I could take a peek into the big guys' mixing/steeping processes

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Why do you want to add alcohol if the flavoring has it already?

 

[Todd Geer]

Figured they put in minimal amounts from the source to keep the strength up, so adding more would be what they might do if they didn't care about the concentration.

And if left open a few times overnight, the alcohol might evaporate out leaving just the flavor.

I wouldn't want to thin it out too much of course, so it would be my hope that the alcohol would speed up the combining/steeping/joining of molecules then just wisp away...

 

[Fredman1]

As I understand it....They don't "add" the alcohol. Its used as an extraction medium to get the purer flavour notes out. The alcohol is evaporated after the process. Traces may remain...
I see absolutely no reason to add alcohol when mixing flavours.

 

[IDJoel]

My understanding is alcohol is only a solvant/emulsifier allowing two incompatible ingredients to remain blended. Without it; they would tend to separate. Once the concentrate is combined with PG, and VG, it no longer serves its purpose (and why, along with PGA's added irritation/harshness, vapers often encourage its evaporation in e-liquid).

I have never heard of it being claimed as a flavor enhancer/accelerator.

If you are going to allow it to evaporate off before you vape it; I see no harm in conducting a simple experiment. I would propose three small (10mL-ish?) samples:

• Choose one single flavor concentrate that you think would benefit from the addition of PGA.
  
• Use the same PG/VG ratio in all three samples.
  
• Use the same flavor concentrate percentage in all three samples.
• Leave one as strictly PG, VG, and concentrate, as a baseline for comparison.
• Mix the second with PG, VG, concentrate, and PGA at whatever percentage you think is going to do the trick.
• In the third sample; mix PG, VG, concentrate, and distilled water at the same percentage as the PGA. The DW will act as a secondary control to help rule out the possible benefit from simple reduction of viscocity caused by the PGA.
• When taste testing (vaping) the samples; be sure to vape all three in the same hardware setup (same atty, coil(s), wicking, power, and airflow) for a genuine nuetral comparison platform.

Let us know what your findings are.

 

[Todd Geer]

My understanding is alcohol is only a solvant/emulsifier allowing two incompatible ingredients to remain blended. Without it; they would tend to separate. Once the concentrate is combined with PG, and VG, it no longer serves its purpose (and why, along with PGA's added irritation/harshness, vapers often encourage its evaporation in e-liquid).

I have never heard of it being claimed as a flavor enhancer/accelerator.

If you are going to allow it to evaporate off before you vape it; I see no harm in conducting a simple experiment. I would propose three small (10mL-ish?) samples:

• Choose one single flavor concentrate that you think would benefit from the addition of PGA.
  
• Use the same PG/VG ratio in all three samples.
  
• Use the same flavor concentrate percentage in all three samples.
• Leave one as strictly PG, VG, and concentrate, as a baseline for comparison.
• Mix the second with PG, VG, concentrate, and PGA at whatever percentage you think is going to do the trick.
• In the third sample; mix PG, VG, concentrate, and distilled water at the same percentage as the PGA. The DW will act as a secondary control to help rule out the possible benefit from simple reduction of viscocity caused by the PGA.
• When taste testing (vaping) the samples; be sure to vape all three in the same hardware setup (same atty, coil(s), wicking, power, and airflow) for a genuine nuetral comparison platform.

Let us know what your findings are.

Great, now I got homework

 

[IDJoel]

Great, now I got homework

Okay; that one really did just make me laugh out loud!

 

[AzPlumber]

PG and VG are both technically alcohols, confusion due to language, maybe?.

 

[Todd Geer]

Oh yea, that helps Okay, with all this talk about alcohol, I've got to make Pina Coladas.