I was going over my “stash” recently, and reading over this forum (especially the Frankster thread, LOL), and realized that I should probably contribute.
Before I get into the review, a couple of words about my preferences:
My philosophy on e-juice is that it should be its own art-form. Meaning that I think it’s a dead end to try and imitate food or tobacco flavors – food flavors will not taste exactly like food no matter what we do to them, because vapor is not food and lacks the “mouth-feel”, while tobacco flavors will never taste like a burning cigarette or pipe because there is no burning involved.
I think, therefore, that the best way to go is to develop flavors that work best in vape medium. You don’t imitate oil in watercolor, and you shouldn’t imitate a cookie in a vape. Sure, a cookie vape might taste ok, even great, but it’s still not a cookie… At the same time things could be achieved in vape that cannot be achieved in a real cookie. Just my opinion.
I have tried lots and lots of juices, including the obligatory stint through most of the tobaccos out there. I am not an extremist, so I can’t say I hated many – but I wasn’t in love with many either. Aside from the Ahlusion juices, there are only two that I would rate a 5 on a scale from 0 to 5: Boba’s Bounty, steeped for at least a month, and Virgin Vapor’s ECO Virgin Kona Velvet Milkshake. In the second place is GV’s Caramel Apple. Everything else is a distant third or below.
I currently test my juices two ways: by dripping on a regular 510 atty, and in the RR Stardust on the Provari, using the range from 3.3V to however high the juice will go without burning.
All my juices are at 12mg nicotine. Most of them are 70/30 PG/VG.
I rate my juices on the scale from 0 to 5:
Flavor is rated on:
-Quality (how well it reflects what the artisan is trying to achieve according to the description, how well the components play together, as well as the overall sophistication – this is somewhat subjective, but not too, imho): 0 – chemical and perfumey flavor to the point of being unvapeable; 5 – natural, true, nuanced taste with all appropriate notes.
-Pleasantness (entirely subjective): 0 – I have to rinse out my mouth; 5 – addictive, can vape forever.
-Strength: 0 – no perceptible taste; 3 – perfect, with all nuances clearly “visible”; 5 – so strong that the taste is distorted.
-TH is rated on simple strength: 0 – none; 5 - choke-and-cough.
-Vapor production is rated on strength as well.
Now to Ahlusion:
I have tried several juices from this company, and so far I am very impressed by them.
Ahlusion is the only company I know of that makes its own flavor extracts. For those who care about such things (I do), their juices are also made from natural and/or organic ingredients. And, IMHO, they have raised the art of mixing flavors for e-juice to a whole new level. Best juice artisans can be rightfully called “artists”, and folks at Ahlusion are artists extraordinaire. As will all artists, they have their own signature style. Their juices are not your typical candy/cake/fruit/tobacco stuff. The taste is complex, sophisticated, and adult. In their best juices, the ingredients are mixed in such a harmonious, well-balanced, and complimentary way that at first taste one perceives the whole flavor, as opposed to a combination of flavors – like a musical chord as opposed to a collection of notes. Because of the complexity and smoothness of the flavor, this juice is never boring – it seems to change with moods, and it certainly changes with equipment and temperature. There are several signature lines available, my particular favorite being the teas. Of course, some juices are more successful than others, but in general I find their juices quite outstanding.
Ahlusion web site is attractive and easy to navigate. There is some amount of customization that can be made right on the site: addition of sweetener and various levels of mint/menthol, in some cases the amount of flavor (though additional flavor strength will run you $3), in addition to your typical size, strength, and PG/VG proportion. Also, they ask for feedback and will adjust any recipe to your preference. Since all juices are made to order, some steeping is needed for most of them. The length of steep-time varies. In my experience, dessert juices can be used immediately in most cases, though they improve in a couple of days. Tea juices need to be steeped at least three days. Tobacco juices probably benefit from at least a week or more – the one I tried tasted like a simple nice tobacco when it arrived, but became something special after about a month. However, it says on the web site that once opened, these juice do not last over six months. They are not kidding. I had two 3 ml bottles of dessert flavors in the back of my drawer that I forgot about (I’m not into dessert flavors that much), and though they tasted good and strong when I first tried them, the flavor was just not there as much six months later when I pulled them out.
Three and ten ml bottles are plastic, with typical tips. Their labels are transparent and the writing is hard to see with darker juices. The prices are $4 for 3 ml to $16 for 30ml. 60 ml bottles are available for $28.
Customer service is good. They give you stage by stage email update on your juice: when it’s being mixed, when it’s being bottled, and when it ships, and, of course, the tracking number. It takes, typically, two days to make the juice. Any emails are replied to within one or two days.
Now for the specific flavors.
THE TEA FLAVORS:
The Tea line is my favorite. The tea flavor base provides the low note. Its flavor, to me, is reminiscent of English Breakfast Tea – full, rich, with a tiny bitter accent. The middle and high notes are provided with various fruits and herbs. There is also a somewhat spicy accent to most of them that is hard to define – it is light in most cases, and provides additional depth. The flavor changes considerably with temperature, ranging from quite fruity at the low voltage and developing into the primary tea with much lighter fruit accent at the high voltage. The highest voltage I tried them was 4.5 V. They recommend adding a touch of mint to these (Breeze choice). I dislike mint or menthol with a passion bordering on fanatic, but, having accidentally ordered the Ginger Orange Oolong this way, even I will admit that the mint accent brings out the flavor and adds freshness – still, I prefer them straight. I also tried them with sweetener, and, in retrospect, I think I prefer them without – they are more refreshing that way. But they are excellent either way.
The vapor production on all the teas is typical for each proportion of PG/VG – not outstanding, but satisfying. I rate is as 3.
The TH is also the same for all – fairly noticeable, but not too strong, I rate it at 3.
Berry Shangri-La: This is a blend of sweeter berries, coconut and spices with the tea base. I couldn’t say which berries were added – they are blended very well – other than there are no sour or sharp notes, the taste is sweet and fresh, and it has the essence of “berriness” that is hard to pin down – and this is fresh berriness, not candy berriness. I am not a big fan of coconut in my juices, but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The coconut is not obvious, but rather provides an intriguing middle note accent to the berries – I wouldn’t have guessed it was coconut if I didn’t see it in the description . Very full, “rounded” flavor. Satisfying and relaxing – I think it encourages one to enjoy the moment – it does so with me, at any rate. I prefer this juice at around 4.0 V.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
Mystic Spice Tea: Orange and spices on top of the tea base. The orange gives this flavor a slightly sharp accent, while the spices add an exotic note. The tea remains quite noticeable as the deep undertone, especially at higher voltages. This one comes across somewhat exotic and teases the palate.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
Ginger Orange Oolong (with Mint Breeze): This one was a mistake in that I ordered it with mint – but, though my next order is without mint, I’m glad I tried it this way. I have to say that the way they do mint brings out the flavor of the other ingredients in a very pleasant way. For those who enjoy mint, I happily recommend adding it to all of these teas. This flavor is dryer than the others I’ve tried – dryer in the sense that the French Champagne is dryer than Asti Spumante, not, apparently, in the bad sense as another reviewer here uses the word (I am sorry, I still don’t understand that term in this context). In other words, it’s “dry” as opposed to “sweet”. Ginger and orange blend marvelously well. Ginger is definitely there, but it’s not a “hot” ginger taste, nor is it particularly spicy, it just “bright” and lively, especially with the orange. The Oolong base is also brighter than their black tea base. All in all, this is a wonderful wake-up vape, and, as I said, the mint definitely adds a special something to the flavor. A very pleasant and refreshing something – and this is from someone who ordinarily despises all things minty.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
I still have several tea flavors to check out, and so far there hasn’t been a dud in the bunch.
NON-TEA FLAVORS:
Tatre Tatin, with peach (it also comes with apple), sweetened, 30/70 PG/VG: This is, obviously, a dessert vape. It is somewhat hard to describe, other than it takes the essence of a thin, flaky crust with peaches cooked and spiced to perfection, and somehow perfectly expresses it in vape. I can’t say that I taste the crust, per se, but the feeling of it is there. The peach flavor is somewhat toasty, just as it would be in a French tarte, and the spices are perfect. This is an adult, sophisticated bakery dessert – or, at, least, a vaping essence of one. This is exactly what I was talking about originally – this is a translation rather than replicatons. You can’t take any of the component flavors of this juice (if you could successfully reduce it into components at all – as are all Ahlusion flavors, this is masterfully blended, with components enhancing each other), and identify it as “oh, this is a perfect crust”, or “oh, this is a perfect peach” – but together they give the “spirit-impression” of the flavor. All-in-all, if I were to adore a bakery dessert flavor, this would be it. As it is, I use it once in a while as a very pleasant diversion. Oh, and at this PG/VG proportion, it produces vapor like a steam locomotive.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 4 (only because I don’t like bakery stuff)
Flavor strength: 5
Vapor production: 5
Bananas Foster and Blue-Nana-Nilla: I didn’t find anything extraordinary about these. When fresh, these were good, solid flavors, nothing to sneeze at, certainly, but not something that would attract me, personally, a second time. Good realistic flavor. Quite sweet. I can’t really rate them in detail, because I only tried them a few times five months ago, and they’ve been sitting untouched all that time. I’m not fond of this type of flavors, by and large, and it turns out I don’t like an “in your face” banana in a vape at all. Now they don’t taste quite right. But I suspect that sweet dessert, and, especially, banana lovers would like these quite a bit. It is certainly a good quality juice, and better than average in this theme. All I can say at this point that the flavor quality was about 4.
Smooth Criminal: This is a very smooth and pleasant tobacco flavor. It was stronger in tobacco aspect when I first ordered it, but, as I don’t vape tobacco flavors all that often, it had time to mellow into something that is almost reminiscent of a rounded out and gentled version of Boba’s Bounty. In a way. It’s as complex, I think, with the same shifting and not-quite-identifiable flavor. It’s on the creamy side, with, maybe, a slight nuttiness and cocoa coming through on top of a mid-range tobacco flavor. Tobacco aspect has no metallic notes. I find it a very satisfying, relaxing vape. Again, this is a translation of the mild tobacco essence – the “tobaccoiness of tobacco” (I’m speaking Zen now, LOL), rather than an imitation of any particular tobacco. I fully intend to try more juices from their tobacco line. This one has stronger vapor production.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
Vapor: 4
TH: 3
OK, that’s it for now. I hope I didn’t bore everyone to tears, but I really wanted to review this company in detail – I really enjoy their juices and style tremendously. Vaping Berry Shangri-La and Smooth Criminal right now...
Before I get into the review, a couple of words about my preferences:
My philosophy on e-juice is that it should be its own art-form. Meaning that I think it’s a dead end to try and imitate food or tobacco flavors – food flavors will not taste exactly like food no matter what we do to them, because vapor is not food and lacks the “mouth-feel”, while tobacco flavors will never taste like a burning cigarette or pipe because there is no burning involved.
I think, therefore, that the best way to go is to develop flavors that work best in vape medium. You don’t imitate oil in watercolor, and you shouldn’t imitate a cookie in a vape. Sure, a cookie vape might taste ok, even great, but it’s still not a cookie… At the same time things could be achieved in vape that cannot be achieved in a real cookie. Just my opinion.
I have tried lots and lots of juices, including the obligatory stint through most of the tobaccos out there. I am not an extremist, so I can’t say I hated many – but I wasn’t in love with many either. Aside from the Ahlusion juices, there are only two that I would rate a 5 on a scale from 0 to 5: Boba’s Bounty, steeped for at least a month, and Virgin Vapor’s ECO Virgin Kona Velvet Milkshake. In the second place is GV’s Caramel Apple. Everything else is a distant third or below.
I currently test my juices two ways: by dripping on a regular 510 atty, and in the RR Stardust on the Provari, using the range from 3.3V to however high the juice will go without burning.
All my juices are at 12mg nicotine. Most of them are 70/30 PG/VG.
I rate my juices on the scale from 0 to 5:
Flavor is rated on:
-Quality (how well it reflects what the artisan is trying to achieve according to the description, how well the components play together, as well as the overall sophistication – this is somewhat subjective, but not too, imho): 0 – chemical and perfumey flavor to the point of being unvapeable; 5 – natural, true, nuanced taste with all appropriate notes.
-Pleasantness (entirely subjective): 0 – I have to rinse out my mouth; 5 – addictive, can vape forever.
-Strength: 0 – no perceptible taste; 3 – perfect, with all nuances clearly “visible”; 5 – so strong that the taste is distorted.
-TH is rated on simple strength: 0 – none; 5 - choke-and-cough.
-Vapor production is rated on strength as well.
Now to Ahlusion:
I have tried several juices from this company, and so far I am very impressed by them.
Ahlusion is the only company I know of that makes its own flavor extracts. For those who care about such things (I do), their juices are also made from natural and/or organic ingredients. And, IMHO, they have raised the art of mixing flavors for e-juice to a whole new level. Best juice artisans can be rightfully called “artists”, and folks at Ahlusion are artists extraordinaire. As will all artists, they have their own signature style. Their juices are not your typical candy/cake/fruit/tobacco stuff. The taste is complex, sophisticated, and adult. In their best juices, the ingredients are mixed in such a harmonious, well-balanced, and complimentary way that at first taste one perceives the whole flavor, as opposed to a combination of flavors – like a musical chord as opposed to a collection of notes. Because of the complexity and smoothness of the flavor, this juice is never boring – it seems to change with moods, and it certainly changes with equipment and temperature. There are several signature lines available, my particular favorite being the teas. Of course, some juices are more successful than others, but in general I find their juices quite outstanding.
Ahlusion web site is attractive and easy to navigate. There is some amount of customization that can be made right on the site: addition of sweetener and various levels of mint/menthol, in some cases the amount of flavor (though additional flavor strength will run you $3), in addition to your typical size, strength, and PG/VG proportion. Also, they ask for feedback and will adjust any recipe to your preference. Since all juices are made to order, some steeping is needed for most of them. The length of steep-time varies. In my experience, dessert juices can be used immediately in most cases, though they improve in a couple of days. Tea juices need to be steeped at least three days. Tobacco juices probably benefit from at least a week or more – the one I tried tasted like a simple nice tobacco when it arrived, but became something special after about a month. However, it says on the web site that once opened, these juice do not last over six months. They are not kidding. I had two 3 ml bottles of dessert flavors in the back of my drawer that I forgot about (I’m not into dessert flavors that much), and though they tasted good and strong when I first tried them, the flavor was just not there as much six months later when I pulled them out.
Three and ten ml bottles are plastic, with typical tips. Their labels are transparent and the writing is hard to see with darker juices. The prices are $4 for 3 ml to $16 for 30ml. 60 ml bottles are available for $28.
Customer service is good. They give you stage by stage email update on your juice: when it’s being mixed, when it’s being bottled, and when it ships, and, of course, the tracking number. It takes, typically, two days to make the juice. Any emails are replied to within one or two days.
Now for the specific flavors.
THE TEA FLAVORS:
The Tea line is my favorite. The tea flavor base provides the low note. Its flavor, to me, is reminiscent of English Breakfast Tea – full, rich, with a tiny bitter accent. The middle and high notes are provided with various fruits and herbs. There is also a somewhat spicy accent to most of them that is hard to define – it is light in most cases, and provides additional depth. The flavor changes considerably with temperature, ranging from quite fruity at the low voltage and developing into the primary tea with much lighter fruit accent at the high voltage. The highest voltage I tried them was 4.5 V. They recommend adding a touch of mint to these (Breeze choice). I dislike mint or menthol with a passion bordering on fanatic, but, having accidentally ordered the Ginger Orange Oolong this way, even I will admit that the mint accent brings out the flavor and adds freshness – still, I prefer them straight. I also tried them with sweetener, and, in retrospect, I think I prefer them without – they are more refreshing that way. But they are excellent either way.
The vapor production on all the teas is typical for each proportion of PG/VG – not outstanding, but satisfying. I rate is as 3.
The TH is also the same for all – fairly noticeable, but not too strong, I rate it at 3.
Berry Shangri-La: This is a blend of sweeter berries, coconut and spices with the tea base. I couldn’t say which berries were added – they are blended very well – other than there are no sour or sharp notes, the taste is sweet and fresh, and it has the essence of “berriness” that is hard to pin down – and this is fresh berriness, not candy berriness. I am not a big fan of coconut in my juices, but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The coconut is not obvious, but rather provides an intriguing middle note accent to the berries – I wouldn’t have guessed it was coconut if I didn’t see it in the description . Very full, “rounded” flavor. Satisfying and relaxing – I think it encourages one to enjoy the moment – it does so with me, at any rate. I prefer this juice at around 4.0 V.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
Mystic Spice Tea: Orange and spices on top of the tea base. The orange gives this flavor a slightly sharp accent, while the spices add an exotic note. The tea remains quite noticeable as the deep undertone, especially at higher voltages. This one comes across somewhat exotic and teases the palate.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
Ginger Orange Oolong (with Mint Breeze): This one was a mistake in that I ordered it with mint – but, though my next order is without mint, I’m glad I tried it this way. I have to say that the way they do mint brings out the flavor of the other ingredients in a very pleasant way. For those who enjoy mint, I happily recommend adding it to all of these teas. This flavor is dryer than the others I’ve tried – dryer in the sense that the French Champagne is dryer than Asti Spumante, not, apparently, in the bad sense as another reviewer here uses the word (I am sorry, I still don’t understand that term in this context). In other words, it’s “dry” as opposed to “sweet”. Ginger and orange blend marvelously well. Ginger is definitely there, but it’s not a “hot” ginger taste, nor is it particularly spicy, it just “bright” and lively, especially with the orange. The Oolong base is also brighter than their black tea base. All in all, this is a wonderful wake-up vape, and, as I said, the mint definitely adds a special something to the flavor. A very pleasant and refreshing something – and this is from someone who ordinarily despises all things minty.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
I still have several tea flavors to check out, and so far there hasn’t been a dud in the bunch.
NON-TEA FLAVORS:
Tatre Tatin, with peach (it also comes with apple), sweetened, 30/70 PG/VG: This is, obviously, a dessert vape. It is somewhat hard to describe, other than it takes the essence of a thin, flaky crust with peaches cooked and spiced to perfection, and somehow perfectly expresses it in vape. I can’t say that I taste the crust, per se, but the feeling of it is there. The peach flavor is somewhat toasty, just as it would be in a French tarte, and the spices are perfect. This is an adult, sophisticated bakery dessert – or, at, least, a vaping essence of one. This is exactly what I was talking about originally – this is a translation rather than replicatons. You can’t take any of the component flavors of this juice (if you could successfully reduce it into components at all – as are all Ahlusion flavors, this is masterfully blended, with components enhancing each other), and identify it as “oh, this is a perfect crust”, or “oh, this is a perfect peach” – but together they give the “spirit-impression” of the flavor. All-in-all, if I were to adore a bakery dessert flavor, this would be it. As it is, I use it once in a while as a very pleasant diversion. Oh, and at this PG/VG proportion, it produces vapor like a steam locomotive.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 4 (only because I don’t like bakery stuff)
Flavor strength: 5
Vapor production: 5
Bananas Foster and Blue-Nana-Nilla: I didn’t find anything extraordinary about these. When fresh, these were good, solid flavors, nothing to sneeze at, certainly, but not something that would attract me, personally, a second time. Good realistic flavor. Quite sweet. I can’t really rate them in detail, because I only tried them a few times five months ago, and they’ve been sitting untouched all that time. I’m not fond of this type of flavors, by and large, and it turns out I don’t like an “in your face” banana in a vape at all. Now they don’t taste quite right. But I suspect that sweet dessert, and, especially, banana lovers would like these quite a bit. It is certainly a good quality juice, and better than average in this theme. All I can say at this point that the flavor quality was about 4.
Smooth Criminal: This is a very smooth and pleasant tobacco flavor. It was stronger in tobacco aspect when I first ordered it, but, as I don’t vape tobacco flavors all that often, it had time to mellow into something that is almost reminiscent of a rounded out and gentled version of Boba’s Bounty. In a way. It’s as complex, I think, with the same shifting and not-quite-identifiable flavor. It’s on the creamy side, with, maybe, a slight nuttiness and cocoa coming through on top of a mid-range tobacco flavor. Tobacco aspect has no metallic notes. I find it a very satisfying, relaxing vape. Again, this is a translation of the mild tobacco essence – the “tobaccoiness of tobacco” (I’m speaking Zen now, LOL), rather than an imitation of any particular tobacco. I fully intend to try more juices from their tobacco line. This one has stronger vapor production.
Flavor quality: 5
Flavor pleasantness: 5
Flavor strength: 5
Vapor: 4
TH: 3
OK, that’s it for now. I hope I didn’t bore everyone to tears, but I really wanted to review this company in detail – I really enjoy their juices and style tremendously. Vaping Berry Shangri-La and Smooth Criminal right now...
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, I order it with Flurries added and it is very refreshing!! The Lemon-Lime Breeze is one I have to have every day....it's really awesome!!
