Overview:
For those who dont know, to quote Billherbst, who started the The Really Big RY4 Roundup thread :
RY4 (short for Ruyan #4) is a very popular eliquid that incorporates three basic component flavors: a tobacco base (usually mild and understated, but occasionally stronger and more up front), caramel, and vanilla. The caramels and vanillas are as varied as the tobacco bases. Some vendors include other flavors, but those three are essential. Without one of them, a juice is not really an RY4.
Is this particular blend a traditional RY4? No, but it is somewhat recognizable as such. Or, maybe, its just the name. J It is a rich blend, darker than the original Chinese version, with interesting nuances. It is predominantly a tobacco vape but a very smooth, easy tobacco, with no bitter or metallic notes with medium-strong sweet-ish accents. Just what those accents are, however, is a bit hard to tell at first taste, it is as if the tobacco was grown that way. With a bit of vaping, other flavors may drift a bit more to the fore, but never leaving the tobacco base unattended. It all flows. This flavor is almost alive in how it interacts with the vaper and the environment.
The dissection, which really does require some work, goes like this: The tobacco component is mid-range. Right out of the mail box it is a somewhat one-dimensional, good quality, mid-range depth, mild, inoffensive tobacco. After about a week of steeping, though, it grows to a totally different level: while still mostly mid-range, it is now deeper, richer, and has an inviting quality. It is inviting in the sense that it invites blending, because it has enough complexity and range to complement just about any flavor, I think, without losing its tobacco identity. I plan to try it plain eventually.
As a side note, I think it would be interesting to get some of this tobacco plain, and experiment with ones own blends this really will go with lots and lots of flavors very well.
Caramel is on exactly the same depth range as tobacco, and its not too sweet, so its almost impossible to differentiate in a good way. The blending is perfect. It adds more richness and creaminess to the flavor, but you wont taste caramel candy here. The caramel adds depth to the tobacco rather than stands on its own.
The vanilla, I suspect, is a bit dryer than, say, vanilla custard. It drifts towards the top note, and, as itself, is barely discernible you get it mostly towards the end of the exhale, kind of like an aftertaste. Otherwise it probably serves to sweeten and mellow the blend, but without standing out as a detectable flavor.
A few other sub-flavors tend to surface once in a while, and its a mystery whether they are supposed to be there, or are the result of the interaction of primary flavors. There is a very slight citrusy accent a vague hint, really that sort of plays tag at the top note level. There is a certain amount of woodiness at higher voltages, which is also somewhat elusive, but when this woodiness and the citrusy accent surface together, one gets a vague impression of a pine tree somewhere on the horizon. And then, once in a while, a mild coffee flavor appears and then drifts away. Yes, coffee. An interaction between this particular tobacco and this particular caramel, maybe? I dunno, but its definitely a hint of mild coffee.
Rather than give a volt-by-volt breakdown of flavor changes, Ill just mention some tendencies here: At about 3.3V the flavor is very mild, the intensity is evenly distributed along all notes, and the caramel and vanilla are more noticeable. Interesting things dont start happening until higher voltages. For instance, at around 3.5 to 3.7 V, coffee shows up. With cream. While still being a tobacco. Some place between 3.8 and 4 V caramel decides to make a stronger showing, while the citrusy accent almost goes away completely. At around 4.2 V that pine tree peeks above the horizon. In general, with increased voltage the tobacco base becomes a bit harsher and acquires more woodiness. The caramel and vanilla dance in circles around it, sometimes getting stronger, sometimes not. Interestingly enough, the flavor does not change in intensity or the quality of blending, only in accents. This juice stands up very well to high power vaping I stopped increasing power only because I was getting too many dry hits on my Stardust, the flavor was still doing just fine.
Summary Characteristics:
Name: Classic CountRY4 by Mountain Oak Vapors
Vendor: Mountain Oak Vapors
Link: Mountain Oak Vapors Classic CountRY4
Line: Tennessee Original
Place Created: USA
Organic/Natural?: no natural and artificial flavors
Container: brown glass bottle with a dropper lid
Label: Very pretty silver label with a nice black print of mountains and a tree beneath the Moon (or Sun). The nicotine percentage is listed along with ingredients and all the appropriate warnings. No date of birth, unfortunately.
Color: amber, but it turned very dark in my Stardust very quickly.
PG/VG: 70/30
Viscosity (from 1 (like water) to 5 (barely flows): 3
Nic. Content: 12
Description from the web site:
Classic CountRY4 -- You asked for it, and we delivered! Our customers have had nothing but the best things to say about our original MOV take on a classic RY4 blend. What is an RY4? Traditionally it's characterized by Tobacco, Vanilla & Caramel. Like a tobacco cake, CCRY4 Delivers on these 3 flavors and will definitely satisfy your 'itch'. Classic CountRY4 is an amber colored E-Liquid that is clear and accompanied by a sweet & creamy tobacco aroma. Scent: basically, the bottle smells like caramel, with maybe a hint of tobacco and a very slight whiff of alcohol which disappears on the second sniff.
Flavor Summary: A rich, mellow tobacco with complex sweet accents; tobacco is predominant, and the overall flavor is not overly sweet it is not a dessert vape; very well blended, with most flavor intensity in middle-note range, but complete and rounded, with accents in both low and top note; has a tendency to present various interesting flavor nuances under varying circumstances.
Testing Conditions:
Steeping Time: 1 week
PV(s): the Twist and the Provari
Voltages: from 3.2V to 4.8V
Cartos: 2.7 Ohm Stardust
Duration of use, and amount used: about 2 weeks, 7 mg.
Details:
Note: Numbers in the range from 1 to 5 (in green) are good in the sense that they are vapeable, with the quality or strength increasing from 1 to 5; numbers outside this range, noted in red not so much.
Voltage: 3.7V
Flavor Sweetness: 2.5/5 moderately sweet accent
Flavor Sourness (dryness): 2/5 just a touch of sourness;
Flavor Bitterness: 2/5 a very slight hint of bitterness, like a milk chocolate;
Flavor Saltiness: 1/5 no salt at all
Flavor Umami (savoriness): 1.5 just enough umami to give the flavor a hint of another dimension
Flavor Spiciness: 2/5 just a touch of spice
Flavor Strength: 4/5 flavor is medium-strong, not quite in your face, but is by no means shy, and is completely apparent in its entirety it will not get lost even in the most anemic cartos ( I tried J)
Flavor Clean-ness: 5/5 completely clean taste, no chemical-ness can be perceived
Flavor Complexity: 5/5 several components are present and the combination creates additional, sometimes unexpected strong nuances, or even additional perceived flavor components this is a prime example of the sum being greater than its parts.
Flavor Blending: 5/5 flavors are blended together so smoothly, and so harmoniously, that at first taste it is difficult to tell what the components are, or even if there are any components it is as if the resulting flavor is totally unique, new and whole; one has to concentrate to figure out what the components might be, and has to resort to the creators description to help figure it out;
Flavor Completeness: 5/5 three main notes present with both half-notes and more.
Flavor Artistry: 5/5 spot on to the description, the blend is unique, intriguing, and bears the signature of the artist.
Vapor Production: 4/5 excellent amount of vapor for this PG/VG proportion.
Throat Hit: 4/5 like a full-bodied analog.
Conclusion:
If you like mildly sweet tobaccos and complex flavors, you should try this blend. Even if you dont, normally, like tobaccos, you might like this, or at least appreciate it. You dont have to be fond of what is normally considered traditional RY4 to enjoy this flavor it really stands very well on its own. In other words: try it, its very possible that youll enjoy the heck out of it. MOV has done a great job with this one, and with several other flavors that Ive tried from them, for that matter. They are also responsive, and fast, and their juices come semi-pre-steeped, so even tobacco juices only need about five or so days of steeping to reach full potential. The fruit juices, like Georgia Peach that I tried, need even less, if any.
For those who dont know, to quote Billherbst, who started the The Really Big RY4 Roundup thread :
RY4 (short for Ruyan #4) is a very popular eliquid that incorporates three basic component flavors: a tobacco base (usually mild and understated, but occasionally stronger and more up front), caramel, and vanilla. The caramels and vanillas are as varied as the tobacco bases. Some vendors include other flavors, but those three are essential. Without one of them, a juice is not really an RY4.
Is this particular blend a traditional RY4? No, but it is somewhat recognizable as such. Or, maybe, its just the name. J It is a rich blend, darker than the original Chinese version, with interesting nuances. It is predominantly a tobacco vape but a very smooth, easy tobacco, with no bitter or metallic notes with medium-strong sweet-ish accents. Just what those accents are, however, is a bit hard to tell at first taste, it is as if the tobacco was grown that way. With a bit of vaping, other flavors may drift a bit more to the fore, but never leaving the tobacco base unattended. It all flows. This flavor is almost alive in how it interacts with the vaper and the environment.
The dissection, which really does require some work, goes like this: The tobacco component is mid-range. Right out of the mail box it is a somewhat one-dimensional, good quality, mid-range depth, mild, inoffensive tobacco. After about a week of steeping, though, it grows to a totally different level: while still mostly mid-range, it is now deeper, richer, and has an inviting quality. It is inviting in the sense that it invites blending, because it has enough complexity and range to complement just about any flavor, I think, without losing its tobacco identity. I plan to try it plain eventually.
As a side note, I think it would be interesting to get some of this tobacco plain, and experiment with ones own blends this really will go with lots and lots of flavors very well.
Caramel is on exactly the same depth range as tobacco, and its not too sweet, so its almost impossible to differentiate in a good way. The blending is perfect. It adds more richness and creaminess to the flavor, but you wont taste caramel candy here. The caramel adds depth to the tobacco rather than stands on its own.
The vanilla, I suspect, is a bit dryer than, say, vanilla custard. It drifts towards the top note, and, as itself, is barely discernible you get it mostly towards the end of the exhale, kind of like an aftertaste. Otherwise it probably serves to sweeten and mellow the blend, but without standing out as a detectable flavor.
A few other sub-flavors tend to surface once in a while, and its a mystery whether they are supposed to be there, or are the result of the interaction of primary flavors. There is a very slight citrusy accent a vague hint, really that sort of plays tag at the top note level. There is a certain amount of woodiness at higher voltages, which is also somewhat elusive, but when this woodiness and the citrusy accent surface together, one gets a vague impression of a pine tree somewhere on the horizon. And then, once in a while, a mild coffee flavor appears and then drifts away. Yes, coffee. An interaction between this particular tobacco and this particular caramel, maybe? I dunno, but its definitely a hint of mild coffee.
Rather than give a volt-by-volt breakdown of flavor changes, Ill just mention some tendencies here: At about 3.3V the flavor is very mild, the intensity is evenly distributed along all notes, and the caramel and vanilla are more noticeable. Interesting things dont start happening until higher voltages. For instance, at around 3.5 to 3.7 V, coffee shows up. With cream. While still being a tobacco. Some place between 3.8 and 4 V caramel decides to make a stronger showing, while the citrusy accent almost goes away completely. At around 4.2 V that pine tree peeks above the horizon. In general, with increased voltage the tobacco base becomes a bit harsher and acquires more woodiness. The caramel and vanilla dance in circles around it, sometimes getting stronger, sometimes not. Interestingly enough, the flavor does not change in intensity or the quality of blending, only in accents. This juice stands up very well to high power vaping I stopped increasing power only because I was getting too many dry hits on my Stardust, the flavor was still doing just fine.
Summary Characteristics:
Name: Classic CountRY4 by Mountain Oak Vapors
Vendor: Mountain Oak Vapors
Link: Mountain Oak Vapors Classic CountRY4
Line: Tennessee Original
Place Created: USA
Organic/Natural?: no natural and artificial flavors
Container: brown glass bottle with a dropper lid
Label: Very pretty silver label with a nice black print of mountains and a tree beneath the Moon (or Sun). The nicotine percentage is listed along with ingredients and all the appropriate warnings. No date of birth, unfortunately.
Color: amber, but it turned very dark in my Stardust very quickly.
PG/VG: 70/30
Viscosity (from 1 (like water) to 5 (barely flows): 3
Nic. Content: 12
Description from the web site:
Classic CountRY4 -- You asked for it, and we delivered! Our customers have had nothing but the best things to say about our original MOV take on a classic RY4 blend. What is an RY4? Traditionally it's characterized by Tobacco, Vanilla & Caramel. Like a tobacco cake, CCRY4 Delivers on these 3 flavors and will definitely satisfy your 'itch'. Classic CountRY4 is an amber colored E-Liquid that is clear and accompanied by a sweet & creamy tobacco aroma.
Vapor Profile on the Scale: 1 5
· Throat Hit: 3
· Flavor Strength: 4
· Vapor Production: 4
· Flavor Profile: Sweet Tobacco
· Throat Hit: 3
· Flavor Strength: 4
· Vapor Production: 4
· Flavor Profile: Sweet Tobacco
Flavor Summary: A rich, mellow tobacco with complex sweet accents; tobacco is predominant, and the overall flavor is not overly sweet it is not a dessert vape; very well blended, with most flavor intensity in middle-note range, but complete and rounded, with accents in both low and top note; has a tendency to present various interesting flavor nuances under varying circumstances.
Testing Conditions:
Steeping Time: 1 week
PV(s): the Twist and the Provari
Voltages: from 3.2V to 4.8V
Cartos: 2.7 Ohm Stardust
Duration of use, and amount used: about 2 weeks, 7 mg.
Details:
Note: Numbers in the range from 1 to 5 (in green) are good in the sense that they are vapeable, with the quality or strength increasing from 1 to 5; numbers outside this range, noted in red not so much.
Voltage: 3.7V
Flavor Sweetness: 2.5/5 moderately sweet accent
Flavor Sourness (dryness): 2/5 just a touch of sourness;
Flavor Bitterness: 2/5 a very slight hint of bitterness, like a milk chocolate;
Flavor Saltiness: 1/5 no salt at all
Flavor Umami (savoriness): 1.5 just enough umami to give the flavor a hint of another dimension
Flavor Spiciness: 2/5 just a touch of spice
Flavor Strength: 4/5 flavor is medium-strong, not quite in your face, but is by no means shy, and is completely apparent in its entirety it will not get lost even in the most anemic cartos ( I tried J)
Flavor Clean-ness: 5/5 completely clean taste, no chemical-ness can be perceived
Flavor Complexity: 5/5 several components are present and the combination creates additional, sometimes unexpected strong nuances, or even additional perceived flavor components this is a prime example of the sum being greater than its parts.
Flavor Blending: 5/5 flavors are blended together so smoothly, and so harmoniously, that at first taste it is difficult to tell what the components are, or even if there are any components it is as if the resulting flavor is totally unique, new and whole; one has to concentrate to figure out what the components might be, and has to resort to the creators description to help figure it out;
Flavor Completeness: 5/5 three main notes present with both half-notes and more.
Flavor Artistry: 5/5 spot on to the description, the blend is unique, intriguing, and bears the signature of the artist.
Vapor Production: 4/5 excellent amount of vapor for this PG/VG proportion.
Throat Hit: 4/5 like a full-bodied analog.
Conclusion:
If you like mildly sweet tobaccos and complex flavors, you should try this blend. Even if you dont, normally, like tobaccos, you might like this, or at least appreciate it. You dont have to be fond of what is normally considered traditional RY4 to enjoy this flavor it really stands very well on its own. In other words: try it, its very possible that youll enjoy the heck out of it. MOV has done a great job with this one, and with several other flavors that Ive tried from them, for that matter. They are also responsive, and fast, and their juices come semi-pre-steeped, so even tobacco juices only need about five or so days of steeping to reach full potential. The fruit juices, like Georgia Peach that I tried, need even less, if any.
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