Complex flavors, OVERRATED!

[stumpfreeman]

When did the market decide that we all needed super complex juice flavors with combinations of oreo/lime/chocolate/cream? As far as I can remember, none of the juice makers have even perfected simple flavors like raspberry, blueberry, or even orange. Not to mention, vanilla ice cream, or even a real tasting Marlboro or Camel juice. Before you all say, oh wait, I know a juice that tastes just like one of those flavors, I have to tell you, I had tried a majority of them. Been at this 4 years now, and am a long time subscriber to zamplebox. I don't mean to ....., I am grateful for the wide variety of flavors, but 75% of them fall short for me. My DIY is about as good as it gets, and I'm not bragging. I've perfected 2 flavors in 4 years that satisfy my pallet. I know taste is subjective, but some of the garbage flavors I've wasted money on over the years have made me just a tad bit bitter. I do realize that we are dealing with synthetic flavorings for the most part.

Anyone feel the same way?

 

[hurricanegirl100]

It depends. I've also been hugely disappointed by some "premium" flavors. Then again, there are some out there (Friend and Faux, Teleos, Twelve Vapors) that are so good, I don't mind paying $22 for a 30 ml. One thing I have learned..never buy pricey e-juice online. It's a nice excuse to head out to my favorite brick and mortar, hang out for an hour or so, and try some new juices. I'm done wasting my money on premium e-juice that ain't premium by purchasing it online.

 

[MMcQ]

Could be my taste buds but I enjoy both 2 or 3 simple (how many drops of flavoring to ml) flavor's as well as just diluting 2 or 3 market bought juices. Kiwi lime berry and rainbow sherbert along with NLV's line rider. Must have very undiscriminating tastes so I guess it goes both ways.
*edit KLB and ROYGBIV from litecigusa's premium eliquid line. Cheap to start with and even cheaper when mixed down. (with added nic of course)

 

[stumpfreeman]

It depends. I've also been hugely disappointed by some "premium" flavors. Then again, there are some out there (Friend and Faux, Teleos, Twelve Vapors) that are so good, I don't mind paying $22 for a 30 ml. One thing I have learned..never buy pricey e-juice online. It's a nice excuse to head out to my favorite brick and mortar, hang out for an hour or so, and try some new juices. I'm done wasting my money on premium e-juice that ain't premium by purchasing it online.

Yeah, I feel the same way. We finally got a decent distributer of name brand juices with a sample bar. All of the other vape shops in town try to rebrand generic juices as their own, and they all taste like crap. I mostly vape DIY, but enjoy a good quality drip in the evening. That's when I appreciate good flavors.

 

[roxynoodle]

I like some very complex flavors, and some very simple ones. I've enjoyed some premium juices, and some budget ones. All that matters is if I enjoy vaping it.

 

[BostonJim]

Ah yes. The quest for the perfect vape. The feel of the vape (throat hit) and flavor of the vape. All of that can drive a person over the edge. I quit that game a long time ago. I found a setup that gives me a good vape experience and the biggest thing I did was give up the flavor game. I now just use a tobacco flavor. Boring I know, but at least I don't spend all my time looking for something that few can find. Like Pizzaro looking for the lost city of gold.

 

[Ryedan]

When did the market decide that we all needed super complex juice flavors with combinations of oreo/lime/chocolate/cream? As far as I can remember, none of the juice makers have even perfected simple flavors like raspberry, blueberry, or even orange. Not to mention, vanilla ice cream, or even a real tasting Marlboro or Camel juice. Before you all say, oh wait, I know a juice that tastes just like one of those flavors, I have to tell you, I had tried a majority of them. Been at this 4 years now, and am a long time subscriber to zamplebox. I don't mean to ....., I am grateful for the wide variety of flavors, but 75% of them fall short for me. My DIY is about as good as it gets, and I'm not bragging. I've perfected 2 flavors in 4 years that satisfy my pallet. I know taste is subjective, but some of the garbage flavors I've wasted money on over the years have made me just a tad bit bitter. I do realize that we are dealing with synthetic flavorings for the most part.

Anyone feel the same way?

Not me . I bought juice for about the first eight or so months I vaped. I didn't feel they had to be right on the mark to what they tried to taste like. I found most were at least vapeable and generally I got around 30-40% of what I tried that I bought again at least once. It doesn't matter to me how many flavorings they use, just if I like it or not.

I quickly found that how much I spent on a bottle didn't have any bearing on the success rate of new juices or on how much I liked the ones I liked. My juice recipes range from a single flavoring to six, so not much has changed over the years to my preferences in that regard.

I stick with synthetic flavorings as much as possible because I feel they are safer for vaping.

 

[K_Tech]

I've posted this before; I've had "low-end" e-liquids that I've absolutely loved, and "boutique" e-liquids that I wasn't at all impressed with.
It's all about what you like and don't like. A well-done e-liquid doesn't have to have nine different flavors in it to be good, but if they get it right, it can be pretty amazing. The same goes for simply flavored e-liquids.
Sometimes (in my opinion, of course) it seems that some of the boutique offerings just try too hard to be good and they end up with a confusing cacophony of flavors that just don't work together.

 

[crxess]

Perhaps it is the Pallet

I only DIY, but love my
Sugar Cookie
Butterscotch
Blueberry Waffles
Chocolate Mint
and about 1/2 Dozen others

One thing I have -0- use for is Tobacco Flavors - I quit Smoking and do not want reminders.

 

[Douggro]

Sometimes (in my opinion, of course) it seems that some of the boutique offerings just try too hard to be good and they end up with a confusing cacophony of flavors that just don't work together.

I tend to agree with this. It's somewhat like adding seasonings when cooking: you can have a large number of them in the recipe, or just a few. How they play together and the ratio/balance of flavor imparted can make or break a dish. Same applies to a juice recipe, simple or complex, it's the flavorings used and the balance of them that will make or break the vape.

 

[sincerelysasquatch]

When I think of a complex flavor, I don't necessarily think of several different flavors mashed together. I think to me a single flavor can be complex, like by having different notes on the exhale, etc.

 

[Gfdeputy2]

Have to agree I have not found a commercial E-liquid I like that is why I started DIY too. I believe my flavors are better then anything I found on the market. I do believe it is due to the fact that I can tinker with the mixture to my liking & others I make it for. You cant get that from commercial Juices

 

[ckquatt]

I have to say, I enjoy a couple of complex juices. Such as Nicoticket's Radioactive and Virus and Mad Murdock's Radiator Pluid. I started DIY to cut my reliance on buying store bought juice period, not because I thought they are overrated. My goal was to create 5 juices I was happy with and could vape daily if everything went away. So far I've made 4 I'm happy with. I'm still trying to nail a tobacco flavor. (That one is a whole lot harder than I thought)

And besides, it's fun as hell! I feel like a mad scientist in the kitchen when I break out my supplies!


Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk

 

[coolerat]

I'm torn here..................

I'm a simple man. I like simple flavors.

I dialed my ADV in a year ago and use nothing else. I can make it in the dark in a 55 gallon drum stirred with a electric drill just by pouring the ingredients in.

But lately I been on this juice kick. Could be several things. Could be that which I thought to be true isn't (I'm a simple man). Could be after not smoking for so long I can actually taste again. Could be today's juice is just that good.

Big factor is today's juice uses little to no PG so the harshness is gone and its all just smooth flavor.

But the biggest factor and sadly a deal killer at least for me is nicotine. This is my stuck point.

Any juice over 6mg of nic is roadkill steeped in vomit.

Zero nic is the sweet spot. This is where I can actually get the complex flavors. Cause I do get it. And I like it.

But I don't use zero nic and prolly never will. This leaves 3 and 6. 3 doesn't ruin the taste much but does change it. And While I can get my nic off 3 at home chain vaping it does give me enough when I'm in a hurry.

So now I'm left with 6mg. 6 does change the flavor for the worst but its still manageable. But some of these juice don't really have the flavor come "alive" until over 50w. And I have a hard time going over 50w with 6mg personally.

So I stick with 6mg and stay at 50w or less. I am aware that by doing this I am leaving flavor on the table. So I don't bother spending good money on 6mg juice anymore. For flavor I stick with 3mg and should prolly get my mind around zero nic.

 

[mcclintock]

I find a lot of commercial juices OK, but not really interesting. I realized all long time ago that only a small number of them really grab my attention. It's not if they taste like they say either -- actually, how boring is that? But there are some really amazing flavors to be had. And while the cig flavors aren't so great, some of the pipe tobacco flavors make me want to try the real thing ... at least until I think about being unable to mix them with candy.

Even among better flavors, I think most only work great with specific hardware.

 

[hurricanegirl100]

And while the cig flavors aren't so great, some of the pipe tobacco flavors make me want to try the real thing ... at least until I think about being unable to mix them with candy.

. So true!

 

[herb]

Have to agree I have not found a commercial E-liquid I like that is why I started DIY too. I believe my flavors are better then anything I found on the market. I do believe it is due to the fact that I can tinker with the mixture to my liking & others I make it for. You cant get that from commercial Juices

The fact that the overwhelming majority of retail juice manufacturers DO NOT use the most expensive flavorings on the market is a good reason why .

Most use TFA, Flavor West then Capella's , why , because they are good enough and they cost less which is the biggest reason .

DIYers who prefer to stick with the little more expensive flavoring companies can make superior tasting juice but you still got to have some talent .

 

[coolerat]

Even among better flavors, I think most only work great with specific hardware

I don't see it very often anymore of coarse but a year ago it wasn't uncommon to see somebody wanting to get into the better flavors with Nautilus/kayfun class gear or even CE$ stuff. Pretty much all the good stuff is high or even max VG and low nic. I used to wanna be nice and tell them to stick with the high nic basic stuff made with kerosene, oops sorry I meant PG.

But I'd wait until next time when they were back in saying "all I'm getting is burnt hits and no nic putting this maxVG juice through my Kayfun and 7w".

One thing thats odd is many juices are sold as the dripping line but I"ve seen maybe 3 drippers in the last year. But its very popular. I personally don't care much for maxVG stuff but will admitt its the best tasting. I'm in the cold all the time and maxVG doesn't work for me. But its getting very common and I keep falling for it.

 

[BreSha6869]

There are a couple,of premium juices that I really like (Milkman comes to mind), but my DIY is generally better than most of the store bought stuff out there IMO.

To each their own, but I can't often justify $20+ for a 30ml that I can make for $3.00.

 

[juicynoos]

I spent way too much on premium juice during my first year and a few months into diy.
Pretty much needed this experience though to find what I liked as with most things, there is a learning curve.
Now I almost never buy a commercially made juice. I have some single flavors I like, then others, custard/dessert complex juices for a treat and am mostly settled and happy playing and tweaking these complex ones to see if the layering works-all just good fun really.