you are probably not going to exactly replicate the taste of a cig.. perhaps you should try a store that has a sample bar and find something that tastes good to you. replacing what you are used to instead of copying might just work for you, it did for me. best of luck and welcome to the ECF.
This was a real stumbling block for me at first, because vaping really doesn't taste like smoking -- when I first started, I thought ALL vapes were way too sweet; it took me a few weeks of regular vaping before I realized that it wasn't that the vape was sweet, it was that the cigarettes are BITTER AS SIN!!! That burning taste is very bitter, and no, you will not be able to replicate that, but there are e-juices that do capture a smoky taste/smell; the best one I know of right offhand has an awful name -- Dirty Ashtray -- but it really does capture something of the smell/taste of cigarettes; it's kinda like the smell of one you've put out to save for later. It's at
www.ecblendflavors.com.
My regular all-day every-day vape reminds me POWERFULLY of the taste of the Virginia Slims I smoked, and no, it's not all about the nicotine level -- myfreedomsmokes.com "Virginia" has a very good throat hit at 6mg, which is what I vape most of the time, although turning up the power on my variable voltage also helps with throat hit. But, although the flavor is similar, it's nothing like as bitter as the real cigarettes; when I first tried it, although I recognized the flavor, it seemed much sweeter -- but again, that's because the cigarettes are so bitter, a fact I realized about 2 wks after starting to vape this Virginia, and promptly quit smoking because the cigarettes were just NASTY tasting.
Andria