My buddy says Shire and LBL are totally different. I say they are nearly the same. To me its almost like he took LBL and mellowed it out further and malted it. Id be glad to send you some Shire. PM me your addy and it will be on the way this week. You should have just bought the sampler though, you may like Grandpa's. I dont really have any of that left to send you. I actually do have some but it is very old at this point. I should have tossed it already I think. It must be 6-8 months now.
I met a guy at a local vape store with a 24mg LBL that he had let sit on the shelf for about 4-5 months. I wanted it but 24mg is way over my limit (back surgery meant an instant cut in my nicotine intake, doctor worries about bone growth). However I smelled it and it smelled SOOOOOO good.
I've put my 30ml 6mg aside for a couple of months to see if mine steeps like his does. I opened it once or twice. I'm betting it slightly oxidizes.
Beyond that, agreed, Shire Malt and LBL have a similar flavor. Like comparing a vanilla shake to a vanilla malt. I think I overall like the malt better (and probably why I liked that steeped LBL so much).
Juicy, have you tried the non-LOTR fruit sauces? I've started making Kentucky Bluegrass my go-to dripper and I often mix the Bluegrass (blueberry), peach and equal portion of LBL or Malt with them. Sometimes I mix the 2 fruits with a different tobacco flavored one I have just for a little change-up. I posted about this mix a bit before you hit the forum regularly. The thing I like about the 3-way mix is the tobacco mellows the others, and the other two have different temp profiles so you taste both separately on a high temp hit during the same vape. A very complex flavor. Add a tiny bit of clove and -wham-.
The main reason I don't like a lot of flavors is lack of complexity. Especially with the fruits. Mixing lets you tailor something that has a mix of flavors almost like an iridescent color effect only via taste instead of colors.
Then again, I'm that guy that sees a wine (or, in days past, a cigar) that said something like "spices with a touch of tobacco flavor and a slight leather finish" and went "YUM!".
I'm pondering making some recipes that mimic wine and cigar descriptions to really give something complex, but, my tastes seem to be alot different than most
(2 parts Oak Barrel + 1 part Malt + a couple drops of peach + 1 drop of clove is pretty nice, too)
VapeMail Today 
