I had initially posted this as a response to another thread, but realized that I just did a review rather than a response. ;-) Reposting here in the reviews forum.
I've tried every flavor except the Castle Long Reserve, which I just can't justify paying for since I find the regular blend of Castle Long just lovely as it is.
I'm not going to give you all of my thoughts on every liquid, but I'll give you a brief rundown of each:
From the Mixology Edition:
Castle Long Just a nice, sweet (but not too sweet) vape. Very satisfying to me, but I love coconut and almond. In all honesty, they are two of my favorite flavors, so I'm biased. My husband likes this one as well, and he isn't a usual e-cig user. It's sweet but not too much so.
Lucena If you love white peach or a full-bodied fruit in general, you will enjoy this. There is nothing chemical-tasting about the peach (thank God). It tastes exactly like a sophisticated peach cobbler. It's smooth, with a bit of a bite on the inhale. If it had a touch more hazelnut to calm the sweetness a bit, I would repurchase this one. Unfortunately it's just a bit too sweet for me.
Sixty-Four Since the flavor notes in this one hint at a summer drink (a mojito), I tried this while I was sitting in the sun at my parent's house on the lake. I find that sometimes your surroundings and the seasons affect your perspective on liquid, so I try to give them a fair shake in this regard. With that said: I get way too much dill on this guy, and a bit of gin (pine needles). While I love gin, I don't like it in my vape. And while I love my granny's dill pickles, I don't enjoy them with gin. And to be honest, vaping pickles is not on my list of things to do. I found this unvapable. Very complex, yes. But in a yucky way.
Perpetual Check Ummm...how do I begin? This stuff is like angels dancing on my tongue. A beautiful liquid. It's close to being my favorite out of the two sample packs. Sweet, but not overly so. Very smooth. The fig is perfect. Very realistic. It's reminiscent of a cobbler--probably due to the hint of cinnamon. The barley flavor is what makes this one shine in my opinion, since it rounds everything out. It almost reminds me of a stout beer, but in a good way. Probably the smoothest vape in the bunch, which surprised me because of the lemon, black currant, and cinnamon notes. I thought it would be more sharp, but it's not. And that's a good thing for me. There is little-to-no throat hit, so if a solid throat hit is your thing, you may not enjoy it.
Fifth Rank At first I liked this, but the horehound is just too pronounced. Maybe if I let it steep awhile it'll grow on me. It's very complex and smells great, but right now I'm just not digging it. If they'd take it easy on the horehound, I'm pretty sure that I'd enjoy it.
From the Signature Series:
Grandmaster Oh, how I love this liquid. I'm the sort of person who doesn't like peanut butter in anything. I like it by itself, but not mixed. I know, I'm weird. But this stuff? Oh my. So smooth, such a realistic peanut butter, and with that bit of banana it's heavenly. This is easily an all-day-vape. Easily. The peanut butter is a true peanut flavor, so if you're looking for an overly-sweet Peter Pan PB flavor, you may be disappointed. To me, the realistic peanut is a good thing. It's creamy goodness from start to finish. Try it and you won't be disappointed. Worth every penny.
Gambit Another beautiful flavor. Tastes like realistic apple pie with real whipped cream, including the crust. It's just a touch too sweet for me, but I don't like overly-sweet vapes (or desserts, for that matter). I won't be repurchasing for this reason. If you love sweets, you will love this.
Queenside One of my other favorites. The blood orange in this is spot-on. Think high-end or gourmet dreamsicle. It reminds me of eating blood orange gelato mixed with a true vanilla ice cream topped with real whipped cream. It's smooth and it's tasty. So damn good. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this, but I realize that taste is truly subjective.
Bowden's Mate Very good. If you enjoy after dinner mint ice cream, you will like this. Definitely minty and chocolate, but it's rounded out with the creamy vanilla. I won't be reordering because it's not my favorite and this stuff is pricey, but I did enjoy it.
Absolute Pin Absolutely disgusting. Hated it. I like black licorice but that absinthe in there just took over and almost made me hurl. Also, I can't vape anisette or absinthe vapes because I have an immediate reaction in my windpipe. You would have thought that I'd learned by now. Nearly had an asthma attack--and I don't have asthma.
Is the pricing fair on this stuff? That depends on your perspective. Personally, I'm an ultra-picky vaper. I cannot vape artificial and perfumey flavors. I get instant headaches and nausea takes over if I do. I can say that none of these flavors fall into those categories (with the exception of the Absolute Pin, but not due to artifically-flavored reasons). Also, the flavors are most definitely complex and lovely. These are very nuanced flavors and I can tell that a lot of time and effort went into creating them. Because of this, I believe that they're worth the price. Still cheaper than smoking (depending on how much you vape, I imagine). Foodies will definitely find the price to be worth it. This stuff truly is top-shelf, and I've tried hundreds of liquids so I feel like I can say that.
A favorite? I can't really say. It's too difficult for me to narrow it down.
I've tried every flavor except the Castle Long Reserve, which I just can't justify paying for since I find the regular blend of Castle Long just lovely as it is.
I'm not going to give you all of my thoughts on every liquid, but I'll give you a brief rundown of each:
From the Mixology Edition:
Castle Long Just a nice, sweet (but not too sweet) vape. Very satisfying to me, but I love coconut and almond. In all honesty, they are two of my favorite flavors, so I'm biased. My husband likes this one as well, and he isn't a usual e-cig user. It's sweet but not too much so.
Lucena If you love white peach or a full-bodied fruit in general, you will enjoy this. There is nothing chemical-tasting about the peach (thank God). It tastes exactly like a sophisticated peach cobbler. It's smooth, with a bit of a bite on the inhale. If it had a touch more hazelnut to calm the sweetness a bit, I would repurchase this one. Unfortunately it's just a bit too sweet for me.
Sixty-Four Since the flavor notes in this one hint at a summer drink (a mojito), I tried this while I was sitting in the sun at my parent's house on the lake. I find that sometimes your surroundings and the seasons affect your perspective on liquid, so I try to give them a fair shake in this regard. With that said: I get way too much dill on this guy, and a bit of gin (pine needles). While I love gin, I don't like it in my vape. And while I love my granny's dill pickles, I don't enjoy them with gin. And to be honest, vaping pickles is not on my list of things to do. I found this unvapable. Very complex, yes. But in a yucky way.
Perpetual Check Ummm...how do I begin? This stuff is like angels dancing on my tongue. A beautiful liquid. It's close to being my favorite out of the two sample packs. Sweet, but not overly so. Very smooth. The fig is perfect. Very realistic. It's reminiscent of a cobbler--probably due to the hint of cinnamon. The barley flavor is what makes this one shine in my opinion, since it rounds everything out. It almost reminds me of a stout beer, but in a good way. Probably the smoothest vape in the bunch, which surprised me because of the lemon, black currant, and cinnamon notes. I thought it would be more sharp, but it's not. And that's a good thing for me. There is little-to-no throat hit, so if a solid throat hit is your thing, you may not enjoy it.
Fifth Rank At first I liked this, but the horehound is just too pronounced. Maybe if I let it steep awhile it'll grow on me. It's very complex and smells great, but right now I'm just not digging it. If they'd take it easy on the horehound, I'm pretty sure that I'd enjoy it.
From the Signature Series:
Grandmaster Oh, how I love this liquid. I'm the sort of person who doesn't like peanut butter in anything. I like it by itself, but not mixed. I know, I'm weird. But this stuff? Oh my. So smooth, such a realistic peanut butter, and with that bit of banana it's heavenly. This is easily an all-day-vape. Easily. The peanut butter is a true peanut flavor, so if you're looking for an overly-sweet Peter Pan PB flavor, you may be disappointed. To me, the realistic peanut is a good thing. It's creamy goodness from start to finish. Try it and you won't be disappointed. Worth every penny.
Gambit Another beautiful flavor. Tastes like realistic apple pie with real whipped cream, including the crust. It's just a touch too sweet for me, but I don't like overly-sweet vapes (or desserts, for that matter). I won't be repurchasing for this reason. If you love sweets, you will love this.
Queenside One of my other favorites. The blood orange in this is spot-on. Think high-end or gourmet dreamsicle. It reminds me of eating blood orange gelato mixed with a true vanilla ice cream topped with real whipped cream. It's smooth and it's tasty. So damn good. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this, but I realize that taste is truly subjective.
Bowden's Mate Very good. If you enjoy after dinner mint ice cream, you will like this. Definitely minty and chocolate, but it's rounded out with the creamy vanilla. I won't be reordering because it's not my favorite and this stuff is pricey, but I did enjoy it.
Absolute Pin Absolutely disgusting. Hated it. I like black licorice but that absinthe in there just took over and almost made me hurl. Also, I can't vape anisette or absinthe vapes because I have an immediate reaction in my windpipe. You would have thought that I'd learned by now. Nearly had an asthma attack--and I don't have asthma.
Is the pricing fair on this stuff? That depends on your perspective. Personally, I'm an ultra-picky vaper. I cannot vape artificial and perfumey flavors. I get instant headaches and nausea takes over if I do. I can say that none of these flavors fall into those categories (with the exception of the Absolute Pin, but not due to artifically-flavored reasons). Also, the flavors are most definitely complex and lovely. These are very nuanced flavors and I can tell that a lot of time and effort went into creating them. Because of this, I believe that they're worth the price. Still cheaper than smoking (depending on how much you vape, I imagine). Foodies will definitely find the price to be worth it. This stuff truly is top-shelf, and I've tried hundreds of liquids so I feel like I can say that.
A favorite? I can't really say. It's too difficult for me to narrow it down.
