I look at steeping my juice as a sign of freshness. When I get something new I always try atleast one fill without steeping and if I like it, I don't bother. Captain Jack and Tribeca are the two flavors from Halo that I really need to steep. What juices do you recommend Tez? I haven't ventured much outside of Halo products.
Heh, heh, some of those Halo flavors are almost putrid before they steep, but it's really amazing how they transform into great juices! I like to try juices right out of the mail too, to see if and how it will change. I think it's a great idea, plus I don't have the patience to order a new flavor and then not touch it.
I'll just stick to my tobacco vape recommendations in keeping with the spirit of this thread, and thanks for asking! And of course I'll add the obligatory "taste is subjective" and "these are my opinions" disclaimer. I'll omit Halo, since you've got some experience with them, and probably more experience than I have with them since I only found them recently.
My current favorite juice is Long Bottom Leaf from ePipemods, which is part of their Pipe Sauce line. I think this stuff is incredible, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of discussion of these yet. Pbusardo just put out a video review of all six flavors in the Pipe Sauce line, and I've been lighting up the threads trying to get more opinions about this stuff. It's just a really good, rich, and complex pipe tobacco. I can't put it down! The flavor is really hard to define but there's a nice creamy vanilla undertone, I think. I also have there Sweet Georgia Peach, which I also like a lot, although not quite as much as the LBL, but that shouldn't detract from the quality of SGP, since LBL is in a class of its own. While with most fruit/tobacco vapes I've tried the fruit usually mutes the tobacco practically into oblivion, the peach and tobacco are nicely blended so it doesn't taste like you're smoking while eating a peach -- it tastes like you're smoking a peach flavored pipe tobacco. The only drawback with ePipemods is that they only sell 30 mL bottles. This ended up not being a drawback for me, because I blew through 10 mL of each flavor pretty quickly. I think that offering sample sizes would greatly improve their sales, but I like this stuff so much that I'm gearing up to order 30 mL's of a couple other flavors when I reorder the other two.
I like several from Backwoods Brew, and most of them have been mentioned already. Of the juices that they still sell, I think Casablanca is probably the best, although I don't like having to wait so long for it to steep. I like the 555 Exotic a lot too, and Backo and Virginia are just great, straight-forward tobaccos. I don't really like their fruity tobaccos as much because I don't think they've captured that harmonious balance that ePipemods Sweet Georgia Peach has, but others like them well enough.
From Alien Visions, Boba's Bounty is a classic. I didn't want to like it so much, since it's probably the most discussed and most beloved juice out there (I'm always looking for the underdog), but I think I've ended up vaping more of this than any other juice. Their Gorilla Juice is interesting and pretty good, but their 555 is the one I go to when I'm looking for something that will satisfy me the way a cigarette used to. I don't think it really tastes like a cigarette, and frankly I'm not exactly sure why I love this juice so much, but it's always on stand-by for me. I think it's just the right combination between interesting flavor, solid throat hit, and tons of vapor.
I'm also a big fan of Want2Vape's tobacco extracts, particularly the Alcazar, Managua, and London. My only problem with them is they tend to cause my attys to die prematurely. These aren't clean-burning juices like Halo. They are down-and-dirty honest-to-God tobacco. It's the small organic solids from the tobacco extraction process that are difficult to filter out that clog up attys. These juices are sooooo good and authentic, though. Alcazar and Managua are so spot on that I feel like I am smoking a nice dark, rich cigar. The London is a dead-ringer for an English pipe tobacco, but it's not to everyone's liking since most people think of French aromatic tobacco when they think of pipes. I really like it, though, and it's a "special occasion" vape for me.
I could probably go on and I'm sure I've left out some important ones, but these are the tip-top of my list.
One company I am very curious about that I haven't tried is Goodejuice. They also extract tobacco, but apparently they've come up with a way to filter the solids out to the point where it's not such an atty killer. I like the idea of a juice that captures Want2Vape's magic, but doesn't wreak havoc on my hardware. Their prices look really good too, and the next order I place will likely be with them.
