After little more than a year of vaping, I have become increasingly skeptical of juice reviews, if only because a quick perusal of any vaping forum shows how subjective the e-juice flavor experience can be. And, out of the more than 100 flavors I have sampled over the past year, less than 1/10th of them were flavors I would want to continue to use, though many others apparently love them. There are a few instances, however, where the quality and uniqueness of certain vendors' products becomes apparent, and I see this happening with Highbrow.
Highbrow now joins the ranks as one of few e-juice vendors who take an artisanal approach to crafting their juices. It caught my attention that Highbrow encourages imaginative customization of flavors when placing orders. Not just limited to the "double flavoring" or "added sweetener" that some vendors kindly offer, Highbrow takes this many steps further. For example, on the order page for their Exotic Tobacco, it is suggested to request a touch of one of many recommended fruit flavors. The order page for Vanilla suggests trying it with more or less cream. The sky is the limit.
The quality of ingredients is also quite apparent. When I asked what additive was used to impart sour or tart qualities, I was informed that they use their own lemon extractions. Needless to say, I was impressed. So, I started with a test drive of three of their tobacco flavors.
Exotic Blend:
Out of the dozens of tobacco flavors I have tried, many were described as pipe tobaccos. I never smoked pipe tobacco, so I don't have a real-life reference, but nothing that I tried before conjured anything remotely like what I would imagine a pipe tobacco flavor to be. Exotic Blend took me by surprise. I've settled into a few cigarette/cigar juices over the past few months, so this was quite a different flavor profile for me. After the first few puffs, I went back to my old standard daily vape, but I was getting hints of the Exotic Blend left over in my atomizer. I found myself acclimating to this new taste - and craving it. It didn't take long before it was the only thing I was vaping, and even though it is described on the Highbrow site as a cigarette flavor, it really did conjure the feeling that I was smoking a luxurious pipe tobacco - not ashy, and much more rich, warm, and complex than any cigarette-type flavor I have tried. Perhaps worth pairing with a fine scotch, port, or brandy. It made me wish that my high-tech-looking Joye eGo was carved out of Mahogany, and that I should be in a robe by a fireplace in a quaint English library. Nothing overtly sweet, nothing artificial. There may be some notes that seem a bit floral at first vape, but this soon settled into the the flavor profile as a natural aspect of the tobacco (and is likely an aspect that disappears with a little steeping). There is also a "tangy" personality of this tobacco flavor - I knew I had tasted it somewhere else before, then it struck me that there are some similarities to the popular BWB 555...I could compare it to the hint of bergamot oil in an Earl Grey tea...but, for those who find that flavor far from what they imagine a tobacco to be, Exotic Blend could, perhaps, make the connection that one is lacking to the real thing. I have also been told that this flavor will improve significantly with some steeping. At 12mg in 100% VG, it was extremely satisfying. All Highbrow juices are available as PG, VG, or a PG/VG combination.
RY4:
A tamer tobacco profile than the Exotic Blend, with the expected RY4 elements of caramel, vanilla, and hint of cocoa. This flavor appears to already be gaining recognition in the RY4 Roundup here, and with good reason. Not nearly as sweet as may other RY4 variations - this also has the "top shelf" flavor profile that seems to be a pattern in Highbrow juices. If the Exotic Blend is an overwhelming flavor to some, but still appeals to you, this could easily be an all-day vape. Also at 12mg and 100% VG, I found it a little lighter on throat hit than Exotic Tobacco, but satisfying nonetheless.
I also have the French Pipe, which I enjoy very much, but I would like to see how the cherry aspect settles into the tobacco flavor after a bit of time before reviewing.
Overall, I am very impressed with Highbrow. This is a vendor that takes pride in their work, and their attention to customers' individual tastes is an enticing incentive to give them a try. Knowing how demanding us vapers can be - it will be interesting to see how well they can handle custom orders from the inevitable hordes of customers who can barely stand to go a day without their favorite vape! But, even if it comes down to having to wait, it will be well worth it for the artisan quality of these juices. I have already ordered a big bottle of Exotic Blend, and look forward to trying many of their other flavors over time.
Highbrow now joins the ranks as one of few e-juice vendors who take an artisanal approach to crafting their juices. It caught my attention that Highbrow encourages imaginative customization of flavors when placing orders. Not just limited to the "double flavoring" or "added sweetener" that some vendors kindly offer, Highbrow takes this many steps further. For example, on the order page for their Exotic Tobacco, it is suggested to request a touch of one of many recommended fruit flavors. The order page for Vanilla suggests trying it with more or less cream. The sky is the limit.
The quality of ingredients is also quite apparent. When I asked what additive was used to impart sour or tart qualities, I was informed that they use their own lemon extractions. Needless to say, I was impressed. So, I started with a test drive of three of their tobacco flavors.
Exotic Blend:
Out of the dozens of tobacco flavors I have tried, many were described as pipe tobaccos. I never smoked pipe tobacco, so I don't have a real-life reference, but nothing that I tried before conjured anything remotely like what I would imagine a pipe tobacco flavor to be. Exotic Blend took me by surprise. I've settled into a few cigarette/cigar juices over the past few months, so this was quite a different flavor profile for me. After the first few puffs, I went back to my old standard daily vape, but I was getting hints of the Exotic Blend left over in my atomizer. I found myself acclimating to this new taste - and craving it. It didn't take long before it was the only thing I was vaping, and even though it is described on the Highbrow site as a cigarette flavor, it really did conjure the feeling that I was smoking a luxurious pipe tobacco - not ashy, and much more rich, warm, and complex than any cigarette-type flavor I have tried. Perhaps worth pairing with a fine scotch, port, or brandy. It made me wish that my high-tech-looking Joye eGo was carved out of Mahogany, and that I should be in a robe by a fireplace in a quaint English library. Nothing overtly sweet, nothing artificial. There may be some notes that seem a bit floral at first vape, but this soon settled into the the flavor profile as a natural aspect of the tobacco (and is likely an aspect that disappears with a little steeping). There is also a "tangy" personality of this tobacco flavor - I knew I had tasted it somewhere else before, then it struck me that there are some similarities to the popular BWB 555...I could compare it to the hint of bergamot oil in an Earl Grey tea...but, for those who find that flavor far from what they imagine a tobacco to be, Exotic Blend could, perhaps, make the connection that one is lacking to the real thing. I have also been told that this flavor will improve significantly with some steeping. At 12mg in 100% VG, it was extremely satisfying. All Highbrow juices are available as PG, VG, or a PG/VG combination.
RY4:
A tamer tobacco profile than the Exotic Blend, with the expected RY4 elements of caramel, vanilla, and hint of cocoa. This flavor appears to already be gaining recognition in the RY4 Roundup here, and with good reason. Not nearly as sweet as may other RY4 variations - this also has the "top shelf" flavor profile that seems to be a pattern in Highbrow juices. If the Exotic Blend is an overwhelming flavor to some, but still appeals to you, this could easily be an all-day vape. Also at 12mg and 100% VG, I found it a little lighter on throat hit than Exotic Tobacco, but satisfying nonetheless.
I also have the French Pipe, which I enjoy very much, but I would like to see how the cherry aspect settles into the tobacco flavor after a bit of time before reviewing.
Overall, I am very impressed with Highbrow. This is a vendor that takes pride in their work, and their attention to customers' individual tastes is an enticing incentive to give them a try. Knowing how demanding us vapers can be - it will be interesting to see how well they can handle custom orders from the inevitable hordes of customers who can barely stand to go a day without their favorite vape! But, even if it comes down to having to wait, it will be well worth it for the artisan quality of these juices. I have already ordered a big bottle of Exotic Blend, and look forward to trying many of their other flavors over time.
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