Johnson Creek Red Oak Sampler Pack Review

[VDS_NY]

I've tried JC before, namely the Original and Tenn Cured, and really didn't like either one. They tasted perfumey and overly complex, and the vapor wasn't that great either. But when I saw that JC had a new VG brand coming out, I couldn't resist ordering the sampler. What can I say, I likes the VG liquids and the vapor they give.

For the record, I only vape tobacco flavors, can't stand the sweet and fruity stuff. Not judging those who do (actually, I'm a bit jealous of them 'cos its so hard to find a decent tobacco vape) but thats just the way it is. If I vape banana or something (which I've tried) my brain just says "Nope, thats just not gonna work, gimme something harsh and tobacco-ey!" The only thing that satisfies my nic cravings is tobacco flavors.

So, with that in mind, a quick review of the six flavors for those who are interested. All flavors were 18mg and vaped with my eGo, using two 510 attys and two 901 attys.

Rating System -
***** Outstanding, best vape ever!
**** Really Good, I'll buy more of this soon.
*** Good, might buy some more.
** Vapable, but not worth the money.
* Poor, a waste of good nicotine.
None So bad, even a cig tastes better than this! (gasp)

Domestic - Tastewise, an improvement over the Original and TC, but not much. Still too perfumey and over-done for my druthers. The only positive thing I can say is that its not overly sweet and has a decent spicy after-flavor. Tastes more like pipe tobacoo than a cigarette. I'm giving it 2 stars outta five but I might warm up to this if I use it more. It isn't bad, just not what I was expecting. Vapor is really good (Its good for all the flavors, actually) and TH is not bad at all for VG.
Vapor ****
TH ***
Taste **

Valencia - My 2nd favorite, which suprised me. Like I said earlier, fruity tastes are nor for me. It tastes a bit like the domestic but better tobacco-wise and has an Orange after flavor that is not too strong or too sweet, just a hint and its very nice. It isn't an all day vape but I might just order some more of this, just to have something different in my arsenal. TH was a just a little less than the Domestic.
Vapor ****
TH ***
Taste ***

Island - Absolutley vile! Hands down the worst liquid I've ever vaped. Sweet, perfumey-fakey, and just plain nasty! Tastes like a fruit salad that has been sitting in the sun for a few days and gone really, really bad. And the worst thing is, I still taste the two drops I put into my 901 atty over 24 hours later. It was so bad I don't even remember what the TH was like.
Vapor ****
TH ?
Taste Nil-Zip-Nada! Can't even give it one star! Worst Vape Evah!!!

Marcado - This kind of contradicts everything I wrote earlier about not liking complex flavors. The Mercado is just awesome! Its spicy and warm-tasting with a very good throat-hit. The strongest flavor is cinnamon, but its muted and has a touch of clove and tobacco. This is the kind of vape that you fire up after a nice meal, with a cup of strong coffee or tea and just enjoy. For taste, I'm giving it four stars, not five, only because its really not something you can vape all day, its just too strong. Not over-powering, but strong.
Vapor ****
TH ****
Taste ****

Swiss Dark - Not my cup of tea but unlike the Island, I can see why some people would like it. If you've ever had "real home-made" hot chocolate, made with milk, sugar, and bakers chocolate, it tastes a lot like that. Not overly sweet and rich chocolatey taste. Not bad at all, if ya like that kind of thing. TH seemed weaker than the others, but maybe its just me not being into it that much.
Vapor ****
TH **
Taste **

Wisconsin Frost - Again, I was surprised I liked one. Its the hardest to describe, thats for sure. Its srongest flavor is menthol/mint but its not overpowering. It does have a hint of spices. I'm not a big menthol fan but this one is really different and original, and probably the best I've tasted so far. The mint/spice combo gives it a good TH.
Vapor ****
TH ***
Taste ***

Sorry for the length, but hopefully somebody out there finds this useful. Happy vaping!!!

 

[River]

Lol, good I'm glad you gave the overview because I don't feel like finishing my in depth type review that I started a few days ago.

Here is my overall take from best to worst flavors.

W. Frost: probably my fav or at least a tie for 1st place. I'm going to use alone and also to tone down the sweetness of my other mints and menthols.

Domestic: Same deal, will use it alone occasionally but it's going to be great to use as something to add to other flavors and take away from the relentless sweetness of my PG based tobacco flavors.

Swiss Dark: Nice vape but not great, smells and tastes like when you open a can of non-sweetned baking cocoa, once again I will use it as a mixer and be glad it's around for that purpose.

Marcado: Ok if you are into clove, it was interesting but I will probably never touch it again.

Valencia: Way too strong for me and the smell and taste reminded me of that trick where you take an orange rind and squeeze it into a lighter to watch the oils catch fire.

Island: is there a category for best smelling yet worst tasting vape ever? if so this one goes into that category.

Not a one of these had even a bit of sweetness to me so that was certainly a very different experiance than I am used to.

One thing that stands out is the fantastic vapor they produce and I feel the TH is at least adequate up to pretty decent for an 18mg liquid. I also liked being able to take deep analog type drags and still blowing out clouds of vapor.

The lesson learned here for me is you know the old saying about being careful what you wish for because you just may get it? Well I wished multiple times for liquids to be less sweet and more like analogs and JC delivered lol!

I will probably order Domestic and W. Frost to keep on hand but none of the others.

 

[VDS_NY]

Island: is there a category for best smelling yet worst tasting vape ever? if so this one goes into that category.

The Island is so bad it borders on the criminal. Just thinking about it makes me gag.

One thing that stands out is the fantastic vapor they produce and I feel the TH is at least adequate up to pretty decent for an 18mg liquid. I also liked being able to take deep analog type drags and still blowing out clouds of vapor.

Couldn't agree with ya more. Vapor production is really good and the TH for an all VG liquid is also not bad.

BTW I read your review of the Domestic and liked it.

 

[apocalicious]

i liked the island upon first inhale but i get a disgusting coppery taste on exhale that just ruined it for me. domestic and swiss dark are both very tasty though! i think ill be reordering those two,but halo will be my all day everyday vape...

 

[beanman56]

I received the sample pack last week and tried everything but the Island over the weekend.

The vapor from everything I tried is excellent.

Valencia and Mercado provided the most TH. These are probably my favorites out of the five I tried. I like the citrus undertones of the Valencia, but I can't smoke it all day (I prefer tobacco flavors). Will probably buy a bottle of it for occassional use.

Wisconsin Frost didn't have much taste for me. I expected something more mentholly or minty. TH is almost non-existent. Would not buy.

Domestic is too light in flavor for me. Almost no TH. Would not buy.

Swiss Dark has a very strong chocolate taste. Not much TH. The main problem I ran into, is that the Swiss Dark ruined one of my attys. I can't vape anything with that atty without getting a very strong chocolate flavor mixed in (damn). Would not buy.

I haven't tried the Island and I probably won't after reading this thread.

 

[suzieq72]

I kinda like the Swiss Dark Chocolate. Reminds me of hot cocoa. I was surprised by the dark color and thickness of the liquid though. Not a lot of TH but flavor is decent. I just can't escape my preference for Tennessee Cured and really wished it came in a non-PG version. It's the only one I really love.

 

[CJsKee]

I got the sample pack and pretty much liked the flavor of all of them. TH of most was decent (not great) and the vapor was good. BUT, daughter and I both had a problem with the juice burning. I dripped a couple of drops of each just to try out. I filled a cart and blew out the atty before putting it on. A LOT of very dark eliquid came out. We both use poly in our carts and it would turn very dark and attys would flood with burned eliquid. Got a new atty but I'm kinda leery about using the JC in it now. Anyone else had a problem like this?

 

[River]

I received the sample pack last week and tried everything but the Island over the weekend.

The vapor from everything I tried is excellent.

Valencia and Mercado provided the most TH. These are probably my favorites out of the five I tried. I like the citrus undertones of the Valencia, but I can't smoke it all day (I prefer tobacco flavors). Will probably buy a bottle of it for occassional use.

Wisconsin Frost didn't have much taste for me. I expected something more mentholly or minty. TH is almost non-existent. Would not buy.

Domestic is too light in flavor for me. Almost no TH. Would not buy.

Swiss Dark has a very strong chocolate taste. Not much TH. The main problem I ran into, is that the Swiss Dark ruined one of my attys. I can't vape anything with that atty without getting a very strong chocolate flavor mixed in (damn). Would not buy.

I haven't tried the Island and I probably won't after reading this thread.

You should try Island anyway, there are tons of stuff I hate that people rave about here. Just the nature of the beast when it comes to flavor. Don't let us mess up what may be your favorite because truthfully you just never know what people will like or not like.

 

[Chriswerx]

I just tried this sampler too. It's my first experience with an e-juice. Just started the whole vaping thing last week.Haven't made it to the valencia or or the chocolate yet.

The others are pretty good. TH is a little weak as most of you are saying. The island had no TH at all for me. It was like vaping an air freshener. If it wasn't for the nicotine I'd prolly use this in my car for a smelly.

The marcado is nice. It's almost got a chai latte thing goin on there. And is it me or does the domestic and frost have this vanilla/caramel undertone? Kinda funky, but good.

 

[Dark Knight]

I was going to post a review on these but you nailed it, I felt the same about these flavors. Overall the domestic was my favorite but I dont think I would order any of these again. French Vanilla is still my favorite, and now they only make it in PG. I will have to mix it with VG and hope for the best.

 

[apocalicious]

domestic gets better and better with every vape. my only prob with it is the burnt taste i get from it after a few puffs,but that is easily taken care of with a few more drops. mercado is nice but im having a helluva time getting the clove taste out of my atty after only 2 drops.

 

[VDS_NY]

These liquids are hard to judge after just a few vapes IMO (except for the Island). The marcado is still my fav, while the domestic is improving and the valencia is becoming less and less impressive.

And, yes, these flavors tend to linger a loooonnngg while in the attys.

 

[anim8r]

I kinda like the Swiss Dark Chocolate. Reminds me of hot cocoa. I was surprised by the dark color and thickness of the liquid though. Not a lot of TH but flavor is decent. I just can't escape my preference for Tennessee Cured and really wished it came in a non-PG version. It's the only one I really love.

I REALLY like the Swiss Dark.

And I agree, this is a very smooth vape with very little TH, but I tend to like smoother blends. Also, this produces a LOT more vapor than my other favorite JC liquids.

Perfect cocoa flavor without the sweetness. Sweet vapes get boring to me (and really quickly). This is definitely cocoa, but made like how a strong coffee drinker might prefer a cup of cocoa.

This was a nice surprize. JC normally has a smokey background flavor that I really like and this one doesn't. If someone said they eliminated JC's smokey undertone, I may not have tried it. But, I'm glad I did.

I give them an A+ on this one.

 

[jimik]

The Marcado is pretty good, the vapor is more plentiful than the mixed-pg variants of JC that I am used to. Black cherry mixed with wilton VG is still my all time favorite.

I'll have to give the valencia a shot.

 

[Michelle M]

Thanks for this excellent review. I too got a sampler. I love the Marcado. A clove taste with other goodies mixed in, yet not overpowering or tongue-numbing. The Valencia is good for occasional use.

The Wisconsin Frost was a little disappointing. Just not much there. I was really built up about this one. I'm going to keep trying it in hopes I'll get more out of it.

I like the domestic. Lacks the sweetness of some of JC's other incarnations.

Thumbs up for the Swiss Dark. A delicious "dessert" flavor.

About the "Island" flavor: When my sampler arrived, the cap on the Island was cross-threaded and most of the sample leaked out (about half a bottle). Fortunately they're sealed in plastic so the mess was confined. I could smell it before I opened the plastic. Oh, man. So sweet it's not funny. The smell was so off-putting I can't reconcile myself to trying it.

 

[unit40]

Didn't I mention somewhere that I thought the Domestic flaver must be mis-labelled. It actually tastes like "almond Biscotti". Nothing like tobacco whatsoever. Three - no four of us at work dis-liked it so much it got trashed. Wasn't really bad at all, just not something we could vape.

 

[VDS_NY]

Thanks for this excellent review. I too got a sampler. I love the Marcado. A clove taste with other goodies mixed in, yet not overpowering or tongue-numbing. The Valencia is good for occasional use.

Thanks for liking my review! I ordered more of the Marcado, hopefully it will be here tomorrow. I love it with the morning coffee/tea, its already part of my wake-up ritual.

About the "Island" flavor: When my sampler arrived, the cap on the Island was cross-threaded and most of the sample leaked out (about half a bottle). Fortunately they're sealed in plastic so the mess was confined. I could smell it before I opened the plastic. Oh, man. So sweet it's not funny. The smell was so off-putting I can't reconcile myself to trying it.

Count yourself lucky!

Didn't I mention somewhere that I thought the Domestic flaver must be mis-labelled. It actually tastes like "almond Biscotti". Nothing like tobacco whatsoever. Three - no four of us at work dis-liked it so much it got trashed. Wasn't really bad at all, just not something we could vape.

I don't get that "almond biscotti" flavor but I believe you. The domestic is okay but still has something in it I'm not crazy about. I like it better than when I first did the review but I still don't like it enough to buy more.

 

[-Go51]

Thx VDS for mentioning the Mercado. I saw it on their site and was wondering about it. I'll give it a shot.

 

[smellrose]

Just got my bottle of Swiss Dark Chocolate today and all I can say is yum! Very nice strong cocoa flavor, and when a put a drop or 2 on top of Espresso, all I can say is mm mm good

 

[dmorenof]

I have tried Swiss Dark, Wisconsin Frost and Island, and I think most of the descriptions here are quite accurate, except for Island. I don't think it is that nasty, as I read here, a bit perfumey indeed, but a nice, exceptional flavor. Definitely not an all day vape, but surely an enjoyable alternative flavor.