making menthol juice, am i doing it right?

[rook2pawn]

i have

100mg Nic juice
Lots of PG/VG
Menthol crystals
Ethyl Maltol


I want to get 24mg strength juice.
So i will add 2.4 ML of my nic juice and 7.6 ML of PG/VG mix to get 24 mg juice.

Question 1: Menthol Crystals disolved in juice / PGA + Ethyl Maltol = Good Enough flavoring?


Also PGA, where do i get this and do i just add a bit of PGA to menthol crystals / Ethyl maltol?

It would seem it would make a "Slurry" of Menthol.. like a slosh, yes?? And then i add that slosh to my juice??

 

[AzPlumber]

The EM should be mixed at 10% in PG - that's 1/4 tsp in 10ml of PG. Use a few drops of this solution in your e-liquid as a sweetener or to smooth it out. I don't use menthol but i think it's pretty much the same process.

 

[rook2pawn]

The EM should be mixed at 10% in PG - that's 1/4 tsp in 10ml of PG. Use a few drops of this solution in your e-liquid as a sweetener or to smooth it out. I don't use menthol but i think it's pretty much the same process.

So overall, my process seems correct and im not missing anything major here? btw what about dissolving in PGA, i hear this keeps the dissolution good at least with respect to menthol.

 

[AzPlumber]

PGA is pure grain alcahol or better known as everclear. PGA is a better solvent for dilutions but adds a flavor that some don't care for. PG is a little more work but does the same job without changing the flavor. Just remember these 10% dilutions are strong and used sparingly in your mixes.

 

[panachronic]

Just keep in mind that your menthol flavoring is stronger than you think it is. Even if you already realize it's pretty strong... nu-uh, it's stronger than that.

 

[Tona Aspsusa]

I hadn't read enough when I got my supplies and was itching to do something, so what I did with my menthol crystals is pretty far from the recommendations I have read since.

But it worked very well for me, and since I am a bit sensitive to stronger flavours I am very happy I didn't follow any of the typical recommendations for dissolving the crystals, as that would have made them unusably strong to me.

What I did was simple put a few crystals in a 10ml bottle of PGA and let it stand over night. It had completely dissolved. I then added a few drops (1 per 3ml or so) to my virginia-flavoured juice. Quite nice.

I have later added some more crystals to my bottle of menthol-spirits, and it is now on the verge of being too strong for me.
This bottle will probably last me quite a while, but if I were to do this again I would slightly tweak my method:

To about 5 ml of vodka (or PGA, but now think vodka would work just as well, especially if I'm not in a hurry) add something between 5 and 10 crystals. Give it a little shake, let stand over night. Possibly shake it some more and/or give it a warm bath next day if needed (probably not).
Dilute this spirit in VG or PG at about 10-20% (ie 1/10-1/5th). Use this for flavouring.

Why this slow and cumbersome approach? Because menthol is *strong*. And it is easier to have a VG/PG based flavour that you can add more of, than a spirit-based flavour that will overpower everything if your drops are just a bit too big.

On the PGA/vodka question: It is just so darn easy to get the crystals to dissolve in it, that I don't see the benefit of crushing and shaking and whatnot for making a saturated solution in PG. It really is just a question of dropping the crystals in the spirit and letting it stand 12hours or so. (And whatever you do, do NOT touch your face, especially your eyes, after handling menthol crystals!)