My first DIY! (In a while)

[Nate5700]

Hey everyone. So I did DIY a little bit once, quite a while ago, and was able to make some decent-tasting stuff if I remember right. But, that's been years and I've managed to forget everything I once knew about DIY. So I asked for advice in another thread and got what seemed like a tidal wave of responses.

The best advice seemed to be to start simple. So that's what I did.

8% Signature Apple Tart (I thought I ordered Sour Granny Smith but this is what came, not sure if they're the same thing)
2% Ethyl Maltol

And that's it! I got my 510 atomizers in today to drip-test with. I gave it a go right after mixing and...it's actually really good. We'll see what a steep does for it, but it's got a nice balance of sour and sweet. The flavor might be a little strong (flavor seemed muted in the 510 atomizer with my regular juice but this came through loud and clear). I'll likely be mixing with WTA before putting it in a tank though so that may help.

Anyway, I was excited and thought I'd share. What to mix next...

 

[JCinFLA]

YAY...for a good first mix!
Way to go!

​

 

[IDJoel]

Congrats! Well done!!

Taking it slow and easy pays off!

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I need to DIY, too. I have been for awhile and Try to keep it simple. Three flavors is about my speed.

I will probably DIY this weekend.

 

[Doctorvapes]

Congrats on a good mix!

 

[stols001]

Congrats, glad you are enjoying your mix!

Anna

 

[Nate5700]

Someone suggested to test immediately, then 24 hours later.

So I came back to this today after work. I mixed it at about 9 PM so by about 6 it had 21 hours I guess. Close enough. So after about a day of steep, this has mellowed a bit. The flavor is still strong, but the sourness I guess has stepped back. Not as candy tasting, now it's like vaping apple juice.

So I thought "what the heck" and mixed some with about 18% WTA unflavored, and put it in a tank. This is...well...outstanding. I'd like to know what more steep time will do but I'm going to have trouble keeping from vaping this.

Wish I could take credit for a creative mix but it's just one flavor. A very, very good flavor. Will be mixing more very soon.

 

[Nate5700]

So I made that test mix of apple the other day but that's all I'd done, so I had something of a "DIY Day" yesterday and I thought I'd share about it.

First thing I did was make 30 mL of apple. I've got about 5 mL of the test mix left over but I want to let that keep steeping to see how it does, but since it's good to vape right away I thought I'd want some more to vape. I did do my 3-day taste test on the original mix. The flavor seems to have faded, but I vaped a couple of tanks already so I may just be desensitized to it. Seems like with this flavor though, just vaping it on it's own, it might be better fresh.

Then I got into making some test batches of recipes. First was an apple/honeysuckle recipe found here. I sort of adapted it for my needs though (well, I did that with all the recipes I made). One reason on this recipe was that the honeysuckle had a strong floral aroma to it (that shouldn't surprise me since honeysuckle IS a flower...). I figured I didn't want that flavor as strongly and would want more apple. I wanted to stay somewhat close to the original proportion though, so I did:

6% Signature Apple Tart
4% Signature Honeysuckle
1.5% Ethyl Maltol

Immediate test vape gave a weak apple flavor and I didn't really detect the honeysuckle at first. After 15 minutes or so I started noticing the honeysuckle more. It seems like it will be a good flavor combo, we'll see how it progresses.

So then I wanted to try making a caramel nut tobacco recipe, found here. First thing I noticed about this recipe though was that it was about 30% flavoring, which seemed extreme to me. So I decided to keep the same proportions but cut the flavor back to 10%. It ended up being:

3% Signature DK Tobacco
3% Capella Caramel
3% Signature Pecan
1% Ethyl Maltol

Immediate test vape and I notice the pecan very strongly. I sort of expected to taste the tobacco more, and maybe it's hanging out there in the background but mainly this is very nutty. Very vapeable (I love pecans) but we'll give it some steep time and see if the other flavors come out to play. I did make a second test batch of this, but I changed it up a bit:

3% Signature DK Tobacco
3% Signature RY4 Double
3% Signature Pecan
1% FW Dark Chocolate
2% Ethyl Maltol

I tried the RY4 Double on its own before making this (at 8%) and it is very caramelly as I've heard, though I think I notice the tobacco in it more than others do, so I wanted to see how it did in this recipe. I also added dark chocolate because with a caramel tobacco flavor I tend to want a darker undertone to it, so we'll see what that does. Immediate test vape was very similar to the first batch, with maybe a bit more tobacco, but the pecan was definitely the dominant flavor.

So that was my DIY Day. I'll be starting my 24-hour taste tests soon so looking forward to that. Anyone else do some DIY mixing yesterday?

 

[FranC]

WooHoo you're doing great. It's all about trial and error. I had lots of errors for a long time but not often anymore. I've been keeping my list of new things to mix for the next day I have the time.

 

[Nate5700]

Thanks for the encouragement @FranC. I've set up a lot of "trial" and at 24 hours everything seemed to be progressing well on the taste tests, so it doesn't seem like a lot of "error" so far. It helps that I'm using recipes others have tried so I'm not just making stuff up (yet).

Just a comment here on flavor percentages: The caramel nut tad recipe originally called for about 30% flavoring. I noticed that that recipe is from 2012, back when people were vaping 510 atomizers and cartos at, like, 3 watts. I took the flavoring down to 10%. I'm now vaping the batch I heat steeped in my Goby tank, and before I put it in there I mixed with about 20% WTA unflavored, so the actual flavoring percentage is closer to 8%. At 11 watts, this is plenty of flavor for me. I guess that shows how far vaping has come the last few years. But if you see an old recipe it's probably advisable to cut back the flavor percentage.

 

[FranC]

I've had to cut the percentages down in all my old favorites. Now I keep my mixes at 10-% or less flavor for the most part. I also have the worlds pickyest tastebuds.

 

[CagedSpam]

I did some DIY a day or 2 ago. Trying some RY4D with FA black cherry, N.N. tobacco, and FA Jamaican rum.

I swear it tasted like chocolate booze candies for a minute.

You got me thinking about apple now...