Natural Tobaccos

[OnTheFidele]

Jerms, I'm definitely cheering on your Little Wick that Could. I almost feel like it should be named.

Hah, I know exactly what you mean about pretending you hate the cat. Might make you seem like a crazy person, but here's a fun method. It's a little tedious for most, but it's a fun exercise in environmental awareness. I simply call it "defend your territory". I imagine a circle of a 1-2 meter radius and "defend" the border from the cat. I do a fake lunge at the cat whenever it "enters my territory" but am completely calm otherwise. Eventually the cat learns your comfort zone and doesn't bother you for a while. THEN it gets creative and if the cat is smart, becomes something of a challenge. If anyone thinks this is cruel, please keep in mind that this sort of territorial behavior is completely normal in the viewpoint of domestic animals with their predatory instincts still intact (like cats). I don't do this to my girlfriend's cat (they're VERY persistent animals), but it's been a fun reminiscence...

 

[McGarnagle]

I add a little FA Coffee Espresso flavoring to my Sunday Morning, and it works wonders. The NET is quite nice, but Sunday Morning is supposed to be a tobacco-coffee blend, and to my palate the coffee element is lacking.

One of my critics on the thread likened that to pouring cheap steak sauce over a fine steak, but that's the wrong analogy on all levels. It's like properly seasoning the steak to bring out more of the flavor it should have to make it tasty for me, since I'm the one eating it. I see nothing sacred about juices as delivered. Even a brilliant juice-maker may have different taste preferences from yours or mine, and what's perfect for them may not be perfect for us. I'm fearless in custom tailoring retail juices to please myself. Not that I alter all my retail juices. Some are delicious as is, and others I wouldn't know how to improve, so I don't risk ruining the juice by altering it. HHV NET blends tend to be complex to start with, and something like Ahlusion Vurley strikes me as not only unique, but complete unto itself. However, when it's obvious what to add to make a certain juice a little more yummy for my taste preferences, I go ahead and experiment with a small sample to see if I can get more enjoyment from it.

Sunday Morning was a no-brainer and an easy fix. I have many coffee flavorings, and FA seemed like the right choice (and worked beautifully). Even so, I alter only 3ml at a time. That way, whether my experiment succeeds or fails, I still have most of the bottle in original form.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with adding flavor, especially to something that is supposed to have flavor added in the first place. On top of that, to each their own. I think well done steak or using ketchup with steak is just a waste of a fine steak. Yet it's not like they are taking the steak off my plate. They paid for it, and they can use it for a paperweight for all I care. Same thing goes for juice. If you like it, vape away.

On a different subject, are there any good liquor infused NET's? With so many of these feeling like a cigar, my favorite thing to do with a cigar is to drink a fine single malt Scotch with it. Of course I don't smoke cigars as much as I vape, and I don't think it would be a good idea to drink Scotch every time I vape many of these NET's.

 

[rdsok]

Hey now... don't be dissin' my ketchup on a steak...

 

[Jerms]

On a different subject, are there any good liquor infused NET's? With so many of these feeling like a cigar, my favorite thing to do with a cigar is to drink a fine single malt Scotch with it. Of course I don't smoke cigars as much as I vape, and I don't think it would be a good idea to drink Scotch every time I vape many of these NET's.

The only one I can think of right now is Caribbean Blend at Ahlusion, which has rum flavors. I'm sure there are others with whiskey but since I avoid those none are coming to mind.

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[Jerms]

Abe, that's hilarious about cats! I need to remember that one, sounds like a good time.

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[johni]

Was home today trying to get my damn taxes done and was able to sneak in an Ahlusion order. Finally going to get to try Devil Dog! Also Vurley and Sahara Blend. Got BGB and 3 nor aros last time. BGB is very good and I'm liking the small fonts better as they age.

No cats or dogs to talk about here but we do have a Sulcata Tortoise! Spends about 85% of the time "meditating", good pet.

 

[Bronze]

Did you try Smooth Criminal Bronze? Would like your take on it. I'm in love, but didn't open the bottle for about 3 months - and not sure if that would make a lot of difference?

Yes Hula. And it was five weeks old the first time I tried it and some 2-1/2 months old the second time I tried it. Hate to say it, but it was one of my least favorites. Again, that medicinal/soapy note. Just goes to show, soap to one man is bliss to another. I really gave A+ a shot. I really did.

 

[Bronze]

Hula, by not opening the bottle do you mean even when you got it, it stayed sealed for 3 months? I'm curious how much the juice stays unchanged if it hasn't been opened. Many vendors say no steeping occurs until it's been first exposed to air, but I have a feeling it does steep, just not as quck. How dark and sweet is it? My often opened, well aged SC had just a hint of sweet, while fresh it was very sweet. It also got pretty dark. It also got damn tasty.

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Jerms, I had an at-length discussion with Heather (HHV) about steeping and the effects extracting alcohol has on it (I was actually trying to get info for international customers who see long ship times). She said the juice will steep even with alcohol in it (never uncapped). But she said it slows it down. She couldn't say by how much but she said the juice will definitely steep even with alcohol in it.

 

[Bronze]

Oh, and thanks to whoever it was (Nick?) who mentioned vaping some aged Natural Perique. It sparked me to fire up my 6-1/2 month old NP. Mmmmm!

 

[Jerms]

Was home today trying to get my damn taxes done and was able to sneak in an Ahlusion order. Finally going to get to try Devil Dog! Also Vurley and Sahara Blend. Got BGB and 3 nor aros last time. BGB is very good and I'm liking the small fonts better as they age.

No cats or dogs to talk about here but we do have a Sulcata Tortoise! Spends about 85% of the time "meditating", good pet.

Did you type in Sahara as your free sample or were you able to order it? I checked the availability of that and the cigar one earlier today and they both showed unavailable.

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[johni]

Did you type in Sahara as your free sample or were you able to order it? I checked the availability of that and the cigar one earlier today and they both showed unavailable.

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Typred it in as sample. Crap!

 

[Jerms]

Second Impressions: Full Virginia Flake RY4 by MOV

Okay, for reals this time I've been vaping this RY4 for several hours, alternating with Pendragon a little bit. These juices from MOV I've been vaping fresh, taking off the seal and trying them. PenD and SunMorn both seemed ready to me, this one I feel needs to age and have a daily shaking for a bit. Not a negative of course since most of these made-to-order juices benefit from a steep. It's not the flavor that's the issue for me fresh, it's the balance. The flavor has been varying from almost no tobacco, mainly tobacco, and well balanced, while fresh PenD stays balanced. My guess is that since this one has added flavors in addition to the NET extract, it will take a bit to fully blend, like when people compare day old chili to properly steeped e-juice.

I enjoyed all three variations of flavor that happened, but I will enjoy it a lot more when it stays in the well-balanced mode, when it was most like an RY4. The caramel and vanilla play to me like I said before; rich, sweet, and delicious. Reminds me a lot of the flavor of caramel or kettle corn.

The tobacco I enjoy a lot, like the other ones from them. I don't know their extraction method, but like PenD it leaves an impression of mild to medium tobacco but with some clear notes that really rings as authentic tobacco to me. It's notes that no artificial tobaccos have, and it makes it really ring true as a NET RY4.

Switching between this and PenD, I found the tobacco to be at about the same strength, but the other flavor notes come on as stronger in the RY4 while with PenD they played more to shape the tobacco. From what I've read from the residential RY4 guru, that is how it should be in an RY4, with a balance that places the caramel and mild tobacco about even with a little less play for the vanilla. That creates a balance that should ring harmoniously as a single flavor that has the mind instantly say; RY4. On that they succeeded (to me), though one could argue the mild tobacco is being pushed a little bit pass what I would consider mild, but not much.

While Bill in the RY4 thread measures part of an RY4's success as how well it follows a thought-out formula for RY4-ness, I'm making the following statement on it as a NET: vaping side-by-side I like PenD better. I would have prefered the caramel and vanilla to take a back seat to the tobacco, to act as flavor shapers instead of playing as an equal. MOV played it right though, if they made what I want it would take away a lot of what makes it a successful RY4. I will keep this in mind after it steeps when I vape it. Overall, a very good NET to me that while great is still behind PenD and SunMorn.

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[Jerms]

Typred it in as sample. Crap!

Lol, I've done that too. If they are able to make it by the time they do your order they will, if not they'll send you an e-mail asking you to pick a different sample.

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[johni]

Lol, I've done that too. If they are able to make it by the time they do your order they will, if not they'll send you an e-mail asking you to pick a different sample.

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Thanks Jerms. When I got on their site, my wishlist was wiped again so I got in a hurry more than I should have.

 

[McGarnagle]

Alright, finally finished another juice and decided to load up Southern Gentleman to go along with the Pendragon and the Sunday Morning I have been vaping. Oh yeah, we have a serious tobacco winner here. This is robust, in no way harsh, and a rather complex tobacco that is very close to something I would see in a good cigar and even pipe. I can really tell they added other tobaccos that are not in the other two, and it really does give it a somewhat moist, complex tobacco you start to see in pipe tobaccos. Not quite there yet, but really close. If I had to break them down this is how I think of the 3...

Pendragon - This is really close to what I would see with a cigar shop specialty cigarette with some slight cherry. This is not your Marlboro mind you. It's more of a pure, no additive burley you would see with specialty cigarettes combined with a slight cherry flavor.

Sunday Morning - This get closer to the cigar end of things. Still on the dry side, but more to the end of a good cigar with some sweetness added. The coffee and cream certainly has an effect, but there is also some sweet tobacco in there too.

Southern Gentleman - This is a pure tobacco vape. No additive to give it any sweetness, but there is still some sweetness in there from the tobaccos. This is starting to approach the pipe end of tobaccos (at least how I think of pipe tobaccos, you can of course can put tobaccos commonly used in cigarrettes and cigars in a pipe). It's very complex with a bunch of different tobaccos in there. I will go into more later and try to grab as many undertones as I can, but this is something a tobacco fan must try. I will have to say, this is absolutely fantastic and goes far beyond what I thought was capable of a tobacco vape. It's slightly sweet, yet robust, yet still mild, and a bunch of wonderful tobacco flavors that really come together in a fantastic symphony of flavor.

edit: I am starting to get some of the coffee in the Sunday Morning. Perhaps it is the fact I am vaping all 3 and the undertones are starting to come through as I start to vape different flavors and the uniqueness of that flavor are coming through.

 

[Jerms]

Great job McG, enjoyed reading your take on these. You got me pretty excited for SoGent, I'm a fan of NETs that go for a pipe blend. Glad to read that other tobaccos are noticable than ones from the other two. How long has your bottle aged?

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[McGarnagle]

Great job McG, enjoyed reading your take on these. You got me pretty excited for SoGent, I'm a fan of NETs that go for a pipe blend. Glad to read that other tobaccos are noticable than ones from the other two. How long has your bottle aged?

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Not long at all. I am on day 3 from receiving them. After getting the recommendations here and then reading their site, I realized these are premixed and should be ready to vape out of the bottle. I would usually let things go at least a week, but if the site and others here say otherwise, I dive in (I guess I am the impatient sort). This did not disappoint.

 

[McGarnagle]

Great job McG, enjoyed reading your take on these. You got me pretty excited for SoGent, I'm a fan of NETs that go for a pipe blend. Glad to read that other tobaccos are noticable than ones from the other two. How long has your bottle aged?

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Sorry, have to reply twice. Keep in mind, as I stated, this is not quite there. If I wanted a true pipe experience I would still load up a pipe from tobaccos at my local store. Yet, this is close. As close as I have gotten with any vape so far. The original is still tough to beat, but this is a good contender.

 

[Jerms]

Sorry, have to reply twice. Keep in mind, as I stated, this is not quite there. If I wanted a true pipe experience I would still load up a pipe from tobaccos at my local store. Yet, this is close. As close as I have gotten with any vape so far. The original is still tough to beat, but this is a good contender.

That's okay by me. Having never smoked a pipe all my pipe tobacco experience is from vapes. I know what you mean though with being very close to the experience but not quite exact. Smoking cigars recently has showed how close NETs can get but still a little different. NETs are still way closer as far as flavor to cigar and pipe tobaccos than what's available to mimic a generic cigarette flavor, since cigs rely more on the burning for the flavor than actual tobacco. In fact the whole act of vaping with adding the juice, breaking things in, cleaning etc is closer to the pipe experience than to cigs.

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[Hulamoon]

OT sorry guys - Does kitty have a litter box? And if so, is it clay litter? Sometimes they start going about the house when their box isn't quite right - or more likely they have a urinary tract infection and can't go. Their tanks are full and nowt's coming out. Very miserable. If there is a clay box maybe check it to see if theres a lot of spotting, instead of clumping going on. Then its vet time for some comfort relief and antibiotics.

Thanks, Jerms. I'm getting excited about what GeJ has to offer.

And I'm the same way with cats. About the cat pee thing, my girlfriend's cat has been ...... all over her apartment this past week. Some sort of territorial marking due to an increase in environmental stress but we just can't seem to find a clear reason for this shift in behavior. And I'll take wet dog over that smell any time!

Cheers!