Hello all,
Where I'm coming from. Smoked analogs for about 20 years, more or less, often less. When I could afford them, I'd get a pack of European/UK/Premium sticks. Sobranie, Galoises (original, not filters), even original Camels and Lucky Strikes. I also smoked a pipe and just went back to it. Heavy English and Balkans mostly, but with the occasional oddball aromatic. Yeah, I like burning dirty socks.
So that said, when I looked at vapeing, the whole idea of sucking on a candy all day was not my thing. Then the 'boss', my wife, decided to quit smoking. She's still, I think, using Blu, blech. Not interested. But, I'd seen kids (college age) in my lab vapeing. Huh, well, not all of them can be candy freaks. So I did a little looking around.
And found all KINDS of information. Yeesh. Finally landed on Virgin Vapor's site. FLOWERS!!!! Ooooh, roses, violets, jasmine, where's the lavender ... ? (Annette is working on it.) So I ordered some with what I could figure out might be something to vape them in, maybe. But it was taking forever. Like HOURS!!! So well, students vapeing, maybe there's a B&M around here?
One right up the street! Ended up with a basic eGo rig and a bottle of EC Blends Fire and Ice. Never looked back. Still light up a bowl occasionally, but now I can really taste and smell it.
I like Latakia tobaccos and complex, rip your face off (in a nice way) flavors and twisted mint/spice weirdness and pure florals with all their peppery base goodness. There are probably not going to be a lot of fruits and sweets here. So as I hunt down the odd, unusual and downright weird of the vapeing world, I figured I'd post my discoveries off the beaten path.
Unless otherwise specified, I'm using a vv battery with a Kanger mini-Protank of some kind. Usually 6mg, sometimes 12, but as I'm a total newb, I really can't tell the difference except I don't get high when I chain vape the 6. That's why I'm leaving that stuff out unless there's a surprise. For me a throat hit is inhaling off a pipe, cigar or Galoises. Probably why I don't notice when it happens unless it's extreme. Same with price; if it's either way high or low, I'll mention it, but y'all know what the standard prices are.
To start out with, what I have so far.
EC Blends Fire and Ice. At the B&M I tried a number of ECBs more common vapes. This was the one that was the most acceptable. Cinnamon and mint isn't a favorite flavor of mine, but it certainly works. Got it at 12mg and if you inhale it straight to your lungs, well, lets just say if I've ever smoked a Galoises, it actually gets in spitting distance for hit. Wow! Ok, no, no stinky, no, don't want stinky. A great first vape and one I highly recommend if you're trying to avoid analogs. Straight up cinnamon and menthol, a little like the old Camel fire and ice cigarettes.
EC Blends Black and Gold. Honorable mention. They reminded me a very tiny bit of a Sobranie Black and Gold, albeit far simpler and sweeter. Still, it might be something to try if you like those.
(Note: EC Blends are amazingly good for the price. See margarita below for contrast. None of the ones I tried at the B&M were bad.)
Next B&M I found wasn't as good, but they were nice enough so I found something to add to the stash.
Fusion Vapor Krankberry Definitely berry candy in there with a bit of tang sometimes. Not over sweet and with occasional base earthy/herb notes under the berry. Just as a good berry should have and too many berry candy flavors miss. It's good, and not a tank buster, so it gets a place in the rotation.
Final B&M (30 miles away) had Namber juice. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Blueberry Violence - Blueberries and cinnamon. Real blueberries, not the candy type. Tart, a little musky, a little tannic which goes perfectly with the cinnamon, bringing out the woodsy, smokey taste of the bark. Even a little heat from the cinnamon, because there's very little sweet to this one. Almost an ADV. The only juice I've ever refilled a tank with.
Tom's Vanilla Peppermint - Oh, cool, vanilla and peppermint that's NOT candy. Or at least not modern candy. Imagine having stored a bunch of old fashioned candy canes in a jar with a few vanilla beans. The pepper of the mint and the chewy floral of a good vanilla bean go beautifully in this blend. This isn't $5 a gallon peppermint ice cream here. This is a granita with finely crushed peppermint and the yummy, creamy seeds of perfectly cured vanilla beans. Hold the dairy, thank goodness.
Rad and Plenty - Me and my black licorice. Love me some black licorice. And this is the old red and white candy without the calories. And like that old candy, it's not over sweet. Just a hit of sugar, like the candy coating, to keep it from biting too hard. Still bites though, nicely, like when your sweetie decides you've spend enough time on ECF and it's time for bed.
The Slenderman - Uh, oh, um, can tell why the description on this one is so weird. Probably the best way I could describe it is starfruit flavored. It has that same "I can't decide if I'm citrus, tropical or a berry" attitude. Very nice and light. Great summer vape, sitting on the porch, trying not to melt because you don't have AC. There might have been some mint in the same county as the juice, but I'm guessing there's actually a little grapefruit somewhere in this one's ancestry. It will give a little mint taste if used in very small quantities.
Then I got my first vapemail. It had some CE4 clearos I got for dirt cheap and since it was cheap, I thought I'd try their margarita.
MyFreedomSmokes.com - Margarita OMG. I've had some awful margaritas in my life, including bottom of the line tequila with lime flavored mixer and it wasn't this bad. It bites (at 18mg), is sweet and just nasty. Nevermind. There's a little lime to it, somewhere, I think from the standard flavor vats with a bit of zest bite/bitter occasionally, but ... gah. If there was any agave taste, I sure missed it. At least with a bad margarita beverage, the lousy tequila will numb your tongue before you get the second sip. There was no rescue from this one.
So now I'm waiting on my Djarum WTA from Aroma Ejuice. Never did let myself smoke cloves, so I wanted the best I could possibly find. I'll let you know how it is ...
Where I'm coming from. Smoked analogs for about 20 years, more or less, often less. When I could afford them, I'd get a pack of European/UK/Premium sticks. Sobranie, Galoises (original, not filters), even original Camels and Lucky Strikes. I also smoked a pipe and just went back to it. Heavy English and Balkans mostly, but with the occasional oddball aromatic. Yeah, I like burning dirty socks.
So that said, when I looked at vapeing, the whole idea of sucking on a candy all day was not my thing. Then the 'boss', my wife, decided to quit smoking. She's still, I think, using Blu, blech. Not interested. But, I'd seen kids (college age) in my lab vapeing. Huh, well, not all of them can be candy freaks. So I did a little looking around.
And found all KINDS of information. Yeesh. Finally landed on Virgin Vapor's site. FLOWERS!!!! Ooooh, roses, violets, jasmine, where's the lavender ... ? (Annette is working on it.) So I ordered some with what I could figure out might be something to vape them in, maybe. But it was taking forever. Like HOURS!!! So well, students vapeing, maybe there's a B&M around here?
One right up the street! Ended up with a basic eGo rig and a bottle of EC Blends Fire and Ice. Never looked back. Still light up a bowl occasionally, but now I can really taste and smell it.
I like Latakia tobaccos and complex, rip your face off (in a nice way) flavors and twisted mint/spice weirdness and pure florals with all their peppery base goodness. There are probably not going to be a lot of fruits and sweets here. So as I hunt down the odd, unusual and downright weird of the vapeing world, I figured I'd post my discoveries off the beaten path.
Unless otherwise specified, I'm using a vv battery with a Kanger mini-Protank of some kind. Usually 6mg, sometimes 12, but as I'm a total newb, I really can't tell the difference except I don't get high when I chain vape the 6. That's why I'm leaving that stuff out unless there's a surprise. For me a throat hit is inhaling off a pipe, cigar or Galoises. Probably why I don't notice when it happens unless it's extreme. Same with price; if it's either way high or low, I'll mention it, but y'all know what the standard prices are.
To start out with, what I have so far.
EC Blends Fire and Ice. At the B&M I tried a number of ECBs more common vapes. This was the one that was the most acceptable. Cinnamon and mint isn't a favorite flavor of mine, but it certainly works. Got it at 12mg and if you inhale it straight to your lungs, well, lets just say if I've ever smoked a Galoises, it actually gets in spitting distance for hit. Wow! Ok, no, no stinky, no, don't want stinky. A great first vape and one I highly recommend if you're trying to avoid analogs. Straight up cinnamon and menthol, a little like the old Camel fire and ice cigarettes.
EC Blends Black and Gold. Honorable mention. They reminded me a very tiny bit of a Sobranie Black and Gold, albeit far simpler and sweeter. Still, it might be something to try if you like those.
(Note: EC Blends are amazingly good for the price. See margarita below for contrast. None of the ones I tried at the B&M were bad.)
Next B&M I found wasn't as good, but they were nice enough so I found something to add to the stash.
Fusion Vapor Krankberry Definitely berry candy in there with a bit of tang sometimes. Not over sweet and with occasional base earthy/herb notes under the berry. Just as a good berry should have and too many berry candy flavors miss. It's good, and not a tank buster, so it gets a place in the rotation.
Final B&M (30 miles away) had Namber juice. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Blueberry Violence - Blueberries and cinnamon. Real blueberries, not the candy type. Tart, a little musky, a little tannic which goes perfectly with the cinnamon, bringing out the woodsy, smokey taste of the bark. Even a little heat from the cinnamon, because there's very little sweet to this one. Almost an ADV. The only juice I've ever refilled a tank with.
Tom's Vanilla Peppermint - Oh, cool, vanilla and peppermint that's NOT candy. Or at least not modern candy. Imagine having stored a bunch of old fashioned candy canes in a jar with a few vanilla beans. The pepper of the mint and the chewy floral of a good vanilla bean go beautifully in this blend. This isn't $5 a gallon peppermint ice cream here. This is a granita with finely crushed peppermint and the yummy, creamy seeds of perfectly cured vanilla beans. Hold the dairy, thank goodness.
Rad and Plenty - Me and my black licorice. Love me some black licorice. And this is the old red and white candy without the calories. And like that old candy, it's not over sweet. Just a hit of sugar, like the candy coating, to keep it from biting too hard. Still bites though, nicely, like when your sweetie decides you've spend enough time on ECF and it's time for bed.
The Slenderman - Uh, oh, um, can tell why the description on this one is so weird. Probably the best way I could describe it is starfruit flavored. It has that same "I can't decide if I'm citrus, tropical or a berry" attitude. Very nice and light. Great summer vape, sitting on the porch, trying not to melt because you don't have AC. There might have been some mint in the same county as the juice, but I'm guessing there's actually a little grapefruit somewhere in this one's ancestry. It will give a little mint taste if used in very small quantities.
Then I got my first vapemail. It had some CE4 clearos I got for dirt cheap and since it was cheap, I thought I'd try their margarita.
MyFreedomSmokes.com - Margarita OMG. I've had some awful margaritas in my life, including bottom of the line tequila with lime flavored mixer and it wasn't this bad. It bites (at 18mg), is sweet and just nasty. Nevermind. There's a little lime to it, somewhere, I think from the standard flavor vats with a bit of zest bite/bitter occasionally, but ... gah. If there was any agave taste, I sure missed it. At least with a bad margarita beverage, the lousy tequila will numb your tongue before you get the second sip. There was no rescue from this one.
So now I'm waiting on my Djarum WTA from Aroma Ejuice. Never did let myself smoke cloves, so I wanted the best I could possibly find. I'll let you know how it is ...