Makes for more interesting mixesThanks Fran - me too !
You can tell I went all different directions on the flavors
@dc99 raspberry mix sounds good to me.
I don’t have much experience with blackberries yet but I can tell you what I know. TFA blackberry is good but strong and can be difficult to mix with. Some won’t use it over 1% in a mix. I’d recommend keeping it low considering you won’t be using any creams and such to mellow...
Which brings me to the EM. A bit of EM will mellow out the blackberry but will also mellow out the other flavors you usually want to keep around. Considering many fruits already have a bit of sweetener, your mix may very well be where you like it without adding sweetener. While that bit of sweetener might be enough, you won’t know until you try it. Sweetener can be a great additive, in minute amounts, to brighten your fruits. I get my mixes the way I want them first before determining if sweetener is needed. Once you know the flavors you’re working with, you’ll begin to get an idea of how you’ll like them without having to do it this way every time. If you decide your mix needs sweetener... If it only needs to be a bit sweeter or to brighten the fruits, I’d start with .25% and work up in .05 - .1 increments. If you want it sweet enough to taste and know it’s sweet, start at .5% and work up in .1% increments until you find what works for you. This is what worked for me anyway. I don’t use EM unless I’m following a recipe which calls for it and even then I won’t make a large batch because the more it ages, the more the flavors disappear. There are quite a few options available for a sweetener. I personally like sucralose because I know exactly what it’ll add to my mixes the way I use it. I don’t use enough of or often enough to be concerned with coil gunking. Liquid splenda is also a good sweetener. I recommend finding 1 or 2 you know you like for those mixes that really just need a bit. I won’t usually go past .5% personally but I have found a couple recipes which required a tad more to make it realistic. Example: Dulce De Leche Pie is really too sweet to eat more than a very thin slice. So my ejuice copy cat needs to be a bit sweeter than usual for me.
Koolada is very strong IMO! IF you don’t already know you like it, I recommend starting very low initially. Personally, I’d seriously probably start at .1% as it’s much easier to add more opposed to fixing. Also, I have to recommend WS-23 here as I usually prefer it over koolada. To me, koolada gives me a mouth feel as though I’m tasting mint or menthol. WS-23 for me is completely tasteless and only adds that cooling agent. Even with this one I recommend starting low until you know it’s for you.
Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps you decide what’ll work for you!
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@NatashaTMT thank you for the advice. I'll probably give it a shot without sweetener and see how it goes. I did order the erythritol as @DavidOck suggested, so I might try it in small amounts if necessary. The koolada I think is key though, I already know I like it, I mixed it with a store-bought berry mix flavor once and it was perfect. Just don't remember how much I used!
Great, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
I loaded a tank of the Andes Candies last night after a little steeping. I think I'll be mixing a full bottle today with the original recipe as it happened (I'll make sure I use a syringe that isn't sticky). It tastes and feels like the real thing (to the best of my memory, it hasn't be decades since I've had one but it has been a while).
This one is Double Chocolate Clear. Going to be needing a 30ml bottle of that and the Creme de Menthe.
This one is Double Chocolate Clear. Going to be needing a 30ml bottle of that and the Creme de Menthe.
So being tired of apple still I remembered I had a test batch of RY4D as a standalone. So I decided to vape some of that. And I recognized it as one of the flavors that stood out so well in my first mix (the one that was good). So I like it.
But, I put it back in the same tank that I used to try the bad mix without changing the coil, figuring the old flavor would eventually vape out. So I still tasted a bit of that nastiness with it. And the more I think about it, it can't be the pecan, this is a flavor that just wasn't there in the good mix, which had pecan. That leaves the Cap Caramel as the culprit. But it tastes nothing like caramel. I don't really know how to describe it.
Anyone have experience with this flavor? It smells good in the bottle. I'm hoping it will lose this taste and start tasting like caramel with some more steep time.
Right now, it's hideous.
But, I put it back in the same tank that I used to try the bad mix without changing the coil, figuring the old flavor would eventually vape out. So I still tasted a bit of that nastiness with it. And the more I think about it, it can't be the pecan, this is a flavor that just wasn't there in the good mix, which had pecan. That leaves the Cap Caramel as the culprit. But it tastes nothing like caramel. I don't really know how to describe it.
Anyone have experience with this flavor? It smells good in the bottle. I'm hoping it will lose this taste and start tasting like caramel with some more steep time.
Right now, it's hideous.
It is a good thing to remember Bill's mixing style/philosophy; he did not believe in aging, and preferred to mix using enough flavor that his recipes were shake-n-vape ready... what we now commonly call high flavor mixers. He also (at least at the time he developed the recipes found on ECF) created them using old-school (higher resistance, lower power, single coil) clearomizers (CE4, Stardust, or similar). See his blogs (linked in my previous post), to read (in his own words) his rationale for his method.
Aging the recipes, and/or using them in new(er) sub-ohm DTL attys, and they will definitely need some tweaking. I find, for my own sorry taste buds; a delusion of 1/2 to 2/3 is usually in order.
@NatashaTMT, I find Bill's recipes good candidates for mixing as flavor bases. This preserves the ratios of one flavor to the next, but still allows easy delusion of the recipe, as a whole. It also permits the making of easy 2 or 3mL testers, without the hassle of minuscule measurements.
Lastly, Bill was nearly TFA exclusive in his mixing. I can't recall even 10 concentrates that were not TFA. I respect his understanding, and his skill as a mixer (both personal, and professional). However, my own DIY journey has lead me off to other flavor manufacturers. I will always be grateful to Bill, as it was his recipes, his explanations, his linear methodology, and most of all his patience, that got me started DIYing. Like most things DIY, I have experimented... and kept some ideas, techniques, and ingredients... and discarded the rest that just didn't work for me. Being able to adapt, and personalize my mixing, to my needs/preferences, is what DIY is all about.
Also @NatashaTMT, that was a great recipe description!
That is how I remember Bill's chocolate recipes working for me too. If you ever feel like revisiting this one; you could lower the Double Chocolate Clear from 4% to 3%, and raise the Milk Chocolate from 5% to 6%. This would provide a 2% swing in favor of the milk chocolate, while maintaining the overall 9% chocolate presence (prior to overall delusion). (3.5% DCC & 5.5%MC; would provide a less aggressive 1% swing.)
I got some good recipe ideas from Bill and I've read his blog. I did,of course adapt the recipes to my taste.
The additives of sour,tart and sour,tart and sweet etc do not work for me at all. Instead of blending with my juice to make it less sweet it seems to just sit there and I taste it as a separate flavor. Soooo my juice is just as sweet as it was before and I taste the sour as a separate flavor and it's not a pleasant one. Is there a better way?
You could go with the old-schooler's technique and try actual lemon juice (in the plastic yellow bottle), or vinegar, added to a mix (just a drop or two to 10mL as I recall). The only complaint I remember is some complaining that the effect faded quickly (a week or two?) and would need to be repeated. As usual; try with just a small sample first...
Outside of that; I don't know of a good "sweet killer." Sorry.
My son has decided that he wants a tobacco e-liquid. I know zero about mixing with tobacco flavors. Going to my usual places when looking for ideas, I looked at highly rated tobacco recipes. The thing is, I don't want to buy anything until I know this will work for him. I have TFA Black Honey, TFA RY4 (not the double), and ECX Tobacco Absolute (50%.) I am thinking a honey peach flavor might be nice, like some good cigars.
I want to try to use this recipe and add in some JF Honey Peach. I also have TFA Peach Juicy and FA White Peach. Any pointers, ideas, comments are appreciated.
Sorry the image is so small - not sure why that is. The recipe is:
TFA AP .5%
TFA Black Honey 5%
TFA Jamaican Rum .5% (I have FA)
TFA Ry4 Double (I only have Ry4)
TFA Vanilla Swirl 2.5%
Something that is a combination of the one above and this one. I want to use the Black Honey and the Ry4 I think lower on the Ry4 than I would if it was the double or so I have read. I think either Brandy or Rum and some peach flavor. Not sure about custard - not really a custard person myself but I do have FA Custard and CAP Vanilla Custard V1, along with about every cream you can name.
I want to try to use this recipe and add in some JF Honey Peach. I also have TFA Peach Juicy and FA White Peach. Any pointers, ideas, comments are appreciated.
Sorry the image is so small - not sure why that is. The recipe is:
TFA AP .5%
TFA Black Honey 5%
TFA Jamaican Rum .5% (I have FA)
TFA Ry4 Double (I only have Ry4)
TFA Vanilla Swirl 2.5%
Something that is a combination of the one above and this one. I want to use the Black Honey and the Ry4 I think lower on the Ry4 than I would if it was the double or so I have read. I think either Brandy or Rum and some peach flavor. Not sure about custard - not really a custard person myself but I do have FA Custard and CAP Vanilla Custard V1, along with about every cream you can name.
I prefer the Ry3 to the Ry4. Hangsen brand. Other than that I can't be much help peach or Black honey. That recipe is alful high in flavor.
I'll give the vinegar a try. Lemon doesn't work that great for me.You could go with the old-schooler's technique and try actual lemon juice (in the plastic yellow bottle), or vinegar, added to a mix (just a drop or two to 10mL as I recall). The only complaint I remember is some complaining that the effect faded quickly (a week or two?) and would need to be repeated. As usual; try with just a small sample first...
Outside of that; I don't know of a good "sweet killer." Sorry.
Might also consider some cherry with those tobacs, if you have some on hand. Or pretty much any other fruit - well, maybe not orange. Guava pairs nicely, for example.
DO keep in mind that most tobacco mixes will definitely need some steeping time. At least a week.
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