I was all prepped to get a video review done today and turned out the footage was complete crap, no salvaging. The info has been needing to get out there, though, so I'm just going turn my notes into this written review and re-take the video later.
The nicquids reviewed here are a mix of some that I purchased, some provided as samples and some provided specifically for review or opinion.
All nicquids here are natural extracted tobacco flavors. GoodeJuice states their process limits them to 50/50 PG/VG blends, minimum 6mg nicotine. Nicquids in this review are all 18mg. As a result, vapor and throat hit was good across the board, though some might find the TH a bit weak due to the relatively high VG.
Preliminary Notes:
In the past I took Good eJuice to task for the flat top, flip top 30 ml bottles that made it hard to tell where dripped nicquid was going to end up. In my last order the 30 ml bottles were standard "boston" style bottles with standard dripper tips. This, I like.
I have also beaten them up a bit for their extracted tobacco nicquids being cartomizer-killers. Current recipes still require that caveat -- recommended for dripping but not cartomizers or tanks. But, some good news is coming. More info after the initial reviews.
The Flavors:
1. Vita Bella
Vaped cool this left a sharp feel in the nose - a little wierd and not entirely pleasant. Vaped at higher power/voltage/LR, Vita Bella wakes up and gets all tobacco-y. It is very slightly sweet, but a mild, full kind of sweet that isn't overwhelming. Once the heat/power sweet spot is found there's a good tobacco underneath that is vaguely reminiscent of their Acadian Gold or Natural Perique, but much less sharp.
Predominant flavor is a creamy tobacco-vanilla, with what tastes like a very light brown sugar / graham flavor. Also an organic, earthy flavor like either tobacco leaf or a dark tea seemed to peek out from time to time. Flavor was good on the inhale but can really "pop" with a slow mouth/nose exhale.
Overall, Vita Bella is a delightful vape that could easily be an all-day vape for medium strong tobacco lovers who like extra flavors as well. I will definitely get more of this but personally will need to break it up from time to time with something else.
2. Organic #2:
A.K.A. "Organic Tobacco #2". This is a mild straight-forward tobacco flavor. Not harsh, not really sweet, not a lot of bite. Nothing, really, except a nice, earthy tobacco. It doesn't try to be anything else and it succeeds in this. It vaguely reminds me of some all-tobacco cigarettes I had something like 20 years ago that could be put out and fired up again without tasting nasty - just clean, straightforward tobacco taste.
This will not be a go-to vape for me as I have come to prefer more complex flavors. However, this may be just the ticket for someone looking for a good, recognizable tobacco flavor without fancy foo-foo flavoring.
3. U.S.A. Pipe Blend
Despite the name, frankly this reminds me more of a very mild cigar than a pipe tobacco. Stronger and darker than Organic #2. Aside from the slightly cigar-ish character this is another straight forward tobacco flavor. It differs from most of Good eJuice's extracted tobaccos in that it vapes "drier", not as moist in the mouth.
Much like Organic #2, this will not be a go-to vape as I've come to enjoy a bit more complexity. Again, this could be just the thing for those seeking just tobacco with a little more oomph than Organic #2.
4. Peach Sweet Tobacco & Apple Cured Tobacco
Covering both in one shot as my experience with both was about the same. On arrival these had strong, sweet fruit flavor that overwhelmed the tobacco so I set them aside. After a couple of weeks steeping (which I HATE having to do, BTW), the fruit and sweet flavor toned down and the tobacco was very slightly stronger. The peach and apple flavors have a very "real" flavor that is what I've come to expect when hearing "Good eJuice" and "natural" in the same sentence. Between the two the tobacco flavors seem slightly different and in general is a bit weak compared to the fruit flavor. After steeping, while both the fruit and tobacco flavors in these are pleasant neither is particularly strong.
For me these would be occasional vapes -- neither is strong or complex enough to become an all-day vape for me. But I can see either of these as being "palate cleansers" or maybe as "transitional" vapes for those who start vaping with the intention of staying away from tobacco flavors but eventually find themselves heading in that direction
New & Improved Extraction Process/Recipes
As mentioned before, current Good eJuice extracted tobacco nicquids tend to kill cartomizers (and may require more frequent cleaning of atomizers, for that matter) due to relatively high suspended solids resulting from the extraction process.
After my first review of some Good eJuice nicquids I sent them an email, to which they responded with tons of information about the process and some changes they were making, even sending samples that were improved but still killed a cartomizer fairly quickly. Much to their credit they have continued testing and making changes to their extraction process, and recently they sent two samples for me to evaluate for use in cartomizers.
Taking them at their word, these two samples were initially tested in cartomizers only, including Volt/Bloog style KR808 cartos, SR Boge cartos with a 3.5 ml tank, and LR dual coil cartos in 3.5 ml and 5 ml tanks. The results were amazing given that prior to this I might get one-half to three-quarters of a day out of a cartomizer before the taste became "ashy" and performance dropped dramatically.
Given an initial fill of about 30 drops per cartomizer and either 10 drops for each top-off or simply refilling the tank, with both samples the cartomizers made it to somewhere between 3-and-a-half and 5 days of constant use before a slight "ashy" taste developed, depending on the cartomizer.
Some folks will pooh-pooh this because they can get several weeks out of cartomizers with certain nicquids. My simple question would be, "Have you tried the well-rated Good eJuice nicquids?" Because frankly, while not every flavor knocks it out of the park, the flavors I like I love and it is well worth going through a couple of cartomizers a week for the convenience of not having to drip them all the time.
Over time, perhaps within the next month or two, all of Good eJuice's nicquids will be made using the new & improved extraction and filtering processes.
With those details out of the way, here's a quick review of the two "new process" flavors I received:
5. Vita Bella
I'm glad this was included as it gave me the chance to compare the "original recipe" to the "new recipe".
I am happy to report that this sample was basically the same as the original Vita Bella. There seemed to be just the slightest difference in the underlying tobacco flavor, just a bit less strong (or a bit more muted, depending on your point of view) but otherwise it was very definitely recognizable as "Vita Bella". In a quick blind taste-test I would be hard pressed to tell which was which.
In my opinion this bodes very well for the future. If Vita Bella is any indication, any of the extracted tobaccos you like now should not be significantly different when the transition to the new extraction process is complete for all of the natural tobacco flavors.
6. GJ4
This is Good eJuice's take on a natural RY4. I had not tried the "original recipe" GJ4 so cannot directly compare the two.
Had it not been sent as a review/opinion sample, I would not have ordered this. My experience with RY4's up to now has not been good. Those I've tried tasted... fake. Probably because they were. Tobacco "flavoring" and Caramel "flavoring", and in the ones I have tried up to now the balance between the two has tended to heavily favor one or the other.
I'll say this for GJ4: IT JUST TASTES REAL. Real tobacco flavor (like all of Good eJuice's extracted tobaccos) with what I must say is the most realistic Caramel flavoring I've tasted yet, along with just a hint of vanilla (though that might be part of the caramel flavoring). As for the balance, it is either favoring the caramel over the tobacco or the tobacco base is relatively sweet, so overall this vapes a bit on the sweet side ... but there's enough tobacco that it doesn't taste like candy or a dessert. This, folks, is very, very good stuff and has changed my mind about what an RY4 can be.
Personally, for this to really knock it out of the park I'd like the tobacco flavor to be stepped up a notch (either stronger or darker/more robust). Maybe that would go against what an RY4-ish flavor is supposed to be about but I'm no traditionalist. But I'd hesitate to actually change the recipe as it will likely have strong appeal to RY4 enthusiasts just as it is, and I can get a bit of what I'm looking for by vaping this a touch warmer than normal. I'm even tempted to say this gives Patriot (my personal favorite of the Good eJuice stable) a run for the money.
If you like the idea of RY4 but haven't found anything that really gooses your goat, I recommend you try GJ4 (at least in this cartomizer-friendly recipe). Even if you already have a favorite RY4 I'd recommend giving GJ4 a shot.
Final Words
I seriously hate to come across as a fan boy for any one vendor, as it is important for us amateur reviewers to maintain an unbiased position if our reviews are to be trusted. But every once in a while a vendor goes above and beyond and it would be a disservice, in my opinion, to fail to note that.
This is not about Good eJuice's natural extracted tobacco flavors, though I admit to being impressed by them. Even for the flavors that I've stated would not be all-day or even "return" vapes for me, it cannot be said that they do not taste like real tobacco -- they're just not tobaccos or blends that I particularly liked.
What has really impressed me is Good eJuice's response to feedback.
Where some vendors have not responded at all to negative feedback or even just suggestions (though none so far have actually become defensive), from the start the folks at Good eJuice have owned their product. They not only took the feedback about use in cartomizers seriously but communicated far more information than they had any obligation to; they were already in the early stages of doing something about it and have continued to work on the issue for some time now, with impressive results if the two samples I received represent what is to come.
Even if I didn't like any of their flavors I would have to give props to the folks at Good eJuice for stepping up and working to make a better product.
The nicquids reviewed here are a mix of some that I purchased, some provided as samples and some provided specifically for review or opinion.
All nicquids here are natural extracted tobacco flavors. GoodeJuice states their process limits them to 50/50 PG/VG blends, minimum 6mg nicotine. Nicquids in this review are all 18mg. As a result, vapor and throat hit was good across the board, though some might find the TH a bit weak due to the relatively high VG.
Preliminary Notes:
In the past I took Good eJuice to task for the flat top, flip top 30 ml bottles that made it hard to tell where dripped nicquid was going to end up. In my last order the 30 ml bottles were standard "boston" style bottles with standard dripper tips. This, I like.
I have also beaten them up a bit for their extracted tobacco nicquids being cartomizer-killers. Current recipes still require that caveat -- recommended for dripping but not cartomizers or tanks. But, some good news is coming. More info after the initial reviews.
The Flavors:
1. Vita Bella
Vaped cool this left a sharp feel in the nose - a little wierd and not entirely pleasant. Vaped at higher power/voltage/LR, Vita Bella wakes up and gets all tobacco-y. It is very slightly sweet, but a mild, full kind of sweet that isn't overwhelming. Once the heat/power sweet spot is found there's a good tobacco underneath that is vaguely reminiscent of their Acadian Gold or Natural Perique, but much less sharp.
Predominant flavor is a creamy tobacco-vanilla, with what tastes like a very light brown sugar / graham flavor. Also an organic, earthy flavor like either tobacco leaf or a dark tea seemed to peek out from time to time. Flavor was good on the inhale but can really "pop" with a slow mouth/nose exhale.
Overall, Vita Bella is a delightful vape that could easily be an all-day vape for medium strong tobacco lovers who like extra flavors as well. I will definitely get more of this but personally will need to break it up from time to time with something else.
2. Organic #2:
A.K.A. "Organic Tobacco #2". This is a mild straight-forward tobacco flavor. Not harsh, not really sweet, not a lot of bite. Nothing, really, except a nice, earthy tobacco. It doesn't try to be anything else and it succeeds in this. It vaguely reminds me of some all-tobacco cigarettes I had something like 20 years ago that could be put out and fired up again without tasting nasty - just clean, straightforward tobacco taste.
This will not be a go-to vape for me as I have come to prefer more complex flavors. However, this may be just the ticket for someone looking for a good, recognizable tobacco flavor without fancy foo-foo flavoring.
3. U.S.A. Pipe Blend
Despite the name, frankly this reminds me more of a very mild cigar than a pipe tobacco. Stronger and darker than Organic #2. Aside from the slightly cigar-ish character this is another straight forward tobacco flavor. It differs from most of Good eJuice's extracted tobaccos in that it vapes "drier", not as moist in the mouth.
Much like Organic #2, this will not be a go-to vape as I've come to enjoy a bit more complexity. Again, this could be just the thing for those seeking just tobacco with a little more oomph than Organic #2.
4. Peach Sweet Tobacco & Apple Cured Tobacco
Covering both in one shot as my experience with both was about the same. On arrival these had strong, sweet fruit flavor that overwhelmed the tobacco so I set them aside. After a couple of weeks steeping (which I HATE having to do, BTW), the fruit and sweet flavor toned down and the tobacco was very slightly stronger. The peach and apple flavors have a very "real" flavor that is what I've come to expect when hearing "Good eJuice" and "natural" in the same sentence. Between the two the tobacco flavors seem slightly different and in general is a bit weak compared to the fruit flavor. After steeping, while both the fruit and tobacco flavors in these are pleasant neither is particularly strong.
For me these would be occasional vapes -- neither is strong or complex enough to become an all-day vape for me. But I can see either of these as being "palate cleansers" or maybe as "transitional" vapes for those who start vaping with the intention of staying away from tobacco flavors but eventually find themselves heading in that direction
New & Improved Extraction Process/Recipes
As mentioned before, current Good eJuice extracted tobacco nicquids tend to kill cartomizers (and may require more frequent cleaning of atomizers, for that matter) due to relatively high suspended solids resulting from the extraction process.
After my first review of some Good eJuice nicquids I sent them an email, to which they responded with tons of information about the process and some changes they were making, even sending samples that were improved but still killed a cartomizer fairly quickly. Much to their credit they have continued testing and making changes to their extraction process, and recently they sent two samples for me to evaluate for use in cartomizers.
Taking them at their word, these two samples were initially tested in cartomizers only, including Volt/Bloog style KR808 cartos, SR Boge cartos with a 3.5 ml tank, and LR dual coil cartos in 3.5 ml and 5 ml tanks. The results were amazing given that prior to this I might get one-half to three-quarters of a day out of a cartomizer before the taste became "ashy" and performance dropped dramatically.
Given an initial fill of about 30 drops per cartomizer and either 10 drops for each top-off or simply refilling the tank, with both samples the cartomizers made it to somewhere between 3-and-a-half and 5 days of constant use before a slight "ashy" taste developed, depending on the cartomizer.
Some folks will pooh-pooh this because they can get several weeks out of cartomizers with certain nicquids. My simple question would be, "Have you tried the well-rated Good eJuice nicquids?" Because frankly, while not every flavor knocks it out of the park, the flavors I like I love and it is well worth going through a couple of cartomizers a week for the convenience of not having to drip them all the time.
Over time, perhaps within the next month or two, all of Good eJuice's nicquids will be made using the new & improved extraction and filtering processes.
With those details out of the way, here's a quick review of the two "new process" flavors I received:
5. Vita Bella
I'm glad this was included as it gave me the chance to compare the "original recipe" to the "new recipe".
I am happy to report that this sample was basically the same as the original Vita Bella. There seemed to be just the slightest difference in the underlying tobacco flavor, just a bit less strong (or a bit more muted, depending on your point of view) but otherwise it was very definitely recognizable as "Vita Bella". In a quick blind taste-test I would be hard pressed to tell which was which.
In my opinion this bodes very well for the future. If Vita Bella is any indication, any of the extracted tobaccos you like now should not be significantly different when the transition to the new extraction process is complete for all of the natural tobacco flavors.
6. GJ4
This is Good eJuice's take on a natural RY4. I had not tried the "original recipe" GJ4 so cannot directly compare the two.
Had it not been sent as a review/opinion sample, I would not have ordered this. My experience with RY4's up to now has not been good. Those I've tried tasted... fake. Probably because they were. Tobacco "flavoring" and Caramel "flavoring", and in the ones I have tried up to now the balance between the two has tended to heavily favor one or the other.
I'll say this for GJ4: IT JUST TASTES REAL. Real tobacco flavor (like all of Good eJuice's extracted tobaccos) with what I must say is the most realistic Caramel flavoring I've tasted yet, along with just a hint of vanilla (though that might be part of the caramel flavoring). As for the balance, it is either favoring the caramel over the tobacco or the tobacco base is relatively sweet, so overall this vapes a bit on the sweet side ... but there's enough tobacco that it doesn't taste like candy or a dessert. This, folks, is very, very good stuff and has changed my mind about what an RY4 can be.
Personally, for this to really knock it out of the park I'd like the tobacco flavor to be stepped up a notch (either stronger or darker/more robust). Maybe that would go against what an RY4-ish flavor is supposed to be about but I'm no traditionalist. But I'd hesitate to actually change the recipe as it will likely have strong appeal to RY4 enthusiasts just as it is, and I can get a bit of what I'm looking for by vaping this a touch warmer than normal. I'm even tempted to say this gives Patriot (my personal favorite of the Good eJuice stable) a run for the money.
If you like the idea of RY4 but haven't found anything that really gooses your goat, I recommend you try GJ4 (at least in this cartomizer-friendly recipe). Even if you already have a favorite RY4 I'd recommend giving GJ4 a shot.
Final Words
I seriously hate to come across as a fan boy for any one vendor, as it is important for us amateur reviewers to maintain an unbiased position if our reviews are to be trusted. But every once in a while a vendor goes above and beyond and it would be a disservice, in my opinion, to fail to note that.
This is not about Good eJuice's natural extracted tobacco flavors, though I admit to being impressed by them. Even for the flavors that I've stated would not be all-day or even "return" vapes for me, it cannot be said that they do not taste like real tobacco -- they're just not tobaccos or blends that I particularly liked.
What has really impressed me is Good eJuice's response to feedback.
Where some vendors have not responded at all to negative feedback or even just suggestions (though none so far have actually become defensive), from the start the folks at Good eJuice have owned their product. They not only took the feedback about use in cartomizers seriously but communicated far more information than they had any obligation to; they were already in the early stages of doing something about it and have continued to work on the issue for some time now, with impressive results if the two samples I received represent what is to come.
Even if I didn't like any of their flavors I would have to give props to the folks at Good eJuice for stepping up and working to make a better product.
