Strawberry Cupcake with vanilla frosting
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The Diketones have a very distinctive flavor that I can always recognize and, unfortunately, always love. For that I'm very interested to see how this strawberry cupcake comparison turns out.
I have the opposite reaction lol, i can instantly taste them as well and it makes me feel a little ill .
A very experienced DIY er gave the below description:
Ok, after steeping 9 days I've got 2 bottles (PET from the same lot) of Strawberry Cupcake, one exactly following the recipe @Vapefiend posted, and the other also exactly following, only using non-DX/V1 in place of his ingredients. Both were mixed using a common bottle of 70/30/3mg pre-mix.
Also sitting in front of me are two identical Aromamizer V2, with nearly identical builds, 0.32 and 0.34 dual Claptons, wicked with JOC. Everything is washed and freshly built for this test. I didn't pick this particular tank for any other reason than, a) I'm intimately familiar with its use and what to expect from it, and b) it's the only identical pair of anything I've got on hand at the moment.
The DX tank is sitting atop a trusty IPV 3 workhorse. The non-DX is being fired by an IPV 5. Both are running fresh LG HG2 browns, and both are set initially to a nominal 60 watts. Yes, these mods are not identical, but sorry, I'm not digging into my vapacolypse stash and cracking open a brand new IPV 5 just for this test. I have no reason to suspect these mods are in anything but perfect working order, and as even in performance as they can be.
Yes, I love me some diketones, but I actually said that in jest. I have virtually no experience with the DX/V2 versions, other than a rudimentary comparison of CAP VC V1/V2 when I was a DIY newbie. I decided I preferred V1 better, and thus my DX/V2s that I bought in my initial flavor order have been sitting untouched. Really, I hold no bias one way or the other. I'm not encumbered by the idea of possible ill health effects of V1, and would convert entirely to DX in a heartbeat if flavor were superior (for me). That's what I am, a flavor seeker, everything else is secondary for the purposes of this test. My mind is clear!
So, vaping them both side by side....
First thing is, the wattage on the IPV 3 (V2) needs to come down. 60 is too hot for the DX juice. Down to 55, then to 50, then back up to 52.5. The V1 is vaping fine at 60 watts, but to be fair I'll lower it to see. Nope, the V1 juice performs better at higher wattage. If I wasn't capped at 60 watts for this test, I'd probably be at my preferred 70 or 75 watt range for the V1. Didn't see that coming!
So, been vaping both for awhile. Smelling the drip tips. On the V1, I'm getting dominant vanilla aromas. The strawberry is there, but it's muted. There is also the slight chemical note I always get when I don't let my V1 custard liquids breathe for a few hours after mixing, as I neglected to do here. On the V2, all I can smell is faint strawberry.
On the V1 +, I'm getting lots (maybe too much) of vanilla on inhale. Strawberry is there, but it's struggling to keep up. It does linger in my mouth (in a good way) on exhale. Don't think it has anything to do with diketones, just needs bumping up a little. Anyway, the V1 does have good body and thickness, and while it's a very basic mix, I can distinguish the vanilla/cream/strawberry as "layers". Were I to further develop this recipe, I'd bump up the strawberry and add a "solid" base layer, something like Cheesecake Graham Crust, FA Cookie, CAP Sugar Cookie, or maybe even Yellow Cake. Anyway, it's a decent point of departure.
On the V1 -, there's too much vanilla overpowering not enough strawberry, and I'm getting a chemical note on exhale. Some of that is undoubtedly diketones, but I think "cap off" would have eliminated most of it.
On the V2, I have to be brutally honest, I'm not getting much in the way of flavor. There is nothing of what I'd consider to be a palatable vanilla note, and the strawberry seems to be severely muted. The V2 is flat, one dimensional, I taste sweetness and faint strawberry, but I can't detect any layers at all. It is devoid of that creamy thickness that makes V1 appealing.
I'm also getting a strange note from V2 that I can't nail down... more organic than chemical, it's an unpleasant aftertaste that takes hold after exhale. I don't want to say vomit, but...
Conclusion...neither of these would be ADV's for me, but the V1 is at least on the right track. It has decent body, good mouth feel, and the chemical vanillas could be smoothed out easily enough, and better balanced with the strawberry by playing with ratios. It could also be improved upon by additions as described above. To be fair, these particular flavors really need a longer steep than 9 days to mellow out.
The V2, I wouldn't know where to go. It needs a lot of help on the vanillas, I don't know if it's the lack of diketones or the presence of whatever the substitute for them is, but it just lacks depth, and that strange aftertaste has got to go. There's also the issue of sub-par performance at higher wattage (which I wasn't expecting), that may be important to some.
It might just be that I'm too accustomed to V1's to appreciate the V2's. As @herb said above, he has the same reaction to the V1's as I apparently have to the V2's. Comfort zones and all that.
There it is, as promised!
Also sitting in front of me are two identical Aromamizer V2, with nearly identical builds, 0.32 and 0.34 dual Claptons, wicked with JOC. Everything is washed and freshly built for this test. I didn't pick this particular tank for any other reason than, a) I'm intimately familiar with its use and what to expect from it, and b) it's the only identical pair of anything I've got on hand at the moment.
The DX tank is sitting atop a trusty IPV 3 workhorse. The non-DX is being fired by an IPV 5. Both are running fresh LG HG2 browns, and both are set initially to a nominal 60 watts. Yes, these mods are not identical, but sorry, I'm not digging into my vapacolypse stash and cracking open a brand new IPV 5 just for this test. I have no reason to suspect these mods are in anything but perfect working order, and as even in performance as they can be.
Yes, I love me some diketones, but I actually said that in jest. I have virtually no experience with the DX/V2 versions, other than a rudimentary comparison of CAP VC V1/V2 when I was a DIY newbie. I decided I preferred V1 better, and thus my DX/V2s that I bought in my initial flavor order have been sitting untouched. Really, I hold no bias one way or the other. I'm not encumbered by the idea of possible ill health effects of V1, and would convert entirely to DX in a heartbeat if flavor were superior (for me). That's what I am, a flavor seeker, everything else is secondary for the purposes of this test. My mind is clear!
So, vaping them both side by side....
First thing is, the wattage on the IPV 3 (V2) needs to come down. 60 is too hot for the DX juice. Down to 55, then to 50, then back up to 52.5. The V1 is vaping fine at 60 watts, but to be fair I'll lower it to see. Nope, the V1 juice performs better at higher wattage. If I wasn't capped at 60 watts for this test, I'd probably be at my preferred 70 or 75 watt range for the V1. Didn't see that coming!
So, been vaping both for awhile. Smelling the drip tips. On the V1, I'm getting dominant vanilla aromas. The strawberry is there, but it's muted. There is also the slight chemical note I always get when I don't let my V1 custard liquids breathe for a few hours after mixing, as I neglected to do here. On the V2, all I can smell is faint strawberry.
On the V1 +, I'm getting lots (maybe too much) of vanilla on inhale. Strawberry is there, but it's struggling to keep up. It does linger in my mouth (in a good way) on exhale. Don't think it has anything to do with diketones, just needs bumping up a little. Anyway, the V1 does have good body and thickness, and while it's a very basic mix, I can distinguish the vanilla/cream/strawberry as "layers". Were I to further develop this recipe, I'd bump up the strawberry and add a "solid" base layer, something like Cheesecake Graham Crust, FA Cookie, CAP Sugar Cookie, or maybe even Yellow Cake. Anyway, it's a decent point of departure.
On the V1 -, there's too much vanilla overpowering not enough strawberry, and I'm getting a chemical note on exhale. Some of that is undoubtedly diketones, but I think "cap off" would have eliminated most of it.
On the V2, I have to be brutally honest, I'm not getting much in the way of flavor. There is nothing of what I'd consider to be a palatable vanilla note, and the strawberry seems to be severely muted. The V2 is flat, one dimensional, I taste sweetness and faint strawberry, but I can't detect any layers at all. It is devoid of that creamy thickness that makes V1 appealing.
I'm also getting a strange note from V2 that I can't nail down... more organic than chemical, it's an unpleasant aftertaste that takes hold after exhale. I don't want to say vomit, but...
Conclusion...neither of these would be ADV's for me, but the V1 is at least on the right track. It has decent body, good mouth feel, and the chemical vanillas could be smoothed out easily enough, and better balanced with the strawberry by playing with ratios. It could also be improved upon by additions as described above. To be fair, these particular flavors really need a longer steep than 9 days to mellow out.
The V2, I wouldn't know where to go. It needs a lot of help on the vanillas, I don't know if it's the lack of diketones or the presence of whatever the substitute for them is, but it just lacks depth, and that strange aftertaste has got to go. There's also the issue of sub-par performance at higher wattage (which I wasn't expecting), that may be important to some.
It might just be that I'm too accustomed to V1's to appreciate the V2's. As @herb said above, he has the same reaction to the V1's as I apparently have to the V2's. Comfort zones and all that.
There it is, as promised!
Last edited:
Here's an example of a recipe that's similar to yours, that you can modify easily into a DX. All credit for it goes to NotCharlesManson, it's his/hers, and it's great. Repeat, this is not my own recipe, all credit and much gratitude goes to NCM.
It's kind of along the lines of what I mentioned earlier. Great balance, great job laying down flavors so they work well together. Maybe you could run your own experiment on this and see the difference for yourself.
(Original) Strawberry Shortcake Bar by NotCharlesManson:
*TFA Bavarian Cream 3%
INW Biscuit 2%
*FW Yellow Cake 1.50%
TFA Cheesecake Graham Crust 1.50%
TFA Strawberry Ripe 6%
TFA Strawberry (regular old strawberry) 1.50%
*CAP Sugar Cookie 2%
TFA Vanilla Swirl 2%
So the * are the problem flavors. FW Yellow Cake isn't reputed to contain diketones, but it does contain Fructose. Some folks are opposed to vaping natural sugars. Probably a valid concern. Personally I love Yellow Cake, it's one of my favorite ingredients as it has a very unique profile (but don't mind me, I also roll the dice on diketones). Its biggest problem for me is it gunks coils fast. Also, it's a long steeper, but worth the wait.
So your subs are
TFA Bavarian Cream DX for the diketone version
TFA Vanilla Cupcake DX for the Yellow Cake, if you want.
CAP Sugar Cookie V2 for the V1
I think if you're familiar with Yellow Cake, you'll miss its absence here, but if you've never tried it, you won't miss it at all. In my test, I felt the TFA Vanilla Cupcake DX was the biggest letdown, I got no "cake" from it whatsoever. Other DX subs you could use in place of it are FA Nonna's, FLV Pound Cake or Cupcake Batter, CAP Vanilla Cupcake V2, or maybe INW Lemon Cake.
Good Luck, thanks for broadening my knowledge on the DX scene!
It's kind of along the lines of what I mentioned earlier. Great balance, great job laying down flavors so they work well together. Maybe you could run your own experiment on this and see the difference for yourself.
(Original) Strawberry Shortcake Bar by NotCharlesManson:
*TFA Bavarian Cream 3%
INW Biscuit 2%
*FW Yellow Cake 1.50%
TFA Cheesecake Graham Crust 1.50%
TFA Strawberry Ripe 6%
TFA Strawberry (regular old strawberry) 1.50%
*CAP Sugar Cookie 2%
TFA Vanilla Swirl 2%
So the * are the problem flavors. FW Yellow Cake isn't reputed to contain diketones, but it does contain Fructose. Some folks are opposed to vaping natural sugars. Probably a valid concern. Personally I love Yellow Cake, it's one of my favorite ingredients as it has a very unique profile (but don't mind me, I also roll the dice on diketones). Its biggest problem for me is it gunks coils fast. Also, it's a long steeper, but worth the wait.
So your subs are
TFA Bavarian Cream DX for the diketone version
TFA Vanilla Cupcake DX for the Yellow Cake, if you want.
CAP Sugar Cookie V2 for the V1
I think if you're familiar with Yellow Cake, you'll miss its absence here, but if you've never tried it, you won't miss it at all. In my test, I felt the TFA Vanilla Cupcake DX was the biggest letdown, I got no "cake" from it whatsoever. Other DX subs you could use in place of it are FA Nonna's, FLV Pound Cake or Cupcake Batter, CAP Vanilla Cupcake V2, or maybe INW Lemon Cake.
Good Luck, thanks for broadening my knowledge on the DX scene!
Thank you so much for your efforts and criticism I truly appreciate everything and it was very interesting to read. I will strive to improve my recipe. I have never smoked anything with diketones so for all I know that could be the reason I like the v2 and DX flavors. Thanks Jambi
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