I don't see EVC Dekang RY4 on The Really Big RY4 Roundup OR sub-cat RY4s not yet acquired for review. Not having any idea where they get their juice or if they mod it in house. does anyone know if any of it is any good?
I also found the Dekang Gold & Silver Tobacco on another site and they said shipped from China and standard mix is 20PG/80VG. Is there a standard 'China Issue PG/VG' ratio for Dekang RY4?
Is there a standard PG/VG ratio for Hangsen RY4?
Any Dekang eliquid should taste exactly the same, regardless of the vendor from which it was purchased. Dekang does not sell any flavoring concentrates or bulk eliquid. As a wholesale manufacturer, Dekang bottles all its own liquid.
The Dekang eliquid sold by EVCigs is manufactured and bottled at a Dekang production facility in China. Read this: Dekang Eliquids from EVCigarettes
The one caveat to what I wrote above has to do with when any eliquid was produced by Dekang. Dekang eliquids in any particular flavor and nicotine percentage that were produced at the same time should be identical. That cannot be guaranteed of the same flavor Dekang eliquid produced at other times, because Dekang changes the formulations of its liquids from time to time.
Over my three years on ECF, I've read much speculation on the boards regarding "authentic" Dekang eliquids versus "counterfeit" or "black market" Dekang. I've never known whether those speculations have any basis in fact.
Dekang produces eliquids using bases of PG, VG, and various blend ratios. Different lines of Dekang eliquids often use different bases. No single base or blend ratio is "standard."
Unlike Dekang, Hangsen markets both bottled juices for the retail marketplace and flavoring concentrates. I don't know Hangsen's policies regarding either authorized vendors or base blends.
That's good to hear about Gambler. I have Americano, one of their other new artibaccos that is also advertised as having a cig-like tobacco flavor, but that one is an espresso tobacco. I wonder if the new artis they offer use the same synthetic tobacco base. I found the tobacco flavor in Americano to be a VAST improvement over their now discontinued TNO which was sold as a straight synthetic tobacco as well as the base flavor to other discontinued flavored synthetic tobaccos they offered. The tobacco in Americano is much more of a neutral, natural cigarette flavor compared to the more tangy and obviously artificial tobacco flavor of TNO.
How different is the non-tobacco side of Gambler from their NET RY4, Full Virginia Flake? I wasn't a big fan of how the caramel and vanilla played in that one, I'm thinking the rich, buttery caramel is what made it not so great for me. Either way I still plan on getting Gambler, along with the rest of MOV's new synthetic tobaccos (plus the reformulated Blue Ridge which I'm guessing used the TNO base for it's tobacco side before the reformulation).
Gambler isn’t a Classic RY4, since it isn’t bright or sparkly, the tobacco is definitely not neutral, and the overall flavor isn't unified. Happily, it works beautifully as a Custom RY4---deeper in tone, with each flavor easily discerned, and a synthetic cigarette-style tobacco that is very tasty and pleasing. The tobacco element isn’t punchy or blunt, but it shines through with an obvious presence that complements the balanced caramel and vanilla and counterbalances the sweetness. The high-VG base gives Gambler a mouthfeel that's almost chewy---not literally, of course, but the "thickness" of flavor is substantial and delicious. Vaping doesn’t get much closer than this to the experience of food. There is no nuttiness or sourness. Gambler relies totally on the RY4 Holy Trinity: tobacco, caramel, and vanilla.
I like Gambler considerably more than MOV’s original RY4 offering---Classic CountRY-4. That juice used a tobacco flavor that was a bit too eccentric for my palate, while Gambler’s tobacco is downright yummy. In addition, the overall flavor profile is more to my liking as well. This is one heck of a good Custom RY4, and a great example of artfully combining good flavors that play well together.
I’m betting that most RY4 fans will like Gambler, even those who aren’t generally partial to sweeter RY4s, especially because it's less likely to grow tiresome, as some dessert-style RY4s do. For Custom RY4 lovers, Gambler is a definite winner and could easily compete as an all-day-vape.
MOV Gambler grade: A-
I woke up and read Bill's review of MOV's Gambler. I remember my review (http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ly-big-ry4-roundup-long-495.html#post11418199 post #4942) stated Gambler was very much a dessert flavored RY4. Hardware aside, I wondered why if the extra week of steeping was guity for the two review's disparity.
So I revisited Gambler this morning, before any other vape flavors. Hazelnut jumped out at me. I still taste the rich caramel and bright vanilla blends, but now I get a good flavor of hazelnut throughout. The cigarette-like tobacco is a bit more influential, but behind the other flavors.
I find Gambler to be deep in the dessert corner of RY4 land, but now more cookie than cheesecake. This suggests a full week of steeping has calmed Gambler into a much better all day blend. I agree with Bill that Gambler is a very good RY4 and deserves an A- grade.
Many of you are the Lewis and Clark of ejuice blends and I for one am glad the trail is being blazed with competency.
Funny you should mention that. My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Lewis, and I've always been told that Meriwether Lewis was a distant relation of mine. Go figure.
I recall thinking in 2005 when I moved to the Pacific Northwest from Minnesota that I made the drive in four days, in total comfort, while it took Lewis and Clark more than a year. Of course, the country they traversed was 1804-1805 was pretty much pristine, whereas the America I drove through in 2005 was pockmarked by the detritus of two centuries of industrial civilization. Sure, Montana was still Big Sky country, but the grinding poverty of falling-down shacks along the interstate on Native American Reservations was shocking. And the small towns along the way were filled with signs: Grocery and Casino, Drugstore and Casino, Laundromat and Casino. When did this country succumb to the virus of gambling? Also, you can drive from one end of the continental U.S. to the other and never eat anywhere but cheap Chinese buffets. What's up with that? Is there some Chinese Mafia that runs all those restaurants? And since all those buffets seem to have pretty much the same food and even the same paper placemats, do they all get their supplies from one humongous warehouse in Hackensack, New Jersey?
Whenever someone posts random thoughts like that, I wonder if they had spent some quality time on the John that morning. That's where I get much of my quality thinking done anyways.
Anyone? Just me? Hello? Where did everyone go?![]()
Now that I'm an old fart---and an old, damaged fart to boot---I make sure that I'm never very busy. Luckily, I can pay the monthly nut with about twelve hours of work per week from the comfort of my living room couch, so I have lots of time to make extract, fiddle with coils, roast coffee on the back porch, enjoy the scenery (I live in a setting that's drop-dead gorgeous), and contemplate my navel. In truth, though, while I was busier when younger, I never had the kind of OMG busy-as-hell life that many people have. I knew from the get-go that my temperament wasn't built to handle that, so my life unfolded differently than that hustle-bustle go-go-go style. Oh, I'm still a Type-A, but that was always mostly mental and emotional for me, not so much kinetic and physical.
specs: The 30ml bottle of RY4 I purchased from ITCVapes contains a light amber-colored transparent liquid at 24mg nic strength in a 10/90 PG/VG base. Nose of the liquid is ever-so-slightly buttery in scent, but not oily. Since the juice was made fresh-to-order, I let it steep after arrival for three days. Testing was done using a 3.0 ohm Ultimate CE2 clearomizer powered by a VAMO v2 set to 9.0 watts RMS.
Heres the description from the product page of the ITCVapes site:
A rich, sweet, creamy, buttery smooth tobacco with nutty undertones that just might magically disappear before you expect it. Handcrafted in and shipped from MD, USA in glass dropper bottles.Also, from the About Our E-Liquid page:
ITCVapes juices are the result of a combined effort of two mixers and over 3 years of e-liquid research and development. We have put together a line of deliciously complex juices, many of which offer a multi-flavor experience as you vape. Our flavors could be considered gourmet as none of them are a single flavor added to nicotine. Each and every one of them has been carefully proportioned to create the perfect blend of flavor.Caramel is the star of ITCVapes RY4, which places it firmly in the Custom genre of RY4s. The nutty tobacco is also distinct, another feature of Custom RY4s, with the vanilla remaining in the background. I cant actually discern the vanilla component, but that might be just me rather than the juice itself. Vanilla is obviously present, however, because this is definitely an RY4 flavor profile. The nuttiness isnt potent or aggressive---the juice doesn't scream NUTS---but the nut element does come through, so RY4 fans who dont like nutty RY4s might steer clear of this one. Personally, I like RY4s both without and with nuttiness, so for me its fine, as I imagine it will be for most vapers.
All of our e-liquid is mixed by ITCVapes staff in Maryland, USA. Our recipes are a combined effort of ITCVapes owner Luke Gates as well as our true flavor wizard, Jakob Tomlin from Kansas City. Jakob created our famous RY4 as well as many other excellent recipes you will find on our site.
All of our e-Liquid is made of the highest quality ingredients. ITCVapes uses pharmaceutical grade kosher USP PG & VG. All flavors used are top quality and 100% diacetyl free.
As the vendor description states, this RY4 is amply creamy, smooth, and quite buttery, all of which my particular palate associates with the caramel. It's ice cream topping liquid caramel rather than hard candy caramel to my taste buds. There may be other flavoring elements that provide those qualities, but my brain interprets them through the caramel, which is delicious, by the way. Overall, the juice is extremely rich in flavor---meaning luxurious much more than sweet. There is sweetness, of course---RY4's basic flavor profile requires some---but its kept within bounds. I think that was a wise choice here, as too much sweetness would put this juice over the top. As it is, the slightly more savory tone of some sweetness but creamy richness is just about perfect. Did I mention that it's creamy and buttery? LOL.
ITCVapes RY4 rises or falls on the basis of two qualities: the tobacco and the buttery caramel. If you like the particular taste and interaction of those two flavor elements, youll like this Custom RY4. Personally, I find the tobacco slightly idiosyncratic, and my first reaction was to wonder if it might be an acquired taste, but the tobacco flavor complements the creamy, buttery caramel so well that I was soon won over. ITCVapes RY4 is definitely its own creature, rather than being a middle-of-the-road RY4, but that serves to give it a unique identity.
ITCVapes RY4 grade: B+
link to purchase: RY4 from ITCVapes
This marks my third review in a row of very good RY4s---Butterflys RY4, MOV Gambler, and now ITCVapes RY4. All three are fine examples of the art of RY4, and vapers can be happy to add these to the many other superb retail RY4s available in the marketplace. Folks, these are good times to be a vaper, and especially good times for RY4 vapers.
I'm thinking that, over time, Gambler will probably strengthen in the tobacco department and perhaps diminish some in sweetness as the other flavors step forward.
billherbst said:Funny you should mention that. My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Lewis, and I've always been told that Meriwether Lewis was a distant relation of mine. Go figure.
Whenever someone posts random thoughts like that, I wonder if they had spent some quality time on the John that morning. That's where I get much of my quality thinking done anyways.