The Really Big RY4 Roundup (long)

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billherbst

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I want to post about two criteria that are becoming clearer to me in assessing RY4s (and juices in general), and which I'm trying to shape into simple terms. In effect, I'm writing my own dictionary here.

Taste is a measure (in my mind, at least) of flavor impact. How much impact do the flavors have, and how good is that impact? In the way I’m using the word, Taste is an immediate sensation and equally immediate response.

Satisfaction, unlike Taste, is a measure of the enjoyability of vaping a specific juice. Satisfaction is not an immediate measure, but makes itself felt and known over time. I don’t assess satisfaction for any juice until I’ve vaped it steadily for at least a couple minutes, for the simple reason that it doesn’t show up until then. Interestingly, my use of the word is paradoxical. One might think that if I’m satisfied, I’d stop vaping. But for me, experiencing a high measure of what I'm calling satisfaction from a juice makes me want to vape it longer. Satisfaction is an indicator of addictiveness.

Taste and satisfaction are both related to flavor, but differently. Taste is immediate, while satisfaction has a slower, more enduring nature. The two criteria are sometimes related in obvious ways. What tastes good tends to provide satisfaction. Good flavor is usually the doorway into satisfaction. But not always. The correlation is not necessarily direct, nor is it 1:1 in weight. Sometimes, exciting or strong flavors are stimulating, but not as soul-satisfying as calmer or more subtle flavors. Other times, flavors can be so good (or bad) that satisfaction never even enters the picture.

Taste is akin to physical beauty in people. Satisfaction, however, is an overall measure of how attractive a person is. I may be knocked out by how striking beautiful or handsome a given person might be, but I want to hang out and spend time with people who embody an overall attractiveness, which includes how they think and speak, and conscious they are, and how much their beliefs harmonize with my own. Taste is striking; Satisfaction is sympathetic.

Case in point: Apollo RY4 versus Mom&PopVaporShop RY4v2. These are both superlative RY4s, among the elite group of top RY4s in the world (according to my palate, ahem). I have them both graded as A- RY4s.

Apollo RY4 has great taste. The flavors pop. They’re bright, clean, and wonderful. By contrast, M&P RY4v2 doesn’t rate quite as high in taste (at least for me) as Apollo. The flavors in RY4v2 are ever-so-slightly muted and not as clean. The tobacco in Apollo RY4 is a bit brighter and more present on the top end than the tobacco in RY4v2, which is a darker-flavored NET.

That said, Mom&Pop RY4v2 is one of the most satisfying RY4s I’ve ever vaped. The caramel and vanilla in RY4v2 harmonize a bit better than their equivalents in Apollo. The tobacco especially has great depth and provides a base for the rich caramel/vanilla. Apollo Ry4 is airy, flying higher, but Mom&Pop is oceanic and profound. Whenever I take a hit of RY4v2, I want to take another. Give me a PV loaded with M&P RY4v2 and another loaded with Apollo RY4, and I’ll certainly respond well to both. The difference is that I’ll keep vaping Mom&Pop RY4v2 after I’ve put down the Apollo. Given a choice, I'd always reach for the RY4v2.

On the taste scale, I give Apollo 9 out of 10. On the satisfaction scale, about 7 out of 10. With Mom&Pop RY4v2, those scores would be reversed for me: 7 for taste, but 9 for satisfaction.

So, even though both RY4s are terrific, even though I grade them both at A-, Mom&Pop RY4v2 wins for me over Apollo RY4 because of its Custom depth, which I personally like more than Classic brightness. I love to vape RY4v2, whereas Apollo RY4---although brilliant in its own Classic way---is more take-it-or-leave-it for me.

YMMV, of course.
 
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passerbyeus

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I have to agree with you here about taste and satisfaction, I find I keep juices around like IKV Gold not for the taste but for the satisfaction it gives with the inhale analog feel to it...then there are some that just taste great without that kick that I keep around. With the low nic I vape there is not much to most of the juice I vape but taste which gives me most of the satisfaction I need.
 

billherbst

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I'll bet there are many variables in the taste/satisfaction relationship. Bright/Light versus Deep/Dark seems to be one for me. Nicotine may be another---not just through nic concentration (mg/ml), which is obviously related to throat hit, but through the source and quality of the nicotine as well. I remember vaping some zero nic juices along the way. They tasted OK, but didn't satisfy me at all. I could hardly wait to stop vaping them. Like being a carnivore and wolfing down a big plate of steamed vegies, only to think, "Did I just eat anything? Why am I still so hungry?"

I notice myself trending a bit lower with nicotine these days. I've been pretty much a 24mg nic guy through my two years of vaping. I've made occasional forays into lower nic concentrations---15-20mg---but they've been temporary excursions from which I always returned home to 24mg. Now I notice myself vaping, ordering, and DIYing 18mg more often. It's still too early to tell if that's a permanent trend, and even if it is, I'm not sure what it means.

The tobacco element is another mystery factor in satisfaction. In the Apollo RY4/Mom&Pop RY4v2 contrast I used in my earlier post, the tobacco wasn't the only difference between the two juices, but it was probably the single most important factor in determining satisfaction for me. Many of my favorite juices are NETs, so that probably says something about my personal satisfaction index.

I like fruit juices---I vape various strawberry or mixed berry blends, and I love Highbrow Limoncello and Orange de Sangre---but I regard them much the same way that hard liquor drinkers consider wine coolers to be "girly drinks." Fruit vapes are like aperitifs or appetizers to me rather than main courses.

So tobacco seems important in my satisfaction. I do love coffee blends, though---CopperCreek Coffee/Cappuccino and BWB Espresso/Cappuccino are my go-to coffee juices---and the past month or so I've been vaping numerous cake or cake batter dessert blends---vanilla cupcake, white cake, yellow cake, Boston Cream Pie (which is actually a cake). Cake batter is among the easiest juices to whip up in DIY, although Copper Creek Cake is my hands-down favorite because it simulates the flavor of real cooked cake more than mere uncooked batter. Both coffee and cake juices are substantial, with a certain weightiness in flavor density, so perhaps that's the common factor in satisfaction for me personally. I need juices that feel substantial enough for my brain to get the "Oh, yes!" satisfaction trigger that makes me want to keep vaping them. And yet, I don't require "in-your-face" flavor intensity; I appreciate subtle juices as much as bolder flavors. It's not just about intensity, but depth as well. Like meat-and-potatoes, stick-to-your-ribs substance.

Base liquids and ratios might play a role also. I don't vape many juices that are higher than 70% PG, and over time I lean more and more toward higher percentages of VG. I don't care about the visible "plumes-of-vapor fog-machine" thing that's associated with VG, but more VG seems to provide for me a denser experience in the mouth and lungs, which may be an element for me in satisfaction.

Anyway, getting satisfaction is clearly important in vaping. Good taste alone won't cut it. How we get the feeling of satisfaction may be less universal and more individual than I realize, however.
 

passerbyeus

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Vaping is odd and its not like analogs for me when I could smoke the same brand for years, I have to switch juice up to get satisfaction or I get burnt out on the the same taste, I think the only juice I have ever vaped a week straight only was MOV RY4 and if thats all I had I could live (but Holy Grail has replaced that :D) with it but since my brain knows there is more out there I just cant stick to it alone. I think most vapors are always out on the hunt for that one true juice that kicks the habit of analogs for them or one they can just vape exclusively.
 
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On Target

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I cannot go with just one juice, or even flavor for an all day vape. Right now, I have pretty much settled in on this combo for my daily rotation:

RY4's: RW Vapors, Halo Tribeca, Want to Vape DIY.
Others: Halo Turkish, BWB Casablanca, BWB Honey Flue Nut Tobacco and Prime Vaping's Love from Above.

This combo keeps me pretty satisfied for the time being. I will stay with one combination for a couple of weeks and then rotate other RY4's and or tobacco flavors into/out of the mix.

I still love BWB's RY4 better than any other but only have enough to re-fill one more carto left. I have rationed myself to maybe a half dozen draws a week in hopes of being able to stretch it out until Don's re-formulated version is released.
 

billherbst

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I still love BWB's RY4 better than any other but only have enough to re-fill one more carto left. I have rationed myself to maybe a half dozen draws a week in hopes of being able to stretch it out until Don's re-formulated version is released.

On Target,

You have my sincere condolences. While I can live without BWB RY4, I understand that for many vapers on ECF, its passing is a terrible loss. I hope Don comes up with a replacement soon.
 

billherbst

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specs: I don’t normally request RY4 samples for review (asking for free stuff from vendors rubs me the wrong way), but I was curious to try OrbVapor’s Organic RY4, so I made an exception in this case. Sam, the owner of OrbVapor, was gracious in sending me two different 4ml sample bottles. I think they’re the same flavoring, but one base is a 50/50 PG/VG blend, while the other is 100% VG. (I requested them that way, thinking that one was “Natural” and the other “Organic,” but they’re the same). The color of both liquids is identical---light golden amber, at 18mg nic strength. Testing was performed by dripping into an 1.6 ohm IKV i06 atty atop a Vamo power-regulated APV set to 8 watts RMS.

Organic and/or natural eliquids are still a niche marketplace in the vaping world, but that’s changing as new vendors appear who use organic or natural flavors exclusively. One of those new vendors is Orb Vapor, which offers a line of 34 different flavored eliquids (if I counted correctly), including two tobacco blends: Organic Clove and Organic RY4.

OrbVapor Organic RY4 is offered in various base blends, including 100% VG, which leads me to assume that the flavorings used are VG-based rather than PG-based. I don’t know whether the flavorings contain alcohol or not. I couldn’t taste any alcohol, but I let the juice steep for a week, so I can’t guarantee that they’re alcohol-free.

The nose on both blends I have is clean, fresh, and pleasantly fragrant---not perfumey, and---obviously---there’s no chemical smell (or taste, for that matter). As far as I’m concerned, no good RY4 should taste or smell floral, perfumey, or even remotely like a chemist’s lab. Happily, only a very few RY4s do, and those are the lousy ones at the bottom of the rankings. OrbVapor Organic RY4 is definitely not among those losers.

What separates good RY4s from great ones is flavor, both in individual ingredients and overall mix profile. How does OV RY4 stack up against the competition? Well, first off, whatever the base carrier, this is a custom RY4 all the way. I have a hard time imagining any organic or natural RY4 that would be classic, so that is as expected. Beyond that, however, OV RY4 is extremely custom, out at the edge of the RY4 flavor profile. I’m not sure what it is about the individual flavorings or the mix that puts it out there so far, but OV RY4 is definitely not middle-of-the-road.

The flavors themselves are “soft,” meaning creamy rather than boldly distinct. Also, no individual taste stands out. They meld together into a single overall experience. Curiously, I’m reminded of an apple-tobacco blend---a little bit like BWB Applewood---although I’m as certain as I can be that there’s no apple flavor here. Instead, the subtle apple tone is somehow an offshoot of the caramel and vanilla with Tobacco Absolute. It’s not unpleasant at all, nor overly fruity, and that subtle tone of ripe apple (almost over-ripe) doesn’t negate the juice’s status as an RY4. This is just a particularly eccentric RY4, with a very unusual caramel, but in a soft and pleasing way. I can’t identify either the tobacco or vanilla clearly, but my brain knows that they’re present and contributing.

I read in another thread---Natural Tobaccos Post #2845---that Tobacco Absolute is used in OV RY4, but I don’t know if other Natural Extract Tobacco flavorings (NETs) might also be used. I would guess not, but don’t quote me on that. I’m happy to report, however, that the Tobacco Absolute is not overused here, which is a common pitfall with TA, since it is super-super-concentrated. Very little goes a long, long, long way. The only vendor I know that uses Tobacco Absolute liberally and gets away with it (meaning doesn’t ruin their juice) is MomandPopVaporshop.

An amazing feature of OV RY4 is that its sweetness is integral to the organic flavorings. They are naturally sweet, rather than the sweetness being added separately. Dessert RY4 lovers will likely be satisfied with this juice, but---strangely enough---so will those who don’t like much sweetness in their RY4s. The only people to whom I would not recommend this juice are hard-core RY4 traditionalists, who may balk at their expectations being stretched so far, and strong tobacco lovers, for whom OV RY4 won’t shout “Tobacco!” Everything about this juice is soft.

I’d give this juice a B+, except that it’s so unusual and eccentric. So I’ll give it a B, with a footnote that you might like it more than that.

OrbVapor Organic RY4 grade: B

links to purchase:
OrbVapor Organic RY4 in a 100% VG base
OrbVapor Organic RY4 in selectable PG/VG base blends
 
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billherbst

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.........., china cig RY4? Have you tried it yet? Is it any good?

Nope, haven't tried it. Never heard of it. I had to Google it to discover what vendor you're referring to.

It's probably a classic RY4 from one of the major Chinese eliquid manufacturers.
 

billherbst

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I have to ask, what does "organic" stands in eliquid ?

"Organic" is one of those buzzwords that may or may not mean what anyone thinks/assumes it means. In food, the label "organic" is a battleground of regulation (politics) and definition (economics). It should mean all-natural and unadulterated, grown and without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and manufactured/processed without use or addition of artificial ingredients, but those meanings are far too simple for the complex and argumentative real world of the marketplace.

I don't have a clue what it actually means in vaping, except that it's about the flavorings. The bases of most, if not all liquid, tend to be USP Food Grade. I'm not sure such things as "organic" liquid nicotine, propylene glycol, or vegetable glycerine even exist. But flavorings can be synthetic, natural, or organic (whatever it means).
 

billherbst

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specs: John, the owner of FlavourartUK, graciously sent me a 10ml bottle of RY4 Nutzilla flavoring concentrate (thanks John!). I whipped up a 15ml bottle of juice starting out a 8% flavoring at 18mg nic, in a 50/50 PG/VG base. I let the bottle steep for a week before trying it, then added 5% more flavoring for a total of 13% and let it steep a couple days more. The finished DIY juice has a light-to-medium amber color. Testing was done through a BogeXL SR carto at 3.0 ohms powered by a Kicked Bolt set to 9.5 watts.

Given its name, this DIY flavoring concentrate---available only from FlavourartUK (the British distributor for Flavourart) and offered as part of their “That’s Nice” range of flavorings---was obviously designed for nut lovers. Duh. Conversely, those vapers not partial to nutty RY4s can be expected to take a pass (although I’m not sure they should).

What I find most surprising about FlavourartUK RY4 Nutzilla---which is totally delicious, by the way---is that the nuttiness doesn’t stand up, grab the microphone, and do a Mick Jagger impersonation. One might think that it would with a name like Nutzilla. Instead, the nuttiness is much softer than I anticipated, and completely integrated into the RY4 components. Presumably, the RY4 part of the concentrate is from Flavourart’s own proprietary RY4 flavoring, a premixed concentrate I'm not particularly thrilled with on its own. FA RY4 flavoring is acceptable, but it's not on a par with TFA RY4 Double or W2V RY4 flavorings. Not even close.

What John has created, however, through the addition of the Nutzilla element, is wonderful and transforms the otherwise pedestrian FA RY4 into something quite special. I don’t know what particular nut flavorings are used---peanut, pecan, almond, walnut, hazelnut, macadamia, lychee, who knows?---nor can I even begin to distinguish what the mix percentages might be (since I can’t isolate individual nuts), but there is nothing here even vaguely reminiscent of the sort-of-peanut-but-not-really taste that Dr. Vapenstein long ago christened “mystery nut,” and which is present in so many retail juices, especially those of Chinese origin or inclination. Some people love that flavor, which is in Dekang’s DK-TAB and 555, but I don’t. While I adore straight, real peanut---W2V Peanut Butter Cup is one of my all-time favorite juices---my palate reacts to the mystery nut flavor as far too generic and artificial.

John has deftly sidestepped that pitfall with RY4 Nutzilla. He’s managed to make the nuttiness subtle, since it’s melded completely with the RY4 flavors, but he’s also avoided the trap of tossing all the nuts into a grinder to make synthetic nut butter baby food pablum. The nutty tone of RY4 Nutzilla feels completely authentic and natural. Whatever these nuts may be, the end flavor tastes real rather than artificial.

This is not a sweet dessert RY4 (nor is there any sweet-sour contrast). It’s savory in the best way possible, allowing the RY4 components (tobacco, caramel, vanilla) to supply enough sweetness to please the palate, but wrapping and infusing those sweeter flavors in a very clean nutty element. Since the tobacco doesn’t stand out, strong tobacco RY4 lovers will need to look elsewhere. Like all the other flavor components in FAuk RY4 Nutzilla, the tobacco is completely balanced and blended into a single overall flavor experience.

This custom RY4 flavoring concentrate is simply brilliant. Now there are three: FlavourartUK RY4 Nutzilla joins TFA RY4 Double and W2V RY4 to complete the trio of A-rated flavoring concentrates that allow any DIYer to make terrific custom RY4 at home. Bravo. If you lean toward classic RY4s, the two main choices in DIY RY4 premixed flavorings---TFA RY4 Asian and Hangsen RY4 flavorings---are worthy efforts, but still fall short of the very best retail classic RY4s. They’ll do just fine in a pinch, but Janty and Dekang won’t lose any sleep worrying about competition from DIY. On the other hand, our trio of A-rated custom RY4 flavorings are every bit as good as any retail custom RY4 in the marketplace.

FlavourartUK RY4 Nutzilla grade: A

link to purchase: FAuk RY4 flavoring
 
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