Tony,
Your bottle of Dekang RY4 from late 2009 shouldn't taste or smell like Janty RY4...
Bill, thanks for your illumination. That helps to sort out some of the inconsistencies in what I had known.
Tony,
Your bottle of Dekang RY4 from late 2009 shouldn't taste or smell like Janty RY4...
Tony,
Your bottle of Dekang RY4 from late 2009 shouldn't taste or smell like Janty RY4.
As far as I know (which is to say, with some real info, some interpolation, and some guesswork), the mythic "lost" Dekang from 2009-early 2010 was Dekang's reformulation of the original Janty RY4 recipe, made sufficiently different that there would be no conflict, bad feeling, or (heaven forbid) litigation. Dekang reduced the vanilla, removed all trace of sourness, upped the caramel, and added sweetener (some who vaped it have said cotton candy flavoring).
My only mission is to try to get people to stop referring to the lost Dekang as the "original" RY4, which was from Janty, not Dekang. They are two different juices in recipe and overall taste. It's just that the majority of vapers never had the Janty original. Janty was a smaller company, their juices had limited availability, and their customer base wasn't nearly as large as Dekang's. For many vapers who started in 2008 and later, Dekang's version was the first RY4 they had or knew about, so naturally they assumed that it was the original. It's not. The lost Dekang formula was, however, such an immensely popular revision that Janty decided to alter their original RY4 formula, moving it somewhat closer to the revised Dekang.
After the secret recipe for the revised and ultra-popular Dekang RY4 was stolen in spring of 2010 by the Dekang flavor chemist who was leaving to start his own juice company, Dekang came out with a new RY4 that was closer to (not identical, but more similar to) the original Janty RY4. Less caramel, less sweetness. By that time, Janty was no longer selling the original formula. What that means is that, in a manner of speaking, Janty and Dekang switched positions, with Janty RY4 becoming more Dekang-like, and Dekang RY4 become more Janty-like. No wonder people were confused.
So, your bottle is indeed the "lost" Dekang RY4. It just can't be compared to the Janty RY4 being marketed at that point. Janty was still selling their original formula in late 2009, but they were about to come out with their Classic series, in which their RY4 was subtly reformulated by tweaking the recipe profile. Later, in 2011, they made a more major revision by increasing the flavor intensity, especially the caramel, for the Elixir Series RY4s (two of them---more-PG and more-VG base blends). The original Janty is now available again as Janty RY4 DK-Series.
Clear as mud, eh?
What??? You mean it's arrived, and yet you haven't vaped any yet? We're awaiting your opinion and judgment with bated breath.
my vote goes to mister-e-liquids ry4, it's the only ry4 i even care for. it's actually in my top 5 juices
Daniel,
It's great that you found an RY4 you love.
I can't help but ask about your second statement: "it's the only RY4 I even care for." Personally, I've vaped (and reviewed) more than 120 RY4s, but even that number leaves another 100 or more RY4s that I haven't tried.
How many RY4s have you tried? Five? Ten? Twenty? Even if it's twenty, then that means you haven't vaped about 200 other RY4s. Maybe there are some you haven't tried that you'd like a lot. Just sayin'.
Another consideration is what delivery method are you using and at what wattage/voltage? Every juice I vape has varations from a carto to a tank or clearomizer
specs: The 15ml bottle of Full Virginia Flake RY4 I purchased for review from MountainOakVapors is an NET-based limited edition. The liquid inside the dark glass dropper-topped bottle is a transparent medium-caramel color at 18mg nic strength in a 70/30 PG/VG base blend. A subtle caramel is the only scent I can discern after ten days of steeping. Testing was done using a 2.5 ohm Smoktech dual-coil carto powered by a variable-wattage VAMO set to 9 watts RMS.
The MOV web-page description states:
FULL VIRGINIA FLAKE RY4 is a Limited Edition (while supplies last) NET RY4 E-Liquid blend from Mountain Oak Vapors. What is NET? you ask? It's a Naturally Extracted Tobacco flavoring that we have extracted ourselves in house using Full Virginia Flake pipe tobacco. To that we add a bit of Caramel and Vanilla flavoring to make it an authentic RY4 experience. The extraction process for this particular limited edition run has taken around 3 months to produce from start to finish and is made possible by a famous Full Virginia Flake pipe tobacco from which the tobacco base flavoring was derived. In house Naturally Extracted Tobacco flavorings are NOT approved by the FDA for food based consumption. This is the only NET Blend Mountain Oak Vapors has available for sale, and it is the only one that uses NET flavoring that we have ever sold.
My first reaction to this Custom RY4 is to be very impressed by how well-blended the juice is. Brandy, MOVs juicemaker, has assembled a symphony orchestra of individual flavors that play together beautifully as one coordinated instrument. Every phase of the vaping experience, from inhale through exhale, is perfectly in tune and in synch for this lovely concerto. Neither overly sweet nor excessively rich, but offering great depth, the music of Full Virginia Flake RY4 is perfectly balanced.
In my opinion, this is Brandys finest creation, the best tobacco juice Ive ever had from MOV. In the past, I felt that MOVs tobacco blends embodied a certain characteristic eccentricity of flavor profile, which some people loved, while others didnt. One colleague of mine referred to the oddness as cumin-like. In Full Virginia Flake RY4, that falls away, because of the wonderful NET tobacco base, which provides a firm base for the tasty caramel and vanilla and a flavor that is both authentic and delicious. The overall flavor of this juice is a dead center bull's-eye. Totally delicious.
If Custom RY4s are the evolutionary future, then Custom RY4s made with natural extract tobacco bases are the vanguard, the spearhead of that movement. But not all NETs are the same. In fact, they vary wildly in quality. With the MOV Virginia Flake NET, Brandy has produced a superb extract with complexity and deeply satisfying flavor. The juice has no nuttiness, but what it does have is a toasted quality that adds a similar flavor element to the mix. Vapers who dont like nutty RY4s wont mind at all, while those who do like nuts will appreciate this toastiness. I detect a slight sourness, which doesnt seem to me a separate flavor ingredient, but more likely a natural layer of the tobacco extract. This is altogether pleasing and adds to the juices complexity. Tobacco lovers can rejoice, since theres none of the grassiness that mars some NET macerations.
My sole criticism of this RY4 is the lack of a really solid throat hit, which is primarily a function of the nic level and purity, as well as the power used to heat the coils. 18mg nic should provide more throat hit than I'm getting at 9 watts. That lack of TH detracts from my enjoyment ever-so-slightly---enough to keep MOV Full Virginia Flake RY4 out of the A group, but only by a hair. However, A- aint too shabby, since both groups together represent the very best RY4s in the world.
Since we dont know if MOV will decide to continue down the path of NETs and make Full Virginia Flake RY4 a standard offering in their juice line, Id strongly advise anyone interested to get some now, before this limited edition is sold out.
MountainOakVapors Full Virginia Flake RY4 grade: A-
link to purchase: MOV Full Virginia Flake RY4 Limited Edition
I just received my order, which have a bottled date of 2/28/13. Does anyone else find the MOV RY4 tastes like perfume? I realize I need to let them steep but I had to have a taste after reading all the glowing reviews. Will leaving the caps off for a few days remove the chemical aftertaste?