V4L 555 recipe changed?

[NekoGurrl]

Have to agree, the new 555 premium carts to taste just like Dekang 555. Have a bottle of DK from a while ago and it tastes just like the new K4L 555 premium carts. I may have to make a change to my order and get some of the 5ml bottles of my favorite flavors.

I have to say that the new Premium flavor Peanut Butter Cup is different, but I actually like it better. There wasn't enough chocolate in the old mix.

So we win some, loose some.

 

[PRboy25]

I got the tobacco shop Sampler yesterday, and instantly fell in love with the 555. I want to order some more, but from my understanding, the 30ml juice should be the same as the sampler I got? I can live with that since I haven't tried the older flavor.

same here

 

[Mosin]

Unfortunately I don't think the size bottle/volume makes a difference... it seems to be the batch ingredients/recipe have changed. The 5ml bottle on the left in the below photo is the "new" 555 medium (batch 25/11/2009), and on the right is 5ml of the old school V4L 555 medium (batch 26/08/2009). Notice how much darker and amber colored the bottle on the right is. The same difference is evident at all nic levels and size bottles between those batches, and the taste is distinctly different... stock, dryish Dekang 555 vs the yummy, sweet V4L 555 I am addicted to. I save all of my empties and all of my V4L 555 were from the 08/26/2009 batch... hence why I became so attuned to that taste. The new 30ml bottles I received are dated 28/01/2010, and they are identical in look and taste to the 11/25/2009 batch... essentially stock Dekang 555. I keep my juice bottles sealed in a cool, dark place (lower office drawer), so this difference isn't from exposure/sunlight or degredation.

So, the question at this point is, will the Ancient Chinese Secret of V4L 555 batch 26/08/2009 be lost to the ages (a travesty! 8-o) or will Leaford and the gang at the Shenzhen lab have a tasting roundtable and reverse-engineer this wondrous elixir using 5ml from my stockpile? Even if the 08/26/2009 batch was somehow a manufacturing/quality control "mistake", it was a darn good one... and I'm sure many a V4L 555 freak would agree with me that the effort to recreate it would be well worth the effort in terms of future sales/brand loyalty.

 

[maxx]

I know this a 555 issue, but it is similar to my Kant issue. I made a thread a short while ago on the subject of color and flavor changes. Leaford has a posts in that thread (somewhere) where he explains what happened to tobacco flavors. Thread here:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/vapor4life/75687-color.html

 

[Mosin]

same here

You can't go wrong with 555. In other words, I never vaped a State Express I didn't like, and the "new" V4L 555 is no different...it's sacred nectar. With that said, variety is the spice of life, so the thought that V4L 555 will now taste the same as SEJ 555 and RMV 555 and MV 555 and Nhaler 555 etc is rather depressing.

 

[Mosin]

I know this a 555 issue, but it is similar to my Kant issue. I made a thread a short while ago on the subject of color and flavor changes. Leaford has a posts in that thread (somewhere) where he explains what happened to tobacco flavors. Thread here:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/vapor4life/75687-color.html

Thanks! That was encouraging, insofar as Leaford explains that there is a new manufacturer, and that it is possible to recreate original/favorite recipes. Quoting Leaford from that thread:

"But I have acquired samples of the original Kant, and am having the original Kant recreated. The new samples taste the same as the original to me, and have the same yellow color. So original Kant is returning soon, and the carts will be the original paltinum color, too! "

If there is any chance of acquiring original samples of 555 (I volunteer mine!) and having it recreated, I will name my first born Leaford II.

 

[dracis]

Hmmm. Since everyone is raving about the older 555's I'm wondering if I should hold off until they get some in. It's not that the new one is horrible or anything since it's my first time, it's just that it's making me wonder a bit more about the "old school" 555 flavor. I know Steve or Mark said something about bringing back an older flavor that was once lost, so hopefully this could happen with the 555.

I can always get the premium 555 now and get the new one if it ever happens. At this rate, I think I might even finish the bottle in a few days or so, hehe.

 

[jazzguy]

Okay, so I'm generally not a huge fan of tobacco flavors (I do like RY4 from time to time, but that's hardly a 'stock' tobacco. I heard so many good things about the 555 that I ordered a box of the prem cartos. I really didn't see what was so great about it, although I DO like it a bit better than any other tobacco flavor I've tried. But it seems very 'dry' tasting, not sweet at all, and has a bit of a 'dirt' component to it (not saying that's a bad thing, just a vague description, kind of mineral-ey). Not really any nutty undertone I hear tale of. So I pose this question to one of you 555 experts: is it sort of 'meh' to me because it's the new batch and is somehow more drab, or is it because I'm just not a big tobacco fan in general? Or a combination of both? I know that's difficult to answer because taste is so subjective, but *if* you guys think the description I put forth here correlates with your experiences on the new/premium mix specifically, and *if* the old recipe is made available again, I might be willing to give it another shot.

 

[Mosin]

If the old 555 recipe is offered you should definitely try it, as it is IMO much sweeter and spicier (for lack of more exact terms) than the stock Dekang this current batch seems to be. Of course, since taste is so subjective, more flavor might not do it for you. Like, I am generally not an RY4 guy, so I'm pretty sure a sweeter, more flavorful RY4 wouldn't do it for me. With that said, I would definitely still buy a bottle to sample!

 

[lukemacneil]

The old 555 tasted a bit more like the new 555 smells. If that makes sense.

 

[jazzguy]

That actually *does* make sense, Luke, thanks. I'm definitely smelling a nutty undertone, and some sweetness, and it smells good. But I just tried vaping it again, and I'm still getting sort of an earthy, meh taste. Good to know it's not just me.

 

[scott58]

I was a quality assurance manager for over 20 years and 1 of the golden rules of any business is consistency. One thing I notice in these e-cig businesses is the constant changing. Not always a good thing to do. Adding new products is one thing, but constantly changing one product for another runs the risk of alienating long time customers who stick with what they like and order the same things all the time. When these customers can no longer depend on consistent supplies of the products they have come to enjoy they go to other vendors they feel they can have more confidence in. When coca-cola changed their original fornula it was not a good thing for the company. E-cig businesses may not want to repeat the same mistakes.

 

[uzzaperez]

V4L is a young company and in an evolving state right now. Their willingness to research and modify their product in order to actually be the best has and is generating better products - even if sometimes a loved feature or flavor goes missing for awhile. I'd rather take the ride with them than get the same disappointments elsewhere and miss the steady flow of V4L successes. It will be nice when things settle down to consistency though. But I would much rather have inconsistency and improvement than consistent mediocrity.

 

[JonnyRex04]

agreed!V4L Is AMAZING not matter what!!!!!

 

[Mosin]

agreed!V4L Is AMAZING not matter what!!!!!

V4L is indeed amazing, but that has nothing to do with this thread, which concerns recent changes to the 555 juice. If V4L 555 is now just stock Dekang 555 (the taste, color, and YNDK logo kinda gives it away, and I haven't heard anyone from V4L chime in here and claim otherwise) it is not the unique product I have come to know and love and buy by the boatload! Loving V4L and being committed to their products does not mean customers shouldn't mention/question drastic changes in those products... quite the opposite: I am committed to V4L because of their products' uniqueness, and would like to see their products and business flourish. If V4L juice/s become identical to all of the other juices out there (more specifically, the immensely popular and formerly unique V4L 555) what will motivate brand loyalty beyond how nice and cordial the V4L crew is?

 

[Mosin]

I was a quality assurance manager for over 20 years and 1 of the golden rules of any business is consistency. One thing I notice in these e-cig businesses is the constant changing. Not always a good thing to do. Adding new products is one thing, but constantly changing one product for another runs the risk of alienating long time customers who stick with what they like and order the same things all the time. When these customers can no longer depend on consistent supplies of the products they have come to enjoy they go to other vendors they feel they can have more confidence in. When coca-cola changed their original fornula it was not a good thing for the company. E-cig businesses may not want to repeat the same mistakes.

So very well put. Maybe V4L could follow Coke's very profitable lead and offer "V4L 555 Classic" in addition to the new 555. That would actually increase my purchases, as V4L would then be a one-stop shop for all of my 555, whereas before I was getting the Dekang from other vendors.