Worth giving Ahlusion another chance?

[Admsteff]

Been steeping Smooth Criminal over a week, and I'm gonna give it another couple weeks (or longer) at least before I give up on it, but I don't think it's gonna work out. The stuff tastes like vaping a scented candle (I know that's not technically descriptive). I don't know why, it just fires some candle synapses in my brain and it ain't working. It tastes the same to me now as the day I opened the bottle, as well. Anyone else have this experience with Ahl juice? I liked their customer service, shipping times, etc., and I like their philosophy and the idea of NET's in general. Is it worth trying another tobacco vape from them, or do you find their tobacco flavors fairly similar with regard to candleosity ? I don't get any tobacco sense from SC either, but I've read that it really takes some steeping time to bring out the tobacco. For all the rave reviews, I just don't think this stuff is any good, but I'll give it another few weeks. I wanted to try Sahara and/or Desperado, maybe others, but jeez, if they're all vaguely similar... I'd rather not spend precious resources. Maybe I should move on to another vendor? Candle-like? Am I crazy? I can't be the only one...

 

[Mazinny]

I also don't understand the reviews smooth criminal gets. It's been steeping for over a month now for me, and i still don't get any hint of tobacco. I don't really get the scented candle thing. As of now all i get is just pg/vg base and a slight vague sweetness.

But no, don't give up on them. Caramel Wildwood is excellent. I think their coffees especially light french roast are really good too. Their dessert flavors for the most part i found very pleasant although a little on the mild/subtle side. I don't think too many juices can live up to the rave reviews of their most dedicated fans on their own thread ( well maybe caramel wildwood and lfr do ! ), but i have liked the majority of the flavors i have tried from them. I was expecting a little more from their tobaccos which for the most part didn't live up to my admittedly high expectations ( again, except for caramel wildwood ), but their coffees exceeded my expectations. I thought their fruit/creams were quite good too expecially raspberry cream with a really long steep.

A lot of Ahlusion flavors improve a lot with aging, much more so than any other juice vendor i have tried.

 

[Kyi]

I ordered from Ahlusion once in the past, probably a year and a half ago. Picked up 4 bottles of juice, Pink Label, Strawberry Vanilla Cake, Sweet Surrender, and Honeydew Boba Tea. They are definitely on the pricier end of what I am used to ordering but I heard so much rave reviews about them, I decided to treat myself and give them a try. I'm not against paying extra for juice I truly enjoy. Well, overall I have to say I was disappointed and haven't tried ordering from them again since then. Everything had a perfumey taste to them and this is with a VERY generous steep, I tried it once when I got it, thought mehh... then forgot about it for a month or two, tried again, still taste the same. Come like 5 months later, I try them again, still the same!! That perfumey taste never left. And I dunno.. something about the TH of all the juices, it was very harsh on my throat and I'm not sure if it was their nicotine base or what, but the flavorings just didn't appeal to me at all. The SVC was the most disappointing of all, the 'cake' part of it tasted really weird... not like any cake I've had before, it was kinda stale and cheap tasting. I know most people love Ahlusion, which is why it's disappointing that I didn't like them, I've thought about giving them another try, maybe I just got a weird batch or something, but I don't want to spend $40 and not like anything I get, yet again. That was my personal experience with them.

 

[Skeebo]

I have some Ahlusion juices steeping now, and Smooth Criminal is one of them. The only liquid I have tried from them was Sahara, and I thought it was really good. It's a dry tobacco vape, and I do mean dry. It was sent to me by another forum member and it was 4 months old when I got it, so needless to say, it was well steeped.

I'm currently pampering the bottles I have, shaking, breathing, etc.. In my experience with other e-liquids if there is a strong alcohol/perfumey smell to it, it's best to leave the cap off for a few hours. It's the alcohol in the liquid that prevents it from properly steeping. Once that alcohol is breathed out the flavors meld better. People might disagree with me on this, but it's been something that has worked for me. NET's, for the most part, do require longer steeping times to really shine and be at their best.

 

[y cherry y]

I don't like Smooth Criminal till it's 2-3 months old. But not everyone likes it.

 

[rabernet]

One thing about Ahlusion is that when you pull up a juice, it tends to default to 90VG/10PG and people think that must be the blend Ahl recommends. That's what I did on my first order from them. Is it possible that what you did as well? If so, it will take a long time to age to become yummy.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk.

 

[Admsteff]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I may try one other juice to see if it's specific to SC. That and steep it some more. I did have it cap-off for several days, and "breathed" it many times those days. Now I shake it daily and let it sit in the dark, occasionally breathing it, with ever-dwindling hope. It may have un-harshed a bit, but the overall taste is identical to me.

I didn't start the thread to bash it or simply to proclaim that I don't like it, my concern was that perhaps it was something more or less intrinsic with the approach Ahlusion takes, and if anyone could attest to that. I share the concern about having to spend more money to learn that I don't like it (such is life, though). Guess I will try just one more... and then one more... and then one more...

 

[Admsteff]

Actually this was Ahl Express, which I believe defaults at 60/40? They recommend higher PG content for their tobaccos I believe, but Express has no option for ratio... I sure hope they pick a suitable ratio for their product.

By the way, I'm running the stuff through a Kanger Aerotank, but I think dripping is "recommended" to not mute the flavors...

One thing about Ahlusion is that when you pull up a juice, it tends to default to 90VG/10PG and people think that must be the blend Ahl recommends. That's what I did on my first order from them. Is it possible that what you did as well? If so, it will take a long time to age to become yummy.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk.

 

[Thundernoggin]

Ahlusion is a fairly safe bet as far as juices go. Everyone's taste buds are different though. I've only gotten a few from Ahlusion that I didn't like and a lot of good ones. Much smaller ratio of fails compared to some of the other vendors I've tried. Hour is usually the max I'll leave a cap off. Just tried a sample of SC that Lav sent me and I really like it but I know it has some steep on it. Only one I've gotten that had any notes of alcohol was Cherry Midnight which so far hasn't panned out for me. I may taste with a dripper but on a daily basis everything goes through a Protank Mini2 or MOW. Only had throat hit problems with Contrary Cherry but I do get all mine with the highest possible VG.

 

[oleskool]

My expectations were also high for Ahlusions. I went into the store while in the area (I live about 45 minutes away) , and tried a few. They only sell express in the store, and all flavors are not available in the store. Star Dust was on sale. I got two bottles 50% off. Ordered a few that were not there, so I couldn't try them first. The throat hit was unbearable on all of them. I haven't looked at them again.

 

[Mazinny]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I may try one other juice to see if it's specific to SC. That and steep it some more. I did have it cap-off for several days, and "breathed" it many times those days. Now I shake it daily and let it sit in the dark, occasionally breathing it, with ever-dwindling hope. It may have un-harshed a bit, but the overall taste is identical to me.

I didn't start the thread to bash it or simply to proclaim that I don't like it, my concern was that perhaps it was something more or less intrinsic with the approach Ahlusion takes, and if anyone could attest to that. I share the concern about having to spend more money to learn that I don't like it (such is life, though). Guess I will try just one more... and then one more... and then one more...

If you like caramel and light smooth tobacco, definitely try caramel wildwood !

 

[New2vaps]

To the OP, most people who like/love Ahlusion love Smooth Criminal. With that said, my number 1 vendor for over a year now has been Ahlusion. However, I do not like Smooth Criminal. In general if you don't like an ejuice after a week you won't like it later on. Some times peoples taste buds change and they might like the juice after a few months. But I wouldn't give up on Ahlusion. At the very least try Vanilla Wild wood and Caramel wild wood.

As for steeping Ahlusion ejuices, non xpress, leave the cap off for 5 minutes only. Then place cap back on and leave it in a nice cool dark place. No need to leave the cap off for more than 5 minutes per the owner of Ahlusion Wlad.

 

[Miarose]

I had stopped vaping ahlusion for awhile. The flavors were good, but at 50/50 I got a bad burny feeling in my mouth. A bit ago I decided to try again and upped the vg to 70. Success. Even fresh they are back to being great with no weird side effects.
But then again, not all juices are for everyone.

 

[Admsteff]

If you like caramel and light smooth tobacco, definitely try caramel wildwood !

Only because of your persistence. I would have tried Maple before that, but because of your glowing endorsement...

To the OP, most people who like/love Ahlusion love Smooth Criminal. With that said, my number 1 vendor for over a year now has been Ahlusion. However, I do not like Smooth Criminal. In general if you don't like an ejuice after a week you won't like it later on. Some times peoples taste buds change and they might like the juice after a few months. But I wouldn't give up on Ahlusion. At the very least try Vanilla Wild wood and Caramel wild wood.

As for steeping Ahlusion ejuices, non xpress, leave the cap off for 5 minutes only. Then place cap back on and leave it in a nice cool dark place. No need to leave the cap off for more than 5 minutes per the owner of Ahlusion Wlad.

Thanks for the Wlad endorsed steeping info. Perhaps it was my distaste for the juice that caused the oversteeping mentality. My regular juice I never steep at all... Speaking of, guess I'll start a thread on it, since I can't really find any info on here about it.

 

[misterholidayhouse]

I can't believe the Ahlusion fanboys haven't come in here and flamed you all to death yet. They are sensitive little guys.
I like bold vapes with a serious throat hit so my first order from them was from their Aromatic line. The whole collection was completely unvapable and I was not responded to nicely when I emailed the owner with my concerns that maybe I had gotten a bad batch. Smooth Criminal was also in that order and it tasted like turpentine. After the over defensive response from the maker and no improvement after four months of steeping, I tossed over a hundred bucks of their liquids down the drain. It was really that bad. Months later, even though I was still ......, I had to give them another go. Heck, so many people love the stuff, I was still convinced I must have gotten a bad batch, (even though it is apparently impossible) so I ordered SC and several other tobaccos and teas from their express line. Night and day! I found their teas to be very good and I enjoyed the Express SC enough to order another 30ml. (Not express but tasted basically the same, confirming my suspicions that my first order was bad. After a month or so the affair was over and I haven't reordered. I still have about 10ml of SC left that I'll vape someday but not for awhile. It's good, but it's not that good, and I don't really consider it a tobacco. I've never tried their dessert flavors as I don't vape desserts but maybe they are deserving of the wild praise we all read about. To each their own.

 

[Kim B.]

My first experience with Ahlusion was a bit disappointing. I ordered Smooth Criminal and Caramel Wild Wood. After a month of steeping I didn't particularly like them. After 6 weeks they were OK, but nothing spectacular. Fast forward after another month or two of steeping, I decided to give them one more try, and I was astounded by how much I loved CWW, I was so surprised that a juice I was initially indifferent to turned out to be that elusive all day vape I'd been searching for. I'm not as obsessed with the Smooth Criminal, although I find myself craving it now and then, so I keep a 30 ml bottle of it tucked back in my juice stash. One thing I did discover about them, I couldn't judge them by smell, they ended up tasting much better than they ever smelled. You do have to be committed to a long steep time on these, but so worth it, for me anyway.

I ordered the CCW and SC from the Express line sale, I'm hoping that'll cut the steep time significantly.

 

[NoMoreTequila]

I'm almost ashamed to be piling on the Smooth Criminal take down, BUT, I never really "got" the juice either. To be fair, however, I ordered it when I first started vaping at 24mg and it was indeed too harsh for me. I tested it multiple times in multiple types of clearos and it finally lost it's harshness but still it never satisfied my pallet.
Interestingly enough, Boba's Bounty, the only other ejuice I've ordered at 24mgs also befuddled me with it's harsh throat hit and unimpressive vaping experience in general.
However, stay with me now, I kept trying to "get" the Smooth Criminal experience that everyone else was apparently experiencing
and finished the 30 right before I finally "got" Boba's Bounty.
Of course my equipment got better and perhaps my tastes have evolved (devolved?) as well but the BBs last 10mls went down smooth and scrumptious.
Anyway, I've lately reordered from Ahl and I'm truly impressed with their Caramel Wild Wood! I asked for a sample of SC with my reorder of CWW (just two weeks later) at a lower nic level and I'm looking forward to trying it anew in my favorite RBA.
Make of this what you will.

Edit: I sure wanted to edit this,

 

[fog80]

I ordered from Ahlusion once in the past, probably a year and a half ago. Picked up 4 bottles of juice, Pink Label, Strawberry Vanilla Cake, Sweet Surrender, and Honeydew Boba Tea. They are definitely on the pricier end of what I am used to ordering but I heard so much rave reviews about them, I decided to treat myself and give them a try. I'm not against paying extra for juice I truly enjoy. Well, overall I have to say I was disappointed and haven't tried ordering from them again since then. Everything had a perfumey taste to them and this is with a VERY generous steep, I tried it once when I got it, thought mehh... then forgot about it for a month or two, tried again, still taste the same. Come like 5 months later, I try them again, still the same!! That perfumey taste never left. And I dunno.. something about the TH of all the juices, it was very harsh on my throat and I'm not sure if it was their nicotine base or what, but the flavorings just didn't appeal to me at all. The SVC was the most disappointing of all, the 'cake' part of it tasted really weird... not like any cake I've had before, it was kinda stale and cheap tasting. I know most people love Ahlusion, which is why it's disappointing that I didn't like them, I've thought about giving them another try, maybe I just got a weird batch or something, but I don't want to spend $40 and not like anything I get, yet again. That was my personal experience with them.

This is the exact same same scenario as me. I ordered based off the hype but all of their flavors have a perfumey tinge that I cant get over. I'm going back to my local vape spots juice.

 

[bman1977]

I have half a bottle of Smooth Criminal that has been steeping for about 6 months now and it still tastes like flavored plastic. Never worked out for me.

 

[krisjay]

I bought 2 30ml bottles of their ejuice, both are in the, not very good pile. It really isn't very good in my opinion. I probably will not order anymoe product from them based on these juices.