Thanks, done! Got the recipe, will order Fa Florida Key Lime
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HIC's Mixes: DIY recipes store
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I know this has been out a while, but I just picked it up. Truly enjoying the extra minty version. Much better than the Mc McDonalds shamrock shake. If you have ever drank one, they are way too sweet. This too is pretty sweet, but the booze addition is great. Next up is the extra boozy version to try. TY!
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I have been considering DIY for over a year but finally got around to ordering my first batch of flavors. If it's not too much trouble, could you let me know if i have the flavors to make this. In fact, there are a number of your recipes i am considering, but not sure if i have all the flavors, and i don't want to put in another flavor order.
INW - Cactus, Biscuit
Capella - Yellowcake, Sugar Cookie V2, Vanilla Custard v2
TFA - Vanilla Swirl, Cheesecake ( Graham Crust ), Kentucky Bourbon, Citrus Punch, Acetyl Pyrazine 5%, Brown Sugar Extra, Vanilla Bean Gelato, DX Banana Cream,
FA - Almond, Apple Pie, Apricot, Banana, Bilberry, Black Currant, Cardamom, Caramel, Catalan Cream, Chocolate, Cinnamon Ceylon, Citrus Mix, Coconut, Cocoa, Cookie, Custard, Espresso, Fig, Florida Key Lime, Forest Fruit, Fresh Cream, Fuji, Hazelnut, Irish Cream, Jamaica Rum, Joy, Lemon Sicily, Lime ( cold-pressed ), Mandarin, Mangosteen, Marshmallow, Meringue, Nonna's Cake, Orange, Pear, Polar Blast, Royal Orange, Strawberry, Tiramisu, Torrone, Vanilla Bourbon, Vanilla Classic, Vienna Cream, Walnut, White Peach, Zeppola
P.s. Last night i mixed my first liquid, your Blueberry Coconut Smoothie, and i'm really enjoying it ! My scale isn't here yet, so i just made 6 ml using the drop method you included in the recipe. Next up, Italian Lemon Cream Soda. Can i use the drop method with this one as well ? Can't see why not, but just thought i'd ask since you didn't mention the " easy mixing with drops " method with that recipe.
Yes, you have all the ingredients!
Thank You ! Out of curiosity, which one of HIC's recipes have you purchased ? If i were to name a few more i'm interested in, could you let me know if i have all the ingredients for those as well ? I would really appreciate itYes, you have all the ingredients!
These are ones you have to buy and you have the ingredients:
Lemon Pudding Cake = the best damn recipe HIC has ever made, imho.
Lemon Torrone Parfait = awesome
MALIBU CREAMSICLE = I haven't tried it yet
TIRAMISU CREAM = awesome once the Tiramisu calms down
Cinnamon-Sugar Cookies = very good
Gooey Coconut Cookies = good if you like coconut
Here are some that you need just one ingredient
Almond Orange Cake = need Marzipan
Apple Fritters = need Apple, but maybe Fuji might do
Dulce de Leche Churros = need Butterscotch, but maybe just additional Caramel would work
Cinnamon Dolce Latte = same as above for Butterscotch
Strawberry Crown Cake = need Marzipan
HIC can tell you if the Caramel will work for Butterscotch. Maybe Almond can sub for Marzipan.
Lemon Pudding Cake = the best damn recipe HIC has ever made, imho.
Lemon Torrone Parfait = awesome
MALIBU CREAMSICLE = I haven't tried it yet
TIRAMISU CREAM = awesome once the Tiramisu calms down
Cinnamon-Sugar Cookies = very good
Gooey Coconut Cookies = good if you like coconut
Here are some that you need just one ingredient
Almond Orange Cake = need Marzipan
Apple Fritters = need Apple, but maybe Fuji might do
Dulce de Leche Churros = need Butterscotch, but maybe just additional Caramel would work
Cinnamon Dolce Latte = same as above for Butterscotch
Strawberry Crown Cake = need Marzipan
HIC can tell you if the Caramel will work for Butterscotch. Maybe Almond can sub for Marzipan.
Thank You !
Lemon Pudding Cake, Cinnamon Sugar Cookies, Gooey Coconut Cookies, and Almond Orange Cookies were on my list. Good to know i can make the first three.
Others i'm interested in :
- Banana Tiramisu
- Orange Blueberry Cheesecake
- Hazelnut Pralines and Cream
- Banana Pudding
- and quite a few more !
I know there are a lot of his older recipes available for free online, but i do want to thank him for helping so many diy'ers over the years and especially his " notes on " which has been extremely informative and helpful, even before i have started diy in earnest, The only way i know how is by purchasing his recipes. I purchased two before my flavor order, and i plan to purchase one or two a week for a few weeks.
P.s. Lemon Torone Parfait is a freebie on his site. I think i will make that this weekend too.
You're good to go for the Banana Pudding. I don't have the others. If you pm HIC he'll tell you himself...he's pretty damn cool about this.
You have everything for Orange Blueberry Cheesecake, Hazelnut Pralines & Cream, and Banana Pudding like Bobnat said.
You need TFA Banana Nut Bread & Butterscotch for Banana Tiramisu.
On those other ones, I think you really do need Marzipan; Almond just won't do the job in those recipes. You can make fritters with just Fuji - it'll taste like fresh apples rather than cooked fruit, but it's still tasty. I don't sub Caramel for Butterscotch (or vice-versa) - they're just not the same flavor.
You & anyone else can email me at my store (from this page; include your email address so I can reply:http://www.hicsmixes.com/notes-etc.html) or PM me here if I can help you figure out what flavorings you'll need for various recipes. It's no problem at all.
Yes, of course you can!
Thanks for the response !
Hmm, i guess i will order Banana Pudding and Orange Blueberry Cheesecake next ! Butterscotch and Marzipan are used in a lot of your recipes it seems. Too bad re Banana Tiramisu, i was really hopeful that i have everything for that one. I will start a list of flavorings i need for my next order. Marzipan, Butterscotch and TFA Banana Nut Bread are the first three on the list !
I have a question re Lemon Torrone Parfait which i mixed this morning. Really nice, but a little too sweet to be an ADV for me i think. I want to lessen the sweetness a tad and increase the tart a little, but i'm not sure this the place to discuss, even though it's a freebie on your site. Okay if i email you via your site, or do you prefer pm here ?
Thanks again !
Email's usually faster, but either is fine with me.
Lemon Torrone Parfait is intentionally a dessert-sweet recipe, so you probably just want a different one. But in general, the easiest way to decrease sweetness in any recipe is to use more PG in your base. That's not an option for everyone, so then you look at altering the recipe to reduce the sweetest flavor. In Lemon Torrone Parfait, that's Torrone, which is a candy flavor. But then you also want more tartness, and NONE of the flavors in that recipe is tart, so you'd have to add something else... maybe lime? There's also the option of adding a little Brandy (it mentions as a variation). That can sort of cut through sweetness, too. Lemon brandy...hmmm. It's an idea, anyway - doesn't sound to appetizing to me personally.
Mine is, kinda. It separates. The top is darker on mine. After a good shake, it's kind of a yellow/orange.
Image 1, not shaken (set against white background for color), then shaken, for color change.
Mine does indeed separates, sort of yellow-orange in color, very authentic flavor!
I'd buy that in a heartbeat!
To be honest, I think Lemon Sicily just doesn't hit the spot for lemonade - not that I prefer any other brand's lemon for that. It's not sweet enough to taste like those powdered drink mix types, and it lacks the tart edge of fresh lemon juice. You CAN get a zesty lemon flavor by adding Aurora. And you can make it sweeter with Royal Orange. And Lime Cold-Pressed can give you some tartness. So if you put them together it looks something like:
5% FA Lemon Sicily
3% FA Raspberry
1% FA Royal Orange
0.5% FA Aurora
0.5% FA Lime Cold-Pressed
(don't make the above - not worth it)
...which is sure a lot of flavoring, but who wants watery lemonade, right?
Let me try a quick batch & see if it's any good. Back in a minute...
VERDICT: nope - (recipe above) is not what I was hoping. So I mixed this instead:
5% FA Lemon Sicily
3% FA Raspberry
1% FA Aurora
1% TFA Sweet and Tart
Okay, so this is raspberry-limoncello pixie sticks. lol. I like it, but it's not a fresh-juice flavor at all. Sweet and Tart sweetens better than Royal Orange, but there's no getting past the fact it tastes powdery & candy-like. I threw out the first attempt, but I'll vape this a while.
That's all I have for now. If I come up with any great ideas, I'll make a new post & tag you.
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You, SIR, might have heard this said about you once or twice, but I will say it out LOUD: YOU ARE AWESOME!!!! Thank you for doing this.
Don't get too excited - I updated that post. In short, it wasn't what you're looking for, but there might be some idea there that inspires someone. I sure wish FA made a tart lemon juice flavor. Other brands all taste like floor polish to me, so I know that's not the key...
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The fact that you don't just go a little out of your way to help someone find the perfect mix, but you go miles and miles out of your way, shows that you not only are kind and generous with your time and talent, it also shows that I was right in my assertion, YOU TRULY ARE AWESOME!
Thank you for the compliment, Yeah, i tasted the Lemon Sicily by itself, and not as tart as i expected. Anyway, i made another batch, cut the Torrone in half , and i liked this version better. If i were to add a little ( maybe 0.5 % ) Lime, which do you think works better, Cold Pressed or Key Lime ( I don't have distilled ) ? What do you think of increasing Custard by 1 % ?
Agreed ! I mixed a 3ml batch and waited 36 hours. I don't know if 36 hours was enough to calm it down, as you put it. If not, i don't think i want it calmed down ! This is right up my alley as is. Can't wait to start mixing with Espresso, if it's the same as used in Tiramisu.
Cold Pressed would be my choice, but if you're looking to reduce sweetness, Key Lime will probably do that better. Absolutely, 0.5% for either one. Know that Cold-Pressed will start off really strong, then mellow. Key Lime starts a bit less spiky & changes less with age. Smell the bottles & see which appeals most to you. Custard tastes bit sharp at 3%, so I usually keep it under that -- but sounds like you might prefer it that way.
Thanks, i messed around with different variations and i wasn't able to up the tart much. I settled on your original formula, just reduced meringue by 0.5%. Still a little too sweet to be an adv for me, but that's ok, not all recipes are adv's for everyone. I enjoy it quite a bit for an hour or two after dinner.
Happy Mothers Day! 
I have been vaping the Tiramisu Cream pretty much non-stop ( with short breaks to vape the Lemon Torrone Parfait and one of my NETs ) for the past week, but i finally mixed the Italian Cream Soda last night. This is really delicious ! Gonna mix a larger bottle of this as well, and see how it changes as it ages, and perhaps try it with a drop of Polar Blast as well, and also with the optional flavor in the recipe which is on it's way.
Btw, @bobnat , i see what you mean by the Tiramisu calming down. After a week, the Tiramisu Cream is a little more creamy and a little less .... dark, for lack of a better word. Less of a coffee vape and more of a dessert vape. Both delicious though. Can't wait to start adding small amounts to a couple of my NETs. Mountain Oak Vapors ( my preferred vendor for the past couple of years ) has a coffee NET that i love, but can't get anymore since i moved to Washington state, and i'd like to see if i can get something close.Perhaps Espresso would be a better option though !?
I also purchased the recipe for Lemon Pudding Cake, Banana Tiramisu, Almond Orange Cake, and Orange Blueberry Cheesecake. The missing flavors are on the way. Quick question HIC, for the two recipes with Orange, do you still think the orange and mandarin is the way to go ? I have the new Orange flavors too. I'm afraid i don't have time to experiment and try many different variations, so for the foreseeable future, i'm going to be more a recipe copier ( with minor tweaks perhaps ), than a true diy'er who develops his own recipes.
Btw, @bobnat , i see what you mean by the Tiramisu calming down. After a week, the Tiramisu Cream is a little more creamy and a little less .... dark, for lack of a better word. Less of a coffee vape and more of a dessert vape. Both delicious though. Can't wait to start adding small amounts to a couple of my NETs. Mountain Oak Vapors ( my preferred vendor for the past couple of years ) has a coffee NET that i love, but can't get anymore since i moved to Washington state, and i'd like to see if i can get something close.Perhaps Espresso would be a better option though !?
I also purchased the recipe for Lemon Pudding Cake, Banana Tiramisu, Almond Orange Cake, and Orange Blueberry Cheesecake. The missing flavors are on the way. Quick question HIC, for the two recipes with Orange, do you still think the orange and mandarin is the way to go ? I have the new Orange flavors too. I'm afraid i don't have time to experiment and try many different variations, so for the foreseeable future, i'm going to be more a recipe copier ( with minor tweaks perhaps ), than a true diy'er who develops his own recipes.
In Almond Orange Cake, if you like the flavor of FA Blood Orange you can sure sub it for the total quantity of orange+mandarin (and omit both of them) for that bolder orange flavor.
I have yet to try the new flavors in Orange Blueberry Cheesecake. I have a feeling the new flavors would work really well there, too, but probably not the same way. For that one my inclination is to use Royal Orange in place of Orange (same %), and Blood Orange in place of Mandarin (same %) for an overall sweeter, smoother orange flavor.
I'm maybe halfway through testing my existing recipes with different combinations of old/new orange flavors. I'm hoping by the time I'm done I'll end up with some substitution rules-of-thumb for people who don't have all the flavorings.
I've heard from a few fans of Mountain Oak Vapors' creamy coffee, commenting on how they like FA recipes with Espresso/Cappuccino. I think you'll be really pleased with your DIY using FA's coffee flavors! I'm a big-time coffee drinker & vape coffee flavors regularly. Using FA Espresso (tiny bit; it's powerful) with lots of additions got me hooked on FA flavors. I liked those so much, and found so many variations, my FA Cappuccino sat neglected for way too long. If you like extra creamy coffee without lots of sugar, you'll like Cappuccino standalone. FA Irish Cream or Jamaican Rum make great additions to coffee recipes and sweeten it nicely - just like they do with real coffee.
OMG, I'm vaping the Lemon Pudding Cake right now. It just never ceases to amaze me with its layers of flavor. I'll vape this for 3-4 days then take 3-4 day break, then right back to it again. Heaven in a tank.
I'm also a huge coffee drinker/fan, but i haven't really found a commercial juice that wholly satisfies. Njoy use to have one that was called Double Espresso which came close, but was missing the cream aspect. It was basically black coffee with sugar. MOV Coffee and Cream is one of their most popular.The one i'm trying to replicate though, is a macerated NET that has just a touch of their coffee and cream. It's a Virginia/Burley/Black Cavendish blend, which i can easily approximate as i have all the single varietal extracts. The coffee and cream bit is what i will play with. I don't have Cappucino though !I've heard from a few fans of Mountain Oak Vapors' creamy coffee, commenting on how they like FA recipes with Espresso/Cappuccino. I think you'll be really pleased with your DIY using FA's coffee flavors! I'm a big-time coffee drinker & vape coffee flavors regularly. Using FA Espresso (tiny bit; it's powerful) with lots of additions got me hooked on FA flavors. I liked those so much, and found so many variations, my FA Cappuccino sat neglected for way too long. If you like extra creamy coffee without lots of sugar, you'll like Cappuccino standalone. FA Irish Cream or Jamaican Rum make great additions to coffee recipes and sweeten it nicely - just like they do with real coffee.
Since we're on the topic of MOV, some suggestions about developing liquid in the following profiles
:- Egyptian dessert flavor of sweet phyllo dough pastry with a creamy milky center sprinkled with pistachios.
- Apricot/Papaya/Nectarine blend in a mild cream
- Dark, oak barrel aged bourbon, toasted coconut, and brown sugar balanced by authentic Bavarian sweet cream.
The last one i think i saw something similar you posted in a Castle long clone thread on ECF ( yeah i've been reading on DIY for that long, but only now getting around to it ! ) . Am i right ? You have something similar ?
I think you mean this one: http://vapingunderground.com/threads/hics-black-barrel-whiskey-mac.1976/.
Yeah, that's the one, thanks. Missing Oakwood and Whiskey. Should've bought all the FA flavors i suppose. Oh well, next time.
All you have to do is contact FA Italy, go right to the source. Ask for Alicia. Tell her you're making HIC's recipes. She'll say ok, she's got you covered. They'll then send you one of everything. In addition, they'll send the flavors they know are used most often in larger quantities. It's only about $500, plus postage.
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Only?All you have to do is contact FA Italy, go right to the source. Ask for Alicia. Tell her you're making HIC's recipes. She'll say ok, she's got you covered. They'll then send you one of everything. In addition, they'll send the flavors they know are used most often in larger quantities. It's only about $500, plus postage.
Lol at " it's only about $ 500 ". I'm quickly finding out diy could be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. If you want to make any recipe that looks good to you, you will eventually end up with pretty much every flavor out there. Even if you stick with mostly FA, it's still a lot, and a good many of those flavors you'll probably end up using just once. On the other hand, i could probably be reasonably happy if i only had Tiramisu, Espresso, Cocoa, Chocolate, Caramel, and a few creams and vanillas. Who wants to be just reasonably happy thoughAll you have to do is contact FA Italy, go right to the source. Ask for Alicia. Tell her you're making HIC's recipes. She'll say ok, she's got you covered. They'll then send you one of everything. In addition, they'll send the flavors they know are used most often in larger quantities. It's only about $500, plus postage.
Lol at " it's only about $ 500 ". I'm quickly finding out diy could be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. If you want to make any recipe that looks good to you, you will eventually end up with pretty much every flavor out there. Even if you stick with mostly FA, it's still a lot, and a good many of those flavors you'll probably end up using just once. On the other hand, i could probably be reasonably happy if i only had Tiramisu, Espresso, Cocoa, Chocolate, Caramel, and a few creams and vanillas. Who wants to be just reasonably happy though
I wonder at what point will it stop. I can say that I've honed in on 3 recipes that I'm vaping most of the time now and I'm very happy doing so. For me it's knowing which flavors types I like. For example, I really like anything with Lemon. Go figure as I don't like to eat lemon anything. However, I do like trying new ones out of curiosity. I figure you'll never know when you get another true ADV.
This is me and marzipan, or me and gin. I knew I gagged on the real stuff, so I hesitated to try them in vape form -- but found I really like mixing with them. In fact I love the (vape) flavor of marzipan so much, I had to try the real stuff again to see if it was as gross as I recalled. It was. Lol. I don't need to taste real gin again to verify I can't stand it, but I think it's great in citrusy vapes.
If I had to pare my flavors collection back to just a few, I'd end up where I started, with FA's coffee and cream flavors like Mazinny listed (but I'd add Jamaican Rum and Irish Cream):
... i could probably be reasonably happy if i only had Tiramisu, Espresso, Cocoa, Chocolate, Caramel, and a few creams and vanillas. Who wants to be just reasonably happy though
Just came across this article about the secret world of flavorists and how they develop the flavor molecules we use. Long, but i think some of you may find it fascinating. I sure did !
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/11/23/the-taste-makers
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/11/23/the-taste-makers
What fun jobs those people have! I'm totally jealous.
I liked the part about how an artificial flavoring can become natural - without changing at all:
"She pulled down a bottle labelled “2-octen-4-one”—a recently “discovered” compound in strawberry. Less than a decade ago, the molecule was considered artificial, but it was chased down in the natural world, and its status changed. It is now natural. "
Yeah, not the easiest job to get, is it ? Think about it, 320 million people and 500 flavorists in the entire country !
Banana Tiramisu is absolute aces !!! So balanced. Mixed it a few days ago, but didn't try until today ( all four of my tanks were busy ). I vaped through 4 ml in one afternoon somehow at 13 watts. 4 ml usually lasts me the entire day !
Lemon Pudding Cake keeps on getting better too. Freshly mixed, i liked it but wasn't amazed, but it just kept on getting better. 7 days after mixing it's amazing.
Lemon Pudding Cake keeps on getting better too. Freshly mixed, i liked it but wasn't amazed, but it just kept on getting better. 7 days after mixing it's amazing.
You know I made one of your cappuccino mixes and have yet to try it. It's been like 10 days. Hope that's not one that fades.I've heard from a few fans of Mountain Oak Vapors' creamy coffee, commenting on how they like FA recipes with Espresso/Cappuccino. I think you'll be really pleased with your DIY using FA's coffee flavors! I'm a big-time coffee drinker & vape coffee flavors regularly. Using FA Espresso (tiny bit; it's powerful) with lots of additions got me hooked on FA flavors. I liked those so much, and found so many variations, my FA Cappuccino sat neglected for way too long. If you like extra creamy coffee without lots of sugar, you'll like Cappuccino standalone. FA Irish Cream or Jamaican Rum make great additions to coffee recipes and sweeten it nicely - just like they do with real coffee.
I've never found FA's coffee flavors to fade at all - either in the bottle or in a mix. Those are some stout flavors.