Vendor/"premium" juices after DIY?

[Citizen]

Is it me or does nothing else even compare after you've started to make your own juice? It just seems like all I get from "premium" juice now is over sweetened, over-flavored harsh juice. I find most of the stuff unvapable now. Is it just me?

 

[Chrispdx]

I would say 80 percent absolutely. Especially when you consider that some of those vendors put the bad stuff in their juices.

But I was fortunate to find one that that was few of all the bad stuff. His juices were also so full of complex flavors that on occasion I would still buy when I have money. (Spent all my money on diy)

Maybe one day I will be able to make clones of his juices...but I still have a long ways to go.

 

[HeadInClouds]

Is it me or does nothing else even compare after you've started to make your own juice? It just seems like all I get from "premium" juice now is over sweetened, over-flavored harsh juice. I find most of the stuff unvapable now. Is it just me?

Definitely not just you. And no stalking the mail carrier for your juice orders, either.

 

[Citizen]

Definitely not just you. And no stalking the mail carrier for your juice orders, either.

It's gotten bad. Package tracking... Calling. I can't help it. I'm at work trying to focus and all I can think about is what I'm going to mix up when I get home! BTW, You've helped substantially in the ways of mixing multiple creams to get a certain flavor profile. Also, I've got a 50ml of sweet cider on rotation constantly. Snickerdoodles with Fuji is pretty good too sir....

 

[Chrispdx]

Definitely not just you. And no stalking the mail carrier for your juice orders, either.

Agree with stalking the delivery driver. My second package showed up a day late, so on the second day the driver already knew I was looking for him. Totally love vape Mail... Especially since it was my first crown tank.

 

[Huckleberried]

In the 18+ months that I've been mixing, I've only had a few pre-mades that I actually REALLY enjoyed. One was a contest win, 2 were juices I kept hearing about and wanted to try myself. Aside from that, most vendor juices now taste over-flavored and over-sweetened.

 

[gopher_byrd]

Definitely not just you. And no stalking the mail carrier for your juice orders, either.

Now it's stalking the mail carrier for my flavor orders...

 

[Citizen]

The best part is when everything comes in and you're already putting together the next order.

 

[mjag]

There are still a couple of store bought brands that are pretty good, Mother's Milk is a good mix but I have gotten close enough to not have to buy anymore but still have about 20ml left I drip from time to time. I just got a bottle of Lost Art Cotton Tail Cream that I have always heard good things about. I was let down as it isn't anything special and a Ichigo clone I made for a friend is a lot better.

There are some good store bought out there but like someone said about 80% are crap. The last time I was at a vape bar trying out there most popular flavors I was shocked at how mediocre a lot of them are.

The only thing that sucks about DIY is doing vape dishes, makes doing regular dishes feel like a vacation

 

[Huckleberried]

The only thing that sucks about DIY is doing vape dishes, makes doing regular dishes feel like a vacation

Mix by weight!!

 

[Chrispdx]

Cleaning mixing tools is a dream. Cleaning every bottle and corresponding dripper is a whole separate category of work for me.

 

[fq06]

If I could drill down to only 1 thing I would say way too sweet.
They are blissful for about 30 minutes and then just too much and yuk.

Lost art has to win the prize for most sweetener out of all the juice lines I've tried.

There are a couple that are my all time favs and have been impossible to clone (4 me) so I do pick up a bottle every once in a while. (Certified 365 & Ragtime Hullabaloo)

 

[mjag]

Mix by weight!!

I do mix by weight. I am just talking about re-using bottles when you want to try a different flavor in them. If the same flavor is going into them then I just mix a fresh batch right into it. If it wasn't for mixing by weight I might have given up on DIY as the clean up after takes more time then mixing the liquid.

 

[Citizen]

I have to agree. There are still a couple that I just love. At least for a couple hours. I find kilo to be very sweet as well. As far as the previous statement regarding clean up, I was right there. That was part of the reason I stepped away from mixing for a while. Switched to a scale and never looked back.

 

[Chrispdx]

I totally agree mixing by weight is much easier especially working with small scale tests. The variances are so small when even making a 15ml bottle...to point I track if I went one drop over or under when using FA flavors.

I don't think I could ever have the patience measure everything with a syringe. I only do that as a double check when adding my nic and I feel at that point it is a necessity because I could see my self getting lazy and ending up with a liquid way above my desired nic level and get sick. (Horay for long sentences...is their a badge for lack of grammar)

 

[lownote2]

I went to a vape convention back at the end of October. 90% of all the tables were juice vendors. I think I sampled close to 100 different "premium" juices that day. (maybe not 100, but it was definitely a lot) Out of all of them one there were only 2 vendors (small time trying to make a name for themselves) that I felt had really decent juices. Everything else was just way oversweetened or I just didn't find it enjoyable. I don't think of my mixes usually as anything I'd put a $20 per 30ml pricetag on, but I'd vape them anyday over most of these and be quite happy. Sure, I've made plenty of mixes through time that I couldn't have even given away free, but once you start to get a handle on what works and what doesn't then it just becomes wayyyy enjoyable.

Like Citizen said above, there's so much thinking throughout the day, "hmmmm, I could add this to this and that...etc" Plus you get to mix to your liking instead of what someone else has made. Yes, there are some good juices out there, and there are tons more that are mediocre to just plain blah. But no matter how good it's just really tough to justify paying the crazy prices when you know you can make it so much cheaper.

I caught ECX's cyber monday deal and just got 120ml of Soho and a 30ml of meringue for 18 something dollars (that price included shipping). Figure in the cost of vg/pg and some Nicotine and for what less then 2 premium bottles of juice cost I can make 800ml of juice compared to the 60 I would get from them.

 

[Chrispdx]

I second that...especially for those special flavors like strawberry. I must had tried 15
Different brands before making my own juice and I was like meh. First strawberry custard was ok, tasted like a strawberry, but added acouple dashes of other flavors to the bottle and was like...wow this actually tastes like a complete strawberry. Granted, the flavor change slightly after a few days, so I'm hoping that my next actual test it will give me a consultant flavor one week...but the last 15mls still better than anything I have tried.

 

[martinelias]

Beard no.5 is one of those juices ive been unable to find a recipe to replicate... granted ive only been mixing for a month or so maybe a little more... but the custards i make now are superior to most ive bought with the few flavors i currently possess..... that beard no.5 though....

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[Chrispdx]

Beard no.5 is one of those juices ive been unable to find a recipe to replicate... granted ive only been mixing for a month or so maybe a little more... but the custards i make now are superior to most ive bought with the few flavors i currently possess..... that beard no.5 though....

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

I think we all have that one juice we want to replicate. Mine is has a primary ingredient of orange and I am no where close. I've tried few combinations and nothing with hold a 5 day steep...day one tasting is always ok "it will get better with time." Time goes by and I am like where's the flav'a. Test number 5 is steeping right now. Tested day 4, was close but had to make a manual adjustment...now I gotta wait till Sunday to see if I'm on the right track.

 

[martinelias]

If im not following a recipe ill just smash a bunch of flavors together i think will work in different quantities in different bottle and ill keep the save file of the best one... theyre usually all good though. That tedious mission of pinpointing flavors to a T is too much for me i guess im too impatient for that. I respect people like you for doing it though, espexially if ya release the goods for people like me to copy hahaha.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[Citizen]

Beard no.5 is one of those juices ive been unable to find a recipe to replicate... granted ive only been mixing for a month or so maybe a little more... but the custards i make now are superior to most ive bought with the few flavors i currently possess..... that beard no.5 though....

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Beard No. 5 was a game changer for me for some reason. I just loved that juice and ran through it so quick.

 

[Citizen]

The real "aha" moment comes when you make something that you shake and go, "holy shit. This is good. Like for me, this is really good." But all of a sudden you realize that anyone who tries it demands you make it for them on the spotI mean, Like they need it in their life. That happened to me this weekend. I thought the juice was good. I would vape it all day. I was proud of myself for me. But I made it for me, to my taste and that's all I needed. All of a sudden I gave away a few hundred ml's in two days (i feel guilt to charge) and I've got friends and family, anyone who tried it, "how much, how much?" I just don't get it!!!! I'm going to post the recipe tonight so you guys can give me some feedback.

 

[scarecrowjenkins]

I find i still enjoy premium juices, but they seem to shit up my coils a LOT faster than my juice does.

 

[Citizen]

I find i still enjoy premium juices, but they seem to shit up my coils a LOT faster than my juice does.

See, I can't taste anything really. They're really sweet but as for taste... It just isn't there. And it seems to kill my throat.

 

[Tcar]

Agree on the over sweetened part on most commercial juices. Also over flavored and the flavors linger too long. I think most commercial juices are over flavored so as to grab attention when someone samples them. Problem is, too much flavor wears the pallet out. You have to work like food companies do. A bold but not cloying flavor that grabs attention and then leaves, leading the taster wanting more...

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[Huckleberried]

flavor that grabs attention and then leaves, leading the taster wanting more...

Oh you've met HIC

 

[Tcar]

HIC has taught me alot from his writings.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[Alter]

My ADV is a single Hangsen tobacco (Highway, Desert Ship and No5) with a tobacco absolute mixed in or a single fruit flavor. The only sweetener is the VG and its a great vape. I agree with commercial juice being oversweet and over flavored, I can't vape them at all without getting drymouth something fierce. I can go weeks with a single build in a subtank or TFV4, my wicking clogs up and poops out long before the coil burns out vaping my juices. Making your own juice is just as good of a vape asset as rebuilding your own coils and a super happy vaper I am.

 

[Tcar]

One of my current "loaded in a tank every day" juices is a simple mix of TFA dragonfruit, Greek yogurt, & strawberry ripe with 1% EM...

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[Chrispdx]

HIC has taught me alot from his writings.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

I think HIC has taught many of us. I am so very appreciative of everyone here. I can't believe I have a drawer full of vape'able juices. It's to the point I want to mix, but overwhelmed I have so much already made. At this point I'm taking some to work just to hand out so I have an excuse to make another recipie or four.

 

[burley]

I haven't yet, because it feels a bit like accepting defeat at this point. My one true love of vapes since the very beginning of buying juice online has been Beeblebrox by The Vapor Chef. I love that juice to pieces, and am so dangerously close to just throwing an order at him to get more of it - but I've got a lot invested in the DIY side of the hobby. To go back to vendor juices, like I said, would feel like I gave up in a way.

I've gotten a good few recipes in rotation at the moment, a lot of experimental stuff, a few bottles of stuff I've found here and elsewhere - so I'm a happy vaper, no doubt about it, there's tastiness stashed in drawers and on shelves all over. But I'll never forget Beeblebrox. Never.

What's worse, I can't even begin to come close to what I remember it tasting like. (Hell, I don't even know where to start properly.) Either way, no, no more vendor juice - not since that first DIY vape mail box came in.

 

[Chrispdx]

I would say keep trying. Right now I'm trying a bunch of odd recipies for a new diy person. Ones with ylang ylang and oakwood and so on. I sort of bought some odds and end flavors between two of my shoping trips.

One recipie turned out pretty good with orange in it. I tuned up the Orange straight into the bottle and have a slightly satisfying orange now and the rest of the flavor make question every second how ylang is interacting.

The other recipie that has citrus in it with oakwood also is providing an ingesting vape as we'll.

Still not close to making my the desired clone that I want. But I gotta say I am still super new. I'm happy that I have gotten this far. But I think with some more odds and ends / off the wall trial mixes with some combination will give me a correct base/starting point that I can pinpoint where to go next on a vendor for Orange.