Concentrated Flavoring - Flavor by Brand - Bull City Flavors - Bull City Flavors
Alright people, JUST mixed these up, and they are **STEEPING**. With only the Rich Vanilla to worry about, I decided on a short 1 week steep, and a 3.5% testing weight.
These flavors were provided free of charge for the purposes of these reviews, but you'll get it, like I get it.
**Baja (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- FINALLY (after a short 1 week steep), breaking into this BRAND NEW Series from Bull City Flavors. Because it was a BRAND NEW line, I had to guess as the percentages, and this one I started out at 3.5%, but bumped up to 5.5%. It was much fuller at the higher weight, but not linearly, so the single flavor ceiling might be closer to 5%. At the higher weight, it was VERY close to a Baja Blast Mountain Dew. No other way to put it. I almost did a double-take, to see it the flavor was Teal colored LOL. Exactly like the soda, it was centered around a sweet, smooth lime, with some lighter Pineapple accents. There were possibly some other fruits in there, but they were to hard to pick out, with the exception of maybe a mango.
At 5.5% it was fairly full, and at about a 7/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was just about mid-level, and I couldn't pick out any squirrel-y notes, and/or any complaints. About my only want would have been just a bit more saturation, but that was about it. VERY true to a Baja Blast. There was a slight fizzy-ness, but only slight. All in, a great first one, from this batch of first ones, and leaving it high at an **8.8/10**. You CAN do the dew with this one.
**Blueberry (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- I also started this one out at 3.5%, but 5.5% proved to allow it to open up a lot more. This one was a VERY interesting take on a Blueberry, as it straddled not only a natural blueberry, but also a slightly candied/jammed. A VERY interesting medley. I think that blueberries are one of the FEW flavors, where a little "funk" actually IS a good thing, and this one had JUST enough, to add to the overall depth, and realism. Just a TOUCH of funk.
At the lower 3.5% weight it was good, but just wasn't as full and deep, as it was at the higher weight. Strength wise, at the higher weight, I would give it an 8.9/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid level, and I could find NO off-notes to complain about. All in, this was a very "fresh" take on a blueberry, which was fairly complex, with natural, candied/jammed nuances, along with just enough of the funky-ness. On the finish, there was also a nice little punch, which presented as slightly tarty, almost somewhat fermented, which in this flavor, was an absolute PLUS. Very complex, tasty, and didn't leave you (or me) wanting. Leaving this near the top end, at a **9.4/10**.
**Blue Raspberry (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- 3.5% felt a little thin, and 5.5% worked much better with this one. Tart, Sour, and Blue were the big take-aways with this one. The good news is Bull City Flavors left out the Blue #1. It doesn't matter how many people you talk to, no one really knows what's in a Blue Raspberry. Some seem to have banana, pineapple, even cherry on top of a tart raspberry. This one seemed more centered around a blueberry, sharp/tart raspberry combo. Perky, tart, and fairly artificial, but true to the actual ICEE flavor (for those of you in the US).
No off-notes, and sweetness was surprisingly lower than expected, at a few ticks below mid-level. I typically don't like over-sweetened flavors, as you can't take it out, BUT, I think this one might actually benefit from a touch of sweetener, to help it POP more. Kudos out to BCF for not over-sweetening it, as that left it up to US to decide. At 5.5% it wasn't a screamer, and it was about a 7.5/10 on the strength scale. All in, a good tart raspberry/blueberry-ish combo with lower than expected sweetness levels. Leaving this one fairly high at a **8.5/10**.
**Candy Cane (BCF) 3.5%/5.5% (12-7-25)** -- Like the previous flavors, I started out at 3.5%, and quickly bumped it up to 5.5% where it was much fuller. This one smelled literally, EXACTLY like a candy cane in the bottle, and when testing it, that's EXACTLY what I got. One of the most impressive things for my tastes, was that there was very little cooling effect, which is very common in many/most mint flavors. There was a slight hint of cooling on the finish, but that was IT !!!! I don't use cooling agents, so that was a big deal for me.
At 5.5% it was very good, and at about a 9.5/10 on the strength scale, and I had ZERO wants with this one. No off-notes, and even though it was billed as a "candy" it actually came in a tick or two below mid-level sweet. Very authentic, and literally, a perfect candy cane, nothing more, nothing less. Bull City Flavors did an outstanding job with this one, as it wasn't simply a sweetened peppermint, but they really captured the almost "smooth" candy texture if that makes sense. Very good, and I can't believe I'm going to do this for a "mint" flavor, but release the Kraken folks, too spot on not to. **10/10**. Get your peppermint bark recipes ready.
**Cherry (BCF) 5.5% (12-10-25)** -- Initially (because of past cherry incidents), I was hesitant to try this at the higher 5.5% as some cherries can go nuclear when tested too high. My fears however, were misplaced, and this one did NOT hit DEFCON 1 levels. It presented as a fairly artificial cherry, with hints of natural. It actually reminded me of a mashup between a Luden's Cherry Cough Drop (no medicinals), and a Rita's Water Ice Cherry. At the 5.5% weight it was fairly strong, and at a 8/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was just below mid-level, and I didn't get any scary off notes from this one.
It leaned heavily towards an artificial maraschino, and there was some slight dryness on the finish. Overall it was very smooth, and missing much of the tart or bite that some fresh cherries have. If you need a natural cherry, this one may not work out for you, but for smoother, artificial needs, this one would work out. All in, a very smooth, heavily artificial cherry. Saturation levels were great at 5.5%, and the only knock would be the slight dryness on the finish. Leaving it high at a **9/10**.
**Coffee Candy (BCF) 5.5% (12-8-25)** -- The moment I started this test, I was immediately struck with, "This is just like an RY4, but for Coffee" !!!! Yes, that was my first thought, and I was never able to shake it. I don't think I've ever had a "Coffee Candy" (or a Candied Coffee, more on that later.....), but this flavor made me wish I had. Because I ended up increasing all of the previous flavors to 5.5%, I've moved this, and all the remaining up as well. At 5.5% it presented as a pretty believable (you guessed it), Coffee Candy. It tasted like a mix of both coffee and espresso, at about a 60%/40% Coffee/Espresso split. After the finish there was a great lingering just slightly bitter coffee/espresso note, which completely worked here.
The carrier for the caffeines seemed to be mostly caramel, but I swore I was getting a light vanilla cream note in there as well. Sweetness was just above mid-level, which worked for a "candy". No off-notes, but I had one thought. I kept thinking it was more of a candied coffee, than a coffee candy, which I think worked in it's favor, as the focus was more on the coffee, than the sweet. It was an outstanding flavor, and I'd probably give it a 10/10 on just the taste, but the "candy" part had me somewhat unconvinced. It was soo good, I didn't feel right marking it down too much for that one aspect, so I finally decided on a **9.5/10**. Very good, coffee w./ espresso, layered on top of a creamy, slightly vanilla'd carrier, with a touch of caramel. DAMN good !!!!
