Thanks out to @Bryson over at Flavorah for sending out this new pack for review. They all smelled pretty good in the bottles, and I'm anxious to try them. Rather than try and nit-pick each individual flavor for strength (at this point), I decided on a flat 1.0% mix rate for my initial tests. All will be steeped for a least a week, preferably at least 1.5 weeks, but we'll see how the queue empties.
ALL testing will be done at 1.0% (unless otherwise noted), and will be tested in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier, on my trusty SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual 24 ga. Kanthal vertical coils, and Koh Gen Do cotton. Fresh coils installed before the start of the series, and dry burned with fresh cotton before every test. All testing done at 65 watts. The flavors are now steeping......
Thanks again out to Bryson for sending these out for this review, and Respect out to most respected Flavorah mixologist @SmokyBlue.
And, as always, ANY discussion about Flavorah flavors would NOT be complete, without respect to the FLV Expert @SmokyBlue.
forum.e-liquid-recipes.com
**Apple Raz (Flavorah) 1% (10-24-23)** -- FIRST ONE on deck, from the NEW series from Flavorah. This one really popped for me, and at only 1%. It was similar to a Blue Raz, combined with Red Delicious Apples. Tasty, peppy, and it had a nice "Pop" to it, with an almost fizzy quality. The apple profile was very well done, and tasted very natural, and while very "crisp" it lacked some of the tartness of a Granny Smith, leading me to my Red Delicious classification. This didn't mean it was lacking tartness as the Raspberry (aka Razz) was a Blue Raspberry style "razz" and it brought with it, a good helping of tartness. This was smartly done, as possibly pairing a overly tart green apple with the razz might have been a touch TOO much tarty. It was an interesting and tasty pairing with just enough smooth AND tart to keep it interesting, without too much of either. The pairing of the Apples and Razz was also done very well, and they were about perfectly even, which added to the complexity, AND, would allow for even MORE uses. At 1% it was very good, but it felt like it might just benefit from a push to 1.25-1.5%. No off-notes, and sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level. Coming from the "not fruit" guy, this one was a keeper. A very smartly done pairing of a Red Delicious Apple, and a Blue Razz(berry). Just enough of each, without too much of either. With no nit-picks, and a fairly unique pairing/profile going to leave this one high at **9.5/10**.
**Crispy Donut (Flavorah) 1% (10-26-23)** -- I'll try to keep this short, but I have to at least mention the fact that I am VERY picky about what I call a donut, and even PICKIER about what I call a "Great Donut". Most times they're just variations of a cakey bakery, sometimes with saturating greasy notes, and other times barely ANY donut, and mostly frosting. Enter Flavorah's Crispy Donut. Now I never really got what the "crispy" was supposed to be, but I GOT the Donut, and I liked it. No Playdoh like I always got from Capella's, and no off-notes, after three testers. What was unique for me about this, was that there was a VERY good, and pretty unique pairing of a light bakery, with some yeast, and just a touch of deep fried. The combination, AND ratios were what was important to my tastes. Just enough of all, but not too much of any one of them.
I've had almost straight up greasy donuts before, which were overbearing. Many have cinnamon-ish elements, which while fine, but many times, you just want a neutral, cinnamon-less donut, that's accurate. This one might just be the MOST accurate one I've had yet. I did catch some slight glazed notes, but never full on glazed, which honestly, just allowed the kick ass DONUT to come through even better. At 1% it was damned good, and although not lacking, it was SOO tasty, I did want to crank it up to 1.5-1.75 JUST to see what happened. That'll be later, as I've got a lot to get through. All in, this was a VERY good, cinnmon-LESS, donut which combined bakery elements, some light yeast, and just enough fried, all in ONE package. It wasn't perfect, but DAMN it was close for me. **9.9/10**. Big Bottle Approved.
**PB Cream (Flavorah) 1% (10-28-23)** -- This one actually took some time to figure out, or better, to figure out how to EXPLAIN it. This was not your regular Creamy Peanut Butter, and that's what I had expected. It was actually rather complex, and it had an almost earthy overtone, that at first I thought might have been a take-off, but the more I ran through the testers, it seemed like it was part of a natural crunchy peanut on TOP of a creamy PB. Yes, yes, I know, and it was hard to nail down. Creamy, somewhat sweet, and def. portrayed a natural PB, BUT, there was that "note", and it was really like you crushed up some fresh roasted peanuts, and threw them on the top. Crunchy was my main take-away on the overtone, and creamy and smooth were my take-aways on the body and undertones. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and it was actually pretty full at 1%, with maybe some wiggle room (higher or lower). It's because I could taste both the creamy PB and the crunchy nuts that I pushed it into the "complex" category. I'll be very curious to hear other thoughts on this one, and it was a keeper, and a very unique one at that, as I can't think of another PB that was like it. In total, a very good creamy PB, with freshly crushed peanuts on the top. I prefer chunky PB, so it was hard to not like this one. Easily a **9.3/10**.
**Rock & Road (Flavorah) 1% (10-29-23)** -- I suspect this one was named to avoid any issues with the "Rocky Road Ice Cream" ?? Who knows, but it was either going to be the candy, OR, the Ice Cream. It turns out there is/was quite a controversy about exactly who, and when the OG Rocky Road Candy was invented. Assuming this is/was the "Ice cream" version, there are many types, but all have at least Chocolate Ice Cream, and Marshmallows. This one had them, and they were delicious !!!!! The chocolate ice cream, IMHO, was one of the best out there, and it just tasted about as close as I've tasted yet. Not a vanilla Ice cream with chocolate topping, but a choco ice cream. Smooth, creamy, and you guessed it, chocolate-y. I'm not sure how Flavorah did it, but I could pick out actual marshmallow notes, which surprisingly weren't buried by the choco notes. Now the rest stayed a bit fuzzy. Were there walnuts, maybe even a light coconut ?? Very hard to tell. At times I almost thought I got both, BUT, (and if so), they were so far down in the mix, it was hard to really tell.
With THAT little mystery still outstanding, I can tell you as a whole, it worked, and it worked well, and it was obvious that a lot of time went into this one. IRL I can't say that I've ever eaten RRIC, but this almost makes me want to. Plenty strong at 1%, and it could easily survive up to 1.5% if not a bit more, but it was plenty full at this testing weight. Sweetness was about mid-level, which was fine for a desert flavor. No off-notes, and no nit-picks to be found. If you like RRIC, I think you should pick this up. Deliciously placing this choco gem high @ **9.7/10**.
**RWB Popsicle Blast (Flavorah) 1% (10-29-23)** -- Ok, ok, Fidalgo has let the cat out of the bag on this one (meow), and you probably know by now, this was SPOT ON. I'm going to call it by it's rightful name, and that is a RocketPop, as that's what we grew up with. If you've ever had one, and loved it, then you NEED TO get this flavor. It is, as Fidalgo put it, "i was Amazed how spot on this was.", as spot on, as you could get. I'm only barely into the first tester, and I can already tell. The Cherry, Lime (with a hint of Lemon), and Blue Raspberry are exactly as how they taste IN the rocket pop. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid level, and there (hehe) were NO off-notes. I won't drag this review on, but they ONLY things you are missing with THIS flavor, are the "Sticks" and the "Drips". Hats off to the Flavorah team on this one, and YES, I'm releasing the Kraken !!!!!! **10/10**. NO other scoring is appropriate here.
ALL testing will be done at 1.0% (unless otherwise noted), and will be tested in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier, on my trusty SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual 24 ga. Kanthal vertical coils, and Koh Gen Do cotton. Fresh coils installed before the start of the series, and dry burned with fresh cotton before every test. All testing done at 65 watts. The flavors are now steeping......
Thanks again out to Bryson for sending these out for this review, and Respect out to most respected Flavorah mixologist @SmokyBlue.
And, as always, ANY discussion about Flavorah flavors would NOT be complete, without respect to the FLV Expert @SmokyBlue.
Our one and own SmokyBlue is getting out of the DIY game
@SmokyBlue has made it official, and she’s getting out of DIY’ing, and possibly vaping. Some newer members here may not know who she is, but anyone who’s been here for awhile, or especially anyone who loves Flavorah flavors, knows who she was. For years, she rapidly became the @Flavorah flavor...
**Apple Raz (Flavorah) 1% (10-24-23)** -- FIRST ONE on deck, from the NEW series from Flavorah. This one really popped for me, and at only 1%. It was similar to a Blue Raz, combined with Red Delicious Apples. Tasty, peppy, and it had a nice "Pop" to it, with an almost fizzy quality. The apple profile was very well done, and tasted very natural, and while very "crisp" it lacked some of the tartness of a Granny Smith, leading me to my Red Delicious classification. This didn't mean it was lacking tartness as the Raspberry (aka Razz) was a Blue Raspberry style "razz" and it brought with it, a good helping of tartness. This was smartly done, as possibly pairing a overly tart green apple with the razz might have been a touch TOO much tarty. It was an interesting and tasty pairing with just enough smooth AND tart to keep it interesting, without too much of either. The pairing of the Apples and Razz was also done very well, and they were about perfectly even, which added to the complexity, AND, would allow for even MORE uses. At 1% it was very good, but it felt like it might just benefit from a push to 1.25-1.5%. No off-notes, and sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level. Coming from the "not fruit" guy, this one was a keeper. A very smartly done pairing of a Red Delicious Apple, and a Blue Razz(berry). Just enough of each, without too much of either. With no nit-picks, and a fairly unique pairing/profile going to leave this one high at **9.5/10**.
**Crispy Donut (Flavorah) 1% (10-26-23)** -- I'll try to keep this short, but I have to at least mention the fact that I am VERY picky about what I call a donut, and even PICKIER about what I call a "Great Donut". Most times they're just variations of a cakey bakery, sometimes with saturating greasy notes, and other times barely ANY donut, and mostly frosting. Enter Flavorah's Crispy Donut. Now I never really got what the "crispy" was supposed to be, but I GOT the Donut, and I liked it. No Playdoh like I always got from Capella's, and no off-notes, after three testers. What was unique for me about this, was that there was a VERY good, and pretty unique pairing of a light bakery, with some yeast, and just a touch of deep fried. The combination, AND ratios were what was important to my tastes. Just enough of all, but not too much of any one of them.
I've had almost straight up greasy donuts before, which were overbearing. Many have cinnamon-ish elements, which while fine, but many times, you just want a neutral, cinnamon-less donut, that's accurate. This one might just be the MOST accurate one I've had yet. I did catch some slight glazed notes, but never full on glazed, which honestly, just allowed the kick ass DONUT to come through even better. At 1% it was damned good, and although not lacking, it was SOO tasty, I did want to crank it up to 1.5-1.75 JUST to see what happened. That'll be later, as I've got a lot to get through. All in, this was a VERY good, cinnmon-LESS, donut which combined bakery elements, some light yeast, and just enough fried, all in ONE package. It wasn't perfect, but DAMN it was close for me. **9.9/10**. Big Bottle Approved.
**PB Cream (Flavorah) 1% (10-28-23)** -- This one actually took some time to figure out, or better, to figure out how to EXPLAIN it. This was not your regular Creamy Peanut Butter, and that's what I had expected. It was actually rather complex, and it had an almost earthy overtone, that at first I thought might have been a take-off, but the more I ran through the testers, it seemed like it was part of a natural crunchy peanut on TOP of a creamy PB. Yes, yes, I know, and it was hard to nail down. Creamy, somewhat sweet, and def. portrayed a natural PB, BUT, there was that "note", and it was really like you crushed up some fresh roasted peanuts, and threw them on the top. Crunchy was my main take-away on the overtone, and creamy and smooth were my take-aways on the body and undertones. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and it was actually pretty full at 1%, with maybe some wiggle room (higher or lower). It's because I could taste both the creamy PB and the crunchy nuts that I pushed it into the "complex" category. I'll be very curious to hear other thoughts on this one, and it was a keeper, and a very unique one at that, as I can't think of another PB that was like it. In total, a very good creamy PB, with freshly crushed peanuts on the top. I prefer chunky PB, so it was hard to not like this one. Easily a **9.3/10**.
**Rock & Road (Flavorah) 1% (10-29-23)** -- I suspect this one was named to avoid any issues with the "Rocky Road Ice Cream" ?? Who knows, but it was either going to be the candy, OR, the Ice Cream. It turns out there is/was quite a controversy about exactly who, and when the OG Rocky Road Candy was invented. Assuming this is/was the "Ice cream" version, there are many types, but all have at least Chocolate Ice Cream, and Marshmallows. This one had them, and they were delicious !!!!! The chocolate ice cream, IMHO, was one of the best out there, and it just tasted about as close as I've tasted yet. Not a vanilla Ice cream with chocolate topping, but a choco ice cream. Smooth, creamy, and you guessed it, chocolate-y. I'm not sure how Flavorah did it, but I could pick out actual marshmallow notes, which surprisingly weren't buried by the choco notes. Now the rest stayed a bit fuzzy. Were there walnuts, maybe even a light coconut ?? Very hard to tell. At times I almost thought I got both, BUT, (and if so), they were so far down in the mix, it was hard to really tell.
With THAT little mystery still outstanding, I can tell you as a whole, it worked, and it worked well, and it was obvious that a lot of time went into this one. IRL I can't say that I've ever eaten RRIC, but this almost makes me want to. Plenty strong at 1%, and it could easily survive up to 1.5% if not a bit more, but it was plenty full at this testing weight. Sweetness was about mid-level, which was fine for a desert flavor. No off-notes, and no nit-picks to be found. If you like RRIC, I think you should pick this up. Deliciously placing this choco gem high @ **9.7/10**.
**RWB Popsicle Blast (Flavorah) 1% (10-29-23)** -- Ok, ok, Fidalgo has let the cat out of the bag on this one (meow), and you probably know by now, this was SPOT ON. I'm going to call it by it's rightful name, and that is a RocketPop, as that's what we grew up with. If you've ever had one, and loved it, then you NEED TO get this flavor. It is, as Fidalgo put it, "i was Amazed how spot on this was.", as spot on, as you could get. I'm only barely into the first tester, and I can already tell. The Cherry, Lime (with a hint of Lemon), and Blue Raspberry are exactly as how they taste IN the rocket pop. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid level, and there (hehe) were NO off-notes. I won't drag this review on, but they ONLY things you are missing with THIS flavor, are the "Sticks" and the "Drips". Hats off to the Flavorah team on this one, and YES, I'm releasing the Kraken !!!!!! **10/10**. NO other scoring is appropriate here.
