Alright, let's add some MORE to this, the Part II of my Wonder Flavors run. Mixing these up now, and as always, will let them steep 1+ week before testing. 3.5% worked out really good for all of the previous ones, so I'm going to stay at that percentage.
**Almond Cookie (WF) 3.5% (12-11-22)** -- Yum, yum, and MORE yum. Right away I could tell this one was good, and wasn't going to need any tweaking to get there. An almost perfectly buttery, shortbread cookie, with a sweet almond. The almond was present without being overbearing and/or bitter, and had some creamy aspects to it. The buttery shortbread was perfectly paired with it, and had some good grainy-ness to it, which kept the authenticity very high. There were some vanilla undertones swirling around, but lower in the mix. As it stood, I had an impossible time trying to find faults with this one, as it did what it did, and it did it well. Solo'd it was very good, and didn't scream that it needed to be tweaked, or fixed. Handily done by WF on this one, and leaving it at **9.8/10**.
**Blueberry Smoothie (WF) 3.5% (12-11-22)** -- First one, in this series. Right out of the gate this one hit you with a fairly artificial, and PUNCHY blueberry. I'm not sure if WF tempered it with some currants or not, but the punchy, almost jammy-ness was the star of the show. Now the smoothie was more of a mystery, as it was def. in there, but hard to identify. It wasn't overtly creamy, or tangy like a yogurt, but it stayed there below the blueberry throughout. Despite not being identifiable it was there and did create a semi rich (with mouthfeel) carrier for the blueberry. I personally would have preferred a more natural BB, but mostly artificial is what you got with this one. It was actually good in spite of that. Minor markdowns for the lack of a real "smoothie" only. It felt good at **7.5/10**.
**Bavarian Cream (WF) 3.5% (12-12-22)** -- This one smelled like it might be the most accurate Bavarian Cream I've tested yet, BUT, and there's always a but. BUT, the smell didn't fully translate into the taste. @ 3.5% it presented as a very LIGHT Bav Cream, with many of the darker, somewhat caramel-y, almost brulee type notes that some BC's don't have. Accurate, wispy light, and tasty. Some flavors you know you've under mixed, and can easily be fixed by upping the usage, but this one was just a light flavor. The vanilla was again, very accurate to a true BC, with darker overtones, but without being overpowering. Beyond the lighter taste, it didn't impart a particular rich creamy mouthfeel. If this one tasted like it smelled we'd be in upper 9 territory, but with such a light flavor, I have to click it down a bit. All in, a very accurate BC, slightly creamy, with great darker vanilla / brulee notes. Fairly placing it at a **7/10**.
**Cream Custard (WF) 3.5% (12-13-22)** -- I don't know what YOU think about when you hear "Custard" but I think typically of a egg-ish, maybe pudding-like, buttery, and rich, well .... Custard. This one proved to be somewhat of a mystery, and you'll see why. First off, it was good, ....... very good, BUT, not sure if I'd call it a anything custard. Missing were much/most of the heavier buttery, and eggy elements, which left, a fairly rich, creamy, "something". Def. creamy, def. fairly rich, and it almost seemed devoid of any vanilla, but I thought it was peeking through every once in a while. It had a very unique almost powdered sugar / confectioners sugary type finish which was unexpected, and seemed to REALLY work. Richer and denser than a whipped cream, so it was pushed out of that category, but def. in the rich cream category. Pretty interesting to say the least. @ 3.5% it was as full as it would probably get. Hard to exactly quantify beyond what I've done so far. No eggs or vanilla, but a fairly rich cream/creamery with an almost powdered sugar finish. If you're in the market for a great rich cream, but don't want the egg, sign yourself up for this one. Despite it being named "custard", it didn't feel fair to down mark it too much for that, as it was a great flavor. With that said, it felt good and fair @ **9/10**.
Keep in mind what @Letitia said above on the WF Bavarian Cream review, as this one was similar, and many people may NOT want the overtly, in your face aspect that many flavors deliver, and this one was similar in that respect.
**Crepe (WF) 3.5% (12-14-22)** -- I'll start this one by saying it wasn't entirely "crepe-y". It was in the ballpark somewhat, but I was constantly comparing it to FA's Custard with a spicy undernote, which I couldn't fully identify, maybe anise ?? Either way, it was semi creamy, with a light lemon overtone, and some slight bakery, and spice on the bottom. Not terrible, but not really identifiable as a crepe. Surely it could be use as a "baser" to get to a crepe, but not as the main driver. @ 3.5% it felt as present as it could get, and had no off-notes, except for maybe the underlying spice notes. I didn't get any real buttery-ness from it, so that subtracted from the desired profile as well. Average, but not great. Good base, not the star of the show. Placing it at a **6.5/10**.
**French Vanilla (Thick) (WF) 3.5% (12-16-22)** -- I was REALLY looking forward to getting into this one, and the slight delay in posting was because I couldn't stop "sampling" it, hehe. It is and was a GREAT French Vanilla, and honestly, it WAS "thick". I burned through two testers trying to figure out how to explain the thickness, because I was sure the assumption would be that of a milkshake flavor, which this was not. I'm not sure how Wonder Flavors did it, but they made it thick, but NOT into a milkshake. Pretty impressive to my tastes. It had all the characteristics of a good French Vanilla, no overt dairy or milkshake notes, BUT, it did convey a thickness that carried over onto a great mouthfeel. Obviously this would work VERY well in anything where you needed an FV, including anything Milk Shake-y. @ 3.5% this one was very full, fairly rich, and at about mid level sweet. Two testers in, I think I already added a bigger bottle to my cart. No off-putting notes, and it was convincingly accurate, tasty, and clean. The room note, smell, and taste were all spot on, and it was hard to put down. What makes this a real winner is where, and how much you could use it. Nicely done, and placing it @ **9.9/10.**
**Graham Cracker Pie Crust (WF) 3.5% (12-16-22)** -- I have been obsessed with GC's about as long as I've been with S'mores, so I'm always on the prowl. This one presented as a "foundational" graham cracker. Wait, what ?? Yes, foundational. It had all the aspect of a great graham cracker, BUT didn't fully have the impact, even at 3.5% to carry the full freight IMO. Now, it was not bad in any way/shape/form, as it checked all the boxes, and the only minor markdowns would be for presence, and grain. It didn't really have the grainy bakery nuances that would have pushed it up into the stellar category. Very true and natural tasting, with ZERO off-putting notes, and @ 3.5% it felt at or near it's top end. Now what I REALLY liked was it was DEVOID of any coconut notes, which would completely open up it's usage. It wasn't dry, and I didn't get much if any buttery-ness to it, but more just a great, natural tasting graham cracker. Until I narrowed in on the lack of coconut notes I was going to rate it @ 7.5, but with the no coconut in play, it felt better @ **8.75/10**.
**Almond Cookie (WF) 3.5% (12-11-22)** -- Yum, yum, and MORE yum. Right away I could tell this one was good, and wasn't going to need any tweaking to get there. An almost perfectly buttery, shortbread cookie, with a sweet almond. The almond was present without being overbearing and/or bitter, and had some creamy aspects to it. The buttery shortbread was perfectly paired with it, and had some good grainy-ness to it, which kept the authenticity very high. There were some vanilla undertones swirling around, but lower in the mix. As it stood, I had an impossible time trying to find faults with this one, as it did what it did, and it did it well. Solo'd it was very good, and didn't scream that it needed to be tweaked, or fixed. Handily done by WF on this one, and leaving it at **9.8/10**.
**Blueberry Smoothie (WF) 3.5% (12-11-22)** -- First one, in this series. Right out of the gate this one hit you with a fairly artificial, and PUNCHY blueberry. I'm not sure if WF tempered it with some currants or not, but the punchy, almost jammy-ness was the star of the show. Now the smoothie was more of a mystery, as it was def. in there, but hard to identify. It wasn't overtly creamy, or tangy like a yogurt, but it stayed there below the blueberry throughout. Despite not being identifiable it was there and did create a semi rich (with mouthfeel) carrier for the blueberry. I personally would have preferred a more natural BB, but mostly artificial is what you got with this one. It was actually good in spite of that. Minor markdowns for the lack of a real "smoothie" only. It felt good at **7.5/10**.
**Bavarian Cream (WF) 3.5% (12-12-22)** -- This one smelled like it might be the most accurate Bavarian Cream I've tested yet, BUT, and there's always a but. BUT, the smell didn't fully translate into the taste. @ 3.5% it presented as a very LIGHT Bav Cream, with many of the darker, somewhat caramel-y, almost brulee type notes that some BC's don't have. Accurate, wispy light, and tasty. Some flavors you know you've under mixed, and can easily be fixed by upping the usage, but this one was just a light flavor. The vanilla was again, very accurate to a true BC, with darker overtones, but without being overpowering. Beyond the lighter taste, it didn't impart a particular rich creamy mouthfeel. If this one tasted like it smelled we'd be in upper 9 territory, but with such a light flavor, I have to click it down a bit. All in, a very accurate BC, slightly creamy, with great darker vanilla / brulee notes. Fairly placing it at a **7/10**.
**Cream Custard (WF) 3.5% (12-13-22)** -- I don't know what YOU think about when you hear "Custard" but I think typically of a egg-ish, maybe pudding-like, buttery, and rich, well .... Custard. This one proved to be somewhat of a mystery, and you'll see why. First off, it was good, ....... very good, BUT, not sure if I'd call it a anything custard. Missing were much/most of the heavier buttery, and eggy elements, which left, a fairly rich, creamy, "something". Def. creamy, def. fairly rich, and it almost seemed devoid of any vanilla, but I thought it was peeking through every once in a while. It had a very unique almost powdered sugar / confectioners sugary type finish which was unexpected, and seemed to REALLY work. Richer and denser than a whipped cream, so it was pushed out of that category, but def. in the rich cream category. Pretty interesting to say the least. @ 3.5% it was as full as it would probably get. Hard to exactly quantify beyond what I've done so far. No eggs or vanilla, but a fairly rich cream/creamery with an almost powdered sugar finish. If you're in the market for a great rich cream, but don't want the egg, sign yourself up for this one. Despite it being named "custard", it didn't feel fair to down mark it too much for that, as it was a great flavor. With that said, it felt good and fair @ **9/10**.
Keep in mind what @Letitia said above on the WF Bavarian Cream review, as this one was similar, and many people may NOT want the overtly, in your face aspect that many flavors deliver, and this one was similar in that respect.
**Crepe (WF) 3.5% (12-14-22)** -- I'll start this one by saying it wasn't entirely "crepe-y". It was in the ballpark somewhat, but I was constantly comparing it to FA's Custard with a spicy undernote, which I couldn't fully identify, maybe anise ?? Either way, it was semi creamy, with a light lemon overtone, and some slight bakery, and spice on the bottom. Not terrible, but not really identifiable as a crepe. Surely it could be use as a "baser" to get to a crepe, but not as the main driver. @ 3.5% it felt as present as it could get, and had no off-notes, except for maybe the underlying spice notes. I didn't get any real buttery-ness from it, so that subtracted from the desired profile as well. Average, but not great. Good base, not the star of the show. Placing it at a **6.5/10**.
**French Vanilla (Thick) (WF) 3.5% (12-16-22)** -- I was REALLY looking forward to getting into this one, and the slight delay in posting was because I couldn't stop "sampling" it, hehe. It is and was a GREAT French Vanilla, and honestly, it WAS "thick". I burned through two testers trying to figure out how to explain the thickness, because I was sure the assumption would be that of a milkshake flavor, which this was not. I'm not sure how Wonder Flavors did it, but they made it thick, but NOT into a milkshake. Pretty impressive to my tastes. It had all the characteristics of a good French Vanilla, no overt dairy or milkshake notes, BUT, it did convey a thickness that carried over onto a great mouthfeel. Obviously this would work VERY well in anything where you needed an FV, including anything Milk Shake-y. @ 3.5% this one was very full, fairly rich, and at about mid level sweet. Two testers in, I think I already added a bigger bottle to my cart. No off-putting notes, and it was convincingly accurate, tasty, and clean. The room note, smell, and taste were all spot on, and it was hard to put down. What makes this a real winner is where, and how much you could use it. Nicely done, and placing it @ **9.9/10.**
**Graham Cracker Pie Crust (WF) 3.5% (12-16-22)** -- I have been obsessed with GC's about as long as I've been with S'mores, so I'm always on the prowl. This one presented as a "foundational" graham cracker. Wait, what ?? Yes, foundational. It had all the aspect of a great graham cracker, BUT didn't fully have the impact, even at 3.5% to carry the full freight IMO. Now, it was not bad in any way/shape/form, as it checked all the boxes, and the only minor markdowns would be for presence, and grain. It didn't really have the grainy bakery nuances that would have pushed it up into the stellar category. Very true and natural tasting, with ZERO off-putting notes, and @ 3.5% it felt at or near it's top end. Now what I REALLY liked was it was DEVOID of any coconut notes, which would completely open up it's usage. It wasn't dry, and I didn't get much if any buttery-ness to it, but more just a great, natural tasting graham cracker. Until I narrowed in on the lack of coconut notes I was going to rate it @ 7.5, but with the no coconut in play, it felt better @ **8.75/10**.
