SessionDrummer
Postman
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2018
- Messages
- 157
**FLAVRZ Flavor Shots !!!!!**
Thanks out to Darren aka @JetZ from FLAVRZ for sending these out for the purposes of these reviews.
All Flavor Shots, and One Shots were mixed at 25%, and in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier. All steeped for a t least 1.5 weeks before testing. All were tested on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1 running dual 24 ga. Kanthal vertical coils, which were dry burned before every test, including fresh KGD cotton.
There seems, or seemed to be some confusion as to exactly what Flavor-Shots were, and/or how they were different from One-Shots. Basically, a Flavor-Shot from FLAVRZ is a One-Shot, in a BIGGER BOTTLE. Hehe, there you go, mystery solved. This means, if you buy a FLAVRZ One-Shot, YOU provide YOUR bottle, add the PG, VG, NIC and enjoy. With the Flavor-Shots, you use THEIR bottle, and add the PG, VG, NIC and enjoy. You actually get 60ml of flavor, in a 200ml bottle, and it you top it off with PG, VG, and NIC up to the shoulder of the bottle, it is mixed at 30% flavor.
NOW, if you DO use the 200ml bottle, you HAVE made a commitment, and will be using a lot of carriers and NIC to set it up, SO, it's better to make SURE you love the flavor beforehand. No sense in topping off a big 200ml bottle only to find out you DON'T like the flavor !!!!
I didn't need to mix up 200ml samples for testing/reviews, so I just found what @JetZ posted about the suggested percentages ...
..... and I settled on 25% for ALL of my Flavor-Shot, and One-Shot tests, to have a level playing field. ALL were tested at 25%, in a 70v/30p/3mg NIC carrier, and steeped for 1 week before testing. As you MAY have guessed, all tested on the SteamCrave RDTA v1., with dual verts, 24 ga. Kanthal, with fresh cotton before every test. All tested at 65 watts.
Darren made up a blank slate recipe where you can adjust your percentage of flavor, size, and NIC if you need it. Obviously you would need to adjust it, as it defaults to 1L of juice.
https://e-liquid-recipes.com/recipe/4480052/Flavrz%20-%20ONE%20SHOT%201%20Litre%20%28DIY%20AU%29
**Blue Slushie (FLAVRZ) (Flavor Shot) 25% (7-30-23)** -- Welcome to the FIRST FLAVRZ Flavor Shot. (Cooling Agent Alert) !!!! Yeah, I figured it would be, it's a "Slushie", so I'll have to keep my disdain for "coolers" in check. There WAS cooling present, and it wasn't overbearing, and added a touch of "cool" but with no menthol, or minty aftertastes. Being a huge NON user of cooling, I felt like it still imparted something to the mix taste-wise but it was hard to determine. Possibly a little dryness, but only minor. The main notes were as advertised on the FLAVRZ site, a Blue Raspberry, and a Fruit Medley, billed as Forrest Fruit.
The two main profiles were fairly evenly matched, but the Blue Raspberry took the lead. I mixed this at 25% which was below the standard 30%, when filling/using the provided 200ml bottle. It was pretty full, and felt like it could have benefited from the 5% boost. Still very good, and the BRB had a nice hit of sour on the finish. Sweetness was actually just at mid-level, and it felt matched to the profile(s). The berry medley (forest fruit) was an interesting carrier, which rode JUST below the BRB, and tempered it to a degree, but made it much more than a simple BRB alone. At times, I thought I almost got a little cotton candy in the mix. At this testing weight, beyond the slight kick that the cooling agent delivered, I didn't get any off-notes, and about the only minor gripe would be THE cooling LOL, but, again, it's a "Slushie" so ... you'll have to temper my review and scoring accordingly. All in, it was a great BRB with a Forrest Fruit carrier, and just a hint of cotton candy, with a light cooling effect. It felt very good and blue @ **9.0/10**.
**Chocolate Milk (FLAVRZ) (Flavor Shot) 25% (8-1-23)** -- Smooth, creamy, and chocolate-y were the big take-aways on this flavor. While having not tested many chocolate milks, I have drank them from time to time. The REAL stand out here, was the chocolate. Chocolate Milk has a very specific type of chocolate, and I was very surprised to see they nailed it, almost spot on. Granted it is simply a cocoa flavor, I've not had very many get this close that I can remember. Hyper accurate with this flavor. The Milk was also done VERY well, and despite it not tasting like a fresh, cold glass of Whole Milk, it wasn't supposed to, as it was a Choco Milk. The cocoa took front stage, and without apology, but the creamy elements were busy swirling around, JUST beneath it, and although you couldn't always taste them exactly, their presence was very clearly there. Creamy, smooth, and almost silky at times. Sweetness was JUST above mid-level which was in keeping with all good CM's. No off-notes, and it was damned delicious and present at 25%. I had blown through three full tanks before I knew it, STILL looking for at least ONE nit-pick, and I came up short. I had thought surely I would find at least some mis-directing notes like vanilla or a whiff of BA, but I couldn't, and didn't. What's hard to fully explain is how it was not a choco cream, creamy chocolate, which would have defined a heavier, denser choco note, but it stayed very truly, a Chocolate Milk. An impressive feat. I got no scorching from the Cocoa at 65 watts, which I HAD from some other Cocoa flavors. Rich, creamy, and delicious. Digging in deeper, I think the ONLY thing I would change, would be to enhance the Milk notes JUST a smidge, and I mean JUST a smidge, but even that, was about all I could muster. If you like, love, or want a chocolate milk, I'm sorry, but you'll have to ADD this one to the cart. Just almost perfect, and rating it high @ **9.9/10**.
**Eat the Rainbow (FLAVRZ) (Flavor Shot) 25% (8-3-23)** -- Ok, I went into this one thinking explicitly ONE thing, and the moment I tasted it, EVERYTHING changed. I had assumed rainbow sherbet, or a Skittles citrus, but NO, hehe. Wow, what a great surprise this one one. Now, being from the US, I'd never heard of Paddle Pops before, but apparently EVERYONE in Australia (and more) know about them. Now when I started testing, and did NOT get anything "rainbow" I had to do some more research. Apparently more than a few were upset when it's flavor profile was finally revealed (it was on the label all along)
OK, what did it taste like ?? !!!! I can't think of a direct American comparison. It wasn't ice creamy per se, nor a Sorbet, or Soft Serve, and maybe the only desperate similar taste MIGHT be in the ballpark of an Dreamsicle WITHOUT the Orange. But even that isn't 100% accurate, but the ice cream center of it still more ice creamy, BUT you're heading in the right direction. A very good, creamy, creamery center with some other partially obscure notes swirling around. As per the "Big Reveal" it did present as a mix of Caramel and Toffee-ish-ness. What's interesting is normally Caramel is instantly identifiable but here, it wasn't, and maybe it was the Toffee notes, perfectly paired, AND, skillfully layered in WITH the creamy main note that made it a lot harder to identify. It was EASY to enjoy, and I couldn't stop enjoying it. For you Aussies, I've heard, this is SPOT ON for a Paddle Pop. For you Americans (and others), it's damned delicious. At 25% (5% below the recommended Flavor Shot rate), it was very good, with NO off-notes. Sweetness was nicely done at about mid-level, which is fine for a desert. I truly wish I HAD eaten a Paddle Pop so I could directly compare, but I have not. Scoring this will be more complicated because of that. All in, it was hard to put down, and my best hope of comparison would be a Dream Bar center, with a delicious mix of Caramel and Toffee that were NOT toppings, but completely infused into the creamery. I'm going to go out on a limb here, while NOT being able to directly compare to the real treat, and rate this VERY high. Dare I say, "Release The Kraken" and slam it, with a **10/10**. I can ONLY hope, that some Aussies, can get in on this, and help us with the direct comparison.
Thanks out to Darren aka @JetZ from FLAVRZ for sending these out for the purposes of these reviews.
All Flavor Shots, and One Shots were mixed at 25%, and in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier. All steeped for a t least 1.5 weeks before testing. All were tested on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1 running dual 24 ga. Kanthal vertical coils, which were dry burned before every test, including fresh KGD cotton.
There seems, or seemed to be some confusion as to exactly what Flavor-Shots were, and/or how they were different from One-Shots. Basically, a Flavor-Shot from FLAVRZ is a One-Shot, in a BIGGER BOTTLE. Hehe, there you go, mystery solved. This means, if you buy a FLAVRZ One-Shot, YOU provide YOUR bottle, add the PG, VG, NIC and enjoy. With the Flavor-Shots, you use THEIR bottle, and add the PG, VG, NIC and enjoy. You actually get 60ml of flavor, in a 200ml bottle, and it you top it off with PG, VG, and NIC up to the shoulder of the bottle, it is mixed at 30% flavor.
NOW, if you DO use the 200ml bottle, you HAVE made a commitment, and will be using a lot of carriers and NIC to set it up, SO, it's better to make SURE you love the flavor beforehand. No sense in topping off a big 200ml bottle only to find out you DON'T like the flavor !!!!
I didn't need to mix up 200ml samples for testing/reviews, so I just found what @JetZ posted about the suggested percentages ...
> 30-40% for Pod Systems
> 20-30%f for MTL & DTL
> 15-20 for RTA and RDA
..... and I settled on 25% for ALL of my Flavor-Shot, and One-Shot tests, to have a level playing field. ALL were tested at 25%, in a 70v/30p/3mg NIC carrier, and steeped for 1 week before testing. As you MAY have guessed, all tested on the SteamCrave RDTA v1., with dual verts, 24 ga. Kanthal, with fresh cotton before every test. All tested at 65 watts.
Darren made up a blank slate recipe where you can adjust your percentage of flavor, size, and NIC if you need it. Obviously you would need to adjust it, as it defaults to 1L of juice.
https://e-liquid-recipes.com/recipe/4480052/Flavrz%20-%20ONE%20SHOT%201%20Litre%20%28DIY%20AU%29
**Blue Slushie (FLAVRZ) (Flavor Shot) 25% (7-30-23)** -- Welcome to the FIRST FLAVRZ Flavor Shot. (Cooling Agent Alert) !!!! Yeah, I figured it would be, it's a "Slushie", so I'll have to keep my disdain for "coolers" in check. There WAS cooling present, and it wasn't overbearing, and added a touch of "cool" but with no menthol, or minty aftertastes. Being a huge NON user of cooling, I felt like it still imparted something to the mix taste-wise but it was hard to determine. Possibly a little dryness, but only minor. The main notes were as advertised on the FLAVRZ site, a Blue Raspberry, and a Fruit Medley, billed as Forrest Fruit.
The two main profiles were fairly evenly matched, but the Blue Raspberry took the lead. I mixed this at 25% which was below the standard 30%, when filling/using the provided 200ml bottle. It was pretty full, and felt like it could have benefited from the 5% boost. Still very good, and the BRB had a nice hit of sour on the finish. Sweetness was actually just at mid-level, and it felt matched to the profile(s). The berry medley (forest fruit) was an interesting carrier, which rode JUST below the BRB, and tempered it to a degree, but made it much more than a simple BRB alone. At times, I thought I almost got a little cotton candy in the mix. At this testing weight, beyond the slight kick that the cooling agent delivered, I didn't get any off-notes, and about the only minor gripe would be THE cooling LOL, but, again, it's a "Slushie" so ... you'll have to temper my review and scoring accordingly. All in, it was a great BRB with a Forrest Fruit carrier, and just a hint of cotton candy, with a light cooling effect. It felt very good and blue @ **9.0/10**.
**Chocolate Milk (FLAVRZ) (Flavor Shot) 25% (8-1-23)** -- Smooth, creamy, and chocolate-y were the big take-aways on this flavor. While having not tested many chocolate milks, I have drank them from time to time. The REAL stand out here, was the chocolate. Chocolate Milk has a very specific type of chocolate, and I was very surprised to see they nailed it, almost spot on. Granted it is simply a cocoa flavor, I've not had very many get this close that I can remember. Hyper accurate with this flavor. The Milk was also done VERY well, and despite it not tasting like a fresh, cold glass of Whole Milk, it wasn't supposed to, as it was a Choco Milk. The cocoa took front stage, and without apology, but the creamy elements were busy swirling around, JUST beneath it, and although you couldn't always taste them exactly, their presence was very clearly there. Creamy, smooth, and almost silky at times. Sweetness was JUST above mid-level which was in keeping with all good CM's. No off-notes, and it was damned delicious and present at 25%. I had blown through three full tanks before I knew it, STILL looking for at least ONE nit-pick, and I came up short. I had thought surely I would find at least some mis-directing notes like vanilla or a whiff of BA, but I couldn't, and didn't. What's hard to fully explain is how it was not a choco cream, creamy chocolate, which would have defined a heavier, denser choco note, but it stayed very truly, a Chocolate Milk. An impressive feat. I got no scorching from the Cocoa at 65 watts, which I HAD from some other Cocoa flavors. Rich, creamy, and delicious. Digging in deeper, I think the ONLY thing I would change, would be to enhance the Milk notes JUST a smidge, and I mean JUST a smidge, but even that, was about all I could muster. If you like, love, or want a chocolate milk, I'm sorry, but you'll have to ADD this one to the cart. Just almost perfect, and rating it high @ **9.9/10**.
**Eat the Rainbow (FLAVRZ) (Flavor Shot) 25% (8-3-23)** -- Ok, I went into this one thinking explicitly ONE thing, and the moment I tasted it, EVERYTHING changed. I had assumed rainbow sherbet, or a Skittles citrus, but NO, hehe. Wow, what a great surprise this one one. Now, being from the US, I'd never heard of Paddle Pops before, but apparently EVERYONE in Australia (and more) know about them. Now when I started testing, and did NOT get anything "rainbow" I had to do some more research. Apparently more than a few were upset when it's flavor profile was finally revealed (it was on the label all along)
OK, what did it taste like ?? !!!! I can't think of a direct American comparison. It wasn't ice creamy per se, nor a Sorbet, or Soft Serve, and maybe the only desperate similar taste MIGHT be in the ballpark of an Dreamsicle WITHOUT the Orange. But even that isn't 100% accurate, but the ice cream center of it still more ice creamy, BUT you're heading in the right direction. A very good, creamy, creamery center with some other partially obscure notes swirling around. As per the "Big Reveal" it did present as a mix of Caramel and Toffee-ish-ness. What's interesting is normally Caramel is instantly identifiable but here, it wasn't, and maybe it was the Toffee notes, perfectly paired, AND, skillfully layered in WITH the creamy main note that made it a lot harder to identify. It was EASY to enjoy, and I couldn't stop enjoying it. For you Aussies, I've heard, this is SPOT ON for a Paddle Pop. For you Americans (and others), it's damned delicious. At 25% (5% below the recommended Flavor Shot rate), it was very good, with NO off-notes. Sweetness was nicely done at about mid-level, which is fine for a desert. I truly wish I HAD eaten a Paddle Pop so I could directly compare, but I have not. Scoring this will be more complicated because of that. All in, it was hard to put down, and my best hope of comparison would be a Dream Bar center, with a delicious mix of Caramel and Toffee that were NOT toppings, but completely infused into the creamery. I'm going to go out on a limb here, while NOT being able to directly compare to the real treat, and rate this VERY high. Dare I say, "Release The Kraken" and slam it, with a **10/10**. I can ONLY hope, that some Aussies, can get in on this, and help us with the direct comparison.