SessionDrummer
Postman
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2018
- Messages
- 163
I literally JUST received these flavors, so this post is just a HOLDING AREA while I sort out the percentages, and get them mixed up. HUGE thanks out to both Jessica, and @wllmc from Bull City Flavors, and Bryson over at Flavorah in getting these NEW flavors shipped out.
*As always, all flavors tested at the weights listed, in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier mix, on my SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual vertical, 7 wrap, Kanthal coils, with fresh cotton and dry pulsed coils before every test. All flavors tested @ 65 watts.*
I can't help but MISS my, and our previous Flavorah Expert @SmokyBlue.
https://www.bullcityflavors.com/flavorah/?sort=newest
**Cactus Aloe (Flavorah) 0.5% (2-25-23)** -- Let's get these NEW Flavorah 2023 Flavors GOING !!!!!! Starting out with the Cactus Aloe, I thought was going to be a BAD experience for me, as I would never taste an Aloe, and historically, I was also unable to use INW's Cactus in ANY amount. You guys OWE me for this one, hehe. NOW, I can tell you I was shocked. Be advised, I specifically dropped this WAY down to 0.5%, and I have NO CLUE what will happen higher than that. My immediate response was shock, that I wasn't repulsed by it. Pretty surprising for me. I got more Aloe than Cactus from this one, and possibly that was a good thing, but I DID get some of it lower down in the mix. Now because I've never come CLOSE to wanting to try an Aloe, I have no direct comparisons, but it presented as nicely green, fresh, somewhat juicy, and had slight earthy undertones. While not too sweet, it rather reminded me of a pretty nice, aloe hard candy, with a light cactus-ing. It was somewhat juicy, fresh, and clean tasting, and before I knew it, I was onto the THIRD TESTER !!!!! Wait, what ?? !!! Yes. I'm fairly sure this may have been one of the most shocking surprises in all of my SFT thus far. Sweetness was almost at about mid level, and honestly, I've read of people testing this at 3%, and God only knows what THAT was like, because at the low, low, low testing weight of 0.5% it was very present, with (shockingly) nothing off-putting, and no overt florals. I did keep thinking of an Aloe hard candy, lightly kissed by a cactus as my main take away. Testing flavors you either KNOW you won't like, or THINK you won't like are often the hardest, especially the scoring. Although this flavor would never typically end up on my racks, I'm really glad it did. I you want/like a fresh, green Aloe, with some hard candy elements, ever so lightly kissed by some cactus, AND you feel it may not be in YOUR wheelhouse, hehe, you might JUST be surprised. I know I was, and it IS going onto the rack. The only minor takeoff would be the very recessed Cactus, BUT, quite honestly, that's probably what kept me burning through THREE testers of this. If you want a cactus heavy flavor, or LOVE the cactus, you will need to boost there here. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but this one will score very high, and FAR higher than I would have ever expected. **9.5/10**. I STILL can't believe I like this flavor.
**Candied Blueberry (Flavorah) 1.75% (2-25-23)** -- 2nd on on deck, and at a markedy higher testing weight than the Cactus Aloe. At this testing weight, it presented as a nice, somewhat dark blueberry with a nice accurate "candied" aspect. Candied, is not jammed, nor sugared, but maybe in between sugared, and jammed. Flavorah did a really good job of getting that JUST right. Too little, it would turn into just a "sugared", too much and it would land into "jammed" territory. Just that ONE aspect was impressive alone. The blueberry felt about 75% natural / 25% artificial, and favored the mid and darker tones, BUT, with some bright high end sparkle and tartness on the finish. It was at about mid-level sweet and tasted actually quite good at this weight with no off-notes. No florals were present at this weight, BUT, it could possibly get squirrel-y if pushed too high. Though not overpowering the slight acidity, and tartness could easily be tamed, or "creamed" if you needed it more mellow. As it stood however, it had just enough kick to keep it interesting. The only minor take-offs would be for some missing richness, and fullness, as in comparison to a full spectrum BB. For a almost fully natural BB with a VERY authentic "candied"-ness, and a tarty finish this one DOES work, and it does it well. Easily near the top and placing it @ a **8.9/10**.
**Creamsicle (Flavorah) 1.25% / 2.5% (2-26-23)** -- Dedicating this flavor review out to @Chrispdx, my favorite creamsicle stalker. Smelling this in the bottle it smelled SPOT ON, and tasting it, revealed exactly the same. This is/was probably the most accurate orange creamsicle flavor I have tested to date. The creamy vanilla ice cream was almost perfectly paired with and equally good orange, with a slight tangerine finish which not only gave it a twist, but helped it break through the aforementioned vanilla creamy-ness. The two main notes were very evenly paired, and so much so, that you really couldn't tell which was in the lead. The on rush of the sweet, creamy vanilla ice cream carried through till the finish, and the orange/tangerine ramped up from the middle to end. At times I thought I might be getting a hint of orange/tangerine citrus oil, which just made it even more authentic. If you've ever eaten an orange creamsicle, you will be enjoying it all over again with this one. @ 1.25% it felt like it needed more presence, so I doubled it to 2.5%, and it did increase, but not linearly. At the double weight (and lower), there were no off-notes, and nothing to distract you from the experience. Even doubled, it was still a somewhat lighter flavor, so if needed, you could boost up the ice cream and/or orange if needed. It was just above mid-level sweet, and I had a really hard time marking this one down, with the only minor thing being a somewhat relaxed flavor. For a dead on accurate orange creamsicle, you won't want to be without this one. **9.6/10**.
**Dulce De Leche (Flavorah) 1.25%** -- This one was, and still is somewhat of a mystery to me, and after 3 testers, I'm STILL figuring it out. First off, it was good, REAL good, BUT, it wasn't like a DDL, at least like I expected. Most times when you test as much as I do, and you JUST fill up and taste, sometimes a flavor needs some time to "settle in", before you can really get a good sense of it. This one WAS like that, and at first, I could have sworn it was a cinnamon bun, wrapped up in a deliciously sweet creamy blanket. I even double checked the bottle, just to make sure. As the flavor "settled in", it transformed into more sweet and creamy, BUT, the cinnamon bun undertones never left. What was interesting was that I did get a good caramel, BUT, it was NOT the top note, and nor was the milk. Both were there, but almost like supporting characters, very present, but NOT the main star. Perhaps I was over thinking the cinnamon, and while in no way overpowering, just really kept me going back to a cinnamon bun just drenched in sweet creameries, with caramel, and light milk undertones. At times I wondered if it was more of a Mexican Cajeta, BUT, without the goat milk. Wow, this one WAS good, and very rich and satisfying at only 1.25%. While not what I had expected, it was a VERY good flavor, and dare I say, almost perfect by itself. No off-notes, and a few ticks above mid level sweet, this Creamy, Caramely, Milky, Cinnamon Bunny flavor was far more than I had expected. If any of the aforementioned appeals to you, you may want to pick this unique one up. Struggling with the scoring comparing to the more traditional DDL's I've had, it was just too hard to knock this one down. Leaving it very high @ **9.85/10**.
**Golden Kiwi (Flavorah) 1.5% / 2.25% (3-2-23)** -- When starting to test this one @ 1.5% although good, it felt a little flat, and lacking "pizzaz", so I increased it to 2.25% where it started to shine a bit more. More punch, pizzaz, and sparkle. Having never eaten a "golden" but tested 1, maybe 2 others I was somewhat familiar with the GK fruit. Missing were much/many of the typical Kiwi "green" notes, but a solid center of the Kiwi body was here. It was far mellower than most of my goto "green" Kiwis, and overall this was a somewhat relaxed flavor, even at the higher 2.25% rate. Good, fresh, with some slight sparkly, bright notes on the finish. At both testing weights there were no off-notes, florals, etc., and was was below mid level sweet. On my testing setup, the flavor had SOME juicy-ness, but ALSO, some dry-ness if that makes any sense. Overall, I think the best way to describe it would be a somewhat mellow, Kiwi, that centered around the mid notes, with a smidge of sparkle, and brightness on the finish. It presented as very natural, and fresh, and about the only takeoff would be for a somewhat "mellow"-ness, WHICH could have been by design and/or in keeping with it's "Golden" nature. Not the strongest flavor, and above 2.0% is where it started to open up. It felt solidly placed at **8.0/10**.
**Grapefruit Blend (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-2-23)** -- A little sweeter, and smoother than I had expected, and a hint of lime, were the immediate take-aways on this flavor. At first I thought maybe Flavorah had tempered in a little "pink" to try and tone down what can sometimes be an "aggressive" yellow grapefruit, but the more I tested, I didn't truly get much pink. It smelled just spot on in the bottle, almost like you'd just cut into a fresh grapefruit, and tasting it, it was a little sweeter and mellow-er. Now, even with that slight change from smelling to tasting, it still portrayed a very natural, somewhat juicy yellow grapefruit, JUST without some of the punch. It had plenty of the main juicy body, with all of the little dividers, and you could almost smell the zest, citrus oil that is released when you peel one. Whether or not the slight tempering (or taming) some of what could have been more aggressive notes is to your needs will depend. I've never seen or tried (if it/they exist), but it made me wonder what canned (in light syrup) grapefruit sections would taste like. At 1.5% it was good, but MIGHT be able to be pushed a little higher, maybe 2.0% without hitting the ceiling. It was just above mid level sweet, and did finish with a rather complex citrus sparkle which was primarily a light lime note. Not a lot, but just a little bit. All in, a pretty impressive, natural tasting yellow grapefruit, slightly mellowed/tempered into a nice sweet non-aggressive package, with just a hint of lime on the finish. It felt very good @ **8.85/10**.
**Guava Dark Berry (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-3-23)** -- This one was one of my favs when first cracking the bottles, so let's see it it continued to be. At first taste, there was NO confusing you had Guava in here, nice, juicy, pink guava in spades, AND, at only 1.5% Tempered in BELOW that was a very mysterious dark berry medley, that had an almost "jammy" quality to it/them. The ratio between the two main notes favored the pink guava at maybe 60% pink guava, 40% dark berries. At times I almost wished it had been more 50/50 just to help REVEAL what the dark berry medley was, BUT, in hindsight, it kept it more interesting, with it just below clear detection. The pink guava was very juicy, and had a fair amount of "punch" and "tang", and the dark berry medley, tempered it down just a bit. Although even after 3 testers I was no closer to identifying the black berry medley BUT it's effect was def. there. If you think that a juicy pink guava, tempered by a delicious dark berry medley is up your ally, this one WILL get it done for you. No off notes, and just at mid level sweet, this one again, was hard to kick down. Solidly placing it @ **9.5/10**.
**Hibiscus Sweet (Flavorah) 1% (3-5-23)** -- While never drinking, tasting, OR testing anything Hibiscus, we're going it here today. With no direct comparisons to pull from I'll just explain how this one tasted. Firstly, it was lightly floral (in a GOOD way), with some fruity undertones, that was both tart, and sweet. That literally sums it up, hehe, BUT, let's continue. This was a very unique flavor for me, and it proved to be a lighter flavor, but still very interesting. At 1% it was light, yet present, and the florals (intentional) were in no way off-putting, and actually worked to push and pull the underlying fruity-ness. While the fruit/fruity-ness could not really be identified, it's presence was tasted and worked nicely along side the light florals. Because it was a lighter flavor, it could be run over by heavier flavors in a mix, but it mixed judiciously I think you could really have some great successes. While not sharp or punchy per se, it was a brighter flavor, that would favor fruits, citrus, and maybe even beverages, where it could be blended, and used to accentuate supporting flavors. All in, it was a very good unique flavor, and even while lighter, I could see numerous uses for it's lightly floral/fruity notes. No off notes, bad florals, or any take offs with this one, other than being a lighter flavor. Surprised me, and it felt great @ **9.3/10**.
*As always, all flavors tested at the weights listed, in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier mix, on my SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual vertical, 7 wrap, Kanthal coils, with fresh cotton and dry pulsed coils before every test. All flavors tested @ 65 watts.*
I can't help but MISS my, and our previous Flavorah Expert @SmokyBlue.
https://www.bullcityflavors.com/flavorah/?sort=newest
**Cactus Aloe (Flavorah) 0.5% (2-25-23)** -- Let's get these NEW Flavorah 2023 Flavors GOING !!!!!! Starting out with the Cactus Aloe, I thought was going to be a BAD experience for me, as I would never taste an Aloe, and historically, I was also unable to use INW's Cactus in ANY amount. You guys OWE me for this one, hehe. NOW, I can tell you I was shocked. Be advised, I specifically dropped this WAY down to 0.5%, and I have NO CLUE what will happen higher than that. My immediate response was shock, that I wasn't repulsed by it. Pretty surprising for me. I got more Aloe than Cactus from this one, and possibly that was a good thing, but I DID get some of it lower down in the mix. Now because I've never come CLOSE to wanting to try an Aloe, I have no direct comparisons, but it presented as nicely green, fresh, somewhat juicy, and had slight earthy undertones. While not too sweet, it rather reminded me of a pretty nice, aloe hard candy, with a light cactus-ing. It was somewhat juicy, fresh, and clean tasting, and before I knew it, I was onto the THIRD TESTER !!!!! Wait, what ?? !!! Yes. I'm fairly sure this may have been one of the most shocking surprises in all of my SFT thus far. Sweetness was almost at about mid level, and honestly, I've read of people testing this at 3%, and God only knows what THAT was like, because at the low, low, low testing weight of 0.5% it was very present, with (shockingly) nothing off-putting, and no overt florals. I did keep thinking of an Aloe hard candy, lightly kissed by a cactus as my main take away. Testing flavors you either KNOW you won't like, or THINK you won't like are often the hardest, especially the scoring. Although this flavor would never typically end up on my racks, I'm really glad it did. I you want/like a fresh, green Aloe, with some hard candy elements, ever so lightly kissed by some cactus, AND you feel it may not be in YOUR wheelhouse, hehe, you might JUST be surprised. I know I was, and it IS going onto the rack. The only minor takeoff would be the very recessed Cactus, BUT, quite honestly, that's probably what kept me burning through THREE testers of this. If you want a cactus heavy flavor, or LOVE the cactus, you will need to boost there here. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but this one will score very high, and FAR higher than I would have ever expected. **9.5/10**. I STILL can't believe I like this flavor.
**Candied Blueberry (Flavorah) 1.75% (2-25-23)** -- 2nd on on deck, and at a markedy higher testing weight than the Cactus Aloe. At this testing weight, it presented as a nice, somewhat dark blueberry with a nice accurate "candied" aspect. Candied, is not jammed, nor sugared, but maybe in between sugared, and jammed. Flavorah did a really good job of getting that JUST right. Too little, it would turn into just a "sugared", too much and it would land into "jammed" territory. Just that ONE aspect was impressive alone. The blueberry felt about 75% natural / 25% artificial, and favored the mid and darker tones, BUT, with some bright high end sparkle and tartness on the finish. It was at about mid-level sweet and tasted actually quite good at this weight with no off-notes. No florals were present at this weight, BUT, it could possibly get squirrel-y if pushed too high. Though not overpowering the slight acidity, and tartness could easily be tamed, or "creamed" if you needed it more mellow. As it stood however, it had just enough kick to keep it interesting. The only minor take-offs would be for some missing richness, and fullness, as in comparison to a full spectrum BB. For a almost fully natural BB with a VERY authentic "candied"-ness, and a tarty finish this one DOES work, and it does it well. Easily near the top and placing it @ a **8.9/10**.
**Creamsicle (Flavorah) 1.25% / 2.5% (2-26-23)** -- Dedicating this flavor review out to @Chrispdx, my favorite creamsicle stalker. Smelling this in the bottle it smelled SPOT ON, and tasting it, revealed exactly the same. This is/was probably the most accurate orange creamsicle flavor I have tested to date. The creamy vanilla ice cream was almost perfectly paired with and equally good orange, with a slight tangerine finish which not only gave it a twist, but helped it break through the aforementioned vanilla creamy-ness. The two main notes were very evenly paired, and so much so, that you really couldn't tell which was in the lead. The on rush of the sweet, creamy vanilla ice cream carried through till the finish, and the orange/tangerine ramped up from the middle to end. At times I thought I might be getting a hint of orange/tangerine citrus oil, which just made it even more authentic. If you've ever eaten an orange creamsicle, you will be enjoying it all over again with this one. @ 1.25% it felt like it needed more presence, so I doubled it to 2.5%, and it did increase, but not linearly. At the double weight (and lower), there were no off-notes, and nothing to distract you from the experience. Even doubled, it was still a somewhat lighter flavor, so if needed, you could boost up the ice cream and/or orange if needed. It was just above mid-level sweet, and I had a really hard time marking this one down, with the only minor thing being a somewhat relaxed flavor. For a dead on accurate orange creamsicle, you won't want to be without this one. **9.6/10**.
**Dulce De Leche (Flavorah) 1.25%** -- This one was, and still is somewhat of a mystery to me, and after 3 testers, I'm STILL figuring it out. First off, it was good, REAL good, BUT, it wasn't like a DDL, at least like I expected. Most times when you test as much as I do, and you JUST fill up and taste, sometimes a flavor needs some time to "settle in", before you can really get a good sense of it. This one WAS like that, and at first, I could have sworn it was a cinnamon bun, wrapped up in a deliciously sweet creamy blanket. I even double checked the bottle, just to make sure. As the flavor "settled in", it transformed into more sweet and creamy, BUT, the cinnamon bun undertones never left. What was interesting was that I did get a good caramel, BUT, it was NOT the top note, and nor was the milk. Both were there, but almost like supporting characters, very present, but NOT the main star. Perhaps I was over thinking the cinnamon, and while in no way overpowering, just really kept me going back to a cinnamon bun just drenched in sweet creameries, with caramel, and light milk undertones. At times I wondered if it was more of a Mexican Cajeta, BUT, without the goat milk. Wow, this one WAS good, and very rich and satisfying at only 1.25%. While not what I had expected, it was a VERY good flavor, and dare I say, almost perfect by itself. No off-notes, and a few ticks above mid level sweet, this Creamy, Caramely, Milky, Cinnamon Bunny flavor was far more than I had expected. If any of the aforementioned appeals to you, you may want to pick this unique one up. Struggling with the scoring comparing to the more traditional DDL's I've had, it was just too hard to knock this one down. Leaving it very high @ **9.85/10**.
**Golden Kiwi (Flavorah) 1.5% / 2.25% (3-2-23)** -- When starting to test this one @ 1.5% although good, it felt a little flat, and lacking "pizzaz", so I increased it to 2.25% where it started to shine a bit more. More punch, pizzaz, and sparkle. Having never eaten a "golden" but tested 1, maybe 2 others I was somewhat familiar with the GK fruit. Missing were much/many of the typical Kiwi "green" notes, but a solid center of the Kiwi body was here. It was far mellower than most of my goto "green" Kiwis, and overall this was a somewhat relaxed flavor, even at the higher 2.25% rate. Good, fresh, with some slight sparkly, bright notes on the finish. At both testing weights there were no off-notes, florals, etc., and was was below mid level sweet. On my testing setup, the flavor had SOME juicy-ness, but ALSO, some dry-ness if that makes any sense. Overall, I think the best way to describe it would be a somewhat mellow, Kiwi, that centered around the mid notes, with a smidge of sparkle, and brightness on the finish. It presented as very natural, and fresh, and about the only takeoff would be for a somewhat "mellow"-ness, WHICH could have been by design and/or in keeping with it's "Golden" nature. Not the strongest flavor, and above 2.0% is where it started to open up. It felt solidly placed at **8.0/10**.
**Grapefruit Blend (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-2-23)** -- A little sweeter, and smoother than I had expected, and a hint of lime, were the immediate take-aways on this flavor. At first I thought maybe Flavorah had tempered in a little "pink" to try and tone down what can sometimes be an "aggressive" yellow grapefruit, but the more I tested, I didn't truly get much pink. It smelled just spot on in the bottle, almost like you'd just cut into a fresh grapefruit, and tasting it, it was a little sweeter and mellow-er. Now, even with that slight change from smelling to tasting, it still portrayed a very natural, somewhat juicy yellow grapefruit, JUST without some of the punch. It had plenty of the main juicy body, with all of the little dividers, and you could almost smell the zest, citrus oil that is released when you peel one. Whether or not the slight tempering (or taming) some of what could have been more aggressive notes is to your needs will depend. I've never seen or tried (if it/they exist), but it made me wonder what canned (in light syrup) grapefruit sections would taste like. At 1.5% it was good, but MIGHT be able to be pushed a little higher, maybe 2.0% without hitting the ceiling. It was just above mid level sweet, and did finish with a rather complex citrus sparkle which was primarily a light lime note. Not a lot, but just a little bit. All in, a pretty impressive, natural tasting yellow grapefruit, slightly mellowed/tempered into a nice sweet non-aggressive package, with just a hint of lime on the finish. It felt very good @ **8.85/10**.
**Guava Dark Berry (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-3-23)** -- This one was one of my favs when first cracking the bottles, so let's see it it continued to be. At first taste, there was NO confusing you had Guava in here, nice, juicy, pink guava in spades, AND, at only 1.5% Tempered in BELOW that was a very mysterious dark berry medley, that had an almost "jammy" quality to it/them. The ratio between the two main notes favored the pink guava at maybe 60% pink guava, 40% dark berries. At times I almost wished it had been more 50/50 just to help REVEAL what the dark berry medley was, BUT, in hindsight, it kept it more interesting, with it just below clear detection. The pink guava was very juicy, and had a fair amount of "punch" and "tang", and the dark berry medley, tempered it down just a bit. Although even after 3 testers I was no closer to identifying the black berry medley BUT it's effect was def. there. If you think that a juicy pink guava, tempered by a delicious dark berry medley is up your ally, this one WILL get it done for you. No off notes, and just at mid level sweet, this one again, was hard to kick down. Solidly placing it @ **9.5/10**.
**Hibiscus Sweet (Flavorah) 1% (3-5-23)** -- While never drinking, tasting, OR testing anything Hibiscus, we're going it here today. With no direct comparisons to pull from I'll just explain how this one tasted. Firstly, it was lightly floral (in a GOOD way), with some fruity undertones, that was both tart, and sweet. That literally sums it up, hehe, BUT, let's continue. This was a very unique flavor for me, and it proved to be a lighter flavor, but still very interesting. At 1% it was light, yet present, and the florals (intentional) were in no way off-putting, and actually worked to push and pull the underlying fruity-ness. While the fruit/fruity-ness could not really be identified, it's presence was tasted and worked nicely along side the light florals. Because it was a lighter flavor, it could be run over by heavier flavors in a mix, but it mixed judiciously I think you could really have some great successes. While not sharp or punchy per se, it was a brighter flavor, that would favor fruits, citrus, and maybe even beverages, where it could be blended, and used to accentuate supporting flavors. All in, it was a very good unique flavor, and even while lighter, I could see numerous uses for it's lightly floral/fruity notes. No off notes, bad florals, or any take offs with this one, other than being a lighter flavor. Surprised me, and it felt great @ **9.3/10**.
