Tips for a noob please

[ayeaye]

HiI am not new to mixing, however I am new to taking mixing seriously. In the past ive never written anything down, made stuff up basd on my experience as a bartender LOL, just using alcohol based super concentrates as they are pretty hard to mess up. So, ive never counted drops - but notice some are smaller than others. Im guessing with each new brand I have (FW, Capella, TFA/TPA) I just count and drop into the top of the syrnge and then remember per brand the drops per ml required?As currently I just draw straight from the bottle and measure against the graded line. Is there anything wrong or negligent about just mixing with alcohol based super concentrates? It just seems too easy, or I fluke every mix!!! What are the other things I could be mindful of?Many thanks.

 

[Purplefowler]

If it works for you then stick with it. Obviously you need to measure the nicotene carefully but as long as you know the proportions of your mix it should be fine. We all do things differently so there is no right or wrong (personally I use some jewelry scales and do it by weight).

 

[ayeaye]

Oh yes I test and measure my nicotine properly, gosh I just realised how tragic that came across!

 

[Dr_Puff]

Wouldn't say thats tragic, would say that's sensible.

Check out the calculator here for initial mix % - then take it from there.



Planet of the Vapes - E-Liquid Mixing Calculator

 

[Fleabag]

Almost all my concentrates are Fantasy Fudge extra strength food flavourings, and I measured the drops into a syringe to determine how many per ml.
As for mixing - whatever works for you. You're used to blending flavours, so it's quite an easy process for you (I find that my experience of mixing scents helps) - plus I think it's useful if you're quite a creative type anyway.
For ratios, I've tested & reviewed all the flavours on their own, so I already know which ones are particularly stronger or weaker than average. The first mix is done mostly on instinct and experience of each flavour - so I know that if nutmeg, cinnamon, Aniseed or cream are going into the mix, they need to be added much more sparingly than other ingredients to get a good balance.
I tend to start with a 5ml mix at about 10% flavour, so this allows me to increase and adjust it - so if one flavour is really overwhelming, I can increase the blend to 10ml and double other flavours to balance it out.
Once I get that first blend in the bottle, I judge it by sniff-test - if it smells OK, I'll add the nic & base VG/PG & test it straight away - if it seems close to what I'm looking for, I'll leave it at that and allow it to steep over a week or two (though if it already tastes good, I'll use a bit of it along the way). If first test is really strong or weak on one or more ingredient, I'll tweak it a bit there.
Based on how that first bottle vaped, I'll either make up more copying the recipe, tweak it a little on the next batch if flavour balance was a little out, or abandon the project if the idea turned out to be not my cup of tea.

I find this works for me, and results in more successes than failures
When looking for inspiration in the first place, I have sometimes tootled through a few cocktail websites

 

[ayeaye]

Almost all my concentrates are Fantasy Fudge extra strength food flavourings, and I measured the drops into a syringe to determine how many per ml.
As for mixing - whatever works for you. You're used to blending flavours, so it's quite an easy process for you (I find that my experience of mixing scents helps) - plus I think it's useful if you're quite a creative type anyway.
For ratios, I've tested & reviewed all the flavours on their own, so I already know which ones are particularly stronger or weaker than average. The first mix is done mostly on instinct and experience of each flavour - so I know that if nutmeg, cinnamon, Aniseed or cream are going into the mix, they need to be added much more sparingly than other ingredients to get a good balance.
I tend to start with a 5ml mix at about 10% flavour, so this allows me to increase and adjust it - so if one flavour is really overwhelming, I can increase the blend to 10ml and double other flavours to balance it out.
Once I get that first blend in the bottle, I judge it by sniff-test - if it smells OK, I'll add the nic & base VG/PG & test it straight away - if it seems close to what I'm looking for, I'll leave it at that and allow it to steep over a week or two (though if it already tastes good, I'll use a bit of it along the way). If first test is really strong or weak on one or more ingredient, I'll tweak it a bit there.
Based on how that first bottle vaped, I'll either make up more copying the recipe, tweak it a little on the next batch if flavour balance was a little out, or abandon the project if the idea turned out to be not my cup of tea.

I find this works for me, and results in more successes than failures
When looking for inspiration in the first place, I have sometimes tootled through a few cocktail websites

Thank you so much for the post - I minimize the relevance my mixology skills with alcohol have on my ability to crank out good juices. The problem with me is that I have no real high end juice tasting experience to compare my flavours to. Its so expensive to get them shipped down here, DIY is most common.

Again, thanks for all the info - esp knowing you mix at 10% to start with in 5mls. If you are still reading, do you smell anything between each liquid you smell like how in perfumeries they encourage you to sniff coffee beans to stop your nose getting confused? And knowing you put the nic in last - see I never think of that. I measure the nic first, then the vg, insert flavour after flavour and so on, then top up with pg and then shake it and leave it with the lid off for a few days as the norm is here. So you must have little vials or something? I pour straight into a 10ml bottle.

 

[Fleabag]

Thank you so much for the post - I minimize the relevance my mixology skills with alcohol have on my ability to crank out good juices. The problem with me is that I have no real high end juice tasting experience to compare my flavours to. Its so expensive to get them shipped down here, DIY is most common.

Again, thanks for all the info - esp knowing you mix at 10% to start with in 5mls. If you are still reading, do you smell anything between each liquid you smell like how in perfumeries they encourage you to sniff coffee beans to stop your nose getting confused? And knowing you put the nic in last - see I never think of that. I measure the nic first, then the vg, insert flavour after flavour and so on, then top up with pg and then shake it and leave it with the lid off for a few days as the norm is here. So you must have little vials or something? I pour straight into a 10ml bottle.

I mix it directly into the bottle. Don't need to sniff anything else, as I'm not flitting between flavours in one blend session.
I mix concentrates first because a) it's a stronger smell, so easier to determine any imbalance and b) if it's just not working, I've not squandered any base
I mix up unflavoured base in bulk (with an assumption of around 10% flavour), so once the mix seems right, I just top up with base

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