(Critique) Smother U by Kocanda

 

The Critique

Smother U was created by Matthew Kocanda, aka Cokecan, as an attempt to recreate the soft gooey nature within a toasted marshmallow. Over the recipe is a delicious flavor where mouthfeel and vape experience shine, but lack a bit in accuracy to the aforementioned flavor profile it seeks to be. 

Flavor 

The flavor of this recipe is great. It's rich, its thick, yet fluffy. One thing I think this recipe does well is translate the weight of a real toasted marshmallow. Marshmallows are usually light and fluffy, but once toasted, become a bit more dense and sticky, and I feel this recipe does a pretty good job of emulating that. I also enjoy the longevity of the recipe. This is not going to be a recipe you get sick of quickly, and if you're a fan of the profile, I can easily see this being an ADV for many. There's zero to none throat hit, just smooth, fluffy clouds of dairy, cream, and vanilla. It does fall behind a bit on the front end. It seems the flavor is all on the back, but luckily because of the profile, it doesn't affect the enjoyment of the flavor too much. 

Risk/Innovation

One thing I want to stress about this recipe is its innovation. One, in the profile itself. Usually you'll see marshmallow recipes, but they go and tackle the "traditional" marshmallow. The store bought, in the bag, type marshmallow. So what Matt did here was take that idea, and put it over a fire. And trying to emulate that soft gooey inside flavor, with toasted edges, was pretty cool. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's innovative enough for me to appreciate it. Next we see that he has innovated in the way the recipe was put together. Adding bakery flavors, like JF Yellow Cake, and CAP Sugar Cookie (along with the obvious TFA Toasted Marshmallow) was a smart move. I really enjoyed this play because he wanted to introduce that "toasted" flavor without introducing a "burnt" flavor. It's quite difficult to do, especially when dealing with creams, but utilizing those bakeries to do so was smart. 

Accuracy

Unfortunately, that's kind of where the recipe takes a turn for the worse. I said this in the video and I'll say it again, I'm the type of person that can taste every bit of JF Yellow Cake, especially its off-notes. And unfortunately in this recipe, choosing that ingredient has really pulled me away from the profile he wants to display. The off-notes from JF Yellow Cake clash with the overall profile of the recipe and it just places the flavor I get into a different realm. Also, using Sugar Cookie, while I think was smart, didn't do the recipes accuracy any justice. So what I end up tasting when vaping this recipe is something more close to a "Malted Milkshake" or "Marshmallow Cream Pie". I think if Cokecan just heads back to the drawing board, he'll be able to find that specific ingredient that gives the marshmallow its toasted flavor, without compromising the overall flavor profile. 

Recipe Score:

7.75 / 10

While the recipe tastes good, is a pleasure to vape, and there's some innovation in the idea, the execution and accuracy is lacking, leaving a flavor profile that's more "traditional" and "uninteresting" than it could have otherwise been.

 

 

 

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