DIY E-liquid Recipe Reviews:
Byakko – Apple Fritter
This recipe is Byakko’s first submission. The flavor is a simple apple “fritter” complete with all the cinnamon and spice necessary. The apple is subdued. It’s a lightly baked flavor, but its unmistakably “Fuji” tasting – which is tough when using FA Fuji. Then on the finish you’re greeted with a soft and mellow donut flavor that has a bit more flour and “uncooked dough” flavor than I hoped. It’s not a terrible note, it just softens the already soft recipe. And of course the use of CDS and Rich Cinnamon give us a nice splash of cinnamon sugar. The issue with this recipe is that it’s quite similar to all other CDS / Fuji / Rich Cinnamon recipes. I find it needs to really bring something unique to impress in this profile. It’s nicely balanced, there’s nothing really “wrong” with the flavor. It’s just a soft, boring, apple pie mix.
Final Score:
2.5 / 5
Dampflion – d0nc0rl30n3
This is another “first timer”. Doncorleone comes at us with an intriguing Mango Strawberry Yogurt mix, with a cooling finish. I really like this recipe. It’s hard, in my opinion, to mess up using FA Indian Mango. It packs such a nice flavor, and pairing it here with VTA Shisha Mango provides a vibrant mango note. Then you get a nice rich yogurty finish thanks to FLV Greek and Creamy Milky. I will say that the strawberry is a bit too light, and while present, could use a touch more support. The problem I have with this recipe is that its quite muddled. There is absolutely no stage, with all the flavors kind of slammed into the mids. This provides a “boring” flavor experience. A nice pleasant taste, but easily forgettable.
Recipe Score:
3 / 5
Event Horizons – Sturkrazee (WINNER)
[vcc-recipe-hook recipe=28120]
Finally we move to the winner, Sturkrazee’s Event Horizon. This is a licorice / anise / cooling type recipe for the small minority (like myself) who love these types of flavors. Instead of going the more traditional “berry” route – Sturkrazee decided to add Sweet Currant and Cherry. And I love it! I think the flavor profile works out really well. The absinthe hits you with that traditional licorice flavor that’s a bit sweeter than others, then the fruits come right behind, finished with a cooling mint. I love the sweetness of the currant mixed with the cherry – a very nice fruit base. It does however get very close to that “Robotussin” flavor, luckily the sweetness helps it not get there. My biggest critique is that it needs a bit more focus and I’d love to see it “darker”. I think it’s too sweet and too candied. But man is it tasty.
Recipe Score:
3.5 / 5
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