Intro

I’m quite embarrassed to say I’ve been working on Obsidian for more than 2 years. It’s been the longest recipe I’ve been working on to date. And to be honest, I’m not quite sure how close I am to finishing it. The thing with this recipe, that I’ve never done with any other recipes, is that this is a recipe that I want to be “perfected”. Now perfect is of course a subjective term, or framework, that only the creator has access to. The problem is, when will I know when the recipe is perfect?

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This version focuses on bringing more of a Peanut flavor into the recipe. It’s quite a departure from the original Obsidian’s flavor, which I think is why I don’t want to release this under the “gold” label. But nonetheless, the recipe is delicious. You get a soft cookie dough RY4, similar to Obsidian 1, with a rich Peanut Butter top note, finished with a light, sweet, tobacco leaf & raisin note. Both of these recipes need a bit of a steep to help blend down the RY4’s, caramels, and help push the peanut butter a bit deeper into the flavor.

 

TFA RY4 Double – 4%

FE RY4 Double – 1%

FLV Cookie – 0.75%

TFA Graham Cracker Clear – 1.25%

 

This is the “base” for these latest Obsidian recipes. When you strip back all the excess of Obsidian, what you’re really left with is FLV Cookie interacting with RY4 Double. I decided to use a bit of FE RY4 to bring a bit more “oomph”, but it is necessary – 5% TFA RY4 Double does ultimately the same thing. 0.75% of FLV Cookie is a bit on the lower side, but because this is a potent flavor, it’ll do the job adding in just enough chocolate chip cookie dough. Finally, the Graham Cracker helps pull forwards the top of the cookie notes. I tried many recipes without Graham Cracker and found they do lack a bit of “snap” to the cookie – Moreso, on the forefront of the flavor, and not the texture. While it helps the texture, this isn’t a very cookie-like vape. Overall, if you just want a solid RY4 with a slight nod to dessert, just mix up this base and you’ll be very happy.

 

 

Raisin Rum 1.25 – 1.75%

So, one new ingredient added to these builds is Raisin Rum. Raisin in one profile that doesn’t have many good options in the world of DIY. Many Raisins are often too grapey or added with a troubling Oatmeal ingredient. This raisin brings a sticky, deep, gooey-like flavor, but alongside it with some “rum” notes. Not only this, but it also seems to pack a bit of tobacco – similar to the type of flavor you get from FLV Red Burley. Because of this, it adds a matured, fruity accent, while also blending in nicely to the rich cookie, chocolate, and bakery notes. It’s really helped elevate Obsidian, by adding a bit of lateral dimension without any distraction or obstacles to overcome. It does however limit the overall overhead of left from the recipe.

SSA Peanut Butter – 2.5%

SSA Peanut Butter adds a wildly interesting dimension to the recipe. So initially, this ingredient was found to be a bit too present and a bit too distracting. SSA Peanut Butter is a wildly accurate “natural” style peanut butter, and it seemed to pull your attention a bit too much when it was first mixed in. But one thing remained, its deliciously velvety, nutty finish paired up so well with Obsidian. After a few tweaks to the recipe, I found it fits in beautifully. While I think it changes the overall vibe of Obsidian a bit too much to call it an official “V2” or “Gold Label” – this version is the reason I wanted to release these B-Sides recipes.

TFA Peanut Butter – 2.5%

This ingredient was the first Peanut Butter added to the recipe. I always loved how gritty TFA PB is, and how much it can add to the feel and texture of a vape. In Obsidian v1.3, it not only adds this, but also provides a much deeper base flavor to build from. Right off a shake, you get a punchy, bright, Obsidian flavor while also maintaining the rich, velvety, matured finish. When paired with RY4 and Raisin Rum, you’re left with a unique and distinct RY4/Bakery that lingers on the palate. However, this ingredient (as we all know too well) does like soften over time. It’s much more present right off a shake. So if you love the initial vape you get from mixing with this, you’ll want to vape your Obsidian as quickly as possible. However, I find I enjoy it more as an accent and base layer enhancer, rather than a main note like with SSA Peanut Butter.

FLV Sweet & Smokey Tobacco – 1%

Lastly, with Obsidian v1.3 because we’re using the more subdued TFA Peanut Butter as opposed to the vivid SSA PB, we do have a more blended mix. In order to help break things up a bit more, we can do 2 things, add another bright poppy note, or add in a stark deep note. I chose the latter, and that’s where FLV S&S comes in. This provides a tobacco note that helps pull the overall brightness of the recipe down, help break up the profiles a bit, while also adding a nice smokey, lightly ashy, tobacco to the recipe. This ingredient does bring a magnifying punch to the flavor, but after it sits, blends in much more nicely – helping give a more balanced feel to v1.3.

 

Buy the Obsidian DIY One-Shot here!