Decadent Vapours Raspberry
ConcreteRiver
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for this, shoutout to Decadent Vapours for sending this to me.
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 12 wrap 24g 3.5mm SS316 @.32 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Decadent Vapours Raspberry, 5% and 10%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 16 days.
Flavor Description: Candied raspberry base, with some tarter top notes.
Pretty heavily sweet raspberry flavor. Thick, syrupy candied base here. Probably on par with INW raspberry for thickness. Top notes are a bit more tart and realistic but they feel pretty overwhelmed by that thicker base. Overall effect feels more syrupy and candied than a fresher raspberry flavor.
I am picking up some greener flavors out of this that don't quite mesh with the candied base. Feels a lot like the greener notes out of FA raspberry. Not overwhelming, but pretty noticeable at 10%. Doesn't really seem to have the corresponding perfumey floral note. This also picks up some of that ketchup vibe, pretty noticeable in the bottle, but not obnoxious vaped.
Decadent Vapours says this has: "a hint of cocoa," but I'm not really getting that at all. Could be that I'm not up at their recommended 20%, but this tastes bereft of cocoa to me. I do pick out just a little bit of vanilla, but it's not as aggressive as the vanillin in some of the peach/apricot flavors.
Comparing this to some of the other raspberries I've tried, this feels a lot like a greatest hits kind of raspberry. It has that heavy, syrupy vibe of INW Raspberry, some of the almost herbal muddiness of FA Raspberry, and just a touch of that patented TPA Sweet Raspberry kind of ketchup vibe.
Off-Flavors: Hint of vanilla, some muddy green notes, light bit of ketchup.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate, the tarter part of this is a bit harsh but nothing too pronounced.
Percentage testing: At 5%, clear candied raspberry base. That tarter, fresher is a pretty subtle accent here. Feels just a bit light and thin. Not noticing that vanilla, light ketchup note, and that green weirdness is pretty subtle.
At 10%, this is thick, syrupy, and a bit warm. Tartness seems maybe half a step in the background from the 5% test. Vanilla is creeping in, I pick up a still light but more noticeable ketchup, and the greener notes are sticking out a bit more.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably be using this an accent around 4%. I think it gets most of the point across while still leaving some room to work and avoiding the worst of the off notes. As a primary or solo flavor, I'd probably be closer to 8% where the base really fills in.
Uses & Pairings: Seems like more of a solo raspberry than anything else. It's a big, full flavor that doesn't seem to leave a lot of head room for other concentrates.
I think you could put this in a richer custard or ice cream base, although it maybe tastes a bit candied for anything but a really sweet raspberry sauce or a raspberry ripple. I think it will push around any lighter, fresher creams or even whipped creams.
Could work well in candy profiles where you're basically just adding texture.
Could stand to be brightened up with some citrus, but will stomp all over any more realistic fruit you try to pair it with.
Second Opinions: Not finding much out there about this one.