Decadent Vapours Sasparilla
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.16 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Decadent Vapours Sasparilla @ %3, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 26 days.
Flavor Description: I'm not familiar with actual sasparilla soda, but with that said, this tastes like herbal bazooka joe pink bubblegum. It's definitely interesting. Sort of similar to root beer, but with a more subdued wintergreen note, heavier anise, and lot less creamy caramel sweetness. DV's website calls it "A delectable balance of bold flavours; vanilla, caramel, wintergreen and licorice." Yeah, I can definitely pick all those out, but I dare you not to pick up a traditional pink bubblegum here.
Inhale is mostly anise top notes with an almost marshmallow fluffy sweetness. Exhale hits you with that pink bubblegum up front. Anise top notes again, with some wintergreen and a tiny bit of cooling showing up towards the back end of the exhale. Base flavor is like a thick cream soda sweetness with some flatter non-floral vanilla. Moderately dense overall. Top notes read a bit bitter and leave a lingering medicinal kind of taste. Sweetness seems a bit low at first blush, but I think that's because I was expecting more of a "root beer" flavor. Taking this on it's own merits, sweetness level is doing the job.
Off-flavors: Nah. Pretty much what they say on the box.
Throat Hit: Nope, but some mouth numbing.
Uses & Pairings: Your boutique old-tyme root beer recipes. Per FDA regulations, legally requires a handle bar moustache somewhere on the label.
I think my preferred use is going to be a solo flavor. Complex, herbal, and sweet all the same time.
Notes:
S&V concentration testing, 3% gives you a good helping of each flavor in the concentrate but it's lacking the punch for a solo flavor. 4% seems to be a bit more wintergreen forward, with a more noticeable cooling. by 6%, it's seem pretty anise-forward but that sweeter cream soda will show up with a steep. 8% is getting sweet enough it just reads as weird pink bubblegum. I'd mix with this at 3% in a root beer or sasparilla recipe with some creamy caramel and wintergreen backup. I'd recommend 6% solo.
Second Opinions:
Someone's published a recipe with this, I'll give you one guess who it was.
Youtube review. I'm really starting to dig this guys juice reviews. Bonus, the review after it involves someone actually trying to break down a "Maple Hot Wings" flavor.