Decadent Vapours Vanilla Custard
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 @.30 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Decadent Vapours Vanilla Custard, 5% and 10%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 60 days. Flavor Description: Fairly aggressive vanilla here. Feels like a french vanilla type, weighted a bit heavier toward sweet and bright rather than dark and spicy. Vanilla steamrolls the custard a little bit and seems to push around the custard notes.
Moderately prominent custard underneath all that vanilla. Pretty solid eggy note, but maybe not as rich as I’d guess given the relative prominence of that richer custard note. Feels a bit warm and moderately full. No really pronounced dairy here. I’m not really picking up a thicker cream or buttery backup. Nothing sour or butyric though. I’m not tasting any spice or anything else really unexpected.
There’s a sort of dryness here for me, and I’m thinking it’s a fairly heavy hit of maltol. I have the same issue with Capella’s vanilla custard v1, it ends reading a bit chalky for me. I’d guess that if you don’t have the same reaction to something like CAP Vanilla Custard, this wouldn’t seem nearly as dry. Overall a solid, but not really heavy or rich mouthfeel. FWIW, this is apparently Diacetyl and Acetyl Propinyl free, and it does a fairly good job of bringing some body to the table without having either diacetyl or a heavy butyric note.
Closest comparison for me with other custards would probably be that Capella Vanilla Custard. This has a really similar flavor without the buttery richness that the Diacetyl in V1 brings to table.
Off-Flavors: Not really, although that vanilla feels too aggressive for that custard base.
Throat Hit: Fairly smooth, probably? I get a good amount of maltol dryness out of this, but beyond that nothing harsh.
Percentage testing: At 5%, I feel like I’m getting a solid vanilla custard flavor, but not much body or depth. Vanilla forward, light custard. Feels top heavy though.
At 10%, i’m getting a lot of vanilla with some eggier custard accents. Seems to be getting just a bit chalky for me. Moderate thickness without any really heavy buttery low-end to this.
DV ballparks 20%, but that vanilla is already plenty aggressive for me at 10% and I don’t really see this getting magically richer up that high. Just based on these tests, I’d be between 10-12% as fuller custard base or maybe 4-5% as a custard component in a mix.
Uses & Pairings: As a custard base, I’d basically use this like CAP VC1 without the exotic lung danger. Should pair well with the usual custard suspects including caramel, brighter fruits, and tobacco. Without that heavy DAAP punch this isn’t going to layer as well and won’t do as solid of a job of sitting in the right place in a recipe, but it’s a pretty good option that isn’t either vomity or lemony.
Second Opinions: Another bulk or wholesale flavor. I’m not really seeing anything out there on this.