Flavour Art VaPimms
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.13 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: FA VaPimms @ 1 and 2.5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 18 days.
Flavor Description: Another Flavourart UK blend. This one is apparently modelled on a Pimm's cup or a blend of Pimm's liqueur, gin, and fruit. What I get out of this is primarily juniper, citrus peel, and clove. It's been a long time since I've actually had Pimm's, but it seems like it's in the ballpark. I'd say it's heavy on the clove, but I get flavor blind to clove relatively quickly and it fades to something more like a banana flavor. Dry, spicy, citrus zest flavor. I'm guessing it's bergamot, but it could just be a lemon zest. There's a green flavor to this, some of it's probably the juniper from the gin, but I feel like there may be a bit of cucumber in here as well. Some fruitiness, especially at slightly higher percentages but that spice note seems to take over. Dry for something supposedly modelled on a beverage. The traditional mixers with Pimm's are apparently lemonade and ginger ale, and I could see those working really well to fill this out and some beverage-esque qualities. I also think this would benefit from a hit of mint or some other kind of cooling. I'd use this around 3% for a primary note and build around it.
Inhale is spice forward. Clove note, with some dryer citrus zest. Has that clove-y slightly peppery note I get from FA Bergamot. Some sweetness underneath, but that spice is taking center stage. Inhale is moderately dense. Pretty intense but not harsh. Exhale starts off with a soft fruity base. Seems pretty indistinct, but it has an apple or pear softness. Some tarter citrus in there. There is a lot going on in the top notes here. Clove spice, citrus zest, Woody Juniper all sort of blending into a distinct herbal or bitters taste. I get some green flavor on the tail end of the exhale, could easily be cucumber or just some herbal depth from the gin. Dryer mouthfeel, that clove seems to be taking it away from a beverage vape. Some citrus waxiness right on the tail end. Relatively clean finish for everything going on here.
Off-flavors: It's been a while, so I'm not 100% sure what belongs and doesn't belong. I will say the clove note seems way high here. Texture is also too dry for a solo beverage vape.
Throat Hit: Light. Aggressive flavors, but not really harsh.
Uses & Pairings: Needs some help coming across as an actual beverage. Go all Wimbeldon and throw in some lemonade. Ginger Ale would be nice. I could see Iced Tea. I think adding this to a cola is going to drag it closer to a more interesting, naturalish cola rather than straight Coke. It may even get you in the neighborhood of Moxie. You could also up the herbals with a bit of FLV Lovage, Basil or even some FA Zen Garden. Some cooling would also be nice.
Outside of shooting for a pimms cup type of beverage, this could be used as a slightly different take on bitters in your cocktail vapes. Should pair well with even more gin or whiskey. Reminds me of a toned down version of INW Shisha Punch.
Notes: Concentration testing, at 1% this seems awfully clove heavy. More spice than anything else down this low. 1.5% has a bit more depth to it, but the clove (or whatever the hell I'm misidentifying this spice note as) is still up front. 2% gives you a rounder flavor. The juniper from the gin and some of that greener flavor is starting to show through a bit. Citrus zest is a bit more identifiable. At 2.5% the fruit is becoming a factor. Really hard to distinguish what exactly I should be tasting, but there's a baseline fruitiness which is helping to soften things up. 3% has about as much bright fruit as I get out of this. Juniper seems to be letting a bit more cucumber through. 4% is tasting pretty bitter. I'm happy with this around 2.5-3%.
Second Opinions: