Flavor Express Rainbow Sherbet
ConcreteRiver
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for these, shoutout to ECX for sending them to me.
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 12 wrap 24g 3.5mm SS316 @.31 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Flavor Express Rainbow Sherbert, 1% and 3%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 20 days.
Flavor Description: Bright, fruity sherbert with a moderately thick base and some light floral weirdness.
Appropriately sherbert-ish fruit base. Description calls out raspberry, orange, and lemon and I could see it. Brighter artificial fruit flavors with a slightly chalky edge that meld together well. Leads with a brighter, tart raspberry type flavor that's going just a bit floral. Orange comes on next, again on the artificial side, but fairly saturated. Softer orange flavor, fits with the sherbert profile. I wouldn't pick out the lemon if it wasn't mentioned, but that orange is a bit tarter than I'd expect, so it's probably doing what it needs to do. Lightly bitter hint of lemon zest after the sweetness dies down from the orange. That floral note from the raspberry seems to come back after the lemon dies down a bit and kind of lingers on the exhale.
Overall balance between the fruit and cream is pretty good. Lighter ice cream base, not as thick and buttery as something like a VBIC, but you do get enough richness for the profile. Cream does a solid job of soaking up those heavier fruit notes without really overselling and tasting like a fruit ice cream as opposed to a sherbet.
Mouthfeel here is fairly heavy for the FE/SC genre of flavors. I'd call it moderately thick overall, but I do get drier thinness toward the end of the exhale as that lemon zest and floral note kicks in harder. Density seems just a bit frontloaded on the exhale. Sweet enough to come across as a sherbet. Tastes a bit sweet and artificial, but stops short of straight candy.
Off-flavors: The fruit here is a bit chalky and artificial, which is probably a fit for the profile. There's also a bit of a lightly chemical, floral edge though. It shows up right on the tail end of the exhale and leaves a slightly strange, bitter aftertaste.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate. Fruit is a bit tart and throaty, but the cream calms it down a bit.
Percentage testing: At 1%, this feels a bit fruit heavy. Tart raspberry and citrus without a ton of body and chalkier feel, and I'm not getting much cream. Floral notes are pretty restrained overall, but feels just a bit unsatisfying.
At 3%, some more of that cream shows up and the fruit feels a bit fuller. Less of that chalky mouthfeel, and more fully saturated. I am getting more of that bitter, floral off-note from the end of the exhale.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably be using this around 2-2.5%. I like the vibrancy of the fruit that high even with the floral off notes. This flavor has a lot going on, feels like more of a primary flavor than something you'd want to use an accent.
Uses & Pairings: To build this out into a fuller sherbert I'd add a bit of additional cream. You could go with your VBIC of choice, although CAP or FW would probably be a safer bet just to keep the richness in control. You could also go with TPA Vanilla Swirl if you wanted to play with that chalky sherbert texture. You could also add some FA Polar Blast or WS-23 for a colder mouthfeel. I'd avoid straight Koolada, as that can get a bit cardboard-y up against the chalkier sherbet.
Outside of just a sherbert, it wouldn't be a bad base for a candy using raspberry and orange with some additional sweetening. Or add it to additional Citrus like CAP Lemon Lime for one of those weird sherbert and 7up punches.
Second Opinions: I can't find much substantive out there.
Here's the product page from ECX. Their description: "Enjoy the flavor of sweet cream paired with orange, raspberry, and hints of lemon that is Rainbow Sherbert by Flavors express! This flavor is very versatile and pairs well with other fruit, bakery and custard type recipes!"