Flavorah Cotton Candy
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.17 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: FLV Cotton Candy @ 1% and 1 drop per 10ml (about .25%), 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 7 days.
Flavor Description: Gritty, dry spun sugar. No real "flavor" on it's own, mostly a texutured sweetness. I was hoping this wasn't just ethyl maltol, but it seems like at least some of what's going on here. Testing it side by side with 1% TPA 10% Ethyl Maltol, they have a lot of the same dry spun sugar texture. FLV Cotton Candy doesn't seem to have the slight chemical off-note that the straight EM has, and FLV Cotton Candy is a bit sweeter with less dryness at the same percentages. FLV Cotton Candy also seems to have bit of marshmallow fluffiness in addition to the spun sugar grit and maybe just a hint of vanilla here that you can feel in the top notes, as opposed to being a distinct taste.
Testing this solo, not a ton going on. Inhale is obviously sweet, and moderately dense. I'm not getting anything but sweetness. More of a white sugar note as opposed to sucralose, with a moderate amount of grittiness and texture. Exhale is again, just textured sugar. I feel like there is some subtle vanilla in the top notes, more of a mouthfeel thing than a clear flavor. Exhale moves from kind of gritty to fluffy. Finishes like a really clean marshmallow flavor. Sweetness overall is not overwhelming, but pretty solid. A bit of dryness along with that gritty then fluffy mouthfeel.
Off-flavors: Not as many as some of other cotton candy flavors. Lacking the chemical tinge of straight EM. Tastes a good deal like straight white sugar, and the mouthfeel is a fairly good approximation of cotton candy.
Throat Hit: Light. Nothing all that bad. Harshness on this closer to something like FW Blueberry Cotton Candy, as opposed to much harsher CAP Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy.
Uses & Pairings: This should work as a cotton candy base without any major issues. I'd go for brighter candy flavors like Strawberry or Blue Raspberry. Your basic blue or pink cotton candy. Could work with some other fruits, but I'd avoid anything too juicy to preserve the texture here.
As a sweetener or additive, use is pretty versatile. Some kind of EM component here, so it seems to boost the inherent sweetness of flavors. The added sweetness beyond the EM component is going to work more like sucralose and give the entire mix a sweetness boost. Trying this S&V with FW Blood Orange, I'm getting some of the EM rounding on the sharper citrus notes while boosting the sweetness like sucralose.
Notes: S&V concentration testing, this is noticeable but light at .25% and .5%. Probably more useful as a sweetener at this level. At 1%, I'm starting to get a fuller cotton candy mouthfeel and sweetness. 1.5% is a solid cotton candy base. Solid sweetness and defined mouthfeel. 2% is doable, but maybe a little intense if you're not a huge fan of super sweet mixes. 3% is too sweet and a bit harsh. Some bitterness and the dryness up this high. I'd recommend starting with this at .25% as a sweetener, and 1.25% as a cotton candy base.
Second Opinions:
Not a ton.