Inawera Cactus Lime
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: INW Cactus Lime @1%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 10 days.
Flavor Description: Pretty much just a mix of INW Cactus and INW Lime. Tastes maybe a bit heavier on the cactus than the lime, if I had to guess this is maybe 75% Cactus, 25% lime although don't quote me on that. With some random S&V testing of a mix of cactus and lime, I'd say the main difference is that this is a bit softer, but a lengthy steep would probably make them fairly indistinguishable.
Inhale is dense. Solid, cactus (has always reminded me of a severely underripe banana) flavor and a building soft lime zest. None of the real sharp zest flavor from a solo lime flavor. Fairly sweet as well, with some lighter floral aloe notes. Exhale is still really dense, but a little less juicy than straight cactus. That cactus is right up front in the base, with some higher lime juice notes and a really solid sweetness. Exhale is fairly clean, without either the lingering bitterness from the lime or the more vegetal muck of straight cactus.
Off-flavors: These flavors do a really good job of cleaning each other up. The lime essentially negates some of the green weirdness you can get out of cactus...
Throat Hit:... and the cactus smooths any of the harshness you'd normally get out the lime. It's a really neat trick, actually.
Uses & Pairings: This is actually a pretty good single flavor. Nice and balanced without anything sticking out too far. The cactus reels in the lime a bit, while the lime keeps the cactus going too floral and aloe-ish.
If you aren't going to use it as a a single flavor, then basically stick it wherever you want some cactus with a lime touch. Going to pair well prety much any kind of fruit. I'm a fan of cactus with non-creamy vanillas or sweeter florals, and I think the lime would further complement those.
Great beverage vape ingredient, adding mouthfeel and a touch of cactus while reinforcing citrus. I dare say this probably a great jump-off for a margarita recipe.
Not crazy juicy like Cactus, but it does a good job of thickening without moistening.
Notes:
S&V concentration, the balance here really does work to make this a more forgiving than either component is solo. Under 1%, this reads as a more interesting cactus flavor, with the lime in the accent role. At about 1-1.5%, the lime starts to show up as more of a identifiable flavor. The balance on this is great at 2%, with bright citrus showing up alongside a deeper cactus smoothness and sweetness. By 3%, I feel like the lime is taking over a bit and the citrus is getting really prominent. At 4%, this is getting too zesty and bitter and the aloe is starting to show through pretty clear. Mixing with this, I'd recommend starting at 1.5% as an accent note for fruits, 2% for a solo, or 3% in beverage vapes where the bright lime is key.
So I was wondering if this was substantially different than INW Cactus mixed with INW Lime, and as far as I can tell it isn't. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as I'm a big fan of both of these flavors and they blend really well... it just makes this concentrate fairly inessential as you can just pick up Lime and Cactus and mix something more tailored to your taste.
Second Opinions:
Almost nothing on this concentrate specifically.
Running with the idea that this probably just a mix of INW Cactus and INW Lime, here are the flavor reviews.