Liquid Barn Banana
ConcreteRiver
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for these, they were sent to me by Liquid Barn. Shout out to Liquid Barn.
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.14 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Liquid Barn Banana, 4 and 7%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 16 days.
Flavor Description: A softer banana taffy flavor with some light realistic accents underneath. Seems to have some fading issues.
There is a pretty sizable hit of artificial banana in here. It isn't particularly sharp or too aggressive, but it's right at the front of the flavor. I'd say its more of a taffy type of banana because of that softness, instead of a hyper-saturated sugary banana runt. The artificial part of the banana seems pretty similar to the kind of banana in LA Banana Cream.
There is something a bit more nuanced underneath. I get some slightly underripe realistic banana notes. Slightly green, but like actual banana green. Not as underripe as FA Banana, but some of that same vibe. It's definitely sitting in the back of the flavor and only shows up when that candy banana calms down a bit after steeping.
This flavor is relatively soft, and if you check the second opinions section, seems to have some fading issues on the steep. After steeping, it's probably a bit more realistic, but it gets a bit subtle as that more intense candy banana starts to fade. This has sort of creamy mouthfeel because of the softness, but it doesn't have any kind of actual dairy note to it. Sweetness level isn't full on candy, maybe a step sweeter than actual banana but nothing crazy.
Off-flavors: More banana candy than actual banana. Besides that, nothing chemical or unpleasant at tested percentages.
Throat Hit: Nah. Very smooth.
Percentage testing: Testing these liquid barn flavors, I just mixed a tester at the suggested percentage, then another sample at half that rounded up to the nearest full percentage if applicable.
At 4% I get a candy forward banana, but that more realistic banana is in there as an accent. Flavor feels a bit on the thin side and kind of soft.
7% isn't radically different, although that candy banana is coming through a bit clearer and that flavor is a bit less thin and more creamy.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably be mixing this close to the suggested percentage of 7% and even then it's probably not going to be standing up to more aggressive flavors as a primary note in a mix.
Uses & Pairings: This might be a bit of a challenge to mix with, the more realistic banana base here is probably going to get lost really easily in a mix and that candy banana seems to fade out. I'd stay on the relatively simple side with it.
Similar kind of applications as LA Banana Cream, more useful for adding a banana taffy, or banana cream type of banana and then vaping relatively quickly. I do think that LA Banana Cream has the edge here, but this isn't a bad alternative except for the fading issues.
Should work fine as a background in fruit mixes, softer flavor to put up against acidic bright fruits like orange and pineapple.
Candy here is mellow enough to work with cream bases as well.
Makes a fairly convincing single flavor banana vape at 7% as a S&V.
Second Opinions:
Here's the ELR Page. User "jojo" writes: "4% (SnV - it’s no Ripe banana, but it’s not bad. Kinda weak. 1 week - up % a little but tastes like banana laffy taffy. 2 weeks - Definitely getting banana taffy. 3 weeks - gotten a little lighter on flavor. 5 weeks - same. Seems like banana tends to fade quickly in general. Still a good banana flavor, but much weaker than it started out.)" Mixing up a bit of this as a S&V, I'd concur on the fading. The flavors still there, but it's gotten a lot softer after the steep.