Liquid Barn Belgian Waffle
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 @.17 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Liquid Barn Belgian Waffle, 4 and 8% @ 1g/ml, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 32 days.
Flavor Description: I'm having some issues with this one, so maybe check the second opinions because at least some people are having a better time with this.
I'm not really picking up that much waffle. I get some light, pale yellow kind of eggo perfume out of it, but I'm missing almost all the body that I'd expect. There's a bit of volume to the waffle but not a whole lot of waffle flavor to fill it out. What I do get is a little bready but not really crunchy. More of a thawed eggo than toasted.
There's a little bit of buttery richness here, but it's doing the same thing a lot of the richer liquid barn flavors do for me and gives a richer mouthfeel than actual flavor. The data sheet for this reports 1,100 ppm acetyl propionyl so I'm guessing it should taste a lot more buttery than does. The butter I do get works pretty well, but overall this feels like it should taste a lot richer than it does.
Liquid barn calls this "drenched" in syrup. I wouldn't go that far. You've got some plastic bottle grade maple syrup going on. More just sweet than overwhelmingly maple. Overall, there isn't a ton of it, but it works pretty well with that eggoish vibe and light butter.
I am picking up some weird off-flavors though. At the suggested 8% I'm picking up something that tastes a little anise-ish. With the sweeter syrup it's almost like some one made a waffle with good and plenties instead of chocolate chips. Not as prominent at 4%, but still present. Kind of like the weird anise note in CAP Yellow Cake or FA Nonna's Cake. It could maybe an attempt at vanilla? There's also something that feels a lot like cinnamon in here. Not super prominent but distracting.
While this has a lot of the flavors from the profile, it just doesn't work for me in texture. I'm just getting a weird, lukewarm, light waffle with light butter and some watery syrup. I'm not getting anything too crispy or even all the bready.
Off-flavors: I get a good deal of anise out of this, especially at 8%. I also get some errant cinnamon occasionally. Texture is thin and the syrup feels a bit watery.
Throat Hit: Moderate? The base of the flavor feels a bit harsh, and then that cinnamon kicks up some throat hit as well.
Percentage testing: At 4% I'm not getting much out of this. Kind of buttery on the lips, and some maple/anise syrup and cinnamon spice. I'm not picking much waffle at all.
At 8% I'm getting a bit more waffle, but I definitely still want more. That anise note is also showing up quite a bit more for me here. Maple isn't overwhelming, and this has a bit more butter, but still feels a bit thin overall.
Liquid barn suggests mixing this at 8%, although that anise thing is pretty distracting for me there. I'd probably be closer to 5-6% trying to avoid the worst of it.
Uses & Pairings: I think if you were using this you'd have to bump up the butter, and the waffle, and probably the maple. For an eggo-ish flavor I like Capella a bit more, and for something more continental, you've got other options.
Second Opinions:
Noted did an episode on waffles and pancakes and this was one of the included flavors. Talk about this flavor starts about 19 minutes in. CheebaSteeba likes it, but other reactions were a little more lukewarm. Selected quotes include: "better than" some of the other options. "Nothing weird." "It's okay." "Eggo Waffle with some butter and syrup, but such a thin amount that you'll have to supplement it." "Bready body." "Not super rich." "Thin layer." "Some warmth."
Here's the ELR Page. User "jojo" writes: "6% (SnV - weak and kind of nondescript. 10 days - better. Still a little weak but getting more sweetness and what tastes like a hint of cinnamon. 2 weeks - not much here. 3 weeks - seems pretty nice now. With some butter and maple, it’d probably be a good waffle. 5 weeks - back to being weak. I’d up % a little if it’s supposed to be the main flavor and make sure it was vaped around 3-4 weeks.)" User "hockeyfish" writes: "Tested at 9% @ 3.5 weeks - very week. taste a little maple syrup on inhale and really nothing on exhale. Tested at 12% @ 1 week - very nice maple syrup taste, not much waffle really, maybe a bit of cinnamon. Is a little harsh, maybe from the alcohol. Maybe try letting it breath a bit to remove alcohol." User "Amy***" writes: "Has a great syrupy aspect to this one not that it's overbearing w/ the soppy stuff but it's a nice breadiness of the waffles balanced by the sweetness of the syrup."