Liquid Barn Cream
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 @.18 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Liquid Barn Cream, 3 and 6% @ 1g/ml, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 26 days.
Flavor Description: A whipped cream flavor with some saturation and mouthfeel issues.
Liquid barn calls this a fluffy whipped cream, and I could see whipped cream, at least in terms of flavor. This doesn't have any heavy dairy notes like TPA/CAP Sweet Cream or FA Fresh Cream. I do get something buttery here, kind of like a heavy whipped cream but the top end of the flavor is really thin and neutral. I'm not picking up any kind of vanilla in here, or anything that tastes too butryic or cheesy.
The mouthfeel on this is interesting. I'm picking up some sort of waxy buttery heaviness on my lips and tongue but it doesn't actually taste particularly rich. Liquid Barn has their DAAP testing public and easily readable and this has a truly impressive amount of acetoin in here with 3,680 ppm. Just as a basis for comparison FLV Coconut, which is rich to a fault basically, is up at 2,800ppm... so Liquid Barn didn't hold back on the DAAP here. I'm not sure why the actual vape here isn't a whole lot richer and more buttery. Instead, beyond that sort of tactile mouthfeel, it feels a bit washed out and not particularly rich and creamy. It's lacking of a lot of the body you'd expect for a fluffier whipped cream.
I think the primary issue is flavor saturation. There's a sweetness here that is either raw vg or tastes almost exactly like raw vg, and it comes through even at the suggested 6%. The actual cream just doesn't feel filled out. I'm getting some of the deeper richer notes I'd expect, but the middle and the top of the flavor is a bit bland and has that weird sweetness that doesn't really fit in with the cream.
Comparing this to other whipped cream type flavors I've tried, I'm probably sticking with CAP Vanilla Whipped Cream or FW Sweet Cream. Both of those are a bit more buttery and have a fluffier mouthfeel. The flavor in those also feels quite a bit more saturated. There's nothing offensive in the liquid barn version, but it isn't really as rich as either of those. This also doesn't have the crazy smooth emulsifying texture of FLV Cream.
Off-flavors: Nothing really off in terms of flavor. Texture and mouthfeel feels a bit weird though and I'm getting raw vg sweetness in the top of the flavor.
Throat Hit: The base of this flavor is very smooth, but overall that thinner top end is lightly harsh.
Percentage testing: At 3% this feels really underflavored. I'm getting quite a bit of raw vg taste of it with a lighter and sort of dry cream taste. Sort of tastes like coffee creamer in VG here.
At 6% this is a bit more filled out. It's still probably a bit too subtle, and the sweetness here really does taste like raw vg which is a bit confusing. Bottom end of the flavor is full but it hasn't really carried over to the top of the flavor.
Just based on these tests, I think the suggested percentage of 6% is probably a good starting point with the caveat that it's going to be a base for layering and not really a full cream flavor.
Uses & Pairings: This may actually end up being a fairly good cream for layering because the top end of this is flavor is so netural. I could see adding this as a base for brighter fruits and letting those fill in the top of the flavor.
I'm not sure this is going to work all that well in bakery applications. All of that low end is where a lot of bakery flavors sit, and so it may just muddy up your bases as opposed to sit on top.
You could probably use an accent percentage to fill in more dairy-forward creams.
Second Opinions:
Here's the ELR Page. User "jojo" writes: "4% (SnV - a nice, slightly sweet cream. 10 days - not getting much now but a vague, slightly sweet creamy feel. 3 weeks - this is a nice, light cream. Not overly sweet. I like it. 5 weeks - Same.)" User "TwoTone" writes "I cannot get anything from this? Its sweet, but what are you??"