Liquid Barn Green Apple
ConcreteRiver
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for these , they were sent to me by Liquid Barn. Shoutout 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 Green Apple, 1.5 and 3%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 18 days.
Flavor Description: Warm, waxy artificial green apple.
I do get some brighter green apple right at the beginning of this flavor. There is an initial sharp burst of tart green apple that doesn't really follow through the entire vape. After that initial sharpness fades I get almost a watery apple green apple candy flavor. More in the jolly rancher family than not, but not quite as vibrant as you'd expect for that candy type of flavor.
I'm getting some weirder off-flavors from this. Unsteeped there's a pretty heavy plastic note, but it kind of fades out to something fairly metallic and a bit odd overall. There's also something a waxy warmth here that reminds me a lot of a warmer, heavier orange flavor. The waxiness clashes with the brighter apple flavor you'd expect. The overall effect kind of makes think of green apple laffy taffy, but with a less saturated warmer flavor. Nothing that tastes truly "bad" or jarring, but it's prominent enough to detract from the flavor a bit.
This doesn't actually taste a whole lot like any of the other green apple flavors I've tried. Green apple tends to skew too bright, too sharp, and too aggressive. This tastes duller overall. On the bright side it manages to avoid all of the grassiness that usually comes with fresher takes on green apple, but the actual body of this flavor tastes a bit flat and strange.
Off-flavors: Some plastic steeping into metallic notes. Waxy warmth.
Throat Hit: Moderate. Starts a bit harsh but kind of settles in.
Percentage testing: The suggested percentage on this is quite a bit lower than a lot of the liquid barn flavors at just 3%.
At 1.5% I get a fairly full front end on this flavor. That green apple up front isn't quite as tart, and while the body behind it is is a bit thin, it isn't as waxy and that metallic twinge is fairly light. The off flavors here seem a bit more under control than the suggested 3%.
At 3% this is sweeter and tarter, but feels a bit more disjointed. That waxy warmth is a pretty major component of the flavor and that metallic thing is fairly prominent. The actual base here doesn't really seem all that much more full and saturated than the 1.5%.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably be using this more as an accent flavor at around 1-1.5% with a relatively long steep for a fruit.
Uses & Pairings: This gets a bit odd at relatively higher percentages, so I'd be more inclined to use this as a green apple accent on top of a fuller, juicier fruit. Those green apple top notes should show up relatively well over other apple and pear flavors.
At the same time, this is on the artificial side, so you're mostly looking at a green apple accent in fruit or candy mixes. Should work for more of a taffy base, although I could see this working okay for just a general green apple hard candy type of mix.
Second Opinions:
Here's the ELR Page. User "jojo" writes: "1% (1 week - a little light, get a little apple and some plastic + anise flavor. 17 days - still light, less plastic. 24 days - a very nice green apple flavor. No more plastic.)" User "Alisa" writes "@5% stand-alone, this is kind of weak right after mixing, but the flavor is good. After steeping for a week, I don't like at all. For some reason, it reminds me of Krazy glue. I'm thinking 5% is too much to use for a steeped juice. Will have to experiment sometime soon. "