Liquid Barn Vienna 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 @.14 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Liquid Barn Vienna Cream, 3 and 6% @ 1g/ml, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 35 days.
Flavor Description: Pretty middle of the road sweet or whipped cream, with a medium-heavy base and a thinner body.
The cream here is fairly non-descript. I'm getting a slightly heavier base but it doesn't have the intensely heavy buttery notes that I get from LB Cream and LB Fresh Cream. The body of the cream of the cream has some actual sweet cream dairy notes. Seems pretty easygoing, nothing really butryic or cheesy. Just a hint of something like a fresh-ish heavy cream. This also seems to have a thinner middle to it, much like the other LB creams. The contrast between a fuller base and thinner body isn't nearly as stark as those other creams, but it's still there. At LB's suggested 6% i'm getting some raw vg sweetness poking through the middle of the flavor.
Liquid barn calls out "the slightest hit of cinnamon" but I have to really go looking for it. I can taste something there, but it's very mild and is coming across more as a bit of increased throat hit and maybe a touch of dryness as opposed to a really distinct cinnamon flavor. It doesn't really translate into a cinnamon top note. The cinnamon is light enough you could probably just ignore it while mixing, but it's something to watch out for if you're super sensitive to it.
The texture here is interesting. It's going more whipped cream for me. There's a lighter, fluffiness to the flavor. I'm also getting a weirdly layered effect from that relatively heavier base and the thinner middle. The contrast isn't as stark as it is with the heavier, waxier LB Cream and LB Fresh Cream, but it's still a bit distracting. The flavor ends up tasting a bit undersaturated to me at the suggested mixing percentage in the middle, and I think the cinnamon is making it feel relatively harsh and dry for a cream flavor. A little undersweet for a pastry cream, but probably a touch too sweet for just straight cream.
Out of the Liquid Barn creams this feels the most like an actual cream, instead of a whipped cream. It's still a bit fluffier and undersaturated than an actual cream flavor, but this has some actual dairy notes to it as opposed to the primarily butter base notes of the other two. This is also probably the sweetest of the 3, but not by any kind of huge margin. I think Vienna Cream is supposed to be more of a pastry cream flavor. Just comparing it FA Vienna Cream, the FA does a better job of hitting that pastry cream profile.
Off-flavors: Same thing with the other LB Creams, there's a lack of vibrancy or saturation in the body of the flavor. That cinnamon thing seems a bit tacked on and limits some usefulness, without actually adding much cinnamon flavor.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate. Base of the flavor is smooth, but the actual body of the flavor comes across thin and dry.
Percentage testing: At 3% I'm not getting much out of this. Some heavier, slightly buttery dairy notes and a raw vg sweetness. Fluffy, insubstantial texture overall.
At 6% the base of this flavor has gotten a bit more filled in, I'm getting more dairy, but the body is still a bit thin. It's a bit dry, and that cinnamon accent seems to be exacerbating it.
Liquid Barn suggests 6% with this, and that's probably in the ballpark. Trying it as an S&V at 10%, the dairy notes have started to get a bit sour and unpleasant. I think you might be able to go up to 8% with a steep, but it's going to stay fairly layered as more of a cream base, rather than full pastry cream flavor.
Uses & Pairings: Not much of a solo flavor.
If you are going to be using LB Creams, this comes across the most like an actual cream. It's the one that you'd have the best luck with trying to work into an cream recipe that needed a bit more than a heavy layer on the bottom. It still kind of skews that way, but it's not as drastic. You could definitely still use it for layering like that if you want, and it's probably the closest out of the trio to an actual whipped cream as well.
You could also use this to hang some cinnamon off of. Should be an interesting pairing with cinnamon heavy bakeries.
Or just ignore the cinnamon and throw some strawberries in it.
Second Opinions:
Here's the ELR Page. User "JoJo" writes: "6% (SnV - semi-sweet, light cream flavor. 1 week - same. 2 weeks - same. 3 weeks - same. Light, sweet, creamy. Very nice. 4 weeks - same. Bright, sweet cream flavor. Very nice. Not too sweet or dense.)" User "Crago44" writes: "Damn good but weak."