Real Flavors Baja Soda SC
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.15 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: RF SC Baja Soda @ 2% and 4%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 10 days.
Flavor Description: Moutain Dew Baja Blast. A bit on the thin side, and maybe high on the citrus, but it definitely has a relatively subtle "blue" kind of note in there. More like the kind of blue you taste in blue gatorade than an actual fruit, reading up on people are claiming blue raspberry, blueberry, coconut, more lime, and even honeydew. I can't pick any of that out distinctly here, but it definitely tastes fairly close to baja blast and it definitely feels blue. I'm finding it a bit on the thin and dry side, even up at 4%, but it seems to be capturing the essential "blueness" as well as good citrus-y kick from the moutain dew base. I'd maybe add some wetness in here, or drag into a slush form, but otherwise I think this is pretty close to a one-shot. I'd use at around 3-4%.
Inhale is mostly lime. A bit sharp, bordering on tart and bitter, but still pretty candied. Syrupy sweet, but missing a bit of wetness to really nail the soda thing. Inhale is a bit on the airy and thin side. Exhale has the "baja" here prettly clearly up front. Maybe some blueberry or blue raspberry kind of artifical blue flavor, with some perfumey top notes. Lime comes back a bit on the tail end of the exhale with just a bit of bitterness and some harshness. Sweet, but airy and a bit dry. Needs some more body. Lingering floral, almost soapy note.
Off-flavors: Nah, not really. Tastes blue, tastes like mountain dew. It tastes a bit soapy, but so does Baja Blast. Texture is a bit dry, but the flavor is on point.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate. All the citrus here is a bit harsh and dry.
Uses & Pairings: To make this into a more accurate baja blast, I'd look to fill it out and add some wetness back into it. I'd probably go with a small percentage of INW Cactus, or CAP Cucumber, and maybe a hint of FA Aurora or FA Lime Distilled to punch up the citrus a bit and try to get something kind of like carbonation back in here. If you want to go the slushie route, you'll need some koolada and maybe just a bit of texture from FA Oba Oba.
Outside of your dew-based applications, I'm a bit stumped. There is an essential dew-ness in here that'll be hard to mix around. I don't think it would clash with other fruits, but it'll still taste like mountain dew with fruit on top.
Notes: Concentration testing, this is thin and light at 1%. Mostly slihtly bitter lime and a really floral "baja" blue type of flavor. 2% has a bit more body, the lime has kind of come together, although the baja part of still thin and floral. 3% is a bit more cohesive. Good dew base, baja is blending okay but still doesn't quite cohere. 4% has a stronger baja and it's blending better with the citrus base. 5% is back to a bit floral. I'd mix with this at 3-4%.
Second Opinions:
"BAJA SODA: This is an interesting blend of what seems to be a citrus with the sharp citrusy notes removed by design.....then blended with a subtle note of coconut.....It does take you to the beach, so to speak (I will elaborate in my summary) I was hoping for a "sparkle" based on its' name, but that wasn't the case here, However, a clever blender could easily remedy that with the addition of a few select ingredients, perhaps a Champagne flavor....... Koolada maybe?
Like the others, it is a super smooth vape, without harsh volatiles taste after such a short steep time, rendering it a very pleasant vape.....
Playing with device wattage, vape technique, ie. "hotboxing" and "french inhaling", "nasal exhale", etc. really is where this flavor shines, as it does bring flavor essences forward and shifts from light citrus to coconut and back again......all without vapors tongue for the whole tank."
I'm inclined to call bullshit on the review, but that could just be the writing style.
H/T to /u/ID10-T for the suggestion.