Real Flavors Bourbon 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 Bourbon @ 1% and 2.5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 11 days.
Flavor Description: Damn near the closest thing to an actual whiskey I've tasted in vape form. It's not a particularly good whiskey, and it doesn't have much oak to it like I'd expect from a bourbon, but it actually has a bit of heat to it, or at least it tastes like it does. Some of the vaguely rancid, buttery notes that you find in FW Whiskey, but the texture here is quite a bit less dry and sharper so it may not cross the line into kibble like that one apparently does for some people. I think this is more of a straight cocktail concentrate, and I'd use it between 2-3% in mixes for a strong whiskey hit.
Inhale has sharp alcohol right up front. It's pretty assertive, and it's a fairly good representation of cheap whiskey. A bit of syrupy sweetness down low, doesn't exactly taste like a corn sweetness, but it has that same kind of syrupy effect to it. A bit of harshness, and some airiness right in the middle of the inhale. Exhale is sweet up front, starting with that syrupy corn-like note and getting a bit funkier with more of an overripe apple note as the exhale goes on. Relatively little oak in the top notes here, but there is a bright alcoholic heat up there. Gets a bit buttery on top of that overripe fruit note, and picks up a bit of a rancid note. I think it's fairly accurate to cheap whiskey, but it apparently gives some people fits as its similar to FW Whiskey. Overall texture on this is a bit smoother, and wetter, so I don't think it'll end up picking up that kibble note that people complain about with FW Whiskey. Actually a fairly clean finish for all of the of the funky stuff happening here.
Off-flavors: That cheap whiskey buttery-almost rancid note is pretty strong here. I don't find it super offensive myself, but I know that's it pretty offputting for people who want a cleaner, more subtle whiskey flavor. I'd also say this is desperately missing oak for a more authentic bourbon.
Throat Hit: Moderate, but it seems pretty appropriate for something based on alcohol.
Uses & Pairings: Cocktails! Whiskey cocktails! I don't think this will be the kind of whiskey concentrate that is primarily good for making things taste baked. I think you're pretty well stuck using this like you would an actual whiskey.
I'd personally suggest dressing this up a bit with some FLV Bourbon for the oak note, although you could use TFA Red Oak or FA Oakwood as well. With that apple note in there, I think this could also back up FA Whisky, which is more of a sweet scotch.
Notes: Concentration wise, it seems like these Real Flavors SC actually have a minimum mixing percentage, which is pretty interesting. They just don't cohere until you hit a high enough concentration. 1% on this is a bit disjointed. I get most of the components, but it doesn't really cohere into a full flavor and I've got a weird chemical note. 2% is noticeably better, it's a pretty aggressive flavor, and it's a bit hot on the alcohol, which is kind of nice for a bourbon. 3% is noticeably fruitier, with that apple note coming out fairly strong, but still overall pretty good for a cheap whiskey. 4% is too fruity and a bit too buttery for me. I'd recommend using this between 2-3%
Second Opinions:
Not a whole lot, even on the VG Version.
H/T to /u/ID10-T for the suggestion.