Real Flavors French Vanilla SC
mysticrosell
Percentage Used: 1% using SG of 1.19 g/ml
Equipment Used: Troll RDA with a .5 fused Clapton Coil at 26W and Cleito with a .4 kanthal Clapton at 35W
PG/VG 30/70
Steep Time: 3 Days
FV is like a gourmet french vanilla with that thick rich mouth feel even after only a 3 day steep, really curious what a 4 week steep will taste like. It actually tastes like a true FV Custard, rich with the egg yolk but no eggy taste, and the creamy mouth feel rivals CAP V1 for me. I am a huge custard person and CAP V1 has always been my favorite. This has overtaken it and is now number 1 for me. It has that caramelized vanilla flavor, so it won't be a sub in recipes that just need that plain vanilla creaminess. I would compare it to a super creamy, thick rich home churned FV ice cream.
It's not that true classic "custard" taste. Most custards are known for that rich egg based and flavored thick vanilla cream. This is more of a an ice cream base french vanilla. I compare it to CAP to compare that creamy mouth feel. Almost like when you eat a bite of pudding or drink buttermilk. You can almost feel that cream type film on your tongue. If I tasted this blind without knowing the name Premium French Vanilla, I would say it is a french vanilla ice cream with the creamy mouth feel and density of a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Or a french vanilla custard. It could be very versatile. I believe this is an excellent SF, and will make an excellent accent as well. I will update at 4 weeks to see how this strengthens/changes with a steep.
Steep Time: 4 Weeks
At a 4 week steep this is still blowing my socks off. This has mellowed slightly with a steep. Until I tried it at 4 weeks, I didn't realize it had a very slight sharpness/harshness to it at the 3 day test. I thought it was part of the caramelization in the flavoring. Now it has smoothed out noticeably. I loved it at the 3 day mark as well though, it's so slight I didn't notice until I had a longer steep to compare (maybe a bit of alcohol in the flavoring?) I will go on record as saying this has moved into the number 1 slot for custards for me. I still love CAP V1 for a classic vanilla custard. But if you are looking for a rich french custard or ice cream this is the "one".
EDIT: Real Flavors has announced they will be changing the names of their Raw Extracts to Super Concentrates.