The Flavor Apprentice Bubblegum (Fruity)
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 12 wrap 24g 3.5mm SS316 @.33 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: TPA Bubblegum (Fruity), 3% and 6%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 7 days.
Flavor Description: Juicy Fruit gum, more or less.
The (Fruity) part of this seems fairly accurate to juicy fruit. It's that same kind of indistinct mixture of banana and pineapple which I guess is mostly Isoamyl Acetate. I feel like there is some very soft candy lemon making it a bit more tart, but it's basically juicy fruit. And just like juicy fruit, the flavor here seems fairly transient. The fruit note here settles in for me really quickly and just becomes sort of a fruity background noise. So it's basically like juicy fruit after the third chew. Not a strong fruit flavor, heavier on the "gum" part of this.
The gum here seems more in the "stick" instead of "ball" camp. There's a slightly bitter top note that is actually making me thing of the artificial color used in gumball shells, but it's pretty light and just makes the fruit taste a bit more artificial. Light cooling wintergreen effect, but not as cool as a normal pink bubble gum. The gum tastes a bit stale here, more on the dry side but I'm not getting anything too harsh. The fruitiness keeps this tasting from too chalky or powdery though.
Fuller texture here. Isn't over the top chewy but tastes fairly solid. Sweetness level is also pretty accurately juicy fruit. Sweet but not too syrupy or cloying. Seems like a fit for the profile.
The only other Juicy Fruit type flavor I've tried is FW Juicy Fruit. To me, the FW version probably gives a more accurate mouthfeel to a stick of gum covered in chalky cornstarch, and has a stronger gum base flavor complete with a slightly more pronounced pink bubblegum cooling. The TPA version has a more distinct fruitiness and has a flavor slightly more like a gumball complete with a bit of a hard candy shell note.
Off-flavors: Light bitter top note. Nothing else off profile, really.
Throat Hit: I don't get much throat hit out of this. Seems relatively smooth to me, especially compared to TPA's regular bubblegum.
Percentage testing: At 3%, I'm getting a really indistinct fruit note. More "fruity" than anything in specific but falls into that banana/pineapple kind of category. Texture starts a bit juicy than dries out a bit on the tail end of the exhale. Moderately thick.
At 6%, the fruit is coming through a bit clearer. Base is still juicy-fruit, but I'm getting some citrus. Light bitter top note. Thicker texture but a bit dry. Starts to pick up a light cooling like pink bubblegum but less pronounced.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably use this around 4% as a bubble gum base if you don't want it to be too reminiscent of juicy fruit and you're primarily after texture. I'd be closer to 7-8% for a primary note or solo flavor.
Uses & Pairings: Good option for a fruitier gum base instead of trying to make a normal bubblegum taste less pink. Jackfruit basically tastes like juicy fruit, so you could amp up the flavor here with some TPA Jackfruit. Good pairing with anything tropical-ish like mango, pineapple, or banana. Should work well lemons and oranges as well.
Outside of just making a fruitier gum, this could be used as a textural element in fruit candy mixes. This doesn't have the heavier "gum" flavor of FW Juicy Fruit, or the heavier cooling or the spice notes of a pink bubble gum. Throwing a syrupy fruit at this will soften it while still retaining some of the denser mouthfeel.
Second Opinions:
TPA states this was previously named "Bubblegum (Juicy)." There's an ELR page up for "Bubblegum (Fruity/Juicy), So I'm guessing that's the relevant one. User "Chachi Vapes" writes: "This is essentially a pink bubblegum, but more on the chalky realm. It is similar to Bazooka Joe, Double Bubble, gum balls etc. Off-flavors: It just has a chalky taste, but that goes along with the bubblegum nature. Throat Hit:1/10. Uses & Pairings:This would go well with pretty much any fruit. you could change your bubblegum to any fruit, mint, or anything like that." User "SiliconeDrones" writes: "Simple. Just like juicy fruit gum. 6% is really nice, adding 0.5% koolada makes it more realistic to the gum. Can add sweet and/or sour (both @0.5%) to make the flavours more intense (like when you first chew it) to make it more mellow, leave these last two out."
Vintage ECF thread about whether or not this actually tastes like juicy fruit. Opinions are divided.