The Flavor Apprentice Toasted Almond
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.16 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: TPA Toasted Almond @ %2, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 15 days.
Flavor Description: Accurate toasted almond top notes over a nondescript creamy while still fluffy body. Some greener uncooked nut notes here but no cherry-ish almond extract flavor. Moderately dry and solidly toasted. Just sweet enough to not be astringent and chemical if used sparingly.
Inhale is nutty, closer to raw, greener nuts than toasted. Some dense, but slightly sour body. Some really, really low-key sweetness. Exhale is dense, with a thicker creamy but still kind of dry and fluffy raw nut base. Really authentic toasted almond top notes, with a realistic level of bitterness and roasted in there. Top notes are good, but relatively thin. At 2%, they kind of get pushed around by that denser, greener base. More harshness on the exhale than the inhale. Just enough sweetness to pull the flavor together. Lingering, slightly bitter "toasted" note and some of the sourness from that raw nut base.
Off-flavors: I may be the only person who thinks nut flavors have a metallic aftertaste, so a huge pile of salt with that. Other than that, not really. Maybe a little softer than you'd expect without a solid pyrazine grittiness or crunch.
Throat Hit: Moderate to light. Takes a couple drags to settle in, but after that it's not that bad.
Uses & Pairings: A more realistic almond that won't swamp your mixes at a lower percentage. Good fit for creams and custards when you don't want to take it in the full almond milk direction.
Good for drier, more delicate bakeries. Should manage to pull off a discrete almond component or topping.
Mixing with fruits, I'd stay with syrupy, jammy fruits like Apricot or blueberry. Should work with some juicier non-perfumey apples.
Good mixer for tobaccos, the nutty note here when used low should work to bring in some nuttiness without moistening up the base too much.
Notes: S&V concentration testing, do yourself a favor and start low. At .25% I'm getting mostly a lightly toasted almond top note. .5% has a darker roast to those almonds with very little of the creamier body here. 1% is still pretty good, with that body taking a backseat to a good toasted almond note. 1.5% is getting a bit distractingly soft while also picking up some dry fluffyness. 2% seems to be about the useful limit here, as you get quite a bit of body that doesn't really mesh with the almond top notes. 2.5% is getting a bit bitter for me and by 3% the toasted almond notes are bitter and the base is tasting sour and metallic. I'd start with down at .25% and work up for bakeries, .5% for stronger tobaccos, and maybe 1% for creams and custards if your base will hide that body well.
All in all, a pretty pleasant surprise. I don't find this as creamy as FA Almond, and it definitely tastes a lot more roasted and has a more specific almond (instead of almond extract) taste to it. FA almond can push towards almond milk for me, and this gives a better solid almond note, especially when mixed low and you let those top notes sort of sit over a heavier base.
Second Opinions:
ELR is all over the place with this. In general, it looks the people using this low are fairly complementary. Some complaints of bitterness at higher percentage and a couple super negative notes without much context.
Generally postive reviews on BCF. Takeaway is that it's strong, and accurate.