The Flavor Apprentice Western
RancerDS
Setup: Griffin 25 w/ Ultrabo Ni80 single Clapton @0.72 ohms, ~17 watts
Testing: 3.5% stand alone in 10 mL mix; 65/35 VG base w/no nicotine
Flavor Description: A flat, low musk tobacco with a leathery tone and slightly woody. It leans toward a somewhat dried-out cigarillo. Does not taste ashy. Nor does it have that rich tobacco flavoring found in dark leaf (that could be good or bad, depending upon personal taste).
Off Notes/Mouth Feel: It comes across as mostly dry with notes of dust. It has maybe a tad bit of bitterness on the finish. Definitely will feel as if you need to hydrate the more you vape it.
Throat Hit: I'm not getting a throat hit, but it may be there at higher wattages. It definitely has a bite to it; more noticeable the longer you vape it, but mostly on the tongue.
Uses: I imagine there won't be too many people that will vape this by itself. Even with a drop of sweetener, you're still going to feel like it's a fairly plain tobacco that's missing a few things. Yet I've successfully mixed a butter pecan, caramel and vanilla swirl [in small amounts] to slightly sweeten and really smooth it out. Also mixed sweet tobacco with it and found they tend to negate each other. So you can mute any oats/grass you might get from any other concentrates.
Pure Speculation: It isn't dark or rich enough to feel that cherry or grape would be a good combination with it. Maybe if someone is really bored and wanted to try it to see. The butter pecan really seems to moderate that leather, pushing it to the back... while still noticeable, but in a good sort of way. I wouldn't try to use this to make an RY4 or to replace it. Nor would I suggest using this instead of Burley or Cavendish tobacco flavors. It might sub out okay in place of a light Virginia or Connecticut leaf. I believe an apple or pear fruit combination would be pretty good with it. Maybe banana would work with it? Maybe peach... but I doubt Raspberry or any fruits that have any kind of acidic/sour/tart/bitter notes present. Since fruit-flavored cigarillos were never my thing, probably not going to find out first-hand. If you want to retch due to some of those rich, thick and syrupy tobaccos; this one might taste pretty good to you.
En Summa: This is the only flavor that I'm considering buying in the 2 ounce size. It seems like laying off of it for a week or so, my brain starts reminiscing about the aforementioned additions (under Uses). There have been a few that simply won't use it but they may have dismissed it after single-flavor testing. It's understandable because vaping it straight, you won't feel like it brings much value. But if you're going to experiment, you might be very surprised!