Vape Train Australia Cognac
ConcreteRiver
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for this, shoutout to Vape Train for sending this to me.
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 12 wrap 24g 3.5mm SS316 @.32 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Vape Train Cognac, 1%, 4% and 8%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 26 days.
Flavor Description: Thin, mildly boozy cognac with a bitter finish.
Sort of resembles cognac. There is some brandy-ish booziness here, but I'm missing most of the caramel, barrel age, or vanilla you'd usually pick up there. Seems a bit dry overall actually, with a fairly heavy astringency. Booze doesn't punch as hard as some of the other vt alcohol flavors.
Nothing all that fruity here. Trying it next to the normal VT Brandy, the cognac is missing that fermented grape brandy base. Some relatively light, indistinct fruit but it isn't nearly as prominent as VT Brandy or FA Brandy. Seems closer to INW Brandy.
There's also something bitter here. Feels like it has just a hint of rubbing alcohol on top of that cognac booziness. Feels almost herbal. Sort of a light camphor warmth and almost a light pine taste. It could theoretically be a barrel char or something, but it isn't quite clicking for me. It'll kind of work as a smokiness for a couple drags and then go back to tasting just bitter and herbal.
Thinner flavor overall. Seems pretty top heavy with those boozy notes, but there isn't much of a thicker base for anything to grab onto. Fairly light on the sweetness overall, without some of the really heavy, sweet depth I'd expect from a cognac.
Off-Flavors: Bitter and astringent. Doesn't have much in the way of body.
Throat Hit: Moderate. Decent boozy bite, but there is a some harsher bitterness to it.
Percentage testing: At 1%, this is light. Kind of a light booze and slight bitterness. No real body.
At 4%, the booziness is coming through a bit more but so is that bitterness. Nothing really deep, sweet, or even fruity. Still, no real body to it.
At 8%, no more boozy but maybe more bitter. I can't tell if this is supposed to be smokey or whatever, but it doesn't really work. And again, fairly thin and a bit undersweet.
Vape Train suggests mixing with this at 3-5%, and standalone from 5-10%. Just based on these tests, I'd probably use this as a lighter accent around 3% primarily for a light booziness and realizing you'll have to work around the bitterness.
Uses & Pairings: I think this one might end up being fairly difficult to use. By itself, doesn't really do a convincing cognac flavor. It's kind of bitter and astringent to try to be using in a sweeter cognac type cocktail.
Because this doesn't really have a fruitiness or heavy sweetness to this, you may be able to bend this one around a little bit. I can see using a bit of this with the right mix of apples and getting close to something like a calvados or even a pear brandy. The booziness is fairly accurate to a brandy style liquor and should blend fairly well if you wanted to work in your own fruit base. I think dialing in the percentages to step back from the worst of that bitterness might be a chore though.
Doesn't seem like a good choice for creams, custards, or bakeries. Those bitter notes would probably fit in with a tobacco fairly well though.
Second Opinions: Here's the product page from Vape Train. No description on this one.