3 flavor question

what is the difference between ethyl maltol. cotton candy and circus cotton candy?

happy thanksgiving!! mine sucked…life goes on

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My understanding is the following:

Circus CC is the “blue” CC (which Jojo has said in the past is quite different from regular cotton candy.

Regular CC (pink) is a combination of flavoring, sweetener (sucralose), and EM.

Ethyl Maltol by itself is nothing more than straight Ethyl Maltol. Sometimes used (sparingly) as a sweetener, primarily used as a “balancer” (as it is supposed to quiet loud flavors, and bring up the less prominent notes.)

I have had all three, but after a few months into mixing, gave up on using EM, and CC. (I just found it easier to try and balance things naturally, than learn to rely on a “crutch” to level things out.

I think it has its place (EM), but IMO it’s really best suited for advanced mixing. Once one has gained a clear understanding of how things mix, and change over time. Because IME you can’t see/know/compare how a specialized enhancer like EM actually works until you have a noteworthy amount of time seeing how things can change under normal circumstances.

But, I’m very methodical in my approach. :wink:

I still have the circus CC to test yet. But am giving it a shot based on Jojo’s past recommendation.

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the smell of circus is pretty nasty but im sure that changes with time. pink cotton candy has a great smell and ethyl doesnt really have a cotton candy smell to it. ok now percentages. i see alot of it being used at 1% but im also seeing it being used at 5%. it is better to use pink cotton candy at 5% or ethyl?

which cotton candy has been out the longest? pink? circus? or ethyl? around the year 2012

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Wether it was EM or CC i gave up ages ago, it had a tendency to mute all my mixes.
I was a noobie at the time and I happily added it to practically everything, and if at first I was happy with it, when it steeped it muddled everything up and most of the taste went… down the drain.
So my brain went into @Sprkslfly mode… balance things yourself… and learn how to do it

Guess that EM came out first but CC is also straight EM @10% see that:
https://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/componentlist.aspx?sku_search=346578

Didn’t even know about CC Circus… but by the look of it, I’d stay a bit away from it:
https://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/componentlist.aspx?sku_search=344456

My two cents…

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do you think ethyl would quiet down tfa apple candy or should i use marshmallow instead?

Not quite sure what you mean… But if a flavor is too up front, you’re usually better off dropping the percentage until it suits you.

If you can’t find that sweet spot, then the flavour itself might not be quite what you are looking for.

Sometimes there’s ways to help boost background notes, if you’re happy with the overall direction of it (for example: TFA apple pie is more apple forward, but lacks on the pastry side. While Cap apple pie has more cinnamon and crust. While neither may suit someone as ideal by itself, the two work well together. You just have to find what works best for your palate.)

It really depends on the recipe, and what you have in mind. Marshmallow isn’t going to really do anything towards changing the Profile of being an apple candy. It will sweeten it, and perhaps add some mouthfeel… But it will still be apple candy leading the way.

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thank you for the information. i made testers yesterday at diff percentages. wait week and i will let you know which one turned out best

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