In helping to keep all of my flavor reviews easier to find, search, and read, I have moved the following OUT of it’s original thread, to it’s OWN thread here …
Thanks out always, to my mixing mentor @Mikser for helping keep them all straight.
Just picked up the following, and EVERY single one, smells OUT of this world, out of the bottles. I gotta read up ^^^^ @Beaufort_Batches notes above (thanks for that BTW), and I have to research the percentages on the ones he didn’t mention. WOW, these REALLY smell good. I don’t want to RUSH into mixing them, maybe go to heavy and blow it, as I only got the very small glass capped bottles. Any thoughts, notes, or help is always welcome.
https://i.imgur.com/bWPVmZC.jpg
Figuring out the percentages now before mixing… After much research and only BB’s notes to go on, decided to go a flat 8%.
Angel Food Cake (DIYFS) 8% (6-30-18) – It’s starting to seem like DIYFS really does cookies/cakes/pastries right, and this is no exception to that. Very light, and full (yes, light and full), fluffy Angel Food Cake here people. Smelled exactly like it before mixing, improved after steeping, and right out of the tank. It is spot on IMO. What I did notice at this percentage is it was maybe at or over the correct usage limit. Not cloying, but just felt like maybe it was a bit high. Lucky for me, I could test that on the spot. Had the Steam Crave v.1 full @ 3ml, poured out maybe 1/3 of that, topped off with some PG, shook up, and continued. At the lower level the upper limit-ish taste went away, but the buttery light Angel Food Cake remained. This one appears to benefit a bit lower than 8%, perhaps 4-5% might be better. All in all, can’t find fault with this one at all. 9.5/10.
Apple Crumble (DIYFS) 8% (06-30-18) – This one, proved to be a very interesting one. The first thing that hit me was a very bright apple, almost Fuji like, followed up by a nice crumble blanket that it was wrapped in. The apple was bright and tart-ish, not like my current fav FLV Apple Filling which has a darker/fuller/richer overall taste. Granted one is a apple filling, and this an Apple Crumble, just for comparison. They did a good job NOT making a crust element, but actually more of a crumble, which was impressive. There is a slight amount of cinn/spice, but again, very low, not like FLV Apple Filling where it is far more predominant. The apple and crumble are evenly mixed, with a very satisfying overall feel and vape. For my personal preferences, not sure if the brighter Fuji like apple does it as much justice as it deserves. Not bad in any way, maybe not my preference. After continued vaping, does seem to be somewhat of a cream element in there, not really ice cream-ish, but in that area, which helps to round it out. Your preference may vary, but leaving it at a 7/10.
Blueberry Muffin (DIYFS) 8% (4-29-18) – I’m starting to see a trend here, for my flavor profiles with DIYFS. OUTSTANDING BBM here guys/gals. The BB is very good, and doesn’t overpower the muffin. It reminds me of a mix of TPA BB Wild and RF SC BB for comparison. It’s harder to 100% nail down, because DIYFS got this one right, i.e. not all BB and a hnt of bakery like some others. The muffin isn’t just a generic “bakery” element tossed in, it actually tastes, like a muffin !!! Sweet, bready/cakey and resides right up there in the front of the mix with the BB. The two are paired beautifully and this is only my third DIYFS tester, I’m wondering if I went too high @ 8%. Not that it’s bad, or overbearing, but a thought. About the only negative (as if) would be when smelling it OOTB there is a slight tart you can smell, that seems to not carry over in the mix, but that’s probably due to the muffin mega’ness. If you want a BBM I don’t think you can go wrong with this. 9.5/10.
Cherry (DIYFS) 8% (06-30-18) – Thus far, found DIYFS does a lot of things right, but what about the Cherry ?? Well not so much. Fairly dark in color, and did have some hints of cherry in it, but whatever cherry there was, was overshadowed by some short of a malty-ish, chocolate-ish note. There was no medicine, or perfume notes which was good, but the overpowering main note kind of lingered in the nose on exhale, and it just did this one in for me. If it had been a clear chocolate cherry, that would have been one thing, but it’s just not, and whatever surviving cherry notes remained were so lost in the mix, little to no value as a cherry IMO. 1.5/10.
Chocolate Marshmallow Graham Cookie (DIYFS) 8% (6-27-18) – Because of my love for DIYFS Cookie and S’mores in general this one I had to try. Let’s start out by saying if you love the Cookie, you WILL love this one. If you read my review on the Cookie this will make more sense. The beloved cookie is in here, BUT, with some minor yet distinct differences. The fresh buttery bakery-ness is much lower in this mix, which is actually good. Almost even with the cookie, is a very nice graham which I still cannot place as a particular vendor’s. Sometimes I would get a slight hint of coconut finish, other times not, so it’s very low. The chocolate and marshmallow are lower in the mix than the cookie or graham, which again, really works. It’s like a hint of chocolate, with some marshmallow mouthfeel and sweetness but not a identifiable marshmallow taste. In summary, this one was really great, and wow’d me like the cookie, minus some of the buttery bakery notes, with a great mid-strong graham element, finishing with a good marshmallow and a hint of chocolate. Very even, fairly sweet, great mouthfeel, and despite being somewhat of a coil gunker JUST like the cookie, it’s too damn good to complain about it. 9.6/10.
Cookie (DIYFS) 8% (4-28-18) – O.M.G. !!! Let’s start this one off the easy way, 10/10. WHY haven’t I tried this brand before ?? This is, hands down, the baddest ass cookie, I have ever vaped. PERIOD. Had a lot of trouble trying to find into on what percentages to mix DIYFS flavors at. At 8% the cookie is excellent, delicious, and outstanding. All of the elements are there you would expect in a cookie, great bakery elements, Getting slight, if any, choco elements, but it’s super duper fine, just like it is. RUN, don’t walk to order this. WILL be getting a BIG bottle of this, and may try mixing higher to check thresholds. 10/10.
Additional Notes: Continued testing of this proves to be hard to fully explain it’s goodness. Vanilla, butter, bakery, hint of chocolate, no dryness whatsoever and with @Sprkslfly’s assistance, would say very similar to a Toll House cookie.
Donut (DIYFS) 8% (5-1-18) – Donut, how do I love thee ?? Very much. I think it is VERY hard to find a good donut flavor. CAP’s choco glazed it great, but mostly for the chocolate. CAP’s glazed donut is closer, but I do tend to get the play doh from it. The great news, is NO play dough here, BUT the bad news, was at 8%, really didn’t get much donut. Nicely sweet, vanilla, but not much beyond that. WILL re-mix at a higher rate, but as this flavor is quite dark, even at 8% not sure on gunking. Sadly, just not a lot of donut here. 5/10.
Gooey Butter Cake (DIYFS) 8% (4-30-18) – Gooey Butter Cake ehhh ??? Don’t think I’ve ever tried one before, but here goes. This one was the first one that I felt maybe going higher than 8% would benefit it (and per @Leilani’s comments to that effect). Still really good and fairly true to the name even at 8%. They really got the white/yellow cake part right, and it sure seems buttery, but as an accent, not a top note. At this percentage it’s an even sweet, bakery flavor, with buttery’ness and some icing in there for good measure. I think this one is good enough to warrant a re-test at maybe 11% just to see if the buttery part takes off higher. As it stands, a really good cake. Nothing off-putting or artificial, and the cake really comes through on this one. Will add notes if the higher tester boosts the buttery’ness or gooey’ness. As it stands, solid at 9/10.
Holy Vanilla (DIYFS) 8% (4-29-18) – Holy Vanilla ehhh ?? Well let’s see here. What IS in this delicious vanilla ? This is a very complex vanilla to say the least. Not just the typical light airy vanilla, or the deep dark vanilla, but a very good, full blending. It is very full and rich @ 8%, has a buttery/butterscotchy’ness to it. On the second tester tank already, and can’t put it down. Starting to see what all the hype is about. Every once in a blue moon, I almost got a whiff of a wintergreen, but who knows where that came from. If you want a rich, full vanilla, with a nice buttery, butterscotch-ish bonus, you cannot go wrong with this one. I get some off notes from some of CAP’s vanillas, but not this one. Won’t throw my others out, but I can see this one getting used a lot. No choice, but to go 10/10 on this one also.
Orange Cream (DIYFS) 8% (7-01-18) – 2 hours sleep after being up for 26 hours for the Tesla, Joan Jett, Styx concert, so bear with me hehe. OK, is there any way an Orange Cream could compete with TPA’s ?? Kinda. Is it orangey and creamy ?? Yes. Overall the mix was good with elements of both, but not 100% sure on the orange. Will be hard to explain, but there was an overtone on this one, and not sure if it was the orange or the cream (or both) that left me wanting. Wasn’t terrible, but it was there all throughout. I think TPA wins on this one for a creamier, better orange. This one doesn’t race to the bottom of the pack, just not the top. Evenly mixed, good sweetness, just that darned undertone that lingered. Your own mixing/testing mileage will vary, so try it and decide for yourself. Will leave it at 6.5/10.
Peanut Butter Expert (DIYFS) 4% (06-30-18) – Perhaps I should have listened to @Beaufort_Batches as this one @ 4% had a rather overpowering burnt note to it. Peanuts were in there, some sweet, and some creaminess, but I couldn’t shake the burnt note on this one. Seeing his much lower numbers, this must be the cause. I will have to re-test this one at much lower than 4% to see what changes. At 4% however, it would rate a 2/10. Beaufort nailed the taste below.
Raspberry Cookie (DIYFS) 8% (06-30-18) – First things first, this one had a fairly dark purple/pink color. Natural, artificial ?? Not sure. The raspberry in this was pretty good, with a nice dark-ish raspberry flavor, somewhat sweet, with a tad of tart, but not much. Very forward in the mix as expected, but not overpowering or cloying. The bakery element followed it nicely, but somewhat behind the raspberry. This could be said to be the opposite of the DIYFS Bueberry Muffin wherein the two were move evenly mixed. This doesn’t make this bad, just as in comparison between the two. Because the cookie is lower in the mix, it is harder to try and pick out elements of it, but more that it is just present in the mix. Overall the mix is quite good, with nothing off putting or overly artificial tasting, with a good amount of sweetness. With the coloring issue aside, rating it a solid 7/10 for flavorings.
Vanilla Custard (DIYFS) 8% (5-1-18) – I’m one of the few, who cannot vape CAP VC, something in it just doesn’t agree. About the only VC I can vape is TPA VC, and I get no pepper notes from it like some other people as a disclaimer. @ 8% this was nice, somewhat sweet, creamy and full, and although I did get some of the off note that I get from CAP VC it was more relaxed, so I could actually vape this. I do not get a lot of eggy’ness from it, which is good for my tastes. It had almost a pudding element to it, but lower in the profile. Although it had some elements similar to CAP’s this one is preferable to me. For it’s profile, and with the slight pudding kick, safe to say this rides in high @ 7.0/10. If you are NOT put off by CAP’s VC, you will probably rate it higher.
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. I got into DIY in 2017, already too late for the original INW Cactus… I always wondered what that would’ve tasted like. Apparently it was better than the one we have now.
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