Coconut (Flavor Artists) 3.0% (10-7-24) – Coconuts always seem to fall into two categories for me, either dry, and acrid, or sweetened, and creamy. My tastes lean to the more sweetened and creamy, so keep that in mind. This one tasted like a very natural coconut, that actually seemed to straddle both of the aforementioned types. Because it did cover both, it could be used more easily than others that were one or the other. To expand, it was somewhat like a mix of semi dry, shredded coconut, with some creamy-ness mixed in to temper it a little. No off-notes, and NO suntan lotion for you coconut-heads out there. Sweetness was about 2 ticks below mid-level.
At 3.0% it was really good and with no wants to increase it. Now what I really liked about this one, was the finish was somewhat creamy, with hints of dry coconut, but with just a hint of bite. Not acrid, which I would describe as sharp and pungent, but it had just a little bite, which gave a little boost on the finish. Smelling it and tasting it was about identical, which is NOT always the case, and it smelled, and tasted very natural. About the only “ehhh” would be the ever so slight dryness on the finish, but that is fairl common in most coconuts I’ve tested. Taking off just a bit for that, and still leaving it high at a 9.0/10. All in, a great natural coconut, that straddled a dry shredded, with some sweet and creamy thrown in.
Coconut Cream Pie (Flavor Artists) 3.0% (10-8-24) – Well, as much as I loved FA’s BS Apple Pie, and BB Cheesecake, I was LESS in love with this one. Alright, this one hit me out of the gate, as NOT what I had expected. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t scream Coconut Cream Pie. At times I didn’t get much Coconut, and others I did. The creamy filling stayed fairly consistent, as did the crust, which was very good, but the coconut kind of wandered, in and out. There was a main note that I did keep getting, which was hard to identify, but seemed like a fairly vague creamy bakery note. Maybe increasing the coconut would have pushed this into good territory. No off-notes, and it was rich and full at the 3.0% testing weight, but just never totally sold me on a CCP.
No off-notes, and sweetness was a little higher, and at about mid-level. It wasn’t a blank slate creamy pie, but might be able to be used like that, and far more as a base/r than a main top note in a mix. Good, just not great, and slightly jumbled. I finally decided to leave this one at a 6.0/10.
Wow, so far these flavors are looking good! With the little experience I have with them, I think I can say with confidence that I’ll definitely try more. How crazy they’ve been there all along and only a few mixers here are familiar with them.
Coffee Liqueur and Irish Cream (Flavor Artists) 2.0%/3.0%/4.0% (10-9-24) – This one was another one that I’d heard some chatter about. I started this one out at 3.0% and after 1/4 of a tank I felt it needed more, and I bumped it to 4.0%, and it reduced. I then re-mixed, and dropped it to 2.0%, and that looks like the SFT weight for this one. Always nice when I can sort things like this out ON the fly. @robrrt1 was right, that this one was a super unique flavor. I literally got, exactly what it was called, half Coffee Liqueur, and half Irish Cream. Wow, what a great idea, great taste, and, hehe, unique. As far as I could tell, it really tasted like an even 50/50 split between the two main notes, and nicely done. The coffee liqueur, was very accurate, and tasty. The Irish Cream was also very accurate and tasty, and I did get a hint of boozy-ness in there, which really fit it well.
This was not the strongest coffee-ish flavor I’ve tried, and if I had to rate it on a 10 scale strength, I’d put it at about a 7 out of 10 strength wise, and clearly increasing to 3%, then 4% it started to reduce, so 2.0% seemed like it was at it’s strongest. I didn’t get a lot of dark coffee notes, bitterness, or anything close to an espresso, but really, a good coffee liqueur. No off-notes, or complaints, and I noticed interestingly enough, that when I did drop it to 2.0% I started to get a nice, almost light nutty-ness undertone, which added depth to the overall profile. There was a fairly present creamy-ness to it as well, which helped smooth it out a bit, and add texture to it. All in, a great idea, and showing from FA on this one. Leaving it high at a 9.5/10.
Thanks out to @robrrt1 for mentioning this flavor, as it WAS very unique. It was interesting to see how it shifted when going from 2.0%, 3.0%, and 4.0%. Even doubled at the higher rate, it never got squirrel-y, but clearly it was reducing, which is a great reminder for everyone, that you can’t always expect flavors to get squirrel-y, or go sideways once you start to over flavor. Sometimes, like in the case of FA’s Coffee Liqueur and Irish Cream, it simply started to reduce, and got weaker.
I used the Black Pepper in a mix with a melon. I heard that black pepper can make the flavor of melons pop and I had to try out of curiosity. I was shy and used very little and also only had the Flavour Art pct to work with. It was the only other black pepper with notes that I could use. I have to experiment with it more because it was a new melon flavor to me and wasn’t sure what to expect but I think I can see where it would work. HIC has notes on Black Pepper that are helpful. If I ever buy the Bacon flavor I keep thinking about I’ll definitely add the Black Pepper to that one, lol. And then I’ll fry a couple of eggs to have with my vape
Hey @robrrt1 does Flavor Artists have a Whiskey I can add to make a classic Irish Coffee? I always used Flavour Art Whisky but it’s getting harder to find in the US. Sure I can use the bourbons available or VTA Scotch Whiskey but the FA had a distinctive flavor that blended well with coffee. Maybe FArtists has something good for me, ey?
