Bear Claw (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-25-20) – Second one on deck, and another great one. Now obviously all of our tastes will vary, so you may not love everything I do, but for my tastes, I’m starting to think that Flavor Labs KNOWS their bakeries. Super great bakery element in this one, and with caramel, and pecans on top ? Yes, that’s what it’s tasting like. The pecan seemlessly blended with the bakery so they were hard to separate when vaping, and the caramelly rich goodness carried throughout the vape. Sweetness was about mid level, and for my second test from FL, this one was fine @ 6%, and frankly, you could use it lower. Nothing off-putting, and yet another “one-shot”-ish flavor from FL. By that I mean, it’s soo good by itself, you really wouldn’t have to add anything, it’s that good. I vaped it hard to try and detect any play-doh or other “I know what that is”'s, and I just couldn’t find any. Smelling it, vaping it, even tasting it, tasted the same. A great bakery, with very fresh tasting Pecans thrown in, with a caramel that carried throughout the vape. About the only thing that could be a take off for some would be the slightly more forward Pecan, but for my tastes, it suited the overall mix perfectly, and I couldn’t see changing it. If you like pastries, and like caramel and pecans, I think this one should be on your list. 9.5/10.
Blackberry (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-25-20) – When testing this one @ 6% it had some floral overtones, and I further diluted it, which helped a great bit, so 6% seemed to be pushing the ceiling on this one. Re-tested at roughly 4%. There was an interesting article on this flavor here that somewhat explains the MFG process of it. This one was higher priced than most of the other flavors on their site, and I am assuming because of the all natural-ness of this one. A slight bit of the floral-ness remained at the lower testing weight, but not so much as to be intrusive. It did present as a very natural Blackberry, but at unique at the same time. Couldn’t think of a good comparison on the market, which led to it’s more unique profile. No seeds, bitterness or anything off-putting except for the floral note when pushing too high. Not overly tart, and sweetness was below mid level. Full bodied and dark at the lower testing weight, and you could probably go down to 2% if needed. Not fully up to par with Medicine Flower’s but still good none the less. Because of the added cost, and the floral top end if not careful, your mileage will vary on this one. All in, felt good at 7/10.
Cherry Wild (Flavor Labs) 3% (10-25-20) – Man, you guys owe me BIG time for buying, and testing all these completely UN-documented flavors, with the real and present danger of blowing my face off. Thanks, I appreciate it, hehe. OK, First things first. 3 percent, WAAAAY TOO HIGH for this one. Reduce, reduce, reduce. I cut it once, still too heavy, reduced again, and it started to take better shape. I think 0.90% would be a good starting point for this one. Once you step this one down to chinatown, it is actually a QUITE outstanding Cherry. It had aspect of a Mara, but some mid (darker) tones, but NOT a Black Cherry. Perhaps that’s the “Wild” in it. Beyond being hella-strong, for some reason during the tester tank I wanted to make a Cherry Milkshake. At a much lower, even sub 1% mixing weight, no florals, or off-putting notes. There was a certain aspect/note that I got from this, almost like the cherry pit, but not bitter that kept it unique and interesting. If you dare, and go very low, this might just help you out with some of your Cherry needs. Go low, you have been warned. 8.9/10.
Fruit Loopys (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-25-20) – With my all time fav (Cap Silverline Fruit Circles) being used almost daily, I think I’m pretty well versed in all things that are Loops. Out of the gate, I thought I MIGHT have gotten a wiff of AP. AP ?? !!! Let’s vape on and see. Right on the vape, this one had a GREAT cereal mid and back end, some citrus in there, and NO Lemon Pledge. Sweetness was actually below mid level which is always a nice surprise for Cereal flavors/vapes. It felt as if some of the citrus was missing on the top end with this one, and the AP note I thought I got earlier, didn’t re-appear. Perhaps buried in the cereal notes. I got more lemon of the sniff, than I did off the vape, which depending on how you Loop may or may not be a big deal. Being able to add Lemon as YOU need it, is never a bad thing. While not bad, was missing some of the meringue aspects that many of us need when Looping. In total, not bad, just not super stellar. Leaving it mildly at 7.0/10.
Grape (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-26-20) – Grape on deck, and deep purple it is !!! OK, this one presented as a fairly full, and rich grape, but had an interesting top end, and I’m not sure if I’m 100% a fan, or not. Almost like a touch of champagne on the exhale. I don’t think it hurt the mix, but it was def. present on the exhale. It’s light enough that simply pairing it with another would easily mask it, if you were in the NOT a fan camp, or let it ride solo, if you were a fan. The grape itself while not billed as a jam, had a lot of jammy qualities. Not overly sweet, so not 100% jam, but as are in some of the recipes this is used in, pairing it with others, can easily push it into full jam mode. All in, a solid mid/slightly dark grape, but with a note on the exhale, that you might love, or hate. Staying neutral on the top end finish note, felt good at 7.0/10.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-27-20) – This one was another “staff favorite” from Flavor Labs, so I dove right in !!! OK, I hadn’t had a PUDC in a while, so I had to scratch my memory TO remember LOL. At 6%, I was getting florals, SO, backed it back down to 4%, which fared MUCH better. The reason why I DO leave the original testing weight in the sub-title, is that WAS where I started. OK, first thing I thought was “Where’s Da Cake” ?? !!! Didn’t really get much of it. Period. Now, what I DID get was a roundhouse kick to the face, and it tasted like PINEAPPLE !!! This one had Pineapple in spades. It was a very broad spectrum pineapple, with some punchy high end notes, mid body, and some lower end. It really covered all the bases in regards to pineapple, AND, it had an almost unique “baked” quality to it. It was very satisfying at 4%, and could even be mixed lower. Now, because of the very missing cake part, this will be hard to rate, as I will have to push it down a bit, but I don’t want to overshadow the delicious pineapple nature of it at the same time. Let’s leave it here. As a Pinepple Upside Cake, I would have to go with a 6.0/10. As a straight pineapple, I would have to reverse direction, and peg it at 9.2/10.
Sugar Cookie (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-28-20) – This sugar cookie to me, was rather interesting. It wasn’t that it was the best SC that I have used, but it was still good, but I did a little test with this one. Started out at 6%, tasted pretty good, didn’t feel like it was hitting the ceiling, and nothing off-putting. I decided to simply cut it on half to 3%, just to see what happened. What was funny, was not MUCH changed. Interesting. Slightly less impact, but overall, didn’t really change much. So, even 3% will give you a good idea of it. Overall it lacked from the the vanilla-buttery-goodness that I get from CAP’s SC, and maybe a smidge less grainy-ness. It didn’t feel lacking per se, but when I compare it to my CAP goto, it just seemed less present. It wasn’t heavy on the vanilla, which allowed it to land more squarely in a non-descript, neutral cookie than anything else. Sweetness was at or below mid level, and whether at 3% or 6%, didn’t get any off putting, out of character notes. This one summed up as a fairly neutral, slightly grainy cookie. It felt good at 7.0/10.
Strawberry Jam (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-26-20) – Yeah, this is the one. The one that really brought Flavor Labs into the limelight. Yes, it IS maybe one of the BEST Jammie, Strawberry Jams I have tried, and I’ve tried a few. Now, this isn’t supposed to be, nor does it claim to be the best Strawberry, but again, we’re talking JAM here. OK, this one, probably SHOULD be on your must have list, if you are shopping at Flavor Labs. Starting this one off, it was surprisingly below mid level sweet ?? !!! What ?? Yes, and that just opens it up for more uses, and allows you to spike sweetener if you want to. The next, and overwhelming point, IS the jammy-ness of it. I am not sure how they do it, but it MUST be magic, or every “jam” would have it, and they don’t. There is just a very unique quality to it, and it just absolutely captures the exact qualities of a jam. If you can picture eating some homemade SB Jam with pectin, and just the right amount of sugar, that’s this. It’s so unique IMO, it really sets it apart from the pack, and not in a small way. The SB’s in total appeared to lean from the mid to low, with a smattering of the bright higher end, which gave it a much more full, and robust SB Jam vaping experience, as opposed to a bright SB. All in, for a Strawberry Jam, I cannot go less than 10/10.
Do you know how much I like Bear Claws? Will you stop it already? By the time you’re done (you’ll never be done) I will come to find out that there’s a solo flavor for every recipe I’ve tried to concoct and the game is over. How about a list of all the “one-shotish” flavors so far? I’ve got S’mores Cupcake (WF) in my cart. I know there’s more but I can’t remember all of them. Are these companies trying to make it easier for newbs to mix their own? If they are they’re doing a good job. It does help the community and I’m sure their bottom line but will the art of mixing now be in the hands of concentrate makers?
Hehe, I had no idea @muth.
I know right ?
Holy crap, hehe, ummmmm, that might take a bit @muth. Working late, so hard to get all these done quickly. It would be far easier to sort must haves by 9.0+ ratings. Let me think on this one.
I could read through all your notes and start picking them out. Can’t promise how long that would take me but I can start with your notes all in one base. If I get a reasonably long list and staff is willing to pin it next to your notes, that may help people looking for standalone flavors. Anything to help a newb get going and psyched about mixing.
@SessionDrummer I started the list. I got through the WF ones. You mention a lot of solos there. Definitely 7. Crumble Topping and Tropical Gummy Bears aren’t mentioned as solos but definite “must haves”. I put a ? by them. Just started VTA.
Watermelon (Flavor Labs) 6% (10-30-20) – Melon and rind were the too first things I thought of when vaping this one. I personally like it when MFG’s throw in some rind, as it makes it more authentic (well, unless you hate the rind that is, hehe). The melon itself was blurred between the white/clear, and the red parts of the melon, and the sweetness remained about mid level throughout. It presented to me, in a 80% natural, 20% candied profile, that was plenty strong at 6%, but not hitting the ceiling. Wouldn’t call it a “Super” watermelon, but it was def. above average. Because it had aspects of both natural and candied, your use of it, will be opened up to more recipes, as opposed to a WM that is specifically one or the other. It wasn’t overbearing or heavy, and with that said, never felt lacking at this percentage. I think a good above average score of 7.0/10 feels right.
Well, you’re too busy testing. I’m just reading your notes. My benefit.
Grape Wild (Flavor Labs) 6% (11-6-20) – For the last flavor in this series, the Grape Wild was a very unique finish. Having tried Flavor Labs’ Grape, this one was similar in so much that it presented as a rich, and full mid / semi-dark grape, but with something else. It took me quite a while to try and figure out how to explain the “wild” in it, and I finally got it. It tasted like white wine on top of a purple grape. NOT a darker wine, but literally a nice juicy purple grape, WITH, some white wine thrown in on top. Once I had that realization, I couldn’t see it any other way. Your perceptions may vary, but as a whole, it did work pretty convincingly as a Wild Grape. Was full, but more relaxed than FL’s Grape at this testing weight, and sweetness was below mid level. Throughout the tank it stayed convincing, fairly natural, and with no off-putting notes. Now that I’ve had both this and the regular Grape, I think I prefer this one, as it tasted more natural, and the “wildness” worked really good. All in, leaving this higher than the Grape, @ 8.5/10.
The sugar cookie was designed without BUTTER or notes that would probably turn into diacetyl upon heat. I am the formulator at FlavorLaboratories and I vape. Miracle I got it that far. Sure butter would ‘rock it’ but I actually care what’s in it. So I was able to work every candy flavor formula around to consider each material – when no one else bothered. [They pretend they have no clue their stuff is being vaped Lorann, PA Cap, yada yada…] *Do not expect me to contribute too much because posts are overwhelming in general.
@Lois_Lane, wow, impressed you found these reviews here, and I appreciate you stopping in, and taking the time to drop a line. You bring up valid points about what’s actually IN the flavors we are vaping, and the turning of the blind eye by some MFG’s. I also think it’s GREAT that you are the formulator, AND, you vape, which really says a lot about what you’re doing, and why.
While agreeing that posting (especially on numerous sites) can become very overwhelming, I hope you wont be a stranger. Thanks again, as I wish more companies took the time. Sadly, I am OUT of likes currently…
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Great reviews , as usual. Unfortunately these are unavailable in the UK, and I’m pissed because you gave me recipes for some very popular liquids, which will not be the same without them. Oh, and Chefs are STILL sold out of VSO Strawberry. Just incase you thought I;d forgotten. Jeez.
