@SessionDrummer re: Cheesecake Olympus: I revamped my Berry dessert cup using this one and it was a good addition. I like being able to control the crust and tanginess. I had a laugh at your review:
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Hehe, yeah, I finally caught that typo. 
Thanks Luke. 
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That’s interesting @lukeloop. I think they did a really convincing job or turning it into a “juice”.
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Custard Extra 1 (FA) 2.5% (6-5-21) – Disclaimer, custard steeped only 1 wk 2 days…
Well, well, well, what do we have here. Realizing custards should be steeped a bit longer, rolling on this one at slightly over 1 week. Right out of the gate, two things were evident, no in your face heavy egg, and an almost pudding like quality. We’ll talk more about the other nuances, but those two main aspects, continued from beginning to end. First, this is a lighter custard LIKE (minus the citrus note) FA Custard, than say a heavier custard like CAP’s v.1. @ 2.5% it was quite good, relaxed, but full, delicious, but not overpowering in any way. I use FA’s Custard often, but it is a much lighter custard, and has some citrus elements to it, but this one, takes/took a lighter custard and UPPED the game a bit. I think the pudding element(s) work perfectly here, but weren’t high enough to pull it into a full pudding category, but really accented, and carried the custard portion. Quite a tasty lil’ gem FA’s come up with here. Your mileage WILL vary depending on what YOU want/need from a custard. One of the better things about this one, was it wasn’t overbearing, and non-fatiguing. Nothing off-putting at this weight, nicely smooth, and maybe a tick above mid level sweet. It presented as a fairly unique custard, which puts it into the “you might want to pick it up” cataeory. For a nice custard, with decent pudding elements, that wasn’t entirely vanilla focused, plenty rich, without a heavy handed egg profile, this one may get it done for you. For me, it’s a tester tank finisher. Easily 9.5/10.
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I got a dairy note smell from it akin to buttermilk. I would imagine this would be useful in a thickshake or milkshake too.
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Yeah, you know what @lukeloop at times I almost got a condensed milk note, but it would come and go on me. Your perceptions sound dead on.
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Decano Tobacco (FA) 2.5% (6-5-21) – Decano translated means literally the Dean, or Professor, so your takeaway on the name or meaning may vary. The Professor of Tobaccos ?? This one WAS a complex one, no other way to put it. The main note it centered around an RY4 main note, but the other notes, swirling around, made it hard to nail down. At times I almost got an orange nuance, but without the sharp citrus punch, and others I was picking up a slight dark choco, maybe even a coffee. More often than not, I was greeted with a dark earthy, almost slightly smoky finish. Hehe, yeah, this one’s hard to nail down. There was a creamy element thrown into the main RY4 note, that wandered around a vanilla, but not consistently, but it was there none the less. If you think it’s hard to perceive this one, try to explain it hehe. I’d love to hear others thoughts on this one, as it WAS a great, complex ride for sure. All in, this one was QUITE the mysterious one, and in a GOOD way. I’m going to have to leave this one as a very complex RY4-ish mix, with some slight fruity notes, a good creamery element, with an interesting slight chocolate/coffee/smoky finish. 2.5% felt really good, mid level sweet, and just a swirling deliciously mysterious one this one was. Going high for the complexity, blending, and overall effect. 9.8/10.
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Definitely one to add to the shopping list. Your description reminds me of a couple Italian and French concentrates. Better check my notes.
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All I heard was pudding, sold!
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Ice Cream Italian Premium (FA) 2.5% (6-6-21) – ASSUMING this was is/was/is DAAP free, it is quite an interesting flavor. First off, the creaminess, and mouthfeel are quite dominant, and really carried through from beginning to end. My only experience with “Italian Creams” was with Hangen’s IC, and that was a powerhouse. This one (granted an Ice Cream), didn’t have the forceful impact as the aforementioned, but it surprisingly held it’s own, none the less. Sweet, creamy, and mouthfeel were the big initial takeaways, followed up by a fairly neutral sweetened note. Maybe some very relaxed vanilla, maybe some vienna cream, but just maybe. That left this one as a deliciously creamy blank slate to be pushed/pulled as you needed it. I didn’t get an extreme amount of “ice cream”, and while not sure how that is described, you know when it’s there or not. Even with that, this one may just end up on your must have list. Below mid level sweet, very smooth and creamy, and ready to do your bidding, and doing so well at 2.5%. Feels very good @ 9.2/10.
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Hehe yes @authormichellehughes, that’s kinda where I was at, as soon as I smelled the bottle. Now, it’s not full on 100% pudding like FLV’s reigning champion, but it’s a really smart pairing of a mid dense custard WITH a pudding, and I found the flavor, just a great, new approach.
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Jacote Plum (FA) 1.5% (6-6-21) – Upon first testing this one @ 2.5%, I was getting some strange boozey notes, and strong overtones, re-tested @ 1.5%, which was MUCH better. At the lower 1.5% weight, this Plum revealed itself much better, and without the strange overtones. Having never eaten a Spanish Plum I had no direct comparison, but that didn’t stop this one from being good. A nice, authentic, fresh plum with plenty of main body, and a hint of skin was where this one was centered. Fairly dark, with a spattering of high notes, but the majority were mid and low notes. About mid level sweet, and with some minor tartness, it was an interesting, and different one to taste. It was a different approach than the other Plums I’ve tried, so that pushes it into the unique category again, which is never bad. At this lower testing weight the boozeyness was gone, but it still had an almost slight red-wine contour, which again, made it interesting. Because it opened up, and I lost some of the strange notes I think the lower weight of 1.5% is far better to use this one, and no off-putting notes could be had, at this lower rate. Def. a tester finisher for me, and despite not being one of the more forward flavors, it was very good. Leaving it at 1.5% and 9.1/10.
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Another for the shopping list. You need to try more strange fruit.
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Hehe, yeah, fair enough. Glad that I reduced from 2.5% to 1.5%, as there were some STRANGE things going on at the higher rate.
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Longan Fresh (FA) 2.5% 6-6-21) – Continuing on our interesting fruit travels is the Dragon Eye, aka. Longan. True to the fruit, this was similar to Lychee, but more restrained, with an almost 7-up kicker, and a musky afternote. The muskiness, just like in the fruit wasn’t overbearing, and just worked here as well. The 7-up nuance(s) persisted throughout, and I’d swear when smelling it in the tank, it almost smelled like beer hops. Now, hehe, I get it, sounds crazy, but, as a solo flavor, it DID work, and was very close to the actual fruit. The beer hops was really only present when smelling it, not tasting it, so fear not. @2.5% it felt really solid, sweetness was below mid level, and all in, another unique fruit offering from FA, and if you like Lychee, you’ll probably like, and want this one as well. Interestingly set @ 9.3/10.
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Lulo (FA) 2.5% (6-6-21) – I’ve never Lulo’d have you ?? With another exotic from South America, the Lulo presented as a super fresh and juicy pairing of and orange and a lime, BUT, there was something MORE going on here. There was an almost watery juicy-ness to this one, and not in a cactus sort of way, so I obsessed on it, until I could figure out how to explain it. It’s almost the watery juicy-ness you’d get from Celery. I know, I know. Now, before you go running screaming, “What the hell, celery ??!!”, it was not high up in the mix, as the orange/lime took center stage, but sure enough, there was that other element, that the best way I can describe it was like celery. It strangely help bond the two main players together, and tie the flavor together. Despite recognizing the use of cactus for it’s juicy qualities, I’ve not been able to use it because of the taste, and I’m wondering if THIS one could be used (in recipes with citrus) to impart that same juicy-ness. The flavor was laid back @ 2.5% but didn’t taste lacking, it had a certain light, and freshness to it as well. Not heavy, below mid level sweet, and almost a refreshing vape. Wow, this is now becoming a trend here with FlavourArt’s exotic fruit offerings, as this one was another wow-er, and I’m not even really a “fruit guy”. A very unique citrus with an even more unique juicy-ness is what you get. Refreshingly nice @ 9.5/10.
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Papaya Indian (FA) 2.5% (6-7-21) – Here was yet another fascinating fruit roll out from FA, and one I’ve never tasted before. Unlike most papayas I’ve tried before, this one was almost UN-ripe, and was missing a lot of the more typical almost creamy body notes. I kept trying to put my finger on what profile I was getting from the un-ripe-ed-ness, and sometimes it almost presented as a slight wintergreen ?? Not 100% sure, but there was a distinct note in there, and once I tasted it, I couldn’t shake it. If you’re looking for an unripe Papaya, this one is it. Is it better, than a fully ripened, full bodies Papaya ?? Perhaps not. Uniquely placing this at a 6.5/10.
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Thnx, got me sold on a few. Sure like it if all my bottles came with a date on them too!?
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I have a nice mango and nisperos ice cream going on at the moment using the FA Ice Cream Italian Premium and there are no pepper notes that I a sensitive to so that is a big win.
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@Ericsgreen thank you, and I think these were pre-shipping bottles, which is why the labels look different from the regular retail ones.
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