Great job @muth !!!
2 Likes
Which one, the Vanilla Madness? You have so many other things to test, I’m not surprised. Don’t sweat it but if you do, I’m curious whether that bitter note is me or the juice? I’m going to try and let this one sit for a long time to see if anything changes.
4 Likes
Yes. I KNOW you asked me about this a while back, and I still didn’t get to it.
I know I mixed it up in 2022, but for some reason never got around to doing the FULL review @muth. I don’t recall getting a bitter note.
3 Likes
Maybe because it’s been steeping since 2022? 
5 Likes
All of the One-Shots were tested at the listed percentages, in the SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual Kanthal 24ga. vertical coils, with dry burned coils and fresh cotton before every test. All steeped for 2 weeks (at this point) before testing, and were tested in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier.
Avalon (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 20%
Awaken (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 20%
Birthday Cake (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 10% (10-14-23) – If you missed my review of the Ultimate Birthday Cake solo flavor this One-Shot was very similar to it, and was slightly improved. I still didn’t get an overwhelming sense of cake. Just like the Ultimate flavor, it was cake-y, and cake-ish, BUT never fully a cake. The hint of AP (Los Fritos) that I got from the Ultimate seems to have left the party with this one, and this one seemed to be a tad richer, and fuller. Sweetness was just above mid-level, and there were no overt off-notes, except a minor almost dry-ness on the finish. Still not a “Yeah, this is a birthday cake” though. I’m rating it slightly higher than the Ultimate, BUT, as was the case WITH the Ultimate BDC, this is probably a better cake MIXER, than a cake flavor/one-shot. Leaving it at a 6.95.10
Blackberry Lemonade (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 14% (10-15-23) – This one was a little “Zinger” right out of the gate. I don’t know what I expected from a Lemonade One-Shot, but this one was surprisingly good. Both the Lemon and Blackberry weren’t the strongest, but still very present. The was a “zing”, which presented almost like an effervescence, or fizzy-ness JUST below the surface, and never quit that kept it interesting. A few ticks above mid-level sweet, and no off-notes or florals could be found. At times it almost seemed like more of a candied lemon than a lemonade, washed over by a great, albeit somewhat relaxed Blackberry syrup. Almost convincingly real with just a bit too much of the candied aspect, but that would be about the only nit-pick on this one. Great tasting, almost fizzy, and surprisingly addictive. With the slightly relaxed Blackberry, and sometimes candied Lemon being the only real drawbacks, leaving this one high @ a 9.1/10.
Cherry Limeade (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 14%
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 12% (10-15-23) – EVERY time I test a cookie, I am reminded of my current Top Shelf Cookie …
DIYFS Cookie
Now, this one may not have been that good, but it was close. VERY close. Long story short, it DID taste almost 100% like CCCD. The dough notes came and went, but were present more often than not. The dough wasn’t greasy, but seemed to really capture the uncooked, well, cookie dough. No darker, baked, or burnt notes, which added to the uncooked profile. The chocolate chips were done excellently, and fit perfectly into a chocolate chip profile, without any dark, or bitter notes. The cookie profile itself was hard to completely nail down, but the cookie had some nice grainy-ness to it, along with some bakery notes, brown sugar, and maybe a touch of almond. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, and it was very full at the suggested rate of 12%. Surprisingly I was unable to pick out anything out of place, or lacking, which WAS a surprise. It was generic enough to avoid being labeled as a specific brand, but it tasted close to a Toll House if any. About my only nit-pick would be the raw dough notes sometimes being a little relaxed, but that’s it. This one was an accurate CCCD. Easily a 9.5/10.
Grape Bubblegum Reloaded (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 12%
Key Lime Pie (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 9%/12%/16% (6-16-24) – If you looked at the pics, you might have wondered why I picked THIS one up in a 120ml jug. @Ken_O_Where tipped me off that he had picked some up, and although sweet, was pretty damned good, so 120ml it was. I run THREE percentages, because the label on the bottle stated 16%, the MFG website stated 9%, but I found 11-12% to be the sweet spot. With all of that said, this was a VERY good Key Lime Pie.
I believe Ken said he went “graham cracker blind” after a while, but it stayed present till the end for me, so your graham cracker mileage may vary. The graham (crust) was just about perfect, and similar to CAP’s LMP graham cracker. Crusty, without any cinnamon to muck it up. The filling in this one was ALMOST the star of the show, as it was very accurate, creamy, tangy, and with almost the perfect amount of lime. It was like there was a lime IN the filling, and another that kicked in, during the finish. Sweetness was above mid-level, maybe a few ticks, and it could stand to be lowered a bit, BUT, it wasn’t cloying, or a deal breaker. I blew through NUMEROUS testers before I finally sat to write this (yeah, it’s pretty addictive), and I could find NO off-notes, or anything out of place. About all I had were two “wants”. A little more key lime, and a little less sweetness, but THAT, was IT. While very well balanced and blended, I was pretty sure I got some meringue from it as well (hint), and it worked. All in, a VERY good KLP, with a great, accurate graham crust (that didn’t fade for me), a delicious creamy filling, with some punchy key limes. Taking off only for the above average sweetener, and leaving this one very high at a 9.85/10.
Peach Cobbler (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 12% (6-15-24) – This one smelled great in the bottle, and most of that was present when testing. My two main take-aways were “bakery” and a “light peach”. The peach almost got lost at times in the mix, so it could have been a little stronger. The “cobbler” notes felt like they were about 65% of the way there, but could use just a little push to the finish line. At times it presented as more of a general/generic pastry/bakery, BUT, with some great biscuit like nuances. Between the light peach, and bakery notes was a creamy-ish center note which acted like a carrier for the peach, and a smoother for the cobbler if that makes sense. 4 testers into this one, I was still unable to fully flesh out and identify the peach because it was fairly light in the mix. The small bits I did get tasted juicy, and yellow, BUT, it was fairly overpowered in the mix, with the cobbler/bakery taking the lead. At the suggested weight of 12% it was very full, and sweetness was just about mid-level sweet. No off-notes, and only my aforementioned nit-picks to complain about. All it, it felt like it really needed a peach boost, and in total, it felt about 65-70% of the way there. Leaving it at a 6.9/10.
Raspberry Cheesecake (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 12% (6-20-24) – This one smelled GREAT in the bottle, and was kinda “ehhhh” when testing. It’s hard to explain but when smelling it, the fairly creamy cheesecake was there, and the raspberry was present, but when testing it, it reduced into a rather bland-ish, creamy mix with SOME raspberry in there. Somewhat blurred if that makes sense. The cheesecake seemed centered most around itself, and I didn’t get much crust from it, and raspberry I could pick out was fairly recessed, and hard to fully identify. The cheesecake seemed like a creamy, NY style, and the raspberry was similar to INW’s Malina for comparison. All in, it was an “Ok” showing, but in no way, a showstopper. Because it was centered around the creamy cheesecake, I would probably crust it up a bit, and def. spike up the raspberry with, well, something just like INW Mainla !!! No off-notes, or BA that I could detect, and it was moderately present at the advised 12%, and sweetness was just below mid-level. I finally settled on a score of 6.2/10 for this one.
Razzlebear (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 15% (10-18-23) – I had to spend some extra time with this one, as I just wasn’t sure about it. From the MFG …
Enjoy the luxurious taste of fresh raspberries, silky smooth white chocolate, with a hint of cooling mint
Now let me get this disclaimer out of the way, when I review “mashups” it is even MORE important for the readers to try for themselves, even more important than single flavor reviews, as sometimes a shot/mix/mashup just isn’t working for me, but might for them. This one didn’t really take off for me. Indeed there was white chocolate, raspberry, and cooling mint in there, BUT, it just didn’t really work. All 3 main players were just ehhh, and combined, well, just not sure. The white chocolate was tasty, and cream, and possibly the star of the show. The RB was fairly low in the mix, and low enough, that it was hard to fully appreciate. The mint and cooling (you guys KNOW, I hate the cooling), just felt out of place. Yes, it was an interesting IDEA. I felt that maybe just TWO out of the three profiles might have been better, like just the RB and cooling/mint, or the RB and the white chocolate, but all three seemed to conflict more than anything else. At 15% it was full enough, with just below mid-level sweet, and no “off-notes” per se, but just all 3 profiles combined just never fully worked for my tastes. Taste IS subjective, but for my tastes, I settled on a 4.0/10.
Space Monkey (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 17.5% (6-23-24) – From the MFG …
A delicious blend of cream, bananas, vanilla, and brown sugar. For a bakery One Shot, the taste and convenience is out of this world
This one presented to me like a pretty good banana cream. There may have been some slight vanilla notes floating around in there, but they were somewhat light(er). I did get some hints of brown sugar as well, so their billing it pretty spot on. The banana(s) tasted almost over-ripe, and had a “taffy” twinge to them, as well as a slight funk. Not a bad funk, but the curling notes you get from over-ripened nanas as opposed to the green ones. Creamy-ness was actually very good, smooth, rich, and was seamlessly blended into the nanas. At the spec’d 17.5% it was rich, full, and tasty, and sweetness was just above mid-level. No complaints or off-notes with the exception of the slight “funkyness” from the nanas, but even that was somewhat minor. All in, a pretty good “Banana Cream” from FJ. With my PERSONAL preference leaning much more towards a “greener” banana, (and yours may be different), decided to leave this one at a 8.5/10.
Strawberry Cream Bar (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 19.5%
Strawberry Crusher (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 7% (10-20-23) – After letting this one settle, again I was not sure about whether it worked, or not. From the MFG…
Strawberry Crusher: Where Sweet Peaches, Cherries, and Creamy Dreams Unite in Flavor Fun!
Sounded good, and testing it did reveal some Strawberry, some White Peach, and just maybe some Cherry undertones, but they were very weak. There was indeed a creamy carrier that the fruit rode on, but it was more of a non eggy, generic vanilla base. Sometimes fruit DO pair well, and accent each other, and other times not. During most of the test, it presented as a fruit mashup over a creamy vanilla base. Not great, not terrible, but just ehh. It was full @ 7%, and no off-notes except for a slight “twang” on the finish. Again, not terrible, but just not stellar. All in it was a fruit mashup, with overtones of SB, hints of peach, riding over a creamy vanilla. Finally decided on a 6.5/10 for this one.
Sugar Cookie (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 12%
Sweet Strawberry Cream (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 15% (10-20-23) – Oh no, ANOTHER Strawberry Cream ?? Hehe, yes. This One-Shot is (I believe) the most popular shot in FJ’s lineup. Granted many of the high reviews may be from non-DIY’ers, but it was still worth a look, to see what was what with their Top Seller. Out of the gate, I got a very familiar Jammy Strawberry with some deliciously thick Butter undertones, which immediately reminded me of One On One’s SB Jam. Maybe some INW Shisha SB tossed in for a brightener, and a surprisingly decent milky cream. The cream was the most interesting part here, as it wasn’t a thick, rich cream, but seemed to straddle a milk, and cream. The very present (and delicious) buttery undertones from the SB worked veyr well to CONCEAL some of the creamy-ness, keeping it shrouded at bit, mostly to perfectly identify it, but it was the carrier that the SB’s rode on top ot. At 15% it was very full, and just about mid-level sweet, with no off-notes. The best two parts for me, were the Jammy-ness of the SB’s, and the milky, creamy carrier. As a whole it DID work, and it did it well. Sure, sure, you probably have at least a half a dozen recipes for SB Cream already, but maybe you want a “quick fix”, or some inspiration on making one. Even though the SB Cream profile has been pretty well flushed out already, this one was a good one, and not a bad one to pick up. Jammy, punchy, with a really good, milky cream undertone. Leaving this one high at a 9.1/10.
Tiger’s Blood Reloaded (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 8% (10-20-23) – Breaking into the LAST One-Shot in this series, with the “Reloaded” version of FJ’s Tiger’s Blood. I had tested the OG version, and while I wasn’t 100% sure on the Cherry, Kiwi, and Mellon profiles, I scored it fairly high to it’s different approach to a TB. This one, was much more to my liking, and it presented as FAR more “Red” than the OG. Tastes vary WILDY in what makes the BEST TB, so use your own tastes above all else. This one just plain worked for me, having the juicy red watermelon up front, with a ripe red strawberry falling right behind it, with lighter notes of Pineapple and Coconut lower down in the mix. To my tastes, the ratios were almost spot on to make the “right” TB. Having the SB just behind the Watermelon, it allowed it to enhance the WM without fighting it. The lighter PA and Coconut worked to round out the mix without overshadowing the two predominant players. Sweetness was ust above mid-level, and there was JUST enough tart from the SB (and maybe the Pineapple) to jazz up any smoothness from the WM. All in, a great “re-do”, errrr “Reloaded” version of their Tiger’s Blood. Because I prefer a much juicier “red” TB, going to leave this one pretty high, at a 9.8/10.
Vanilla Custard Leaf (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 10%
8 Likes
Birthday Cake (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 10% (10-14-23) – If you missed my review of the Ultimate Birthday Cake solo flavor this One-Shot was very similar to it, and was slightly improved. I still didn’t get an overwhelming sense of cake. Just like the Ultimate flavor, it was cake-y, and cake-ish, BUT never fully a cake. The hint of AP (Los Fritos) that I got from the Ultimate seems to have left the party with this one, and this one seemed to be a tad richer, and fuller. Sweetness was just above mid-level, and there were no overt off-notes, except a minor almost dry-ness on the finish. Still not a “Yeah, this is a birthday cake” though. I’m rating it slightly higher than the Ultimate, BUT, as was the case WITH the Ultimate BDC, this is probably a better cake MIXER, than a cake flavor/one-shot. Leaving it at a 6.95.10
8 Likes
Blackberry Lemonade (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 14% (10-15-23) – This one was a little “Zinger” right out of the gate. I don’t know what I expected from a Lemonade One-Shot, but this one was surprisingly good. Both the Lemon and Blackberry weren’t the strongest, but still very present. The was a “zing”, which presented almost like an effervescence, or fizzy-ness JUST below the surface, and never quit that kept it interesting. A few ticks above mid-level sweet, and no off-notes or florals could be found. At times it almost seemed like more of a candied lemon than a lemonade, washed over by a great, albeit somewhat relaxed Blackberry syrup. Almost convincingly real with just a bit too much of the candied aspect, but that would be about the only nit-pick on this one. Great tasting, almost fizzy, and surprisingly addictive. With the slightly relaxed Blackberry, and sometimes candied Lemon being the only real drawbacks, leaving this one high @ a 9.1/10.
7 Likes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 12% (10-15-23) – EVERY time I test a cookie, I am reminded of my current Top Shelf Cookie …
DIYFS Cookie
Now, this one may not have been that good, but it was close. VERY close. Long story short, it DID taste almost 100% like CCCD. The dough notes came and went, but were present more often than not. The dough wasn’t greasy, but seemed to really capture the uncooked, well, cookie dough. No darker, baked, or burnt notes, which added to the uncooked profile. The chocolate chips were done excellently, and fit perfectly into a chocolate chip profile, without any dark, or bitter notes. The cookie profile itself was hard to completely nail down, but the cookie had some nice grainy-ness to it, along with some bakery notes, brown sugar, and maybe a touch of almond. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, and it was very full at the suggested rate of 12%. Surprisingly I was unable to pick out anything out of place, or lacking, which WAS a surprise. It was generic enough to avoid being labeled as a specific brand, but it tasted close to a Toll House if any. About my only nit-pick would be the raw dough notes sometimes being a little relaxed, but that’s it. This one was an accurate CCCD. Easily a 9.5/10.
14 Likes
I really liked Folkart’s CCCD though I felt it needed a touch more brown sugar so I added 1% ultimate brown sugar and it was perfect.
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My fave Brown Sugar
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Theres some who think the Ultimate line is sub par, but personally i think they are good flavors overall
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As we all know, taste is subjective, I own almost all the Ultimate line and I personally love them and have had nothing but positive feedback from those for whom I mix.
4 Likes
My experience has been that the previous “Ultimates” were pretty spot on. These, the latest released, some WERE indeed spot on, but a few were not. @fidalgo_vapes I would be VERY curious to hear your thoughts on the Ultimate Blueberry.
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I need to mix it …Not sure why i havent lol , will.do tonight
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I have to qualify my statement, I do not have the Blueberry, vanilla custard or, passionfruit in the ultimate line so, I probably should have said, of the ones I own I love. lol 
3 Likes
Yes i have all of the Ultimates and I have tried it…Bubble Gum , Flat Grape Soda, a good Artificial purple color type grape flavor…Ill have to make sure since im not home lol
1 Like
Razzlebear (One Shot) (Flavor Jungle) 15% (10-18-23) – I had to spend some extra time with this one, as I just wasn’t sure about it. From the MFG …
Enjoy the luxurious taste of fresh raspberries, silky smooth white chocolate, with a hint of cooling mint
Now let me get this disclaimer out of the way, when I review “mashups” it is even MORE important for the readers to try for themselves, even more important than single flavor reviews, as sometimes a shot/mix/mashup just isn’t working for me, but might for them. This one didn’t really take off for me. Indeed there was white chocolate, raspberry, and cooling mint in there, BUT, it just didn’t really work. All 3 main players were just ehhh, and combined, well, just not sure. The white chocolate was tasty, and cream, and possibly the star of the show. The RB was fairly low in the mix, and low enough, that it was hard to fully appreciate. The mint and cooling (you guys KNOW, I hate the cooling), just felt out of place. Yes, it was an interesting IDEA. I felt that maybe just TWO out of the three profiles might have been better, like just the RB and cooling/mint, or the RB and the white chocolate, but all three seemed to conflict more than anything else. At 15% it was full enough, with just below mid-level sweet, and no “off-notes” per se, but just all 3 profiles combined just never fully worked for my tastes. Taste IS subjective, but for my tastes, I settled on a 4.0/10.
11 Likes