Ultimate Grape (Flavor Jungle) 3.0%. (10-10-23) – Just in case you missed it, as SOON as I tested this flavor, I KNEW it was also in the Ultimate Blueberry. Simply put, this was a fairly candied (but not entirely) Concord Grape, and a Green Grape. Story over. Sweetness levels were a few ticks above mid-level, and overall, it did present as candied-ish, SO, if you are/were looking for a completely natural Grape, this isn’t it. The good news is/was that it wasn’t entirely candied, SO, you could use it in more mixes, depending on your needs or wants. The green grape notes seemed to be more natural while the concord seemed more candied. As far as if it was the Ultimate or not, that’s going to have to be up to YOU guys, and/or your wants/needs. I didn’t detect any off-notes, and it did stay solidly on the grape train, with no deviations. Despite the fairly candied nature I felt it was smart to pair both types of grapes, as that could allow for even more uses. I struggled somewhat on the scoring here, as it wasn’t a full on natural grape, but more candied, so I don’t know if I would have renamed it the Ultimate Candied Grape or not, but I think I’ll have to leave it at a high 9.0/10 for the great grape pairings with some take-offs for the candied. If you like grapes, you will probably love this one.
Ultimate Lemon (Flavor Jungle) 3.0% (10-10-23) – Normally I test most lemons at lower percentages, but I decided to let this one roll with the rest, and there were no issues at 3%. It immediately struck me as a rather different take on Lemons, and in an interesting way. This was a combination of a Fresh Yellow Lemon, and a Lemon Drop candy. The fresh lemon was convincingly natural with some sweetness and a nice tart edge. The Lemon Runt notes were artificial, and had a nice candied edge. NOW, what is important here, is the RATIO of one to the other, which will dictate how or when you could/would use it. It was fairly hard to determine the EXACT ratio with all of the yellow lemony notes swirling around, but I’ll settle on 60% Natural Lemon, and 40% Lemon Drop. Despite it being labeled as “Ultimate” this type of mashup may work better in some mixes more than others, mostly because of the inclusion of the candy lemon drop elements. If you were in need of a purely natural tasting Lemon, this won’t be for you, but for everyone else, it might.
Despite being a mashup, I didn’t get any off-notes, and NO PLEDGE !!! The ratios between the two Lemon types was smartly done by leaning towards the natural. Sweetness was jsut below mid-level, and there was just enough tart/sour to keep it crisp. All in, not a bad Lemon, BUT, as always, it will depend on what you need in a mix. I think leaving it high, and equal to the previously tested Ultimate Grape felt fair, as the inclusion of the candy elements may or may not be for everyone. Leaving this squarely at a 9.0/10.
Ultimate Mango (Flavor Jungle) 3.0% (10-11-23) – As a big fan, and occasional purchaser of their Mango Mafia, I was curious to see how this one tasted, and to see if there were any similarities. They were very similar, and so much so, that I would have to spend some time later, and do a direct A:B comparison to see. This one smelled “punchy” in the bottle, and tasted the same when testing. This one was very good, and catered to my Mango palate. Bright, punchy, and juicy were my main take-aways on this one. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, but it wasn’t fatiguing-ly so. It had very little of the darker, mellower Mango notes, but quite honestly, I didn’t miss them, as I do prefer the brighter, high end notes. Juicy, without any dry-ness, and fairly sweet, without being candied, and had a crisp, natural taste. At 3% it was very full, but didn’t taste overflavored, and I didn’t detect any florals, soaps, perfumes, or any other off-notes. Because it WAS so bright and punchy, it is possible it might not suit every mix, but for most of my preferred uses, it would work great, and probably not be overshadowed in a mix. If bright and punchy Mango is what you crave, this one will get it done. Leaving this one fairly high at a 9.5/10.
Whoa…this might be the biggest disappointment out of the Ultimates so far
I think it’s going to be completely up to the mixer @fidalgo_vapes. Mashups are hard to score for everyone’s tastes. Some people (like me) prefer a Lemon, to be a natural lemon, which can be push/pulled as needed. Candied Lemons can be trickier to use (IMO), as if they are TOO candied, they can get pigeon-holed into a very specific small range of uses. The Ultimate Lemon seemed to bridge BOTH the Natural and Candied. NOW, hehe, what makes it tricky, is I can’t score it for everyone. I.e. those who like all natural won’t like it as much, those who like nothing BUT candied might not like it as much, BUT, because it sits in the middle, … you get it.
It depends on what the end user defines as the perfect Lemon. IMO, Medicine Flower Lemon IS that Lemon for me, so I tried to rate it down a bit because of the candied portion, but not so much as to wreck it. “Ultimate” is a strong word for sure, and I suspect that they intentionally tried to straddle the gap between a completely natural and completely candied, to try to appeal to more people ?? Did it work ?? We’ll have to wait for MORE reviews.
Yeah, that’s a tough one, and I’m ALMOST done with them, but for my tastes, I think what you are referring to with the Lemon, I felt MORE so with the blueberry. I thought that the green/white/purple grape pairing WITH a blueberry was a great idea, BUT, it wasn’t a pure Blueberry. Mashups (not one-shots or blends per se), are easy to test, but hard to score.
@SessionDrummer I would have to agree on the Ultimate Mango. I love it and use it frequently, lately I’ve been mixing it with Tangerine (FLV), some Brandy (VSO), and a couple other ingredients which make a great Mango vape, has also become another of my daughter and her boyfriend’s favorites.
Thank you for your reviews!
The only one i havent tried
Ultimate Passionfruit (Flavor Jungle) 3.0% (10-13-23) – This one wowed right out of the gate, and never quit. Granted I don’t mix with PF much, I’ve started using it more in some Custard mixes, as well as the more expected fruit mixes. This one had a great authentic, and natural taste, with just the right amount of what I call a light “fermented” note. At 3% it was nicely full, and it didn’t feel underpowered, with a sweetness that was actually a few ticks below mid-level. No off-notes could be found, and I looked long and hard to find any nit-picks, and about my only issue would be it lacked just a few of the brighter, top end notes. It wasn’t completely devoid of them, but it seemed to be focused on the mid notes with a few low, and a few high, and I would have loved just a SMIDGE more of the high notes. Even as it was, it was hard to fault this one, as it was very accurate, and with a nice little fermented kicker on the finish. Tasty, and that’s coming from the NOT fruit guy at that. With minor take-offs for the slightly recessed brighter high end notes, this one felt good at a 9.0/10.
Ultimate Lemon JF 2%
Bright punchy authentic yellow lemon. Strong, as in 1/2% accent. Compare to FE lemon but not as much of a candy. This one is juicy, authentic, tart, no pledge notes or off notes.
Preferred single flavor mix: 1.0%
I think I like this better than lemon drop (Capella) but for some reason it’s really strong to me. I don’t get much candy, but maybe a smidge. I get more “candy” from FE.
My 2¢ 
Ultimate Tutti Frutti (Flavor Jungle) 3.0% (10-13-23) – Many people don’t know this, but Tutti Frutti was the FIRST gum sold in a vending machine. YES, that’s right, back in 1888… At FIRST, I had thought this one was purely a Pink Bubblegum, BUT, as I worked my through the testers, I DID keep getting some light, to very light fruity undertones. Wow, talk about a delicious bubblegum, this one was it. No dry notes, except for maybe the powdered sugar coating that is. YES, it was in there too. The BBG was done very nicely, and it almost had you wanting to blow a bubble !!! Pink, just below mid-level sweet, and with no off-notes. It wasn’t the strongest BBG flavor, and I almost wished I’d tested it higher, at maybe 4.0%. Even still it was a great authentic pink BBG, with light fruity undertones. About my only two nit-picks would be the slightly lighter presentation, and the fact that I couldn’t BLOW any bubbles with it. Pink, authentic, and tasty. Leaving this, the LAST Ultimate in this series at a 9.0/10. Just almost as perfect as it could have been.
Exactly what I got at 3%!
Lining up the new(er) Flavor Jungle Flavors …
Ultimate Banana Tutti Frutti (Flavor Jungle) 4% (1-23-24) – Wow, this one took some time for me to unpack. First, “new” one on deck, and it was tasty as hell, BUT, there was a “but”, AND, it might not be as big of a but, as you thought. Starting out, at 4% this one was damned good, and very full. After running FOUR testers on this one, I could pick out no off-notes, or real complaints. The banana in this one, was almost spot on perfect for my tastes. VERY fresh, with plenty of green, and green/yellow notes. ABSENT were any over ripened, mushy, or brown notes, which for MY tastes were always a turn off. Your tastes may vary, but for mine, the nana was about 99.9% perfect. Now the BUT. The but was that that bubblegum (aka Tutti Frutti) was a little low in the mix. It WAS perceivable from beginning to end, but it was just a smidge light. Now this could be because it was paired so perfectly WITH the banana that it was slightly concealed ?? Maybe so. As long as you weren’t expecting a slamming bubblegum, and you love bananas, I don’t think you could NOT like this one. There was an almost “creamy-ness” to this one, but it was NOT a banana cream. It also was not a thin, light, or weak flavor at this testing weight, and almost tasted like it had a very light bakery element very low in the mix, and just enough to thicken it up a bit, and it worked.
Tasty, VERY hard to put down, plenty of fresh, natural nana with a healthy dose of green, and green/yellow notes, with a light bubblegum finish. Sweetness was close to mid-level, and it suited the flavor well. NO runts, or overt candied nanas, as the fresh green, green/yellow notes carried most of the freight here. It wasn’t 100% natural but leaned heavily that way. If I had to rate it on taste alone I would probably have released the Kraken, BUT, I’ll have to mark down just a smidge for the lighter bubblegum, but even that, feels like a nit-pick at best. VERY good flavor, hard to put down, and leaving it still at a very high 9.4/10. Although not a banana cream, I can see a LOT of uses for this one.
Ultimate Biscuit (Flavor Jungle) 5% (1-26-24) – Sorry guys, I just kept refilling the tanks, and got totally lost in it, hehe. And that IS a good thing. To start, Flavor Jungle spec’d this as “Up to 5%”, so that’s what I did. Stellar, at this weight, and dare I say, it could be a finished One-Shot, right out of the bottle. We all know the differences between US biscuits, which are typically like Bisquik, vs. UK biscuits, which are more like cookies. This flavor was a combination of both, and more. I had NO issues running it at 5%, and it was damned good at that weight. It had a lot going on, and I’ll try and break it down. It presented as a combo of a shortbread cookie, American biscuit, a light cinnamon free graham cracker, a smidge of pecan sandies, with some light caramel notes. Yeah, hehe, there’s a LOT going on here, and it’s ALL good. There was a nice grainy-ness to it, and although not overly buttery, there was a nice little hint of it on the finish. YES, you could run this solo, ALL day long, and keep coming back for more. I know it can be hard to visualize (taste wise) all of those elements combined, but it/they simply just worked. There were some nice darker notes, which were similar to burnt edges, but without the burnt, if that makes sense.
At times it seemed to very loosely remind me of SSA’s Caramel Biscuit, but only in a very LOOSE way. Rich, grainy, and full at 5% had me never second guessing running it at that weight. What was nice, was it was a strong departure from FJ’s OG Biscuit, so it wasn’t simply a re-tweak and release, it was a holy new flavor. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and honestly, I tried and tried to find ANY faults, or even anything I might ADD to it, and I couldn’t. This one was complex, covered a LOT of bases, and was unlike any other Biscuit on my racks. I can see this one being used a lot, and in many ways, which will be one of it’s strengths, as it encompased many different biscuit aspects. VERY hard to put down, and it really tasted, just almost perfect. Leaving it at a 9.9/10, JUST a hair off of perfect.
Ultimate Coconut Milk (Flavor Jungle) 4%
Ultimate Peach (Flavor Jungle) 2% / 3% (1-27-24) – I started out with FJ’s rec of 1-2%, and decided to push it to 3% which provided minimal gains if at all, so it would appear 2% is probably the top end for this one. This one presented as a mostly yellow peach, sweetened, with some juicy-ness, and light white peach accents. Even at it’s 2% top end it wasn’t an overwhelming, in your face peach, but it held it’s own. Sweetness was just below mid-level, and there were no off-notes to complain about. At times I got an almost Apricot on the finish which seemed to help sell it. It tasted mostly natural with some slight articial/candied notes, and I’d place it about 80% natural 20% artificial. While having juicy-ness, it did have a somewhat dryer, slightly astringent finish, that I wouldn’t call an off-note per se, but be advised it was there. Smelling it in the bottle it seemed more yellow than when testing, which is where I picked up on the lighter white peach elements. A solid, mostly yellow, mostly natural peach was what you got with this one, with just a PINCH of skin on the finish as well. Although I didn’t have any real take-offs, it felt like it could have been just a bit MORE Ultimate, so leaving it still fairly high at a 8.95/10.
Ultimate RY4 Double (Flavor Jungle) 4% (1-28-24) – Pushing onto the 2nd to the last in this series, with the U RY4 Double. At 4% this one was great, and I didn’t feel the need to increase it at all. It presented like many other RY4’s and with the typical nuances. A somewhat lighter tobacco, some very good caramel, and a good dose of “dirty”. Now dirty wasn’t bad in this flavor, and it did work. I couldn’t tell if it the “dirt” was coming from the Caramel or the Bacco, but in the end, it didn’t matter. It was there, and it added some nice dark earthy-ness to the flavor, and helped to offset the somewhat sweet profile of it. It registered maybe a tick or two above mid-level, and at times I wondered if it was TOO sweet, but then I settled on “not too sweet” as it seemed to work opposing the dark earthy-ness very well. It really seemed like there was another profile, probably a bakery-ish element hiding lower in the mix, .as it had more weight or bulk than a simple caramel/bacco. Maybe a graham crust, but hard to say. The caramel was very good tasting, and with the “dirt” it as well, favored a darker tone. All in, an impressive showing from FJ. No off-notes to complain about, and abou thte only “maybe, kinda, sorta” complaint would be the sweetness level(s), but again, that was just a “maybe”. Sweet, bacco, caramel, light bakery, and some nice dark, dirty/earthy thrown in for good measure. Kicking down just slightly for the slight candy-ness, and leaving it still high at a 9.1/10.
Ultimate Strawberry Tutti Frutti (Flavor Jungle) 5% (2-4-24) – Sorry guys, got distracted loading up the new NomNomz SC’s. This, the last NEW Ultimate in this series turned out to be somewhat of a mystery. Surprisingly, it wasn’t overflowing with Strawberries, or Tutti Frutti. Yes, you read that right. There was SOME SB in there, but it was fairly overpowered by more of a generic “pink chewy candy” than anything else, and if there WAS some Tutti Frutti, it was buried. Sweetness was just below mid level, and I didn’t pickup on any off-notes. Even though this one didn’t really push alot of SB, or TF, it would still be useful in bolstering SB mixes. The light SB I did get was slightly tart, candied, and shrouded in a pink chewy. All in, maybe not my favorite of the new Ultimates, and not terrible, but relegating this one to “mixer” status, and leaving it about half way there, with a 5.0/10.
Ultimate Sweet Strawberry (Flavor Jungle) 4%
Ultimate Banana Tutti Frutti (Flavor Jungle) 4% (1-23-24) – Wow, this one took some time for me to unpack. First, “new” one on deck, and it was tasty as hell, BUT, there was a “but”, AND, it might not be as big of a but, as you thought. Starting out, at 4% this one was damned good, and very full. After running FOUR testers on this one, I could pick out no off-notes, or real complaints. The banana in this one, was almost spot on perfect for my tastes. VERY fresh, with plenty of green, and green/yellow notes. ABSENT were any over ripened, mushy, or brown notes, which for MY tastes were always a turn off. Your tastes may vary, but for mine, the nana was about 99.9% perfect. Now the BUT. The but was that that bubblegum (aka Tutti Frutti) was a little low in the mix. It WAS perceivable from beginning to end, but it was just a smidge light. Now this could be because it was paired so perfectly WITH the banana that it was slightly concealed ?? Maybe so. As long as you weren’t expecting a slamming bubblegum, and you love bananas, I don’t think you could NOT like this one. There was an almost “creamy-ness” to this one, but it was NOT a banana cream. It also was not a thin, light, or weak flavor at this testing weight, and almost tasted like it had a very light bakery element very low in the mix, and just enough to thicken it up a bit, and it worked.
Tasty, VERY hard to put down, plenty of fresh, natural nana with a healthy dose of green, and green/yellow notes, with a light bubblegum finish. Sweetness was close to mid-level, and it suited the flavor well. NO runts, or overt candied nanas, as the fresh green, green/yellow notes carried most of the freight here. It wasn’t 100% natural but leaned heavily that way. If I had to rate it on taste alone I would probably have released the Kraken, BUT, I’ll have to mark down just a smidge for the lighter bubblegum, but even that, feels like a nit-pick at best. VERY good flavor, hard to put down, and leaving it still at a very high 9.4/10. Although not a banana cream, I can see a LOT of uses for this one.
Looks like the Ultimate line is a success overall. Thanks for taking the time DMan!
Thank you @Lostmarbles. I only wish they were ALL “ultimate”, but most are good to very good IMO. This just tested Banana Tutti Frutti was an interesting one, and hard to fully convey. I very much appreciate it, and I hope if YOU pick up a few, you post YOUR thoughts !!!
Thanks again.
This was a funny one eh?
Ultimate Banana Tutti Frutti 4%
This is a funny one to describe- it’s not runts, but it’s slightly artificial. It’s dark, like overripe bananas smashed up to use in banana bread or pancakes. It’s creamy, not dry. It’s not candied, but again slightly artificial. Soft smashed up bananas. I really think this will be useful in cakes/breads/pancakes/waffles/milkshakes…not a bad flavor. If you like banana flavors, I’d pick this one up. It’s not bubblegum like the picture on the bottle. It’s not runts. I think 2-4% in a mix is good.
Ultimate Biscuit (Flavor Jungle) 5% (1-26-24) – Sorry guys, I just kept refilling the tanks, and got totally lost in it, hehe. And that IS a good thing. To start, Flavor Jungle spec’d this as “Up to 5%”, so that’s what I did. Stellar, at this weight, and dare I say, it could be a finished One-Shot, right out of the bottle. We all know the differences between US biscuits, which are typically like Bisquik, vs. UK biscuits, which are more like cookies. This flavor was a combination of both, and more. I had NO issues running it at 5%, and it was damned good at that weight. It had a lot going on, and I’ll try and break it down. It presented as a combo of a shortbread cookie, American biscuit, a light cinnamon free graham cracker, a smidge of pecan sandies, with some light caramel notes. Yeah, hehe, there’s a LOT going on here, and it’s ALL good. There was a nice grainy-ness to it, and although not overly buttery, there was a nice little hint of it on the finish. YES, you could run this solo, ALL day long, and keep coming back for more. I know it can be hard to visualize (taste wise) all of those elements combined, but it/they simply just worked. There were some nice darker notes, which were similar to burnt edges, but without the burnt, if that makes sense.
At times it seemed to very loosely remind me of SSA’s Caramel Biscuit, but only in a very LOOSE way. Rich, grainy, and full at 5% had me never second guessing running it at that weight. What was nice, was it was a strong departure from FJ’s OG Biscuit, so it wasn’t simply a re-tweak and release, it was a holy new flavor. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and honestly, I tried and tried to find ANY faults, or even anything I might ADD to it, and I couldn’t. This one was complex, covered a LOT of bases, and was unlike any other Biscuit on my racks. I can see this one being used a lot, and in many ways, which will be one of it’s strengths, as it encompased many different biscuit aspects. VERY hard to put down, and it really tasted, just almost perfect. Leaving it at a 9.9/10, JUST a hair off of perfect.