This is a biggie, while there are times i skip this step, as my senses are more attuned now, i still regularly make single flavor test mixes. When i dont i usually regret it.
Believe me when i say that i am the complete antithesis of creative. The majority of my mixes are based on food ive eaten. Between eating the food and single flavor testing it all gets a bit easier because you know what your goal is and how to get there.
There’s so much advice out there! I know I was pathetic when I started in DIY. So much so that when I read the title I thought maybe I had started the thread. Like most, I knew nothing and unfortunately did not have this beautiful resource (ELR forum) to guide me. Biggest mistake I probably made, and there were many… I read maybe two places that I should aim for 20-30% flavor concentrate per recipe. So initially I used that as gospel. So many recipes ruined by adding more than I should have just to reach that percentage average. Less is more quite often!
Trust me when I say, THIS, and this alone, is the best advice I can give. Stay here. Ask, read, test, repeat. Everyone here is so willing to dispense excellent advice based on expertise and experience, it’s almost a shame it’s free. This place is a DIY Mixer’s Paradise.
i have to agree with everyone who is saying test your flaves , i had slump this last summer where all i made was shit because i had not tested the flaves i was working with , i dont test a lot of creams i look at notes from people i trust also i know which creams i like and what to mix them with , and keep it simple i actually went back to three to five flaves in a mix for a while until i was happy with my end product so be patient , learn your flaves , just because alot of mixers like a certain flaves doesnt mean you will and never be afraid to ask someone for advice i always do
@vape4dayz Don’t feel bad, I made 80+ crappo’s before I finally figured out what I wanted for ONE S’mores mix.
Took the words right outa my mouth…
Stuffed bellpeppers
And
Grandmas pot pie
Are two Vapes I eventually want to make
You might benefit by sampling some of the recipes in Beginner’s Guide To Making The Most Highly-Rated Recipes.
re: A Beginner's Guide To Making The Most Highly-Rated Recipes
My favorite tastes are in the Tobaccos and Bakery areas. I tend to have the most positive results if I stay in these two categories.
I think we all reach that point somewhere along our mixing journey where nothing seems to work!
The best advice has been given already, test your flavours.
Get to know where that sweet spot is and remember that although 5% might be the general hotspot for a particular flavour for some your sweet spot might be 2% or 20%, that’s something that only you will find out for yourself. Sorry no easy shortcuts but hang in there.
Aim for a very simple mix of what you like, fruits,bakery,creams…?
Don’t over complicate it and take it from there.
cheers Chewy… will do
You can do it!
I did not start with single flavor testing. I did not start by mixing others recipes.
This made my journey harder and more loopy.
I remember some of my first recipes were 3 or 4 flavors.
Some of them were/are just terrible!!
Just keep swimming bud!
I can’t agree more with single flavor tests. There are so many flavors and different brands of the same flavor name, but they taste so different from each other, that alone is overwhelming! Then when you start throwing all these variables into recipes, it can be so difficult to figure out what to even consider mixing!
If there is a single flavor you find really enjoyable, maybe look for recipes created with that flavor. I found my first ADV recipe from a random flavor I never expected to like! Lol! I was convinced to try it based on the experience of others here. I tried that single flavor test, loved it, looked through the recipes that used it, quickly eliminated ones that contained flavors I knew for sure I didn’t like. I tried a few random recipes that I had the ingredients for. I got really lucky that one of them was perfect for me.
Also, if you haven’t done so, this helped me…I like trying a mix that I still have, that I mixed a while ago. I didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it, so it sat there. So many of them tasted amazing when I tried them again!
Just keep trying, you will find one that you love! 
My atrocious FA Pistachio/Orange/Condensed milk from December did just that to me.
I can’t decide whether it is relative, or absolute goodness though. My brain expects horribleness to come out of this bottle 
I had a nightmare mix of Butter, Maple Syrup, Hazelnut Praline, and Catalan Cream that curled my toes a while back too. Man, horrid mistakes can be excellent teachers though!
Sounds like you can put on weight vaping this thing … I find Bust a Nut (RF) a bit too buttery, I think I’ll pass on your recipe 
Was it actually good after a month steep though ?
No. It was better, but the ratios were far too off to be worthy even with time. I will eventually vape it out because I loathe pouring money down the sink. But it’s more of a self-punishment than a good vape. A reminder to take my time and think it out before I pour a bunch of stuff together and expect a miracle. That RARELY happens (or never if you’re me).
What was the bottle of crap juice with menthol added technique called ? Ok, not butter with menthol. 
My technique seems to be to just forget the bottle in a dark corner…
I think @Ken_O_Where says “Menthol Fixes Bad Mixes”. Would not help mine. Or my mozzarella cheese juice disaster!
The technique is called, I dont want to waste this and have to make more, menthol until only menthol is tasted, technique. I might need to find a shorter name for it. 
Menthol Overdrive ?
It seems everyone says single flavour testing is the answer, but, I have to admit I’ve never done it and my juices are starting to be pretty good if I say so myself (I ADV them happily and the wife also likes them). My method is the shotglass method. I bought a load of cheap plastic shotglasses. When I think I have a flavour idea (often inspired from commercial juices that I’m trying to clone) I do this:
The biggest tip I learned with mixing is less is more… I get pretty concerned if the number of concentrates, and the overall concentration percentage goes above 5 and 10% respectively…
FWIW, I hope that helps.
I beg to differ
Sounds like a single Flavor taste test to me.