NET Production ~ Worth the Work and Effort?

E-liquids NET Creations and Reviews
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Warning: TLDR… if you’re not interested in Naturally Extracted Tobacco (aka NET), skip this post.

@Muth made me think a little bit about the creation of NET by the end user or any “still in business” vendor out there today.

For me, the obsessive goal/creation of a tobacco flavored eliquid began January of '15. My favorite eliquid, of which I had purchased countless 100m bottles for years, was Bobas Bounty; couldn’t live without the stuff. Thus, this desire started my collection of all kinds of flavors, in all kinds of little bottles, making a stab at cloning my favorite eliquid.

Genesis example:

DIY Mild Black Bavarian Cream ejuice recipe :: e-Liquid Calculator

Sadly, this eliquid recipe and/or the hundreds of other attempts at cloning my favorite juice, didn’t ever quite foot the bill. Were some of them enjoyable? Yeah… I’d say so. Was the work, effort, cash spent on flavors, 15ml sample/test bottles, suffering through mixing by drops and then graduating to the scale, countless hours of scratching my head wondering why my mixes tasted less than spectacular/extraordinary, etc. worth it? You bet! But, I wanted something more.

Then, the vape clouds parted, when I read about NET on another forum. Eliquid made from actual tobacco? Color me interested. I ordered a quality/quantity assortment from a vendor and gave it a whirl. Hooked!

After lots more reading on another forum, it eventually led me down the path of DIY NET production. Hooked!.. after my first attempt. It took me a while to figure out the nuances of NET production. However, by standing on the shoulders of NET Giants (i.e. another forum), my knowledge base grew exponentially. Hours and hours of reading, searching, researching, and re-reading hundreds of posts from the Masters of NET, proved to be my saving grace.

Actually making NET is the easy part. The waste of time part, comes from not wisely choosing the proper/quality tobacco; 150ml of PG down the drain, every time. Those were the times I didn’t do my research properly; just went off the “pretty or whimsical” name of the tobacco. Big mistake.

It only took me 4 years and many failed attempts (i.e. hard headedness on my part) to land on the exact tobacco profile which sustains my “All Day Vape”, even today. Burley.

So, @Muth, I’m with you 100% on the Burley thing… everyday, all day long!

Is NET production worth the work and effort? You bet! But, only if you choose quality tobacco. That’s the sticky wicket! My ADV NET comes from Solani ~ Aged Burley Flake; never without +/- 150ml of extract sitting on the shelf or steeping in a jar. Yeah… it’s ALWAYS out of stock at most all on line vendors. Good luck getting some. But, there’s a reason it’s ALWAYS out of stock. It’s a quality tobacco; worth the work and effort of putting 25g of it into a jar and topping it with 150ml of PG. Winner! (if you like Burley)

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I have a tobacco based question for you @Kinnikinnick. I’ve been racking my brain trying recreate a pipe tobacco flavor from Cornell and Diehl called Irish Blessing. It consists of Black Cavendish, Burley, Virginia with a nice rich Irish Cream back note. Not really a boozy IC, with maybe just a whiff of a whiskey. Do you have any suggestions?

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Let me take a gander back at some of my flavor recipes. My flavor stash is still in tact; don’t believe I deleted any flavors, once I went full NET.

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I do remember trying to hit on an Irish Cream mix. It looks like the only flavor I cared to write notes about was the Cappella IC; must have been worth it. I do see many good reviews on the FA IC, when I look at posted recipes/notes on the mix site. I think the CAP IC was a little boozy, but you can adjust a bit for that with a low % to start.

Below looks like the one good hit on my IC venture. I also liked a good coffee note in some of my mixes, but you can cull that out for sure.

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It’s about darn time we see a net post!!! Just saying. :crazy_face::raised_hands::crazy_face:

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Meh… It’s a niche area of juice production. I never expect to see a huge number of folks posting or replying to NET talk.

Once folks are “off the train” of setting fire to burning leaves and inhaling it into their lungs, they don’t want much to do with actual tobacco. It’s the same with any insidious, health killing vice, one might cull from their lives.

But, for those individuals interested in NET, I’ll be happy to gab about it 'til the rockers are worn off the chair! When that happens, we’ll just buy new rocking chairs and keep gabbing.

Or, if you’re a woodworker, we’ll talk about how we’re going to go about replacing the rockers, what wood, plane processes, stains and finishes, etc. All the while, enjoying our latest tobacco maceration discovery!

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I know I have seen that recipe before. Hard to find that Black and Mild. I believe I’ve read and researched almost all of your recipes, being the huge tobacco guy that you are. LOL what do you think of Whiskey Cavendish by Stixx Mixx? I just ordered that as it is one of the few that has all three tobaccos, Black Cavendish, Burley and Virginia. I’ve only really tried their coffees which are outstanding, I bought SM Dark Fire several months ago, which has a strong dark bottom of the pipe type of flavor @nomz when they had it discounted.
I also have a secondary vision using Black Mile + by FE which sounds similar to that Black and Mild. With a topping of INW Black For Pipe to push that pipe flavor. I’m looking for that INW Cavendish as I love INW tobaccos. And yes that Capella Irish Cream is a decent one. I have tried them all and I do mean all the Irish Creams! Still have to find the perfect one. I’ve even looked into using an Irish Cream essence (basically made with natural extracts like almond, vanilla, and chocolate), mixed with PG instead of alcohol for a base Irish Cream flavor. I’ll give the Cap or FA a try first though.

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Can NET steeping be achieved with blended tobaccos also? Like the good quality ones that come in a vacuum sealed tin (not the cheap loose bagged stuff)?

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So… lots to unpack in those two posts! Let me scratch my head and scribe a proper reply. Probably tomorrow timeline.

… just got through spending the day on a 7.5 mile hike through the woods, w/a 30lb pack. I’m brain and body dead!

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You’re heading down the right path with the Black Mile or Plus version. I never did the Plus version; reviewers say it has more of a vanilla note, than the non-Plus version). However, I did use the FE Black Mile a bunch, due to the chocolate/caramel notes. I usually added it to some other tobacco for flavor comfort. I did figure out, what ever name the many vendors slapped on it, it probably all came from one flavor vendor (China?), since they all tasted the same to me; a good flavor and outcome, nonetheless.

Side note:

The INW Black for Pipe, (most all of their "for Pipe) flavor was darned good. I used it a bunch; sparingly, in the recipe, or it could take over in a heartbeat.

I’m discovering now, many vendor changes have been made since the last time I bought DIY flavors. Like, some of my vendor links to certain flavors are now dead/404!

Now, I’m just offered the choice of buying the domain name?!? No thanks.

But… these links might be what you need to make the Cavendish happen. (?)

Cavendish Tobacco by Flavorika

Or

Stixx (aka: Ty):

Genesis post:

So, in 2015, Ty (most likely) got his start, right here on ELR; feeling super confident about that. He gleaned much info from the ELR forum (lots and lots of DM’s to boot) and other suggested forums, to start his business… then… poof… gone.

Thus, you too, can create the same NET which you purchase from Ty. Again, anything which he sells on his site, you can make yourself; flavored or not. Might it require a little bit of experimentation, trial and error, stab in the dark, etc.? Yup!

I dare say, you could, with time, produce NET which tastes better than Ty’s. Why? Because you have full control over what tobacco or flavoring is used in the end product.

I wasn’t ever a fan of that flavor; too, campfire/burnt tasting for me. Any Latakia flavor was a disappointment as well. I discovered DNB (INW-Dirty Neutral Base) and never looked back. It lended that “ash” component which I desired.

NET - Bagged or Tinned tobacco?

My feelings are the same as Russ Ouellette’s; gander at his opinion in the countdown in this article:

  1. Tinned tobacco is better than bulk.

Common Misconceptions About Pipe Tobacco | PipesMagazine.com

I’ve done lots of macerations with both, bulk and tinned (and single leaf varietals). On both counts, some were spectacular… some were for the trash heap. It all depends on the quality of the tobacco and the manufacturer/blender of the product.

However, over time, the flavors of the blended tobaccos in tin form, can “marry” into something spectacular! The aging process, with respect to tinned or “cellared” tobaccos, can be an amazing thing. I’ve experienced this phenomenon doing side by side openings and macerations of “fresh tinned”, as opposed to, “aged tinned/cellared” tobaccos. They are horses of different colors all together. The same process/phenomenon happens with other things which are aged… wine, cheese, etc. Some things are more spectacular right after the processing and some things just need to age for that total flavor enjoyment. It’s all in the R&D.

That’s the fun part!

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I know I’ve read that thread in the past but never made the connection to Ty being the creator of Stixx Mixx. That’s the amazing thing about DIY there’s always something new to learn. I don’t think I’m ready to take that plunge into making my own NET flavors yet, but the info is helpful.

I completely agree all of INW classic pipe flavors are amazing, though sometimes hard to find. I just ordered a new bottle of Black, Dark, Vanilla and Black Cherry for pipe and I may have to go to INW new site for some of the others Red, Gold and Captain Jack. I’ve used them a few times at a low % .5-.75 combined with another tobacco or some kind of an RY4 and fruits, creams (more like blended dessert type pipe flavors Black Cherry Pipe and an Apple Danish Pipe). Except for the Black Cherry I really wanted that tobacco to stand out.

Black Cherry Pipe
Black Cherry for Pipe (INAWERA) 2.75
Cherries (INAWERA) 1.75
Marzipan (INAWERA) 0.50
Nougat (INAWERA) 0.75
Shisha Vanilla (INAWERA) 1.00
Vanilla for Pipe (INAWERA) 2.25

Apple Danish Pipe
Cinnamon Danish Swirl (Cap) 0.50
Apple Filling (Flavorah) 0.25
Butterscotch Ripple (FW) 1.00
Fuji Apple (FA) 1.50
Black For Pipe Classic (Inawera) 0.75
Custard Tobacco (One Shot) (VTA) 4.00
Vanilla Custard (Cap) 1.00

As you can see I don’t tend to keep recipes stored on ELR.

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