Mixing these up these six new flavors from Sobucky, at my standard 1% rate. Will steep them 1.0-1.5 weeks before testing, and as always, they will be tested in a 70v/30p/3mg base. All tested on (you know), the SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual 24ga. Kanthal vertical coils, and fresh KGD cotton, at 65 watts.
Cherry Maraschino (SSA) 1% (10-28-24) – Having had stellar luck with SSA’s Ripe Cherry, I thought this one, would be RIGHT up the same alley. Now it was, but KINDA. It did present as a really good Mara Cherry, BUT, it tasted like it was tempered with another cherry type, maybe a cherry compote, but not 100% sure. At 1% it was perfectly strong, and sweetness was just below mid-level, with no overt squirrely notes. Continued testing proved to make it very hard to accurately nail down the “other” cherry element, so I’ll probably have to leave it at a compote. Now, the ratio between the Mara cherry and “compote” was close to 65% Maraschino Cherry and 35% Cherry Compote if that helps explain it better. Not bad, not bad at all, just not a 100% Maraschino to my tastes. There was a very nice light fizzyness, almost fermented kick on the finish that I wouldn’t normally expect from a Mara, and that may have been from the “other” elelement, but not sure. All in, a very good cherry, just not a 100% Maraschino. I decided to leave it still fairly high, at a 7.0/10.
Cherry Mascarpone (SSA) 1% (10-29-24) – While not being 100% sold on the Mara Cherry, this one smelled REALLY good in the bottle. The completely delicious, RED cherry hit me right on the front end. Bright, red, slightly sweet, and dare I say, more Mara, THAN the previously tested Mara cherry. It had a nice tarty finish to it, that 100% helped sell it. Below the delicious cherry it was a little more mysterious. It was a somewhat creamy carrier or undertone. It did present as a mascarpone cream, but it did play second fiddle to the cherry, so it was fairly hard to quantify. Even though it was not a 50/50 split it’s effect on the overall tone and flavor was obvious. Some mouthfeel, but not overly so, and I feel like after the third tester, I would have liked a little more of it. The split tasted pretty close to 60% cherry, and 40% mascarpone cream if that helps. After finishing the last tester, for my tastes, I preferred this cherry over the Maraschino Cherry previously tested. A nice combination, and it was very full at 1%, with no off-notes, medicinals, or soaps sometimes found in cherries. Very tasty, great cherry, just needed a little more mascarpone. I decided to leave it at a high 8.0/10.
Cocoa Milk (SSA) 1% (10-28-24) – Holy Mother of Cocoa Onrush !!! OK, hehe, wow. During the FIRST test with this one, I was struck by how deliciously, I was hit with the initial onrush of Cocoa. Very tasty, accurate, and rich. That was followed by more of a creamy-ish, almost milky finish. Maybe whole milk might be a better description of the milk element, but it was still somewhat creamy, and rich. The Cocoa hit you right away, and was very accurate, and in NO way could be confused with ANY other chocolate type, it was 100% cocoa.
The pairing of the Cocoa and creamy milk was very well done, and it wasn’t mashed up, but clearly delivered a One, Two punch assualt, and it was delicious. At 1% it was spot on strong, with no need to increase. Sweetness was actually a few ticks below mid-level, and I could detect NO off-notes. Sobucky’s rendering of a dried cocoa powder was really impressive. Now it wasn’t dry, and maybe that magic came from the smart pairing with the creamy milk. At 65 watts, it didn’t scorch at all, or have any bitterness to speak of, and I actually had a very hard time finding nit-picks. I guess if I had to REALLY dig deep in the nit-pick bag, I might want just a hint more milky milky-ness, but even that my friends, was barely worth mentioning. All in, if you are a Cocoa lover, you’re going to love this one. I can’t go lower than 9.9/10 on this one.
Creme de la Creme (SSA) 1% (11-2-24) – @Mikser had an interesting observation regarding this flavor. Honestly I wasn’t sure what my expectations were, but it tasted different than I had ASSUMED it would. My immediate take-aways were “This is good”, and “Could it be used as the primary note”. Out of the gate I did like it, and it presented as a very good vanilla cream, and very close to a oreo filling kind of cream. Not exactly, not as rich, not as much mouthfeel, but that was pretty close. It had some mouthfeel, and there was an almost powdered sugary-ness to it, that just damn worked.
At 1% it was actually fairly saturated, but still seemed to be a little relaxed. Maybe upp’ing it to 1.5%-1.75% might help, but as before, I stuck to my stock 1% testing weight for referencing. No custard, pudding, or dairy cream, but the sugary cookie creme was very unmistakable. With that said, I think Sobucky was wise to call this a Creme, and not a Cream. The Vanilla note swirled around but it seemed similar to a bright, clean, almost French Vanilla-ish type. Clean, accurate, and worked perfectly with the powdered sugar aspect. After 3 full testers, I couldn’t find any off-notes of issues, and I think now, after finishing 3 testers, it might well be able to run the main note in a mix, depending on the other flavors. This may be one of the best Vanilla Cremes I have tried. About the only nit-pick would have been for a little more mouthfeel, but that’s a personal nit-pick. Too good to rail this one down much at all, easily a 9.9/10.
Meringue (Lemony Type) (SSA) 1% (11-1-24) – I actually spent some extra time with this one, as it was kind of a mystery. For some reason, this one tasted somewhat muted throughout my testing. It smelled very meringue-y in the bottle, but when testing it, it was not as pronounced. I struggled to really smell any Lemon in the bottle, and when testing it, I got a very faint Lemon, almost lemon rind on the finish. It tasted very natural, and not like Lemon juice, but literally a very light rind note. At first, I wondered if maybe the two elements were conflicting, but it might just be what it was. At 1% it was probably one of the weaker SSA’s I’ve tested. It was present, and possibly increasing it would help out, but I left it at 1% for the duration. The meringue that I did get was good, and similar to FA’s, just somewhat underpowered.
No off-notes, and sweetness was surprisingly lower than expected at a few ticks below mid-level. No off-notes, and my biggest complaints would be the lack of saturation. The Lemon element was soo light that at times it was hard to directly taste it, but it was almost as if it’s effect on the meringue was the effect SSA was looking for, as opposed to a truly overt lemon note. I do remember in the beginning ot the tests wondering where I would use this flavor. Not terrible, but not outstanding either. Finalizing this one at 6.5/10.
Strawberry Candy Type (SSA) 1% / 2% (11-5-24) – Last one on deck in this small series, and the first one, I decided to double. I started the test at 1%, and although OK, it clearly needed some more. It improved somewhat at 2%. Even doubled it wasn’t what I would call a screaming flavor. My initial thoughts were a mix of a somewhat candied Strawberry, and a generic Pink Candy. I had hoped by doubling it, the fairly generic pink candy would have morphed into a juicy Starburst, but that never really took shape. The pink candy tasted fairly smooth with no real spark or sparkle to it, but it was nicely contrasted by the SB which had some nice, juicy sharpness to it, and helped to almost pull, or elevate the semi-bland pink candy UP in the mix. I didn’t get any other notes, other than the two mentioned.
At 2% the flavor worked much better, with about a 30% increase in overall strength from the initial 1%. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, but not cloying, and expected for a candy flavor. The contrast of the smooth pink candy, vs. the tarty, and sharp SB worked very well together. No off-notes or complaints other than the somewhat relaxed-ed-ness at 1%. All in, a pretty good Strawberry Pink Candy, and I blew through 3 testers before remembering to score it. I was originally going to leave it at a flat 9, but the sharp punchy SB inclined me to push it up, to a 9.5/10.
) !! Need to hear about it before I purchase now that I can be picky.