Alright, GOTCHA. Let me get off this call, and I’ll crank up the BRIGHT LIGHTS, and see what’s what.
3 Likes
Alaskan Berries (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-2-23) – Ok people, let’s get these new Wonder Flavors test going !!! Now, I will admit, when I saw this name, wondering which Alaskan Berry/ies they meant, as there are more than a few. This flavor was very unique, and not easily identifiable, nor comparable which made it interesting to test. Overall, my BEST comparison would be a medley of a red currant, and red raspberry. That’s close, but still not 100% accurate, but you get the idea. At a few ticks below mid level sweet, and plenty strong at 3.5%, those two main profiles stuck in my head from beginning to end. There was a nice almost tart, maybe slightly fermented kicker on the finish that was a nice touch. At times, I thought I caught just a WHIFF of florals, but as soon as I did, they were gone, so we’ll chalk it up to “floral-free” overall. It presented as fairly “red” to my tastes, and hence my fruit comparisons. Because it was unique, and didn’t fully encompass either a currant or r. raspberry it could be used in an entire plethora of fruit mixes. It tasted very natural, and with only the very slight whiff of a floral randomly, would be the only nitpicking here. An interestingly new fruit flavor IMO, and good tasting. It’s great to start out a series, with a NEW flavor, that isn’t/wasn’t like any other. I’m going to leave this one high because of that, and with only the one slight nitpick, it felt solid at 9.0/10.
12 Likes
Thank you brother. All my goodies arrived, so I’ll try my skills this weekend at some point!! 
6 Likes
Ginger Beer (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-2-23) – This ones out to @big_vape who apparently has a Ginger Beer thing. :). Diving right into this one, which smelled pretty ginger beery in the bottle, and on the finger, and actually did continue that when testing. Kinda. First things first, this one had some TH to it, and a little “kick”. I think it MAY have been what Wonder Flavors used for their sparkle or effervescence, if I had to guess. It did have SOME fizz to it, but nowhere as pronounced as say Sobucky’s Cola. Still, it was present in this one, and did help to sell it as a beer in large part. It was below mid level sweet by a few ticks, BUT, it was sweeter than expected, and that, combined with the somewhat fizzy-ness, started it heading towards an almost Ginger Champaign. It was not a full on champaign, but it didn’t taste like a full on beer either, so if you pressed me, I’d go 65% beer, 35% champaign, WITH some nice Ginger. The ginger while present, was somewhat relaxed, but not so much that it got lost in the mix, as it held it’s own throughout. Beyond the TH and "kick"y-ness to this one, it was still a little relaxed at 3.5%, and might have benefited by an increase, BUT, the TH would increase as well. All in, a natural tasting Ginger beverage, with some fizzy-ness, modestly sweetened, and had both beer and (almost) champagne notes. The nitpicks would be the somewhat stronger than expected TH (throat hit), and somewhat relaxed presentation only, and marking it down JUST a bit for them, and it felt good at 8.6/10.
12 Likes
Danke, SD. I’m looking forward to this one, especially the TH.
5 Likes
Funny you get alcohol taste from it…This flavor isnt a “beer” it non alcoholic and a lot of people compare it to Ginger ale or the Bundergard brand of Ginger beer…So soda like instead of alcohol. I actually get a fermented vibe not full on fermenteand fermented might be wrong word lots of different opinions on this , however it is suposed to be like this
7 Likes
@fidalgo_vapes I don’t think it was an overt “alcohol”, but I really got a cross between a beer, and a champagne.
5 Likes
Black Currant Gummy Candy (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-3-23) – I seem to have a currant problem, i.e. I can’t get ENOUGH good currants, so I was looking forward to this one. Out of the gate, I got a pretty good currant, and I didn’t get any of my typical “red” notes, but the currant-ed-ness was still there. It wasn’t overly sharp, and didn’t have much tart to it, and it def. leaned towards the “candy” side (duh). The paired candy notes, worked very well, and even while being above mid-level sweet, it wasn’t cloyingly sweet.
Now onto the “gummy”, hehe. I didn’t really get much gummy from this one, and it seemed much more slanted towards a hard/squishy candy, than a gummy. I think “gummy” notes/nuances are very hard to quantify, BUT, you know them, if you taste them. I just didn’t get the overhwelming sense of the gummy in this one. Maybe a hint, but that would be it. Because it was fairly heavily candied, the Black Currant tasted almost at a 50/50 mix of natural/artificial. If I had to change ONE thing, I would probably have UPPED the BC, just a bit. All in, a damned fine Black Currant “candy”, but it might leave some of your “gummy” needs waiting at the door. At 3.5% it was full, but not overpowering, and could be said to be just a touch relaxed, and I got no off-notes with this one. About my only nitpicks would be the somewhat lighter BC, and very light gummy-ness. The flavor was very good, and rating it was somewhat tricky, but it felt good at 7.5/10.
10 Likes
Bread (Ginger) (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-3-23) – Coming off the Ginger Beer, I was curious to see what they did with the ginger in this one. The good news is, it was completely different in this flavor. Much more of a baked ginger, and with some great molasses thrown in for good measure. Riding underneath both of them, was a very realistic dark cookie. Not overly sweet, and actually quite a bit below mid-level at that. At 3.5% it felt like it was maybe 75% of the way there, and maybe a hint more would fix it. The dark cookie, paired with the molasses was quite impressive, and realistic, and almost “crunchy”. The ginger was placed well in between the molasses and cookie elements. There was/were some light spices in there as well, but I couldn’t fully identify them. Like the Ginger Beer, there was a little TH, and bite with this one, BUT, at far lower levels, and I had to fight the urge to pair it up with some creams, and maybe a dash of sweetener, BUT, staying focused here. All in, with no off-notes, and only just a slight “bite”, no real take-offs, or off-notes, and it continued to be impressive, and authentic throughout. A well played flavor. Leaving it high, at an authentic 9.1/10.
13 Likes
Buttercream (Strawberry Banana) (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-4-23) – Sometimes things work, and others … This one perplexed me during the Alpha testing, and continued to do so here. A ripe banana greeted you on the front end, and then a creamy/creamery carrier rode you through the middle, with MAYBE a smidge of Strawberry on the finish. The cream, to my tastes, didn’t really present as a butter cream, BUT, that is/was subjective. It came across as rather “hodge-podge-y” to me, and rather, lacked a clear focus. It was full at 3.5%, and there were no off-notes, and it stayed a few ticks below mid-level sweet. The ripened banana was actually pretty good, but when tempered with the cream, and very light strawberry, I just couldn’t 100% get behind it. Tasty, different, just presented in a confusing way to my tastes. I can’t see using it as a primary, but there could be a lot of good uses as a mixer for sure. In the end, I’m tallying this one up as a creamy, ripe banana, with a hint of Strawberry. Fairly placing this at a 6.5/10.
11 Likes
Buttercream (Peanut Butter) (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-4-23) – Although I may not have been a huge fan of the “Buttercream” pairing in the previously reviewed BC SB, it just plain WORKED in this flavor. Yes, yes, and MORE yes. Now again, I can’t say for SURE that it presenter exactly as a buttercream, but it was almost perfect with the Peanut Butter profile(s). The PB was natural, crunchy, and just a hint of salty, which just pushed the flavor up into even higher levels of delcious-ness. What was very interesting, was it was not simply a “Creamy Peanut Butter”, but actually tasted like a natural crunchy PB, paired with a, or some creams, and I found that to be most interesting. Sweet, creamy, and slightly salty/crunchy. This one was one of my favs during the Alpha tests, and, it continued to be. Very nicely full at 3.5%, and ZERO off-notes that I could detect, and it sat a few ticks below mid-level sweet. Your perceptions might vary from mine, but in closing, it simply presented as a natural crunchy PB (with a hint of salty), and a smooth creamery element, perfectly paired. As opposed to the Alpha which seemed to have the PB lower in the mix, now it was almost even, maybe a smidge higher than the creamery(s), and at maybe a 55% PB, 45% Creamery ratio. Simply put, I cannot go lower than 9.75 for this one.
12 Likes
Feijoa (Fruit) (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-4-23) – I can see why this one is also known as the PineppleGuava fruit. That’s about exactly what it tastes like. I would have to place it at about 70% guava, and 30% Pineapple. While the Guava was a pretty direct comparison, the Pineapple was much lighter in the mix, and was more of a “pretty close to”, rather than an exact match. At 3.5% it was still kind of a lighter flavor, but it was still good. It tasted very natural, and fresh, with about mid-level sweetness. No off-notes to be found, and about the only nit-pick would be “whispy-ness” of it. Lighter, but still present if that makes any sense. All in, it was a very natural tasting, clean mashup of a Guava, with some light fermentation, and a very light Pineapple. Cleanly placing this one high for it’s originality at 8.9/10.
11 Likes
Did you get a note reminiscent of WF Peanut butter taffy in this one?
3 Likes
Grapefruit (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-5-23) – Well guys (and gals) I gotta call’em like I see them. Errrrr TASTE them that is. I might have to re-name this one, “A HINT of Grapefruit”, because that’s all I got. Mixed it up at 3.5% just like all of the rest, and I was barely getting any GF. As you may have guessed it WAS a very light flavor, and after I get this series done I may come back and DOUBLE this one, but I suspect, it is what it is. A very light, yet natural tasting citrus with HINTS of GF. Honestly it felt like it was maybe 30% of the way there at best. It might be good for people who’s olfactory senses are offended by more robust GF’s. No off-notes, and a fair bit below mid-level sweet, and very little of the expected “tart-ness” that you would expect. Not a terrible flavor, but man, “Where’s the beef” ?? Very “whispy” would also be accurate. It tasted very natural, but I just needed a WHOLE lot more of it, for a passing grade. Going to leave this one fairly low, not because of any inaccurate notes, just a real lack OF the notes here. I’m going to be generous, and leave it squarely at a 4.0/10.
11 Likes
I was waiting for this one. Just to see if I was the only one who got nothing from it. it would work if you just needed just a hint of GF.
7 Likes
@McDuckie I can’t read other reviews before I review, for simplicity, and authenticity, but NOW, I can read some …
im not getting any grapefruit from this one. It tastes mainly like an orange, with some off notes behind it. Extremely disappointed, because i would love for wf to have a great grapefruit. Unfortunately this one isn’t it. For me, there’s a ton of other gf flavorings that i would reach for before this one. 2/10
4 Likes
I never saw that one either. Though I do love me some grapefruit. Developed’s Mellow Pomelo was an ADV for me for quite awhile. My fav GF’s have to be FW Ruby Red, VT Honey Pomelo, VT Grapefruit, and OOO Squirts soda.
4 Likes