I dislike using cactus all together. I don’t shy away from mixing others recipes that use it, but would not use it in one of mine…I’m wondering if that’s the juiciness I’m getting but not getting a cactus note. Interesting. This one goes really well with peach (sweet type) SSA, or peach (raw) VSO. I did the beta test of this one and I rated it high then as well. 
I love hearing your thoughts on these!
6 Likes
Bloody hell yes! Not even gonna mess around with a small bottle. When i was a lil fella me and my Gpaw would drive down to the candy factory on Saturday mornings and buy freshly made orange slices and circus peanuts, then go home and watching AWA and some of the smaller southern rasslin organizations with Gmaw. I cant eat them anymore so next best thing is to vape them.
7 Likes
Thank you @Lynda_Marie. I actually read yours (and other) reviews before posting mine, because I was almost shocked as to what I was getting.
Go BIG or go home @Ken_O_Where.
The only caveat with my review of the “gummy” flavors, is, or was, my personal stance ON the gummy-ness.
Dammit, now I want some circus peanuts.
6 Likes
Pecan Pie (SC )(WF) 3.5% (9-21-23) – Having tested the WF Pecan, this one was very similar to it, but tempered by a sweetened, almost thick, pie filling like main note. I didn’t get much butter from this one, and that was great, as it was NOT a Butter Pecan flavor. The crust was much lighter in the mix, and would need some boosting to make this a full on “pie”. The Pecan notes were actually very good, accurate, and had just enough earthy tones to keep it realistic. Throughout the 3 testers, this one proved to be really centered around the deliciously sticky rich filling of the pie, WITH Pecans mixed in. The stand along Pecan was earthier, but with this one, it was much lower to the “filling”. At 3.5% it was very good, convincing, and almost thick, and with no off-notes. About my only nit-pick would be the very light (if at all) crust, but that could easily be fixed. This one tastes improved from the Alpha tests somehow, and was just a great Pecan Pie Filling. All it needed was some crust. Pushing this one up higher to 9.0/10.
15 Likes
Persimmon (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-22-23) – I have never eaten a Persimmon, so (as always), had to research it a bit to give you a more comparative review. From what I found, this one appears to be spot on. This one presented as an ALMOST Apricot, tempered in Honey. Now it wasn’t EXACTLY like an Apricot, but it was damned close to a lighter version of one. The Honey part, just seemed a bit MORE accurate, as I couldn’t think of a closer comparison. If any of you have indeed tried honey flavors in the past, and have blown up, hehe, fear not, there’s none of that here. It was very natural tasting, AND, with no off-notes or florals.
It was just almost strong enough at 3.5%, but felt like it could use a SMIGE more, but only a smidge. This is/was a fairly unique flavor, and I could see a LOT of uses for this, in a lot of mixes. There was just a hint of tart in the beginning, but the honey-like elements smoothly rolled from the middle to the finish. I can’t think of any of my flavors that are exactly like this, and I have a LOT of flavors, so you may want to pick this one up and experiment with it. Very tasty, and will rate this “Honey Apricot”-ish flavor very high @ a 9.5/10.
14 Likes
I got the strangest vegetal taste from this. Tomato to be exact. I just went back to my notes, and yep, it said, cantaloupe, honey, and tomato in the background. Not gross, but different. I never put my notes out anywhere. I didn’t want to deter anyone. If might have been the acidity? 
6 Likes
I LOVE it @Lynda_Marie. I’ll RE-assess, but I don’t think I got any matos in there, but I will re-check. Thank you.
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I’m sure I’m the only one who got that. 
I was embarrassed to post my review on ELR. Must be something in the compound that I’m sensitive to.
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Not at all, those are the reviews you HAVE to share. Everyone tastes differently, that’s what keeps this INTERESTING !!!
5 Likes
Powdered Donut (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-26-23) – I spent some extra time with this one, to better try and figure it out before posting this. I have had very few good donuts, and a lot of terrible donuts. This one, thankfully was one of the good ones. It does seem however, that many people have different takes on what a “donut” should or does taste like. For my American friends, this wass NOT a Krispy Kreme donut, but actually more like the small Hostess powdered donuts. The donut body was more of the slightly denser yellow cake-ish type, than the lighter deep fried type. The powered sugar aspect(s) kind of came and went, and didn’t always present for me consistently, so I would call that a lighter note. The cakey bakery note(s) were convincingly done, and although I didn’t get any spice or cinnamon, there was ALMOST (but not quite) an undertone of it. At 3.5% it was very full, and I didn’t feel the need to increase it. Sweetness was about mid-level, and good for this type of flavor. There were some “fried” notes going on, but they weren’t intrusive, or “greasy”, but still there. I didn’t get any off-notes, BUT, I did get somewhat of an almost “powdered milk” undertone that actually seemed to work with the overall profile, so I didn’t mark down for that. All in, a pretty impressive lightly fried donut, that was centered around a denser yellow cake interior with very light powdered sugar notes. It felt very good at a 9.3/10.
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Exactly…Ive heard other say it was heavy Powder Sugar. I ddint think so . Great Base add a bit of OOO PS or even Meringie (old school) and the Powdered Sugar is almost ready to dunk lol
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I’m liking the sound of this WF Powdered Donut. It sounds like VT Cinnamon Donut just without the light cinnamon sugar. Possible sub since VT CD is getting hard to find?
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I didn’t get heavy PS either. It was there, but I got more bakery than ps. Pretty good flavor. I need to play around with it more.
4 Likes
Sounds like it @McDuckie. I don’t think I ever tested VTA’s CD, but sounds like it would work.
1 Like
Pudding (Milk Chocolate) (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-29-23) – I remembered my reaction to this one during the Alpha tests, and guess what, they IMPROVED it. NOW (unlike before), I was getting ONE clear profile, and that profile was Jello Chocolate Pudding !!! It’s NOT that it exuded raw pudding, BUT, it was unmistakenly, exactly that. The chocolate profile wasn’t exactly what I would call a Milk Chocolate, but it wasn’t a light or dark, so maybe that was more implied than not. Sweetness was actually below mid-level, which was surprising, but it actually didn’t feel like it needed any more. No off-notes, and it was just a smidge below where I would have liked it to be at 3.5%. No rubber bands, or band aids, so the chocolate notes were very well done.
It was simply put, about as close to a Jello Choco Pudding. It was almost as if it tasted like a mix of both the dry (in the box) pudding mix, AND, one that had been mixed/heated with milk (finished), and I would put it at a ratio of 25% dry, 75% finished if that makes sense. Smelling it, the chocolate had this delicious darker coffee undertone, and testing it, it was still there, just somewhat lower in the undertones. If you want a chocolate pudding, that tastes just about as close as I have ever tasted, then you WILL love this one. I suffered (LOL) through 3 testers trying to find faults with this one, and I came up short. I even compared my Alpha notes, which did not seem to apply to this, the finished version. All in, it was just below perfect to my tastes, and it felt solid at 9.9/10.
16 Likes
Raspberry Gummy Candy (SC) (WF) 3.5% (9-30-23) – While never fully getting what I would call a “gummy” from these gummy flavors, this one seemed to have more than the rest, but just by a bit. The star of THIS show was the Raspberry. It did not present as a darker purple RB, but much more of a candied Red Raspberry. I think what made the RB soo much better in this one WAS the pairing with the “candy” elements, errrr “gummy” elements. The Raspberry was somewhat unique, and reminded me of a candied red raspberry, with some hints of INW Raspberry Malina, and maybe a touch of RF’s Yummbery. Yeah, hehe, that’s as close as I can get, and it was good. NOW, the RB felt like it was somewhat diluted (as in the case of another gummy candy flavor) by the gummy candy elements. It tasted like it was about 75% of the way there, and I don’t think increasing the flavor percentage would make it pop any more due to the (along for the ride) gummy candy-ness
With that said, it was still fairly strong and present, and I couldn’t detect any florals (like Raspberries LOVE to do), or off-notes. The gummy candy was present, but instead of being gummy (for my tastes), it just seemed to “candy up” the RB, and it DID work. VERY good RB profile overall, but just not as strong as it needed to be to fully POP, and the gummy-ness was questionable. The RB did have a nice little tarty kick on the finish, and that helped pull it from being completely candied, and added some natural-ness to it. All in, and very good RB flavor, with good candy notes. About the only take-offs (like before) would be for the lightness of the “gummy”, and for a slightly diluted RB overall profile. It was too good to take-off too heavily for the minor aforementioned nit-picks, and it felt good at a punchy 9.1/10.
11 Likes
Redcurrant Gummy Candy (SC) (WF) 3.5% (10-2-23) – This one didn’t change much at all from the Alpha tests, and proved to be my not most favorite of the Gummy Candies. There were some aspects of Redcurrants in there, but I still continued to get an almost Pomegranate undertone throughout, while lower in the mix, was always there. I also got a sort of “funkyness” from it, again, while lower in the mix, stuck around for the entire show. Surprisingly the “gummy” was a little MORE present than in most of the other gummy candy flavors, so that was a plus. At 3.5% it was full, but still felt like it could use some MO Redcurrant to be honest. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and there was a nice tart pinch on the finish, that I really enjoyed, and kept it somewhat interesting. Not terrible, but it would also probably not be the main RC note in your mixes. About the only overt off-note would be the slight funky-ness previously mentioned. My opinion on the Alpha was about the same, and I decided to better hone in my rating on this one, and am going to place it squarely at a 6.5/10. Not terrible, not great, but somewhere in between.
11 Likes
Red Velvet Cake (SC) (WF) 3.5% (10-6-23) – I knew this one was a keeper as soon as I tested it. VERY accurate Red Velvet Cake, with delicious almost cocoa notes, tempered by a velvety smooth (sorry) cake profile. I have gotten more than my fair share of “baby powder” notes from more than a few RVC’s, but NOT HERE. Clean, accurate and just almost rich, with no off-notes. The cake element(s) were so accurate that at times I thought I was getting hints of baking soda !!! Needless to say that cake profile was just about as close as you could make it, short of a mixing bowl. I typically use Vanilla when I make the actual cake, and I didn’t get a lot of that in here, as (you guessed it), the Cake and Cocoa notes were the stars here. At 3.5% it didn’t leave me wanting, BUT, I wouldn’t have argued with a smidge more so the % will be up to you guys to decide. Sweetness was actually just below mid-level, and I did blow through all 3 testers before I knew it, and I hadn’t written a single word LOL. All in, a VERY good, and accurate Red Velvet Cake with super delicious cocoa and cake notes. NOT a chocolate cake, but squarely a RVC. I’m moving this one up a tick from my original Alpha rating, to a 9.85/10.
13 Likes
I just had to go back to my notes on this one. I thought the same, just less words.
Red Velvet definitely a nice cake, texture. Not dry. I am getting a nice hint of cocoa. This is 100 a good rich moist cake flavor. Knocked it out of the park with this one!
I love that I don’t have to rely on written words (usually). Just scratch a few notes down and talk about it!
7 Likes