Disclaimer: This E-liquid was provided to me free of charge for the purpose of conducting a review. This fact notwithstanding, I will, as best I'm able, provide an honest, accurate and unbiased assessment of this product.
In Norwich, a beautiful city, not far from the easternmost point of the United Kingdom lives and works an Alchemist. Traditionally, Alchemists have been a secretive and shy group of people, many of whom were persecuted and executed by the authorities for their beliefs and practices. Our Norwich based Alchemist is similarly secretive, but for different reasons altogether. (We don't burn our Alchemists at the stake anymore.) His e-liquids, he claims, are made fresh to order using the "purest and best" ingredients available from the UK, EU or US only. "...we don’t sell generic E-Liquid flavours and brands that you could purchase from a number of different suppliers." This Alchemist has a cupboard, within which he stores the raw ingredients, the materia prima with which he works to formulate the Philosopher's Stone or, as we know it locally, Aunty Flo's Pear Drops (and other rarefied concoctions).
Aunty Flo's Pear Drops is available in 10 (£4.20), 30 (£11.65) and 50ml (£19.10) bottles at nicotine strengths of 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24mg and a PG/VG ratio of 60/40. Pear Drops are an old fashioned confectionery; a sugar-coated, sharp and tangy, mentholated boiled sweet. Imagine an Olde Worlde confectionery store with wood panelled walls and everything in glass jars and you begin to get a picture of the milieu from which Aunty Flo bought her Pear Drops.
The bottle is an easily squeezed, clear plastic with a white, childproof, screw top cap. The label contains the following information: the brand name, the name of the E-liquid, toxicity warnings in the form of a skull and crossbones graphic (originally a Freemasonic motif: another link to Alchemy), storage and handling instructions, medical advice in case of poisoning, a tactile warning triangle which complies with EU regulations regarding the storage and handling of toxic substances, an ingredients list, liquid quantity in ml, nicotine content in mg, a reference number (which I assume is the batch number), a bottle date, a best used by date, the Alchemist's Cupboard website address and the company's telephone number.
The liquid itself is a clear, saturated caramel colour and has an aroma that's very suggestive of the type of confectionery you would find in an old fashioned confectionery store. It takes me back to Sovereign Hill, an historical (gold mining) theme park near Ballarat in Victoria, Australia which I visited a number of times as a child. There was a confectionery store there that smelled just like this e-liquid.
I'm vaping Aunty Flo's Pear Drops in an Igo-L on a mechanical mod with an 18650 battery. As I draw the vapour into my mouth, I discover to my horror, the presence of menthol. I'm not a fan of menthol or mints of any kind, but I consider myself a professional and I did promise several reviews ago that I would vape with my eyes wide open, so I persist. And in doing so, I discover that it's not too bad; in fact it works quite well and I confess it's grown on me. On the inhalation, the tongue receives a mild, fruity sweetness and as the vapour reaches the back of the throat, the coolness of the menthol asserts itself. There's also that familiar mounting of pressure at the back of the throat which signals at a certain point that inhalation should stop. The flavour of pear is most prominent at that point in the breath cycle when I've stopped inhaling and I'm about to exhale. As I exhale, the pear flavour continues but is overwhelmed briefly by the iciness of the menthol coming to the fore and which lingers in the aftertaste.
Throat hit is good; obviously the menthol contributes to and amplifies that sensation and vapour production is very good.
The name and the aroma of the liquid are further served by the flavour to suggest an olde worlde type confectionery. The menthol isn't overly strong and works surprisingly well in combination with the pear flavour. The Alchemist's Cupboard website suggests that this is probably not going to be suitable as an all day vape and I'd have to agree with them. Having said that, it's a vape that I'd happily turn to if I wanted a taste of something that we, in the 21st century have deemed "old fashioned". I like "old fashioned" and as I said earlier Aunty Flo's Pear Drops has grown on me. The more I vape it, the more I like it.
The Alchemist's Cupboard state that some customers have advised them that this e-liquid has cracked CE5 polycarbonate tanks. Stick to glass or stainless steel tanks and you'll be OK.
Update 30/05/13: I've just had an email from The Alchemist to inform me there's no menthol in this liquid. The coolness is provided by Koolada, which is made with menthyl methyl lactate, which is a derivative of menthol but unlike menthol has no flavour and is used to impart a cooling effect to foods and beverages without disturbing the primary flavour.
Update 30/05/13: I've just had an email from The Alchemist to inform me there's no menthol in this liquid. The coolness is provided by Koolada, which is made with menthyl methyl lactate, which is a derivative of menthol but unlike menthol has no flavour and is used to impart a cooling effect to foods and beverages without disturbing the primary flavour.
