Disclaimer: These E-Liquids were 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 these products.
Preamble
This review will take a somewhat different form to my usual reviews because of the nature of the company involved. Gourmet Vapor http://www.gourmetvapor.com/ is a company with an approach to making and selling e-liquids that is quite unlike anything I've seen so far in the e-liquid world. There may be others following a similar model but I haven't come across them yet. Essentially, what Gourmet Vapor offer is a half way house between purchasing ready made e-liquids and DIY. The customer can choose to simply purchase one or more of the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of e-liquids designed by previous customers or they can devise their own recipes, which would then be mixed by the Gourmet Vapor staff and posted to the paying customer in the usual manner.
Upon registering, the customer has the option to go to the Flavour Creator page. On this page there are four slots, each of which can be filled with one of the 110 (approximate) available flavours, specifying percentage of each flavour contributing to the overall mix. The mixture can then be given a name (which Gourmet Vapor advise not breach any copyright laws). The customer's recipes can then be added to the vast database to be made available to other customers. Registered customers can also vote on each other's recipes in addition to providing a link to YouTube reviews of their recipes. So, Gourmet Vapor is part juice vendor and part DIY lab with community oriented facilities to bind it all together.
When purchasing an E-liquid, there's a multitude of options to further tailor the juice to your particular requirements. Each liquid is available in bottle sizes of 5 ($3.95), 15 ($10.35), 30 ($15.15), 250 ($79.95) and 500ml ($127.95) at nicotine strengths of 0, 6, 12,18 and 24mg and PG/VG ratios of 0/100, 10,/90, 20/80, 30/70, 40/60, 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, 90/10 and 100/0. There's also the option to order double and triple flavour strengths. Gourmet Vapor have identified their nicotine provider as My Freedom Smokes. http://www.myfreedomsmokes.com/
The (30ml) bottles are a slightly opaque, easily squeezed plastic with an orange, childproof, screw top cap. Underneath the cap is a standard dropper. The label on each bottle includes the following information: the brand name, the name of the liquid, nicotine strength in mg, liquid contents in ml, the PG/VG ratio, an ID number, the company's website address, storage instructions, an advisory notice suggesting that the product not be sold to or be used by anyone under the age of eighteen, a warning that nicotine is poisonous and that it should be kept out of the reach of children and pets, and a toxicity graphic in the form of a skull and crossbones bound by a triangle.
The Reviews
Rather than devote a whole review to each of the numerous bottles Gourmet Vapor generously sent me, I've decided to cover a few of the better ones in this extended post. Each of the liquids discussed are 12mg nicotine strength with a PG/VG ratio of 70/30.
Sherlock, named after the famous Detective, is listed as containing 40% Smooth Tobacco, 20% Italian Tobacco and 40% Dark Tobacco and is described as "a sweet, smooth taste with a slight afterthought of pepper." The liquid is clear and colourless and has an aroma that is slightly sweet but without any further defining characteristics.
As I begin to inhale there's no taste of anything in particular but after about 3 or 4 seconds, as the heat of the coil increases, a mild sensation of sweetness addresses the tip of my tongue and the insides of my cheeks. At the tail end of the inhalation and the momentary holding of the breath, through to exhalation and aftertaste I recognise the flavour as something resembling Dekang's Desert Ship. It's a flavour that many of us as vapers have come to associate with tobacco, but is actually an artificial approximation that doesn't quite convince. Having said this, if we forget that it's supposed to be a tobacco flavour and appreciate it for what it is, then it's a reasonably tasty, slightly sweet and not at all disagreeable flavour. Throat hit is decent and vapour production is reasonable and pretty much what you would expect from a 70% PG juice.
Frisco Kid is listed as containing the flavours of hazelnut, caramel, tobacco and vanilla and is described as having a "sweet, nutty taste". The liquid is a clear, Raw Umber colour. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umber#Raw_umber The aroma of the liquid has a biscuity quality with secondary nutty and vanilla notes.
As I inhale Frisco Kid, I don't taste much beyond a subtle hint of hazelnut. It appears all the flavour resides in the exhalation, within which there's a creamy, biscuity quality. The dominant flavour is the hazelnut with caramel providing a slightly creamy, fudge-like note to the overall flavour. I'm afraid I'm not perceiving either the tobacco or vanilla notes, but I strongly suspect that if they were absent altogether from the mix, I'd be tasting something much less than what it currently is. Throat hit is good with a mild kick at the back of the throat while vapour production is excellent.
There are three Scooby Snacks listed on the Gourmet Vapour website, each with slight variations in the recipes, so I'm not entirely sure which one I have in my hands. If we take the first one in the list, it lists it's contents as 30% coconut, 30% banana creme, 20% pineapple and 20% watermelon and is described as being "modelled after the Scooby Snack shot". Having read this, I was curious to know what the recipe for a Scooby Snack shot was. Here's a link: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink528.html This particular e-liquid seems fairly close in the choice of ingredients and flavour ratios to those listed in the recipe for the drink.
The opacity and colour of the liquid is a clear, vibrant Munsell Yellow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_yellow#Yellow_.28Munsell.29 The aroma from the bottle is primarily a creamy coconut with supporting notes of pineapple and banana.
The first thing I notice as I begin to inhale Scooby Snack is a creamy quality to the vape. Then I notice the sweetness flowing along the length of my tongue and the insides of my cheeks. As I stop inhaling and the breath turns, the flavours of coconut and pineapple unfurl. Then as I exhale, the flavour of banana comes to the fore which lingers in the aftertaste, combined with each of the preceding flavours. I'm not aware of watermelon at any stage in the vape, but this isn't a problem at all, because as it stands this is a really tasty vape from beginning to end. Throat hit is good and vapour production is very good
The evocatively named Ghost Mist is listed as containing 40% menthol crystals, 30% marshmallow, 20% vanilla and 10% spearmint. The opacity and colour of the liquid is a clear, slightly subdued Tango Pink http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variations_of_pink#Tango_pink The aroma of the liquid is a subtle, yet authentic spearmint.
Close readers will know that I'm not a big fan of either minty flavours or menthol/Koolada. I'm happy to concede when it works though and in the case of Ghost Mist, it really does work. Vaping Ghost Mist is like standing at the head of a glacier and taking a deep lungful of searingly cold air, heavily laden with the scent of nearby flora. Spearmint perhaps. (Astute readers will recognise the flaw in my little picture.)
As I inhale Ghost Mist, I taste the beginnings of spearmint but then the cold burn hits the back of my throat which increases in intensity the longer I draw. As I exhale, the cold burn intensifies even further and yet throughout the inhalation, hold, exhalation and aftertaste the flavour of spearmint subtly persists. The 30% marshmallow and 20% vanilla are entirely lost to me amidst the overpowering menthol and spearmint. Nevertheless, I'd certainly return to this e-liquid when I was in the mood for it. I wouldn't say that the vapour from this liquid produces any sort of throat hit as such, but that arctic burn at the back of the throat more than makes up for it. Vapour production is satisfactory.
Gourmet Vapor have a seemingly unique selling point. Their approach to combining aspects of DIY with the traditional retail model seems very popular, with hundreds of customer devised recipes available to the consumer. Adding elements of community oriented service broadens the appeal and personalises the process of devising recipes and purchasing from them. This may not be for everyone but it seems a very clever approach to me. I think the e-liquids are hit or miss; some of them are very ordinary but others are as good as any of the juices you might buy from the more "glamorous" name brands.
