Hawaiian Pud by Chef's Vapour

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.

As a child, even before I knew that Hawaii was a place, I knew that pineapple and the word "Hawaii" were somehow related.

Pizza. It was Hawaiian Pizza (ham and pineapple) that introduced me to the idea of Hawaii. As an adult I know that there's a lot more to Hawaii than pineapple, so please, my dear Hawaiian readers, don't take offence.

Chef's Vapour http://www.chefsvapour.co.uk/ based in Cardiff, Wales, also appear to understand that pineapple means Hawaii, but in their case it isn't about pizza; it's all about Pineapple cake or rather, pudding. Hawaiian Pud is a new addition to the menu, available to the public as of the writing of this review, Monday, 3rd June 2013. The chefs have this to say about the new addition:

"We were contacted by a forum member with a request for more pudding/cake flavours and even some suggestions for new flavours!

So here is our new cake addition...

Hawaiian Pud. 

Pineapple cake flavour that will make you think you're sat on a golden beach in the Hawaiian sunshine."  

http://www.chefsvapour.co.uk/Hawaiian_Pud/p1901058_9670179.aspx

Hawaiian Pud is available in 10ml (£4.25) and 30ml (£11.25) bottles at nicotine strengths of 6, 12, 18 and 24mg and PG/VG ratios of 65/35, 35/65, and 50/50. They do state that they are looking at offering the customer the option of specifying their own PG/VG ratio in the near future. They also recommend that the customer steep their liquids for at least 7 days, with optimum flavour being achieved with at least 14 days steeping.

The 10ml bottle is a fairly rigid, clear plastic with a black, childproof, screw top cap, underneath which, is a standard dropper. The label includes the following: the Chef's Vapour logo, the name of the e-liquid, liquid contents in ml, nicotine contents in mg, the "born on" date, the use by date, the skull and crossbones warning graphic, storage and first aid advice,  toxicity warnings, a tactile warning triangle which complies with EU regulations regarding the storage of toxic substances, an ingredients list, the company's address and telephone number and the company's website address.

The colour of the liquid is identical to that of Strawberry Vapetto http://vapour-taster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/strawberry-vapetto-by-chefs-vapour.html The liquid is a clear, Dark Orange https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_orange#Orange_.28web_color.29 which, when held up to the light changes to a Gold Yellow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_yellow#Gold_.28Golden.29. The aroma of the liquid is an unmistakeable cake with pineapple notes following. There is a fragrance here which is common to many of the liquids I've reviewed. I'd tentatively attribute this to the sweetener used. PA sweetener? Splendex? Ethyl Maltol? I don't know.

As usual, I'm using the Igo-L dripper on a mechanical mod with an 18650 battery. The sample I'm vaping is 18mg nicotine strength and has a PG/VG ratio of 65/35. As I begin to inhale, the first sensation is a nondescript sweetness on the tip of my tongue. This blossoms into a buttery, cake type flavour as I continue to inhale, which is sensed more on the insides of my cheeks than anywhere else. There's a slight amplification of sweetness at the tail end of the inhalation when I draw in a small amount of fresh air. The flavour of cake continues to predominate as I exhale, but towards the end of the exhalation I begin to taste the pineapple which grows in intensity until it's the primary flavour and reaches its potential in the aftertaste. As we know, pineapple isn't a citrus fruit but there is a citrus-like tang in the mouth which accompanies the pineapple aftertaste.

The vapour has a fairly smooth, velvety texture until that certain pressure builds at the back of the throat, which often occurs with sweeter vapes. I personally don't associate this with throat hit as such, which in this instance is negligible. Vapour production is very good but varies depending on how saturated the wick is with the liquid. 

In my review of Strawberry Vapetto, I mentioned "flavours that arrive on the palate and in the conscious mind at different points in time". Hawaiian Pud is a case in point. It's almost as if you're taking a mouthful of cake and savouring the buttery sponge before adding a mouthful of pineapple and savouring the sweetness and sourness of that. I've heard cooks talk about layered flavour and though I can't say with any confidence what they mean by this, I think I have a reasonable idea. I believe Hawaiian Pud offers a layered approach to flavour in vapour form and as such is a journey of sorts, into stimulating territory.