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.
“Absinthe was an aromatic liquor, first commercialized by Henri Louis Pernod circa 1805, that was crafted from the alcoholic distillation of the herb Artemisia Absinthium and other European culinary and medicinal herbs. It contained from 45 to 75 percent alcohol.” (T. A. Breaux, Absinthe Researcher and Chemist, 2000) http://www.feeverte.net/whatisabsinthe.html
The subject of this review is G2 Vapor's Shocker. Before we get into the review proper, let me tease you with this one word: anaesthesia.
While many e-juice manufacturers and vendors make and sell vast numbers of different flavours, G2 Vapors produce a modest six e-liquids. Having tasted most of them, I strongly suspect that G2 want to make sure that each juice is of the highest possible quality in presentation, taste, throat hit and vapour production and that they work carefully and methodically to achieve these ends. The G2 catalogue consists of G2 (Absinthe, apple and seven other undisclosed flavours), caRnY4 ("caramel and tobacco with a funnel cake/kettle corn edge"), El Blacco ("A blackberry cobbler with hints of vanilla ice cream blended with a variety of smooth black tobaccos"), Shocker (Absinthe and raspberry), Deshocker (raspberry without the Absinthe), and Purple Nurple ("beta testers describe it best: grape koolaid, grape soda, grape icee pops, grape fun dip, grape candy bottle caps").
G2 Vapor make their entire range of e-liquids available through ElectronicStix who are based in Utah, USA. They have a number of brick and mortar stores in addition to their online store. http://www.electronicstix.com/
Each of the E-liquids is available in 30ml ($17.95) bottles at nicotine strengths of 6, 12 and 24mg. All of the liquids are mixed at PG/VG ratios of 50/50 to provide a balance between flavour and vapour production.
The actual bottles sent to me are samples (10 or 15 ml) and not the 30ml bottles made available to paying customers, so any information I provide about the bottle and label may or may not apply to the bottle you purchase and receive. When the bottle arrived the cap was sealed in a tamper evident plastic. The bottle in front of me is a tall, elegant, clear glass with a black, plastic screw top cap. The cap isn't childproof and there's no dropper attached or provided, though Electronicstix do sell screw on dropper tips (suitable for 30ml bottles) at $0.75 each. The label includes the following: the brand name, the name of the liquid, nicotine strength in mg, an ingredients list and a warning to "keep away from children and pets".
If the bottle is allowed to stand for some time a layer of oil separates out and sits above the rest of the liquid. If you look closely at the photograph accompanying this review you can see a buff coloured band at the top. This is the oil. To state the obvious, the bottle needs a good shaking before the liquid is transferred into your preferred vaping device. When shaken, the colour of the liquid is a near opaque Brink Pink. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variations_of_pink#Brink_pink The aroma that almost bellows from the bottle is anise with fruity overtones.
I'm vaping Shocker (12mg) in an Igo-L on a mechanical mod running on an 18650 battery. If I take short, shallow drags into my mouth, I taste a sweet, full bodied raspberry. This is an entirely pleasant flavour (see Deshocker) and I'd be happy to vape on this alone, but this is just the beginning. When I take more sustained, deeper drags, Shocker rolls up its sleeves and goes to work. Comparisons are made on the G2 Vapor website to Pluid. I quote, "If you like "Pluid" you will definitely wanna put this juice in your rotation.....or if you haven't been able to get your hands on "Pluid" this is similar to Pluid with a bit of berry flavor added to it." Unattributed review. http://g2vapor.com/About.html I haven't tried Pluid so I'm unable to affirm or deny this. However, Shocker is one of the most intense vapes I've yet had the good fortune to experience.
As I begin to inhale I taste sweetness on the tip of my tongue and on the insides of my cheeks, followed almost immediately afterwards by the sensation of building pressure at the back of my throat. The flavour of anise is apparent almost from the outset and builds in intensity until I finish inhaling, take a short, shallow breath of fresh air and hold momentarily. At this point the raspberry manifests and continues to build and marry with the anise. The aftertaste is extraordinary. It's at this stage in the vape that the anise beds in, having a mildly numbing effect on my tongue. Successive draws on the device increases the sensation, or rather, lack of sensation in my tongue with the flavour of melded anise and raspberry persisting for quite some time. The anaesthetic quality of the vape is mild, but it's unmistakable. You can't miss it.
I find with most sweet vapes that I experience a building pressure at the back of the throat, which, if ignored provokes a coughing fit. This is not the same as throat hit, which I associate with a more immediate, rasping kick at the back of the throat. In this instance throat hit is negligible. I'm not a big fan of throat hit anyway, so this doesn't bother me. I do enjoy voluminous vapour though and Shocker delivers generously on that front.
I find Shocker to be a finely tuned marriage of flavours that I wouldn't have thought would work, but does so admirably. The sweet, fruitiness of the raspberry lifts the somewhat earthy, slightly salty and metallic anise into a challenging, but very satisfying complex of sensation. The anaesthetic effect of the vape on the tongue adds further dimension to the experience.
The ElectonicStix website warns, "SHOCKER HAS A HIGH PH LEVEL, IT CAN AND WILL CRACK PLASTIC/POLY TANKS, SHOCKER IS BEST USED IN GLASS OR METAL TANKS." http://www.electronicstix.com/collections/g2-vapor-juice/products/shocker
