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.
Tobacco is well known to be a difficult flavour to mimic in vaporous form. The flavour of combusting tobacco is a complex affair involving not just the smoke of the burning leaves but also the combined flavours of the burning paper and the cocktail of chemicals we know to be present in tobacco, in addition to the flavour carried by vapour produced by slightly moist tobacco as the heat of the fire approaches. How does one capture the essence of a particular substance being transformed through the application of intense heat into another substance? I'm not a scientist, so forgive me if my understanding of this is faulty or simplistic. A number of alternative approaches have been tried, one of which is the extracting of the essential oils from tobacco leaves through steeping in Propylene Glycol. Another approach is the careful balancing of various compounds to approximate the flavour of steeped tobacco leaves. I suspect that with USA Red by Celtic Vapours, the latter approach was used.
Celtic Vapours http://www.celticvapours.com/ are based in Swansea, Wales. They offer a catalogue of over fifty e-liquids (they are aiming to add at least one new flavour each month) divided into the following categories: beverage, ice, Absinthe, tobacco, fruit and sweet (confectionery). Their entire range is available online or from a number of brick and mortar stores with whom they're affiliated. Check their website to see if there's one near you. http://www.celticvapours.com/About-Us.html They assert on their website that their top priority is to get more flavour into their E-liquids (not content to rest on their laurels, they're always seeking to improve their recipes...) and they have chosen to offer their liquids in nicotine strengths of 5mg gradations instead of the industry standard 6mg gradations.
Celtic Vapours offer each of their liquids in 10 (£4.80) and 30ml (£13.50) bottles at nicotine strengths of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35mg. I couldn't find any mention of available PG/VG ratios on the website, although the bottle specifies a PG/VG ratio of >60/30.
The 10ml bottle in front of me is a clear, semi-rigid plastic with a red plastic, childproof screw-top cap. Attached to the bottle is a 1cm long plastic, needle-type dropper. The label includes the following information: the brand name, the name of the e-liquid, nicotine strength in mg, liquid contents in ml, an ingredients list, an age warning, storage and safety first instructions, a batch number, a best used by date, the company's phone number and website address, warning graphics and a tactile triangle sticker which complies with EU law regarding the storage of toxic substances. There is also an advisory notice to "Use only as directed" and a suggestion to "Shake the bottle well before use".
The colour of the liquid is a clear, Selective Yellow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_yellow. The aroma of the liquid in the bottle seems to me, reminiscent of a sugary biscuit/cookie.
The overriding flavour of USA Red is difficult to describe, although to suggest it might be a type of coppery tang, which is admittedly a bit abstract, comes closest to the sensation I'm experiencing in vaping this e-juice. On the inhalation, there's a mild sweetness along the forward edge of the tongue accompanied by a flavour that, at a stretch might be described as tobacco, but to my taste buds seems more akin to something you might find in a bakery. The texture of the vapour is silky smooth and is inhaled easily. As I finish inhaling and draw in a little fresh air, I begin to taste a sweet biscuity flavour. This biscuity note is sustained through the exhalation and into the aftertaste.
Throat hit is negligible but vapour production more than compensates for this with veritable clouds of billowing, opaque, white vapour.
To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to make of this e-liquid. USA Red is meant to be an American style tobacco flavour. Americans: do your cigarettes taste like sugared cookies? Taste, as we all know is a highly personal sense. Completely subjective. USA Red may taste like 100% tobacco to you.
Even though it doesn't taste anything like tobacco to me, it's still a very full bodied, flavoursome vape. I like it very much. If it had been labelled "Sugared Cookies" there'd be no problem at all. As it stands, I will probably finish the bottle and enjoy every last drag of it.
