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. Pertinent passages of this review have been quoted from my review of House of Liquid's Minotaur. http://vapour-taster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/minotaur-cellar-by-house-of-liquid.html Quoted passages are in italics.
The Oenologists, Sommeliers and connoisseurs of wine amongst you will recognise the term "Reserve", which refers to a specially aged or higher quality version of an otherwise regular wine. These are usually kept back by the winemaker for sale to the aforementioned connoisseurs at enormously inflated prices. As a struggling undergraduate student I worked weekends in a vast store that sold every imaginable type of alcohol. Wines, beers and liqueurs from every part of the world. The most exclusive part of the store was the "wine corridor" a red carpeted, white painted series of rooms lit with chandeliers, that stretched the length of the building. In one of these rooms was a locked cabinet within which were stored the Reserves. Extremely rare and very expensive wines. So, the word "Reserve" in the context of wine carries with it associations of refinement, luxury, and prestige. It also denotes an exquisite degree of knowledge and craftsmanship on the winemaker's behalf.
Reserve is a fitting name for the e-liquid under consideration in this review, given that it's a refinement of a refinement of a liquid by House of Liquid in addition to the steeping processes used in its creation are suggestive of, and echo the winemaker's craft. Guevara http://www.houseofliquid.com/product-p/1-el-toro-guevara-60ml.htm is an El Toro tobacco liquid made from a blend of Havana Prime leaf with Nicaraguan Aged Seco steeped (in Propylene Glycol) for several days. Guevara Reserve (which I reviewed here: http://vapour-taster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/guevara-reserve-by-el-toro.html) was a limited edition (300 bottles) liquid "steeped for 30 days... and matured for another 30 days inside an "old, authentic, French Limousine oak barrel used for decades for the storage of Metaxa brandy"". http://www.houseofliquid.com/product-p/et-guevara-res.htm The Cellar's Reserve, the subject of this review is "a new and improved version" of the limited edition Guevara Reserve. With three iterations of this juice available to the public and undoubtedly many more behind the closed doors of the lab at House of Liquid, we, the vaping public can be reasonably certain we'll be buying a finely tuned e-liquid that deserves the name "Reserve". Further to our expectations that this will be an extraordinary vape, the price of this e-liquid is only €1 more expensive than House of Liquid's El Toro range, so you don't have to own a Rolex or drive a Bugatti Veyron to be able to afford it.
House of Liquid have been promoting and preparing for the release of The Cellar range http://www.houseofliquid.com/category-s/1844.htm of E-liquids for months (as of the writing of this review). The Cellar range comprises three E-liquids: Minotaur, Reserve and Chivalry. These three liquids are very special in my view because they mark a very particular attitude and approach to the crafting of flavour for consumption in vaporous form. Each of these liquids have begun with the steeping of tobacco leaves in Propylene Glycol and then transferred into various wooden barrels for further steeping for at least thirty days.
In a previous review of a House of Liquid juice, I asserted that they are Europe's premier producers and distributors of e-liquids. They are responsible for the formidable El Toro range of tobacco liquids, the Papillion range of organic liquids, the eBaron Lab range of concept liquids and now The Cellar range of specially steeped tobacco liquids. Each and every one of the liquids that I've vaped from House of Liquid (I've vaped most of them) has been exceptional. Each range has a loyal following and for good reason. Not only do these juices produce the most authentic tobacco tasting vape but (House of Liquid do not make any claims to this effect) it's rumoured that these liquids contain a certain amount of natural nicotine and tobacco alkaloids because they'e made with the extracted essences and flavours of actual tobacco leaves. Georgio, the man at the helm of House of Liquid, is assertive in his adherence to the principles of naturally grown and pesticide free raw ingredients. House of Liquid are also opposed to any form of child labour in the cultivation and production of the tobaccos used in his e-liquids.
Georgio and his team go to great lengths to ensure a phenomenal vaping experience for their customers. It's this and their principled attitudes and approaches that garner them such loyalty from their customers. Including myself. Cigarillos Naturales is my all-day-vape.
Each of the liquids in The Cellar range are available in 10 (€6.95) and 60ml (€25.95) bottles at nicotine strengths of 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24mg.
The 10ml bottle is a very dark brown, almost black plastic which protects the nicotine within from the destructive effects of ultraviolet light. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja01846a026 The screw-top cap is a (very) childproof, black plastic with a tamper evident seal around the base of the cap where it meets the neck of the bottle. The label is beautifully designed with a sepia toned photograph of wooden barrels with a barrel graphic and the name of the liquid in ivory, superimposed. I really enjoy this attention to detail; considered choice of bottle and accomplished graphic design substantially enhance the enjoyment of the product for me. The label also includes the following information: the brand name, the name of the company, nicotine strength in mg, liquid contents in ml, an ingredients list, an advisory notice that the liquid may contain traces of nuts, the name, address and telephone number of the manufacturer, age and toxicity warning graphics, a tactile, warning triangle sticker which complies with EU laws regarding the storage of toxic substances and the words "Contains Nicotine". On the back of the bottle is a folded attachment (glued on) which contains a toxicity warning and first aid instructions in thirteen languages.
The colour of the liquid is a clear Buff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff_(color), a pale yellow brown. It's not as lubricious as some liquids I've rubbed between my thumb and forefinger recently and is slightly sticky. The aroma is subtle; a very distant note of the Metaxa brandy barrel within which it steeped.
I'm vaping Reserve in an Igo-L on a mechanical mod running on a freshly charged 18650 battery. The coil is composed of four wraps of 0.2 Kanthal around three strands of 2mm Silica wick. When I inhale, I sense a complex of sweet, umami and sour notes. I experience the sweetness first, followed by a brief flash of sourness and then I become aware of the umami notes. My awareness seems to cycle through each of these broad notes the longer I inhale. There's that familiar building of pressure at the back of the throat which prompts a sharp intake of fresh air when the pressure becomes uncomfortable. (This is known as a chemesthetic sensation and is one of the three sensations that comprise the gustatory experience, the other two being flavour and aroma. It refers to a chemical reaction within the body that results in a sensation usually attributed to the sense of touch. ie, thermal perception, tickling, stinging, burning, etc. It's most commonly associated with the burn of chillies or the cooling of Menthol. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemesthesis) At this point, and for a moment while I hold the vapour in my lungs the flavour of tobacco appears. It's a rich, sweet tobacco with the brandy notes rushing in to join the former as I begin to exhale. If I take a series of fleeting draws without inhaling, the wood of the Limousine oak barrel is more conspicuous in the exhalation. The aftertaste is a very pleasant melange of the primary tobacco and brandy notes with a very subtle, ashy and woody undercurrent. There's the slightest inclination towards a metallic tang around the teeth and gums.
When I first cleaned my Igo-L, put in a new wick and coil, dripped some Reserve and took my first few drags I knew the 10ml bottle that House of Liquid sent me wasn't going to last long. I put down the device, logged into the House of Liquid website and ordered a 60ml bottle. If you have money, lots of it, there are all sorts of things you can do with it. The world offers up a smorgasbord of refinement, luxury and prestige in the form of expensive objects and experiences. Having said this, refinement and luxury don't necessarily have to be the sole preserve of the moneyed classes. House of Liquid's The Cellar range is a case in point. These are finely crafted juices made with the choicest ingredients and methodologies but made available to you and I at very reasonable prices. A slice of the good life for a mere pittance; I'll have some of that, thanks.
