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 portions of this review are quoted from my review of Crave Gourmet EJuice's Green Apple. http://vapour-taster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/green-apple-by-crave-gourmet-ejuice.html Quoted passages are in italics.
Wildberry Blast, the subject of this review is described by Crave Gourmet EJuice as a blend of wild strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. http://www.craveejuice.com/products/organic-wild-berry-blast It may interest you to know that the following are also technically berries: avocado, banana, coffee, grapes, honeysuckle, persimmon, pumpkin, tomato, oranges, kumquats, lemons, capsicum and... potato. Botanically defined, a berry is any flesh fruit produced from a single ovary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry Thank goodness Crave Gourmet chose to exclude these from their WildBerry Blast! A few of them would have been palatable, but pumpkin, potato and avocado... No thank you.
Crave Gourmet EJuice are based in Vancouver, Canada and due to that nation's laws regarding the sale and supply of e-liquids containing nicotine, they offer a catalog of entirely nicotine free juices.
Crave Gourmet EJuice offer several ranges of product including Gourmet EJuice, divided into four categories; Crave Pure EJuice, Chef's Premium Brew, Gourmet EJuice and Tobacco EJuice (48 flavours), Flavour Shots (8 flavours) and DIY, divided into three categories (Organic flavours (57 flavours), Tobacco flavours (6 flavours) and Double Strength EJuice (64 flavours). Crave Gourmet's liquids are made entirely with organic ingredients and the Vegetable Glycerin is derived from sweet Potatoes. Not only is there no nicotine content in these juices and extracts, but there's also no Propylene glycol, Acetone, Alcohol, Acetyl Propionyl or Diacetyl.
Wildberry Blast is available as a regular e-liquid (albeit sans nicotine; the sale and supply of nicotine e-liquids in Canada is illegal), a Double Strength solution for mixing with your own base and as an extract for use by the DIY mixers amongst you. The bottle of Wildberry Blast under consideration in this instance is from the Double Strength range. These bottles come in sizes of 30ml ($17.95), 120ml (4oz) ($30.95), 240ml (8oz) ($50.95), 480ml (16oz) ($89.95), 960ml (32oz) ($144.95) and 3.7l (1 gallon) ($299.95). NB. I assume these figures are in Canadian currency. As of the date of the writing of this review one Canadian dollar is equivalent to US$0.97 and GBP£0.59.
The 10ml sample bottle I have in front of me is a semi-opaque, easily squeezed plastic that arrived in a tamper evident plastic film which covered it from top to bottom. The cap, which was also tamper evident (with a plastic ring around the neck of the bottle attached to the cap), is a white plastic, non-childproof screw top. The bottle has an attached dropper insert for easy dripping, which is easily removed if you want to decant the liquid into a larger bottle and add your own nicotine/PG/VG base. The label includes the following information in English and in French: the company name, the name of the liquid, an ingredients list, the company website address and the phrase "Double strength".
The liquid is a crystal clear Peach Orange. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_orange#Peach The liquid in motion, within the bottle gives the appearance of being quite aqueous and much less viscous than I'd imagine a wholly VG liquid to be. Rubbing a drop of the liquid between the tips of my thumb and forefinger reveals a medially lubricious quality; the liquid is wholly absorbed into my skin in several seconds short of a minute.
As per usual, I'm vaping Wildberry Blast in an Igo-L on a Poldiac running on an 18650 battery. There are 5 wraps of 0.2mm (32AWG) Kanthal wire around three strands of 2mm silica wick. The coil is measuring 2.2ohms on the Provari. As this is a double strength juice, I've diluted it by adding an equal part of PG/VG/Nicotine base, rendering an 18mg nicotine strength liquid. With the bottle opened and held below my nose, I discern a top note of blackberry with a secondary or middle note of blueberry.
When I fire the device I draw the vapour into my mouth and I taste a very mild sweetness. Following this I take a few primer puffs to heat the coil and as a result the sweetness is amplified. Alongside this is a mild, inoffensive sourness. It's immediately apparent at the level of pure sensation, that this is a berry flavoured juice, though the individual and distinct flavours of the various berries involved aren't apprehended until later in the cycle of inhalation and exhalation. Having taken my fill of vapour, I inhale a modest amount of fresh air and hold my breath momentarily. At this point I experience first and foremost the flavour of strawberry, followed almost immediately by the flavour of blueberry. As I exhale, these flavours soften a little and take a back seat to the darker, sturdier flavour of blackberry which dominates through to, and for the duration of the aftertaste.
Given that I've altered the VG/PG ratio and added nicotine, it would be somewhat meaningless to discuss throat hit or vapour production.
Wildberry Blast is one of those few juices I encounter whose various flavours manifest at various stages in the vape cycle and in conscious awareness. Each of the berries in this mix are pronounced, with clearly distinct identities, and contribute to the full bodied, finely balanced totality of flavour. This signifies a deep understanding by the Mixer (Chef Matt I assume) of flavour and it's apprehension in and through the gustatory system, Hats off! Nevertheless, it's not an overly complex flavour and each of it's individual components are entirely complimentary to each other. As suggested on the Crave Gourmet EJuice website, this is perfect summertime (or dreaming of summertime) vaping http://www.craveejuice.com/products/organic-wild-berry-blast; very refreshing and somewhat mouth cleansing. Thank ye gods, Chef Matt didn't decide to push the boundaries too far by including potato, pumpkin or avocado.
NB. For those of you in the Australasian and South-East Asian regions who'd like to purchase Crave Gourmet EJuice products, I'd suggest you look at Crave Gourmet resellers, Ecig Life, http://www.electroniccigarettelife.com.au based in Melbourne, Australia.
