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 have been quoted from my review of House Of Liquid's Minotaur from The Cellar range. http://vapour-taster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/minotaur-cellar-by-house-of-liquid.html Quoted passages are in italics.
This review will follow a slightly different format than usual. The Frozen Orange recipe has been revised, so I'll review both the old and new versions as a means to compare and contrast them.
Preamble
Anyone who follows this blog and has read my reviews of other House of Liquid http://www.houseofliquid.com/ juices will know that I'm a big fan of everything they do. Their El Toro: Cigarillos Naturales is my all day vape and has been since I first reviewed it in April of this year (2013).
I've previously asserted that they are Europe's premier producers and distributors of e-liquids. They're responsible for the formidable El Toro range of tobacco liquids, the Papillion range of organic liquids, the eBaron Lab range of concept liquids and the recently released 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. Georgio, the man at the helm of House of Liquid, 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. Georgio 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.
Frozen Orange from the eBaron Lab range is an e-liquid made with natural orange extract with the addition of a cooling agent. The eBaron range also includes Silverberry (http://vapour-taster.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/silverberry-by-ebaron.html), Brasileiro ("Pure steeped Tobacco with exquisite aromas and all natural Brazilian coffee extracts."), Cigare de Paris ("...pure steeped tobacco blend with full cigar body flavours and faint aromas of bitter almond blossoms.") and Cinnamon Cookies.
Frozen Orange is available in 10 (€6.95) and 30ml (€17.95) bottles at nicotine strengths of 6, 12, and 18mg.
The 10ml bottle is a clear, sturdy plastic. 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 includes the following information: the brand name, the name of the liquid, nicotine strength in mg, liquid contents in ml, an ingredients list, a batch number, a best used by date, an advisory notice that the liquid may contain traces of nuts, the name, address and telephone number of the manufacturer, age, toxicity and environmental hazard warning graphics, a tactile, a textual toxicity warning, a warning triangle sticker which complies with EU laws regarding the storage of toxic substances, and the advice to seek medical attention in case of poisoning.
The Reviews
I'm vaping both versions of Frozen Orange in an Igo-L on a Poldiac running on a freshly charged 18650 battery. I don't have the mod or equipment necessary to measure the ohms of the coil, but I can tell you that it has five wraps of 0.2 Kanthal (32 AWG) wire around three strands of 2mm Silica wick.
Frozen Orange (Old recipe)
The colour of the liquid is a clear Ivory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_(color) A brief but vigorous shake of the bottle diffuses minuscule bubbles of air throughout the liquid which rise to the top of the bottle at a snail's pace, suggesting a high degree of viscosity. It has the appearance of a light cooking oil or syrup. Rubbing a drop of the liquid between my thumb and forefinger reveals significant lubricity and it appears to resist absorption into my skin until the two minute mark. After two and a half minutes the liquid has been completely absorbed. The aroma that rises from the opened bottle is of an authentic orange zest. I imagine holding the bottle under my nose while I was blindfolded would fool me into thinking I was perceiving the actual article.
Firing the device and drawing the vapour slowly and measuredly into my mouth fills it with a sweet and slightly sour flavour that is immediately perceived as citrus. Simultaneously, there's a coolness, the chemesthetic reaction of some sort of cooling agent along the length of my tongue. As I inhale while continuing to fire the device, the coolness washes towards the back of my throat but without actually triggering any sensation there. This is unexpected because cooling agents, whether Menthol, Koolada or mint usually make their presence felt most potently at the back of the throat. I finish inhaling and take a short breath of fresh air to follow the vapour into my lungs, at which point the orange flavour begins to blossom. When the breath cycle turns and I begin to exhale, the orange flavour is intensified and I acknowledge it as a flavour saturated vapour. Alongside the perception of flavour is the sensation of the cooling agent washing back out along the length of my tongue. The aftertaste consists of a mild coolness on the front and middle, upper zones of my tongue combined with the flavour and mild acidity (this latter centred on the tip of my tongue) of the orange. As is so often the case, there's a slight metallic tang around my forward teeth and gums. I want to suggest that the cooling agent is Koolada rather than Menthol or some type of mint because, besides the chemesthetic sensation of cooling, there's no accompanying flavour intruding on the orange. The intensity of the cooling agent is mild and to my mind and palate, perfectly judged. There's a fine balance here that suggests the folks at House of Liquid have iterated this juice to ensure it's just right.
Throat hit is negligible at 12mg nicotine strength but again, as is so often my experience with juices on the sweeter end of the spectrum, there's a mounting of "pressure" at the back of the throat. Vapour production is satisfyingly substantial.
Frozen Orange (New recipe)
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| New Frozen Orange, unshaken. |
Drawing the vapour into my mouth fills it with the broad notes of sweetness and sourness with the sensation of coolness registering in my awareness almost immediately afterwards. Continuing to fire the device and inhaling draws the vapour towards the back of my throat where the cooling agent is at it's most potent; the sensation is a combination of chill and the raspiness of throat hit. Further inhalation amplifies both these sensations, while following through with a small amount of fresh air and then beginning to exhale, expands the flavour to it's fullest potential. The flavour is remarkable; if I didn't know better, I'd imagine someone had squeezed the mist from an orange peel into my mouth. Through exhalation and into the aftertaste the flavour and chill proceeds to diminish, but not without activating my salivary glands. I'm aware of a modest acidic bite on the tip of my tongue alongside the coolness affecting my whole tongue, the roof of my mouth and the back of my throat. Subsequent inhalations of air prolongs the duration of the chemesthetic chill. While House of Liquid state that the cooling agent is peppermint, I'm only experiencing the cooling effect of this ingredient; not the flavour, so the orange progresses through my gustatory system unimpeded.
Though I don't know the nicotine content of this sample of the revised Frozen Orange, I suspect that it's higher than the old recipe sample I was provided. Throat hit is significant with the characteristic rasp at the back of the throat and this is combined with a mild but significantly stronger chill than is delivered by the old recipe. Vapour production is substantial with large, dense volumes pouring into the space ahead of me.
Conclusion
Both the old and the new versions of Frozen Orange are very satisfying vapes. It's more than apparent that House of Liquid have made a great effort to fine tune both recipes. The visible presence of flavour essence in the new recipe signals a more authentic, potent flavour and this is fully realised in the vaping of it. In writing about the old recipe, I noted that it was a finely balanced vape and iterated to perfection, but in what seems to have been a case of "back to the drawing boards", House of Liquid have produced a juice that outshines its predecessor in every way. The vapour carries a payload of flavour that seems so saturated, it approximates the flavour rich, acidic content of the actual fruit. Throat hit and chemesthetic reaction are significantly enhanced. I've had the pleasure of tasting most of the juices available from House of Liquid and it's my considered view that Georgio and his team are at the forefront of E-liquid design and production; you do yourself a serious disservice if you don't avail yourself of these remarkably fine liquids.
A note of caution: liquids containing citrus flavours are known to crack, etch and frost plastic tanks. I'd advise you to use stainless steel or glass tanks with this liquid.
