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 Drakes Vapes Chai Town. http://vapour-taster.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/chai-town-by-drakes-vapes.html Quoted passages are in italics.
When I quit smoking and first began vaping, a watermelon e-liquid, a rebadged Chinese product was the second flavour I tried. It was OK; it tasted like a watermelon candy, but this was enough to set me on the road seeking an authentic, summer or tropical fruit flavoured vape. Something refreshing, mouth cleansing and evocative of balmy summer evenings. I've tried a number of these by various vendors and some are more convincing than others. It's my great pleasure, now, to put Drakes Vapes Melon Fiasco in the vapour-taster spotlight.
This is what the Vape Goddess website has to say about Melon Fiasco, "If a Cantaloupe loving a Watermelon is wrong, we don't want to be right. Beaming with juicy flavor, consider this hot mess a success for your palate and your new trusty wingman." http://www.vapegoddess.net/melon-fiasco/
Drakes Vapes is based in Newport Beach, California and was founded by Kevin Drake, professional musician https://soundcloud.com/kevindrake-1 and partner Meg Strouse, photographer, freelance journalist and founder of Vape Goddess. http://www.vapegoddess.net
Drakes Vapes offer a catalog of ten e-liquids: Alchemist ("A unique blend of fruits and absinthe..."), Chai Town ("smooth... creamy... spiced flavour"), Drakeula ("A refreshing mix of Blood Oranges, Black Cherries and Guava"), Echelon ("...pomegranate and sweet marshmallow..."), Figen Kanel ("...daring mix of fruits and cinnamons..."), O-Face ("Sweet on the inside, sour on the outside; move over Lucille Ball, there's a new sassy Ginger in town"), Punky Bruiser ("Sweet and sassy...fruity tartness..."), Vanilla Trifecta ("A trifecta of vanillas and custards with a hint of magic"), Yolo! ("Lemonade with hints of Lavender...") and Melon Fiasco.
Each of the liquids is available in a 30ml bottle at nicotine strengths of 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24mg. All liquids are mixed to a 50:50 PG/VG ratio.
The Drakes Vapes range is available online from the Vape Goddess website http://www.vapegoddess.net, Elevated Vaping http://elevated-vaping.myshopify.com, Vapor Solutions http://www.vapor-solutions.com, Electronic Cigarettes Inc. http://www.electroniccigarettesinc.com, et. al. Search Google for a more comprehensive list of stores selling the Drakes Vapes line.
The bottle is an Iodine Blue, cylindrical glass with a black plastic, screw top cap. The cap isn't childproof, so care should be taken in the use and storage of this liquid. There's also no dropper insert attached, so a syringe, eye dropper or pipette, all of which are readily available from your local pharmacy or online, will need to be used for transferring the liquid to your preferred atomiser. The label includes the following information: the brand/company name, the name of the liquid, liquid contents specified by a pictogram which I struggle to decipher, nicotine strength in milligrams, a description of the flavour profile, a list of ingredients, a warning to keep out of the reach of children and pets and an advisory notice specifying that the liquid is not to be sold to minors.
Given that the bottle is a dark blue and the liquid within appears black, I've used an eye dropper to observe and identify the colour of the juice. It's a clear Ivory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_(color) The expressure of aroma from the opened bottle is strongly reminiscent of melon flavoured, gelatinous candy, which I suspect can be attributed to the amount of sweetener used.
I'm vaping Melon Fiasco in an Igo-L on a Poldiac running on an 18650 battery. There's five wraps of 0.2 (32AWG) Kanthal wire around three strands of 2mm Silica wick and the atomiser is reading 2.5ohms on the Provari.
Firing the device and drawing the vapour into and through my mouth sees an intensely sweet wash along the length of my tongue. From the outset, I'm aware (at the level of pure sensation) that I'm tasting melon, but at this stage I'm not conscious of what type of melon it is. As I inhale a small amount of fresh air to follow the vapour into my lungs, the flavour of cantaloupe leaps forcefully into conscious awareness, followed by the slightly lesser presence of watermelon. As I exhale, the two flavours marry and exert a sweet fusion of Cucurbitaceaen influence on my taste buds. The aftertaste is refreshing and mouth cleansing. There's no trace of artificiality or candy-like approximation about the flavour and to my taste buds, Melon Fiasco almost tastes like the actual fruits; a smidgeon of sourness and slightly less sweetness would render the illusion complete. Obviously, when talking about taste we're in subjective territory, so my latter comments should be taken with a grain of salt.
If I inhale directly into my lungs, there's a mounting of pressure at the back of my throat, which, beyond a certain point becomes uncomfortable. If however, I draw the vapour into my mouth and inhale the mouthful, there's a significant throat hit. Vapour production is substantial with great volumes of the stuff cascading into the room around me and forming veils and drifting curlicues.
Melon Fiasco is a no-nonsense adaptation of two of summer's finest fruits. Watermelon seems a common enough option within the wider e-liquid market, but watermelon and cantaloupe combined into a robustly flavoured, throat hitting, vaporously generous e-liquid that is (without a doubt) supremely evocative of balmy summer evenings is a much rarer thing.
