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.co.uk/2013/12/chai-town-by-drakes-vapes.html Quoted passages are in italics.
From my review of another vendor's lemonade e-liquid, quoted here as equally applicable:
"Lemonade takes a number of different forms and means different things to different people, depending on where they are in the world. I'm led to believe that in the United States, Lemonade is a beverage whose ingredients consist of water, lemon juice and sugar. In Australia and the United Kingdom (the locales with which I'm familiar), Lemonade is a carbonated drink sold in cans, whose flavour in my opinion, bears little resemblance to lemon. In these countries, the beverage known as Lemonade in the US is called "homemade lemonade". I personally prefer the uncarbonated variety.
The taste of (Drakes Vapes' Yolo!) conjures for me the images and sensations of hot Saturday afternoons. The smell of freshly cut grass and the distant sounds of children playing under a sprinkler. My parents sitting sweatily in front of the rotary fan watching the tennis. Some of us drinking coke; the rest of us drinking homemade lemonade. I can still hear the ice cubes tinkling in the glasses as we each shift in our torpid discomfort and the feel of the condensation on the outside of the glass dripping onto my t-shirt.
I remember a hot summer evening when I was in my early twenties... a storm was approaching, but it always seemed to feel hotter right before the storm struck and I was miserable. I was sitting next to an open window, watching Werner Herzog's, Aguirre: The Wrath of God and drinking homemade lemonade. As the film's climax approached, the storm hit and I remember the relief of the cool breeze that the cold front brought with it.
A simple pleasure; Lemonade, but it's these small, simple pleasures in life that attach to meaningful memories and make us the people we are. This is what (Drakes Vapes' Yolo!) does for me." http://vapour-taster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/pink-lemonade-by-midas-vape.html
This is what the Vape Goddess website has to say about Drakes Vapes' Yolo!, "You Only Live Once..... right!? Well, in that case, live a little and tickle your taste buds with Drake's unique twist on a classic. Lemonade with hints of Lavender, YOLO will leave you wanting more and wondering what the @#$% you just vaped. Enter a zen-like state of relaxation and satisfaction that you can't get from your average vape." http://www.vapegoddess.net/yolo/
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..."), Melon Fiasco ("...cantaloupe and watermelon..."), 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") and Yolo!
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 perfectly limpid Ivory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_(color) The opened bottle releases the unequivocal aroma of fresh lemon.
Having tried Yolo! In an Igo-L and a Quasar I've decided to use an AC9 (Genesis style rebuildable atomiser) for this review as it appears to best lay bare all that this juice has to offer. I'm vaping Yolo! in an AC9 with a glass tank on a Nemesis running on a freshly charged 18350 battery. There's 3/4 wraps of 0.32mm (28AWG) Kanthal wire around oxidised stainless steel 325 mesh and the atomiser is reading 0.9ohms on the Provari.
I fire the device and draw the vapour into my mouth and as I do so I experience a fine grained tingling on the tip and upper, forward edge of my tongue which I recognise as the chemesthetic reaction of acidity on my palate. I experience the broad flavour of lemon and an accompanying sweetness as I inhale and then as I follow through with a breath of fresh air I sense the gentle fragrance of lavender at the back of my throat. When I exhale, the lavender subsides and the primary flavour of lemon re-asserts itself through to the last lingering moments of the aftertaste. Although the lavender is most noticeable at that point when I breath in a small amount of fresh air to follow the vapour into my lungs, there is a mildly floral quality to the flavour of this vape that softens the acidity of the lemon from beginning to end. I know that the term "floral" is often used in a derogatory sense when describing e-liquids but in this instance when the floral aspect is intentional, the use of the word is entirely appropriate; it's an inspired choice of flavours, resulting in a flavour pairing that leaves me awed by the palate that devised it. Furthermore, the balance of sourness and sweetness has been perfectly adjudged, rendering an exquisitely refreshing representation of homemade lemonade.
I'm finding that there's no throat hit but exhaling sometimes produces a mildly sharp spike of acidity at the back of the throat. Vapour production is suitably substantial; the combination of 50% Vegetable Glycerin and the genesis style atomiser produces very worthy clouds indeed.
On the whole, Yolo! is a gentle creature; the lemon flavour, though acidic, isn't overly sour and the lavender, while mixed quite sparingly, blossoms intensely at various stages in the vape and manages to soften the whole experience in a thoroughly agreeable manner. The degree to which this juice is sweetened is, to my palate, just right and while I don't experience any throat hit (I'm not a big fan of throat hit anyway...) the vapour production is sensational. Highly recommended.
NB. Due to the citrus Ph. levels in Yolo! it's strongly advised that you don't use this juice in plastic tanks. Etching, cracking and frosting have been known to occur with citrus juices in plastic tanks. Stick to stainless steel or glass to preserve your investment. AC9 owners: your PMMA tank is vulnerable to this juice. I hope you read my review closely enough to discern I was using a glass tank. http://shop.vapinaze.com/collections/frontpage/products/glass-steel-tank-for-the-ac9
