Chemno’s rates appear on the high side, but having never tried them, will settle at the mid point for testing.
Cookie (Chemnovatic) 9% (6-28-20) – Cookies may be one of the hardest flavors to get right for everyone. Soo many different kinds. American, European, Dry, Chocolate Chip. My absolute current favorite is DIYFS Cookie, and that was more of an American Toll House cookie. This one was actually not like any other I’ve tried yet. If I were forced to compare, it is like a combo of FA Cookie, and JF Cookie. Somewhat dry, nice almost grainy elements, with low to mid sweetness, with no discernible base coloring like Vanilla or Chocolate chip. Rather neutral, and I believe the grainy-ness that I was picking up might lean this more towards a European biscuit style, and away from an American pastry type cookie. It’s not overbearing, and could easily be manipulated to either style. Continued vaping leads me to the assumption that it would def. work in a base, and would require some tweaking to either a pastry or biscuit as you need. All in, pretty solid cookie, fairly neutral, mildly sweet, with some detectable grain to it. 7/10 feels good here.
Donut (Chemnovatic) 6% (7-5-20) – I think we can all agree, it’s just damned impossible to come up with a really good donut flavor. If not, everyone would be doing it. We get the greasy, the yeasty, the playdoh, the fritters, etc. Interestingly enough, this one, can be added to the aforementioned. I got somewhat of a “greasy” note when mixing this up, and it continued into the vape. It honestly came across as a somewhat greasy apple fritter, with most of the apple stripped out. At no point, did I really get a donut. Some bakery, some greasy, some subtle cinnamon undertones, and almost a hint of apple. I think this would be far better suited to start a base for an apple fritter than anything else. I had hoped to send this batch of Chemnovatic out with a bang, but instead, more of a thud LOL. Not a terrible flavor, but not much of a donut. Sweetness was below mid level, and didn’t appear to be hitting the ceiling at this level. Throughout the entire vape, I kept returning to the whole, Apple Fritter with most of the apple scooped out flavorset. If you’re frittering, this might be a good place to start, but if you’re donut’ing, you may want to press on. Finishing up this Chemno run with this one at 5/10.
Grape (Chemnovatic) 9% (6-27-20) – Holy grape punch to the face !!! See where I’m going with this one ?? Ok, after using many grapes in my DIY time, it became clear that there were really only two (maybe three) kinds of grapes. Authentic, Candied/Soda, and perhaps a wine. What you are looking for in a grape will greatly influence which will be right for you. This one had me looking across the table for Radar O’reilly, because it was almost completely spot on for a Grape Nehi soda. Now, if you are looking for a more natural/authentic grape, this one may not be for you. Personally I loved this one. I can lean either way, if it’s a great authentic, great, if it’s a great grape soda, great. This one is almost perfect (struggling to find takeoffs). My current go to (as others have done) is TPA’s grape juice, and FW’s grape soda, as my grape base, but even that pairing wasn’t perfect. Granted this one was mixed @ 9%, it showed NO signs of hitting the ceiling, and was gape-a-licious at this testing weight. Sweetness was mid level, and it did favor a grape nehi soda, hands down. No carbonation, no fizz, but very damned close. Because it leaned heavily towards a grape soda, I didn’t get any subtle nuances like the skin, or sparkling bright top notes, but it literally rolls over you like a giant grape steam roller at this percentage. For my tastes, it was about a perfect incarnation, as could be had. If I was forced to split it, soda vs. natural, I’d have to leave it at 75% soda, 25% natural for comparison. For my grape tastes, and needs, I couldn’t ask for more, from a single flavor. 10/10.
Lemon (Chemnovatic) 9% (7-1-20) – Wow, this one IS a complex lemon flavor. Complex ?? I’ve been getting all kinds of different profiles from this one while vaping, and that really surprised me. Sometimes it was more of a lemon head-ish flavor, other times more lemonade-ish, and other times, a super full lemon wherein I could almost detect a cirtus oil finish. Wow, talk about an interesting flavor. Soo many subtle nuances, I think it will be hard to classify as a single noted flavor. Despite having all of the aforementioned profiles, and my inability to put the tank down, I can find NO direct/close comparison as it IS quite unique. I think because OF all of the different profiles contained in this one flavor, it’s uses/usefulness will be quite a few. Obviously I could see it boosting a lemon tart, lemonade, lemon squares, but also just adding a bright punchy high end as well. Sweetness was mid level, and despite chain vaping it, could find NO off-putting notes, or florals, and at 9% it was very strong and full without being overflavored. Whether or not you’re even in the market for OML (One More Lemon), this one SHOULD be on your short list, just so you can experience all of the different profiles. Well worth the purchase, and you will be able to use it across a wide array of mixes. It is a full spectrum Lemon which I find to be rare, with low/middle notes, and plenty of high end punch. Can’t describe it any better than that. A very complex lemon, that covers the entire spectrum, with mid level sweetness, great body, and some high end punch on the top. Without question 10/10.
Lemon Cream Wafer (Chemnovatic) 7% (7-2-20) – I’m quite sure with all the hub-bub about rumors that Dinner Lady Lemon Tart used this flavor, and the ensuing Out Of Stock situation at many vendors will leave EVERYONE wanting to know the answer. Good news for you, is I have NO CLUE !!! I’ve never vaped DL LT, so I can’t help you. What I can help with is this flavor, and how it vapes. Having just tested Chemno’s Lemon, it’s fairly probable that those compounds ARE in here as well. As a solo vape, this one is very, VERY good. Now, I’m not sure if it truly projects a Lemon Cream Wafer (cookie), but WOW, it IS very good. @ 7%, this could EASILY be considered a One Shot. It’s got plenty of lemon punch that carries through the entire vape, but at the half way point, the cookie starts to peek out, and ride all the way to the end of the vape, finishing perfectly with the lemon. My very FIRST reaction was, “Wow, super great lemon, with a cookie, and some custard notes”. Now when I say custard elements, you’re NOT getting the VC slam like from CAP VC, but it feels like it’s IN there, just hiding, peeking out from time to time. Very interesting. The cookie/bakery stays relatively linear throughout the vape as does the lemon. Sweetness might be a pinch above medium, and doesn’t come across as fatiguing. There was also a certain “thickness” that seemed to be in there, that could RESEMBLE maybe some Meringue or Marshmallow, but not high enough to identify, but the “thickness” could not be denied. Overall, this was a great, full, somewhat complex flavor, and I will run this tank dry. I think it’s soo good, that it will go on my must have list for this testing run. To my tastes, the lemon/custard elements set this apart from all of your regular suspects, i.e. CAP Lemon Meringue Pie, VT Lemon Meringue Tart, and WF Flapper Pie. For a really good (basically a One Shot) Lemon Cookie Tart (my words), you cannot go wrong with this. Vape it as is, tweak it a little bit, it’s just a win/win all the way around. Is this the SECRET ingredient in Dinner Lady’s Lemon Tart ?? Time will tell. For the purposes of this test, handily a 10/10.
Passion Fruit (Chemnovatic) 7% (6-26-20) – While admittedly never solo’ing a Passion Fruit, but having used them quite a bit, this was going to be a double first for me. First PF SFT, and first Chemnovatic. First one on deck, after a 1 week sleep @ 7% was pretty damned tasty. It presented as a very nice, full PF, which seemed to cover the entire spectrum of notes, all in one flavor. Had the somewhat darker low end, with a generous helping of the more melony mid notes, with JUST enough high end punch to finish it off. That’s about exactly how it vaped/tasted, in that order. Had a nice authentic almost fermented mini-push (as I call it), which helped tweak the overall experience, and kind of tied it all together. It was nice, fat, and full at this testing weight, with nothing off-putting, chemical or otherwise detracting. Having not SFT’d other PF’s, this one seemed to be a little more unique in that it really captured the spectrum from somewhat dark, to mid, to high end. Sweetness was actually lowered than expected at mid, to mid-low which is always a bonus, so you could boost sweetness as/or when needed. Overall experience was GREAT with my first Chemnovatic flavor, and couldn’t find any take aways. Nicely done, and super solid @ 9.5/10.
Strawberry (Chemnovatic) 7% (6-28-20) – This one was interesting out of the gate, and not necessarily in a good Strawberry way. If any of you have even had a Luden’s cough drop, that is exactly what came to mind. NOW, it did NOT take like cough medicine, but Luden’s has a very unique almost medley taste, and that IS what this had. No medicine, no cough syrup, but the profile is a Luden’s. The overall flavor impact, was somewhat light, considering the 7% mixing weight, and continued vaping did NOT reveal an IYF (In Your Face) Strawberry, but more of a very relaxed, cherry/strawberry blend ?? Had to quantify. Nothing off putting, nothing floral, and despite my reference to a Luden’s cough drop, had nothing medicinal. Sweetness was mid level, and although I do NOT think I would add this to my SB shelf, it WAS interesting enough to finish the tester. With the SB field being very crowded, with some excellent SB’s, this one will get lost in the suffle. As a pure SB, would have to rate down to 4.5/10. Interesting, but weak, and not a focused SB.
Watermelon (Chemnovatic) 7% (6-27-20) – Let me share my FIRST thoughts on this one, out of the gate. “Wow, this is a great COTTON CANDY, with a little watermelon on the top”. Those were my FIRSTEST first thoughts, and continued vaping did not change that. It’s actually a GREAT cotton candy with a hint of WM. At no point, at this percentage, did I get an overwhelming “Wow, this is a watermelon” during the entire tester. There IS watermelon in there, but it’s almost just on the top of the vape, not throughout the bottom and body of it. Sweetness was mid level, and the WM that I did get floating around on the top was good, very light, airy, with some red, white, and maybe rhind in there. The main body however just really tasted like a CC to me. Nothing off-putting, or floral at this weight, and the WM element was very relaxed. If I had to rate this as a CC, I’d give it a 10/10 without question, but as a WM, I’d have to go low, as is the sad case in reviewing flavors. I’ll be charitable and leave it at 5/10 as a WM, but just remember, if you’re looking for a cotton candy wanna be, with a hint of wm this might be a winner for you. I’ll close this by stating, that even though it didn’t WOW me as a WM, I AM going to finish the tank.
Vanilla Pudding (Chemnovatic) 7% (7-3-20) – TWO LEFT on deck. When I smelled this when mixing it up, I was reminded of CAP’s VC. Vaping it, I can see why. There is indeed a fairly forward custard element in this Vanilla Pudding, so that may make you WANT it, or HATE it already. I was never a huge fan of CAP VC, but use it daily to add body in custard/creams/bakeries despite that fact. I think my FIRST take on this was more of a reduced CAP VC with some mid level vanilla, and a touch of bakery. My current go to Vanilla Pudding fav would be Flavorah’s hands down, with Vape Train’s Pudding Base as a runner up. This one wasn’t bad by any means, and was actually quite good. Did it leave me thinking “pudding”, not really. It actually could be used quite easily by not CAP VC fans for a custard experience with the eggy slap to the face. All in, this could be easily used, almost like a custard, a mixer, and as a baser for a pudding, but not sure if for my tastes, I’d leave it AS a pudding. Sweetness was below mid level, no overt eggy-ness, but still with very CAP VC like qualities. Didn’t seem to be pushing the ceiling on this @ 7%, and was nicely full, and almost rich at this testing weight. Everyone seems to have a different take on “puddings”, so your mileage will vary, and although pretty good as a custard like bakery flav., not feeling the super pudding here. Good enough to place at a 7/10.