During this crazy time we’re going through, with all the hype, excitement, and anguish over the Coronavirus, it seemed like a perfect time to SLOW things down a bit, and settle in for a bit, and get up some reviews of some really kick ass smelling one shots. Huge thanks out to @FlavorChaser for hitting me up, and sending me out some samples for this review from her site.
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/
Now normally when you purchase one shots they are typically from one mixer, one flavor brand or house, but after checking out her website, I was VERY excited to see not only that they offered mixes from TEN mixers, but our one and only @woftam was in the list.
Who is Zippy ??
Only The Best
DIY Flavor Chaser brings together some of the top mixers in the industry to create unique concentrated one shot blends for you to enjoy.
We have many one shot concentrates to choose from including fruits, deserts, bakeries, and custards.
Chase your flavor today!
Having received 7 one shots to test, and having steeped them ALMOST long enough, sneaking sneak sniffs of them, I’m VERY excited to try these out, and I was picking up on some really good smells.
Their current list of one shot brands are:
- Zippy
- Legacy by Developed
- Immortal
- Luke Loop
- Made in Italy
- Myster Fog (woftam)
- Sheerlock Ohms
- Tam Vapes
- The Florida Kayaker
- The Juice Fairy
Absolutely love to see this type of website, and support for local mixers, especially @woftam, @TamVapes, @lukeloop.
Zippy was not only kind enough to supply 7 testers, but also included mixing percentages, and steep times. The steep time is ALMOST done, but I wanted to get this thread started. Her website is cleanly laid out, with each mixers own area, all the available recipes, mixing percentages, steep times, and total yield for the one shots purcahsed sizes. Take some time to peek around her site, including the plethora of links for each mixer that are included.
ALL testing done on a SteamCrave RDTA v.1 with dual vertical, 7 wrap, single wire Kanthal coils, with fresh cotton and burned coils before every test. All were tested @ 3mg NIC, in a 70v/30p mix following the provided steeping times.
TESTING
Italian Gelato (Made In Italy) 17% (3-14-20) – FIRST one on deck, and excited as hell to try these out, as @zippy currently has no less than TEN different mixers one shots available on her site. I currently have a go to Caramel Macchiato and was curious to see how, or if this was comparable. I don’t know who the “Italian” is, but I think I need to meet him now, as this one was exceptionally delicious !!! In a nutshell this is an Espresso Gelato, but that really doesn’t do it justice. Being a big fan of FA’s Espresso, I had assumed that would be here, but curiously not. The coffee/espresso’s presented as more complex than originally assumed, and it seamlessly layered into the creamy gelato base. Gelato is simply Italian ice cream, but it differs from American ice cream (basically) by using more milk, less cream, little to no egg at times, and is much denser. This mix perfectly captured that aspect of it, and I got some hints of hazelnut in there, which only worked to deepen this mix even further. Quite a lot going on here, and fairly complex. Continued vaping just left me wanting more hehe. The espresso/coffee although forward, didn’t overshadow the creamy backend, which proved to be a skilled approach. Mid level sweetness pushed this into an ADV category, the forward and rich espresso gave it the punch, and the entire mid to finish of the vape, the creamy sweet gelato finished it out. You may not always be able to explain a “complex” mix, but you’ll know it when you taste it, and this IS one of them. It is interesting to vape, as the hard hitting espresso/coffee front end, never overshadows the creamy sweet gelato. Very intriguing vape, and handily a 10/10.
Frooty Loop Donut (Luke Loop) 15% (3-15-20) – Onboarding with number TWO in this series from @lukeloop. What do we all (most of us) just HATE, every time we try out a new donut ?? Well, it’s either PLAYDOH, or it’s not even CLOSE to a donut, or at least those are MY fears. Well, I’ve got grrrrrrreat news, as there was NO Playdoh in this one, AND, I got Donuts !!! That’s already TWO major hurdles overcome, just out of the gate. Regarding the donut (doughnut) I actually wish I could have had just a little bit MORE of it, BUT, even at the level it was at, I got quite a nice little serving up of a cakey donut that that layered in perfectly WITH the Frooty profiles in here. Nothing greasy, or deep fried, which were two more plusses in my book, but a mid level cakey donut. Onto the Frooty part. Obviously Luke wasn’t about to throw in any lemon pledgy-ness in here, and he didn’t. The Frooty (loops) part was actually very interesting, and I can’t tell exactly how he did it, but it was a layered approach. No off-putting lemon, yet still present, and maybe a smidge of lime, and I def. picked up on an orange push. Not bad, not overbearing, but it seemed to really pull the froot loops into a nice even sled, that the donut was riding on.
Sweetness was higher, but nowhere close to commercial levels (as checked by lack of coil gunk), and it almost had that lip smacking effect, which again, was perfect for this recipe. About the only thing that seemed it could be boosted might be the donut, just a smidge. The donut seemed to do double duty here, first as the donut, and 2nd as almost a grain booster for the loops. I think trying to do a donut that’s perfect for EVERYONE is impossible, and this one was about as close as you could get, with only minor markoffs for almost enough donut. One of the BEST looper-esq mixes I have ever had, and I’ve had a LOT**. 9.75/10**.
Jacked (Tam Vapes) 15%(3-17-20) – For the third one in this series, I knew this was going to be different when smelling it in the bottle and I kept doing double takes. “Wait a minute, is that, …”. That kind of thing, and that’s a GOOD thing. It’s hard to say exactly WHICH element hits you at first. Caramelly, Popcorny, Buttery, what is this !!! ??? Ok, this one is hard to describe, but you are immediately punched right in the face with a buttery, popcorn that is drowned in caramel. Then throughout the vape, it slides into more of an ice cream finish. What’s surprising is with all of these elements going on here, it doesn’t blur together, and you can actually almost pick out each element. I think @TamVapes must have worked on this one for a while, as it just exudes complexity, some restraint, and delicious-ness. As a whole with all of the elements swirling around, the salty, sweet, caramel, popcorny, creamy goodness really works, and in harmony. Sweetness was just right, not to low or high, and no element really overpowered any other, and that’s not easy to do. While this may not be my main go to profile, it IS one hell of a good one. Very rich, and full at the testing weight, and it surprised me to the end of the tank. 9.8/10.
Raspberry Cookie Cheesecake (Zippy) 20% (3-21-20) – Fourth one on deck, and I decided to vape through 2.5 tanks before writing this one out. I think that Raspberry/ies can be tricky. @zippy made light work of that little issue, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I detect one of my go-to’s in this one. 
The raspberry element did sit forward on this one, but not too forward that the cheesecake was overwhelmed. The cheesecake was creamy and conveyed exactly it’s namesake, but without excessive sourness, which has always been a bump in the road for me. Now as far as the cookie element, I wasn’t able to pick it out by itself, but it’s almost like you can feel it, in the mix. Can’t pick it out, but it’s in there. Was there any graham in the cheesecake ?? Not noitceably, but that may be where the cookie came into play. Overall the mix was nicely present at this weight, nothing off putting, and after 2.5 tankfuls, I could obviously ADV it, and that’s always a good sign. Sweetness was low-mid, and I could def. recommend this for anyone seeking a great RB Cheesecake, with a little something extra. Well the tank finally ran dry, so close this out I will. Solid @ 9.2/10.
Kayak Mix (The Florida Kayaker) 15% (3-22-20) – With the fifth one in this series on deck, I’ll have to admit, this one, surprised me. I smelled it fresh mixed, and a few times while shaking/steeping, and I kept thinking, “What the heck IS this one” ? Well as it turns out, it’s a damned GOOD one is what it is. I’ve never heard of the Florida Kayaker, but now I wish I had. This one really packed a punchy punch, right out of the gate. The description of royally “luxurious blend of currants and berries” was VERY accurate. This presented as a rich, deluxe darker berry blend with a currant punch. Yes it did, and did it well. The berries kind of wandered around during the vape, and I could not individually pick them out, but a very satisfying blend it was. The cream, kicked in after the initial dark berry, currant assault, and carried it all the way through the rest of the vape. This is NOT a simple “berries and cream” people !!! Very well constructed, and my wife even commented, “Wow, that’s a LOT better than those Strawberry and Creams”. So there you have it. For a darker berry blend with some super punchy currant notes, with a delicious cream layer, that’s not too sweet, and can be ADV’d, this one will get you there. 9.85/10.
Heaven’s Nectar (The Juice Fairy) 19% (3-25-20) – Sixth one on deck, only slightly delayed by the Coronavirus, was perplexing. All of it good, but perplexing none the less. I kept getting different notes/nuances every time I vaped it. There was a persistent strawberry, and other not identifiable fruits that stayed fairly consistent, but the mid and finish of this seemed to change. At first I was getting more of a milk/cream note, but other times an almost cheesecake, maybe even a slight graham note. It was billed as " Strawberries and tropical fruit swimming in a milky bath.", so that almost sounded more like a SB and Cream, but this was richer, and fuller with the aforementioned notes. It was an interesting vape, and sweetness was low to mid to keep it right in the middle of the ADV category. The SB was good, with some sharp punch, and the creaminess was good, but the real mystery remained the mid to back end. Is it more of a creamy ice cream-ish backend, maybe a cheesecake ?? Interestingly solid @ 9.1/10.
Boozeberry Mash (Myster Fog) 15% (3-26-20) – Seventh and final one shot in this series, and very fitting it was from one of our own, @MysterFog. Now typically, I am NOT a huge fan of boozey vapes, as they never translate well for my tastes, so I wasn’t sure about this one. This one was a unique take on a Dark Berry medley, with some cream, and a booze kicker on the tail end. It’s literally that easy to explain. Berries, Cream, Booze and in EXACTLY that order, as that’s how the flavors present throughout the vape. It takes a lot of skill to have flavors present like that, as opposed to a ALL at once mish-mosh. The Dark Berries were nicely dark (duh), with just enough sweetness, some tarty punch, and sat on the front end. The creaminess is what the berries led into for the middle of the vape, and although I think I can pick out maybe one cream, really worked as a neutral cream to soften some of the sharpness of the berries, and provide an even carrier. Finishing it off, and very NOT heavy handedly, was the bourbon booze, but only on the very tail end of the vape. I am VERY happy that the bourbon was toned low in the mix, and it worked as an accent, not a blisteringly obvious main note, which has been my problem with most booze vapes. As a whole, this “trio” if you will, works perfectly. All three main elements were present, but each in their own space, without any one overshadowing the other two. Skillfully done, and for a guy who really doesn’t LIKE booze vapes, it surprised me that I did like this one. ADV material for sure, and will appeal to a lot of vapers. I know I will finish the tester on this one. If you’re a fan of dark berries, cream, with a booze kicker, you’ll want to try this one. 9.85/10.
The Mixers:
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/developed
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/immortal
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/lukeloop
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/the-italian
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/mysterfog
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/sheerluck-ohms
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/tam-vapes
https://www.diyflavorchaser.com/the-florida-kayaker
