I literally JUST received these flavors, so this post is just a HOLDING AREA while I sort out the percentages, and get them mixed up. HUGE thanks out to both Jessica, and @wllmc from Bull City Flavors, and Bryson over at Flavorah in getting these NEW flavors shipped out.
As always, all flavors tested at the weights listed, in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier mix, on my SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual vertical, 7 wrap, Kanthal coils, with fresh cotton and dry pulsed coils before every test. All flavors tested @ 65 watts.
I can’t help but MISS my, and our previous Flavorah Expert @SmokyBlue.
Cactus Aloe (Flavorah) 0.5% (2-25-23) – Let’s get these NEW Flavorah 2023 Flavors GOING !!! Starting out with the Cactus Aloe, I thought was going to be a BAD experience for me, as I would never taste an Aloe, and historically, I was also unable to use INW’s Cactus in ANY amount. You guys OWE me for this one, hehe. NOW, I can tell you I was shocked. Be advised, I specifically dropped this WAY down to 0.5%, and I have NO CLUE what will happen higher than that. My immediate response was shock, that I wasn’t repulsed by it. Pretty surprising for me. I got more Aloe than Cactus from this one, and possibly that was a good thing, but I DID get some of it lower down in the mix. Now because I’ve never come CLOSE to wanting to try an Aloe, I have no direct comparisons, but it presented as nicely green, fresh, somewhat juicy, and had slight earthy undertones. While not too sweet, it rather reminded me of a pretty nice, aloe hard candy, with a light cactus-ing. It was somewhat juicy, fresh, and clean tasting, and before I knew it, I was onto the THIRD TESTER !!! Wait, what ?? !!! Yes. I’m fairly sure this may have been one of the most shocking surprises in all of my SFT thus far. Sweetness was almost at about mid level, and honestly, I’ve read of people testing this at 3%, and God only knows what THAT was like, because at the low, low, low testing weight of 0.5% it was very present, with (shockingly) nothing off-putting, and no overt florals. I did keep thinking of an Aloe hard candy, lightly kissed by a cactus as my main take away. Testing flavors you either KNOW you won’t like, or THINK you won’t like are often the hardest, especially the scoring. Although this flavor would never typically end up on my racks, I’m really glad it did. I you want/like a fresh, green Aloe, with some hard candy elements, ever so lightly kissed by some cactus, AND you feel it may not be in YOUR wheelhouse, hehe, you might JUST be surprised. I know I was, and it IS going onto the rack. The only minor takeoff would be the very recessed Cactus, BUT, quite honestly, that’s probably what kept me burning through THREE testers of this. If you want a cactus heavy flavor, or LOVE the cactus, you will need to boost there here. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but this one will score very high, and FAR higher than I would have ever expected. 9.5/10. I STILL can’t believe I like this flavor.
Candied Blueberry (Flavorah) 1.75% (2-25-23) – 2nd on on deck, and at a markedy higher testing weight than the Cactus Aloe. At this testing weight, it presented as a nice, somewhat dark blueberry with a nice accurate “candied” aspect. Candied, is not jammed, nor sugared, but maybe in between sugared, and jammed. Flavorah did a really good job of getting that JUST right. Too little, it would turn into just a “sugared”, too much and it would land into “jammed” territory. Just that ONE aspect was impressive alone. The blueberry felt about 75% natural / 25% artificial, and favored the mid and darker tones, BUT, with some bright high end sparkle and tartness on the finish. It was at about mid-level sweet and tasted actually quite good at this weight with no off-notes. No florals were present at this weight, BUT, it could possibly get squirrel-y if pushed too high. Though not overpowering the slight acidity, and tartness could easily be tamed, or “creamed” if you needed it more mellow. As it stood however, it had just enough kick to keep it interesting. The only minor take-offs would be for some missing richness, and fullness, as in comparison to a full spectrum BB. For a almost fully natural BB with a VERY authentic “candied”-ness, and a tarty finish this one DOES work, and it does it well. Easily near the top and placing it @ a 8.9/10.
Creamsicle (Flavorah) 1.25% / 2.5% (2-26-23) – Dedicating this flavor review out to @Chrispdx, my favorite creamsicle stalker. Smelling this in the bottle it smelled SPOT ON, and tasting it, revealed exactly the same. This is/was probably the most accurate orange creamsicle flavor I have tested to date. The creamy vanilla ice cream was almost perfectly paired with and equally good orange, with a slight tangerine finish which not only gave it a twist, but helped it break through the aforementioned vanilla creamy-ness. The two main notes were very evenly paired, and so much so, that you really couldn’t tell which was in the lead. The on rush of the sweet, creamy vanilla ice cream carried through till the finish, and the orange/tangerine ramped up from the middle to end. At times I thought I might be getting a hint of orange/tangerine citrus oil, which just made it even more authentic. If you’ve ever eaten an orange creamsicle, you will be enjoying it all over again with this one. @ 1.25% it felt like it needed more presence, so I doubled it to 2.5%, and it did increase, but not linearly. At the double weight (and lower), there were no off-notes, and nothing to distract you from the experience. Even doubled, it was still a somewhat lighter flavor, so if needed, you could boost up the ice cream and/or orange if needed. It was just above mid-level sweet, and I had a really hard time marking this one down, with the only minor thing being a somewhat relaxed flavor. For a dead on accurate orange creamsicle, you won’t want to be without this one. 9.6/10.
Dulce De Leche (Flavorah) 1.25% – This one was, and still is somewhat of a mystery to me, and after 3 testers, I’m STILL figuring it out. First off, it was good, REAL good, BUT, it wasn’t like a DDL, at least like I expected. Most times when you test as much as I do, and you JUST fill up and taste, sometimes a flavor needs some time to “settle in”, before you can really get a good sense of it. This one WAS like that, and at first, I could have sworn it was a cinnamon bun, wrapped up in a deliciously sweet creamy blanket. I even double checked the bottle, just to make sure. As the flavor “settled in”, it transformed into more sweet and creamy, BUT, the cinnamon bun undertones never left. What was interesting was that I did get a good caramel, BUT, it was NOT the top note, and nor was the milk. Both were there, but almost like supporting characters, very present, but NOT the main star. Perhaps I was over thinking the cinnamon, and while in no way overpowering, just really kept me going back to a cinnamon bun just drenched in sweet creameries, with caramel, and light milk undertones. At times I wondered if it was more of a Mexican Cajeta, BUT, without the goat milk. Wow, this one WAS good, and very rich and satisfying at only 1.25%. While not what I had expected, it was a VERY good flavor, and dare I say, almost perfect by itself. No off-notes, and a few ticks above mid level sweet, this Creamy, Caramely, Milky, Cinnamon Bunny flavor was far more than I had expected. If any of the aforementioned appeals to you, you may want to pick this unique one up. Struggling with the scoring comparing to the more traditional DDL’s I’ve had, it was just too hard to knock this one down. Leaving it very high @ 9.85/10.
Golden Kiwi (Flavorah) 1.5% / 2.25% (3-2-23) – When starting to test this one @ 1.5% although good, it felt a little flat, and lacking “pizzaz”, so I increased it to 2.25% where it started to shine a bit more. More punch, pizzaz, and sparkle. Having never eaten a “golden” but tested 1, maybe 2 others I was somewhat familiar with the GK fruit. Missing were much/many of the typical Kiwi “green” notes, but a solid center of the Kiwi body was here. It was far mellower than most of my goto “green” Kiwis, and overall this was a somewhat relaxed flavor, even at the higher 2.25% rate. Good, fresh, with some slight sparkly, bright notes on the finish. At both testing weights there were no off-notes, florals, etc., and was was below mid level sweet. On my testing setup, the flavor had SOME juicy-ness, but ALSO, some dry-ness if that makes any sense. Overall, I think the best way to describe it would be a somewhat mellow, Kiwi, that centered around the mid notes, with a smidge of sparkle, and brightness on the finish. It presented as very natural, and fresh, and about the only takeoff would be for a somewhat “mellow”-ness, WHICH could have been by design and/or in keeping with it’s “Golden” nature. Not the strongest flavor, and above 2.0% is where it started to open up. It felt solidly placed at 8.0/10.
Grapefruit Blend (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-2-23) – A little sweeter, and smoother than I had expected, and a hint of lime, were the immediate take-aways on this flavor. At first I thought maybe Flavorah had tempered in a little “pink” to try and tone down what can sometimes be an “aggressive” yellow grapefruit, but the more I tested, I didn’t truly get much pink. It smelled just spot on in the bottle, almost like you’d just cut into a fresh grapefruit, and tasting it, it was a little sweeter and mellow-er. Now, even with that slight change from smelling to tasting, it still portrayed a very natural, somewhat juicy yellow grapefruit, JUST without some of the punch. It had plenty of the main juicy body, with all of the little dividers, and you could almost smell the zest, citrus oil that is released when you peel one. Whether or not the slight tempering (or taming) some of what could have been more aggressive notes is to your needs will depend. I’ve never seen or tried (if it/they exist), but it made me wonder what canned (in light syrup) grapefruit sections would taste like. At 1.5% it was good, but MIGHT be able to be pushed a little higher, maybe 2.0% without hitting the ceiling. It was just above mid level sweet, and did finish with a rather complex citrus sparkle which was primarily a light lime note. Not a lot, but just a little bit. All in, a pretty impressive, natural tasting yellow grapefruit, slightly mellowed/tempered into a nice sweet non-aggressive package, with just a hint of lime on the finish. It felt very good @ 8.85/10.
Guava Dark Berry (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-3-23) – This one was one of my favs when first cracking the bottles, so let’s see it it continued to be. At first taste, there was NO confusing you had Guava in here, nice, juicy, pink guava in spades, AND, at only 1.5% Tempered in BELOW that was a very mysterious dark berry medley, that had an almost “jammy” quality to it/them. The ratio between the two main notes favored the pink guava at maybe 60% pink guava, 40% dark berries. At times I almost wished it had been more 50/50 just to help REVEAL what the dark berry medley was, BUT, in hindsight, it kept it more interesting, with it just below clear detection. The pink guava was very juicy, and had a fair amount of “punch” and “tang”, and the dark berry medley, tempered it down just a bit. Although even after 3 testers I was no closer to identifying the black berry medley BUT it’s effect was def. there. If you think that a juicy pink guava, tempered by a delicious dark berry medley is up your ally, this one WILL get it done for you. No off notes, and just at mid level sweet, this one again, was hard to kick down. Solidly placing it @ 9.5/10.
Hibiscus Sweet (Flavorah) 1% (3-5-23) – While never drinking, tasting, OR testing anything Hibiscus, we’re going it here today. With no direct comparisons to pull from I’ll just explain how this one tasted. Firstly, it was lightly floral (in a GOOD way), with some fruity undertones, that was both tart, and sweet. That literally sums it up, hehe, BUT, let’s continue. This was a very unique flavor for me, and it proved to be a lighter flavor, but still very interesting. At 1% it was light, yet present, and the florals (intentional) were in no way off-putting, and actually worked to push and pull the underlying fruity-ness. While the fruit/fruity-ness could not really be identified, it’s presence was tasted and worked nicely along side the light florals. Because it was a lighter flavor, it could be run over by heavier flavors in a mix, but it mixed judiciously I think you could really have some great successes. While not sharp or punchy per se, it was a brighter flavor, that would favor fruits, citrus, and maybe even beverages, where it could be blended, and used to accentuate supporting flavors. All in, it was a very good unique flavor, and even while lighter, I could see numerous uses for it’s lightly floral/fruity notes. No off notes, bad florals, or any take offs with this one, other than being a lighter flavor. Surprised me, and it felt great @ 9.3/10.
Jammy Grape (Flavorah) 1% (3-5-23) – This COULD be the SHORTEST review of the bunch thus far. Why ?? Well, this one tasted JUST like a great Jammy Grape !!! I won’t blather on and on about it, and it was quite convincing, and accurate. A really good dark/darker concord grape that was sufficiently “jammed” but not “candied”. No grape soda here people, just jam. @ 1% it felt like it could be run a little higher as a single, perhaps 1.5%, maybe 1.75%. It was not lacking at the 1% testing weight, just felt like it could use a bit more. Accurate, and true were the two thoughts I kept returning to here, and Flavorah did a good job “jamming” this one up. Nothing off-putting, or out of place, and it DID make me want to grab one (or more) of my Peanut Butters JUST to see how it would fare. Despite feeling like it needed just a bit more, it was at about mid-level sweetness, which was expected for a jam. All in, a very good darker concord grape that was jammed up nicely. If you want or need a good grape jam, this one should do it for you. It felt fairly placed at a 9.0/10.
Licorice (Flavorah) 1% (3-5-23) – As IS sometimes the case when testing flavors, you have to test those which you would NEVER use. This IS one of those flavors. I don’t like, eat, or use Black Licorice in pretty much about ANYTHING, hehe, so, let’s see how this goes. Now Black Licorice does have QUITE a history of being used for quite a few things, most notably indigestion. Diving right into this one, and having NO indigestion to speak of, it actually DID taste like a very accurate black licorice. At times, I DID seem to get some molasses wandering in below the anise, and fennel notes. It had an almost “smooth” but not quite reaching anything close to “creamy” aspect to it. Not bitter at all, and at about mid-level sweet. At 1.% it was plenty strong, BUT, could maybe be pushed up another 0.5% for you licorice heads. As mentioned, as a NOT Black Licorice-er, I couldn’t help but notice how accurate it DID taste, and NOT off-putting at the same time, which was quite a mystery to me, being a NON licorie-er. No off-notes, or out of place could be found, with neither the anise, nor fennel being too high in the mix, or any bitterness. From a “this isn’t mind kinda thing” guy, this WAS a great, accurate licorice. I couldn’t go any lower than a 9.5/10.
Pink Lemonade (Flavorah) 1% (3-5-23) – I think finding the perfect Pink Lemonade for EVERYONE is about impossible. One of the best I’ve ever had was Lemonade, Watermelon, and Strawberries. How did Flavorah do ?? Let’s find out. This smelled stronger in the bottle, so like some others, decided to hit it @ 1%, and at that rate it was fairly full, but COULD probably handle another 0.75%. As it stood at the lower weight, the Lemonade came through fairly well, and did have some nice tart/sour sparkle to it, and I could detect SOME “Pink-ening”, BUT, it didn’t seem like it was enough. I needed MO pink in my PL !!! I couldn’t clearly tell what the Lemonade was tempered with, but to say, it did have a pink hue. 3 testers later, I still couldn’t decide if I WAS getting a slight strawberry undertone or not, but suffice it to say, you could boost YOUR pink, and really push this one forward. At 1% it wasn’t lacking overall in the Lemonade department, but I think 1.75% would give it a more solid foothold. The lemonade did remind me of Flavorah’s “Lemonade” (duh, go figure), and rather that overpower the tart/sour WITH sweetness, it felt like they specifically dropped the sweetener down a notch, to allow the tart/sour to push through. Your taste may vary, and I do think that maybe some WM or SB, and possibly some sweetener (depending on your sweet tooth) would help this one out. All in, it was a good Lemonade tempered by some “pink” that you could EASILY boost up as required. Throughout the entire test, I kept thinking, "Yeah, this one’s about 70% there), so leaving this at a solid 7.0/10.
Pomegranate (Flavorah) 1.25% / 2.0% (3-8-23) – I wanted to spend some extra time on this one, JUST to make sure that I was getting it right. 3 testers later, and some extra time, I think I did. At first, I wasn’t sure if this was THE pomegranite or not. I kept getting a slight off-note, which while not train-wrecking, did seem to detract from the overall experience. As I made my way into the 2nd and 3rd tester, that seemed to abate, and it settled into a really good pom. At the lower weight of 1.25% it did pretty accurately portray a juicy red pom, and such that you could almost taste the little red, fleshy covered seeds. Juicy, plenty of “red”, tart and sweet, just like the real thing. I increased to 2.0% just to see if it filled up any, and it did increase, but it did seem to top out, so that leaves me rec’ing solo’ing at my original 1.25%, maybe up to 1.75%. The rather strange-ish off-note I THOUGHT I was getting in the first tester, never re-appeared, so I’m chalking that up to “settling”. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid level, and the tartness was JUST high enough to keep it interesting, and fresh. It leaned heavily to the natural with no overt artificial notes. It stayed pretty true to a pom throughout 3 testers, and never leaned at all towards a cranberry, so I think that Flavorah did a pretty spot on job with this one. Juicy, red, somewhat sweet and tarty pomegranate is what this one was. Unique on MY rack, and with not much competition. Because of it’s accuracy, I have to leave it fairly high, at a 9.5/10.
Red Vanilla Soda (Flavorah) 1.75% (3-11-23) – After reading the name of this flavor, I was admittedly confused as to exactly WHAT it was. Tasting it revealed, well, pretty much what it was named. A light, somewhat bright vanilla with some creamy aspects, and an actual soda element, with a very light red-ish berry undertone. 3 testers in, I was never able to actually identify the red berry/berries, but they WERE there, lightly, in an undertone only. What made this interesting, was that somehow Flavorah managed to keep the vanilla almost creamy (but not completely), and give it some weight, AND, have an identifiable soda-ness at the same time. I got an almost effervescence from the soda, and unlike a “cola” it seemed to be more of a cream soda, which COULD explain the creamier aspects of the vanilla. @ 1.75% it felt somewhat lighter and might be able to be increased/boosted a little with higher percentages. The overall pairing was actually pretty good. Cream Soda, Vanilla, and light Red Berries were what this one was, with just a slight effervescence on the finish. No off-notes, and sweetness was a few ticks below mid level, which was also interesting for a “soda” flavor. The main note remained the creamy-ish vanilla throughout all of the testing, with the red berries just barely revealing themselves. An interesting pairing, and while a lighter flavor overall, it was what it claimed to be. Minor take-offs for overall strength, and barely perceivable red berries only. It felt good at 9/10.
Salmiakki (Flavorah) 1% (3-11-23) – Salmi what ?? Yes, Salmiakki. I’d never heard of it, but some quick research revealed that it was actually a very popular Finnish treat. Candy ?? Maybe, kinda sorta-ish. In a nutshell it’s like Black Licorice, that is tempered with ammonium chloride (a type of salt). Yes, salt AND sweet can play together, and in this flavor, it worked out nicely. Now, at no point did I get an actual “salty” taste, but sometimes, if you pair sweet and salt at the right levels, it adds body, and that is EXACTLY what happened here. Having just tested Flavorh’s Licorice, this one DID have a bit more body, and was noticeably fuller. It had most of the same characteristics of a Black Licorice, but honestly, I think it was better. Richer, fuller, with more presence, and with no bitterness too boot. At times it almost tasted like there was a cream element, and other times not. At 1% it was actually quite good, and I didn’t feel the need to increase the percentage, and there was no stray or off-putting notes. It tasted a bit LESS sweet than the aforementioned licorice, and that worked out nicely as well. As I mentioned in my previous review, you will probably love OR hate this, just like you would with a BL. As an avid NOT BL user, or eater, this one surprised me that not only did I not hate it, I liked it, which was just as surprising. All in, this was very similar to Flavorah’s Licorice, but better IMO, with a slight decrease in sweetness, and more body. If you were on the fence with this one, and the regular Licorice, I might go with this one. Marking up slightly higher than the FLV Licorice @ 9.8/10.
SB Lime (Flavorah) 1% (3-12-23) – RIGHT out of the gate, I could tell there was something going on with this one. There was an almost funky-ness to it, almost a musky off-note, that persisted throughout the entire test. The red juicy strawberry was there, and just a hint of lime on the finish, BUT, the funk persisted throughout. At 1% it in no way felt over-flavored or maxed out, and was reasonably full, and just below mid level sweet. I tried reducing, but every nuance fell proportionally, including the funk. I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty sure the funk was coming from the strawberry, and IMO, it didn’t work. It was almost like a funky banana note, without the banana. With that, and the fairly light lime presence this flavor felt like kind of a mis-step. Feel free to try but EXPECT some funk. Rating this down due to the funk, and almost missing Lime @ 6.0/10.
Sumo Citrus (Flavorah) 1.5% (3-13-23) – Beyond being expensive, and so fragile, that they have to be painted in clay sunscreen, Sumo oranges are a hybrid of oranges, pomelos, and mandarins. The few times I’ve eaten them, they WERE very good, and sweeter than most other oranges. This flavor captured MUCH of the hybrid-ing, but not all, and it had less than the expected level of sweetness. @ 1.5% it was still somewhat of a light flavor, but still good with a unique medley of orange and citrus notes. Because it was somewhat more relaxed, I did increase the percentage a bit, AND, added some sweetener just to see if it could be boosted, and it did increase just a smidge, but that was about it. I didn’t get much of a boost from the sweetener, so that was a surprise as well. At both 1.5% and somewhat higher, it was indeed a few ticks below mid level sweet, which most of us would love, so it COULD be sweetened up if needed, it felt a little shy from the real thing. No off-notes, and, with the fairly complex citrus notes in play, it was hard to try and force it into one TYPE of orange, which WAS true to the real fruit. All in, it was a FAIRLY accurate representation of a tough fruit to mimic, and was very natural tasting, and less sweet than the original. Minor take-offs for some lack of presence, and sweetness. Cleanly placing this @ a 8.4/10.
Wintergreen (Flavorah) 1% (3-16-23) – Coming clean here, I WAS kind of dreading testing this flavor, just like the Cactus Aloe, as I would typically NEVER use it. I cannot use any cooling agents, and typically mints, spearmints either have some, or can SEEM like they have some. Now, to my tastes, this one had either none, OR, very little, as I not only had NO issues testing 3 testers of it, but I actually enjoyed it. Color me surprised, YET again. Note to the masses: Try flavors you think you’ll hate, and you MIGHT be surprised. Because it was a “mint” I chose to go low with this one @ 1% and it was fairly full at this weight, and did remind me of a Wintergreen Lifesaver. Because I was not overwhelmed by the mint elements, nor any cooling, I think you could probably solo this at even + 0.75% with no issues. I had a expected a thin, minty flavor with cooling, and I was also surprised as it had more body that expected, did not present as “thin”, and had just a hint of a dry finish. Now it is possible Flavorah somehow snuck in some minor cooling that I was mis-interpretting as dry-ness, but that is still unknown. It was just below mid level sweet, and beyond the slight dry-ness on the finish, I could find no off notes to nit pick. It really did taste almost exactly like a Wintergreen Lifesaver. For any other of you “Not So Sure About Mint”-ers out there, the minty-ness was in no way overpowering, or heavy handed, and was very even keeled, and JUST strong enough. For some reason, even though rootbeer’s don’t typically have wintergreen in them (but some do), I had the urge to mix some of this in with a RB or two, just to see how it fared/paired. All in, this was a damned fine Wintergreen, that was accurate, non-fatiguing, nor heavy handed. If you love wintergreen(s), GET IT. If you don’t like, or think you don’t like mints, you might be surprised. Rating this one high, with only minor take-offs for the slight dry-ness on the finish @ 9.6/10. And that is/was coming from the NOT mint guy at that.
Yuzu (Flavorah) 1% (3-18-23) – Finishing out this NEW series from Flavorah with the Yuzu. Having never eaten one, I couldn’t directly compare it. It presented as a quite unique mix of almost a lighter orange, with some lemon, and almost some grapefruit notes on the finish. Suffice it to say, this IS a citrus flavor LOL. What made it unique was it kind of swirled around with the 3 main elements trading places for the lead. This kept it fairly complex, and an interesting flavor to test. It didn’t present as overly aggressive or acidic, and despite it’s 3 main notes, was actually fairly smooth. It was tart without being sour, and and was JUST kissed by an almost citrus-y oil on the finish, which did nothing more than drive home it’s authenticity. @ 1% it was nicely in the middle of the strength road, and could possibly benefit with a little push up to 1.5%. As it stood, it was quite good, refreshing, and very natural tasting, and kept you guessing almost till the end. In conclusion, this was a great unique citrus flavor that centered around a light orange, lemon and grapefruit, that was below mid-level sweet, and kept you wanting more. Because it did straddle 3 different citrus fruits, you could use it across a variety of recipes with success. All in, a fresh, clean finish to this series, and leaving it fairly high @ 9.0/10.
