I am no stranger to MBV and several other local B&M's like pink spot and sin city vapors. All of their juice seems to have a harshness or spiceyness to it even in 100% VG. However the juices I get from places like TVC or elevated vaping are so smooth and the flavors are alot more accurate.
The best example I can give is MBV's moo juice, it has a buttery almost nutty flavor to it but its supposed to be strawberry milkshake, where as TVC's honey peary tastes exactly like honey due melon, or elevated vapings ierie nights, discription says "jamaican rum and brown sugar" it smells and tastes just like jamaican rum, if I didn't know better i'd swear I could get drunk off it.
What type of flavorings are the boutique places using? Are they infusing their own flavors? If they are what process could you use to simulate this?
They have people who actually go to school for this. They are called Flavorists. Some use regular flavorings you can buy anywhere and mix them into a combination that gives them the accurate taste they're looking for.
Other Flavorists actually extract the flavor from the fruit or whatever else they use. You'll find that out of the many MBV flavors most of them taste bland and average. This is because compared to gourmet vendors they don't mix a lot of their liquid to create a combination it's mostly just "orange flavor" + VG or PG which is why they're very cheap. They do have some gourmet style flavors that are the "Signature MBV" flavors for about a dollar extra.
I'm also a big fan of boutique juices, I'm always more satisfied with juices from HHV, Velvet Cloud, Fuzion, etc.
How many companies are selling flavorings right now? TFA seems to have a stranglehold. I have a feeling that many of the boutique vendors are using the same flavorings as, say, MBV, they are just putting a lot more time and thought into their products.
I had some chinese juice when I first started vaping that was obviously cheap and tasted like bad candy. I've had much better luck since then, sticking with vendors that redditors rave about.
I'd be most interested to hear how Velvet Cloud flavors their liquids since they are pushing the artisan/organic thing. Maybe they use fewer TFA products but who knows?
Just got a great vape mail from Captivape today. Very impressed with their stuff, too. The Diplomat (NET w/ plum) is hard to put down.
TFA does not have a stranglehold, they're just popular.
There are quite a few other flavoring vendors out there. TFA, FA, and LA are the ones discussed often, there are at least a dozen more, plus the commercial ones that you won't hear about around DIY forums.
I have a little database of flavors by manufacturer, and I'm up to 18 sources for some flavors, all with subtle differences. Some of my recipes contain flavors from 5 different vendors (even repeats of the same flavors to highlight different notes).
Wow, 18 sources. I had no idea. Obviously I haven't gotten into making my own flavors, but I have been lurking here out of curiosity. I'm also very interested in what some vendors are using to get these awesome results. I'd be very interested in checking out your database some time.
Are you compiling it for grins or are as a reference for you own mixes?
It's a reference piece for me, with tasting notes, scores, etc.
It includes quite a few providers that aren't discussed at all in the DIY forums, and I've spent significant time just tracking down suppliers, cross referencing to ensure they're not just repackaging someone else's stuff, etc etc. It's not hard work, just tedious.
Of course, "little" is a misnomer, as I have about 1000 entries.