So, I've been tinkering with the mixes I have and I've come up against something that might be of interest to some of you that like the creamy notes but are wary of the risks of diacetyl and/or acetoin.
Marshmallow and French Vanilla (TFA is what I have and they say that these are without "custard notes." which I believe is their way of saying "no diacetyl or acetoin.")
Seems to work best with the sweet flavours and the candy flavours but it gives me a nice and smooth, almost creamy flavour on it's own but when it's mixed with some flavours it really smooths it out. Adding Toasted Marshmallow gives it a bit more of a "bite" too which would probably work better with the savoury flavours like the coffees and espressos and that kinda thing... Though I haven't done too much tinkering with those since my preferred profiles are the sweet/tarts and fruits/mints.
But I thought I ought to pass this on to others that might be interested in trying it out.
Of note, if it's mixed with "punchy" fruits, it seems to take on the qualities of the creamy notes like you'd get from those "Cream" candies like campino and others... So, it's not an "EXACT" creamy flavour profile but it's pretty close. I have tested it, however, with some mints to get a "doublemint" kinda flavour and it's pretty damn close. Though I only had peppermint to work with so it's not the exact same but I'm going to be ordering some other mints next time so I'll be able to test this with a proper spearmint flavour.
TPA Vanilla Swirl can also add a light, sweet creaminess to mixes. It's supposedly their custard flavour without the diketones/diacetyl.
I use vanilla swirl as my cream base usually at 5%-10%.
Marshmallow always sneaks it's way into most my mixes...I stumbled on a nice mixture of HS tobacco's W/ FA marshmallow/fresh cream and a little dab of Capella Coconut...good stuff
Cream + coconut makes an amazing creamy base for most things. Add any fruit, really, and you're good to go.
Marshmallow plays well with so many flavors it isn't even funny. Fruits, candy, bakery, and I'm pretty sure it'll go well with tobaccos, too.
One flavor I find myself toying around with more and more is champagne. It can add a nice, sharp bite to fruit flavors. I just mixed up a juice trying to replicate Fresca and it smells pretty decent right away, I'll have to see how it is after a steeping.
I've been really getting into HS tobaccos and inawera too recently at what percentage are you adding the marshmallow to get that creaminess? I've been adding ACV to most of my tobaccos to round out some of the harshness but i would like to use the 30ml of marshmallow I have kicking around.
TFA Marshmallow does contain "custard notes"