This juice had me stumped for the longest. It ended up being quite simple... just needed the right flavorings. Almost all of the notes people pick up on like cocoa, graham cracker, coconut, banana etc. actually come from 3 tobaccos: Black Mile, Captain, and French Pipe (all Tobacco Express - ECX). After a long session of smelling and tasting my mix, I smelled my El Kamino bottle, and tasted a dab on my finger. Cinnamon Danish jumped out at me. I also remember the banana being much more forward when fresh. SO... I mixed this up:
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5% Black Mile (TE) (not plus)
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5% Captain (TE)
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5% French Pipe (TE)
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1% Cinnamon Danish Swirl (Cap) (TFA would probably work)
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1% Banana (FA) (Inawera would work here, TFA doesn't)
The taste is... exact. I'm going to play with a few slight percentage variations anyway, maybe see how subbing BM+ affects it, etc... After I've tried a few variations, and see how they hold up to a steep, I'll post my final in the clone thread. I doubt it changes though. Enjoy.
EDIT: I've tried a few variants (6-6-6-1-1, 5-5-5-2-3, 5-5-5-3-2) and, at least fresh, 5-5-5-2-3 is tuned just a little finer. I will make one more 5-5-5-2-3 subbing BM+ for BM and compare the two.
EDIT 2: Not enough difference between BM and BM+ mixes to determine which is more accurate. Steeping seems to be altering the mix in a bad way. May need to alter tobacco ratios to compensate.
I happen to have every single one of those flavors except for Black Mile. I do have Black Mile Plus. Can I make a reasonably accurate substitution?
I would say it's worth a 5-10ml experiment. I'll be trying one myself. BM+ is supposedly just BM with boosted chocolate and vanilla, and tbh I just went with BM off of sniffing the bottles. While the choc in BM+ was more present, it didn't smell like the same chocolate note in BM, which smelled more accurate. Subbing one for the other will likely barely affect the mix, but give the regular BM a spin next time you order.
I'll give it a try, maybe lower the concentration of BMP a bit. I'll report back when I have results.
I've got a few other ideas to tweak this recipe, too. I'll see what I come up with.
I picked up the BMP in my first ECX order, and was waffling between that and BM. I'll get some BM soonish. More flavors are never worse, right?
>It ended up being quite simple... just needed the right flavorings
well... yeah. that's true for every clone. either way, i'mn really excited to try this out. i like el kamino a lot, but as far as GLV juices go i vastly prefer english bulldog
Yeah, I guess so, lol. It just turned out a lot less complex than it tastes.
I came across a GLV recipe (YoPlay Parlay) that Jeremy posted on a forum before he got into business, and it was also a simple 5-5-5-1% recipe. Kind of has me re-evaluating my often overly complicated mixes.
EB... that's the tobacco with the pineapple note, right? Been curious about that one, haven't tried it.
Would you mind posting a link to that YoPlay Partay?
I also used to mix very complicated juice - 5-10 flavors at very low concentrations. I've found that just as in food, the truly skilled cook can bring out the complexity from just a few ingredients.
Sure. Second post down.
Thanks for this! Time for another TE order... I've really enjoyed the tobaccos I've gotten from there so far (Cuban Supreme, 7 Leaves, Perique Black, Desert Ship, Virginia). El Kamino is my 2nd GLV fave, right behind Bangkok Dangerous, which I'd love to figure out.
So I made up a 10ml batch of this last night, but I substituted the French Pipe with 3% Inawara Chocolate Tobacco. This is really good.
The way I made the 10ml was:
5% Black Mile (TE)
5% Captain (TE)
3% Chocolate Tobacco (Inawara)
4 drops Cinnamon Danish Swirl (CAP)
4 drops Banana (CAP)
I didn't give this any kind of steep. I just shook it for a while and threw it in a kayfun. Pretty damn good when fresh. I think I'll make a couple more 10ml batches and play with the banana and cinamon danish a bit. I'll also make one exactly like the one I made and tuck it away and let it steep for a week or so.
EDIT: formatting
Nice. I've noticed a couple things since I posted that. It was spot on fresh, but it seems to drift a bit with a steep. Either the FP or Captain ends up too forward, leaving a fruity note that isn't bad, but doesn't belong. Currently steeping a few altered ratios to see where they end up.
That sounds like a nice substitution, might have to give it a go myself. Thanks for the feedback.