It's been a while, everyone!
Fall is my absolute favorite season. For whatever reason I get...a lot more productive. So why not channel that into a new recipe to share?
There are a lot of ways to approach this flavor profile. Several great apple flavors are available, we need some spice, a bit of "fermented"/boozy flavor, and a bit of sweetness. Lots of options, but let's keep it simple.
Ingredient|% :---|---: Apple Mix (Hangsen)|4 Cherry Blossom PG (TPA)|2 Liquid Amber (FA)|1.5
Flavor total: 7.5%
I mix at 70VG / 30PG but feel free to adjust to your preference. I like the viscosity of 70VG for both tanks and drippers, and the VG provides plenty of sweetness without adding artificial sweeteners (yuck).
I'll go over each of the flavors in a little more depth.
Apple Mix (Hangsen) - We could use any number of apple flavorings in combination, but Apple Mix is a very interesting – and in my opinion mis-named – flavor. It seems like it would just be a mixture of several varieties of apple. In reality it's a very clean and bright mix of tart apple, cranberry and a subtle bit of cinnamon spice. The marquee feature here is balance. None of the notes wash out the others and each is distinct and at the appropriate potency. It doesn't SMACK you in the face with apple...just like a cider shouldn't.
Because of the cranberry and cinnamon spice, Apple Mix isn't the be-all-end-all of apples, but it's perfect for what we need here. It lets us get the cider-y, spicey flavor we're after without having to use a multitude of individual flavors. Nice.
At 4%, Apple Mix fills its role as the base flavor, providing both a "heart" note and some aromatic, astringent top notes.
Cherry Blossom (TPA) - Cherry Blossom is another interesting, and fairly under-utilized flavoring. It adds a fruity sweetness without the use of any sweeteners, giving the apple elements in Apple Mix a bit of a lift. At 2% it doesn't lend a "cherry" flavor. Its combination of benzaldehyde, butanoic acid, and benzyl acetate provide lots of nutty, woody, almond-like nuances. Cherry Blossom also includes a teensy bit of everyone's favorite isoamyl acetate. To me, it's more "sweet fruitiness" than actual cherry flavor at low percentages. It's a great top note to keep the upper end of your palate engaged.
Liquid Amber (FA) - The final ingredient in our mix is Liquid Amber. It has a fruity and sour character that provides the final portions of the cider. A slightly "fermented" (in a pleasant way) aroma liked you'd find with stewed or fresh-pressed apples. It also gives the finished juice some body and a final base note to round out the flavor. Liquid Amber is great for these type of applications. I view it as an additive or modifier more than a discreet flavoring. Use it to change your fruits from candyish to a more baked or "cooked" effect.
That's it!
You can of course tweak here and there, or add additional flavorings in small amounts. I wouldn't expect any substitutions to work very well – the three flavors here are fairly unique. FA Cinnamon Ceylon makes a nice addition if you like your cider spicier. Adding FA Brandy will give you a hard apple cider flavor. Play around!
The fundamental recipe is great example of building your recipes around base, heart, and top notes to form a cohesive flavor. Using only three flavors makes it simple to mix, and a great base on which to build your own personal adaptations.
I'm interested to see what modifications and additions we all come up with.
Enjoy!
<3 fizzmustard
What's that Hangsen, TFA and FA? You have some flavors that don't sell all that well? What if I told you I could sell out every US reseller in 48 hours or less? What's that worth to you, huh?
Kidding fizz (although you should totally do that). You have the powa! Also, this mix looks friggin awesome.
Awwww mann :( I was just about to drop my apple mix-based spiced apple cider :( Now I gotta make a new one!
edit: also, a drop of FLV rich cinnamon per 30mL gives the perfect amount of cinnamon for it to taste like warm cider with a cinnamon stick to stir it.
Nah man, post away! I want to see it! Maybe we can crib each other's notes and Voltron this piece into an even better recipe.
awesome recipe. thanks for sharing this fizz.
so when is your podcast going to drop....
He is too busy selling his juices and doing well I'm sure. Where as someone else only hinted at here is giving away his recipes and trying to learn how to produce and emagazine. I'm not faulting either and no one else should be either.
Flame on!
Since you started the cider threads, I'll post my own creation that's just entered it's third week of aging, and I think it's just bliss. I've strongly shunned spice, going for a more natural hard cider flavor - my stated target when I started was:
>The goal here is not a sweet flavor, but a fermented, funky and deep taste of apple on it's way to applejack, with a bit of wood from the barrel - the flavor you get after skimming a few bugs and a bit of bubbly windblown debris off the top and dipping in a metal cup, as you sit and enjoy the trees slowly turning to fall colors.
/u/SinkMix helped me tone down the flavor here, although that first version now at 4 weeks is pretty good as well.
Ingredient|% :---|---: Blackcurrant (INAWERA)|2 Double Apple - INAWERA|2 Dragonfruit (TPA)|0.5 Fuji Apple (FA)|2 Liquid Amber (FA)|1 Oak Wood (FA)|0.5 Whiskey (FA)|1 White Wine (FW)|1 Flavor total: |10%
My next plan was to try some apricot to get some deeper fruity body in there, and I think your cherry blossom takes your creation in the same direction. I'll definitely give yours a shot when I make an order from ecigexpress. (You know, when the lemon is back in. :) )
Holy shit this is solid as hell.
Love FA Amber. It's a fixative more than a flavor for sure.
Cherry Blossom from TFA is a solid top note variety. Those two probably pair excellently together with the fixative holding back the harshness of the benzaldehyde and benzyl acetate.
What were your original percentages before locking this down?
Aaah man, we don't get Hangsen anything down here (South Africa).
But thank you kindly fizzmustard! This sounds awesome, so I'll have to find out where best to bring it in from.
as he stated there are many options :)
so you can play around with some apples/spices and get a nice recipe man!
Thanks! I wanted to make a cider but was afraid I might need TFA Champagne, this proves it's not needed. Apple Mix sounds interesting but I don't have it or Cherry Blossom so I'll be going a completely different route though.
I'll go with Fuji/Brandy/Amber/Cinnamon all FA and post in next month's thread if it's good enough.
Hmm. Sparkling cider could work with TFA Champagne. It might make this particular recipe too acidic but I'll give it a shot.
Fuji/Brandy/Amber/Ceylon should make a pretty good mix.
I did:
3% Fuji
1% Brandy
1.5% Liquid Amber
0.4% Cinnamon Ceylon
It's nice. A bit too much candy apple I think but I felt I would need the sweetness and Fuji tends to tone down over time anyway. Maybe I'll reduce it next time and add a bit of caramel.
Thanks again for sharing!
How is Chamagne effervescent feeling and Pizza nor Irish Cream are not? they all share pentyl alcohol and ethyl nonanoate.
How noticeable is the effect?
I imagine the other ingredients in Pizza and Irish Cream inhibit the effect. The triacetin in Pizza, and the lactones in Irish Cream would definitely counterbalance pentyl alcohol's fizziness.
And let's be clear...TFA Champagne isn't going to give you a Pop Rocks type fizziness. It's a vague impression at best.
The recipe looks great and I look forward to trying it out. I'd also like to mention that when I've done cider recipes in the past, I've added some TFA Holiday Spice and/or Whipped Cream and it comes out nicely. You can even add your favorite orange to it for some variety. Thanks again for the recipe
I'm new to DIY juice and love all cider, so I am going to give this a go. My ultimate goal is to make a nice Ginger Ale with natural ginger I steep myself. I know the info is out there, but it's hard to find time to tinker and gt all the flavors I like.
From what I gather, you're a bit of a rockstar around here /u/fizzmustard , so from a e-juice n00b with some homebrew background, thank you for sharing.
I read the Nature's Flavors Ginger is very nice, as well as very difficult to find in stock. I won't use that company's products personally, but you may have some success with their ginger.
Care to share why you wouldn't use their products? I see DIY as an opportunity to make as natural an e-juice as I possibly can, save the VG. Not into complex mixes, just 1 to 3 flavors.
This might be a topic for another post, but I used to homebrew beer quite a bit and got into sodas towards the end (cola, root beer, ginger ale, birch beer) and still have some cola and root beer flavoring. Can I assume that I should NOT use that flavoring for making some test e-juice batches?
(brand is HOMEBREW - Old Fashioned Soda Pop Base http://www.amazon.com/Homebrew-Concentrated-Extract-2-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B001D6KH8K)
Homebrew Root Beer Pop Concentrated Extract, 2-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 3)
|||| --:|:--|:-- Current|$17.57|Amazon (3rd Party New) High|$24.99|Amazon (3rd Party New) Low|$14.68|Amazon (3rd Party New) |Average|$17.62|30 Day
Confirm that their Organic Ginger flavor is excellent, you can order 4oz directly from them for like $15 after shipping.
Really? Which website? Showing $15 here , $16 here, without Diacetyl for $18 here, concentrate for $15 here, and organic concentrate for $20 here plus shipping. Ordered 4oz in Dec., shipping was almost as much as the concentrate. I noticed they are now doing free shipping at $25... I would have ordered something else from them if I had seen it then. I also notice they offer a bunch more variations than they did when I ordered. I think it was two or three then.
Not complaining though. This bottle will last me a lifetime and is a good, strong ginger flavor.
It figures... Wiped out this months flavorings budget at BCV and it arrived today. Wanted Apple Mix (Hangsen) but apparently they don't carry it.
Guess I can try this after the popularity dies down. :(
Thank you for another must try recipe though. Sounds really good. :)
This sounds tasty. Can't find one place that has apple mix and cherry blossom though. Sigh.
Yeah, looks like a lot of vendors no longer carry all 3, sadly.
Right now, eCigExpress has both Apple Mix and Liquid Amber. Bull City Vapor and OneStopDIYShop have the Cherry Blossom.
Sorry to send you on a chase :(
Apple Mix is hard enough to find. Surprised ECX doesn't have cherry blossom.
Found Apple Mix at ecigexpress and buyhangsen.com. Neither carry TFA Cherry Blossom. :(
Damn I was unsure of cider vapes, but coming from you, I'll have to try it. I've been itching for a good apple vape. I'm actually vaping yor nana cream clone right now too. Could you explain your theory behind your base, heart, and top notes? Sounds really interesting and I'd love to know the process better