Setup: Plume Veil RDA; dual parallel @ .35Ω; cotton wicks; 45W
Testing: TFA Kentucky Bourbon @ 5%; Aged: 5 days
Flavor description: As a whiskey connoisseur, I was really hoping for this to have some bourbon/whiskey notes. It doesn't. It tastes more like sugar with a slight hint of alcohol that fades out after a few days, with the remaining flavor being comparable to the scent of a night club at 10 o'clock the next morning: stale beer and spilled drinks. Having been in these places the morning after, this flavor brings out a feeling of nostalgia I never realized I possessed until now.
Off-flavors: Not bourbon. Sugary taste, and stale spilled drinks on carpet. See above.
Throat hit: very slight. Maybe 2/10
Uses: ~~You can probably skip this one unless you're looking for a light sweetener that tastes like the bottom of a glass of vodka and sprite long after the ice has melted.~~ I have not played around with this flavor enough to find a use for it, however Drunken Pears by /u/matthewkocanda and Bangin Bourbon Bread by /u/skiddlzninja are 2 fairly popular recipes here where I have seen it put to good use.
Pairings: Maybe some fruits if you want to give them a dirty fermented effect, ~~otherwise the trash can or "remove from cart" button on your next order.~~ I paired it with 4% FA Torrone, and it was OK. I would assume tobaccos would go well with it as well. I will continue to play with it and report back if I find other decent pairings.
Notes: Maybe I need to try a different percentage, but this flavor seems too sweet to be considered "Kentucky Bourbon." I'm an avid drinker of all types of whiskey, and this doesn't resemble the taste of whiskey by a long shot.
Rating: ~~0/5 stars. Sorry TFA, this flavor was a huge let down to me judging strictly on taste vs product description. I can only hope FA Whiskey does a better job on resembling whiskey.~~
EDIT:too
EDIT 2: I apologize for the rather "bitchy" rating. I have since stopped rating flavors with stars. I understand taste is very subjective, and I hope someone adds a better review in the comments. I did mix this with some of my standalone FA Torrone today, and was rather impressed. I see that it has it's place in a recipe, and is not meant to replicate whiskey 1:1.
Differing tastes here. I like it. In fact I just received my new 30 ml today after my 10ml ran out. But I will say I haven't played with enough pairings so far. Pretty much used it all making a variation on /u/matthewkocanda's Drunken Pears recipe. I do notice what you did about the taste fading, but fresh I think it's pretty spot on.
5% is higher than I've used it; usually 3% or less. I just mixed a couple different pairings, gonna see how they steep out. I am curious about FA Whisky too, just forgot to get it.
I hope one of those pairings was TFA Toasted Marshmallow. If not, give that a try. The toastyness plays well with the bourbon flavor. If that sounds too boring to you, toss in just a hint of blackberry or maybe blueberry.
2% KB
2% TFA TM
4% FA Kiwi
It may have been something you had commented on that gave me this idea.
Ha! Yes, I've said it before and will probably say it again, KB and TFA TM make sweet love to each other. And also that TFA TM goes well with TFA Kiwi Dub. So it probably goes well with FA Kiwi, too. Why I haven't thought to make an menage of those three beats me. I'd like to know how that one turned out for you.
I'm sure it has a special secret place in a recipe, (looking at you /u/matthewkocanda) but I guess I'm not about to jump on the "resembles a bourbon" bandwagon. I love whiskey of all tiers and styles, but this doesn't fall into any of those categories. MAYBE, and this is a very long stretch, as I haven't had it for nearly 10 years, if you want to compare Old Crow bourbon to what this tastes like as a standalone shake n vape, it is a slight resemblance, but it is very slight, and the only thing I can sort of relate it to. Also, if you haven't tried Old Crow bourbon, don't.
Hehe, if what you are saying is that "cheap whiskey" is a more accurate name instead of "kentucky bourbon", then I agree. Smells just like Evan Williams to me. And it may be a one trick pony, but it works well for it. I have high hopes for these new mixes. And wouldn't mind any others' ideas...
Fun fact: I can't drink bourbon anymore because of Old Crow. My friend swore by it, and we would get trashed on Old Crow and Pepsi all the time because it was so cheap here ($7 per fifth), then I would proceed to puke up some ungodly tasting bullshit. These days, any bourbon just reminds me of that and makes me gag. Same with Pepsi. Can't drink it. Such a shame, since I live in KY and have so many types of bourbon at my disposal.
Got to say I differ a bit on this one. I can't expect a cheap extract to taste like a fine bourbon, but where a hint of bourbon is called for this one fits the bill.
I've been vaping a variation of /u/billgarmsarmy 's castle long clone, "short fort" {holy shit does reddit search suck, took 10 minutes to find this} for a while now. My TFA Kentucky Bourbon ran out, and I tried FA Whiskey, INW Whiskey, and LA Bourbon as substitutes, and nothing came close to the TFA KB.
Sweet! What changes did you make?
Definitely agree about your hint of bourbon observation. I really like TFA KB and have been playing around with it for awhile. I hope to have something neat to share with folks soon.
The biggest change was switching from FW Brown Sugar to TFA BS Ex. The FW was gunking my coils every day. The TFA is not as good but I can get coils to last the better part of the week, and it is less harsh on the lungs.
I've tried some different toasted almonds, but I agree the CAP is probably the best here. I've also messed around with the Van Bourbon and Van Swirl, but I think your %s are really dialed in. This is a great recipe and you should be proud of it.
Great right up I personally try to leave opinion especially negative ones out of my write-ups.
Good call, opinions do nothing but influence others to form them. Staying unbiased is the proper way to give flavor notes.
I apologize for being so biased. Maybe I'll take another shot at it and try it closer to 2% with an open mind.
As with /u/coop34, I'm a big fan of KY bourbon. I find it to have a flavor remniscent of the finishing notes in a sour mash. That's the reason I use it as the bourbon note in my Bangin Bourbon Bread. It's in no way a single flavor whiskey concentrate, but it does impart a taste of whiskey having just been drunk. If that makes any sense.
Try it again at 2%, low power.
I would say 5% standalone is definitely overkill. I love this flavor at maybe .5% with banana mixes. It's hard to describe, but it adds a different, "baked" note to it. It's also great in just about any tobacco mix at <1%. And I've had decent results with it custards as well.
All that said, I tend to agree with your notes and opinions. It doesn't taste like bourbon, and I think that's what scares most people off from buying this flavor; "I don't like alcohol-flavors". But knowing it doesn't, and knowing that it's more of an alcohol infused brown sugar, I use it as such. I don't go over 1% with TPA Brown Sugar, and follow that same mental rule with TPA Kentucky Bourbon.
Paging /u/skiddlzninja
> I can only hope FA Whiskey does a better job on resembling whiskey.
In my experience, FA Whisked smells really authentic, and tastes pretty authentic at the beginning, but with steeping the taste mellows out a bit. I've mixed with it once or twice using other people's recipes, haven't really decided if I like it yet.
oh no this flavor is essential for me! i agree, definitely no bourbon flavor, and by itself it is an abomination. But i use this for my Bourbon Custard clone juice. but i may consider finding another whiskey flavor to add as well to give it more of those actual bourbon notes (because i agree, it definitely doesnt have that)