So this is part amusing anecdote, part PSA...
I've only been doing DIY for about 6 months now... usually I'm just using the recipes of the other talented people here but lately I've been starting to work on things of my own.
So, my favorite premium of all time is Shurb, and it's the only juice I continue to buy to this day. I've searched high and low for a clone. I tried Cannibal's versions but they weren't quite there to me. I started buying flavors and experimenting. Iteration after iteration, I'd get closer in one aspect and further in another. I started getting desperate and just adding random shit. It was getting up to 10, 12 ingredients. Eventually, I gave up.
Then I saw on BCV they have TFA Rainbow Sherbet. I thought "what the hell....". It comes in, I mix up a couple samples, and the reality of the situation came crashing down: I got closer to Shurb with a single flavor 5% TFA Rainbow Sherbet than the hundreds of attempts that came before. It's not even bad on its own but at this point I'm convinced you can get there with 3-4 ingredients max.
So yeah, I know everyone perceives flavors differently and blah blah blah, but it was humbling. I've seen people write that less is more... and it's one thing when you "know" that... but it's totally different when you KNOW it.
Some of the best recipes I've tried had 3-4 flavors. I find when it gets up to 9+ flavors, it gets complex and I can't tell exactly what I'm tasting and am generally not as happy with the recipe as the smaller ones.
Also, what is your total flavor % in your batches? You want to keep that somewhat low, I think I read around 10-15%, but I could be wrong. You definitely don't want 30% flavoring in your juice. Most of mine are right around 11 or 12% and taste great.
I've been there. Started mixing clone recipes, then others' original recipes, then started tweaking others' recipes, then started going crazy ordering tons of flavors and trying to make overly complicated mixes before moving to simpler, more refined mixes. I think that this is just the DIY mixer cycle.
Kudos for getting to that stage in your mixing game. The whole "less is more" is a challenging mental hurdle to overcome.
3/4 of my best creations and favorite recipes by others have 5 flavors or less.
On of my ADVs at the moment is FLV Mango at 6%. That's it; one flavor.
FW gets some bad press around here but they do a decent job at flavor blends which can be single-flavor juices or require just a little tweaking. TFA has a few of the same, though I haven't tried the one you used.
Also, if you follow /u/skiddlzninja, he's published some 2-3 flavor concoctions recently that are quite nice.
I have at least 20 recipes in the tweaking stages that involve FLV Mango combined with 1 to 3 other flavors. Once I get them good enough to share, you'll have a new ADV.
What flavors have you tried pairing it with? It's a pretty strong, straight forward flavor; I've been messing around with it as well.
It is indeed a strong, straightforward flavor. What haven't I tried might be a better question. I might have a mild obsession with FLV Mango. So far, the ones that are showing the most promise with it are INW Pinacolda, TFA Coconut Candy, FA Coconut, TFA Swedish Gummy, TFA Gummy Candy, FA Passionfruit, FW Blood Orange, FA Papaya, LA Banana Cream, INW Shisha Strawberry, FA Watermelon, TFA Orange Cream, TFA VBIC, FA Mangosteen, FA Lime-Cold Pressed, FA Cream Fresh, and INW Cactus.
This was me with creme brûlée; until I tried INW Creme Brûlée. (Facepalm)
> INW Creme Brûlée
Do you eat Creme Brûlée, if so how close is it?
Just fair warning, I've found tobacco mixes don't follow this rule (or any rule at all tbh) all that well... you can go completely nuts with mixing umpteen tobacco types and still get viable mixes no problem. You almost never get the "cancelling out" effect with them.
Start trying to sneak in a few drops of cherry or vanilla though, and it all goes sideways...
Smoking my 3% banana 6% strawberry juice right now...one of my more complicated recipes this batch XD
I think I mixed 3 flavors one time...
When I started mixing, I planned to start simple, and build up to more complicated recipes. Just strawberry and a single type of cream. I mixed up 5 bottles with different cream types...and I could not tell the difference between most of them. I said fuck it to all the complicated stuff after that first mix.
>smoking
twitch
I don't get why I have -5 votes, when I practically said the same thing as Kirkt with 4 votes...You people just don't like the way I say 1-2 flavors? and do like the way he said 3-4? too much cursing? burning really bother you that much? vaporizing,,,there. vapor.