Huge thank you to everyone who participated in Flavor of The Week last week, especially grapefruit experts /u/Philosaphucker and /u/ConcreteRiver
As always, the purpose of this thread is to gather the community to explore a flavor and its many uses. And it's also to have FUN!
Post recipes containing this week's Flavor of the Week, as the star or in a supporting role, with or without development notes. Talk about other people's recipes that use it. Compare and contrast different manufacturers' versions of the FOTW. Ask for help using that flavor in general or to achieve something specific, offer advice, brainstorm ideas, consider substitutions, suggest pairings... really anything at all as long as it's on topic. And if this week's flavor doesn't interest you, take this opportunity to suggest one for the week after next that does (or send me a PM to do that).
This week's flavor is: COCKTAILS (as requested by /u/bogey_again)
Past FOTW posts can be found here.
Prepare yourselves, next week's FOTW will be: TEA
I have a few of these, such as my proudest creation, If You Like Piña Coladas and a related recipe that tastes even better to me, Mango Colada, but all of my finished cocktail recipes are rum-based girly frou-frou summertime umbrella breach drinks. I would love to hear about some more robust boozy hair-on-your-chest type whiskey and gin vapes especially as we head into the office Christmas Party season. Which recipes keep ya'll warm in the winter and grease your social gears?
As for rum, the only one I've used is FA Jamaican. It's great but very sweet and dark, with just as much dark brown sugaryness as booze. So it takes a light touch to just give the impression of a little dark but not spiced rum unless you're looking for brown sugar as well. I usually use it at 1% to 1.25%. FA Gin tastes like straight up juniper tree to me, if anyone makes it work I'd love to hear about it. TFA Kentucky Bourbon is a wonderfully useful concentrate to me that tastes good but doesn't taste particularly accurate, so it can generate some disappointment-related hate from those expecting bold authentic bourbon flavor. I think FA Brandy wins for most booziness of the ones I've tried but also has a strong musty grapish flavor that might ruin your recipe unless that's what you want. Which alcohol flavors have you tried?
Although I havnt tried FA brandy, id be surprised if its any boozier than FA whisky! Thatl put hair on your chest
Now I definitely know which alcohol flavor to order next!
I was already planning to get it soon to try this one: /u/Philosaphucker's Noted Talks
I haven't pulled the trigger on a large flavor order, and this is why! I knew I still had some things missing. I'm adding the 4 or 5 flavors I'm missing to mix these!
Semi-related; while I always have brandy in my analog egg nogs, I went with FA Jamaican Rum in my mix, and judging by your assessment of FA Brandy, it sounds like the right choice, so thanks for that too.
I'm not very familiar yet with the all the flavours site... is it safe to assume the Best VG % which shows as 0 on both recipes just means you didn't fill that field in?
I'm guessing you aren't actually mixing 100% PG.
Well, since I threw mine and Cat's Cosmo in the Cranberry thread I'll post something different this week. This is a peach Bellini that /u/StardustCoyote and I came up with over the summer.
Champagne Supernova
TFA Champagne 5%
FA White Peach 3%
TFA Juicy Peach 1%
FA Lemon Sicily 0.7%
FW Blood Orange 0.7%
Koolada optional for that out-of-the-blender feeling.
A few months in the making:
Whiskey Sour
*FA Whiskey 4.0 %
*FA Lemon Cicily 2.0 %
*INW Lime 1.0 %
*TFA Marshmallow 1.0 %
*TFA Sour 0.5 %
*FA Oak 0.5 %
*TFA Maraschino Cherry (10 % solution) 0.5 %
*TFA Koolada 0.5 %
That looks awesome!!! /u/ZorroElite see above, there's the Whiskey Sour you were looking for. And I bet if you wanted to turn that into an amaretto sour, it wouldn't be any harder than taking out the Oak and Marshmallow, lowering the Whiskey by a % or two, and adding FA Marzipan (2 to 4%) and one or more of FA Almond, FA Caramel, FA Vanilla Bourbon (1 to 2%).
I went to an incredible tiki bar a few months ago where I enjoyed probably too many tiki drinks. Two of them I really loved (and remember) and have attempted to recreate them. They feature FA Jamaican Rum, TFA Jamaican Rum, TFA Brandy, and FA Oak Wood. One of them is much further along, one is still in R&D. I would LOVE feedback on them!
(This one is nearing completion)
Ancient Mariner
FA Oak Wood - 3%
TFA DX Jamaican Rum - 2%
FA Jamaican Rum - 2%
FA Lime Tahity Cold Pressed - 1.5%
INWA White Grapefruit - 1%
TFA Holiday Spice - .75%
FA Grapefruit - .5%
FW Ruby Red Grapefruit - .5%
FA Lime Tahity Distilled - .5%
I'm sure that the different grapefruits could be reduced to one variety but I like three! Also, TFA Holiday Spice is primarily used for its nutmeg profile.
(This one still in development)
Scorpion Punch
FA Jamaican Rum - 4%
FA Oak Wood - 3%
FA Almond - 3%
FA Brandy - 2%
FW Blood Orange - 1%
FA Bergamot - 1%
FA Orange - .5%
Been struggling with this one. Balancing the orange has been a battle and trying to create an orange juice mixer has proven difficult. Still tasty but not where it should be.
Wow, thank you for sharing these! Have you tried any other orange flavors and ruled them out for use in Scorpion Punch?
My pleasure! Orange hasn't really been on my radar since I started mixing so I'm afraid these are the only two I've played around with so far. I'd love suggestions for an orange flavor that tastes closer to OJ. FA Orange seems to DOMINATE so I'm thinking I should stay away from it in this recipe.
I haven't tried FA Bergamot but have tried FW Blood Orange, FA Orange, FA Mandarin, CAP Juicy Orange, and CAP Sweet Tangerine.
Can't say I've had incredible success with any of those oranges or combinations of oranges in trying to emulate OJ as a major part of a recipe, but I do think you would do well to pick up CAP Sweet Tangerine and try it at 1% in place of that O.5% FA Orange.
I also have an as-yet-unopened bottle of SC Sweet Orange on my desk. I'll try to get around to testing that one and report back here this week. Feel free to hound me about it if you're interested, I'm so far behind on testing flavors at this point, I could use a push.
Has anyone cracked a Negroni yet? I would die and go to vaping heaven if so
I've never had an actual negroni. How horribly am I missing out?
Haha it depends on what your cocktail preference is. For me it's a rich bitter adult cocktail. So if piña coladas are your thing you'll probably hate it
There's a time and a place and a mood for all kinds of cocktails for me. Sometimes piña coladas are my thing, but often I'd rather go for an old fashioned or a gin & tonic. At home my drink of choice is most often just a couple of shots of tequila and the juice of a lime or two, vodka with fresh squeezed lemon, or gin and OJ, because I'm lazy, in a hurry, don't have a well-stocked bar, and very serious about preventing scurvy.
I'm with /u/beeruk on this one!
The Negroni & The Boulevardier (kind of a bourbon version of the negroni, with .5 oz. more added to that 1/1/1 oz. negroni ratio) are my 2 favorite cocktails.
Whether or not you'd like it depends on whether you like the taste of Campari, which is an extremely polarizing bitter liqueur. I personally couldn't imagine life without it, but, I've totally seen people pull something like a whiskey face as soon as it hits their palate.
Definitely order one in a bar before you commit to buying a bottle of Campari.
Might want too look into real flavors aged Bourbon cream. I've been loving it!
Intrigued. I haven't seen any information on that one. If you're not up for a full-on flavor review, can you just give us a short description?
Smells just like Bourbon which is cool. Just a nice, creamy, sweet cream with a musky sort of earthy Bourbon tone. I haven't let a bottle sit for more than a week but it does get sweeter and creamier over time. I love this mixed with cap sugar cookie and real flavors cake Batter. Also if you add 6% of real flavors chocolate or strawberry milkshake flavor it gets really good!
Old gregg's Baileysbacco v3.5
- 2.5% RF ABC (aged bourbon cream)
- 0.6% FA Irish Cream
- 0.3% FA Vienna Cream
- 1% INW WG Cuban Tobacco Absolute
- 66/33 VG/PG Made for Dripping
The only change from v3 is slightly more RF ABC/FA Vienna Cream.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/59dzyk/ol_greggs_baileysbacco/
Until I heal enough to write mentionable notes, I'll just leave this here
I posted a couple weeks ago this recipe since I could not find anyone who made one. Perfect challenge for a beginner mixer.
Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned
Mixed at 60vg/40pg, 3mg nicotine
TFA Champagne .5%
FW Natural Orange 3%
CAP Lemon Lime 1.5%
FW Maraschino Cherry 1.5%
TFA Brandy 2%
CAP Grenadine .5%
Ethyl Maltol 1%
TFA Koolada 1%
Pretty decent as a shake and vape, around 2-4 days steep is the best. After seven versions, this is the best combo I've gotten. Still needs minor tweaking.
> Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned
This is bookmarked for me to try once I get the MC & grenadine. I stopped by the DIY Flavor Shack last week on vacation to get their Holy Vanilla + so it may take a few months before my next order.
What else have you mixed up with the Brandy? Shoot me a message if you'd like.
Honestly, not much as of yet.
I've experimented with whiskey in a cranberry orange drink type thing. The brandy was mainly bought for the old fashioned. Just need some inspiration for some more drink types.
This looks awesome!!! How is that TFA Brandy? I'd love to see any notes you care to share on that one, as the only one I've tried the FA version.
I've never tried the FA version so I couldn't compare them. It is decently smooth and has a slight throat hit as you would if you were to take an actual shot. I feel to really get the brandy 'buzz', you'll have to bump it up closer to 5%. It does seem weak but it add just that extra touch.
I know this has fallen off the front page, and thus, the group consciousness, but, I went to dinner at a nice Indian place last night and had a cocktail that will haunt me forever.
Monk's Green Cat
- Chartreuse
- Hendricks gin
- cucumber
- lime juice
- St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur
Usually I'm that PITA that will labor over the drinks menu if a place has a really good line-up of signature cocktails, and hold up everyone's order, but this was at the top of the list and I didn't hesitate, and I'm so glad.
While I can't find an actual recipe for this cocktail, it's basically a Green Ghost (another of my absolute favorites!) with the addition of cucumber & St. Germaine.
While the rest of the profile is infuriatingly do-able (FA Gin, CAP or FA Cucumber, FLV Elderflower, FA or INW Lime) I can't think of any flavorings that taste like green (or yellow) Chartreuse.
Sure there's a little anise in there, but, it's not quite similar enough to absinthe for TFA or DV Absinthe to stand-in. There's a lot going on, and it's one of those profiles that I can't quite reverse engineer in my head through smell or taste.
Chartreuse tastes like herbs and green fire. Like, if you could imagine drinking wildfire from Game of Thrones.
I would try this one with DV Absinthe today as a placeholder, but I sadly do not have FLV Elderflower at the moment. And it's killing me. Because what a sensationally weird and delicious drink this makes!
FA Gin is like pure juniper berries. I see you're using DV flavors, have you picked up any of the Flavors Monks gin line yet? I'm still slowly getting through a big batch of testers but they smell promising. Also DV Dandelion and Burdock is very reminiscent of those herbal tones from absinthe or chartreuse, maybe in conjunction with something else. This sounds fun, I might have to theorycraft later
i got over excited and lost track of your ideas, but I landed somewhere prettty cool! Check it out Most won't have/be interested in most of these flavors but it's a good test drive for that gin
These all sound amazing! Hate to say it, but, if I finally break down and pick up a big bottle of DV Absinthe, I might grab testers of Dandelion & Burdock, Sasparilla, and Sherbert Lemon, too.
And, yes, please, let me know how the Flavors Monks gin line turn out! Can we expect a review? Are they a UK vendor as well? (I'm in the US, but gradually getting more willing to eat the shipping for a supply of a flavor as amazing as that damn Absinthe.)
FM is from the UK, Chef's carries them. They have the best shipping prices internationally. A review in a few weeks of the full line is likely once my hand heals and it isn't a huge hassle to wash all my bottles. I still need to test the Sarsaparilla and Sherbert Lemon, I have them sitting here on my desk, though they smell rather promising. I've been slowly chipping away at the DV line and have yet to find a dud.
This makes me sooooo happy. Dandelion and Burdock is my all time favourite taste for carbonated drinks. Can't get it here without artificial sweeteners which I can't stand. I'm definately looking into DV.
You really are trying to make yourself crazy, aren't you?
Chartreuse = DV Absinthe mostly + FLV Lovage + maybe some INW Cactus and FA Zen Garden... Possibly another booze flavor As well to fire it up wildly. FA Whiskey?
> Usually I'm that PITA that will labor over the drinks menu if a place has a really good line-up of signature cocktails
Haha I did this very same thing last night before finally settling on a rye whiskey old fashioned.
I would probably be like this, but finding anything top shelf out here is all but impossible. I had to explain to my bartender how to pour my Whiskey Neat, then the savage reached for Jack Daniels.
Oh, my god, you're right. What am I doing?!
If my brain had a spirit animal, it would surely look like THIS.
ive been working on a white sangria recipe.. it tastes accurate but a bit harsh trying to tone that down...
fa wine champagne/ jf fuji / tfa kentucky bourbon/ inw 2 apples/ fa pear
Do you know what's causing the harshness? I'm sure it's not JF Fuji or FA Pear. Really cool profile to try and perfect, by the way.
not sure the inw 2 apples is only .25%..im thinking the wine champagne might be too high? 3.5%?
I've been working on a peach whiskey profile, it's still a major work in progress. FA whiskey isn't coming through as strongly as I'd like, I'll post the most recent revision after work if anyone would like to try and tackle this :)
I'd push FLV Bourbon. That'll get your whiskey and then some.
Have you seen this one yet?
I actually haven't, missing the lemon mix and honey peach - more to add to the list.
Just dug out my last version for testing again and it's a little harsh on the first few hits, the peach is okay throughout but once the harshness subsides the whiskey flavor just blends in. FA peach - 3% FA white peach - 1.5% INW peach - 1% FA whiskey - 2% TFA Kentucky bourbon- 2% FA oak wood - .5% TFA toasted marshmallow - 1% INW vanilla shisha - 1% FA coconut - .5% Total flavoring - 12.5%
I figured the whiskey would be a little sharp so the toasted marshmallow, vanilla, and coconut are there to round it out- though it may be doing too much of that. May take out all 3 and just do 1% FA marshmallow with 1.5% FW whipped cream instead. Any pointers are definitely appreciated!
I've never tried FA whiskey or TFA Oakwood, so bear that in mind when considering this pointer. Those two are a big part of your recipe and I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to them... But TFA Toasted Marshmallow and Kentucky Bourbon is such a great paring that I'd hate to break them up. Also FA Coconut is such a dry authentic coconut that I never would have thought to try to use it to round anything out. Some other coconuts maybe, but not that one.
Not really a cocktail but something I worked on a while.
I have worked on a Sake type recipe, I'll see if I can find my notes, I haven't mixed anything for a while. I only remember that it involved a dry FW cereal (can't remember which one atm but might be rice krispies) and a Rum flavoring.
The biggest problem was toning down the fruitiness of the rum, if anyone knows a good alcohol with no fruitiness or smokiness I'd like to know.
Sake! That's really cool. Please share it.
Could just be my naive and indiscriminate palate, wouldn't describe FA's rum as fruity or smoky at all. Sweet AF, much too sweet really for what you're going for, but not fruity.
YAAAASSS! I got a few liquor flavors that I haven't tested yet so I will definitely be browsing this later tonight when I get ready to mix something up.
I know what you're doing with those and if you pull it off, it'll be a worthy follow-up to GTKK, IMO. Hopefully this thread will, if not by tonight, at least be of service to you by the end of the week.
My fingers are crossed that someone has an amaretto sour or whiskey sour!
I don't know exactly which other ingredients you'd need - especially which ingredient will be best for the boozy kick (whiskey, brandy, rum?), but for amaretto I'd start with FA Marzipan + a liquor flavor and build from there, experimenting with adding things like almond, caramel, and vanilla. Sour? Just some lemon and lime, maybe INW Lemon Mix and one of the FA limes.
I just finished ordering almost all the flavours you recommended in the other thread, but I might give this a try on the next order. When it shows up i'll have some vanillas and Kentucky Bourbon, but none of the rest. This hobby gets expensive fast!
I have a great recipe formulated recently for an elderflower mimosa. Grapefruit juice champagne and St. Germaine. It's a really nice drink along the lines of a traditional mimosa with less in your face sweetness more floral and bitter notes. For a 120ml bottle the ratios are: 3ml Grapefruit 3ml Champagne .5 ml St. Germaine 2ml Black Tea
If anyone is interested I can include the brands of each flavor used, or give more info on why I use the ratios I use.
Yes, more information please!
FA grapefruit FA Wine champagne Falorah elderflower (it's the only one i've found and it's pretty good) FA black tea
The black tea was added a way to smooth the flavors out. I try to follow a three major component model similar to perfume: base, carry, high note. the flavor is really nice and bright and throaty without too much sweetness (still sweet though)
I'm just getting into the weeds a bit with booze flavors. Picked up the Flavor Monks Gin line to check out, but I'm still a bit slow on the note taking to get far into this yet. Commenting now to remind myself to revisit. I'm ready for the Teas next week though.
Cranberry Gin Tonic
| Mfg | Flavor | % | | :--: | :-- | :-- | | TFA | Cranberry | 4 | | FA | Gin | 2 | | FA | Lime Tahity Cold Pressed | .5 | | FA | Wine Champagne | 1.5 |
I also add 1% sweetener
Steep time "1 day" it's a SNV cocktail vape based on this EPI Recipe that I fell in love with years ago.
TFA Cranberry It is a fresh cranberry vs FLV that tastes more like craisins.
FA Gin this is my favorite booze right now. It is juniper, coriander, with licorice basically woody with some spice. It will blow you away at first so beginners should start closer to 1.5%.
Wine Champagne is used in place of tonic however after a week steep it will taste more like a funky cheap wine.
There you are! I did this FOTW for you, 'bout time you showed up.
Thanks for sharing your recipe! Don't have the FA Wine Champagne or TFA Cranberry for this but both are high up on my list of flavors to try. I hope I remember to make this when I get them. Also hope you repost this to the Monthly Recipe thread, or even give it it's own post if you can squeeze out some more detailed notes, for visibility, since FOTW starts over tomorrow.
And the actual drink sounds like it would be just the thing to sip on while trying to tune out bickering relatives post-Turkey Day dinner, so thank you for that.
Well I was celebrating my birthday in Vegas. Stopped by the DIY Flavor Shack for Holy Vanilla and Yellow Mango. They gave me samples of Blue Raspberry, Cream, green apple, green guava and yogurt too.
This is a great post I knew people would share ;-)
Happy Birthday! They frequently drifted off topic and wanted to talk about actual beverages, but there has been a ton of great sharing for sure. Excellent choice for a FOTW. Let me know if you have one for the week after next. Right now I'm trying to choose between Cucumber, Chocolate, Pomegranate, Passion Fruit, Pistachio, Pecan, Apricot, Guava, Kiwi, Butterscotch, Coffee, Raisin, Savory, Peanut Butter II, Grape II, Strawberry II, Custard II, (Non-Custard) Creams II (or maybe call that one Milk?), or Cereal II and have to pick by tomorrow morning with no guidance or suggestions from anyone.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist on some notes on those yellow mango and green guava flavors.