Congratulations to eJuice mixmaster u/Philosaphucker! Grack Juice was the runaway winner in our "Best Recipe of 2016" contest.
Grack Juice is... well, it's unlike anything else I've ever vaped, and that's such a wonderful thing to experience when the end result is so refreshingly pleasant. While the rest of us are tweaking custards, desserts, fruits, and tobaccos, Philosaphucker took a dive off the deep end into something that I hope inspires us all to think way outside the box when we sit down with our flavors and scales and syringes. I've read through the reviews on ATF, where the best one described Grack as similar to vaping a Dali painting, but IMHO the best description of this mix was in t /u/ID10-T's nomination post, where he wrote:
>It's a work of abstract art with no culinary reference whatsoever.
Some personal notes:
- I normally do not like vapes with koolada or menthol. I mixed versions of this with and without the koolada, and the koolada IS essential to the magic.
- This vape is probably the best palate cleanser I've ever used. It will reset your taste buds with one puff.
- I personally mixed most of the recipes nominated in this post, and although I did not vote (in order to remain neutral), I'm glad that this mix won.
- Yeah, I mixed most of the entries in this contest. Do yourself a favor and mix most of the entries in this contest. There is some GOOD stuff nominated, even if it didn't get a lot of votes.
We had a LOT of great nominations this year - of all the ones I've mixed, there's not a dud in the bunch. I will say the leader board looks a little incestuous - /u/A nominates /u/B; /u/B nominates /u/C; /u/C nominates /u/D; and /u/D nominates /u/A - but IMO that's a great thing: our best mixers are acknowledging each other's achievements. By building each other up we all get a little better.
SO:
Congrats to our winner, sporting a new flair. Congrats to all who were nominated: somebody loved your contribution so much that they went out of their way to give it recognition. I though about listing runners-up, but there are too many to list. Just go check the post. And a BIG thanks to all of you who participate regularly in this subreddit. We have become such a great community in the past few years and I see only great things for the future.
The contest post is now locked from voting / comments, and I've turned contest mode off so you can sort as desired.
NOTE: Please remember that offers to buy and sell e-juice are strictly forbidden in this sub. I've reached out to Philo and he has no interest in selling any, so don't bother. And if I ever see someone in this sub trying to sell someone else's recipe, that's a banning.
Thanks for the nomination /u/ID10-T. I am glad that I just so happened to create something that so many people were able to enjoy. I never expected or intended this kind of reception. There were so many awesome recipes in that thread. You guys/gals rock! I am blown away by this, in all honesty so as a humble form of repayment, I figure that I owe you all some development notes.
I never set out to create a specific profile with this recipe, but there were a few things that I wanted to accomplish. Mainly, I wanted to mess with /u/ID10-T psychologically. I respect him as a mixer, but even more so as a community member. His advice for new mixers is on-point and plentiful. His work in the 'what can I make with my flavors' threads really makes him stand out as an expert in theory crafting. Moreover, his reviews and recipe descriptions are incredibly fun to read.
Here are some of my personal thoughts on theory crafting. Theory crafting recipes operates on a set of assumptions about the concentrates under consideration (e.g. what they taste like at certain percentages, how they interact with other concentrates, etc.). The best assumptions are based on perceptual data and this comment here, along with the ensuing discussion, seemed like a ripe opportunity to challenge some assumptions and thereby improve his craft.
Another thing I wanted to do was create a balanced and delicious recipe, so I theory-crafted an experience.
INW Cactus @2.25% and INW Grape(s)@ 4%:
I chose these flavors at these percentages to build my recipe around. Cactus sits at 2.25% simply because ID10-T hasn't pushed it past 2% yet up until that point. INW Grapes sits at 4% because /u/tranceinate suggested it as a stand-alone percentage and ID10-T has already expressed that he would be getting the flavor. I single flavor tested INW Grapes at 4% and felt that Cactus would fit in nicely, so the pairing was born. This was the inspired part of the recipe. The rest that follows was a matter of thinking about balancing the different notes in the flavors the and overall feel of the vape.
INW Raspberry @0.5%: INW Raspberry (Malina) was chosen next to offer a strong punch to compete with that crazy cactus and grape combo. I didn't go any higher because I didn't want it to try to take over the mix.
TFA Dragonfruit @ 1%: The already chosen flavors are very strong in character, so I used the dragonfruit as a blending agent. It was a pretty straight-forward addition for me.
CAP Sweet Strawberry @ 1.5%: This is my go to sweetener for fruity blends. It serves to balance the recipe by sweetening up some of the earthy notes from INW Grapes. The strawberry flavor also fills some space right below the top notes. I tried subbing this with JF Sweet Strawberry when it came out later, but it hits your palate differently and didn't seem to balance as nicely.
FA Meringue @ 1%: At the time, I had recently started playing with using this flavor as a sweetener. Light and Milky, I thought it would play nicely and aid the overall mouthfeel of the vape.
Koolada @0.75%: I simply like a cooling effect with my vape sometimes. This is the only component that I consider optional. That said, the koolada does contribute to the overall experience of the vape in a weird and wonderful way. If you have tried it with the Koolada, you may be missing when you try it without.
Recipe thought out, I sat down, visited ELR on my phone, drafted it out, mixed it, shook it up, and then vaped it. So there is my story of intentionally creating a recipe that tastes like it does without having an outside frame of reference.
Is Grack Juice an accident? -- Yes, absolutely. It is a complete fluke that this flavor exists.
Did I create Grack Juice by accident? -- Absolutely not. It came about from experiencing my concentrates and studying the contributions of you wonderful people.
Shouts out to all of the other abstract mixers! You weirdos know who you are.
Thanks,
-Philosaphucker
congrats on the win man! It's such an awesomely odd recipe. Easily the most unique and innovative one of the year.
Congrats on the win, definitely well deserved! I do have a question though...
Does this mean that you have discovered that spite is the secret ingredient to amazing abstract eliquid? Or is it specifically spiting ID10-T? I must know for research.
Thank you! Spite /u/ID10-T. Do it with every fiber of your being. Practice this until it is your default position when you approach a recipe. It should be the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about when you go to sleep. If you dream, dream of this as it is truly the only thing that matters. If we manage to make FA Pineapple taste good, we may be able to irreparably unbalance him.
Congrats! As a hopeful abstract mixer, I'll be referencing these notes repeatedly to attempt to utilize the concepts.
Thanks! Okay with that in mind, be sure to get to know your concentrates. Single-flavor testing is great, but also be sure to try them in mixes. This will give you a great sense of 'what goes where' (which was largely what those notes were about).
Congrats man. Great stuff. INW Grape and INW Cactus are amazing together and your recipe really fills in everything nicely.
congrats and thanks for my third ADV witch isnt easy to find I been so lucky to have found this sub I dont know were my 500$ diy order would still be siting with nothing to mix lmao lord knows I depend on mixers like your self.
Congrats to the only mixer who buys INW Cactus in 55 gallon drums! You're the one who inspired me into the juicy depths of the cactus abyss, and I'll forever be grateful. Seems INW Grape will be my next new flavor to try....phuck me!
Congrats!!! This juice sounds amazing...Wish there was a way for me to try thithis! (not a DIY'er)
Well thanks! Hey, DIY is fun and easy and cheap in comparison to buying commercial juice. I HIGHLY recommend checking out the material in the sidebar and giving it a shot. There is a great support system here and weekly threads for new mixer questions that are very active. Join us!
congrats dude... grack juice is such a unique flavor and definetly worthy of recipe of the year. The wife and I vape this consistently and get different notes every hit. Keeps us intrigued and never bored. Congratz
Great job Philo! And good shit to everyone who put this contest together. Said it before, I love this sub and this community. It's stuff like this that makes it fun.
Thank you! This community is freaking amazing. Oh and thanks for your suggestions on the cactus-tobacco. I am currently placing that on hold until I get the occasion to order more concentrates. I absolutely need that INW Dark for Pipe.
Just dropped a review for Black For Pipe. It's pretty wow. If you're enjoying the tobacco vibes, pick both up. I'm psyched to see what you come up with once a "For Pipe" is in the equation. Definitely willing to mix v2 up and give some feedback. It's a fun little project and something I would never get around to doing if you weren't spearheading it. Cactus is soo far from tobacco, it's fun to try and make them get along.
Congrats /u/Philosaphucker you definitely deserve the win. And now I won't have to feel bad when I beat you in the DoD comp ;)
Really, though, your recipes are inspiring. They're not just great exercises in creativity (as they appear 'on paper') they're palate expanding experiences that seem to broaden the horizons of what's possible with our concentrates. Every time I mix one of your recipes I find myself contemplating a hundred new ideas.
I look forward to all the awesome stuff you'll come up with this year.
Thank you! It would be an honor to get stomped by you and the rest of this group.
It makes me incredibly happy to hear that. We have a unique opportunity in vaping to enjoy flavor in otherwise impossible ways. It should be a big year!
Congratulations on the win, /u/Philosaphucker! This recipe broke the mold and really opened up the immense possibilities of mixing, and I hope it's a harbinger of many crazy flavors to come. Let's get weird!
Thank you so much! I know there have been other people making weird stuff (yourself included) that haven't gotten the attention they have deserved. I sincerely hope that this changes. Hit me up if you want to get weird together because that would be a freaking honor. Try Glaistig everybody!
Aw, man, you're the best! ❤️
I'd be honored to get weird with you! I'm dying to make something with absinthe again, but, I find myself reaching for the same pairings a lot. I'd love a fresh set of senses and ideas to team up with.
These percentages ok with 50/50 vg pg seems a little high?
Well done /u/Philosaphucker . Well deserved. Not only because I can't put it down, but because of the complexity, changing nature of it.
Congrats brother! I am excited to try this recipe. I made almost every other recipe nominated but was wary of the Grack Juice. The ingredients seem risky but that is why the recipe stands out. Enjoy the win man.
Congrats!
Thanks!
You're welcome! I'll have to mix it up soon. I've taken a long break from DiY for the past 6 months. I was at a stalemate just mixing uninspired juice. It cool to see a recipe that isn't drawing inspiration from the run of the mill foods and beverages. Something truly unique.
Congrats! Seems like I'm the only one who doesn't like it. But its probably the grape ... when I smelled it, I was sure Im gonna hate it.
It sucks that you didn't like it, but I really appreciate the congratulations all the same. Thanks for taking a chance on it!
I screwed up, the meringue bottle was squishier than the previous 3 and I doubled it by accident.
However, REALLY enjoying this recipe.
This is certainly one of the best juices I've had.
Thanks /u/philosaphucker!
Guess I'm in the minority because I mixed up Grack and I can't stand it. I've tried and tried from shake and vape to a month steep and everything in between. Sigh. Oh well.
[walks away kicking rocks]
Welp, I'm sorry that it didn't agree with you but I appreciate you giving it a shot!
Cactus doesn't agree with me...i get a soapy taste from it. For some reason INW grapes has dry taste to it. Not knocking your work by any means, just didn't work out for me. I have weird tastes. A lot the popular recipes just don't hit the spot for me anymore. Maybe the vape journey is nearing its end for me.
Congrats to the winner!
Someone mix me up some of this at 0.75mg/mL and ship it to me asap so I can judge, too.
If you're serious, I'd be happy to. PM me your current longitude and latitude and PG/VG ratio and it will be on its way.
Thank you, sir. I am both strangely horrified and excited about the prospect of you trying one of my recipes. It is good to see you back around!
Give it a few months you'll find the downvote button again, lol.
Yeah I saw this when someone emailed it to me before and I've been wanting to try it because I like exciting flavors a LOT. My current ADV is rose based without any floral notes and I can't get enough of it (oddly I also use koolada for contrasting mouthfeel and not minty). I love the use of FA Meringue to offset the koolada somewhat and I'm super curious to taste it in action because that background pairing never occurred to me but the science makes a LOT of sense. I know DoD Wayne paired them a few years ago for a smoothie vape and it was stunning but I never made the connection.
Haha I am not much of a downvoter, but I am looking forward to some of that trademark snark. Are the flavors for that ADV readily attainable? I have been looking at floral flavors a lot harder lately because there seem to be good opportunities to bend them in interesting ways. It legitimately surprised me how much I enjoyed the interaction between the koolada and the meringue. The transistion on the mouthfeel is akin to something like a bass drop.
Congrats man Just mixed this up, and I'm not a grape man but this is something I'm enjoying . Thanks man !!
Thanks! People seem to hate most grape flavors. I recommend giving INW Grapes a single flavor test at 4% to see how you feel. You might be able to imagine other uses for it. Oh and check out /u/wh1skeyk1ng 's Grape ice cream cone.
Appreciate the mention! This whole past month I thought about your grape to koolada ratio and wanted to say something, but your recipe is excellent and generally preferred over the extreme cream of my GICCC better known as "Dank" because of the smell. Grack is just mind boggling in itself, you basically combined 4 of my 5 favorite fruit flavors, tossed in the sacred TFA Dragonfruit emulsifier, and a touch of sweetner (FA Meringue) minus the cancerous coil destroying part, and my preferred amount of Koolada. If you had used FA Bilberry too, I would wonder how you got in my head, because it's the only flavor missing from my list of high consumption fruit flavors.
Can we got the monthly recipe thread stickies again now?
After seeing the recipe for grack juice I specifically ordered all the flavorings for it because it sounded so good. They came in the mail today and I mixed up my first bottle and I have to say I am not let down in the slightest. Every hit confuses my mouth so much that I need to take another and I mean that in the best way possible. Thanks for your exploratory mixing and for giving me a new ADV! Recipe of the year is deserved. Thank you /u/philosaphucker
If anyone can mix me up a bottle of this, I'd happily pay!