Specs:
- percentage used: 3%
- 3 week steep
- PG/VG ratio: 50/50
- vaped on NarDA rda, A1 Kanthal, 24 gauge, spaced coil, 0.96 ohm, 12-20 watts
Type of Tobacco */u/SumOldCant has inspired me to add a new category to my reviews that will denote the type of tobacco it is. This will be either Non-Aromatic or Aromatic and I will include whether it's a true tobacco leaf taste or not.
- Aromatic pipe style tobacco: This has no real tobacco leaf flavor, instead it's meant to be a topping for pipe style blends. If you need clarification, look up aromatic vs non-aromatic tobacco.
Flavor Properties:
- aromatic
- rich and complex
- thick
- smooth
- slightly sweet
Relatable Flavors:
- caramel (that's what I noticed first but it takes a back seat after a few puffs)
- hint of vanilla
- touch of rum
- dash of spice (cinnamon maybe?)
- ice wine type of sweetness but not sickly
- cocoa on the tail end of the exhale
- woodsy notes way in the background
- some kind of dark fruit like a plum or raisin wafting in and out of the profile
Mouth Feel:
- medium to heavy density
Off Flavors:
- If I literally sniff the coil I detect an ever so slight plastic-y smell that doesn't seem to translate to the vapour itself. You really have to be looking for something to point out for this to be even noticeable.
Position In A Recipe:
- front of the class
- It's so complex that I think best approach is to mix with flavors that will accentuate specific elements of the profile. There's a lot of room to play with top notes and bases but it feels like Am4a needs space in the mix and might be hard to tame if using as a support flavor.
Suggested Percentage:
- 2-3% range
Pairings:
- custards
- creams
- stone fruits
- apple
- coconut
- rum/cognac/wine
- chocolate
- dark tobaccos
Conclusion:
- Definite keeper ladies and gentlemen
- I don't usually go in for aromatics, but this one is a must have. I'll vape it after 9pm with a cognac on the side.
- Am4a feels like RY4's cooler, more sophisticated older cousin who drives around town with the top down. Guys wanna be him and ladies wanna be with him.
- Use as a standalone or invite some friends.
- This flavor is a real thinker. I find myself vaping away, pondering the notes I'm tasting, trying to figure it out. There's some notes I can't quite put my finger on. Certain things pop out at you and then recede back into the profile. This shit is fun to vape.
- Here's another user's synopsis that I pulled from ELR. It sums things up nicely..
"Am4a is slightly sweet and oh so smooth! Upon the first few vapes I detect a darker pipe style tobacco, with faint hints of chocolate or cocoa, roasted coffee bean, vanilla. As the vapor extends I believe I detect possible hints of caramel, rum, and maybe even a raisin back there too. The longer I vape it all the flavors all blend into a smooth and almost creamy dark pipe vape, with the vanilla and coffee/caramel intertwining into one in the background, leaving a lingering lighter note of chocolate/cocoa as the tobacco shines through it all."
Recipe Suggestion: This is a good 'get to know ya' recipe for Am4a, but you'll have lots of ideas of your own once you're better acquainted.
*important: Wayne is def not a tobacco head, he claims this tastes like a cig but it most definitely does not. The second link below is my flavor notes on his recipe. Check em out if you want to know what you're getting into. It's good, have mixed with FA Almond and CAP Toasted Almond, prefer the Toasted.
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http://diyordievaping.com/2015/08/13/marble-27/
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http://e-liquid-recipes.com/recipe/715460/Marble%2027%20by%20%5BENYAWREKLAW%5D%20*my%20notes
I get mainly a chocolate/cocoa note from this, not really tobacco.
I use it at 2% in an RY4 mix that I make.
I wish i had the trained/developed sense of taste and smell that all of you flava reviewers have. I appreciate all the good work that you guys do, so thank you for this and all of your other reviews. They have helped so much in my journey.
Yes, yes, I will make a note in the review that this is not a 'true tobacco taste' type of tobacco. It's a topping that would be used in an aromatic pipe tobacco. Thanks for the reminder!
As for tasting, the exercise of writing the notes is what trains the brain to detect subtle flavors. It's like you taste something and think, "what the fuck is that?", then a light bulb goes on and you realize what it is. After a while it gets easier. I can't recommend enough how valuable writing your own notes will be. Even if you don't feel like posting them, it will definitely make you a better mixer.
Pro Tip: I use Evernote to keep track of all my stand alone tests and recipe development. It's super easy to organize stuff, it's free and it works on desktop and phone. Try it out homie.
> I use it at 2% in an RY4 mix that I make.
...oh yeah?
willing to share?
ok, I can share. I think this is pretty good, but still needs work. %'s could probs be dialed down a bit.
Am4A (INW) - 2% - Adds a chocolate/cocoa note,but subtle. When I ran out of Am4A and tried to make this without it, the recipe was just lacking IMO.
Caramel (FA) - 2% - because the caramel in RY4 double is thin, not quite full.
Custard (FA) - 1% - for weight and mouthfeel, smoothness and creaminess. Could use CAP or TFA. I preferred with FA.
Hazelnut (TFA) - 0.75% - I love this hazelnut, and it goes great with Caramel. Could use FW, probs at 1%-1.5% at a guess.
RY4 Double (TFA) - 6% - Good flavour, I need deeper caramel and more tobacco from it, which is why this recipe came about. Could probs drop this % a bit if it looks too high.
VBIC (TFA) - 2% - for weight, mouthfeel, creamy vanilla sweetness. This and the custard are the creamy base.
Western (TFA) - 3% - I was originally using a local (Australian) companies' tobacco blend at 3%, but ran out and am trying to fill it's spot with Western. It works well, and so does Hangsen Deluxe Tobacco, but i will experiment further. Red Burley (FLV) would probs be perfect. I want more tobacco from RY4, so I'm boosting it here. Use any tobacco really at 1-3%, depending on the tobacco you're using, and your personal tastes.
Hope you enjoy.
awesome! thanks! i love ry4s and i'm a big fan of am4a, so i'm very interested to check this out.
it's no wonder you need more tobacco from ry4d, since there's none in it. it always cracks me up when people describe it as a light tobacco note. it is literally only ethyl maltol, cyclotene, PG, vanillin, & water.
I think I'm going to have to revisit this one at a lower percent (my test was at 5%) and keep your tasting notes in mind to try to pick those things up. This was another one of those flavors that reminded me of cough medicine. Not really any cherry flavor, but more like that feeling on the tongue that just makes me think cough syrup. Maybe there's some volatile that a few different flavors use that I'm sensitive to or something. I really want to like them, but I just can't. I'm going to put all those flavors aside and try again starting at 1% and see how that goes.
There must be something in there that your tastebuds are opposed to. Only thing that makes sense. I guess it may be possible to relearn how to like them. But I know that certain flavors just don't agree with me. For instance, TFA Cubano, I fuckin hate it. And I believe it's FA Perique, they share some common ingredient and I just can't stand either one of them. I keep thinking I just haven't figured out how to use them yet, but every time I revisit, it's the same ol song. I sincerely hope you have better luck than I did. Especially with Am4a cuz it's a really cool flavor. But if it doesn't work for you, then on to the next!
I'm thinking it might be whatever is in them that you describe as leathery. Have you tried the Dunhill flavor from either INW or ECX? I get it from both of those too. I'm worried I'm going to get it from INW Cavendish too. Haven't tasted yet, but it kind of smells like it.
I had Cubano and INW Cuba Cigar TA and thought they smelled alike so I'd save a few bucks and just use Cubano. That didn't work out too well for me haha.
I don't find INW Cuban TA and TFA Cubano to be similar at all. I actually have trouble tasting INW Cuban TA tho. For me it just drys out the mix which is useful so sometimes I layer it at 1% underneath my main cigar flavor. Cubano, on the other hand, ruins any mix for me, even at 0.5%.
Haven't tried Dunhill. Is it SC and FE? If it's leathery (to me, cherry to you) sounds like I'd like it.
I wonder if Bitter Wizard would change your perception of those flavors. Apparently it works by somehow blocking your tongue's ability to detect sweetness.
I love it standalone and just recently started mixing with it, going for something similar to Coval's Area 51 using it as the tobacco:
- Honey (SOL) 0.8%
- Raisin (TFA) 1.5%
- Graham Cracker Clear (TFA) 3.5%
- AM4A (INW) 2%
Also I agree it couldn't be further from a cigarette.
I'll have to sub for FA Honey but might give this a go today. Looks interesting.
If you end up mixing it I'd love to hear your thoughts. I kept reading TFA Raisin is ass but ended up grabbing it anyway, and now I'm fairly certain it's the one in Area 51. I've never tried FA Honey though so I can't help with percentages, SOL is very realistic and at 0.8% in this mix it gives that honey sweetness and a subtle hint of flavor.
Will hit you back for sure when I mix this. Need a good reason to try TFA Raisin. I mixed a tester and it got weird, but I think it was at 3% so probably user error. I want a good raisin so bad to mimic the smell of fresh tobacco. I'll keep FA Honey low and try to find some notes to get an idea where to start.
I just recently purchased Am4a to specifically mix up the Marlboro 27 recipe to try and get my sis off the stinkies. While it is a good recipe, it was missing the "tobacco" aspect of it. I dropped the Am4a to 4% and threw in TFA Western at 2% and it is much closer to a cig, like how a freshly opened pack smells not necessarily tastes. Now, my palate is nowhere as refined as yours, so take it with a grain of salt. Great notes BTW and I look forward to reading your tobacco reviews.
Ya for an analog cig I wouldn't reach for Am4a at all really, but I do find Western has a good tobacco feel to it. I usually pair it with Red Burley. I throw it in my cigar mix too with SC Cohiba and some other stuff and it works well. Analog cig is my white whale. All my attempts so far have been either not close, or waay off lol. I usually settle for cigar and pipe mixes in the meantime. Cigar seems to be the easiest for some reason.