Thanks to the oddballs who joined in last week's Flavor of The Week discussion about odd berries.
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.
This week's flavor is: Shisha.... INW Shisha everything. How to use them, when to use them, best recipes with shisha flavors.
It was an unusual request for FOTW, but all requests are welcome here!
Here's a Podcast where I talk about Shisha flavors with co-host /u/CheebaSteeba and temporary co-host /u/skiddlzninja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSITYZYzGa0&feature=youtu.be
Past FOTW posts can be found here
Prepare yourselves, next week's flavor of the week will be: Dulce de Leche
The week after that will be: Grape
The week after that will be: Slushy (courtesy of /u/Tiptup300: Slushy in general. A thick crushed ice drink. Includes Red Slushy, Blue Slushy as in Blue Raspberry, Coke Slushy, Frappes. Snow Cones.)
The week after that will be: Bubblegum
The week after that will be: Melon
The week after that will be: Florals
The week after that will be: Blue Raspberry
The week after that will be: Soda/Pop/Cola/Coke
The week after that will be: Jackfruit
The week after that will be: Amaretto
The week after that will be: Oats/Grains
The week after that will be: Frostings/Icings
The week after that will be: Waffles
The week after that will be: Stones
The week after that will be: Marshmallow
The week after that will be: Aromatic Tobaccos
The week after that will be: Non-aromatic Tobaccos
The week after that will be: Tobacco Additives
The week after that will be: Champagne
The week after that will be: Butter
The week after that will be: Banana
The week after that will be: Almond
The week after that will be: Apple
The week after that will be: Cake
The week after that will be: Pumpkin
The week after that will be: Plantain
The week after that will be: Avocado
The week after that will be: Pandoro
The week after that will be: Pancakes
The week after that will be: Pie Crust
The week after that will be: ??? You tell me. Please take this opportunity to suggest one that interests you (or send me a PM to do that).
The question is, are there any other Shisha flavors besides strawberry and vanilla that are worth using?
I've been a huge fan of INW Strawberry Shisha for a long time, like most are. It plays really well with both candy and cream profiles. It's a incredibly unique strawberry flavor and seems to not fade or lose potency but only the sharpness it has after initially mixing. I recommend it to any strawberry fan who hasn't checked it out to pick up a bottle asap!
I just recently finally got a bottle of INW Shisha Vanilla and while it is very enjoyable I do not feel like it can't be replaced. DIYFS Holy Vanilla still is the king IMO. INW's Shisha Vanilla seems to bring a stronger cream to the forefront than DIYFS Holy Vanilla does.
What about holy vanilla with shisha vanilla
What is this madness!!?? Let's not get too crazy.
But seriously, that looks tasty I'll have to mix some of that up soon.
I'm not a fan of banana but I picked up some Shisha to make some juice for a buddy and he loves it. It's much closer to foamy banana sweets than real banana.
Do you use this solo? At what %? (Yes, I am using the search function).
I think Holy V tastes better... god, it's so good... but there are applications where Shisha V is going to be a better choice. It's creamier, the vanilla is a bit lighter and not as spicy, and I get a very slight hint of something like baked note in Holy V.
As for your question, I don't know. I'm going to try a couple of new ones this week (Orange and Punch). There are bound to be a couple of others that are worthwhile, just based on the odds alone because there are so many to choose from: Apple, Banana, Bilberry, Brandy Cocoa (?), Chai, Cherry, Chili, Chili & Hot Spice, Chocolate Hazelnut, Cinnamon, Coconut, Fresh Mint, Gingerbread, Golden Apple, Lemon, Lime, Mai Tai, Mango, Orange, Peppermint, Pineapple, Punch, Raspberry, Rosemary, Sex on the Beach...
I guess I didn't realize they had that many of them. The usual vendors I go through don't have the whole line it seems. For those who have made flavor reviews for some of the other Shisha flavors have made them out to be lackluster. Hopefully more people can chime in on whether or not these lesser known flavors are worth while or not.
I figured, out of anyone else here, you would school us on if INW Shisha Mango was worth a shit or not. Is the master of 'Flavor of the Week' unprepared?
Unprepared, and, I might as well admit it, afraid. After trying the regular INW Mango (it's so bad) and reading /u/concreteriver 's review on Shisha Mango, I'm not in any huge hurry to put some Shisha Mango in my facehole just to dissent or concur with that review. Not that I won't get liquid couraged up on some mango-ritas and go for it eventually, but definitely afraid it's going to be a waste of money and leave me needing a tongue scrape and sinus rinse. But thanks for the reminder that I have a few other mangos here that I am looking forward to testing, DIYFS Yellow Mango and Purilum Goldeneye, and to a lesser extent since it's already had some lackluster reviews, RFSC Mango.
I'm guessing these are supposed to mimic actually hookah tobacco flavors? I used to manage a hookah lounge and recognized the name Sex on the Beach (by Starbuzz?) but totally forget how it tastes.
Like pretty much everyone else, I have Shisha Strawberry, which tastes like this, and Shisha Vanilla, which reminds me of a melted one of these, and some recipes using them, such as Strawberry Daiquiri and Longing.
Based on those two and reading some flavor reviews, I think the common thing with these flavors is that they're supposed to have some sort of syrupy quality.
I've picked up Shisha Orange, which doesn't have a flavor review for it yet, and Shisha Punch, for things that I haven't gotten around to doing and haven't tried them yet. I'll single-flavor test them both this week and report back.
Shisha Punch is not at all what I was expecting. Go take a whiff if you haven't already. I don't have any plans to mix it up since it isn't at all what I was looking for.
I have taken a whiff. It smells like several different spices plus a bunch of orange peel.
FWIW >Shisha Punch is not a fruit flavor so don't be fooled by it. It's more like a pleasant blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardmom kinda like a mellow chai tea flavor
Shisha Vanilla + RF Pistachio SC = Magic.
This is one of my personal favorite recipes, and also one of the only ones with a longer steep.
I call this one Behemoth. Because it's big flavors in your face! Rich, full vape flavor. This and Sad Panda's Apple bacco are my favorite tobacco vapes by far.
2% FW Salted Caramel
2.5% RF Pistachio SC
3% TFA Bavarian Cream
5% INW Vanilla Shisha
TFA Pistachio is a meh substitute. RF Pistachio SC is a gem.
> This and Sad Panda's Apple bacco are my favorite tobacco vapes by far.
Tobacco vapes?
If anyone is curious, I received and single-flavor tested INW Shisha Drop Tobacco last week. I have the remaining 9ml of the sample (mixed 3%, I believe, but I'd have to verify with my notes) steeping right now and I will revisit it in a couple of weeks. It's a hard flavor to describe, for me, as my palate is not as refined as many of you other mixers. It definitely is not a standalone flavor, and I haven't tried mixing it with anything yet, but I intend to try this recipe, and maybe some simpler concoctions of my own with it. It is like a wet, dark and molasses-y earthy taste with a suggestion of tobacco. I have smoked a lot of hookah, and I find the strawberry & vanilla shishas to be very accurate representations of the Al Fakher Shisha Tobaccos, minus the actual tobacco part. I am looking forward to trying the Shisha Drop + Shisha Vanilla/Strawberry. I do wish there were more Shisha style flavors--- there is one in particular called "Fresh..!" by Al Fakher that would be delicious as a vape.
Edit: I am also considering using the Shisha Drop, and perhaps another booster tobacco, to create my favorite Shisha of all time as an e-liquid. Sweet, dark tobacco and dark berries (FA Forest Mix) with notes of citrus and basil. u/ChemicalBurnVictim??? =)
My impression of Shisha Strawberry is like a combined TFA Strawberry and TFA Strawberry Ripe, just a bit more flavorful and less sweet. It's a good flavor, but it didn't blow me out of the water.
Shisha Vanilla is interesting, I find it quite sweet and creamy with a rather subtle vanilla flavor. Anything above 1% completely mutes the mix in my experience, 0.5-0.75% seems to be the sweet spot.
Shisha Orange is similar to FW Blood Orange, but I need to test it more in actual mixes. Shisha Apple is very fresh, like juicy red and green apples, but surprisingly weak for INW. Shisha Bilberry is a bit odd, similar to FA Bilberry, but sweeter, not as tart, almost fermented, alcoholic, like sherry.
I don't like hypes but I will give anything with positive reviews a shot. The Shisha line for me is just more concentrates, some are great, some are not. Don't let this term cloud your judgement when placing an order.
Apart from everyone's faves (Strawberry and Vanilla) I've tried Shisha Orange and it's much much better than the regular INW orange. Still a bit plastic and artificial but not too much, and I find it flexible, it's part juice, part fruit, part cream. It's better imo than FW blood orange and it doesn't have that funky aftertaste of FA Mandrin. I don't own any other orange flavors since I'm not an avid fruit mixer but Shisha orange has worked great for me with some FA Catalan and some Vanilla Cupcake. It's also great with CAP Sugar cookie and VC1, I'm still trying to find a chocolate that doesn't taste awful with it so I can finish my chocorange cookie...
Have you tried FLV Milk Chocolate?
Yeap, and I have the old one but every time I have tried it with fruits, it's either not really really there or (when I up the %) it's there but it's a bit chalky and brings out the funky fruit stuff that I have previously covered with cream/vanilla. Especially with the oranges, it's like one puff brilliant, one puff weird, one puff ok, one puff awful, one puff brilliant... and I'm not a high wattage person :/ So many talented people in here, someone make me a chocorange cookie :)
I've asked this before but does anyone get a very harsh thoat hit from Shisha Vanilla? I've tried it as solo at 1% and its just nothing but harshness. Is it just my flavoring or does anyone else get this?
I get no throat hit from it whatsoever at 1%. I might even get negative throat hit... like, the creaminess in it makes it smoother than if I were vaping flavorless juice.
But, people react differently to different flavors, there might be something in it that just does not agree with you.
The Shisha Strawberry is stellar and the Vanilla is solid. I believe they are describing the Shisha line as hookah style flavorings used to incorporate with tobaccos. This led me to believe they might have some odd unusual characteristics but I am just getting nice flavors that aren't niche or temperamental at all. Now they just need to add Shisha Milk Chocolate and redeem themselves...hahahahahah...
I originally purchased Shisha Vanilla to try Royal Butterscotch by /u/NotCharlesManson because I had a friend asking me to mix "something butterscotch" for them. While they liked Manson's recipe, I fiddled with it some more, and Shisha Vanilla still plays a role, but here's where I ended up:
Royal Butterscotch v2.1
- FW Butterscotch Ripple 3%
- FW Butterscotch 1.5%
- FA Vienna Cream 1.5%
- FA Cream Fresh 0.75%
- INW Shisha Vanilla 0.75%
- CAP Butter Cream 0.75%
- FLV Butterscotch 0.5%
Since this wasn't particularly up my alley, my notes are minimal at best, but included "...closer to a candy-butterscotch, creamier with the Butterscotch Ripple." - which is what my friend was looking for, so they've stuck with this version for some time now.
Another recipe i put together for a different friend which also features Shisha Vanilla is:
Peach Pipe v1.1
- INW Vanilla for Pipe 2.25%
- FLV Cured Tobacco 1.75%
- FA Peach 1.75%
- FA White Peach 1.25%
- INW Shisha Vanilla 0.75%
- TFA Juicy Peach 0.75%
- TFA Bavarian Cream 0.5%
- FA Marshmallow 0.3%
In the first week, the balance of peach/tobacco is just about right. Bright peachy top notes accentuated by the mysteriously-good-fresh FLV Cured top notes. But as it ages, and FLV Cured loses some of those flavorful top-notes and settles into a still-good tobacco backbone. The peach also settles in and melds together a bit, and starts to hide behind the tobacco, leaving a lightly peached tobacco juice. Despite a lack of any added sweetener, it tends to leave a peach-y sweet-lips aftertaste which I find nice. The Marshmallow, Bavarian Cream, and vanillas play well in rounding out and giving it a smooth/soft/full mouth-feel/body. My friend loves this version.
I, however, wanted to bring that peach more forward after a steep, and towards that goal I've increased FA White Peach by 0.6%, FA Peach by 0.4% and TFA Juicy Peach by 0.25%, ie:
Peach Pipe v1.1.1
- INW Vanilla for Pipe 2.25%
- FLV Cured Tobacco 1.75%
- FA Peach 2.15%
- FA White Peach 1.85%
- INW Shisha Vanilla 0.75%
- TFA Juicy Peach 1%
- TFA Bavarian Cream 0.5%
- FA Marshmallow 0.3%
Thus far, it seems I hit my goal - the peach does stay more forward in this version.
I think you could simplify this a lot by using INW peach at 1% with FA white peach at 1%. INW is super strong and will stand up to almost anything.. give it a try
Plantain is gonna be a fotw? I'm interested! can we just throw avocado up there while we're at it
Alright well let's see, I use shisha strawberry for almost every bottle of juice I need to make my fiancée. I have one recipe that our friend only Vapes has only Vaped for a year since we started mixing this. We haven't made a real name for it but we call it Sex on the Beach.
[INW] Shisha Strawberry|4.0 [CAP] Harvest Berry|4.0 [TPA] Strawberry (ripe)|4.0 [TPA] Whipped Cream|2.0 [TPA] Sweet Cream|2.0
Now I know you're probably thinking that is a ton of shisha strawberry well it is but it is totally worth it at this high level. Give it a shot, normally I like this after a week or 2 but that's if I can manage to let it steep before finishing my 100ml bottles.
Nah, that's not too much Shisha Strawberry; I think Shisha Strawberry is a bit on the weak side, especially for INW. That looks like a tasty mixed berry juice with a bit of cream. Needs a better name though because if you tell me it's Sex on The Beach I'm expecting peach, cranberry, and orange. Sex in the Berry Bitty City?
Yea that's what most people think when they hear sex on the beach, that's not a bad name for it. In the past I've used forest fruit instead of harvest berry and that was a nice little change up. TBH I also use CAP sweet strawberry and TPA strawberry ripe interchangeably but you still get most of the same great taste.
Yeah 4% isn't too high on the SB, if it was above 5% I'd say that is a bit overboard, but I typically do like 2-3% and could see myself bringing it higher if I really wanted that much shisha SB!
Someone suggested I mix it up stand alone @ 7%. I fully expected some kind of harshness or off-notes and well nope it is pretty dang good. Linear and bold but tasty with a clean finish. I usually use it at 2-3 percent in mixes as well and it has no problem peaking its head out in a mix.