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Nicotine odor - should it be odorless or is a slight scent normal?
submitted about 6 years ago by arcjive

Hi all,

I always take a whiff when opening a new bottle of base (100mg 100%PG), and I'd be interested in the olfactory opinions of others about the consensus on the normal range of Nic odor.

Some of my 100mg bases have a tiny hint of something... slightly organic - maybe old rice, or wet-dog?

And others, a slight chemical or bitter sort of scent. Nothing nasty, just noteworthy.

It's all very minor, no signs of discoloration (almost completely transparent) or excessive peppery flavor. Always stored in the freezer, in 125mL amber glass bottles.

​

Normal?

Thanks!

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10 points
 
by joeblowmaabout 6 years ago

For me fresh nic has a sort of medical smell, akin to walking into a place with a indoor pool just not chlorine. Nic that has gone bad has a smell not unlike a wet ashtray. Sniffing 100mg nic probably isn't a great idea though... especially if you are inhaling air that has been in the bottle for a length of time.

5 points
 
by kuri_sanTouabout 6 years agoDiketones, Schmiketones

Some people say their nic smells like cut grass but I never got that. It smells odorless to me

4 points
 
by Piistachyooabout 6 years ago

light chemical smell

4 points
 
by Entropical-islandabout 6 years ago

Mine smells nutty. Sometimes if it's the end of a bottle it can start to smell slightly fishy

1 points
 
by August2_8x2about 6 years ago

Same here. I’ve had a small bottle I use to bump my liquids when my go-to site is out of 6mg. It has a hint of nutty and a slight tint to it after more than a year. I’ve only used it a handful of times.

1 points
 
by vergaerdabout 6 years ago

I thought I was alone! I don't get that fishy smell from mine though. 72mg VG. It's turned slightly yellow over time, but no funky taste or smell yet. In fact, every nicotine-base bottle that I've had, including 10ml 20mg nic-shots have smelled a bit nutty. This is the smell of nicotine for me. Makes me wonder if I've been vaping bad or somewhat oxidized nic all that time. I've bought from quite a few different vendors too.

1 points
 
by arcjiveabout 6 years ago

Nutty... that could be a better descriptor for the slightly organic smell I'm detecting too...

3 points
 
by n0tveganabout 6 years agoStill Believes in Coconut Extra

I had one batch smell and taste like wet-dog paired with dead-rat. Got rid of that and every nic I had from that day was completely odorless.

2 points
 
by W_Rabbitabout 6 years ago

You ever smell the sticky side of a nicotine patch? That's what liquid nicotine smells like. Even with the freshest of nic I still can smell it. Some other people have compared it to the smell of omega-3. I work more with 1000mg stuff, so it's far more pronounced. Once diluted down to 100mg it's there, but hardly noticeable.

1 points
 
by ID10-Tabout 6 years agoThe Kingmaker

Normal. I often get nic base that's perfectly odorless to me, but sometimes it has the same tiny hints of the things you mentioned, but still turns out fine in a mix. The slight bitter or chemical smell you noticed doesn't get worse so if it doesn't seem to affect your juice now, don't worry about it. That tiny hint of something organic in my experience will intensify and you'll start to see some discoloration and then you'll have bad nic base. That nic base is headed south, but if it doesn't taste peppery or fishy or like a dog covered in wet ashes yet, it is fine now and keeping it in the freezer will slow down that oxidization.

One time I got some Nic that smelled like the bathroom at the ballpark in the summer, the one with the communal trough style urinal. That went into the garbage and I never ordered from that place again.

2 points
 
by arcjiveabout 6 years ago

Ew nasty urinal Nic. Thanks for the response. :-)

1 points
 
by upboatugboatabout 6 years ago

I've never smelt what you described, but It had a very subtle something. I don't think it smells fishy either, but I can see how some come to that conclusion.

1 points
 
by bloodnut73about 6 years ago

I've never noticed any odor in my nic, but now I'm gonna have to take a wiff.

1 points
 
by arcjiveabout 6 years ago

Appreciate the responses people - glad to hear it's not just my base batches that have... interesting scents... ;-)

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