The continuation continues! This is an AMA thread with a twist – the 'victim' gets to name who is next up in the rotation. It was started by /u/juthinc in this thread here and it was continued by /u/isuamadog in here , and continued here by /u/humanpuck, and there by /u/eyemakepizza, /u/ID10-T AMA is here , /u/vApe_Escape right here , /u/mlNikon somewhere in the area of here, /u/EdibleMalfunction's AMA resides here, and /u/Foment-Life's most certainly right here, /u/Kittybit8 's viking rune script right here. /u/staybert's AMA is right here - /u/Vishousness continued the game here.
There are some rules:
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Try picking someone who hasn't gone yet
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It has to be someone who actively posts here
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No dead people (i.e. notcharlesmanson isn't eligible)
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Preferably a name that people recognize, 'regular poster' means someone who is a) alive and b) has posted in the last three months
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Complete the FAQ before posting
If you do the hot seat, you can add up to three names to the list of people who are potential victims.
Possible: /u/AlfredPudding, /u/modivin, /u/odiedoodah, /u/Apexified, /u/enyawreklaw, /u/folkart2000, /u/shyndo, /u/modivin
Already Done: /u/juthinc, /u/isuamadog, /u/humanpuck, /u/eyemakepizza, /u/ID10-T, /u/vApe_Escape, /u/mlNikon, /u/EdibleMalfunction, /u/Foment_Life, /u/Kittybit8, /u/Vishousness, /u/staybert
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How'd you get your handle?
Trying for hyperbole - the ocean and Nikola Tesla seemed about as unrelated as two things can be.
How long have you been mixing for?
I have been mixing since late 2014. When I first started out I was mixing volumetrically (huge waste of time) and probably created some truly offensive recipes on ELR that I hope no one ever mixed. When I found the subreddit in 2015 I switched over to mixing by weight, and from three I’ve just tried to build my flavor stash and work on my understanding of the theory behind mixing.
Current flavor or profile obsession?
Right now I’m getting back into tobacco in a big way. I can’t recommend the FLV tobaccos enough, they’re almost all good and many of them only need a few days’ steep! On the heavier side, /u/isuamadog wrote up a great post about Stixx Mixx that got me off the NET fence and I’m about to mix my first recipe using one today!
I spent quite a while on my attempt at an After Eight / Andes mint which became Altmint. /u/staybert was especially helpful in getting the percentages nailed down for that one. I had been chasing Creme de Menthe years before to very disappointing results (I’m looking at you, TPA).
Most/Least disappointing flavors that was/not as expected?
One of my first flavor purchases was TPA Kona Coffee. I tried it at several percentages on its own and with some creams and it was utterly revolting in every way imaginable. I was so excited for a coffee vape, but alas, back then I feel like it was a fool’s errand. Now there are great flavors from VTA, OoO, and others that add a ton of depth to what people can accomplish in the coffee arena.
On the other side of the coin, I went into FLV Boysenberry incredibly skeptical that I was going to enjoy it. It’s actually much more versatile than I thought!
Mixing Milestone?
As corny as it sounds, finding this subreddit was probably the single biggest positive influence on my mixing ability. The first time someone asked me for a 30mL bottle of something I had created was very rewarding as well.
Recipes you admire/love?
In no particular order:
- Cardinal by Fear
It’s simple, it’s excellent, and it’s endlessly remixable.
- RY4 Stone by /u/isuamadog
RY4 Stone is another great example of a recipe that covers a lot of ground with only a handful of ingredients.
- Largo Milk by /u/EdibleMalfunction
At the other end of the spectrum, here is a very complex recipe that is somewhat slow to develop but fantastic when finally ready.
- My Melon Balls by /u/Kittybit8
- Blue Eyes White Dragon by /u/foment_life
- Citraspberry Soda by /u/staybert
- Strawrora Limealis by /u/humanpuck
These are just damned good fruit recipes. My Melon Balls covers my sweet tooth. BEWD has great synergy between coolant and flavors. Citraspberry Soda comes as close to effervescence as we have seen here so far. Strawrora Limealis got me into several different flavors all at once - FA Aurora and Florida Key Lime, and JF Sweet Strawberry.
White whale?
I have tried at least ten revisions of a clone of Convicted Melons by Blue Dot Vapors. I have come up with some recipes that I quite liked as a result, but never really hit the mark. There’s something obvious I’m missing - I’ve tried sour, fizzy, sweet, and I can’t get the same experience.
How would you describe your mixing style?
In a word, scattershot. I am not a great cook and I don’t have a refined palate. In that sense, I am a weak mixer, since understanding flavor theory is so important to being able to make good recipes reliably. I feel like I’m moving in molasses compared to most of you, but I try to apply an iterative approach to recipe design. Start with something basic, then expand and elaborate. Lately I like to collect recipes from the web and my own ideas, wait until I have 5-10 ready to mix, and then run through them all in one sitting.
Advice for new mixers?
Don’t be afraid to try new things, but don’t be afraid to do some research before ordering a concentrate either! It’s almost impossible to know anything about a flavor from the manufacturer/vendor profile, so go hunt down someone else who knows first-hand and extort the information from them. Maybe even something less ethically murky like asking them politely. Look at the big sheet of flavor reviews.
Even if you’ve used them in recipes already, SFT your flavors - you may be surprised at what is waiting for you underneath the surface. Make sure you try both mixing your own recipes and things that others have shared online. You can’t grow as a creator until you expand your horizons.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to any other questions you have!
EDIT: Thanks to everyone who participated and gave me an eventful Sunday. I hope to have some new content for everyone soon!
I had no idea you'd been around for so long.
What is the one bit of early mixing advice that you definitely did not heed and learned the hard way?
I was definitely a lurker for years, so I am not surprised.
I think the biggest thing I screwed up initially was mixing by volume. It made the process so slow that I couldn't really develop a recipe in a reasonable amount of time, and it hurt my creativity and ability to iterate.
Also, using TFA Dragonfruit as a flavor rather than an additive - in case anyone out there isn't aware, it's for blending flavors at lower percentages and will mute flavors at high percentages!
You’re only allowed to use 3 flavor brands from now on. Which three are you picking?
Damn, that's a tough one. I'd end up picking CAP, FLV, and maybe WF as a bit of a dark horse. Flavorah has an absurdly high good to bad flavor ratio for me and I rely on several of them now. A bigger brand like Capella covers all the bases for your common profiles, and at this point I have moved on from many of the TPA flavors I used to love. Wonder Flavors has impressed me even though I don't have many of them, so that's one I'd like to get to know more and wouldn't mind rolling the dice on a bit.
That said, I think the correct answer is:
flavorah
flavorah
flavorah
Mine is fairly similar! I’d just replace WF with INW. I like INW Custard and Yes! We Cheesecake way too much lol.
Fair enough, Inawera is kinda polarized to me, some are very good but some of them are pretty awful. We're all looking at you, Wunder Waffle.
People have a lot of opinions that are considered fact.
What's one mixing 'myth' that you would take issue with?
For me, the most pernicious myths concern heat steeping. Everyone seems to have their own special trick for making a two week liquid take four hours. Heat definitely has an effect, but I would argue that it is never a net positive.
That said, your first statement is very true - reasonably anything that I see as a myth could be viewed as factual by another mixer and vice versa. In taking a stance on heat steeping, I am not trying to assert that I am speaking objectively, only my interpretation of the information that I have seen combined with my experiences.
Can I use y=mx+b to measure the slope of how downhill my life is going?
What tobacco recipes would you suggest to get people into that 'genre' of vaping?
Does your answer change if that person was a smoker before, or not?
Take a look at Cardinal up in the post body. The primary flavors are nutty and sweet, but there is an unmistakable tobacco to it that is pleasant.
Also Cabin by /u/AlfredPudding. It's a bit atypical, an apple pear tobacco that is deceptively sweet.
I'm not sure that I'd advise a non-smoker differently, only thing you won't have is the benefit of experience in terms of knowing what types of tobacco you like. Some find Cavendish sickly sweet, some love it. You might want to read up on some types of tobacco to try and see what, if any of it, sounds appealing.
Anyone vaping should be an ex smoker.
I agree for the most part. I have a buddy who didn’t smoke, but started vaping at 21 because he was going out to bars and everybody around him was constantly going out to smoke and he was constantly being offered cigarettes. He decided to start vaping instead of smoking.
What recipe is in your atty right now? Is it your ADV, just something that you're trying, or, is it something that you are 'hate-vaping'?
I've been going through a handful of mostly tobacco testers over the past few days. Right now I'm vaping an all-Flavorah vanilla tobacco. The recipe in case you're curious.
What brought you out of the shadows as a lurker on this sub?
I've missed the boat on DFS HOLY, is cardinal still one of your favorites with the reformulated stuff?
Certainly, though I have boosted the HHG RY4 v2 up to ~8% instead of the v1 at 5%. Here's a write-up I did comparing the two.