My apologies if this isn't the right place to ask, but I wasn't sure where else to go.
To provide some context, I was able to get my mother-in-law to switch to vaping after a big cancer scare, but she's not really into any of the juices I mix at home (not for lack of trying, she's tried 10 of my favorite recipes and it's not working for her). There's a little vape shop in town that makes a juice that she absolutely adores, and unfortunately, is the only juice she'll actually vape without sneaking a few (read: a truckload of) stinkers in on the side.
With all of the stuff that's going on in the vaping world right now, this little store might be closing for the indeterminable future. I wish my palette was developed enough to hammer out a decent clone or analogue for her, but it's still pretty far beyond me. Is there any acceptable way to ask this store for a recipe or at the very least, a list of which flavors they're using in it?
It goes without saying that I would have zero intent to resell or profit off of this at all, and for as long as they're open, I'll keep supporting them by buying it, but I just want to make sure that I can take care of her if things take a turn for the south. Any advice or recommendations would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance
Edit: Many thanks for the advice and encouragement! I'm going to go in and ask politely soon. If it doesn't work, it was at least worth the shot. Happy mixing, folks!
Final edit: I figured it out, mostly. Many thanks for all of the encouragement and advice. Update post is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/fq830y/update_local_vape_shop_might_be_shuttering_for/
Just tell them what you just told us.
Just like that? Fair enough. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some special or specific way to ask or some unspoken procedure to be followed.
Well for starters you didn't tell us the brand/flavor that she likes.
It's an in-house mix that is sort of green-apple/strawberry-ish. I've tried googling the name, and a billion other juice companies make a juice that has the same name, but they're all completely different (eg. Caramel bourbon marshmallow etc). If it were a brand with any kind of non-local presence, I feel I could've asked on a clone thread and maybe gotten some luck there, but since it's just a few little stores in my town, I figured it wouldn't work.
What's the shops name and location? Give us some more info and I guarantee someone will know a brand or diy that tastes similar
I didn't want to bring too much attention to them, but if you think it would help, they're called Lucky's Vape Shop in Wichita, KS. I haven't seen any official notices from them yet, but they've been BOGO-ing their juices for the past few months, and just looking at what's happening with some of the other B&Ms, it feels like they might be in for a bad time when everything goes down in May, if not sooner. Which kills me inside, because they've always been there when I needed something local. They took a bunch of time helping me pick out mods, pods, juices; making sure that I knew how to use them. The first time I went there, I might've been there for an hour or so, and bless the poor associate that was stuck helping me, because I had no idea how any of this worked XP
The juice is called Marilyn Monroe. As mentioned, it's kind of a tart apple/strawberry thing, but it's got a lot of little notes that I can't quite grasp. A note of citrus maybe? It has a pretty voluptuous mouthfeel as well, so maybe there is some MTS Wizard or TFA Smooth? But try as I might, I just can't seem to nail the little bits that make it right. Sure, I can make a strawberry-apple juice that's passable, but it isn't Marilyn, and she just doesn't go for it. =(
Tried looking it up. This is the closest I could come up with
Just mixed up a batch, and strangely enough, I think this could be the starting point of a clone if negotiations break down tomorrow. Their recipe definitely has all of these things,plus another 3 or 4. Many thanks for your excellent discovery. If I end up having to clone it, I'm going to get it perfect and post it here.
Maybe you could ask the store for the recipe if they’re going out of business.
Yeah, that is kind of what I'm thinking to do here. I'm just not terribly sure how to go about it, or if there is any good or appropriate way to ask. It doesn't help that I'm extremely socially awkward, and suck at asking people for things in-person XP
Open with that- extremely socially awkward line. Because deep down we all have been there. Explain to them how this is for your mom like you said above. Humor them by explaining how you’ve tried to replicate it and mom’s always finding your mix inferior to theirs. Bring a sample of what you made to them. Explain to them what flavors you used etc. and have a conversation about it.
Wait hold up...
If in fact they are going out of business offer them something. Ask them “what could I do for you in exchange for the recipe?” See where the conversation goes. They need help packing up? Cleaning up? Breaking things down? How can I help?
If nothing works and you tried your best. Then keep mixing until you get it right.
My local vape shop has a recipe that I want that nobody Vapes I feel her pain. What I'm doing is asking the owner is if I give him $100 would he give me the recipe. I would even settle for just the ingredients. So far the owner hasn't contacted me but before they close I'll be sure to ask him again.
I used to buy concentrate at a vape chain in Albuquerque. Told them many many times if they ever closed, I would like the recipe, I'd even buy it from them. They closed all their stores last November, no notice. I tried contacting them via face book. No reply. Assholes.
Pm me. If you can get me a sample i can probably recreate it for you.
It can't hurt to ask. Tell them how much it has helped your mother, and how you would gladly keep buying from them if they weren't closing, and ask them to help you out.
If they say no, you're no further away than when you started. But they might say yes.
There's a local shop that had one of the only flavors that I would buy. I tried unsuccessfully for years to clone it. It's the flavor that I actually got me off of analogues. They were calling it quits and trying to sell the business. I went in and bought a couple 90s a few days before their scheduled closed date and said how I was going to really miss the flavor and that I tried for so long to clone it. After chatting for a bit I politely asked for the recipe as I didn't want it to die forever. Person said they'd give it to me if they did indeed shut down. Gave em my number and waited. A couple days later I got a text with the recipe. Long story short, it doesn't hurt to ask. Just be polite.
(Sorry, can't share it as it's not mine)
Like others have said, ask the shop if they'll share the recipe with you. Tell them that you'll never share it with other people, and you're only doing it because your MIL doesn't like any of your own mixes, and you want to keep her off cigarettes.
If they say no, then the good people here can certainly help you figure out a good green apple and strawberry mix. It would help if you could give more detail, though (is it more apple? More strawberry? Candy flavors or real fruit? Sweet? Tart? Juicy or kind of dry? Can you taste a lot of sweetener in it? etc.)
There are a lot of good apple/strawberry mixes (Glass Apple is one I like a lot) out there.
I'll have to give the Glass Apple a look, it sounds pretty tasty as a potential alternative.
The juice tastes like real strawberry with the fresh green apple riding in on the slight tartness of the strawberries, if that makes any sense. I can't pick out the minor notes, although maybe there is some kind of real citrus? I'm not getting any candy notes out of it. It's rather juicy, kind of leaves the palette nice and moist. Fairly gentle on the throat hit. And it feels pretty thick, in a fashion that's hard to describe.
If I had to guess, the strawberry is TFA Ripe Strawberry, unless you're familiar with any other freshish strawberries. It's sweetened pretty moderately, there's definitely sucralose, but I can't tell if EM is also used.
Another simple one you might want to try is Strap-On, by our venerable ID10-T. It might not be exactly what your MIL is looking for, but it could be a good base to work from. It's very must a strawberry apple to my taste buds. Maybe add a bit of cactus for juiciness and some sweetener, or swap out the FA Strawberry for TFA Ripe or something.
So, I looked them up, and their site doesnt mention this flavor. HOWEVER. There are tons of different brands who have that same named flavor, like this one. That has marshmellow in it it appears as a sweetener. So Perhaps the juice your looking for may also be using marshmellow. So maybe thats your missing flavor (also maybe ask them if you signing a NDA might make them more willing to share recipe? Just a thought...)
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https://originvape.com/products/bombshell-marilyn-e-liquid?variant=24357961039936