PART 2

Noted Ep. 169: BLUE RASPBERRY (ft. RUG_ly)

OSDIY Blue Raspberry Slush: Similar to OOO Blue Raspberry Candy in that it's very sticky sweet and basey. Doesn't have that tart, bright top note. The syrupy sweet base is remarkably accurate to a blue slush. Has really great mouthfeel, like sticky high fructose corn sryup. Really sticks to the palate. The flavour overall is quite soft, it's not super vibrant. Needs a bit more punch. It's not thin as it has that base-y, sticky sweetness. Could do with a little more syrupy sweetness to really push that slushy profile forward and some cooling. A little CAP Hibiscus really helps as it gives some more syrupy sweetness and adds a bit more brightness. Can mix a little FW Razzleberry to give the blue rasperry more punch as it has plenty of blue-ness to make up for the fact Razzleberry has none. Razzleberry would add some of the tartness BRS is lacking. Weak in concentration need to crank it up to around 8%.

34.22

Recipes:

Blue Frost Revisited by Apexified (ATF)

Blue Frost by Apexified (ATF)

36.09 and 37.22

FLV Blue Raspberry: (A pre-release flavour, not yet on the market) Full flavoured, but not complete. Very base-y, deep. Almost rich. Missing some tartness. Like a mouthfull of blue razz gummy bears after they've already been chewed. If you chew them for a while the initial jolt of blue raspberry flavour mellows out a bit. But it's thick and sweet. It's a very different sort of blue raspberry to most others as it's so base-y and deep. Robust. It's missing the bright, tart top note you want from a blue razz candy. Could definitley be used to fill in the base of more top heavy blue raspberry flavours. Or could fill in the gaps FLV BR has, maybe with a bit of TFA Raspberry as it's very tart, bright and punchy. All of which FLV BR is lacking. TFA Raspberry isn't blue, but FLV has plenty of blue-ness. Might be able to get away with using it as the only blue rasperry in a mix with a little FLV Sour Apple or a tiny amount of INW Lemon Mix (may need to make a dillution). Would add a little tartness to it. Could maybe use a little of both so it doesn't get too apple-y or too lemon-y? May still want the top note to be more blue raspberry, but the tartness is the main thing that is missing. At 3% was good as a SF. At 4% seemed like off notes were threatening to appear. Seemed like it would turn a bit uncandied gooseberry-like around 5%.

41.35

WF Sour Blue Raspberry Candy: Not sour, but is a little tart up front. Bright. Has no deeper, base-y element to it. Not blue enough. Not thin, but very top heavy and front loaded. After the great initial tart blue raspberry flavour it fades off into a bland, sweet, thickness. Very, very sweet. Likely has sucralose in it (a lot of WF do). RUG_ly and ID10-T find it gets soapy. It's a bit tricky to work with as at lower %s there isn't enough favour. But once it's increased to a level where the flavour is adequate it starts to get soapy. At 7.5% was pretty soapy. Needs backing up with another flavour so you can get a full flavour without soapiness. Emily mixed 2% FLV Blue Raspberry with 3% WF SBRC. Worked really well as they both fill in what the other lacks. WF brings the tartness and blue razz top notes while FLV fills in the bland bottom end and adds depth. The best complete blue raspberry Emily has had. VT Boysenberry has been ID10-T's preferred option for filling in the bottom end of WF SBRC. But that may change now FLV Blue Raspberry is a thing. Emily tested the FLV Blue Raspberry/WF SBRC combo side by side with the VT Boysenberry/WF SBRC combo. Thought they were pretty similar. But the VT Boysenberry version was darker and less blue. It's more black. Not candy enough. The FLV Blue Raspberry does a better job. Not an SC so need to use between around 5-7%.

47.54

Nic Vape Blue Razz: RUG_ly ranked it second to last. Dark blue cough syrup. Gross. Weird artificial grape notes. Sickly sweet. Tastes like Dimetapp medicine.

52.02

PART 1

Noted Ep. 169: BLUE RASPBERRY (ft. RUG_ly)

(Episode Aired 22nd September 2020)

(Ranked from worst to first)

Blue raspberry seems to be a tricky thing for flavour companies to get right. Which is odd considering what an artificial profile it is. Many of them are really soft, not the bold, in your face flavour of blue razz. Even the best ones can't be used as a solo main note in a mix. They all need to be layered or added to.

FW Razzleberry: May be a good blue razz flavour? It's a very candied raspberry, which is essentially what blue raspberry is. But blue raspberry has a distinctive flavour that sets it apart from any other raspberry. Razzleberry doesn't have that distinctive taste that makes it blue. It's a good candied raspberry though.

7.02

FW Blue Ice: Ranked lowest because it's not blue raspberry. It's just FW Blueberry with some menthol. Fairly well balanced. Neither element overwhelms the other. If you already have FW Blueberry and some menthol you don't need this.

8.31

TFA Blue Raspberry: The worst blue raspberry. Just terrible. Somewhere between 5-7% it goes from tasting like not much of anything to blue raspberry Jolly Rancher flavoured hair spray. Disgusting lingering chemical aftertaste. Needed to wash RDA out. RUG_ly gets a nasty plastic off note from around 5%.

9.42

Silver Cloud Estates Blue Raspberry: Floral, perfumey. Didn't taste like blue raspberry. More like a currant or gooseberry. Not candied like blue raspberry. Tart. Has something funky, almost savoury. Very reminiscent of FA Bilberry Ripe mixed with dirt, has a dark and organic taste, earthy. It's not blue razz. A bit of a mess. (available at DIY Vapour supply, rebranded as Sterling Cloud)

10.55

MB Blue Rock Candy: Very weak in concentration for the price. ID10-T found it very weird. Tastes like raspberry banana candy. Has a touch of koolada. A really strong Runty banana base underneath a candy-ish raspberry which isn't a blue raspberry. RUG_ly likes it quite a bit. But wouldn't use it as a blue raspberry. He gets a very strong citrus note, reminscent of Lemon Sicily. Gets some cooling but it's not explicitly Koolada. More like a combo of Koolada and fizz. It's very fizzy. Not a whole lot of berry. Something a bit juicy and dark that's a bit berry-ish. Didn't get any banana.

13.15

Fairy's Finest Blue Raspberry: CONTAINS FOOD COLOURING. A lot of it. The concentrate is very blue in colour. Does taste like blue razz up front. But it's very soft. Lacks punch. ID10-T gets some soapiness, but he does get soapiness where others may not. At 3% RUG_ly found it to be a pretty weak berry flavour, a little candied. Any higher than 3% he also gets a prominent soapy off note. RUG_ly tested at 3%.

15.19

FW Blue Raspberry: Might be made to work if the off notes could be covered. A little bitter in the top in a medicinal way. A little soapy in the base, but ID10-T is sensitive to soap. Does taste like blue raspberry. Has a fair amount of flavour, not overly soft. RUG_ly found the sweet spot to be around 4%. But thought it didn't have much body and not real bottom note. Very reminiscent of cherry, rather than a sweeter berry like raspberry or blue rasperry. More like a blue cherry. Not very sweet, no more than VG is sweet.

17.25

CAP Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy: Very sweet. ID10-T has tested it at various %s and it mostly tastes like blue raspberry cotton candy. But has a very prominent cotton candy flavour and aftertaste. Does have some identifiable blue raspberry, but it takes a back seat to the cotton candy. At around 4-5% tastes a little bitter, like it burnt or scorched. Like over spun cotton candy. But can work really well when used lower, around 1-2% to sweeten another blue raspberry or other candy berries. If you wan to make a cotton candy recipe this is a good option as it has the strongest, boldest cotton candy flavour. Most cotton candy flavours get lost in a mix very easily, this will stand up. Would work in a cotton candy ice cream recipe etc. To RUG_ly that burnt note comes across as AP. At 5% it tasted like Captain Crunch cereal. He made a recipe with CAP BRCC, OSDIY Blue Raspberry Slush and CAP Cereal 27 to mimic Capt. Crunch. Worked out really well (see recipe below). There's probably some AP in CAP BRCC in order to give it some body and make it less airy. FLV Cotton Candy uses a bit of vanilla and LA uses Triacetin for the same purpose. Wouldn't go any higher than 3% for a cotton candy main note. Gets a little bitter and burnt at higher %s. 1.5-2% as a sweetner for candied berries.

18.41 and 22.34

Recipe:

Oops All Berries by RUG_ly (ATF)

23.08

EUR (Euro Flavors) Blue Raspberry: Not bad. Bold for a blue raspberry flavour. Accurate to a blue razz candy. Tangy and sweet. Tastes slightly chemically at 6%. At 3% the flavour is much lighter. There's probably a sweet spot somewhere between 3% and 6%. At both 3% and 6% it has an odd powdery, chalkiness. Kind of like the texture of a Sweet Tart. A bit like OOO Powdered Sugar or WF Candy Stick Candy with an above average blue raspberry top note. That distinctive powdery, candy base could limit it's uses. But could also be perfect for some applications. RUG_ly gets an acidic quality above 4%. But below that it's very pleasant. It's sweet and has a really nice mouthfeel.

20.41

OOO Square Candy Blue Rasperry: Not OOO Blue Raspberry Candy. Supposed to be a Starburst. The blue raspberry flavour is very light. But the taffy candy base is really good. It's smooth, sweet, thick, kind of chewy. Maybe a hint of vanilla. A bit like a very small amount of Vanilla Swirl is used to thicken a candy and give a thick mouthfeel. It would be a good base for that sort of candy profile. The blue raspberry just needs help as it's so light. Could be a two ingredient recipe for a blue razz Starburst- just need to add another blue raspberry and a little sweetener. If you wanted to use it just for the candy base could probably cover the blue raspberry with another, bolder, candy fruit flavour as it is so light. RUG_ly made a cherry laffy taffy recipe which does just that. INW Cherries works really well as it's so top heavy and thin that it just covers the blue raspberry and doesn't interfere with the taffy part. RUG_ly ranked OOO SCBR close to the top of his list. Thought the blue raspberry isn't unpleasant. It's definitley a blue raspberry, not just a candied raspberry. The creamy taffy is really, really good.

24.51

OOO Blue Raspberry Candy: Not OOO Square Candy Blue Raspberry. The flavour is more base-y, not very bold or top heavy. But after a few days steep it has this palate coating quality, like eating a melted Jolly Rancher. Has a really nice sticky sweetness. Very syrupy. But needs help. It's bottom heavy and lacks the bright tartness you want from a blue raspberry. ID10-T found it pretty harsh, especially for the light amount of flavour it has on top. Was harsh even after 5-6 days steep. The top note it has is thin. RUG_ly doesn't like this flavour, but found when used low it is a good sweetener for other blue raspberries and also adds depth.

28.01

LB Blue Raspberry: Pretty weak in concentration, but on par for most LB flavours. Fairly bold at 7%, but not as much as you'd like. It is fuller and more flavourful than a lot of other blue raspberry flavours. At 9% gets a tiny bit grassy- in the same some sort of way green apples can get a bit grassy. Like a few blades of grass stuck to a blue raspberry candy. It's sweet. A little flat, not alot of nuance. It's a little bit thin. Artificial candy raspberry flavour that sort of tastes a bit blue. But not blatantly, in your face blue. There's something a little bit off that makes it seem like an off brand product. Not a bad flavour overall though. use up to 6-7%. Gets grassy.

30.14

In case it hasn't been said lately, Thank You for all you do! It is always much appreciated! 😃

I got into DIY chasing blue raspberry dreams. The stuff I was making was so terrible, that I almost gave up. BR is a hard one to go after, especially if you don't know what you're doing. I think everybody has their own idea of what BR is supposed to taste like, so opinions are all over the place. When I first started out I bought ever BR flavor I could get my hands on.. None of them were even close to what I was looking for. I decided to give up on it a while and things like Grack Juice renewed my position on DIY mixing..

I still think a lot of the popular ones just aren't that good. One of Wonder Flavors best selling flavors at Bull City is the BR candy one. Reading the comments makes me SMH in a side to side fashion. It's just not there IMO. Cap Blue Cotton Candy tastes like literally nothing to me. I got some of the newer BR offerings from River Supply and the Euro Flavors one is a step in the right direction. Most companies are still botching it though.

Years ago I got Fairies Finest from somewhere. It was terrible, but it was also clear. Maybe they have different versions like Lorann.

I have tried my share of Blue Raspberry and my Favorites are LB Blue Raspberry, WF Sour Blue Raspberry Candy and VT/FLV Boysenberry