There has never been a better year for mixing as much as 2020 was, when it comes down to having time to mix. With an ongoing lock down, time are on our hands which means lots of time mixing and exploring recipes and profiles you may never have tried before or have some sort of investment in.

During 2020, isuamadog and yours truly set sails to try recipes we hadn't tried before. We laid down one rule: To only pick mixes from relatively less known mixers. This means you won't find recipes among these reviews from people such as Wayne from DIYorDIE, ID10-T and so forth. With that said, you might have seen some of these names before. Point of this has been to explore less known areas and mixers to bring them into the light.

Disclaimer: Not all these recipes are from 2020, but are recipes we tried this year.

Table of contents:

• Recipes with links
• Reviews
• Final words

Recipes:

• TOC’s Fluffy White Clouds by TOCMichelleHughes
• Banana Frosted Flakes by Dennisj66
• Almond Meringue Tart by WalleBiela
• 3-2-1 Cronut by RUG_ly
• Krispies (rice crispy treat with 🍓) by Sluhsy
• A Good Book - Unabridged Second Edition by LonesomeRhodesTN
• WCSB by RainbowDragon
• Buttermilk Pie by Silky
• Iceberry Lemonade by jbird
• Licorice Milk by bigtidder

​

Reviews:

TOC's Fluffy White Clouds:

• By Isuamadog:

TOC’s Fluffy White Clouds - steeped 3 months

Mixed at 1mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

Firstly, this is a marshmallow vape. I am expecting some vanilla sweetness and some, well, fluffy white mouthfeel. What I am getting, sadly, is the reminder that anything with vanilla in it gives me the slightest hint of pepper. That hint can sometimes be covered up for me by other, stronger flavors. In this case, since there really is no other outstanding flavor outside vanilla, it is front and center, even if slight. Which actually bring me to my next challenge with this mix… it’s marshmallow. When I think marshmallow in real life, I’m thinking major mouthfeel and a sickly feeling after I’ve eaten one too many, mostly after the first one.

In a way, this recipe is a success. It’s got great mouthfeel and it’s actually nicely light on the sickly sweet giving it a notable all day vape potential. The only real problem here is that I can’t see myself doing that. The lack of a distinctive singular note makes me lack an appreciation for it. I can imagine mixing this up as a one shot maybe and using it in the place of marshmallow where a vaguely vanilla fluff were needed. While i dont have flv vanilla marshmallow, i rather suspect that might hit that same note/need. Or wf gooey marshmallow, a hint of cap vc, or some combination of vanilla and meringue making that really not worth pursuing. The wonderfully smooth finish to the way this trails off the exhale aside, I was constantly thinking of how I rather wished there were some kind of standout singular note and I could easily see this taking something and will likely add a little coffee myself to the mix, otherwise Im not sure I would desire to finish it myself.

Who might like this? Anyone who wants something that isn’t too sweet, finds distinctive flavors too distracting, or just wants a smooth silky sweet yet inoffensive vape.

​

• By Kittybit:

As per instructions, I let this sit for a week.

The first and foremost thing I noticed, was the heavy impact of coconut. Which took me by surprise as I was sure the 0.25% FLV Sweet Coconut would be way more in the background. It’s super up front and I don’t mind that at all.

However, to classify this mix as a marshmallow I’m not sure I agree with.

This is far more a coconut custard, than anything else. Which again, is not a bad thing at all.

It does have some good elements of the milky undertones right at the end of your exhale, which completes the experience in a very pleasent manner.

Over all, the mix is definitely fluffy as stated. Good rich thick mouthfeel that just lingers in your gob for a good amount of time. This I’m a huge fan of and it’s super pleasent.

Sadly though, the profile over all is a little bit boring. Besides the mouthfeel, I need something that gives the mix a little bit more of a kick.

Where the issues starts are that there are a few too many ingredients in this recipe that serves more as a texture than taste.

The FA Meringue and FA Marshmallow adds nothing but texture, which is all good, but I would have wished that the FA Meringue had also brought a little sweetness to give the mix a twist. Sadly, the sweetness is swallowed up by the remaining ingredients.

CAP French Vanilla is usually one of the vanillas that I use when I want a deep and rich vanilla note. Here, I can barely detect it, and I fear that it might disappear into the FLV Vanilla Pudding a little too much.

Overall it is a somewhat pleasent experience and I didn’t mind vaping it, despite the things it lacks in the profile.

I appreciate the rich fluffiness and I think with a some work, this could be a very good vape with a few major changes.

--

Banana Frosted Flakes:

• By Isuamadog

Banana Frosted Flakes - steeped 3 months

Mixed at 1mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

The banana here is upfront and singular in its presence lacking that runtsy quality that is generally unpleasant to me. That and a decent creamy base that adds to the banana sell is mostly what I get on the inhale with a notable lack of flakes. The hair above a level of sweetness I normally desire is genuinely adding to my enjoyment of the flavor, making it present to me more like a really ripe banana that you ate at just the right moment.

But, where’s the flakes? With Cereal 27 at 4.5% shouldn’t there be some kind of AP vibe? This could be the product of such a ridiculously long ass steep, yet I get the ‘frosted’ bit of it. There’s enough of an overlap in sugar/creamy sweet to sell the frosted, I’m just chalking it up to the banana in my mind. I can kind of see why; the banana is quick to present on the inhale and slides into that sugary sweet back well enough to make it feel like a fading swallow rather than a transition to flakes without a clear grainy flavor present. I liked this banana and think that I would work a bit more on getting that cereal to present stronger (assuming it didn’t just fade over the time) or just chalking this up to a really friggin good single flavor profile for a sweet ripe banana and leave the Cap 27 out entirely. I’d guess the hint of Cap SS is contributing more towards the sugary frosted finish than the 27 anyway. In fact, I could see taking this banana and adding some booze to it or what I actually did do which was to pop the cap off and add 1% FLV Turkish for a nice banana tobacco. Just a little rum in here and I would be a happy camper indeed.

TL;DR Playing to the strengths of VT Banana Custard but the cereal was lacking (perhaps due to steep), shamelessly added flv turkish and vt light rum to the mix and was perfectly pleased.

​

• By Kittybit:

For a relatively simple recipe, this tastes god damn amazing.

Being the dumb european I am - we all know America is the best country in the world and all other countries are inferior. I therefor cannot claim that I have ever tried a bowl of Banana Cream Frosted Flakes.

So I cannot judge whether this mix tastes like that or not. And does it really matter? Hell nah.

For the longest time I have hated VT Banana Custard. The banana part of it is fine, but the custard in it tastes like garbage to me. I feel the need to inform you however, that I am not big on any custards. So it was with a hint of scepticism, when I decided to try this mix out. Luckily the taste of what-could-have-been custard is not that present here and I am grateful for that.

The banana part of this mix is wonderful. There aren’t much to say about it, since you don’t have a few bananas that needs to balance, as it’s only VT Banana Custard. It does leave me wondering though, if there are other bananas that could work just as well, such TFA Banana Cream or CC Banana Yoghurt.

Each of the remaining ingredients in this recipe all do what they are supposed to do.There are no balancing of different kinds of ingredients, as they all serve the purpose on their own.

CAP Cereal 27 does the flakes, FA Cream Fresh does the milky part, FA Meringue gives the cereal flavor to the milk and Super Sweet sweetens it.

It’s that simple.

A very good example of a recipe that shows, that you don’t need to make a super complex recipe to make something super tasty.

--

Almond Meringue Tart:

• By Kittybit:

This is some super buttery stuff. Seriously super buttery stuff.

Let’s talk about the actual tart part of this first.The crust is spot on and I am aware that this is derived from the Lemon Tart remix by dazcole. So let alone the fact, that the creator of this Almond Meringue Tart used that probably means it’s good - and it is.

Ok this is where it gets serious. I’m not sure I would classify this as an almond tart. More like a Mazarin tart, which is technically an almond tart.

I know some US folks likes to call it “Swedish Almond Tart” which does make me cringe a little.The reason for me to call it a mazarin tart more than an actual almond tart, stems from the marzipan taste this mix has. Yes, I know marzipan is made from almonds and yes I also know, that som almond flavors taste like marzipan. Way ahead of you.But this is spot on marzipan and not so much your natural almond.And you know what? I appreciate it!

INW Marzipan really does what it do best in this recipe. Typically when I have used it, I have been getting some odd cherry note - which is very normal. But the way INW Marzipan, FA Almond and most likely also the FA Torrone is combined here, it really does a lot of magic to really turn it into a good solid marzipan.

The Acetyl Pyrazine helps with a little bit of the crunch in the marzipan as well, which is very cool.

So bottom line is: Great buttery mouth feel, great marzipan flavor with some crunch and a delicious sweetness over all. I like this one a lot.

--

3-2-1 Cronut:

• By Isuamadog

321 Cronut rug_ly - steeped 3 months

Mixed at 3mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

This one I mixed at 3mg which is how I prefer to vape mtl. I vaped most of my sample in my Siren v2 tank, which is really my ‘sit back and enjoy’ tank, when I first mixed it thinking (hoping) this would replace my love for u/mLnikon’s raspberry jam croissant recipe I love so much mtl.

So, now I’m trying it much much later in the Asmodus C4 and it’s a little harsh because I am not used to the nic level. Outside of that, I’m really just getting a lot of butter with a hint of cream. Clearly, anything that is going to be half croissant is going to need butter. I feel like that’s 90% of what I’m tasting here. I know and like all the flavors in here and I can see why they’re chosen. I’m a sucker for a simple recipe that bangs and this one isn’t coming across to me the way I want it to; there’s a kind of clash I’m having with my expectations as a cronut lover and how this presents. I think that the vt croissant is a heavy hand on the butter as is and wf croissant is a wonderful flaky bread that just gets beat the fuck up with almost anything tougher you throw at it so, I can accept that VT would be a better choice, particularly considering that the cronut is a combination of both croissant and donut. I just have a suspicion that maybe a mix of the two may have been able to get the flakiness/breadiness/butter balance a bit more in check while keeping up with the vanilla pudding filling. I honestly have no idea why the zeppola isn’t picking up the slack for me by adding the donut fried grease vibe. Does zeppola fade after a time? As for the cream filling, vanilla pudding is a good choice. I don’t muck with these things enough to know if I have a preference for anything else in this place. For a simple recipe it seems to deliver in that realm enough for a simple recipe.

Overall? I’m going to keep chalking up cronuts in the cannoli recipe category. Nothing compares to the real thing and i’m not even going to try for it in a vape. This one was pleasant as I vape it. If I were to try my hand at this profile, I have no idea where I would begin, but I’m pretty sure I’d end up with something not nearly as enjoyable.

​

• By Kittybit

I have some mixed feelings about this recipe.

If we look at the fact, that it is a 1-2-3 recipe, then it works fine. Nothing bad about it. But I can’t help to ask myself, why it was made as a 1-2-3 instead of putting a little more of a touch to it with one or two more ingredients. Knowing Rug_LY likes to produce easy recipes for new mixers, then one or two more ingredients shouldn’t ruin that aspect.

If it’s dead set on supposed to be a 1-2-3, I would probably have switched around FLV Vanilla pudding and FA Zeppola. In its current state, I don’t find the FLV Vanilla Pudding to really have that thick vanilla punch that I enjoy. The FA Zeppola at 2% certainly does give that fried doughy taste that it should, but also has an almost cinnamon off-note. The fried doughy taste should still be very present at 1%.

It doesn’t make the mix taste bad at all, but those switched around could maybe have made this even better.

This recipe could really have been near perfect with a hint of glaze to it. Which could have been achieved relatively easy with a little FA Meringue or some OOO Powdered sugar, just to make it more full and completed.

I do see this working just fine as a base for an actual cronut though, to which you can build further on.

Was it enjoyable for me to vape? Sure, despite the changes I would have made, I absolutely enjoyed every second puffing away on this buttery goodness.

--

Krispies (rice crispy treat with 🍓)

• By isuamadog

It’s a slightly strawberry creamy sugar. This is not in my line of sight. I am not partial to strawberry vapes to begin with but this one has a commercial juice appeal.

The mouthfeel is pretty luscious and was the first thing I noticed. Soon after, the cloying sweet of 1% Cap SS just marred the flavor for me. I dont like the way it feels like it sticks to my teeth long after the exhale.

The strawberry here is tucked in under that blanket of sucralose with barely a toe poking out into the custard sweet. I guess I was expecting more of a rice krispies vibe.

Cap Cereal 27 probably wasn’t the cereal flavor i was expecting, maybe something more akin to, say, rice.

FE Sweet rice, rice base? This isn’t my normal territory but that’s where I would try to adjust this recipe for starters. I think I’d like to see that rice cereal come through as a puffed rice, mess around with them creams, custards to get a good krispies treat vibe balance and ditch the strawberry altogether (i am not partial to sb, could totally live without it).

Having done that, there’d be no need for any cap ss in my opinion. Keep that mouthfeel, swap sweet flavors for the cap super sweet and put some rice in there dag-nab-it!

That said, I could see someone wanting to get into mixing that was coming off commercial liquid really enjoying this. The flavors are accessible, probably adjustable to taste (even without any subs) and can even swap out that SB for a variety of flavors that I could see working in its place. Ultimately, it wasnt for me and I probably definitely would have liked it more with 0.0 - 0.25 Cap SS.

​

• By Kittybit

Minor mixed feelings with this, but over all it’s pretty good.

Let me start out with the elephant in the room here: The sweetener. Yes, CAP Super Sweet at 1% is disgusting. So let’s get that out of the way first.

However there is a positive side to it. And that is, that it really does give off that commercial taste to this, which I know a lot of people crave. So that’s good.

I personally don’t mind the CAP Super Sweet at 1% that much. A little too much for my taste, but it’s not a thing that makes me think this is a disgusting mix.

Over all it has a very nice cereal taste to it and the strawberries are very present too, despite that sort of synthetic taste. None the less, that would be nothing new from either vaping or sugary cereals.

I’m not sure what the FW Hazelnut at 0.5% really brings to this mix, cause I can’t quite identify it here at all. It can be muted by the mass amounts of sweetener or simply just fall in the background. I don’t know. But I can’t seem to find it.

Sort of the same goes for CAP Vanilla Custard, although it does help a lot with giving the mix a good amount of mouthfeel combined with he heavy amount of FA Marshmallow.

It seems to me that this recipe would be just as far without those two, so it might be a bit of a waste to have them in here, despite the small amounts.

Does it satisfy my tastebuds? Absolutely and it does give me flashbacks to commercial juice very much.

I would probably still suggest a little lower amount of CAP Super Sweet, but I do find that it needs to be in here in some sort of variation.

I’d be interested to see what this mix could become, if you replaced the CAP Vanilla Custard with FLV Cream, FA Fresh Cream, OOO Milky Undertones or FA Milk.

I think with a more dairy based flavor you could also achieve a much better result.

All in all, pretty good experience vaping this!

--

A Good Book - Unabridged Edition

• By isuamadog

Mixed at 1mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

Easily one of the best concept mixes I’ve ever read.

The idea and the background enticed me for ages. Sadly this uses Holy Vanilla which is no longer available. (I recently got to ask LRTN what they would use in its place if someone wanted to try mixing it. The loose suggestion was to try WF Ruyan Custard btw.) The big question is: does this taste like a fucking book? Short answer: kinda?

Regardless, it’s tasty and clever. Mostly clever. I am very familiar with just about every flavor in this mix and they work beautifully in this mix, completely justifying using some of my last HV. There’s a gang of tobacco in here, even CT Shade at 0.5 and it isn’t even the main note. They provide that overall muskiness that one could attribute to a dusty old book.

The vanilla is heavenly (I never really *did* get the HV madness until now) and the general hint of nuttiness almost can be mentally imagined/ interpreted as a brittle page cracking. Call me pretentious. Idgaf. It’s still delicious on the inhale through to the exhale and the lingering finish.

The fig, milk chocolate and red oak I can only assume are adding to the dark musky complexity of the flavor without standing out, in perfect balance. Make no mistake, it’s a tobacco vape. A very good one at that.

I’m truly impressed by this mix overall. I think it accomplished what it set out to do and still yielded tangibly delicious results. If there’s anything to learn here for me, it’s to think big and to keep learning. I aspire to make a mix this good someday.

--

WCSB (Just like my ex)

• By isuamadog

Mixed at 1mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

Let me start by saying I never liked Prickly Victory. I think it is completely terrible. Like taking two of my favorite flavors and putting them in Thunderdome to battle to the death, and the death comes quick.

If you felt this way too, I have found the answer in this mix. Wet, Cold, Spicy and Bitter. I fucking loved the idea of this enough that when I saw the mix, I said, this could work. This doesnt work. This IS IT. This is what prickly victory could be. Turn that Cactus down a hair, toss in a smidge of cold, add some FLV Apple Filling to smooth out the edges and add some fruit depth and a strange backdrop of spice that just hits the pockets of the tongue that PV just ignores.

This is fantastic and I can’t say it enough. As simple a recipe as you can get without sacrificing complexity and balance. There’s nothing more to say. This should replace PV or at least be a natural extension of it.

What have we learned? Sometimes a recipe just needs that one flavor (or 2) to provide depth and complexity. Simple is sometimes good as a base to start with but dont be afraid to try some combos to fill it out. I love it.

--

Buttermilk Pie

• By isuamadog

Mixed at 3mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

This is very damn good. I’m glad I tried this after I tried the Fluffy White Clouds recipe because here is what happens when you marry texture with just the right hints to make something truly satisfying.

While nothing here is outstanding in terms of a prominent note, it is as described: a custard-like pie. Each ingredient here melds into one and leaves me with the most glorious finish that makes the lingering sweetness pause me from pulling again to just appreciate it going down.

Funny how I tried this in an mtl tank and truly was unhappy with how it presented and then to try it like this? It is two different experiences altogether. I can taste the work that went into this, appreciate the use of more ‘common’ or accessible ingredients, and enjoy the resulting mix. It was one of those mixes that I had always wanted to try but kind of shied away from since I figured I might not enjoy it being adverse to overly sweet custard, creamy desserts, until u/modivin assured me it was one of his favorites.

My only complaint is that even off this I get a slight hint of pepper from somewhere that is really becoming more and more common for me with anything that has a vanilla note of any kind in it. It’s not the recipe fault at all and, quite frankly, it’s a very slight note that appears in the middle and fades into the finish smoothly. I almost wonder if the addition of a drop of spice of some kind might cover that up just a bit to make this perfect for me.

I know others have touted this as being able to be modified yet I cant remember what people said specifically. I could totally see this being an ADV for those who prefer desserts; sweetness is on point, mouthfeel is satisfying, nothing in here screams flavor fatigue. Or guilty pleasure for those who like to dabble in the sweets for exactly the same reasons.

I’m glad I tried it and the lesson here is that great things can be made with common flavors with time and patience. Well deserved recognition for this recipe. Quite honestly, should be canonized. Side note: goes great with a cup of black coffee.

--

Iceberry Lemonade

• By isuamadog

Mixed at 1mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

I wanted to try this one for two reasons (1) Blackberry Blossom and (2) Alpine Strawberry. I like to see what someone else has done with a flavor that I can’t seem to wrap my head around how to use and I said, ok this is a safe profile from a mixer I know.

This is a pretty intense mix. Cold on the inhale, the floral note on the AS and the BB blast in the middle and slide into a strong sharp dark berry at the end. I wasnt sure if BB could provide a full enough berry experience on its own. Here it does with the help of AS and the backdrop of Lemonade to smooth it out with some sweeter citrus backdrop for the dark sharp floral to foreground over. Still not quite convinced this is the best use for it, but the mix itself is a nice take on Lemonade. It’s got both high and low notes, rather unusual taste, and is pleasant to vape (if you’re into that).

I think that I could steal enough of this idea to bend it more to my taste. Not sure that AS pairing with BB is sitting well enough with me. The BB finish is so strong and powerful, I feel I want something maybe more akin, softer, rounder and fleshier to give this the mid notes I feel it’s missing. The floral top notes combine lovingly with the WS23 here and are super complimentary. Using a Lemonade base is a great natural combination to add sweet and familiarity to such an unusual flavor.

Possible ideas that come to mind for me to try would be adding like 7% TPA Sweet tea to Palmer it up, Cap Double Apple to add neutral body to the fruit, or experiment with something in the mid range until I found something that can bind the highs and the lows.

I appreciated trying this to get the guesswork out of using this flavor BB and it gave me a framework to mess with. The original is lacking in the mid-note for me and yet was enjoyable to vape and learn from.

--

Licorice Milk

• By isuamadog

Mixed at 1mg / 50w c4 @ 0.36 ohm

Well, it’s licorice. Nice black licorice.

I’ve had enough licorice vapes and black licorice candies to know this is more of the candyish sort as a result of adding the custard/pudding/syrup combo, a far cry from the salty licorice that I have grown fond of over the last year or so.

Listen, I get that there’s custards and things going on here, but that is the sweet backdrop to a really interesting spiced black gold front. I’m genuinely upset that my yang to my yin (AKA Kittybit) didn’t get to try this. I dont know shit from shinola when it comes to custards and all, but I know what I like and I like this.

You get a little of that tongue numbing from the Black Touch, a strong spice from the Absinthe and then that’s all sweetened, but not necessarily softened, by the syrup and the rest.

I’m not sure if calling this a ‘milk’ is accurate to me; the way the supporting cast is playing out is all in the background and hardly presenting as milk. I'm not mad about it either. At. All. I really like the aggressive flavor and the use of Absinthe here as opposed to the mixes I’ve tried with Kitty’s combo of Black Touch with Cap Licorice to candy and soften it up.

I don’t see this for the faint of heart. I don’t see myself in a lack or for wanting but, if i were to mess with it, I might like to see how Cap Licorice in the place of the golden syrup would play out to soften the overall aggressiveness of the profile while still cranking it up a notch. I like the addition of Absinthe but even I have to wonder if it’s just a little much for long term vaping. I’m about to find out since this is going directly to the squonker to finish its short lived days.

Who is this for? Unashamed Black Fever Club members.

--

Final words:

Our 5 months journey is over. That was how long this took us, everywhere from scouting mixers, mixes, getting a few missing ingredients, tasting (again and again) and put our tastebuds into words.

Although, while we have Recipe Of The Year Contest going on, I can't stress enough that this project has been about the hidden gems and not the typical names, that you'd see in places like ROTY. To us, this is also what this community is about. The hidden gems! The whole "venture into new territory" kind of game. Let the famous lads and lasses bathe themselves in the ROTY, but please do share a recipe review on our sub, should you stumble over a recipe that intrigued you (or just pissed you off).

I'm not sure this will be a thing isuamadog and I will continue to do every year. Believe me, we had our arguments over this project and the time it took. A lot of energy was put into this. But you never know, maybe we'll be back again by the end of 2021 doing this all over.

We cannot encourage you too much, as a reader and supporter of the sub, to start doing more recipe reviews that you find. It all counts and all adds to the community. Mixing other peoples stuff is as much about giving back as it is to explore.

We hope you enjoyed this long ass read, even if you just skipped to the parts that had your interest.

Cheers and we hope all of you had a fantastic New Year!