Hi all, having seen all the posts about Nicotine River nic smelling/tasting like either dirt or mushrooms, I had to check my recent order (1 gallon + 1 liter of 100mg/ml PG smooth nic salts). Smelling it had what seemed like the earthy smell, but it wasn't overwhelmingly bad smelling to where I was repulsed. I mixed up a bottle of unflavored (never done that before), and it did seem to have that mushroomy flavor, although I wasn't repulsed by it (I am only doing 12watt MTL vaping though).
To stock up for the vapocalypse, I bought a bunch of 150ml bottles back in June, then another bunch early November, and another bunch at the end of November. They've all gone straight into my freezer upon arrival, and I haven't tested any of them. I pulled out one from each batch, to compare to the new shipment, and found that they all have that earthy smell to them. Is it possible for my entire stockpile of nicotine salts to be bad? Or is it just normal for them to have some smell to them? I'm freaking out a bit, so thanks for any help!
Edit: Just for reference, the most recent order from a couple weeks ago has batch number of 12292020-03-PGNSS, so it's an older batch, even though I just recently ordered it and received it a couple days ago.
Hi. I have to agree with u/samuryan89.
Whenever you get nic, you should mix up a small test batch of PG, VG and nic (unflavored). Color does not mean your nic is bad nor does a slight chemical smell. Test it before storing it properly. If it‘s off, contact RS CS, they‘ll sort it out. Good luck.
I think people are freaking out and panicking due to the vape mail ban. Not saying a batch could be off, but the last few days have been more than weird.
I agree with you 100%, my nicotine has always had an “earthy smell”...I thought that was the “sort of peppery” scent nicotine had lol. I thought the bad nicotine batch was tasting like mushrooms not earthy
Why is everyone spending so much on products that can go bad that they won't be able to replace?
I'm 44, I started smoking when I was 13 and quit when I was about 38 and started vaping.
I'm upset that I might have to quit but there are more alternative nicotine sources with no tobacco available now.
The mail ban might kill vaping but spending a fortune on materials isn't going to get you more than 12 to 18 months. The nicotine will go bad no matter how you store it.
So why not find an alternate like nicotine lozenges or something else? It just doesn't make sense to throw money at stockpiling a product that's going to go bad.
The posts I've seen about ordering gallons of nicotine base here over the last few months just seem irrational. It WILL go bad before it all gets used. Is a few extra months worth that effort and financial cost?
As far as I'm aware no-one really knows the storage life of well stored, good quality freebase nicotine yet, apparently you certainly don't.
I have read from people who are vaping stuff that's been in their freezer 5+ years and it's absolutely fine.
I've got 7+ years worth of nic for a couple hundred bucks up front (how much are the lozenges?), it's not a huge amount of money over time to continue to get my nicotine in the way of my choosing rather than being pushed into the arms of big pharma or big tobacco as you seem so happy to be.
>The mail ban might kill vaping but spending a fortune on materials isn't going to get you more than 12 to 18 months. The nicotine will go bad no matter how you store it.
Nicotine base can last at least ten years, possibly several more decades if stored properly. I understand what you're saying, but for those of us for whom vaping is not only a smoking cessation method but also a hobby that we're very passionate about, we have our reasons for wanting to spend a few hundred dollars (far from a fortune) to be able to continue to vape for many, many years to come.
> is it just normal for them to have some smell to them?
Yes
In reading through the other threads on Nic River, I saw plenty of people saying that their nic smelled like nothing, so I'm not sure why there's conflicting info. Mine definitely doesn't smell like nothing, and dirt is a good description of the smell, but I'm finding it hard to believe that multiple batches from the past 6 months could all have the same earthy smell and be bad. Is there perhaps some over exaggeration going on? What does your nic smell like?
Mine usually smells a bit chemical - what seems to be referred to here as earthy, I've always considered more tobacco-y - an order I got from Nude years ago smelled a bit fishy.
And all of that was relatively faint and you could only smell over the large original bottle when it's concentrated. And it all tasted fine when vaped.
If you get something that has an overpowering stank when you first open it up, then you might have an issue. I remember one bottle I got back in 2014 that I sent back (to a company that's no longer in business) that absolutely reeked of wet dirty ashtray.
I think what's happening here is some people definitely got a bad batch and some people are falling to the power of suggestion (and sadly, as we seen in these threads, some are just scammin')
Personally, I've never gotten a batch from any vendor, including everyone's put on a pedestal pick Carolina Extract, that hasn't had a scent. Everyone is flipping right now. Just make a little test batch. If it's unoffending to you, that's a keeper.
I got in some PurNic 250mg in pg yesterday. It has a smell, it isn't clear as water. I made a test batch and it's fine by me.
I can’t think that every batch is bad and honestly taste is subjective. This is my first time ever tasting nicotine so i wasn’t sure. My friend tasted it, who does have experience, and said that it does have an off mushroomy taste/smell but that if it doesn’t bother me, it won’t hurt me. I bought 4 liters all together. Two have yet to arrive. River has been amazing and are sending me another two liters to make up for the bad ones. I would never scam them and if anyone does, I find it pretty sad. I do think everyone is freaking out also bc some have the same batch number as me and said it is fine.
As many have commented on multiple nic posts per day lately, smell is NOT an accurate indicator of taste!!! I've had different bottles of awful smelling nic taste both fine or awful before; I've had "neutral", faint-smelling nic taste awful & fine sometimes too. Taste your nic if you're concerned & then once you've TRIED it, go from there.
Color also rarely means shit too. I've had clear nic taste like crap but my medium amber colored room temp working bottle taste fine.
C'mon guys just taste your nic like it's been said a bunch before complaining here or at River. We can't help you unless you've tasted it.
If the nic is clear I'm happy , never had clear nic color being bad. Color does mean a lot to me but like you stated others may feel differently .
I just got 2 different batches of horrible salts from River; both were perfectly crystal clear, great looking nic. One tasted like mushrooms & the other tasted like a nasty earthy soggy ashtray. The ONLY bad nic I've personally gotten (3 separate times, all from River) have been crystal clear. Hence why we say color doesn't matter & taste does. Of course I prefer crystal clear nic over yellow stuff too, but color is a very poor indicator of taste.
I have ordered lots of nic since I started mixing. My recent order from River definitely had something going on with it. Bad pg, bad nic, or contaminated storage container at their facility? Your guess is as good as mine. Nic was clear, smell was earthy-no big deal. Taste however was musty and similar to smell of a can of mushrooms. I mixed testers at 3mg and 9mg for my devices. The taste was fairly strong and will be hard to cover in a recipe. I'll be dumping my liter.
I unfortunately don't have a batch number, jug is long gone but I ordered a liter of 250mg freebase vg and it was darker than expected didn't think to smell or test it right away was waiting on 2 small bottles I mixed up with flavor to steep a little to see how it was, was just worried about the color at first but pulled it out of the freezer smells like mushrooms. I wasn't repulsed either but tested it, first time doing that as well, and it's not pleasant, taste is worse than smell. 6mg on a single coil 26gX3 alien in an rda. I also had 2 little bottles with flavor in em one 12mg 50/50 and a 3mg 70vg and they both have that weird flavor present. I emailed river late last night we'll see.
I'm new to DIY & all my nicotine seems fine. However, do you think it could be because everyone's batches are fresh? My last order, I had to wait about a week before it was shipped & when I received it - i checked the date & it was just made. I've gotten all mine from Heartland though, besides my first batch & it was CNT. I just know most of the companies were stating that all orders would be delayed because they were overwhelmed with orders.
Damn. I ordered 100mg pg salts from nic River also and received it about a week ago. Portioned it off, sealed, chucked in all in the freezer. I unfortunately wouldn't even know my batch number because I threw the original jug in the trash. Sigh guess ill need to dig that box out its gonna be a huge pia. Do they not quality control this stuff?
There seem to be alot of, could this be, what is, in the past, and so on. Has anyone gotten any answers or input from Nic River? Do they have any customer support worth it's salt? Or should I say, Worth it's Nic Salt? LOL
I'm looking to make the jump into DIY liquid and have looked at Nic River Supply. Following this issue & wanting to know if it's a company that will be a good choice for supplies including Nicotine. 🤷♂️
They emailed me back almost immediately. Asked for a picture of the nic and the batch number. They put in an order to replace it right away. Customer service is top notch in my opinion. I hope that people do not use this as a way to get free nicotine by saying it is bad...I think I read the cut off date for replacements is today tho bc of shipping and how many orders they already have to fill!