Thanks out to
@wllmc from @BullCityFlavors for sending these out for testing. Not a lot of information out there on these, so decided to start LOW with these.
All mixed at the percentages listed, @ 3mg, 70v/30p, tested on a SteamCrave RDTA v.1, with dual vertical, 7 wrap, 24ga. Kanthal coils, with fresh cotton and dry burned coils in between tests. Steeped for 1+ week.
www.bullcityflavors.com
**Apple Strudel (SSA) 1.5% (9-18-20)** -- Sugar, and Spice, and everything Nice is what this one had. As far as the strudel portion, your take on a strudel will dictate what you think about it's inclusion here. I got a solid bakery from this one, that paired perfectly with the sweet and full, slightly spiced apple. The apple(s) were of the "filing" type, and similar to FLV's Apple Filling, but with less spice. There were some spice notes, but very low in the mix, and in no way obtrusive. At 1.5% it was very even, full, and satisfying with little to no concern of over or under flavoring. The bakery element did waver to and from a strudel-ish note, but was so evenly paired with the apple it was hard to nit pick it.
Sweetness was right about mid level, and expected in a desert type flavor. Pretty good one here, with not much to take off for. If anything might need to be boosted, it might be the strudel, but that would be a toss up. For a very natural tasting (not artificial) Apple Strudel that is mid sweet, and quite full at lower percentages, this one can get it done for you. Far better than most of the "Apple Pies" out there.
**9.2/10**.
**Compote Cherry (SSA) .75% (9-19-20)** -- Let's admit it, cherries are the DEVIL of DIY IMO. I have had, and been let down by MORE cherries than I can remember. We've all had them, the medicinal, soapy, perfumey, and just plain baddies. Is there reluctance every time I try one ?? Ummm, YES. Sniff tested all of these while trying to decide on the strengths to test as, as there was LITTLE to no info on them. Settled on 0.75% for this one, and ............ (suspense) ........................ it worked out GREAT. NO of the aforementioned cherry issues were found here today. Whew, what a relief. At this testing weight, it was very full, BUT, with none of the ceiling hitting side effects, so I'm going to go with a 0.50-0.75% rec. on this one. As it stood, a very unique cherry, which just means, it tastes like none of the other ones I've tried, and the "compote" may be partially to blame for that. A compote is where whole fruit is cooked down in sugar/water, unlike a jam wherein the fruit is typically cut up. They DO taste different, and am trying to decide if the uniqueness of this one is the compote. The cherry was very broad spectrum, and didn't reside in just one specific cherry, but I think the overwhelming profile leaned towards maraschino, but it's more than just that. Didn't really pick up on a black cherry, but let's just leave it at a full bodied mara for now. There was this little peppy BURST that I got on every finish on this one, that was very interesting. Almost like a sharp little Fuji Apple kicker on the tail end, but I don't want to pigeon hole it to that specific, but it's LIKE that. Sweetness was a click or two above mid level (duh, compote), and it did not appear too high, for the flavor. The overall profile was exactly as it was named, with no change throughout the tank. Having been wacked (possible over flavoring on my part) by many cherries before, this one was a welcome relief on my quest FOR the cherry. I'm QUITE sure, if this one was overflavored there COULD be some issues, so GO LOW, and I suggest a 0.50-0.75% starting point. It might not carry ALL of your cherry weight in mixes, but it damn sure could, and I think I'm going to let @alfredpudding know about this, as his
Cherry Bomb was utterly brilliant, and insanely good. What an impressive Cherry this was to try, and if you've been hurt by cherries before, you def. want to add this one to your list. Something feels unholy in giving a cherry a 10 out of 10, so for religious reasons, I will cap this off @
**9.9/10**.
**Dessert Chocolate (SSA) 0.85% (9-16-20)** -- FIRST ONE on deck, and I chose a DARK ONE at that. Don't be AFRAID, just because something's dark, hehe, but you might change your cotton more often, depending on the flavor. Upon FIRST vape, I KNEW this was a KNOCK OUT flavor. Chocolates are hard to get right, whether it's Band Aids in Milk Chocolates, or Dark and Bitter/Dry in Dark Chocolates. This one had NO off-putting notes whatsoever. I can't think of a direct comparison, but at first FLV's Red Velvet came to mind, as it had some very good almost cake elements to it. No Band Aid, no dryness, no bitterness. At this testing weight, it was very nice, rich, and full. It could even be used lower if needed, so we are talking Ultra concentrates at this level and lower. Tested this at 65 watts, with no scorching or burning that I could detect, which was another plus. The chocolate leaned darker, but wasn't a full "Dark" chocolate, and the cakey-ness could not be denied, and it really pulled it into a desert type flavor. You could almost solo vape this IMO, because of the great pairing of the choco and cake. The cake notes (or whatever you deem them to be) really pulled this into a unique category all it's own, much like Wonder Flavor's Smores Cupcake did. All in, this first one, was far better than I expected, AND, at a very low mixing rate. Because of the added richness (cakey-ness) I could DEF. see this in quite a few desert, smores, etc. recipes. While not a "pure" chocolate per se, it's damned good, and should be on your "must try" list, if you are new to SSA flavors.
**9.9/10**.
**Raspberry Syrup (SSA) 1.0% (9-17-20)** -- As sometimes happens, the moment you start a new flavor, you get an impression, that you can't shake throughout the entire test, and it happened again. First thoughts were INW Raspberry Malina meets MF Wild Raspberry. Let's start out with what this one wasn't. I didn't get a huge "syrup"-ness from this one, BUT, that's about the ONLY bad thing I COULD find with it. At 1% it was nice and full, and probably COULD be run lower, but in no way was it hitting the ceiling @ 1%. Super damned delicious, with about ZERO of the issues that I've had with most other RB's. It centered around a mid and somewhat dark raspberry, with surprisingly low sweetness (hence the "where's the syrup"). It had a really nice tart-ish finish that really drove an already GREAT raspberry flavor, all the way home. Tasted very natural with zero off-putting notes or characteristics, and almost seemed to have a smidge of seeds in there. Currently (but not with MF's Wild Rasp) I have to combine multiple players to get a great RB, but this one, can really hold it's own, and leave you wanting more. Second one from SSA that I've tested, and thus far, VERY impressive. If you have tried MF Wild Rasp, and INW Malina, then invision the two of them combined, and that will get you very in the ballpark of this one. Despite being named a "syrup", the lower than expected sweetness would allow far greater uses of this one, and you could spike the sweet up if needed. I hate to say it so early in the testing here, but this one also, could/should be on your must try list from SSA. Very clean, accurate, and natural tasting Raspberry, that encompassed almost everything you'd want FROM a Raspberry.
**10/10**.
**Shortbread Cookie (SSA) 2% (9-18-20)** -- Oh Nooo, another cookie ?? Think again. That's what I thought going into this one, "Do we need another cookie" ?? Well, after trying this one, I think we DO. This review directly followed my review of SSA's Raspberry Syrup, and I immediately wanted to mix the two of these. At 2%, this one was right on track, rich, full, buttery, and somehow, really captured the Shortbread aspect(s). Not sure how they did it, but it is clearly NOT a cookie, or biscuit, but lands smack, dab, in the middle of Shortbread city. One could say it is "similar" to Jungle Flavor's biscuit, which presented almost as a pairing of INW Bicuit, and FA's Cookie, but this one is much more than that. SSA apparently spent some time really nailing the shortbread aspect of this, and it shows. You almost get a grainy bakery in this one, coupled with some buttery goodness. Not topped out at 2%, and it felt great at this weight. Sweetness was almost mid level, with no real take-offs. Surely it could be push/pulled if needed, depending on your American vs. European bakery needs, but you might just find after testing it, that you wont. All in, this is an outstanding, and perhaps the best shortbread cookie (type) that I have tested. Didn't really pick up any vanilla per se, and not 100% sure if I'm getting a smidge of almond or not, but possibly so. If you're in the market for a great shortbread cookie, and/or love your bakeries, you'll have to add this one to your list as well. Sorry guys, I'm trying to go critical on these flavors, but after 3 in, I'm having a hard time finding any faults thus far. I kept teetering on a rating, because you just can't rate everything at the top, but I emptied an entire tester tank on this one as well, and was left with no negatives. A great bakery shortbread cookie here, with butter elements that just can't be denied.
**10/10**.
Thanks out to @Wllmc from @BullCityFlavors for sending these out for testing. Not a lot of information out there on these, so decided to start LOW with these. All mixed at the percentages listed, @ 3mg, 70v/30p, tested on a SteamCrave RDTA v.1, with dual vertical, 7 wrap, 24ga. Kanthal coils...
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