The much hated Flavor West thread.

[TheVapingHippie]

I know that just about everyone here has really nothing good to say about Flavor West.
First of all let it be known that I make ejuice for a small company and as much as I would like to order Flavor Arts, I can not find it in commercial quantities.
(I order flavors by the quart.)
I have about 5 years diy experience and have been mixing commercially for about 2 years.

So for all those closet FW mixers feel free to post your impressions, experiences, and recipes here.
Don't worry, I won't steal your recipes. I have plenty of my own.
All of which are good sellers.

 

[Jimi D]

Lets see some of your FW recipes. I promise I won't steal them.

 

[zaroba]

To be honest, I don't think FW is hated as much as you think.

I have just as much FW as I do FA and use a combination of both in most of my recipes. I like it.
Have a little bit of CAP and TFA as well but just the main popular stuff (ie vanilla custard, brown sugar, etc)

 

[TheVapingHippie]

Banana Pudding

8% Banana (FW)
2% Bavarian Cream (FW)
1% Marshmallow (FW)
.5% Graham Cracker (FW)
2% Sweetner (FW)

The banana in this recipe is there for obvious reasons. The Bavarian cream for the pudding note, Graham cracker is there for the cookie notes.
The marshmallow rounds out both the Bavarian cream and the Graham cracker. The sweetener just adds a little added sweetness to the whole thing. (But not too much)
Shake and vape.
This happens to be one of my best sellers at my stores.

Side note:
The banana is the star in this recipe.
The low percentage for the Graham cracker leaves behind an impression of the vanilla wafer with the help of the Bavarian cream and marshmallow. The Bavarian cream and marshmallow work together for the pudding notes.
The sweetener is there to bring it all together.

 

[SailCat]

Hey, Hippie! (I was considered such myself in my ill spent [no regrets] youth ).

Have you checked at Nicotine River? I've not looked for quarts but they do a good job with great service on larger sizes.

Good wishes and welcome to VU!

 

[NGAHaze]

I don't hate FW flavors at all, in fact, for me there are a few that I won't be without.

What I do hate however, is the lack of ingredient disclosure and downright deception by the folks who run the company.

 

[TheVapingHippie]

Cool, I will check into that.
Thank you for the warm welcome.

 

[TheVapingHippie]

I don't hate FW flavors at all, in fact, for me there are a few that I won't be without.

What I do hate however, is the lack of ingredient disclosure and downright deception by the folks who run the company.

Yeah I too have a little bit of an issue with them about that as well.
But all in all, I use a lot of their flavors. Not all of them. (There are a few that down right taste like ass. Pig Sap comes to mind.)
I do use TFA and Capella in some of my recipes because I can order them in commercial quantities.

 

[freemind]

Hey, Hippie! (I was considered such myself in my ill spent [no regrets] youth ).

Have you checked at Nicotine River? I've not looked for quarts but they do a good job with great service on larger sizes.

Good wishes and welcome to VU!

Here's a second for Nicotine River.
Turned a local shop onto them.

 

[TheVapingHippie]

Sailcat, thank you for the heads up ... I found that they sell FA in commercial quantities.

 

[zaroba]

ecigexpress.com sells FA in 500ml bottles.
I know it's not the full liter that your looking for, but it's a place to look if you can't find something elsewhere.

 

[Bobx]

http://www.diy-ejuice.com/ if you want to order from Canada. 1000ml's

 

[Huckleberried]

Ecigexpress sells FA in bulk sizes. Eliquid Mart up to 8oz.

 

[Heabob]

I like quite a few FW flavors,
Butter Pecan comes to mind.
And their Butterscotch is one of my favorites.
BTW Welcome to VU.

 

[Huckleberried]

I think people hate FW for non-disclosure. I know a lot of people here that have some of the flavors, I do, too, just not many. I think better flavorings are availalbe, and I think people just want to make informed choices.

 

[Superjeep]

I started out vaping and diy at the same time back in Jan of I think 2011 and I tried a few FW flavors not long after and I remember out of the 3 flavors I got all three had this really distinct sweetener taste to all three. They just all had this similar undertone and wanted to know if that was still the case because it really turned me off. Was the kind of sweet that felt like it coated your tongue.

I dont mind revisiting them and am open to it I am just worried about that aspect before I go all out.

 

[Artemis]

I think people hate FW for non-disclosure. I know a lot of people here that have some of the flavors, I do, too, just not many. I think better flavorings are availalbe, and I think people just want to make informed choices.

Exactly my issue. I do have a few but I wasn't too happy with their original lies. When I first started diy-ing back in late 2010 they told me their flavorings were diacetyl free. We all know better now. It's not the hate on the flavoring just the history of the company. There is more to the story but it's old news.

I actually use FW cinnamon roll. The yellow cake is hard on coils. Other than that I gave up on FW years ago.

 

[TheVapingHippie]

To be honest, I started using FW because it was what the guy who was making juice for the company before me was using.
His juices were lacklustre to say the least. (Personally I don't think the guy ever mixed before) there are 4 other vape shops in my town and the customers are telling me that the juice at our shops are the best and the cheapest.
Over the past couple of months I have been thinking about stepping up my game. ( to stay on top)
Do I still do diy mixing at home?
Yes, I do this for two reasons.
1. I do it for my own personal juices.
2. I won't release a new juice until I have perfected it.

One thing I personally don't like about FW is that their flavors are so diluted.
And yes I don't like the fact that they are so tight lipped about disclosure.

Back to flavorings.
Their hard candy flavor is what they suggest for a jolly rancher backbone. I tend to disagree. The hard candy leaves somewhat of a wierd mouth feel.
How I accomplish it is to use 1% FW sour and 2% FW sweetener.
I am in the process of doing a whole line of jolly rancher flavors.
Watermelon Jolly Rancher is done to death. So far I have JR watermelon, peach and BlackBerry.

 

[nabibrian]

To be honest, I started using FW because it was what the guy who was making juice for the company before me was using.
His juices were lacklustre to say the least. (Personally I don't think the guy ever mixed before) there are 4 other vape shops in my town and the customers are telling me that the juice at our shops are the best and the cheapest.
Over the past couple of months I have been thinking about stepping up my game. ( to stay on top)
Do I still do diy mixing at home?
Yes, I do this for two reasons.
1. I do it for my own personal juices.
2. I won't release a new juice until I have perfected it.

One thing I personally don't like about FW is that their flavors are so diluted.
And yes I don't like the fact that they are so tight lipped about disclosure.

Back to flavorings.
Their hard candy flavor is what they suggest for a jolly rancher backbone. I tend to disagree. The hard candy leaves somewhat of a wierd mouth feel.
How I accomplish it is to use 1% FW sour and 2% FW sweetener.
I am in the process of doing a whole line of jolly rancher flavors.
Watermelon Jolly Rancher is done to death. So far I have JR watermelon, peach and BlackBerry.

I am very pleased to have someone familiar with FW and who is freely sharing their experience and knowledge with the community.
This is awesome and much appreciated!

Thanks also for sharing one of your recipes, hope to see more as time goes on.

In the meantime, allow me to share the following:

Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/Botboy141
Flavor West (FW)

• Banana - Best Banana I've found yet, but not very strong. Tastes like real bananas, not banana candy.
• Black Licorice - A bright/sweet sort of black licorice with a bit of a "tang" maybe a touch minty?. Very good mixed @ 15%
• Cinnamon - Not pure cinnamon. Sort of a sugar cinnamon mix; good for sweet pastry mixes. This one will crack polycarbonate tanks.
• French Vanilla - Okay on its own, but not a standout (and I LOVE vanillas). Not good enough to make again. Will save this for any recipes I come across that call for it.
• Irish Cream - Mild and smooth. NOT a Bailey's clone. Fairly weak. I brew @ 20%. Haven't mixed yet, but you can tell it would work well as a base if you're careful not to overpower.
• Mango - Good solid flavour 15%
• Orange - Best orange I've found so far. Not as bold as I'd like @ 15% but tastes like biting into a fresh orange. Very good. Better than FA & FFP.
• Root Beer Float - Best root beer flavour I've tried yet. Beats TPA and LOR hands down. Only maybe a slight hint of the "float" part. Just a nice light root beer vape mixed @ 15%
• Butterscotch - This is the most convincing butterscotch I have tried yet, tastes just like butterscotch candy to me. No weird after taste like TFA's version. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Cinnamon Roll - One of the best cinnamon rolls Ive found to date. It's buttery and has that bakery taste that a lot of the other vendors seem to leave out. Perfect for any dessert blend that lacks density. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Cucumber Mint - I HATE mint flavors I refuse to make them or vape them, but this flavor has me questioning my hatred for mint. The cucumber is crisp and refreshing on the inhale, the mint is sweet and light on the exhale. This flavor really surprised me, Its good by itself at 14-16%, but my favorite blend has been cucumber mint and a little bit of watermelon. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Hawaiian Punch - There are a few FW flavors that just blow other vendors versions out of the water, and then there are a lot of FW that have a horrible alcohol taste to it. This flavor is one of the most perfume-y flavors I've ever tried, it has a horrible chemical taste to it at 10%. This isn't like any Hawaiian punch I have tried. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Hazelnut - This is my favorite hazelnuts so far, although it does not taste like straight up hazelnuts. more like a hazelnut cream. Its good by itself at 12% but it really shines when you blend it with other flavors. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Jungle Juice - Once again, not a menthol fan, but this ones popular with all of my friends. I taste watermelon and grape with a minty exhale, its good by itself at 15% - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Jolly Rancher - this tastes just like a jolly rancher candy, add any fruit you want for a good candy flavor. I use it at 8-10% combined with fruit flavors like watermelon or grape. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214

 

[nabibrian]

...continued from above quote

• Mt. Dew - This flavor sucks, tastes like flat, watered down mountain dew syrup more than anything. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Pina Colada - This is good by itself at 15%, its really sweet on its own so no sweetener is needed - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Skittles - A lot of people seem to like this flavor. To me, It tastes like eating skittles after they've been soaked in rubbing alcohol. When I first started vaping this was one of the first flavors I got hooked on. But my palette has become a lot more refined since then, even steeping doesn't seem to get that alcohol taste out of this flavor. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• White Chocolate - I like this better than TFA's version, its really sweet and kind of creamy. I am not particularly a fan of chocolate vapes but this white chocolate can be paired with everything form fruits to desserts and coffees to add sweetness. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Butter Rum - In the bottle it smells identical to the butter rum lifesavers they release during the holidays. Its sweet and buttery with slight rum notes. From my experience a lot of FW flavors can be on the light side so I tried it at 15% first. It is really weak, the taste is good, its just very faint. Even at 20% this flavor is still really light, I tried adding vanillin and a bit of butterscotch and that definitely helped but the butter rum flavor just wasnt as prominent as I was hoping it to be. In the end i made a pretty good butter rum coffee cake, its just too light of a flavor to be used on its own. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Cookie Butter - Im not sure what to think about this flavor, it smells like molasses and brown sugar out of the bottle. Almost like a gingerbread cookie without the ginger. I mixed a test batch up at 10% and tried it on my dripper. Its extremely dry tasting, I didn't like it on its own at all. I tried it again with a little bit of vanilla custard, and it still had this strange dry taste, almost like I ate a spoonful of raw cinnamon. Really strange flavor, I never attempted anything else with it, although I plan to use it as a crust for cheesecake or something of that sort. I think it has potential I just haven't figured this one out yet! - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Butter Cream - This smells like butter and crayons out of the bottle, its not a horrible smell but its not appetizing. I ended up making a pretty decent butter cream pie, this flavor needs to steep for a few days to get the waxy taste out in my opinion. All in all not a bad flavor, can be used to make desserts tastes buttery. - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214
• Rice Krispies - Rice krispies: nice authentic taste of the plain ceral. Adds a crunchy aspect which is interesting. Use around 10%. Add some sugar or marshmallow for a sweet treat. Courtesy of /u/danykitten.
• Margarita - tart and tangy. To me it's a mixing flavor that would really help a fruit flavor pop. A bit of a cool feel to which adds a refreshing aspect. Works great with lime and strawberry. Start at 7-10%. Courtesy of /u/danykitten.
• Ginger Ale - got more ginger out of this than soda but the taste is there. Would be great for a Shirley temple or an accent of ginger with a refreshing feel. Courtesy of /u/danykitten.
• Salt Water Taffy - to me this was a bust. 20% by itself was ok but I couldn't find anything that mixed well with it. Kind of plastic and artifical imo. Courtesy of /u/danykitten.

 

[OBDave]

I've got to say FW has the best standalone gummy bear - that's the only flavor of theirs I've had much success with. The only hard candy I do is a blue jolly rancher, and it doesn't rely on FW at all...

 

[OBDave]

But I should admit that I came up through the mixers here, and we admittedly have an FA bias with TFA, CAP, and INW as our primary seconds...at the quantities I'm mixing (+/- a liter a week) I can afford the premium flavorings, though if I were full-blown commercial cost factors might indeed drive me to seek out cheaper options like FW, despite there being plenty of profit in using premium concentrates even at my going rate of $10/50 ml...

 

[nabibrian]

I've got to say FW has the best standalone gummy bear - that's the only flavor of theirs I've had much success with. The only hard candy I do is a blue jolly rancher, and it doesn't rely on FW at all...

What is your percentage for the gummy?
How does it compare to TFA?

 

[madjaggar]

I don't have a lot of FW but the ones I do have I really like. Their cake dip is great and their Graham cracker is probably the best I've tried. I also like reindeer poop although I usually add a cream to it choose I hell like it needs a little too mellow and round it out

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[TheVapingHippie]

FW Skittles flavor is alright as a standalone, in fact it's one of our best sellers. To me, I'm not tasting the rainbow. I taste just the lime skittles. I did a little experiment with it.
One of my favorite starbuzz shishas is one called coco jumbo.
It's a lime and coconut mix, when smoked in a hookah it tastes like key lime pie with toasted coconut.

I mixed the skittles with FW creamy coconut.
Nothing like I expected..
It came out tasting like a Margarita.
I even let it steep for a month.... No change.
Smh.

 

[NGAHaze]

It came out tasting like a Margarita.

Hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing ...

 

[Heabob]

Pina Colada - This is good by itself at 15%, its really sweet on its own so no sweetener is needed - Courtesy of /u/VapeQueen214

Wow, I think I'd choke at 15%, as 6-7% works good for me.

 

[joeyboy]

I have a few fw flavors. Yellow cake is good. I do read many their flavors at double digit percentages. After using FA it is very difficult for me to had double digit of one flavor to a recipe. Probably my loss but I can't wrap my mind around it. I use them as a complimentary flavor in low ranges.

I do have butter pecan but have not tried it. I don't know where to start. I am sure it would not be like FA starting points.

 

[TheVapingHippie]

The reason for the double digit percentages is because of the dilution factor with FW.
But when I'm mixing multiple flavors I use low single digit percentages.
When I do my butterfinger recipe, you have to be exact. .25% one way or another and you screw the whole thing up and end up with chocolate peanut butter maple syrup.
Needless to say, it took me 6 attempts to get it right.

 

[joeyboy]

I understand that. It's just in my mind.

 

[freemind]

Just a question for you @TheVapingHippie .

You said you are developing juices for the shop. Do they pay you a percentage for the sales, a price per recipe, or in some other way, compensate you for your recipes other than the hourly wage at the shop?

I ask because it's pretty common here for shop owners to ask employees to develop juice, but there isn't any compensation to them, other than the low hourly wages they get.

 

[lirruping]

But I should admit that I came up through the mixers here, and we admittedly have an FA bias with TFA, CAP, and INW as our primary seconds...at the quantities I'm mixing (+/- a liter a week) I can afford the premium flavorings, though if I were full-blown commercial cost factors might indeed drive me to seek out cheaper options like FW, despite there being plenty of profit in using premium concentrates even at my going rate of $10/50 ml...

I didn't know you made/sold ejuice! If the rules don't allow you to post your web addy, please pm it to me. I'd like take a look.

 

[Huckleberried]

I do have butter pecan but have not tried it. I don't know where to start. I am sure it would not be like FA starting points.

I used it at 5%. It's good, but that was really strong to me.

 

[RonJS]

When I get the taste to vape candy, Flavor West Candy Cane is one of my favorites.

I've tried it by mixing it with some FA Peppermint and/or various creamy flavors. For me, nothing I've tried works as well as just the Flavor West Candy Cane stand alone with perhaps (in the summertime) a bit (.7%) of TPA Koolada.

Very similar to..

http://vapingunderground.com/threads/hics-clone-of-halos-kringles-curse.1774/#post-377716

Ron
-----
"I could never resist the call of the trail."- Buffalo Bill

 

[KGuardian]

nothing I've tried works as well as just the Flavor West Candy Cane

I like it also. I have CAPs Peppermint, but haven't tried it yet. It smells spot on though. I've been thinking about trying a mix of a Peppermint and little TFA Spearmint which I find to also be very good on its own (with a touch of sweetener) if you like that type of mint. The two smell like they'd mix well and I'm sure it's been done in one form or another, but myself, I haven't seen a recipe with just those two ingredients.

 

[RonJS]

Sailcat, thank you for the heads up ... I found that they sell FA in commercial quantities.

Checking my email inbox today, I found something there from Nicotine River...
--
- FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS OVER $50 - This deal is not applicable for international customers our for drums/pure nicotine products. Deal ends 2/29/16 at Midnight PST. Thank you!
--
I did not see any coupon code or such, so MAYBE it's available by using this link...

https://www.nicotineriver.com/?utm_...a967e3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

Ron
---
"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain "-Dolly Parton

 

[RonJS]

I like it also. I have CAPs Peppermint, but haven't tried it yet. It smells spot on though. I've been thinking about trying a mix of a Peppermint and little TFA Spearmint which I find to also be very good on its own (with a touch of sweetener) if you like that type of mint. The two smell like they'd mix well and I'm sure it's been done in one form or another, but myself, I haven't seen a recipe with just those two ingredients.

Maybe a combo of those 2 mints could be something similar to an after dinner mint?

My only experience with spearmint was making a PG extraction with my garden mint. I was thinking of making a Mint Julep juice. While the extraction worked out well, somehow I got distracted and never mixed with it.

Ron
---
"...there's a conflict in every human heart, between the rational and the irrational, between good and evil, and good does not always triumph."-Lieutenant General Corman (Apocalypse Now (1979)

 

[skeene]

I'm surprised fw blueberry hasn't been mentioned yet, it's one of my favs

 

[Teresa P]

I'm surprised fw blueberry hasn't been mentioned yet, it's one of my favs

I just got some of that blueberry but haven't used it yet. That's a tough flavor for me, I really don't like anyone's blueberry.
I have several FWs and use them quite a bit. Fuzzy Navel is a must-have,always have a substantial stash in my freezer. Their chocolate tobacco is absolutely delicious. Double Dutch Twister makes a surprisingly good custard when mixed with Caps v1. Maple Pecan is a primary ingredient of one of my favorite vendor juices, Brindle, by Pitbull Vapes. Blood Orange tastes like straight orange juice. Dark Chocolate makes one of the best candy vapes when combined with your favorite fruit. So many good ones, but unfortunately for every good one there's a really weak one that makes me wonder why it was created to begin with. And @TheVapingHippie, I'm one pf those weirdos who loves Bubba's Pig Sap.....LOL!

 

[MrScaryZ]

some of the FW fruits are not to bad Mango, 555 tobacco is usable if mixed with other things IMHO

 

[joeyboy]

I have used FW blueberry. I probably don't go high enough but used it with DIYFS blueberry. Together they had good flavor. I went back to FA bilberry. I have found at higher flavors, at least with the FW ones I have used higher, I get some sort of taste I don't like. It pretty apparent with the FW waffle at 6%. Overall the waffle was good, with a maple background, but it has that aftertaste.

 

[Superjeep]

I wonder if its that same type of sweet flavor mine had when I tried them way back. Granted I only tried like 4 or 5 I think a couple tobacco's, fruit stripe and a couple I do not remember but they all had a very district and similar sweet after taste that coated your mouth. Thats the only think holding me back from trying some of the cereal flavors people seem to like.

 

[OBDave]

What is your percentage for the gummy?
How does it compare to TFA?

I'm at 10% standalone, and I like it much better than TFA's, which I found unvapable and stopped after two tries.

FW Skittles flavor is alright as a standalone, in fact it's one of our best sellers. To me, I'm not tasting the rainbow. I taste just the lime skittles. I did a little experiment with it.
One of my favorite starbuzz shishas is one called coco jumbo.
It's a lime and coconut mix, when smoked in a hookah it tastes like key lime pie with toasted coconut.

I mixed the skittles with FW creamy coconut.
Nothing like I expected..
It came out tasting like a Margarita.
I even let it steep for a month.... No change.
Smh.

Skittles is another one I use, forgot that - whenever anyone asks me about it I suggest 10% with 1% TFA Sour, and they all seem to love it.

 

[nabibrian]

I'm at 10% standalone, and I like it much better than TFA's, which I found unvapable and stopped after two tries.

Skittles is another one I use, forgot that - whenever anyone asks me about it I suggest 10% with 1% TFA Sour, and they all seem to love it.

Thanks, I will give that gummy a try, I have only used TFA Gummy.
Too bad I have about 2oz left lmao

 

[OBDave]

Thanks, I will give that gummy a try, I have only used TFA Gummy.
Too bad I have about 2oz left lmao

You know what they say about taste being subjective - if you're liking TFA you might not be as high on FW...don't buy 4 oz is what I guess I'm saying, though FW is so cheap it's still not a killer if you don't like it.

 

[nabibrian]

You know what they say about taste being subjective - if you're liking TFA you might not be as high on FW...don't buy 4 oz is what I guess I'm saying, though FW is so cheap it's still not a killer if you don't like it.

Yeah, I don't even want to talk about the unused 4oz bottles of other flavors I still have arrrrrggggghhhhh!!

 

[OBDave]

Hell, I thought I was going overboard when I upped my "sample" size from 10 to 30 ml...and now 60 ml when I buy from Nic River...

 

[nabibrian]

I want to go visit the place. They sell all their stuff out of the factory in Elsinore.
Let's go take a tour! Get some deals. I'll bet ya they always have the stuff in stock that everybody is sold out of.

Maybe we can organize a tour bus, count me in!!
They might even have a short bus for me, oh nevermind lol

 

[OBDave]

I want to go visit the place. They sell all their stuff out of the factory in Elsinore.
Let's go take a tour! Get some deals. I'll bet ya they always have the stuff in stock that everybody is sold out of.

Elsinore? No wonder they've got the reputation they do! Even other 909ers (or is that 951ers now?) don't want to be associated with our answer to Cleveland's "Mistake on the Lake."

 

[OBDave]

Though I've always wanted to catch a Storm game, so if you can work the two outings into one I'm down...