Hopefully you’ve had a chance to check out some of the reviews on the site recently. I didn’t have a juice battle last week, as I was spending quite a bit of time updating the rating system on juices and hardware in addition to updating various other things to hopefully make the site a little easier to use.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, back to getting down and dirty and doing some reviews and juice battles. This juice battle actually covers the last 2 weeks. It’s something I hope to not get in the habit of doing, but it was necessary this time.

I had a chance to try and review 7 different juices, and now they will go head to head here to determine the best of the best. So without further ado…

#7 ECBlends Citrus Explosion

Coming in dead last this week is Citrus Explosion from ECBlends. Here’s what they say about it:

An mouth watering explosion of Citrus Flavors

I think they spent about as much time on quality control in making this juice as they did in proof reading their descriptions. I actually really like citrus a lot, and I have generally had positive experiences with citrus vapes. This is definitely one of the worst I have had so far. To me, it tasted just like a watered down sprite that had been left out all night. You have to struggle to pull ANY flavor out of it at all, and the flavor that you get ends up dull and flat.

It’s particularly puzzling considering this juice is called Citrus Explosion. With a name like that, I obviously have much higher expectations than what they actually delivered on. Now if they would have called this juice “Lemon Lime” or something like that, then the end result would at least be in the ballpark. It still is a shitty version of Lemon-Lime at best, but at least they don’t mislead you by making you brace for an “explosion” of citrus, which this juice doesn’t even come close to delivering on. The name just draws more attention to the noticeable lack of any real flavor.

I have generally been pretty happy with the juices I have tried from ECBlends so far, but this one was not even close.

Terrible, and not recommended under any circumstances.

Read the full review

#6 Vape Dudes: Pumpkin Cheesecake

Coming in at #6 this week is Pumpkin Cheesecake from Vape Dudes. Here’s what they say about it:

Pumpkin Cheesecake – (Limited Edition no more!) You loved it SO much, we decided to make this one part of our permanent line-up! Oh yes, the creaminess of cheesecake paired with our classic Pumpkin.

I had really high hopes for this one. I mean who doesn’t like the sound of pumpkin and cheesecake paired together, right? Well, this is now the second juice I have tried from Vape Dudes where it does taste OK, but is not particularly true to description. The first one was Pineapple Upside Down Vape, and while I liked it and it actually finished decent in the juice battle, it didn’t have a strong pineapple presence at all.

This juice is similar. The name promises to be delicious, but funny, there is a distinct lack of any real pumpkin flavor and frankly I don’t think it tastes much like cheesecake either. It tastes mostly like a jumbled mess of vanilla.

I let it slide the first time and that was largely because the juice still tasted pretty good. This time, the overall taste of the juice is markedly worse. It also doesn’t vape as well, and I thought overall the whole thing was just unbalanced and a complete mess.

While it isn’t unvapable, I didn’t think this juice was good at all. It is a pretty poor attempt at cheesecake.

Not recommended.

Read the full review

#5 Good Life Vapor: Red Headed Slut

Coming in at #5 this week is Red Headed Slut from Good Life Vapor. Here’s what they say about it:

Lindsay needs to lay off the sauce! Cranberry with a peachy finish

The rest of the juices in the battle were all somewhat good in one way or another, so it was a little more difficult to pick winners and losers here. The reason why I put Red Headed Slut as basically the “worst of the best” in this battle was the flavor was just too subdued for me.

First of all, I love the idea of cranberry and peach. It’s not a combination I would have thought of myself, but it sounds amazing.

When I first tasted this juice, I hadn’t read the description yet. I was unable to identify any particular flavor in it, and the whole thing just tasted red to me. I had no idea it was a cranberry vape, or that it contained peach.

After reading the description, and more vaping, I could somewhat pick out a slight hint of cranberry and a slight bit of peach, but both were extremely mellow and not particularly prominent.

Overall, the juice actually vapes pretty well, and I actually kind of appreciate the fact that it is fruity and sweet, but in a mellow way. I don’t like overly sweet fruity vapes, and this is not one.

Where they really blew it for me was that the flavors just weren’t pronounced enough. I would expect a lot more tartness from the cranberry, and it should be clearly discernible as the dominant flavor in the vape. Peach is usually a flavor where vendors are TOO heavy handed, but this was a rare instance where I could hardly taste it at all.

I think it is a good concept, and the juice itself isn’t bad at all. It just isn’t that good either.

Not really recommended.

Read the full review

#4 Moon Mountain Vapor: Apple Apocalypse

Coming in 4th Place this week is Apple Apocalypse from Moon Mountain Vapor. Here’s what they say about it:

Fluffy, Flakey, Warm, and Goey. Apple Pie like Grandma Lunartic used to make.

It’s funny. At first I really liked this juice quite a bit, and actually praised it pretty highly in my review. The more I vaped this one, however, the less I liked it.

I thought the apple aspect of it was pretty good. The issue I had was with the “crust” part. It has kind of an overpowering butter sensation that tastes at least somewhat artificial and to me is just not that pleasant to vape. It’s actually kind of the same issue I had with Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish from Nicoticket.

While it doesn’t taste bad, necessarily, the richness and slightly artificial buttery flavor that exists just overpowers the rest of the vape and makes it difficult to really enjoy the other flavors as they should be enjoyed.

Vape-wise, this one vaped pretty well. It puts out a ton of vapor and has a great throat hit.

I think this is an OK juice, but I couldn’t continue vaping it after giving it a good try for a full day. I really liked it at first, but the more I vaped it, the less I thought it tasted like actual apple pie, and the more I thought it tasted like artificial butteryness.

It’s not a BAD juice, but I also wouldn’t really recommend it either. I will probably have to go back and do a follow up on my review, because I initially rated it much higher.

Read the full review

#3 Nicoticket: Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish

Coming in at 3rd this week was Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish by Nicoticket. Here’s what they say about it:

Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish is a delectable medley of Cassia cinnamon, buttery Danish pastry, and creamy confectionery style icing. The perfect marriage of sweet and savory, this bakery delight is a true “comfort vape” that is reminiscent of an “old fashioned country breakfast.” Bacon and eggs not included. BIG BOLD Cinnamon Roll flavor that is absolutely DELICIOUS fresh out of the mailbox. It’s a bit “strong” to be be an “all day vape” fresh, but it has been reported to “settle down” after about 7-10 days of steep time.

This was definitely the most interesting juice I reviewed from this batch. Apparently, some people from the Nicoticket support group thread on ECF caught wind of it and several of them seemed to be pretty upset that I didn’t give it a positive rating – although the actual Nicoticket staff were extremely friendly and helpful, and seemed totally cool – so they definitely earned my respect.

Apparently, according to people on the Nicoticket support thread, this is a pretty popular juice. I even had the classic “my dick is bigger than your dick” guy drop the following comment on the review:

Good thing you don’t like it- leaves more for those of us who do! Thanks for not liking it!!! I know people who buy 500ml at a time so yeah…taste is subjective! And let me not forget you said Azure was a better alternative- every single thing you described about GCD is exactly what I feel about EVERY Azure juice I’ve gotten from there. Each bottle taste like perfume no matter how many MONTHS it steeped! Enjoy your Azure.

So thanks for that “ScandalX”. I had to look for myself after reading this, and I found that 500ml of Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish actually costs $200 to purchase. Now I’m sure ScandalX wouldn’t lie, and there probably are people that buy this 500ml at a time, but my message to them would be: Broaden your fucking horizon a little.

I realize that some people like this juice, and that it somehow was voted 3rd best bakery juice of 2013 on ECF – probably because they do seem to have an active following, but in my opinion this is not that great of a juice.

I can only possibly conclude that anyone who would buy $200 worth of this at a time probably has not tried a lot of other similar juices because there clearly are other options available that are both better and in some cases cheaper.

For example, as you can see in ScandalX’s comment, he referenced Azure. That’s because I recommended Azure’s Bearclaw as an alternative to this. I personally thought it was markedly better, to the point of not even being close. And it just so happens that you can get 120 ml of it for just $16. So a little math will reveal that “Spending $200 a Crack on Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish Guy” could easily get that same quantity for a fraction of the price – and personally I think Azure’s Bearclaw is far better. Even if I’m wrong, maybe that guy should spend a couple bucks to try a few different cinnamon roll juices before going ham on the GCD. I know for a fact that MBV’s Cinnamon Roll is very popular, and while I haven’t tried it, I would sure suggest at least looking at that as an option.

I have never gotten that kind of response on any review I have done yet, so it was interesting to say the least. In fact, I was so intrigued by it that I decided to give it another chance.

So even though I didn’t care for it the first time around, I loaded up a full tank of it in my favorite setup right now – a VTR with an 804 Dream Tank at 1.9 ohm and 4.4 volts and have been vaping it a lot for several days.

After vaping it for several days, I am even more convinced that my original review was pretty accurate. First of all, this isn’t a bad or disgusting juice. It is actually pretty good. You’ve got the cinnamon, buttery danish and the icing. The flavor is VERY strong, and it is relatively tasty.

The problem for me was that I didn’t think there was enough cinnamon or icing to balance out the heaviness of the butter. Just like Apple Apocalypse, this juice has a buttery side to it that to me is verging on making the juice unvapable, but it’s dialed back just enough so you can still vape it. It is strong, overpowers the rest of the flavors, and I don’t really like the way that it tastes.

Just having my VTR in my pocket with a tank of this juice in it made it so that I was smelling the scent of it on me and on my coat all day long. Then later in the day, I gave it to my buddy to vape on for a while. About 20 minutes later, my friend walked by him and asked him what cologne he was wearing to which he replied: “Just the ejuice that Sam gave me.”

I have vaped hundreds of different juices, and that was a first for me.

So the bottom line with Nicoticket is, it isn’t a bad juice, but I frankly don’t think it is better than other similar juices I have tried, and the butter component makes it nearly unvapable to me, so for that reason, I still don’t recommend it, despite the fact that it vaped better than quite a few other juices in this week’s battle. I definitely don’t think it was deserving of 3rd place in the ECF best of 2013 poll.

Read the full review

#2 Aero Juice: Abstrakt

Coming in at runner up this week is Abstrakt by Aero Juice. Here’s what they say about it:

Dark, mysterious, exotic, and tempting, with hints of cappuccino, chocolate, and anise.

It’s funny because I really didn’t love this juice, but I can really see the quality and potential in it. When comparing this against the previous 5 juices this week, it just isn’t close quality-wise. People who are pissed off about my review of Nicoticket’s GCD should look to a juice like this to see how flavors really ought to be balanced in order to produce an amazing finished product.

This is a really nice juice because they’ve taken a popular flavor – Anise (black licorice), and really taken it to the next level with some interesting pairings – chocolate and coffee.

The cool thing about this juice is that it tastes justs like it smells. When you open the bottle, you get a strong rush of anise with subtle earthy and dry hints of chocolate and coffee.

When you vape it, the inhale is mild and slightly chocolatey on the inhale. The exhale carries a rush of anise – sweet and slightly sour, and an earthy and dry coffee finish to round out the vape.

They tickle multiple different areas of the palate, and the chocolate and coffee notes are subtle enough that they don’t get in the way of the anise, but prominent enough that you can even smell them in the bottle.

In my opinion, this is an excellent display of blending flavors together to create a balanced and delicious vape. Now unfortunately I’m not really an anise guy. If I was, I would probably have put Abstrakt in first place this week, because it is truly an amazing flavor. For me, while I actually vaped quite a bit of this and liked it, it’s not something I would vape with any real regularity.

Vape wise, for only 12mg, it carries a great throat hit, and the vapor production was superb. Probably the most well balanced vape of the whole group this week.

Highly recommended if you like anise. You will not be disappointed.

Read the full review

#1 MBV: Green Tea

This week’s winner was Green Tea from MBV. Here’s what they say about it:

Our 100% USA made Nicotine juice comes in a variety of blends and strengths. Please select the options to complete your juice order. The Green Tea e juice is made with the highest quality flavors and ingredients and will satisfy your taste buds and nicotine cravings. All our e liquids come in 15 ml childproof dropper bottles. The Green Tea E Juice is freshly mixed when you order so you will never get any old product from us. In order to add the item to your cart you will need to select all of the options. All our e juices ship out within 24 hours of order time. Most of the time sooner. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please send us a email via our contact page.

I’m a big fan of Tea vapes. Before today, there weren’t a ton of other green tea vapes I had found that were even close to offering an authentic green tea flavor. Who would have thought that I needed to look no further than MBV to find an answer.

I had a little trouble rating this juice over Abstrakt, which was such a beautifully crafted symphony of flavor, but with Green Tea, they did ONE thing and did it really fucking good.

This is simply the most accurate green tea flavor I’ve tried to date. It’s light. It’s green. It’s earthy and grassy. It’s dry. It doesn’t have a lot of sweetness. It’s EXACRTLY like a good quality, authentic green tea.

Personally, I find it to be mild, smooth and refreshing. this is a great juice to have in your arsenal for those days when you just need something light. Or maybe you’re going to be vaping for an extended period of time and don’t want to be vaping something super heavy.

Anyone who truly is into green tea should appreciate this juice. I think it’s great by itself, and it would probably also mix well with a variety of different flavors. Best of all, it’s MBV, so it’s super cheap.

I got mine at 80/20 and it hits perfectly and still puts out a solid cloud. I would buy it again exactly the same way.

I was super happy with this juice, and it is by far the most authentic green tea flavor I have tried to date.

Highly recommended.

Read the full review

The Bottom Line

I didn’t get to review as many juices as I normally would have liked during this long 2 week period, but I did get a chance to make some much needed upgrades to the site and now I am poised to knock out many more reviews a lot faster and hopefully more user friendly for readers at the same time.

Out of the 7 juices I tried, I only really liked 2, and of the 2, Abstrakt is one I probably wouldn’t buy again because I don’t like anise. So this battle was filled with a lot of duds – as you can see from the fact that Nicoticket’s GCD still managed to finish 3rd even though I didn’t like it the first time, and still didn’t like it after vaping it for several days pretty heavily. I do like the fact that they clearly have an active group of customers who go out of their way to support their favorite vendor, and I think it’s great – even if I don’t particularly care if they know people who are buying it at 500ml in one shot. Hey – if that’s what you like, and that’s all you want to vape – more power to ya.

For me, I like trying new flavors, and I am obviously looking for juices that really stand out or really accurately taste as described.

That said, I’ve already picked out 10 juices that I’m going to be vaping and reviewing all week this week in preparation for next week’s battle.

In 2 weeks I am having a custard battle, so if anyone knows of any good custard flavors to try, please leave a comment and let me know. I already have 7 selected, but would like 10-12.

Until next time…