About Me

Welcome to TASTEYOURJUICE.com!

A PBUSARDO PUBLICATION

So who is PBusardo? Well my name is Phil (not Pete or Lou) 😉 Busardo. I was a pack a day smoker. More on the weekends. I went through a few different brands including Salem Ultra Lights and most recently Marb Lights. I started smoking when I was around 16.

I was able to successfully quit once for nearly a year, until my Grandmother (Nana) passed away and went right back to it.

I started doing research on electronic cigarettes after hearing about them on the web. Research began around March of 2009. I researched both devices and the risk reduction of vaping. I purchased several different el cheapo models to see if I could make the switch. I thought the sensation was pretty good and decided that I would try.

After doing even more research, I decided to go with an original Joye 510 manual. I went cold turkey on July 7th, 2009. I have been a happy vaper and have not had single analog (real) cigarette since.

Months after I started vaping, I noticed a few things. First, EVERYTHING tasted better! In my case, not necessarily a good thing :-). So my sense of taste along with my sense of smell improved. Second, I didn’t become winded as quickly as before. I could work in the yard or around the house without gasping for air. Finally, after a night out of heavy smoking, that first deep breath of the morning would hurt. I think many of you current and/or ex-smokers know what I’m talking about. Since vaping, NO MORE!! I could take that first deep breath of the day without any pain.

Here’s something else that happened. I was always susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections. I was good for at least 2 per year. Since I have been vaping, I haven’t had one. Not a single once since 2009.

When I first started, I used an 18mg nic level. I’m now down to a 12mg. I still enjoy the MTL or Mouth To Lung style of vaping which I feel more closely simulates the feeling of smoking a cigarette.

I desperately tried to find an e-liquid that resembled a Marb Light. I used some tobacco flavors, but was never really happy with them. I then started experimenting with different flavors. Back then, there weren’t many players in town. Dekang then came Johnson Creek, then came Halo, and then BOOM! I tried Johnson Creek and didn’t like their base. I couldn’t justify the price of Halo at the time as I was getting all my Dekang Juice from Heaven’s Gifts and it was CHEAP! I discovered that I really liked fruity flavors, watermelon and peach the most. I also enjoyed chocolate at night. I’ve since tried countless e-liquids from countless vendors. All my e-liquids now come from American vendors and I no longer vape Dekang, not that there is anything wrong with it.

As far as devices go. Originally it was the Joye 510 manual. The cart/atty systems back then were TERRIBLE and I’d be topping off constantly. I discovered the Lipton Tea Bag mod and used it for a long time. I also made the switch to an LR (low resistance) atty to improve the vaping experience. I used a PCC to charge on the go since the batteries never lasted very long.

I made the switch to an EGO when they first came out to improve my vape time. Around this time I also discovered Boge LR (Low Resistance) cartos. Once I tried them, I was hooked. Since then, I’ve tried numerous different cartos and I still prefer the Boge LR or NR (Normal Resistance) with higher voltages. Of course, that was years ago and equipment, tanks, and coils have improved greatly since then.

People were CONSTANTLY asking me what I was puffing on. I’d spend most of my time at parties explaining what it was. There was a lot of interest. I actually started a site where I could direct family and friends for information and to purchase them from me. I never pushed it, never made any money with it, and couldn’t keep up with the competition, so I let it go. I was still very interested in helping out people who wanted to make the switch from smoking to vaping. I was… and am… a very passionate vaper.

I had an email list where I would send out reviews and product suggestions. I also wrote reviews on the ECF.

On April 2nd, 2011, I posted my first video review on YouTube. It was more of a goof than anything else. I reviewed a “pen” style e-cig I received when I ordered some cartos from ElectronicStix.com. The thing was, it wasn’t a really an e-cig. It was a real pen, thus the goof.

Inspired by the likes of Grimm Green and Scott (igetcha69), I continued to do reviews, but with a twist. I wanted to provide good information to the community but in an entertaining way. You see, I’ve always been an entertainer at heart.

In my former full time job, I was a Senior Systems Engineer involved with the development, deployment, and support of speech recognition grammars, audio vocabularies, user interface designs, and system configurations for the Enterprise and Telco markets. I have a degree from RIT in Computer Engineering Technology which is one part hardware and one part software.

On the side, my other hobby was DJing in nightclubs. This is where “the entertainer” comes from. Although I’m no slouch at mixing (music, not e-liquid), my “value add” to the performance was always my voice and mic work. Some of this skill was and still is utilized in radio commercial production and voice modeling.

Inspired by Howard Stern… you’d never know what I was going to say or do next. My most successful promotions? The Lesbian Kissing contest was a huge winner. Dildo wiffle ball was a lot of fun. The Great Humping machine got a lot of use. Nightclub Survivor and Fear Factor were also big.

When I left DJing, there was a hole in my life. The work I was doing with video production, audio editing, entertaining, and my creative outlet were lost. My passion for vaping along with my desire to help out the vaping community lead to the reviews and “filled the hole”

When I started doing the reviews, I wanted to combine all of this. The entertainer, the comedy and the tongue-in-cheek humor of my “DJ” side (how the reviews started), along with the detailed analysis of my “engineer” side.

People will at times have issues with the length of my reviews. Some devices simply require more time for me to properly describe them to you in features, numbers, and performance. I try my best to give you the detailed information you need to make an intelligent choice on where you spend your money.

It has always been my goal to provide good information and hopefully put a smile on your face somewhere along the way.

I hope I’ve done that for you and hope to continue to do so.

Fast forward several years and I have since moved into the vaping industry full time. I, along with Dimitris, currently work with Innokin in several different roles including the designers of the Platform line of Innokin product.

Pbusardo