Vaper Expo Showguide 2019 October 2019 | Page 146

N F REVIEWS R Cremeaux Vanilla Custard Blood of Vikings VG/PG Ratio: 70/30 Additional sweetener: Moderate Throat hit: Mild VG/PG Ratio: 70/30 Additional sweetener: Moderate Throat hit: Mild Vanilla custard profi les are often the barometer vapers use to measure the quality of a given dessert line up and Cremeaux is Drip Hacks’ offering. This is a simple, decadent custard blend. There’s a mild brown sugar or caramel top note, which provides dark sweetness, without dominating it. This gives way to a heavy custard base, with moderate egg and dairy notes, fantastic mouthfeel and moderate sweetness. The profi le is fi nished with a light confectionary vanilla, that ties everything together. A great option for custard fans. Drip Hacks describe Blood of Vikings as a rhubarb and custard blend. This traditional British profi le will always be divisive but they’ve absolutely nailed it here. Rhubarb is the dominant element and leans heavily into the candy connotations of the traditional sweet, rather than a softer-baked rhubarb flavour. The tartness of the rhubarb is contrasted with a mild custard base, which gives the profi le further sweetness and substantial mouthfeel. A fantastic rhubarb and custard sweet blend. Acid Drop Pineapple Blitz VG/PG Ratio: 70/30 Additional sweetener: Moderate Throat hit: Mild, with cooling VG/PG Ratio: 70/30 Additional sweetener: Moderate Throat hit: Mild Acid Drop is a blend of kiwi, melon, grapefruit and coolant which is an unusual and ambitious profi le. No one fruit totally dominates but cantaloupe melon is the most prominent to my palate. It’s quite authentic, with a pleasant juicy mouthfeel and moderate sweetness. This is contrasted by a light, authentic grapefruit note which adds a good dose of tartness to the blend, without bullying the other flavours. The kiwi is more subtle than the other fruits but does complement the blend nicely, with additional sweetness that pops up from time to time. The profi le is fi nished with a mild coolant, keeping things light. A fantastic fruit-ice blend. A simple pineapple and mango blend from the Drip Hacks range. Pineapple is often a thinner flavour in e-liquid and can easily be bullied out of a mix, but in this case it takes centre stage. It’s more natural than most pineapple offerings, too, tasting more like pineapple juice than the sour candy flavour that we would usually expect. The top note is supported by a moderate soda-style mango, which provides further sweetness along with a mild earthiness that gives the profi le more depth. A simple, but nicely executed, tropical blend. Blue Slush Cryo Mango VG/PG Ratio: 70/30 Additional sweetener: Moderate Throat hit: Mild VG/PG Ratio: 70/30 Additional sweetener: Moderate Throat hit: Mild, with cooling A simple blue slush profi le from the Drip Hacks team. Unlike most blue slush style blends, this one leans heavily towards candy notes, making it rather unusual. The dominant flavour here is candy raspberry. It’s moderately sweet, with mild tartness on the fi nish and a slight sticky mouth-feel. It’s a little less heavy than other slush-style raspberries, which may be preferable for some vapers. The raspberry is complemented by a lighter candy blueberry, which provides additional tartness and moderate floral notes, without detracting from the raspberry. A different take on blue slush. A stripped-back mango ice blend. This is a profi le popularised by the wave of Malaysian e-liquid brands that took the UK market by storm a few years ago. Drip Hack’s version is much less sweet than its Malaysian counterparts but still has a bold, bright soda-style mango as the star of the show. It is sweet, mildly tart and has subtle hints of a deeper earthiness to boot. The profi le is fi nished with a moderate dose of coolant, which does not impart any additional flavour or off notes. A simple, but very nicely executed, mango vape. 146 VAPER EXPO