Chris 'majorvapes' SissonIf you’ve ever done a search for custom drip tips in Canada, chances are you’ve heard of VapeStash. Run by one of our very own, Paul has been steadily producing the best hand made drip tips north of the border for several years now. Now what many may not know is he also produces some really fantastic liquids. Flavours that tend to be just a little bit different from the masses of strawberry creams and blue raspberries out there. I’ve been a fan of Pauls for years now and not just of his tips. He recently expanded his line to include some fresh fruity flavours and I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some. Here are my honest thoughts on VapeStash Drips latest flavours.
Bottles/Packaging:
The juices came in 30ml authentic Chubby Gorilla bottles with fairly plain white paper labels. They all bear a little graphic with his signature stash and the name of the flavour above it. All of the usual important info along the sides of the label and the ones I got were in a 75vg blend and with 3mg of standard nic. The labels are rather plain but look nice enough though I wouldn’t have minded there is a description of the flavour on the bottle. It’s pretty obvious for some but it’s a common complaint that I have.
Setup Vapestash Drip:
Testing was done mostly in a Hadaly clone with a three core alien(3×28/36ni80) build from the Canadian Coil makers SaddleHorse Blues, 4/5 wraps on a 2.5mm coming out to 0.28 ohms and running between 35-45w. Using Puff cotton, RDA rinsed and rewicked in between. Click here for a shot of the build.
Remember taste is subjective and results will vary! Click the titles for links to the products!!
√beer:
Site description: Fountain fresh root beer in a frosted mug. The only thing missing is hand delivery on roller skates!
My thoughts: Root beer flavours I find tend to suffer a pretty common fault, they usually have a bit too much of that licorice flavour for me to really enjoy them. √beer like many others starts off quite tasty, like a fresh poured glass of the classic rooty beverage but it’s the finish on this one that gets me. I still get the combination of sarsaparilla, wintergreen and anise that create that iconic taste so many of us grew up loving but it’s not quite as balanced as I’d like it to be. As VapeStash doesn’t add any additional sweeteners it’s a fairly light flavour and doesn’t have a sickly sweet syrupy taste like many others have. It does, unfortunately, have just a touch too much licorice in it for me to really enjoy it but I’m sure plenty out there who don’t mind it will dig this light clean rendition of vapestash √beer.
F-Bomb:
Site description: Three berries (straw/blue/rasp) packed into one explosive flavour.
My thoughts: This one was probably the most punchy flavour of the bunch. It’s a super popping blend of the three most popular berries, strawberry, blueberry and raspberry. I’m normally not a fan of mixed berry blends but there’s something about this one that really pops. The raspberry is probably the stronger flavour in the trio with the strawberry adding more sweetness and the blueberry an ever so slight jammy quality or maybe it’s the inverse. I don’t get any odd perfume from the blueberry like it can sometimes have and between the blueberry and the raspberry it gives it a fairly dark berry taste. You can still tell it’s light on any sweetener so it comes through very clean and bright and if you like berry based flavours this would be the one to check out.
Le Man:
Site description: Freshly sliced lemon with a dash of cream.
My thoughts: I really enjoy a good lemon flavour so I was really looking forward to Le Man. It starts off with a pretty typical lemon curd sort of taste but it’s not sweetened so it comes off a touch thinner and not as thick or custardy as others. The cream aspect is very light, almost imperceptible which also adds to the thinness of this flavour. It comes off really clean, almost sharp at times. It’s like a thinned out lemon curd without any crust, meringue or anything else for that matter. I personally like a bit more body to my lemon based flavours, maybe even a hint more sweetness but this would make for a really good palate cleanser or in between flavour if you need a change of pace.
Mellow:
Site description: Sweet summer watermelon and marshmallows.
My thoughts: Mellow drip is a slightly different take on a watermelon flavour that I don’t think I’ve ever tried. It’s a somewhat unusual mix of watermelon and marshmallow. I think the marshmallow is mainly added to give it a touch of sweetness considering he doesn’t use any sweetener but it also changes the nature of the watermelon, at least slightly. While I don’t really get a sense of the marshmallow on it’s own, for me I get a much more realistic watermelon that’s not quite as sweet and candy-like as so many others. I don’t get any of that watermelon bubblegum or Jolly Rancher taste, instead it has a more natural rind taste to it that makes it even more like the real thing. Light clean and refreshing this one was a nice treat for a fan of watermelon!
Nombre:
Site description: He has a name, and it is Mango.
My thoughts: Mango was an immensely popular flavour last year and continues to garner plenty of attention so it was almost inevitable that Paul would include a tasty mango flavour in the new lineup. Staying true to his technique it’s an unsweetened mango flavour that’s very clean and authentic tasting. It’s obviously not too sweet but also not too sour and just a lovely taste of the tropical favorite. I’m almost always down for a tasty mango flavour and this one is just right. Mango flavours can sometimes come off a bit skunky but with Nombre drip I just get a nice light almost sweet taste of fresh mango. Incredibly easy on the coils yet still full of flavour this one might be among the first to go.
Le Man on Ice:
Site description: Freshly sliced lemon with a dash of cream, on ice.
My thoughts: This is essentially Le Man drip but with a shot of ice. It’s a fairly crisp flavour already and with that extra shot of ice, I got to say it can come off pretty intense. I don’t think this one will be for everyone and as much as I enjoyed Le Man the combination of the fairly sharp lemon with the rather strong hit of ice will likely put some people off it completely. Even though I don’t mind an icy flavour I found this one is just a bit too much for me. It’s got all the same punchy citrus flavour of vapestash Le Man so if you enjoy a nice citrus flavour but need that extra icy kick, this is Le Man for you,,, on ice!
Final thoughts:
I’m always pleasantly surprised by what Paul is producing. Not only are the tips he makes literal works of art but his liquids are always fantastic as well. I know these will probably appeal a bit more to those who like to avoid sweeteners but even for those who don’t they are still packed full of flavour just without the coil gunking extra sugars. If you’re a fan of clean, bright tasting fruity flavours, definitely go and check out VapeStash Drips!!