Local e-Juice naming conventions

[l0cal_User]

Hi guys

TLDR;
Can we decide on naming conventions for local concentrates so that our attempts to make/find cool stuff with local products in mind doesn't end in our excel spreadsheets.

NTLAGR; (not too long, am gonna read )

I was wondering if there was a local variation of the acronyms used for international flavors?
eg [FW] [FA] [CAP] etc

I have been making an effort to consolidate my recipe collection (with notes etc) using the e-liquid-recipes.com site... and after a few of my own variations of Clyrolinx acronyms (Litchi [CL], Litchi [CLY]) I came across "Litchi (Clyrolinx)" and was pleasantly surprised to find most of the flavors I have under that naming convention - there are however quite a few other acronyms for the same thing - none of which turn up any recipes other than the ones I have made public (which clyrolinx have made available in their ebook - well done those guys).

Anyway, another local vendor which I have tons of concentrate from is Pirates Grog, but alas, there are no listed flavors with the few variations of naming I tried (including designer vapes).

There is a fairly expansive thread floating around in the local section where "insert name here" has reviewed quite a few of the clyrolinx concentrates and there are a few recipes floating around there as well.... so should we (or the manufacturers ideally) not decide on what their "[TAG]" is and populate a commonly used resource with their flavors and recipes so that not every attempt at going local ends up with a pile of, never to be touched unless really bored, 10ml concentrates?

It would be fantastic to set up a flavor stash containing local concentrates and get some idea of what can be made without digging through pages upon pages of commentary before finding a recipe that inevitably does not have the same ingredients that I have available. I cant be the only one to try replicate monsters "the doctor" with pirates grog stuff or develop a cool litchi or crapple with clyrolinx... but where are the other peoples attempts? What works, what doesnt?

I am kinda starting to feel like the going local thing is a flop and I should cut my losses, test em out in food and join the international only flavor tribe (prices have come down enough to justify it at this point).

 

[RichJB]

To answer the poll question, I'd buy local flavours if there were either recipes or flavour notes for them. But 5% Strawberry + 5% Cream = Strawberry Cream isn't a recipe, and "tastes just like the real thing, buy it, you won't regret it!!!!1!!" isn't flavour notes.

I think most DIYers don't have loyalty towards or antipathy against any particular brand or country, we use what works best. If I can get Concrete's notes and Wayne's recipes for, say, a Purilum flavour, then why would I buy a local flavour with no comparable notes or recipes instead? DIY is tricky enough, I aim to make it easier for myself, not harder.

 

[l0cal_User]

To answer the poll question, I'd buy local flavours if there were either recipes or flavour notes for them. But 5% Strawberry + 5% Cream = Strawberry Cream isn't a recipe, and "tastes just like the real thing, buy it, you won't regret it!!!!1!!" isn't flavour notes.

I think most DIYers don't have loyalty towards or antipathy against any particular brand or country, we use what works best. If I can get Concrete's notes and Wayne's recipes for, say, a Purilum flavour, then why would I buy a local flavour with no comparable notes or recipes instead? DIY is tricky enough, I aim to make it easier for myself, not harder.

This is true, and I am leaning in the direction you have already gone in. When I started, I couldn't justify the prices of international concentrates, so local seemed worth the effort - but with prices dropping a bit... its getting difficult to justify the effort when I could KNOW what I am going to end up with instead of guessing.

Case in point: When I saw sour apple as a local concentrate - I thought wow, that could be nice, it wasn't really what I had imagined, and I don't have the time to figure out how to make it hit the spot... now I have 40ml of concentrate that I probably wont use, I could have just gone here:

http://e-liquid-recipes.com/recipe/688939/Sour Apple

...bought those flavors, and been content knowing that I was going to get something great.

 

[RichJB]

I don't even know if that ELR recipe is going to deliver for you. 18% flavouring to get a sour apple flavour seems excessive to me. Tootall gets a Sour Grapple with less than 3% flavouring, less than 2% if you remove the grape. There are some other Sour Apple type recipes on ATF, all of which use far less flavouring than the ELR recipe you have.

In general, though, I think cheaper concentrates can be false economy. If you have to wing it due to lack of recipes and end up with juice that isn't good and gets tossed out, it's more expensive. I would always advise folks (as I did in my primer) to start off their flavour stash with the staples. You will always find hundreds of recipes for staples like FA Meringue, TFA Vanilla Swirl, Cap Sugar Cookie and so on. Especially with the recent price drops from most vendors on TFA/FA/FW/Cap, there is no reason not to have these flavours.

Granted, Flv requires a bit more consideration before splashing out. But even there, flavours like Cream, Milk & Honey, Rich Cinnamon, Wild Melon, Sweet Coconut are no-brainers that will serve you well and are worth the higher price. You will only ever buy one bottle of Flv Rich Cinnamon. And, when you have it, you don't need any other cinnamon. So if you're starting out, bite the bullet, get it now and then you're done with cinnamon forever.

 

[l0cal_User]

I don't even know if that ELR recipe is going to deliver for you. 18% flavouring to get a sour apple flavour seems excessive to me. Tootall gets a Sour Grapple with less than 3% flavouring, less than 2% if you remove the grape. There are some other Sour Apple type recipes on ATF, all of which use far less flavouring than the ELR recipe you have.

That was just an example (thanks for the feedback though), I haven't tried or researched others, but the premise is that there were more reliable ways of getting what I was after (or curious about). CLyrolinx concentrates work great at very low percentages, so depending on how the examples I got from their ebook (and the buggering around stuff I have steeping) go, I would arguably say that I am content with what they offer for the price.

I do however know that if I were to try make zoo biscuit with their stuff, I would probably have a bad time because I have no idea how I would compare strengths or substitutes... which is where populating online resources would really benefit the local companies (this does not however seem to be a priority - which I find to be odd, but I don't market/sell DIY supplies, so my opinion isn't particularly special).

I tried to replicate their recipes with Pirates Grog stuff (doubling percentages) - it turned out pretty awful except for anything I put english toffee (to replace caramel) into.

That being said, you are 100% right, the effort above could just as easily been avoided altogether if I had gone with your advice to start off with - or, in light of this threads initial query, there were viable resources available.

#SIDENOTE: to anyone reading, I am not bashing local, I just think we have been left in the cold in terms of the resources made available - they have their own premix's for sale, therefor have their own people mixing/testing etc... some of that info would go a long way in making their products less of an after sales burden on their clients. Also, I would rather find new uses (via any online resource, by any other enthusiast) for the stuff I have as opposed to just dumping it - @RichJB does however make a strong argument in the case of "should we even be going down that road in the first place".
~vape-for-thought