We love getting to know e-Liquid artists and finding out what makes them tick. What is there philosophy behind the flavors they choose to create and the methods behind those choices? What aspect of an e-Liquid is most important to them, and what do they enjoy vaping? Most of all, by getting to know the people behind the e-Liquids we use everyday we walk away with a better sense of who they are as people. We recently had the opportunity of getting to the people behind Clevervape, and we present our interview with them below. We hope you enjoy it.
Remember, you can visit Clevervape today and get 10% off your entire order by using the discount code: cleverjuice1
Introduction
SPINFUEL: Welcome to the pages of Spinfuel. We’ve been looking forward to talking to you. Would you like to introduce yourselves to our readers?
CleverVape: Sure! Our company is called Clevervape. We are based out of New York City and produce a high-end juice line called CleverJuice. We wanted to give Vapers something that kept them guessing, something well…clever! Our juices have many different flavors and undertones and we take pride in our work. If we wouldn’t vape it ourselves, we sure wouldn’t sell it.
SPINFUEL: Getting down to business; Who or what inspired you to get into the e-juice business? When was that?
CleverVape:I first found out about electronic cigarettes in late 2010. I picked up an 808 while I was on a business trip in Scottsdale Arizona at a local gas station. I figured I would give it a try and it worked for a little while but I went back to analogs. Then I saw someone in Los Angeles using an EGO battery and I never saw anything like that. I bought an EGO online that same night and haven’t had a cigarette since. Like most people who start vaping, I started doing my homework. After trying about 10 different vendors of juice, I realized that the flavors were boring. Some were good but most of them didn’t have that “aha” moment. That’s when you are vaping something so delicious, that you say, “Bam, there it is”. That’s what we call the “aha” moment at Clevervape. Our juices need to have that in our research and development stage or else we try something else.
SPINFUEL: What’s the local and state level situation there in NYC with respect to electronic cigarettes? What’s the “attitude” of the people there about eCigarettes?
CleverVape:We are all New York City natives and a lot of our juices were inspired from NYC and the surrounding area. Our “Brooklyn Pop” really brings us back to our roots, where I used to go to Coney Island as a kid and get a Nathans hot dog and big glass of cherry coke. We wanted flavors that reminded us of our childhood.
The electronic cigarette situation in New York is definitely different than most booming areas around the country. People say, “oh you are from New York City, you must have the best vape shops because it’s the greatest city in the world!” Unfortunately, we don’t have many vape shops and the awareness is not as strong compared to areas such as southern California, Florida and the Midwest. We are trying to bring awareness to more Vapers in New York but it has not caught fire…yet. We do plan on opening a Vape shop in Manhattan sometime in late 2013.
SPINFUEL: When you launched CleverVape how did you decide on your first flavor or “set” of flavors?
CleverVape: We started DIYing in late 2012 and it was a very long and tedious process. We tried over 250 different flavors and a dozen orders of PG and VG from various manufacturers. We started white boarding everything (there was a room filled with paper on every inch of the walls) and finding what we do and don’t like. We had a few sessions where we would just call out the first thing that came to mind. So when someone said “candy”, someone else would say “Willy Wonka”. If someone said “Caramel”, someone else would say “Crackerjacks”. Those brainstorming sessions were a lot of fun! When we got the right combination of flavors and quality liquids together, we instantly knew. It was almost like an intuition thing.
SPINFUEL: It seems that no matter how many eLiquid vendors we review, they all have their own “signature” recipes. Each brand is different, which I find remarkable and exciting. With just a handful of ingredients each company is able to create their own specific traits. How would you describe your signature?
CleverVape: For us, we wanted each juice to have multiple layers and flavors. We combine sometimes 4-5 flavors to get the perfect match. I think there is more to e-juice than people realize. Try to go back and remember the first time you had a vanilla ice cream cone. You probably don’t remember that. However, someplace in your brain, you have some images or memories stored of maybe a place or a time that you could associate something positive with vanilla ice cream. The same type of philosophy was used when creating our CleverJuice. We wanted to transport you to a time where you say to yourself “wow, I remember being here” or “I know these flavors but I can’t exactly pinpoint it” such as our “Mysteriously Deep” flavor. If we could invoke those emotions and make a person happy even for a few minutes from their busy day then we did our job.
SPINFUEL: We steep all the eLiquids we receive for review purposes, even if we’re told there is no need to do so. It’s become a habit I suppose. Do you steep your eLiquids before they are shipped to customers? If so, how long do they sit before you ship them out? If you do not, do you suggest that customers ‘home steep’ them before vaping?
CleverVape: While you could vape our eLiquids right away we do recommend them to steep for at least 72 hours if not more. Similar to a bottle of fine wine, the flavors of our eLiquids will truly mature over time and will morph into something truly unique and clever.
SPINFUEL: Let’s talk about packaging. How are your eLiquids packaged?
CleverVape: Our entire CleverJuice line (15, 30 & 60ML’s) comes in glass bottles with droppers. Now, most people would say, “why would you do such a thing?” Well, we believe that our juice needs to be cared for. When you use a plastic bottle, there are many chemicals in those plastic components that could alter the taste of the eLiquids, so we make sure that our glass bottles will truly keep the essence of the flavors. All our bottles are shrink-wrapped as well to make sure no one tampers with the juice. We make sure that the packaging is secure and nothing leaks from our bottles.
SPINFUEL: Safety is also a huge factor today. What kind of measures do you take to make sure that your e-juice is safe to consume? What methods do you use to prevent contamination or other factors that can harm your product?
CleverVape: Our blend of juices are made with the purest VG and PG USP food grade kosher flavor blends with 99.9% NIC pharmaceutical grade ingredients all made in the USA. We hold ourselves to exceptionally high standards in our manufacturing process resulting in original and exciting flavors. All our juices are prepared in a sterile environment ensuring the highest quality of e-liquids.
SPINFUEL: Do you mix everyday?
CleverVape: We mix everyday! Everything is made according to our customer’s preferences. We do not make large batches and let them sit. We are truly blessed and love what we do!
SPINFUEL: Do you have a specific audience in mind for your eLiquids? In other words, are your eJuices best used with cartomizers, tanks, and clearomizers? Does it matter?
CleverVape: You can vape CleverJuice with any cartomizer, tank or clearomizer and get the same experience.
SPINFUEL: What types of hardware do you use when testing your liquids? Is there any specific hardware that provides the best ‘vape’ for your eLiquids?
CleverVape: We recently got into dripping re-buildable atomizers at Clevervape head quarters. It’s common now to see an RSST, AGA-T or Nimbus being used to test our juices. We also sell Tesla’s, K100’s and other APV’s, so we like to switch it up pretty often but everyone has their own style. That’s what makes vaping so fun.
SPINFUEL: What is your suggested, or “house blend” for PG/VG ratio for your eJuice? Is there a reason for that ratio?
CleverVape: We must have spent weeks on this. We finally settled after many (and I mean many) batches using a 50/50 PG/VG blend with our juices. We realized that for best flavor, throat hit and vapor production, the 50/50 works real well. However, we can customize your order if you want an all VG blend.
SPINFUEL: How often do you vape? How many hours per day?
CleverVape: I’m not a morning Vaper. I usually start vaping everyday right after lunchtime. I am also pretty active, so I start running in the morning or will go swimming at the gym for a few hours to get my day started right. When you are in New York City, everyone is rushing to get somewhere. It’s kind of crazy but you learn to thrive within the chaos. You need to adjust or you will get swallowed.
SPINFUEL: Do you have a “favorite” flavor? What is your favorite category of eLiquids for your personal vaping? Fruity, tobacco-based, sweet, and so forth?
CleverVape: Personally, I love “Italian Ice Ice Baby”, “Peanut Buddha” and “Sabertooth”. Those all have different flavor elements but I can vape those for days straight. One’s cold and fruity, the other sweet peanut butter and lastly a sour that will make your face crinkle.
SPINFUEL: What makes a good eLiquid? In other words, what order of importance are flavor, vapor, and throat hit in a CleverVape e-Liquids?
CleverVape: I think flavor is the most important. You could have great throat hit and large clouds of vapor but if the flavor is off, then you surely aren’t going to back for more. Personally, I like vapor production second and then throat hit. However, there are some people who only care about the throat hit. We call them the “hit chasers”, there’s usually one if every crowd of Vapers.
SPINFUEL: Why should our readers buy their e-juice from you?
CleverVape: Clevervape is for the discerning Vaper. The guy or gal who wants a quality eLiquid that is not going to lack in flavor, throat hit or vapor production. We want our customers to be happy and know that they trust a reputable company in the Vape community. We are getting better everyday and hope to win you over!
SPINFUEL: I can’t thank you enough for talking with us today, even if it through email. We really enjoyed your eLiquids and we look forward to arranging a “sequel” down the road.
Clevervape: It has been a pleasure!
