High VG Halo Cigs eLiquid Review

A Spinfuel eLiquid Team Review

 Halo Cigs has been reviewed by Spinfuel 17 times over the past 3+ years. In that time, we have reviewed all of their eliquids and vape gear. Today, we present our 18th review for some of their new High VG eliquids. And this time, it’s a whole new ballgame for sub-ohm tank vapers.

Hearing that Halo Cigs had reformulated their ever-popular eliquid flavors as High VG formulas was not unexpected… it was something we were anxious to see, and we were not disappointed. Finally, Halo eliquids for our sub-ohm tanks.

Halo Cigs knows that their eliquids appeals to advanced vapers, or vapers with sophisticated palates. The flavors in Halo’s standard lineup include such fan favorites as Tribeca, Belgium Cocoa, Malibu, and others that have earned not only Spinfuel Choice Awards in the past, but have earned the respect from people who have been in the vape community for several years. Halo knows e-liquid.

By optimizing their famous line of eliquids with a 70% VG formula, Halo Cigs has taken the outstanding flavor notes and delivered them with a higher viscosity that heightens these flavors when vaped with high wattage, low resistance vaping instruments.

The following flavors were already fantastic eliquids that produced excellent flavors and ample vapor, but some could not live up to an all-day-vape status. One name in particular has gone from being a terrific cool tropical breeze to an unbelievably delicious tropical delight with very definite all-day-vape qualities… that name is their renowned Malibu, a tropical fruit flavor with menthol. The reformulation keeps all of the tropical flavor notes but enriches them to create the first sweet tropical menthol blend you never tire of. Other flavors in the famous lineup changed as well, and we’ll give you the rundown for each one on the following pages. Please be sure to read each flavor review.

 

Old Is New Again

Belgian Cocoa – A Spinfuel Choice Award Winner for 2015  – In our January 2013 review only John scored Belgian Cocoa a 5 Star blend. Today, this new formula has everyone offering up 5 Star scores.

Julia: 5 Stars – Gone is the harsh throat hit that plagued this flavor in early 2013. Belgian Cocoa is now a rich, sweet, yet gentle blend of fine chocolate flavor notes and rich, thick and aromatic vapor. This is the first time I can call Belgian Cocoa a decadent chocolate eliquid that you can vape all day long.

Kiera: 5 Stars – Using a very high quality vegetable glycerin as the base for this new formulation has provided Halo with one of the best chocolate eliquids around. The VG in this recipe engulfs the naturally rich chocolate notes and provides a vape experience similar to allowing a dark chocolate candy from Godiva to melt in your mouth and coat every taste bud with a heavenly chocolate mixture.

Tom: 5 Stars – In January 2013 I said Belgian Cocoa was harsh, and it was. Now, using the same delicious flavoring but blending it in a mixture of high VG all the harshness is gone and the only thing left is the sweet, gooey dark chocolate that anyone would vape all day. Amazing change for Belgian Cocoa, and has definitely earned a place in my rotation.

Jason: 5 Stars – The last time I reviewed this flavor it was in a PG/VG blend that seemed to be 70% PG, and it hit like a truck. I loved the flavor of it, but I just couldn’t handle the hammer on the throat. Now, as a formula of 70% VG it has transitioned into one of the best chocolate eliquids I have ever had. Not only that, but in a sub-ohm tank you can crank it up to a warm-enough vapor that your eyes will roll back into your head as the lush chocolate flavor sends you into a Zen state of pure ecstasy. What a difference!

Tribeca –A Spinfuel Choice Award Winner for 2015 – Our eLiquid Team has already awarded the world-famous standard-setting eliquid as a Spinfuel Choice Award winner. Can a reformulated version of this magnificent eliquid improve on perfection? Can it too become an award winner?

Julia: 5 Stars – Let’s see, Tribeca has always been an amazingly simple, yet gratifying all-day-vape tobacco eliquid with just a hint of vanilla and caramel… has it changed now that is is available in a High VG blend? Well, yes and no.

Tribeca is still an award-winning eliquid that provides a near-identical flavor profile to the original. Flavor wise there is a bit of an improvement in a “fuller” flavor, one that envelopes all that it embraces through the taste buds. But, when it comes to vapor production the new High VG formulation is head and shoulders above, and a major improvement on the original. Tribeca is about to become an even bigger seller than it was.

Kiera: 5 Stars – Tribeca earns its 5 Stars for the execution of a “perfect” eliquid. If you want to know what a perfect flavor for vaping is, look to Tribeca. Now, with much more vegetable glycerin, the amazing powers of VG are on full display. Having said this, I can’t help but feel it is a perfectly boring eliquid. Yes, there is flavor, there is an abundance of vapor production, a mild throat, and a certain amount of vaping satisfaction. Still, it doesn’t do anything for me. Indeed, a well deserved 5-Stars, but I won’t vape it because it lacks personality.

Tom: 5 Stars – Tribeca was one of the first tobacco blends that began my quest to sample thousands of tobacco eliquids. I owe Tribeca a lot, and with this new High VG blend, I can once again bring it back into my rotation. Vaping the original Tribeca in a sub-ohm tank and a DNA200 device the amount of PG is overwhelming, and I had high hopes that perhaps one day Halo would make a High VG version so I could continue enjoying it. Now it has, and now I can vape it whenever I want…again. Smooth tobacco notes with a delicate touch of caramel and vanilla. Unmatched in simplicity and satisfaction.

Jason: 5 Stars – I’m not sure I know a single vaper that hasn’t at one time or another vaped Tribeca eliquid. It just might be some ‘right of passage’ for tobacco vapers today. It is the perfect blending of just the right amount of tobacco, vanilla and caramel. This new formula brings all the great things about Tribeca to thicker clouds of vapor, and an even richer trifecta of flavors.

Malibu –A Spinfuel Choice Award Winner for 2015 –  This blend was called a “frozen Pina Colada” at one point, “twisted inside a light menthol wrapper.” No one currently at Spinfuel (except for Tom) has ever awarded Malibu with a Spinfuel Choice Award. However, in a review headed up by Tom with members of a Spinfuel eLiquid Review Team that consisted of my friend Nicole, and Stephanie, as well as Dave’s still-girlfriend Angel, actually did award Malibu the Choice Award in July of 2013.  It is very interesting to read what they had to say about Malibu more than 2 years ago. Here’s what we think today…

Julia: 5 Stars – The higher amount of VG in the new Malibu really tamed what was once a wild menthol tropical blend. It makes me think that perhaps Halo altered the recipe with more than just a higher VG. Here’s what different; Malibu is more of a tropical blend now, with a sweeter, less powerful menthol. The tropical flavor notes are more pronounced, the pineapple (and coconut?) are sweeter, richer, fuller. It vapes so richly now that it is easy for vape it as an all-day-vape.  I have since added this version to my rotation.

Kiera: 5 Stars – Malibu now does what I used to think was impossible. How do you maintain a sweet tropical blend while adding a cool menthol to it without overwhelming the tropical? Malibu is my first choice on a hot day because it provides a real tropical, Pina Colada type vape surrounded with a non-abusive coolness. For the first time I truly enjoyed Malibu enough to want to buy it on a regular basis.

Tom: 5 Stars – I award Malibu the full 5 Stars a long time ago because I felt that tropical fruit and a blast of cool vapor went well together. And I still do, so my score does not change. What does change is how often I will vape it. Malibu of 2015 is a sweeter, richer Pina Colada, one that provides enormous clouds of vapor in a sub-ohm tank, yet still keeps that menthol tweak within a well-tolerated level. I loved it way back when, and I still do. Malibu is popular today because vapers can now taste a proper balance of tropical and menthol.

Jason: 5 Stars – Malibu, where have you been these last years? How could I miss out on this delicious and wonderful tropical-drink vape that also produces a ginormous amount of vapor? Was it always like this? No, of course not.

I talked to Tom and Julia about Malibu because I knew that many people thought Malibu was “first a menthol, then a tropical drink”, and after telling them my experience with this new Malibu they shared their experience with the older recipe, and the strong menthol flavor.  In the end, we understood that the old recipe is still available, but the new, Higher VG was the one that was important enough to talk about.

The truth is easy to tell; Malibu is not just one thing. There is enough tropical fruit flavor to satisfy those vapers looking for a full flavored Pina Colada, and has enough cool menthol flavor to become a favorite for vapers looking for just the right amount of a cool breeze.

Black Calico – Black Calico is similar in style to a Danish pipe tobacco blend. It begins with a Cavendish tobacco base, with layers like a genuine vanilla bean flavor note for a unique flavor profile with a sweet finish. Black Calico is  strong in flavor, but a nice choice for tobacco vapers. Did this High VG formula keep all these complex notes in check?

Julia: 4 Stars – Black Calico is, honestly, a very manly tobacco vape. I can’t see any woman enjoying this kind of tobacco flavor. Now I know that Tom and Jason think Black Calico is God’s answer to a tobacco eliquid, and they might be right, but after spending an hour with this one I felt like I had just spent the day with a real smoker.

Kiera: 3 Stars – I was alarmed by the authenticity of Black Calico. Alarmed because this is so close to the real thing that I am afraid new vapers that can still remember the taste of a cigarette and will lose themselves and go and grab the real thing. I am awarding Black Calico 3 stars because one of missing stars is a penalty against Halo Cigs for creating something so real.

Tom: 5 Stars – I liked Black Calico since it’s beginnings, and now it simply has to be an eliquid I cannot run out of under any circumstances. Folks, Black Calico is the real deal, it is closer to actual tobacco than you will ever get. With this new High VG formula I am able to create such huge clouds of vapor that when combined with the incredible flavor as described on the Halo eCigs website, it has to be an eliquid every single tobacco vaper has to try. My current all-day-every-day vape.

Jason: 5 Stars – After hearing Julia complain that Black Calico was too much like a real pipe tobacco I had to laugh. She is right though, Black Calico is a dry, sweet-ish tobacco flavor that anyone that has ever enjoyed the flavor of tobacco will want to vape this. I don’t believe for a minute that anyone would reach for a real tobacco product after vaping it, I mean what’s the point, right?

Black Calico is about the best damn tobacco I’ve had for a “genuine” tobacco. While it’s an award winning eliquid I don’t know that I would give up any of the other tobacco flavors I have by other brands. Tobacco flavors are great, and the ones that don’t leave that tobacco aftertaste, like Black Calico certainly does leave behind, is more my style. I love it, but it might be too genuine for me. Does that make sense?

Turkish Tobacco – This is a sun-cured tobacco flavor with a very light semi-sweet top note. An e-liquid flavor that is characteristic of the original Turkish Tobacco cultivated off the coast of the Black Sea, and widely used in traditional cigarettes and also blended together various pipe tobaccos to create a natural pipe tobacco blend.

Julia: 4 Stars – In my opinion Black Calico is more of a cigarette tobacco than Turkish Tobacco is, but it’s awfully close. Now with a lot more VG Turkish Tobacco is even lighter than before, and for tobacco vapers it would be an all-day-vape without question. No, I can’t tell the difference between a Turkish tobacco or a Virginia tobacco, but I can tell you that if you want a light, mild tobacco eliquid this is one you would definitely enjoy. I spent almost 2 hours with this one, double the time I spent with Black Calico.

Kiera: 3.5 Stars – Wow, this Turkish Tobacco is a lot sweeter, and damper, than Black Calico. Richer flavor, yet still light enough to enjoy if you were coming off cigarettes. Which is why I have to once again warn away new vapers. This is playing with fire, and it is so authentic that it could bring you back to tobacco pretty quick.

Tom: 5 Stars – It is so amazing how much a higher VG formula could make such a big difference. Turkish Tobacco was on my rotation until mid-2014 when it just slipped off the list because of all the other tobaccos I had found during reviews. But, after vaping this light, sweet mild tobacco blend with enough VG to make it an astounding flavor in a sub-ohm tank, it’s back on my rotation. Probably for another 2 years. Great job!

Jason: 5 Stars – Turkish Tobacco was the last flavor in this review, for me anyway. After spending a lot of time with my own bottle of Black Calico I was just slightly let down with this one. The reason is that Turkish tobaco used to be a strong tobacco for me, and Black Calico was almost too strong. Now, Black Calico is the perfect tobacco strength and Turkish is not enough.

Don’t get me wrong, this is going into rotation too, but when I vape it I vape it at a higher wattage than the Black Calico.

Both tobacco blends are neck and neck in vapor production, and if you take both eliquids up a notch or two in wattage you’ll get more vapor clouds than you can hope for. If I gave Black Calico an A+, Turkish Tobacco would get an A. Close, but the edge goes to the Calico.

Kringle’s Curse – A Spinfuel Choice Award Winner for 2015 – A big burst of peppermint in every drag, this e-liquid is now just as flavorful, but more gentle in this High VG formula. Sweet candy cane goodness in vapor form.

Julia: 5 Stars – Take a sweet peppermint eliquid, calm it down with more VG and the end result is a new twist on an old favorite. Kringle’s Curse was, when first released, a powerful beyond reason peppermint flavor. Not menthol. Just peppermint. Cool breeze on the inhale, cold breeze on the exhale. But sweet, like peppermint. It’s still the same, only better. Calmer. Gentler. If you like peppermint, Kringle’s Curse is now ready to perform.

Kiera: 5 Stars – I so looked forward to trying all of Halo’s lineup in their High VG formulas, but this one in particular. When I first vaped Kringle’s Curse it was a hair’s breath too powerful for me. But that sweet peppermint profile kept me wanting more. For the longest time I had a love/hate relationship with it. I could vape it for a bit and loved it, but after a while I just couldn’t take it. A couple days later I was back at it.

The High VG version allows me to spend as much time with it as I want without getting burned out. There is still all the flavor of the original, and the cool breeze going both ways, but its not nearly as rough on my throat. For a “sweet” peppermint treat, Kringles’ Curse is a must.

Tom: 5 Stars – While I enjoy sweet peppermint and the way Halo presents it here, I don’t find myself vaping it very often. That shouldn’t play a role in my scoring however, because as an eliquid Kringle’s Curse is a super premium juice with all the right ingredients. I can’t tell you its in my rotation, but if I have, on occasion, the desire to swing by Julia’s for a couple of tanks full, I can. Just not often.

Jason: 5 Stars – We all have our personal favorites. Kringles Curse is not one of mine. Peppermint is fine and all, but its not something I vape often enough to want to buy. Give me a deep tobacco or coffee blend anytime. But, like the others, I have to admit that Kringles’ Curse, as a high VG blend, is going to be a very popular vape for people that enjoy the flavor of peppermint. Kringle’s is a sweet peppermint, and with the high VG it is also a richer, thicker peppermint that will please the peppermint candy fans out there. If you vape, and if you can’t wait to snatch a peppermint candy cane from the Christmas tree pick up a bottle of Kringle’s Curse. Instead of crunching down on the candy cane you’ll at least breathe in the same flavor. Plus, you won’t sugar coat your teeth, always a plus in my book.

Conclusion

Creating a High VG blend of Halo’s older lineup was inevitable and grand. The best flavors got even better, and the not-so-great flavors were much better off with more VG. Flavors are smoother, fuller, with soft throat hits and tons of vapor.

These flavors were so enjoyable to vape as a team that we became regular customers of Halo eCigs again. Of course we each had our favorites, Kiera and I loved Malibu most, and Tom and Jason loved Turkish Tobacco and Black Calico. We were split with the famous Tribeca and Kringle’s Curse, with Kiera finding Tribeca a bit boring, but it is a staple for tens of thousands of vapers, and a great eliquid for new vapers wanting to see just how good it can be. But one thing is undeniable; with the advent of more and more high wattage devices and lower and lower resistances, these eliquids are primed to go.

We will have more Halo Cigs eliquids, and some new vape gear reviews coming up shortly… so stay tuned.

Julia Hartley-Barnes, Kiera Hartley-Barnes, Tom McBride and Jason Little