Johnson Creek Vanda eLiquid Review
Lead Writer: John Manzione, with Julia Barnes, Jason Little, Keira Hartley.
Well, if it wasn’t the title that gave it away it was probably the graphic for this review. There’s no suspense here; Johnson Creek’s brand new flavor, Vanda, is not only a great addition to the PG-Free Red Oak line it is also a Spinfuel Choice Award winner!
For the past couple of days the Staff of Spinfuel has been secretly vaping a brand new Johnson Creek / Red Oak “PC-Free” smoke juice called Vanda. We can honestly say that Vanda is the most pleasing, most luscious, most flavorful vanilla-infused eLiquid from Johnson Creek we’ve ever had the pleasure to vape. It is so original, so rich and yet at the same time so delicate and smooth, that we cannot compare it to anything we’ve vaped before, Johnson Creek or not. This is something brand new to vaping universe. This is the first non-PG vanilla vape that delivers everything, and more, than the best vanilla eLiquids do. The level of satisfaction is without compare.
Vanda Is…
A wonderfully smooth vanilla sweetness that slides in and gently settles over your taste buds like a warm blanket, leaving nothing behind but a delectable taste that urges you onward toward your next puff. During the initial vaping time with Vanda we didn’t want to stop, and we didn’t want to hurry… we wanted the incredible, delicious taste of vanilla to never end. Johnson Creek Vanda eLiquid Review.
I know, I know, this already sounds extraordinarily exuberant for an eLiquid, I mean ‘smoke juice’. But, come on, this Vanda is truly amazing stuff. Consider; not only is this a very smooth, full flavored smoke juice, it is also PG-free! I don’t know about you but I get all kinds of excited when I get to add a delicious eLiquid to my flavor rotation. This is one smoke juice that is definitely being added to my daily vaping schedule. (Trust me, this ‘daily vaping’ thing is a column all its own) In any case, I’m loving this Vanda and the rest of the team did as well. So, read on and enjoy this review. Then head over to johnsoncreek.com and get your order in on this spectacular new Red Oak PG-free Smoke Juice.
Hardware
For our Smoke Juice Review I used my trusty, always reliable and always at my side, Johnson Creek Vea (review here). Jason filled a Vision Vivi Nova with a 1.8ohm atty head with his new brand eVic, Julia vaped her ZMAX with yet another Vivi Nova, only hers was firing with a 2.4ohm atty head, Keira filled a Kanger T-3 and vaped with a new Vision Spinner. (All from MyVaporStore) All in all, more than half a bottle (15ML) was used up during the first 3 hours. The other 15ML of Vanda was vaped a few hours later when it became clear that there was simply no way we could wait until the following day for Session Two. Fortunately Vanda goes on sale today, (January 8th) and by the time you read this we will have already ordered more.
So, without further ado, I present the staff, in their own words…
Julia: 5 Stars – Vanda is unlike any other vanilla flavor I’ve vaped. It is so unique that I had to think long and hard about how I could effectively describe it to you, but I think I finally figured it out. At least I hope so.
Vanda delivers a rich, heavenly, vanilla flavor that, despite giving you massive plumes of vapor and a more-than-decent throat hit, it doesn’t have that vanilla “smack” that other vanillas usually have. It’s almost as though your whole mouth fills up with the taste of an ‘oak-aged’ silky smooth liquid vanilla that has lost its harshness long ago.
I’ve had some truly great vanilla blends before and it’s not as though Vanda will replace them, instead, Vanda will join them as an equally amazing vanilla eLiquid. Having said that, Vanda will be my choice as the only all-day vanilla-based smoke juice. Truth be told, Vanda is the only vanilla-based eLiquid that could work as my all-day vape. It is, or will be, an instant classic. And Vanda is PG-Free as well!
Jason: 5 Stars – I don’t have any problems with PG. In fact, I prefe
r an 80/20 PG/VG blend because the throat hit is almost never weak. So while I have really enjoyed some of Johnson Creek’s PG-Free Red Oak line, it’s not something I go out of my way to buy. If I’m going to order from Johnson Creek (which I do) it’s not usually the Red Oak line, unless I need more Autumn Crisp that is. Admittedly I wasn’t that excited to see another Red Oak Smoke Juice but I figured that since it came from JC it would at least be a good eLiquid.
But Vanda is more than a good vanilla eLiquid; it’s one of the best I’ve had. Despite the lack of PG the vapor and throat hit (on a healthy 4-5 second drag) is excellent. The flavor is both rich and smooth at the same time. There is a full-bodied flavor to it without that certain ‘burn’ I feel when I vape any strong vanilla blends. The best way I can describe it is that Johnson Creek found a way to leave ALL the flavor in while ‘defanging‘ it of any harshness.
If you’re looking for a great vanilla blend, especially if you’re inclined to choose a PG-Free eLiquid, Vanda is the best choice you can make. Well, it’s as least as good as Autumn Crisp, and you know how much I love Autumn Crisp!
Keira: 5 Stars – I have several vanilla eLiquids in my collection, all of which have been carefully selected through an enormous amount of trial and error. So when we received the new Vanda I couldn’t wait to give it a try. I already keep a bottle of Johnson Creek French Vanilla in my collection, so they (Johnson Creek) already had half the battle won.
Like Jason I don’t have a problem with PG-based eLiquids either, but it’s still nice to find one that can deliver not just on flavor, but vapor and throat hit as well. Let me tell you; Vanda delivers on all fronts, especially the flavor!
Listening to Julia, John and Jason describe Vanda as a ‘rich and smooth’ vanilla I know exactly what they mean. I’ve tried so many vanilla blends that I just learned to expect a kind of a burning tingle in my mouth when I vape them. I don’t mean on your tongue; vanilla doesn’t burn your tongue, it burns the back and roof of your mouth. It’s very unpleasant when it happens. (Luckily, the Johnson Creek French Vanilla has a very slight sensation and the flavor of the French Vanilla is so good that it’s worth the trade-off) Although ‘rich’ and ‘smooth’ don’t usually go hand in hand, especially in an eLiquid, with Vanda it does.
It is an amazing accomplishment when any eLiquid ‘artist’ can take the bite out of vanilla. When you can do that and maintain all the flavor then you’ve earned my business. Johnson Creek has already earned my business with more than a half dozen flavors I keep in my collection and so I will happily add Vanda to that collection.
So, in conclusion…
And there you have it. “From the mouth of babes” as they say. You know, it seems to me that Johnson Creek is getting better and better with each new release. After we did our lengthy, 20 flavor review last year (July ’12) JC has released Silverthorn, an awesome tobacco flavor, Autumn Crisp, a caramel apple flavor to die for, and now this, Vanda, a mature, fully formed, smooth vanilla based flavor that can be vaped all day long (How many vanilla’s can say that?). I don’t know what they have coming down the pike next but I know I want to be there when it comes.
I usually don’t join the staff when they do the full-blown 10, 20, or 30 flavor reviews because I really don’t have the much appreciated ‘taste buds‘ that are required for the intricacies of being an eLiquid connoisseur for Spinfuel. I know what I like though, so when it comes to Johnson Creek I feel like I have to be a part of any review we do because most of the eJuice I own is Johnson Creek. Now, yes, I do enjoy other eLiquids made by different eLiquid artists/vendors, but without Silverthorn or Autumn Crisp or JC Original or Domestic… well, you know where I’m going with this… I don’t think I would enjoy vaping as much as I do.
By the way, Autumn Crisp and Silverthorn (Read our review of Silverthorn) are two other Johnson Creek flavors that have earned a Spinfuel Choice Award.
In case you’re not familiar with the Spinfuel Choice Award: The Spinfuel Choice Award is an award for the highest excellence in eLiquid artistry. Only the finest eLiquids can receive a Choice Award. (Read more here)
An eLiquid needs to earn an across-the-board 5-Star rating (our highest rating) from the Spinfuel eLiquid Review Team during the normal course of an eLiquid review in order to receive a Choice Award. And when you see the Choice Award graphic you can be sure that if all 5 members of the Spinfuel Team enjoyed the eLiquid enough to give it the maximum rating (as well as the award) then the chances are excellent that you’re going to enjoy it as well. Tomorrow (Wednesday, January 9th)) we will release all of the winners of the Choice Awards for Johnson Creek Smoke Juice.
Finally…
So many of our readers ordered Autumn Crisp after we published our review so I can honestly say that if you believed us then, if you ordered Autumn Crisp and found it to be everything we said it was, then by all means you owe it to yourself to get your order in for Vanda. You will not be disappointed. And for those of you that didn’t order Autumn Crisp, take my advice, don’t miss out on Vanda, order a bottle or two and enjoy a great PG-free smoke juice, brand new from Johnson Creek “the” Smoke Juice company.
John Manzione – with Julia Barnes, Jason Little and Keira Hartley
