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The July is eJuice Recap for 2013
Wow, what a month this has been! Spinfuel’s 2nd Annual July is eJuice Month celebration was a huge success for us and for the ten (10) eJuice vendors we reviewed! Pageviews are staggering, sales are up for all ten vendors, and more and more Vapers are enjoying new eJuice flavors they didn’t know existed. It was a lot of hard work (the writing, not the vaping), and we can hardly wait until next July which promises to be twice as large, with both North and South teams each reviewing ten or more vendors for a total of at least twenty eJuice reviews in July 2014. Not only that, but we’re stepping up the number of eJuice reviews during the other months of the year as well.
But, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Let’s take a step back and recap this year’s reviews.
#10 – The month started with a new company, to us anyway, called “Clevervape” (http://clevervape.com). Clevervape is out of New York City, and their flavor profile reflects a very urban texture. Mysterious combinations of flavorings caused our team (Team B) a bit of confusion when trying to put together their narrative. Flavors like Brooklyn Pop and 1UP, were flavors tailored more for urbanites, what with their “fizzy” flavors and energy drink imitations. Life is fast in the city, faster than the lives Team B leads in any case. This 4-flavor review didn’t score as high as some of the others, and if there is a next time we plan on sticking to more of their mainstream flavors. Review Here
Spinfuel Choice Awards: None
Review Team: Team B: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
#9 – The next review was one of the largest eJuice brands in the world, Pink Spot Vapors ). It had been a year since we last wrote about Pink Spot, despite our staff vaping PSV all along. That being the case we went with eight (8) flavors for this long-overdue review.
Pink Spot Vapors is based out of Las Vegas and their retail store is a major landmark for ‘vaping visitors’ who can’t wait to visit their huge retail location to try out all the flavors Penn and Sandi have cooked up. And what flavors they are! Each and every flavor reviewed this year were brand new to the review team, Team B, and they were head over heels over many of them. You can expect Pink Spot Vapors to figure prominently in our 3rd Annual celebration.
Spinfuel Choice Awards: Happy Ending, Surf Rider, Peach Pit Tobacco, and Peach Green Tea.
Review Team: Team B: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
#8 – The Vapor Girl ) was next up and on the 9th of July we reviewed a whopping ten eJuice flavors instead of the standard four we had set for in the July celebration. The reason was simple; we had scheduled a review with The Vapor Girl for the month prior and as June pushed on we made a judgment call to include them in the celebration instead. They were part of it last year, we’ve reviewed TVG a few times since then, and they certainly do bring some excellent eLiquids to the party.
The Vapor Girl, truth be told, is the most “eclectic” eJuice vendor in community. Victoria seems to march to a different drummer, offering flavors most people wouldn’t even think of, and presenting her “brand” in a sort of “Gothic meets Stevie Nicks meets Victorian Times meets Ancient Egypt” style website that is a blast to just browse through. What other company would even try to launch a “Pizza” flavored eJuice? Which one, other then The Vapor Girl, could create an award-winning eJuice with Sweet Potatoes? Amazing possibilities are always making their way out of the creative minds behind The Vapor Girl. Perhaps Victoria might have been better off calling her company “THAT Vapor Girl”? Review Here and Here (Addendum)
Spinfuel Choice Awards: Banana Pudding (Southern Style), Pink Moo, and Strawberries and Champagne.
Review Team: Team A: Tom McBride – Lead
You can certainly count on The Vapor Girl to show up next July as well.
#7 – On July 11th we presented yet another Team B (what was Team A up to all this time??) review for Ginger’s eJuice ) . What can I possibly say about Ginger’s eJuice that hasn’t already been said in the pages of Spinfuel eMagazine? Ginger’s has always been a favorite here, and for very good reason; Ginger’s eJuice is always consistent, delicious, and a top performer. I can’t think of a single eJuice from Ginger that doesn’t put out great vapor, throat hit, and great flavor. Friendly customer service, fast shipping, and terrific communication is what makes Ginger’s eJuice a real pleasure to work with.
Ginger’s eJuice has had so many reviews in Spinfuel eMagazine that finding four flavors we haven’t reviewed before wasn’t easy. Still, the team did it, and out of the four flavors Ginger’s took home three (3) awards. If you try these award-winning flavors you’ll know why we didn’t have a choice when it came to awarding them with a Choice Award. If they deserve it they deserve it, ya know? Ginger’s eJuice Review Here
Spinfuel Choice Awards: Gingerbread Chai, Juicy White Peach, and Strawberry Shortcake
Review Team: Team B: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
#6 – In the middle of the month, July 15th, Team A finally shows up again with a review of five (5) Halo Cigs eLiquids (http://www.halocigs.com ) Halo is always a problem for our review teams because the eLiquids have a completely different flavor profile than any of the vendors we review. There is something about Halo that screams “For Grownups Only”, and although Tom McBride was the first to say it, once its been said you can’t help but agree.
For myself, it is their Malibu eLiquid that is the most accessible flavor. Malibu is a slightly cool version of a very good Pina Colada, one of the best I’ve ever had.
The others? Speaking for me and no one else, as someone who stopped smoking in 1992, Halo eLiquids are too intense, even their Belgian Chocolate and Twisted Java. But, Team A loved them, so it was a pretty great review, although only one out of four earned the Choice Award. I suppose the best way to describe Halo’s eJuice is like this; Any Vaper that has always enjoyed the desert vapes and candy vapes from other vendors should probably stay away from Halo. Other Vapers, who take their vaping very seriously, and who are looking for the most complex flavors with “nuance” out the waa-zoo would love Halo’s flavors. These guys take eLiquid development about as serious as NASA takes making it to Mars. Review Here
Spinfuel Choice Award: Malibu
Review Team: Team A: Tom McBride – Lead
#5 – Three days later, on July 18th, we published a “reworked” review of 24 flavors of e-Shisha from Triple 7, aka 777 eCigs ) . We did this for a few reasons. First, e-Shisha is an up and coming eLiquid that is finding new converts every day. It is intensely flavored eJuice that is really designed for eHookah’s but is perfectly suited for all types of vaping. Think of the most intensely flavored eLiquid you’ve ever had and then multiply that by 3 and you have your basic e-Shisha. In addition, most e-Shisha juice is of the “fruit” variety. Triple 7 is one of the top e-Shisha vendors in the country.
We also wanted to throw a wrench in the workings of “July is eJuice Month” by adding an e-Shisha review. Finally, 777 eCigs was represented last year with their large line of eLiquids, and all the e-Shisha flavors weren’t around then, so why not? If you haven’t read the review yet you should, e-Shisha is not for everybody, but for Vapers who want flavor above all else, e-Shisha could be your next obsession. e-Shisha by 777 eCigs Review here
Spinfuel Choice Awards: N/A
Review Team: Original Team: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
#4 – Entering into the back half of July we revisited Virgin Vapors, ) the 100% organically flavored eLiquid vendor who has the organic flavored market pretty much locked up. If a Vaper is looking for the organic stuff they know, and love, Virgin Vapor. VV is also one of the few vendors that do 100% VG juice.
Annette, the owner and head mixologist of Virgin Vapor, is a master at creating unique and flavorful eJuice using only organic flavors. Having said that, there are many Vapers that have never experienced an organically flavored eJuice and because the flavor profile is different from non-organic flavoring the eLiquids can come off as ‘too different’. We love Annette’s creations, though it took a little time to appreciate an all-organic flavor.
Virgin Vapors submitted six (6) flavors (50/50 PG/VG) for the July is eJuice celebration and when trying to trim it down to the best four (4), Team B (again with the Team B!), couldn’t do it and decided to run with the six. Virgin Vapor Review Here
Spinfuel Choice Award: Cotton Candy
Review Team: Team B: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
#3 – On the 22nd of July Team A comes back to the fold with a review of six (6) Hurricane Vapor ) flavors, all brand new and released the same day as the review. As you can probably tell, Spinfuel and Hurricane Vapor have a pretty close relationship. (So close that in HV’s early days it was thought that Spinfuel WAS Hurricane Vapor). Truth be told, we’ve never met Christian or his wife, the proprietors of Hurricane Vapor, and our close relationship has everything to do with our similar struggles.
In October of 2012 Spinfuel was invited to review the ten (10) launch flavors from Hurricane Vapor. The launch was supposed to be at the very beginning of 2013, but because of some issues that had to be ironed out that launch didn’t happen for another four months, in April of this year. We can relate to that, and when they finally did launch with ten flavors they were as delicious as ever.
We learned a lot about fortitude, never giving up, and believing in yourself by watching Christian bring Hurricane Vapor to market and have enjoyed every bit of the success they have achieved since then.
Tom McBride, a real tobacco enthusiast, did an excellent job with this review and really captured the essence of the six new flavors. This is a must-read review.
Spinfuel Choice Awards: Mango Milkshake, Winter-Cured Tobacco, Banana Bread Pudding.
Review Team: Team A: Tom McBride – Lead
#2 – On the 25th of July Team B is back with another review of FanceeJuice eLiquids ). FanceeJuice has been featured in Spinfuel eMagazine a few times over the past several months. Another new brand, and a textbook example of how to launch a great new company, FanceeJuice hit the ground running with several awesome flavors, tremendously creative packaging, graphics that any award-winning designer would feel proud to have created, and a state of the art production facility that any vendor would be proud to have. These guys are pros all the way.
The four (4) flavors reviewed are flavors the entire Spinfuel staff has vaped regularly for months. The thing was, while we were vaping them we weren’t writing about them. So, while most of our reviews consist of 72-hour vape windows, FanceeJuice flavors had more than a couple of hundred hours of vape time. Review Here
Spinfuel Choice Awards: Butterscotch, Mellow Mango
Review Team: Team B: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
#1 – Finally, on July 30th, Team B brought forth their review for Mountain Oak Vapors. ) Like FanceeJuice, Mountain Oak Vapors submitted flavors that we have been vaping for months. Two of them, Caramela and Chai Tea Latte, were reviews by yours truly, and I found them be to so incredibly good that they are still filling up my cartomizers, clearomizers, and Texas Tuff Tanks on a daily basis. The only thing was, these flavors, including the brand new Grape Medley, were never reviewed by either Spinfuel eLiquid Review Team. That had to change. I thought Caramela and Chai Tea Latte deserved to be Choice Awards winners, so it was time to let a team decide. Julia Hartley-Barnes led the team, and it turned out that Team B found three out of the four flavors were award-winningly delicious.
Mountain Oak Vapors launched a couple of months after Spinfuel’s debut on the vape scene, and in a little more than a year’s time had become a major force in the eLiquid marketplace. Their signature flavor profile has never been imitated, and has always remained one of the best profiles around. The new “High VG” line is proving to be one of the best decisions Mountain Oak Vapors has made to date. Review Here
Spinfuel Choice Awards: Chai Tea Latte, Caramela, and Vanilla Dream
Review Team: Team B: Julia Hartley-Barnes – Lead
In Conclusion…
Out of literally hundreds of eJuice vendors in the US alone, we had to choose just ten to celebrate. A difficult choice to be sure.
Why These Ten?
All of vendors we reviewed this month have been reviewed before, except for Clevervape. That was intentional on our part because, honestly, July is eJuice Month is a celebration of the premium eLiquid vendors that provide amazing flavors across a wide spectrum of flavor profiles. More importantly, because eJuice vendors vary widely in quality, we aren’t about to celebrate vendors we don’t know and trust. Unfortunately we did leave a few out this year that I wish could have made it in, but there are only so many of us, and only so much time. Next year it will be different.
Moving Forward
We believe it is time to enlarge the tent, so to speak. So, beginning with out next eLiquid review with VaporCraze, coming in August, we are going to invite many more premium vendors to submit their eJuice for review. You can expect to see several new vendors in the coming months, and hopefully many more top quality, award-winning eLiquids to enjoy.
A Word About “The Industry”
Still in its infancy, the e-cigarette industry has yet to explode into what it will become. There is no doubt, unless the FDA attempts to shut the industry down, that it will dwarf the traditional tobacco industry inside a decade and that means that every company now, that has taken great care to start off with high quality products made in a safe and clean environment, will become a hundred times larger then they are today. Those that are in it for a quick buck will soon fall by the wayside because there are too many legit businesses springing up, with good hearts and good business practices, and the masks will begin to fall off those that are in it for money, and only the money. It’s happening already.
And let’s face it, there is little room for homegrown eJuice vendors that set up their beakers and bottles on the dining room table and whip up a bunch of eJuice to sell to the unsuspecting public. It’s no longer 2009, we’re entering into the big league now, and only the strong will survive. Viva La eJuice!
