Table of Contents
The Refuge E-Liquid High VG Dripper Series Review
by J. C. Martin, III
Introduction
The Refuge has appeared in Spinfuel before, even winning a few Spinfuel Choice Awards, and you can read the review to get an idea of what the official Spinfuel eLiquid Review Team thought about the particular flavors in that review. This time out we have 11 new-ish flavors to review, all High VG blends. These 11 flavors have been steeping in the office for a little more than a month, so each one is at the peak of its flavor profile.
Our newest staff writer, J.C. Martin III was chosen to review this set of eliquids because he has a unique writing style and he is, first and foremost, a Dripper. Vaping these eliquids with various RDA’s, much like Dori’s eLiquid Review Team, reveals the eliquid’s flavor profile more precisely than any other method. We hope you take the time to read the entire review and comment below. Have you tried The Refuge? What are your favorites from this formidable eLiquid creator? If you haven’t yet tried The Refuge has J.C. intrigued your senses enough to want to try them? Sound off, we’d love to hear from you! – Dave Foster
The Refuge eLiquid Review
From The Refuge: “The Dripper Series is designed specifically for use in RDAs (Rebuildable Drip Atomizers) and are HIGH VG dripping liquids.
Each flavor contains HIGH VG (USP Grade Vegetable Glycerin) Ranging from 65-80VG & 35-20 PG ( USP Grade Propylene Glycol)
All flavors are available in 0mg, 1mg, 3mg, and 6mg, nicotine strengths.”
When vaping in RDA devices, using lower nicotine strengths is almost a necessity. Because of the heat generated by the RDA, the liquid evaporates at a much faster rate than with a standard clearomizer or cartomizer. This causes larger amounts of nicotine to be inhaled during an individual puff. In the right build 12mg could actually be stronger than 20mg because you are inhaling so much more. That is why the Dripping Series is only available in 0mg, 1mg, 3mg, and 6mg Nicotine Strengths.”
I recently spent time vaping 11 flavors manufactured by The Refuge. For this review I cleaned a dual-coil build for my RDA and re-installed organic cotton wicks for each and every flavor. I vaped each flavor for a considerable amount of time at 29.5 watts. The Dripper Series flavors in this review are: Toot Loops, Porn Star, Lush, Bub’s Backy, Charlie G, Glenn CoCo, Pupule, Louie, Bartlett Bay, Custard Fusion, and 2 die 4.
General Notions
All the e-liquids vaped in this review contain 3mg/ml of nicotine, and as such they work great in rebuildables. A lower nicotine content is usually preferred for E-Liquids high in vegetable glycerin (VG), because using them with an RDA causes the nicotine to be consumed more efficiently. Though I usually vape with a higher nicotine content, the flavors were both exciting and enjoyable – each one had its specific experience, even if 4 of the 11 tasted similar, like tasty frosted muffins and cinnamon-spiced caramel.
These flavors come in 30ml ($17.50), or 120ml ($60) childproof bottles. I like that the bottles and drippers are clear glass, as they are clean and convenient to use. The rubber-topped squeeze drippers work much better than some E-Liquid bottles that you may find elsewhere. The Dripper Series was developed by its makers after people gave them feedback on plenty of different flavors, so the choices of flavor blends were selected from experience.
Each of the e liquids I enjoyed with The Refuge blends produced massive clouds, full of exciting flavor. Vape after vape, each flavor continued to impress me. The Refuge is a family-run operation, and they are dedicated to producing quality eliquids that will help people leave tobacco products behind. The website for The Refuge offers information on the flavors profiles for each blend, and these descriptions are more often than not, are very accurate.
Individual Flavor Tests
Toot Loops
Toot Loops was the first The Refuge E-Liquid I tried out. It is similar to a few of the other flavors, yet still unique. It is totally clear in color –the reason I tried it first. It tastes just like Fruit Loops and was a nice flavor to try out. Toot Loops produced some massive clouds and carried its straightforward, consistent flavor throughout its cloud production. I imagine that if you like Fruit Loops and vape with high vg E-Liquid, you will want to get a huge bottle of Toot Loops.
Porn Star
In trying this flavor out, I did not know what to expect, wondered if it would ‘arouse’ me. Though it did not, Porn Star possessed a lovely scent upon opening the bottle. It was fine and tasted similar to strawberries. It reminded me of what edible underwear might taste like, that is of course if it too was of a sweet and tropical, strawberry flavor. I enjoyed Porn Star, and vaped with it for some time before re-wicking. The liquid itself is yellow in color and produced clean, fantastically tropical scented clouds.
Lush
Lush was one of my favorites, out of these 11 flavors. It ranked highly, in my opinion, with at least 3 other flavors. It, like all of them, produced some massive clouds. It is the second to darkest in color and dark orange. Lush, to me, tasted like a creamy caramel, with a hint of coconut, much like banana muffins. I vaped with it a few times to decide just how much I liked it, then set it aside to vape on later before re-wicking. If you are unsure as to which of these flavors to try first, Lush is a great one, possibly my favorite of the 11.
Bub’s Backy
Bub’s Backy was exactly like Lush, except I experienced a hint of spice. It was not necessarily cinnamon, yet it was nice and enjoyable. I blew out a few large clouds, as I enjoyed a subtle hint of spicy flavor. Spicy and satisfying, I look forward to vaping with some Bub’s Backy in the future. It is a tobacco flavor, though I did not know it until I saw it on the website. I usually go with the fruit blends, however this flavor was enjoyable and I will continue to vape with it.
Charlie G
Charlie G tastes like apples. It is the most unique flavor, by far, of all of the 11 flavors in this review. It is of a clear yellow, almost yellow-green color and, again, is definitely unique. I blew out at least four massive clouds before I could place its taste. I knew I knew it, and thought for a while. I took in a large cloud and held it, and I remembered the flavor. To me, it was like a nice sparkling white wine, the kind you actually like after disliking so many others. I vaped on it for a while, blowing out some big ole clouds, and decided to go to the next flavor. I found out later, upon checking out the website, that it is actually an apple fritter with cinnamon flavor. The apple flavor is what I had trouble placing, however I enjoyed vaping with it, and will use it sparingly so it will last longer.
Glenn Coco
Glenn Co Co was one of the most exciting flavors of the 11 I tested out. It is a unique, light, berry flavor and orange-yellow in color. I thought it tasted like a desirable cactus fruit, and I vaped on it over and over to make one gigantic cloud from about five vapes. All fun aside, this is a great flavor and just may be your favorite, if you try out all eleven flavors. Glenn Coco was designed with the ‘Hippie Era’ in mind, and was a fun E-liquid to try, also a memorable favorite.
Pupule
I liked Pupule, vaped on it the next day after trying it out. It is similar to 3 or 4 flavors of the 11 and a good choice for a nice vape time. Pupule tasted like frosted muffins, with a hint of spice and caramel –reminded me of new leather seats. Decadent, indeed, it is a preferable almond vanilla flavor, great for producing more and more massive vape clouds. I’ll probably run out of Pupule before the other flavors, because I like to vape with it and it is nice.
Louie
Louie is actually a cream raspberry tobacco flavor, and produces huge clouds. It is the darkest in color of the 11 Signature Series E-Liquids in this review and dark orange. At first thought, you may think this combination of flavors would be hard to accomplish for satisfaction, however Louie is a great flavor -creamy, mildly spiced, and somewhat fruity. Similar to Bub’s Backy, if you like the flavor tooty fruity, you’ll love vaping with some high vg Louie.
Bartlett Bay
While vaping with Bartlett Bay, I envisioned a wrecked pirate ship on the white sands of a tropical beach, semi-circling a murky bay at dusk. It tastes like a strawberry flavor and is choice. By choice I mean that if I were to choose 3 top flavors of the 11, Bartlett Bay would be one of them. I took several huge vape inhales of it before deciding to re-wick and move on to the next flavor. Of course, a large, dense vape cloud surrounded me, then. What I thought was strawberry is actually a pear flavor –Bartlett Bay is a desirable choice.
Custard Fusion
Custard Fusion is a totally awesome E-Liquid. It makes large clouds and tastes great, as it is a creamy vanilla butterscotch flavor, much like frosted muffins. If you ever have the chance to, get some Custard Fusion high vg from The Refuge. It is great, tastes like a cake. I would not be surprised if Custard Fusion is a best seller of the various Signature Series E-Liquids The Refuge has to offer. I plan to vape with it a great deal, for 7ml or so, and then vape with the rest of the bottle sparingly. Custard Fusion was a fun experience for me.
2 Die 4
2 Die 4 was, by far, the best choice of the 11 flavors I tried from The Refuge. It is a creamy, mildly spicy flavor, and highly resembles apple muffins with icing. Huge, huge clouds came from me as I indulged in 2 Die 4. Then, I vaped on it a while, enjoying the creamy apple-muffin cake flavor, watching more vape clouds roll away. Of the many choices I have recommended of these 11, you cannot go wrong with some 2 Die 4.
About The Refuge E-Liquid Makers
What I know about The Refuge comes from their website. They offer exciting flavors in preferable bottles, all of which produce massive clouds of delicious vapor. I had a great deal of fun trying out the 11 E-liquids mentioned in this review; I recommend The Refuge High VG Dripper Series highly. If you are into vaping with Rebuildables, or just want some high-quality E-Liquid to for vaping in a quality tank, these flavors will not disappoint you. Don’t let the name of this series fool you; they may be called The Dripper Series but they perform incredibly well in all the fantastic sub-ohm tanks currently on the market, like the Kanger Subtanks, Herakles, or the Aspire Triton.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this is a wonderful line of E-Liquid and I do recommend trying out the full line of the Dripper Series. The creamy, fruity, spicy, or muffin-like taste and huge clouds these flavors produce are not easily surpassed. I know you enjoy vaping with The Refuge as much as I have.
Thank you for reading and vape on.
J.C. Martin III
