Table of Contents
Vape Craft Inc & Vapors Anonymous
A Spinfuel eLiquid Team Review
Before we begin this review I would like to state up front that, as a team, we did not always have the opportunity to choose the brand of eliquid we want to review. That changed on January 1st 2016, but I wanted our readers to know that this was the case from 2012 to December 31st 2015. Dave Foster could, and often did, approve brands without telling the teams. No offense Dave, we still love you!
Had we been able to deny a review it would have been Vape Craft Inc. The reason is pretty simple; Vape Craft Inc. refers to their eliquid as ‘gourmet’ and ‘premium’, and they are anything but.
Vape Craft Inc. is a ‘budget’ brand, their eliquids are very affordable, like ‘$15 for a 120mL bottle’ affordable. While that in itself isn’t a bad thing, wouldn’t it be nice if all eliquids were as affordable, the self-published ingredients list is so worrisome the team was leery of spending any time with the eliquids, much less the normal 72 hours. Most eliquids, if not all, (some flavors are not listed on this ingredients list) contain both Acetyl Propionyl and Acetoin, ingredients we try to stay away from.
Acetyl Propionyl and Acetoin are the substitute ingredients that came on the scene after the scare of Diacetyl. It has been suggested, through research, that these two ingredients convert to Diacetyl, but even if they do not, they are still considered to be “as potentially harmful as Diacetyl”. These two chemicals are considered lung irritants and their chemical composition is very similar to Diacetyl. So, you know, thanks but no thanks.
Caveat Emptor
We are not about to claim that every brand of eliquid we actually do review is free of Acetyl Propionyl and Acetoin, or even Diacetyl because any brand in the today’s unregulated industry could hide the fact from us, and you. So, on the one hand we applaud Vape Craft Inc. for being upfront about the potentially harmful chemicals in their formula’s, but had we known, this review would not have happened.
So, How Did We Find Out?
When an eliquid brand comes in for review it is entered into the system by Dave and then distributed to the teams. Once we have it we schedule a 3-day period in order to vape the product, and at some point during that 72 hours we will begin to gather information about the company, obtain the flavor profiles, and so forth. This time that happened on the 3rd day of the review period. We had been vaping these flavors for a good 48 hours before we looked into the company.
When we began to explore the Vape Craft Inc. website our first impression was the eliquids were extraordinary inexpensive. Who sells 120mL bottles for $15? Well, Vape Craft Inc. does, for one. That led us to the link under most of the flavors. A link that reads “For more information of the ingredients used in this product click here.” Always a good thing to have to make customers feel safe. This was the page that showed nearly all the flavors by Vape Craft Inc. contained these chemicals. We were shocked.
Vape Craft Inc. Disclaimer:
Vape Craft, inc. has not tested any of these flavors. The ingredients you see below were taken from different flavoring companies’ websites that we use. We do not control the use of certain ingredients in the flavorings we use in our products. We are continually looking for new flavors to offer our customers a 2nd Version of our e-Juices that do NOT contain Acetyl Propionyl, or Acetoin. When we release a Version 2 e-juice it will be listed on the product page in a drop down menu and the customer will be able to choose which recipe they would like to purchase.
Now what? Do we cancel the review or do we solider on? We decided to continue, and our review is below. However, in addition to our comments on the eliquids flavor, vapor, vape satisfaction and all the rest, we would like to sub-title this review as “A Cautionary Tale”.
Before you buy any eliquid from Vape Craft Inc. we urge you to wait until such time as this company releases their “2nd version” for every flavor, a version they ‘promise’ not to contain Acetyl Propionyl, or Acetoin.
- Julia Hartley-Barnes
The Spinfuel eLiquid Team Scoring System for 2106
The lowest score an eliquid can receive is 1.00. A score of 1.00 represents an eliquid that cannot be vaped by the member of the team that awarded the score. A 1.00 does not solely consider flavor, it includes any unpleasant aftertastes or other indicators that point to an awful eliquid.
A 2.00 score would represent a score for an eliquid that is not made with quality ingredients, and does not deliver a flavor profile that matches the brand’s official flavor profile, and proves to be an unpleasant vape experience, though not totally unvapeable.
A 3.00 score represents an Average eliquid. That is, average for 2015-2016 Standards. It means the use of adequate quality ingredients, fairly similar flavor profile of the brand’s official profile, though sometimes written as hyperbole. A 3.00 score is not the median score, it’s just a non-special, okay eliquid found in many good budget brands.
A 4.00 score represents a better-than-average eliquid for the 2015/2016 ejuice standards. The quality of the ingredients is apparent, and high-end. The official flavor description is an accurate description from the reviewer’s point of view. Many modern eliquid brands fall into this level. A score of 4.00+ is equivalent to the score of a 5.00 score in 2013 terms.
A 5.00 score is just shy of a perfect eliquid. A 5.00 score eliquid is made of apparent premium ingredients and has a flavor profile that outshines the official flavor profile given to it from the brand. The eliquid delivers not only a great vape, but delivers vape satisfaction beyond the norm. When all members of the review team find an eliquid to be a 5.00 eliquid it is awarded the Spinfuel Choice Award.
There is NO perfect e-Liquid
A perfect e-liquid is one in which every vaper in the vape community would want to vape. A ‘Universal’ e-liquid, of which by its very nature is impossible. This is the reason why we say a 5.00 score represents an eliquid that is ‘just shy’ of perfect.
Vape Craft Inc. Budget Eliquid Review
Vape Craft Inc. claims to be a maker of gourmet, premium eliquids and with this proclamation they prove beyond a doubt that the words ‘gourmet’ and ‘premium’ have lost all meaning in the eliquid industry. There is nothing gourmet or premium about this brand. All the flavors have the characteristics of eliquids we vaped in 2012. In other words, there is nothing special about them. They are ordinary, basic, and very cheap.
Current Pricing: Vape Craft have two lines of eJuice, Vapors Anonymous and Vape Craft Line.
Vapors Anonymous brand
$9.95 Plastic Bottle + $1 for Glass Bottle –
$24.95 120mL Plastic – $26.95 120mL Glass
- Flavor reviewed here: Milk of the Gods
Vape Craft Inc. Brand
$15.00 – 120mL Plastic Bottle
$17.00 – 120mL Glass Bottle
Nicotine strengths are offered in 3, 6, 12, 18mg. Most flavors in either line are available in 50:50 PG/VG or Max VG
The Team And The eLiquids
Milk of the Gods – Vapors Anonymous Line
Milk of the Gods | Contains: Acetly Propionyl, Acetoin, Water, Caramel Color, Alcohol
100% VG (Vegetable Glycerin) Base
Official Flavor Description:
A splash of flavor from the drink beholden to the Gods as sacred! For millions of years this drink has enriched the youth and has re-vitalized the elder. The Gods have once again given us a extrodinary [sic] drink to quench our thirst and better yet our vape. A creamy cinnamon [sic] flavored rice milk passing to your lips and touching the tip of your tongue is something your taste buds will crave. Experience a flavor made for the Gods.
Julia – 2.00 – I definitely taste the Horchata, that Mexican beverage made with rice, cinnamon, almonds, and so on, but the flavor just sits there. The Max VG formula does produce a lot of vapor, but the flavor became a bit boring after a while. The description provided by Vape Craft went way overboard, the plain flavor didn’t do it any favors, and the vape, while a good vapor producer, felt old. It reminded me of some of the eliquids we reviewed 4 years ago, before the ‘age of refinement.’
Kiera – 2.00 – You have to love a company that includes things like this in their official description; “For millions of years this drink has enriched the youth and has re-vitalized the elder” – Millions of years? Mankind itself has been around for 200,000 years. But why quibble? What’s several hundred thousands years between friends, right?
The description ‘Milk of the Gods’ in reference to this ‘horchata’ base ‘beverage’ has been used hundreds of times over the years so I don’t begrudge Vape Craft for calling this mundane eliquid the same thing. The problem of course is that there isn’t much to it that would make me think of ‘Milk of the Gods’. It’s pretty ordinary, very average. Very inexpensive.
Tom – 2.00 – I lost interest in Milk of the Gods inside of an hour. Flavor intensity was okay, if you like the flavor, and the vapor production was on par with most Max VG blends. That said, I’ve had eliquids that can almost perform miracles in the past year, yet every flavor in the review reminded me of eliquids I used to vape from vendors no longer in business.
Jason – 2.00 – Based on the 2016 Scoring Methods laid out above, this Milk of the Gods is a solid 3.00 when I first vaped it. However, since I now know that the chemical makeup leaves much to be desired, I’m taking the score down to 2.00 because “A 2.00 score would represent a score for an eliquid that is not made with quality ingredients”
Mama’s Muffins
Mamas Muffins Ingredients | Contains: Acetly [sic] Propionyl, Acetoin, Sucralose, Triacetin, Alcohol, Water, Citric Acid
120mL – $15 120mL Plastic $17.00mL Glass Bottle
Flavor Description
Soak your tastes buds in a freshly baked muffin. This complex flavor is a rich tasty experience. Take a bite into a muffin that’s coated with slight hints of apple and strawberry. This is truly how mama used to make them.
Flavor: Vanilla Custard Drizzled in Slices of Banana
100% VG (Vegetable Glycerin) Base
Julia – 2.00 – Over the years I’ve enjoyed many banana muffin flavors, apple muffins, strawberry muffins, and they all managed to eek out some fruit flavor with the standard muffin flavor. Mama’s Muffin is all muffin, no fruit. That’s not to say I found it disagreeable. I actually enjoyed the flavor for a while despite the flavor being generic.
Kiera – 2.00 – While vaping Mama’s Muffins I kept calling it a banana muffin flavor where the banana was very light, almost undetectable. When I read that the muffin flavor was intertwined with apple and strawberry I knew they missed the mark completely.
Tom – 2.00 – Totally average muffin flavor with zero hint of apple of strawberry and barely banana. Although the muffin flavor was okay, it felt uninspiring, almost like a muffin mix that makes muffins that need a lot of butter or syrup or fruit jam to liven it up. It was okay, but just okay.
Jason – 2.00 – I like the taste of a muffin eliquid, and in this flavor there was a solid muffin flavor throughout. But, in the description it talks about apples and strawberries and man, they ain’t there. I vaped almost half the bottle though, so it wasn’t that bad, just sort of plain.
Candy Watermelon
Flavor Description – Candy Watermelon
$15 – 120mL Plastic $17.00 – Glass Bottle
Julia – 2.00 – Seeing the photo of the candy watermelon slice, and having eaten those candies several times over the years I expected to taste a tart and sweet watermelon flavor that would at least come close to the flavor of this candy. It doesn’t. There is a watermelon flavor, and it is sweet, but it lacks the whole “candied” element.
Kiera – 2.00 – Watered down watermelon with extra sweetener. If you love watermelon flavors you might like this for a while, but in the past 4 years I’ve never met anyone that ever raved about a watermelon eliquid. This one won’t get much traction either.
Tom – 2.00 – A ‘candied’ flavor is different from a candy flavor. ‘Candied’ is sugar crystals, crunchy and sweet, with the primary flavor… in this case watermelon, mixed in. While I can certainly taste watermelon all I can really say is that this is a sweet watermelon eliquid. Nothing “candied” about it.
Jason – 2.00 – A truly do not like sounding harsh in a review, but I have to say that the watermelon flavor in this eliquid tasted worn, old, stale. I did not like it.
Churros
Flavor Description: Churros
$15 – 120mL Plastic $17.00 – Glass Bottle
Julia – 2.00 – This Churro flavor was my favorite eliquid of this review. While like the other flavors I could taste an inferior glycerin aftertaste the churro flavor was pretty accurate. Maybe when Vape Craft launches their new version, with better ingredients, they could make a go out of this flavor.
Kiera – 2.00 – Definitely has that churro flavor, with lots of vapor production with the Max VG. But, this one-note flavor bought me back to an early 2013 churro flavor I reviewed that sort of sat there. These days you expect some finesse, some layering, some brightness maybe. Not here, not now.
Tom – 2.00 – None of the eliquids in this review were downright nasty. I want to make sure that our readers understand that. All of them were “okay” flavors, but flavors that reminded all of us of the days when cheap ingredients were the norm, when in the past, if we tasted the flavor we were supposed to taste it was a decent eliquid. That’s what all of these are, and this churro flavor was the best of the lot. However, being the best in this line up doesn’t say much. If you are on a strict budget, and you don’t really think or care about any of the above mentioned chemicals, and you’re looking for anything to vape that tastes “okay”, then Vape Craft is the kind of brand you’re looking for.
Jason – 2.00 – I liked the flavor of the churro in this one. I vaped this in a sub-ohm tank with a Ni200 0.15-ohm coil head at 550 and was hit with a lot of churro flavor. If Vape Craft cleans up their ingredients they might have something here.
Nectar Custard
$15 – 120mL Plastic Bottle – $17.00 Glass Bottle
Nectar Custard | Contains: Acetyl Propionyl, Acetoin, Water, Caramel Color, Alcohol
Flavor Description
Nectar custard is a unique blend of vanilla custard and a secret nectar sauce that is used in the Milk of the Gods flavor by Vapors Anonymous. The nectar is sweet and gives the flavor a unique taste that no other juices have. Try it and we are sure you won’t regret it.
Flavor: Vanilla Custard, Caramel, and a Nectar Sauce
100% VG (Vegetable Glycerin) Base
Julia – 2.00 – A basic sweet custard vape with an element of some other flavor that defied description. Not a terrible flavor, just a plain one.
Kiera – 2.00 – I really enjoyed Nectar Custard. Sweet, with hints of vanilla and deep custard. The only thing I didn’t like was an out-the-way caramel flavor that shouldn’t have been there. Otherwise, Nectar Custard was pretty good.
Tom – 2.00 – I’ve had dozens and dozens of vanilla, custard, caramel flavors with varying degrees of likeability. Sadly, this was not one of them. Nectar Custard tasted like it was nearing ‘end of life’.
Jason – 2.00 – While I don’t have much to say about Nectar Custard, it did deliver a sweet custard vape, but not one I would buy or vape on my own. I was certainly able to vape it, but it left me wanting.
Conclusion
I think Tom had it right when, in our discussions, he said that the flavors in this review were not awful, or even off-putting, they were just plain, one-trick ponies, made with basic ingredients.
But let’s be honest, if Vape Craft used top-shelf ingredients, pure nicotine, Kosher VG, and expensive flavorings there is no way they could sell 120mL for $15. Yes, there is a lot of profit in eliquid, but expensive ingredients will cause a 120mL bottle to retail way more than $15.
We hope that Vape Craft is able to make their “2nd line” a higher quality line, with modern flavorings, high quality PG and VG, a pure nicotine solution, and other high quality ingredients. Until then, there’s just no way we can recommend this brand today. When it comes to your health, budget mindedness shouldn’t be the main concern.
The Takeaway
The biggest benefit to come out of this review is that we, as a team, will now require an ingredients list from every brand we review moving forward. If any brand in unwilling to show us the quality of their ingredients and whether or not suspect chemicals are part of the makeup, then we simply will not review them. So, thanks Vape Craft, for your honesty.
Julia Hartley-Barnes, Kiera Hartley-Barnes, Tom McBride and Jason Little – The Spinfuel eLiquid Review Team
