Fabulous VonVape eLiquid – A 2014 Team Review

A Spinfuel eLiquid Team Review – VonVape eLiquids

THE VON VAPE INTERVIEW HERE

Although VonVape carries a very limited number of vape gear on their website they are primarily an eliquid company. VonVape offers 10 eliquid flavors in 15ML plastic bottles for $11.99 a piece. Each of the flavors presented are non-complex, singular flavor blends. Simplicity in flavor can sometimes offer a delightful vape, and with a 70% VG 30% PG ratio they are all excellent vapor producers.

VonVape Premium Black Label: The ten flavors in this review represent the entire line of eLiquids. VonVape calls them “the pinnacle of artisanal small batch, handcrafted blends that bring together the delicate flavors and taste that you crave.“

The verbiage used on the VonVape website show confidence and a sense of pride in the eliquids they have created. Presented with this confidence we looked forward to an exciting 72-hour review period. In some ways it was, it other ways it wasn’t.

Because VonVape’s Premium Black Label eLiquids are 70% VG, we expected thicker vapor, but were surprised over the strength of the flavor, as well as the aroma of their blends. Each of them had terrific aromas and plenty of flavor.

All ten eliquids are crafted and bottled in US. VonVape says that all the ingredients are locally sourced and USP certified. They all possessed a clean, crisp flavor that is a telltale sign of high quality ingredients, but would the flavor and vapor live up to the confidence by the creators of these eliquids, and more importantly, are these high quality ingredients being used by an eliquid master mixologist as craftsman or artist?

These were the questions we hoped to answer with this review.

Particulars

Ingredients:  70% Kosher Vegetable Glycerin (VG), 30% Propylene Glycol (PG), Natural Nicotine and Food Flavoring. All ingredients are USP certified. All ingredients are locally sourced as well as Made and Manufactured in the USA.

Price – $11.99 – 15ML – At 79 cents (USD) per ML, VonVape eliquids are certainly in the higher end of the premium eliquid price scale. With so many other premium labels selling at significantly lower prices for 15ML bottles, and lower still with 30ML bottles on a per ML cost, VonVape had to truly deliver a superior vape experience if we were to recommend them to our readers.

Nicotine – Nicotine strengths are the usual 6mg, 12mg, 18mg, and 24mg. As is common, there is also a zero-nicotine blend of the ten flavors. Our review was with 18mg nicotine eLiquids.

Bottling/Packaging/Labels – The labels on VonVape bottles offer plenty of information. It’s all there, ingredients, nic-level, website URL, warnings, everything you could want.

The caps are child safety caps, and they are shrink-wrapped.  That could be because they were sent directly to Spinfuel, so we’ll reserve judgment on that. Bottles are high-grade plastic and were difficult to squeeze. The tips are long, thin, plastic tips that made filling clearomizers, glassomizers and even cartomizers a breeze.

Food Coloring – The ingredients do not list any food coloring, and there isn’t any, we checked. But we will point out that many of the ten eliquids have colors, red, blue-ish, green-ish, and so on. This is caused by certain flavorings, not food coloring.

Review Protocols – Click Here to go over the particulars of how we conduct our Spinfuel eLiquid Team Reviews in order to understand how we evaluate an eliquid and determine a ‘score’ by each of the four team members.

Commonalities – We briefly touched on some of the common traits of the VonVape line of eliquids above. With each flavor containing the same PG/VG ratio, ingredients, and craftsmanship the common aspects of the ten were many.

All ten produced superior vapor, all ten had satisfying aroma (though the aroma hardly plays into the flavor experience), and all ten had an abundance of flavor. Because of the many commonalities it was decided that all ten flavors would start at 3 Stars, for Average eLiquids, and additional ‘stars’ would depend on the flavor of the eliquid and the level of satisfaction, but none would rate lower than 3 Stars.

All told, this kind of eliquid review is much easier to evaluate then other labels that use varied ratios of PG and VG, and attempt to layer flavor on flavor in complex ways. All ten VonVape eliquids were simple flavors, and it was our job to see how well VonVape delivered on these flavors.

The Spinfuel eLiquid Team Review

Cherry – “Our natural Cherry e-liquid has a very soft, smooth, sweet flavor & bouquet that tastes and smells as if you just plucked it from the cherry tree.” – VonVape

Julia: Well, this is certainly a different Cherry flavor than I’m used to. Many of the flavors in this review are very sweet, but in a good way, and with Cherry they don’t go far enough with the sweetness and instead there is a very light floral, or cherry blossom flavor to it.

But, strangely enough, I liked it. For me this was 75% cherry and 25% cherry blossom, with a wicked amount of vapor. A strong 4.75 Stars

Tom: Definitely not my kind of flavor, but I would guarantee you that vapers who do like a cherry flavored vape that is not too sweet and instead very authentically cherry, this would be a ejuice they would love. The longer I vaped it the more I liked it…to a point.

Much better than I thought it was going to be. 4.5 Stars

Jason: One of the most popular Johnson Creek/Blu Cigs flavors is the Cherry flavor, and this one tastes a lot like that cherry flavor. I can see Julia’s “hint” of cherry blossom, but otherwise this is a strong authentic cherry with Johnson Creek flair. Very good though not my style. 4.75 Stars

Keira: I think this one is my favorite flavors of the ten. ‘Cherry’ is a very serious cherry vape, one that really got to me, and after a while I was craving to get back to it. It’s this kind of flavor that makes me realize that our way of reviewing eliquids, vaping them several times at different times of the day and night, is the best way to do it. After each ‘session’ with Cherry, I couldn’t wait to get to back to it. Definitely in my rotation. 5 Stars

Watermelon – “Our natural Watermelon e-liquid has a juicy, refreshing flavor that tastes and smells like you just cut a fresh slice from a perfectly ripe summer Watermelon.

Best of all you can savor it long after summer when fresh melons are gone. Customers love the bold flavors of our Watermelon and so will you!” – VonVape

Julia: It’s watermelon season here and we buy one every week. So, yes, I recognize this as a watermelon flavor, but more like a watermelon candy than an actual watermelon. This is a very sweet eliquid with plenty of flavor and vapor, and it’s a satisfying vape too. Is it a 5 Star juice? Almost. 4.75 Stars (too sweet for 5 Stars)

Tom: It’s funny, out of the ten flavors the only ones I had any problem with were the three tobacco flavors, and they are my specialty. This watermelon eliquid is a very sweet, a very ‘watermelon vape’ with tons of vapor and flavor. Too sweet to add to my rotation, and not exactly the flavor of real watermelon, but for watermelon vapers this is something you would love to vape. 4.5 Stars

Jason: Out of the ten flavors reviewed this one is the sweetest. Watermelon isn’t this sweet, even at its most ripe. But you definitely get that watermelon flavor along with a huge amount of vapor. Not something I would normally vape, but still an excellent recipe. For watermelon lovers only. 4.5 Stars

Keira: I had to agree with the other members of the team. This watermelon ejuice is very sweet, despite its watermelon flavor, which is abundant. I don’t have a watermelon eliquid in my collection, and this one won’t be the one I add, but its still a flavor I think watermelon vapers would love to vape. 4.25 Stars

Grape – “Our natural Grape e-liquid is true to the fruit! It has a crisp, refreshing flavor and a bold grape bouquet, this is not your candied eLiquid.

Our Grape e-liquid tastes and smells rich and deep like a fresh bunch picked straight from the vine directly into your vapor tank!” – VonVape

Julia: I remember John telling me almost 3 years ago that a friend in the wholesale business told him to contact an eliquid vendor that made a grape eliquid this guy would kill for.

When we finally got around to tasting it we found it to be okay, but sort of muddied with a dull grape flavor.

VonVape’s version of ‘grape’ is nothing but grape. A sweet grape jelly vape. Now, what prevents me from giving this one 5 Stars is that the description tells us that this should taste like grapes picked from the vine. It doesn’t taste like vine picked grapes; it tastes like a great, fantastic, grape jelly. 4.75 Stars

Tom: This is the first grape flavor I’ve ever considered a 5 Star ejuice. Lots of sweet grape flavor, more vapor than you would think, and a decent throat hit. I was ready to commit to 5 Stars until Julia bought up the fact that the grape flavor was not the grape flavor of vine-picked grapes, and to prove it she bought in grapes from the grocery store.

Big fat purple grapes with seeds, seedless purple and green grapes, and she was right, this grape was a delicious Welch’s grape jelly. Was it overly sweet? Maybe, but I would still add this to my rotation for a while. I loved it. 4.75 Stars

Jason: Julia’s big demo was a bit overkill for me, and as a matter of fact, this grape eliquid tasted a lot like those huge round grapes with seeds, so I see this as the sweet grape it is intended to be. 5 Stars

Keira: Maybe Julia’s right, maybe it is too sweet to be an actual vine-picked grape flavor, but to me it didn’t matter. I thought it was amazing, and right up there with the best blueberry ejuices I’ve had, in that its sweet, juicy, fruity way, and the flavor is strong…and that flavor is grape. I’m giving it 5 Stars

Green Apple – “Our natural Green Apple e-liquid has a crisp, tart flavor & sweet bouquet that tastes and smells as if you just picked it from the orchard this morning.

Take your time and enjoy this fresh, fruity and bold green apple e-liquid flavor.” – VonVape

Julia: Besides the huge amount of vapor, the sweet and tart flavor that is exactly Green Apple comes through on both the inhale and exhale of this big flavor ejuice. For a simple, one-note flavor VonVape got it exactly right. 5 Stars

Tom: It has been a while since vaping simple, singular flavor eliquids so as my first VonVape flavor I really enjoyed the simple sweet and tart flavor of green apple. I don’t know if I would add this to my rotation, but I do know I wouldn’t turn it down. Simple, clean, fresh, and flavorful… Tons of vapor too. 5 Stars

Jason: I had reservations about how I would score an eliquid that was designed to deliver a lot of vapor, a lot of flavor, and yet keep it as simple as possible.

Where is the creativity? Where is the artistic talent? I suppose that instead of showing a talent in flavor mixing or nuance and layering, the talent here lies in the ability to construct an effective single flavor eliquid. No lack of talent for the technical aspects, but I’m deducting a half star for lack of imagination. I think VonVape can do much more complicated flavors if they wanted to. 4.5 Stars (Very good!)

Keira: Very tough to score Green Apple by VonVape. Yes, the flavor, aroma, vapor, and even throat hit are all excellent. It’s as though the creators behind the juice are more ‘scientist’ than ‘artist’. I’m not sure how I feel about that. However, you have to hand it to them, they produced an excellent eliquid. 4.75 Stars

Tobacco – “Our classic Tobacco e-liquid is rich, smoky, full bodied and bold in flavor. We have focused on developing a Tobacco taste that makes it easy for decade long smokers to transition over to.

With the mindset of keeping it simple so that you get exactly what you expect. Always a top seller, everyone loves natural, chemical free, clean Von Vape Tobacco e-liquid.” – VonVape

Julia: Tobacco is a nutty, dark and smoky tobacco flavor that I think would satisfy a lot of smokers, but it also appeals to vapers that like tobacco vapes. Far from the fancy tobacco eliquids we’ve come to expect from some of our premium labels, but a solid tobacco for people looking to get into the tobacco flavors. 4 Stars

Tom: I can see the appeal of this tobacco to smokers and vapers, though it doesn’t pass the threshold of a complex, premium tobacco blend that make up the majority of my tobacco collection. I think the nuttiness or smokiness of this blend saves it from being mediocre. 4.25 Stars

Jason: It’s been a long time since I’ve smoked so I can’t really say if this is a lot like what I remember because I just don’t remember anymore. This Tobacco eliquid is not very sweet, but it’s not dry either. It’s a middle of the road tobacco that I think would appeal to many smokers, because it’s rich, dark, and flavorful. It’s also quite simple, so it’s not going to win any complexity points, but it doesn’t have to. 4.25 Stars

Keira: Give me a Vanilla Tobacco, or a sweet, hazelnut tobacco, but don’t give me a tobacco that reminds me of smoking. On a craftsmanship level they did great with this one, on an artistic level, it fails. Smokers, this is something you should try if you’re looking to get off the deadly sticks. 4 Stars

Menthol – “Our Menthol e-liquid delivers a cool burst of chilling menthol with its soothing mint flavor & bouquet. Looking for that great throat hit, superior tobacco taste and an icy cool sensation?

Our Menthol e-liquid is a fan favorite. This is a Menthol Tobacco, be prepared to think you are taking a drag off an analog, minus the harsh toxins and second hand smoke.” – VonVape

Julia: I don’t know, I don’t like menthol, but there is something about this one that isn’t all that bad. The vapor is superb, the throat is very good, and the menthol tobacco flavor is authentic. If I smoked menthol cigarettes I would probably love this one. Simple menthol tobacco, like Salem or Newport. 4 Stars

Tom: I’m not crazy about menthol tobacco, but Julia’s score of just 4 Stars is a bit unfair. I think VonVape did an excellent job of creating a menthol cigarette flavor. Add to that the vapor and the throat hit and you’ve got yourself a 4.5 Star eLiquid

Jason: Not bad menthol at all. I was surprised actually. This tastes like a real menthol tobacco cigarette, as much as I can remember (which isn’t much), and that is kind of strange. Usually menthol/peppermint/icy type eliquids don’t hit on real menthol tobacco, but this one seems to. Good job! 4.5 Stars

Keira: For craftsmen VonVape did a wonderful job with Menthol. I don’t like it, at all, but there are some smokers I know personally who have said that if they could vape a real menthol cigarette flavor they would switch to vaping. This could very well be the one. Too bad the price is as high as it is. 4.75 Star

Raspberry – “Our natural Raspberry e-liquid is the perfect mix of vine ripe, explosive berry flavor & one that will keep you coming for another vape. Looking for a fresh picked sweet bouquet that tastes and smells like you picked the berries strait from the vine?

This is the last Raspberry e-liquid you’ll ever need. Take your time and enjoy the lite flavors & delicate aromas of the flawlessly captured Raspberry essence.” – VonVape

Julia: VonVape can really write some pretty language for their eliquid descriptions, can’t they? So, does this Raspberry live up to the beautiful words that describe it? Almost. Honestly. This is a very good Raspberry flavor, one of the nicest I’ve had in a while. It’s sweet but not overly so, it’s thick raspberry flavor does taste like I’m vaping a real raspberry, not a liquid. There isn’t any magical raspberry layers or complexity involved, but it’s a lovely raspberry vape, worthy of 4.75 Stars

Tom: As far as a raspberry flavor goes, this one is quite nice. Simple, flavorful, a producer of tons of vapor clouds, and an ample throat hit as well. As a straight up raspberry eliquid this is an excellent flavor. If I had room for this in my rotation I think I would actually add it. I still might. 4.75 Stars

Jason: Raspberry is a one-note raspberry with real raspberry flavor, tons of vapor, and a good throat hit. Most of the time I like really complex flavors that deliver one flavor going in and another going out, but sometimes a singular flavor can be good enough to be enjoyed as an all-day-vape. Raspberry by VonVape could be that for me. 5 Stars

Keira: I don’t which one I loved more, this raspberry or the vanilla, or even the Cherry. These are marvelous, yet simple flavors that really satisfy. Honestly, I would vape the vanilla more often then the fruity flavors, but I would definitely vape Cherry and this Raspberry often. I’m beginning to see the allure of single flavor juice. 5 Stars

Vanilla – Spinfuel Choice Award Winner – “Our true Vanilla e-liquid is rich and bold in Vanilla flavor. It tastes and smells like you just scraped it from the vanilla bean itself and has become a fan favorite.

Whether you’re a novice or a dripper our vanilla flavor e-liquid will easily becomes one of your daily vapes.” – VonVape

Julia: Wow, I certainly didn’t expect a pure vanilla flavor here, although maybe I should have. ‘Vanilla’ is not a creamy vanilla custard vape many vapers might expect. This is an eliquid made with pure vanilla, plain and simple. I loved it. This vanilla is completely different than my usual vanilla vapes in that the singular flavor tastes like a sweet vanilla extract. Vapor, throat hit, and pure vanilla, a 5 Star eliquid

Tom: There is a certain disappointment in the lack of imagination, yes, but sometimes when determining whether or not you would vape this eliquid regardless of the magic or lack thereof, this pure vanilla ejuice is splendid. Sweet, pure, simple, and very satisfying. 5 Stars

Jason: During our discussion phase of this review we all were surprised about this simple vanilla flavor. I can’t remember any vanilla eliquid I’ve had in the past year or more than was “just” vanilla. A great job, and delicious. I would add this to my rotation. 5 Stars

Keira: I did not expect such a clean, sweet, and pure vanilla eliquid from “Vanilla”. I think its because so many others have created some real masterpieces using vanilla as a base and then laying flavor upon flavor on top. Sometimes simple is better I suppose, and this pure vanilla vape is amazing. 5 Stars

Lite Tobacco – “Our Lite Tobacco e-liquid is everything you want in a rich, smoky, full bodied and bold lite tobacco e-liquid. We made it lite and smooth in flavor so when you decide to come over to the vape world from your old lite tobacco flavored analog cigarette it’s an easy transformation.

Think of it as Tobacco on a diet. We have focused on natural taste, keeping it simple yet bold so that you get exactly what you expect.” – VonVape

Julia: I honestly cannot tell the difference between Lite Tobacco and Tobacco. Every note is the same. 4 Stars

Tom: No doubt I like the ‘Tobacco’ more than the ‘Lite Tobacco’, although they are very similar. The major difference, for me, is that the Lite Tobacco has an element of a harsh throat hit to it. Read my thoughts on Tobacco, then subtract one star. 3.25 Stars

Jason: Lite Tobacco is a lot like the tobacco flavor but in some ways it’s just not as rich, smoky, or nutty. I’ll give it the same score, but if you’re going for tobacco by VonVape for the first time, try ‘Tobacco’ first. 4.25 Stars

Keira: I wish I had a better handle on the two tobacco flavors by VonVape. After several attempts of side-by-side vape sessions with both, in X.Jet Spiders, I couldn’t tell the difference in flavor, other than I “think” the Lite Tobacco has less depth to it. I could be wrong, but that’s my evaluation. 4 Stars

 

Red Energy – “Our Red Energy e-liquid is a tribute to the Original Red Bull. We think of it as a flawless blend of sweet and tart berry, with just a little bit of that energy fizz.

The bold flavor and bouquet of this Red Energy eLiquid offers the unspoiled flavor, pleasure and experience of popping open the bullet can, minus the calories and crash.” – VonVape

Julia: First, I hate Red Bull. Makes my stomach feel all tied up in knots, so I stopped drinking it 5 years ago. But the flavor in Red Energy is spot on Red Bull, right down the sweet/tart flavor. I enjoyed vaping Red Energy, though I doubt I would add it to my rotation. 4 Stars

Tom: I thought I was going to dislike Red Energy quite a bit. I don’t like these energy, fizzy, sweet and tart like flavors, especially in an eliquid. But, for me there is a sweeter, tamer flavor at play here that I really noticed and appreciated. Not that I would add to my rotation, but it was pretty good. 4.25 Stars

Jason: I would not go out of my way to vape Red Energy, but I also wouldn’t turn out a tank full. Does that make sense? I’m agnostic about the flavor, impressed by the vapor, but couldn’t find any certain degree of satisfaction in it. A good flavor but nothing to get excited about. 3.75 Stars

Keira: About 3 years ago I used to down Red Bull 3 or 4 times a day, for the energy, or caffeine really. I got used to that weird flavor that was sort of like Mt Dew and sort of like a grapefruit, with fizz. I get the same sense of flavor from Red Energy, and I liked it, though I can’t see myself actually adding it to my rotation.

There are just too many other great flavors out there to waste my time with something I find okay, but not great. While I will add Vanilla, Cherry and Raspberry to my collection, Red Energy will sit it out. 3.75 Stars

Conclusion

The biggest factor of reviewing these ten singular flavor eliquids is that we all realized how uppity we were becoming. We still believe that the art of creating eliquids is a rare talent, reserved for people like Kim, Annette, Ginger, Steve, and Christian…people that study flavor combinations and exacting recipes.

But we tend to turn up our noses up at eliquid labels that we deemed were too commercial, too craftsmen-like and not artistic enough. Now we have been humbled.

Sure, we believe that in these ten flavors the craftsmanship is amazing, but the lack of creativity is, we think, on purpose. Not all eliquids have to complex, full of nuance, or mysterious. From a craftsmanship aspect all ten are well crafted and expertly mixed, using the highest quality ingredients. and they tasted great.

What we would like to see down the road is how well these craftsmen can create a complex eliquid on the level of our premium vendors we buy from all the time. We’re certain that they are capable of creating fancy flavored ejuice, but right now its about the basic flavor, a great raspberry, a great melon, etc.

There is certainly room in anybody’s collection, or rotation, for good, flavorful, singular flavored eliquid. And when you’re looking for that right “cherry” or that right “raspberry”, or even a pure vanilla flavor with no tricks up its sleeve, you could do a whole lot worse than VonVape.

Buying Advice

Regardless of how much we liked the eliquids, especially the ones we gave 4.5 Stars and above, VonVape is expense when compared to many other labels. What that means to us is this; we would all gladly pay that $11.99 for a 15ML of their Vanilla, or Cherry, or even Green Apple, but we would do so sparingly.

If you’re interested in trying out VonVape we say yes, go for it, but stay within the flavors you already like before exploring the others. Our personal recommendations are evident by our scores, but certainly Vanilla, Cherry, Raspberry and Green Apple are worthy of a try.

Till next time…

Julia, Tom, Jason, and Keira

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