I’ve recently had the pleasure of vaping three e-liquids from Goodejuice’s “House Brewed” line. The flavors covered in this review are Apple Cured, Wild Turkey Tobacco, and GJ4 Tobacco. These juices are a cut above the majority of tobacco e-liquids on the market since they’re made with macerated tobacco and triple-steeped using a “secret process.” Whatever that secret is, it produces a rich, flavorful, and authentic tobacco taste. Although I loved two of them and “only” liked one, I’m comfortable saying that all three are high-quality products that I consider artisanal juices.
As much as I enjoyed vaping these Goodejuice e-liquids, they’re not for everyone. Those accustomed to synthetic tobacco juices, which are quite enjoyable in their own right, might be shocked by these e-liquids. Although the three products I covered use different tobaccos and other flavors, there are some commonalities between them. (I’m going to guess that’s a result of the proprietary steeping process the company uses.) Some vapers have described Goodejuice’s House Brewed line as having pungent, musty, or funky qualities. Keep in mind that those adjectives aren’t being used in a negative way when describing these juices. The flavors are distinct and stand out, which is fantastic for tobacco lovers, but can be a bit much for those that occasionally enjoy a tobacco vape.
These juices are cleaner than many others made with naturally extracted tobacco (NET). Heavy NET e-liquids can murder equipment and aren’t recommend for carto/tank setups. Ahlusion aromatics, like the wonderful Honey Cured, are some of my favorites, but they’re tough on coils. While I don’t think they’re as carto-friendly as Heather’s Heavenly Vapes NET juices, these Goodejuice e-liquids work fine in carto/tanks, but they’ll certainly clog them up faster than non-NET juices.
Here are the breakdowns and steeping notes.
Apple Cured: A fantastic apple flavor hits you right away and is quickly followed by a full tobacco taste. The organic apple flavoring is bright and sweet, with just a touch of acidic bite. While the flavors don’t blend together seamlessly in the way that many Ahlusion tobaccos do, they complement each other nicely. I usually don’t like juices that are very sweet, unless they also have complexity. Apple Cured definitely fits the bill. The delicious sweetness, authentic tobacco taste, and Goodejuice “funk” give this juice a nice complexity that made it a pleasure to vape.
Wild Turkey Tobacco: While I see lots of e-liquids made with Burley, Latakia, and Virginia tobaccos, Turkish (Oriental) tobacco e-liquids are less common. I was excited to try this one because I used to enjoy cigarettes made with Turkish tobacco. Wild Turkey delivers a dry and grassy taste that’s one of the better approximations of tobacco cigarette flavor that I’ve had. The description says that it’s “naturally sweet,” but I was only getting a slight sweetness from it, no matter what juice delivery system I used. Initially, I was only okay with this juice (though I totally respected the craft that went into it), but I grew to like it — just not as much as the other two.
GJ4 Tobacco: This is Goodejuice’s extracted-tobacco take on the hugely popular RY4 e-liquid. For those of you not familiar with the juice, RY4 was originally created by Janty using a mix of synthetic tobacco, caramel, vanilla, and other flavors. Over the years, juice vendors have deemphasized the tobacco in favor of the sweeter tastes. GJ4 takes it back with a vengeance. While it does have sweet notes, the smokey, flavorful, and musty tobacco flavor stands out. Fans of classic and modern RY4s might find it overwhelming, but I loved this one. The smokiness and mustiness of the tobacco give it a nice burnt-caramel taste, while the vanilla lingers throughout the vape. First and foremost is the fantastic tobacco flavor. Out of the three juice in this review, GJ4 was my favorite.
Steeping Notes
On the advice of Wlad from Ahlusion, I’ve been trying a new steeping method starting December 27, 2012. When the e-liquids arrive, I leave them uncapped for five minutes. Previously, I left them uncapped for about two days. After the liquids are given a few minutes to oxidize, the caps are put back on. The bottles are shaken every day for at least two weeks before vaping.
Apple Cured Tobacco
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: February 19, 2013 6:51PM
Vaped: April 15-22, 2013
Wild Turkey
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: February 19, 2013 6:51PM
Vaped: April 15-22, 2013
GJ4
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: February 19, 2013 6:51PM
Vaped: April 15-22, 2013
Review Process (Updated February 17, 2013)
RPad.TV e-liquid reviews focus on the flavor of the e-liquids, since throat hit and vapor production can be altered by the PG/VG ratio and nicotine level selected. Each juice is vaped over a period of days in an atomizer, a cartomizer/tank setup, and a clearomizer. The exception is naturally-extracted tobacco (NET) juice; since those are known to clog up cartomizers quickly, those are vaped in atomizers and clearomizers.
Note: Obviously I made an exception to my normal review process, since these juices are cleaner than many NET juices.
