Disclaimer: This E-liquid was provided to me free of charge for the purpose of conducting a review. This fact notwithstanding, I will, as best I'm able, provide an honest, accurate and unbiased assessment of this product.
Preamble
Until recently, my wife and I were residents of the UK, living in a well-to-do town forty minutes by train, South West of London. A little over a month ago we returned to the country we hadn't seen in eight years: Australia, our homeland. We're living out of suitcases at my parents-in-law's home in Queensland on the North East coast. This particular region is popular with retirees, much like Florida I imagine. I'm quite out of place in my black attire and my moody disposition. I feel like Seinfeld visiting his parents in Florida in "The Pen" (season 3, episode 3). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pen
Most of the Australian population are terrified of the interior of this vast island and so we huddle, for the most part on the coast, churlishly guarding our borders against refugees (for shame!). A number of beautiful beaches lie not two kilometres from where I sit writing. The sky is a pristine blue, unsullied by clouds; the sun beats down fiercely but there's a cool breeze which keeps me sane. I'm sitting on the patio overlooking a small swimming pool flanked by palm trees and small, sun-bleached, concrete garden ornaments: two owls, two crocodiles, a dog and yes, a flamingo. Living out of a suitcase, no job but vaping Moot's Juice and for the present moment at least, I'm at peace with the world.
Moot's Juice is an e-liquid by NamberJuice http://namberjuice.com/, the relatively new company set up by pillars of the vaping world, Nick "GrimmGreen" Green and Amber "VapeBabe" Johnson, both YouTube celebrities, reviewers, commentators and all-round nice people. GrimmGreen has been talking about all -things vaping since 2009 and from then till now has had approximately three and a half million views of his videos. Here's a link to GrimmGreen's blog: http://www.grimmgreen.com/ and here's a link to his YouTube channel: http://m.youtube.com/user/GrimmGreen If you're a newcomer to the vaping world you could be excused for not knowing who he is, but if you've been around for a while and you still don't know the name GrimmGreen, it's very likely you live under the proverbial rock. VapeBabe has been posting videos to YouTube since 2010 and has also amassed a sizeable following. She also maintains a blog dedicated to seeking out and discussing all things vaping for the female market. In her own words, "...we (women) are out here, we have money, and we are more than willing to throw it at (vendors) if they invest in our interests!" http://www.thevapebabe.com/post/11008147355/hey-everyone-just-getting-this-site-up-and Here's a link to her Youtube channel: http://m.youtube.com/user/TheVapeBabe and a link to her blog: http://www.thevapebabe.com/
Apparently, they're engaged to be married in the not too distant future. Congratulations guys! You're about to embark on the greatest adventure of your lives.
NamberJuice, a contraction of Nick And Amber's names. (N)ick, (Amber): Namber sold their first bottle of liquid at VapeBash in April 2013 and have established themselves as a very reputable vendor of fine e-liquids. They currently have a catalog of twenty one flavours, divided into two ranges; Namber Originals and Namesakes, with a third range, Tumbleweed Tobacco coming soon. Their liquids range from confectionary and desserts through to beverages and tobaccos. Each of their liquids are available in a 15ml bottle ($10.00) at nicotine strengths of 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24mg
The Review
Moot's Juice, from the Namesakes range is named after Mark Moots http://nightmarestudiostattoo.com/mark_moots.html, the tattooist responsible for much of the ink adorning Nick and Amber's bodies. Moots described what he wanted in an e-liquid and NamberJuice set about creating it. The Moot's Juice page on the NamberJuice site describes this liquid as "a sweet blend of raspberries and lime with some refreshing menthol thrown in... Amber says it tastes like a raspberry lime sorbet." http://namberjuice.com/namber-namesakes/moot-s-juice.html There are thirteen customer reviews for Moot's Juice with an average rating of 4.5/5 stars.
The bottle is a semi-opaque, easily squeezed plastic with an attached plastic dropper insert. The black plastic screw top cap is childproof. When it arrived, the bottle was sealed from head to toe in a seemingly vacuum sealed plastic and I had to use a steak knife to remove it! The design on the label is striking with it's geometric design in red, white and black. The label includes the following information: the name of the liquid, the phrase "The all original" preceding the brand name, the phrase "Quality E-Liquid", nicotine contents in mg, liquid contents in ml, a batch (lot) number, a "born on" date, an ingredients list, a warning that the liquid may contain concentrated flavours and nicotine, a declaration that the liquid contains artificial flavouring, an advisory notice to keep out of reach of children and pets and the NamberJuice address.
The liquid is a slightly opaque Straw Brown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_(color) but when a filled eye dropper is held up to the light it appears closer to an Ivory White http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_(color) In terms of viscosity, it appears, through the semi opaque bottle, to be somewhat akin to a light cooking oil or syrup. Dripping a few drops into the atomiser reveals quite a thick consistency, suggesting a high Vegetable Glycerin content. The liquid is highly lubricious. A large drop of the liquid, rubbed between my thumb and forefinger is extremely slippery and after ten minutes my fingers are beginning to cramp and the liquid has still resisted absorption into my skin. If you wanted to, you could probably use Moot's Juice as an industrial lubricant. Holding the opened bottle below my nose and taking slow sustained inhalations, I smell, first and foremost, the lime and then towards the finish, a whisper of menthol. Short, sharp whiffs favour the aroma of raspberry.
As is my custom, I'm reviewing Moot's Juice with an Igo-L on a Poldiac (with nice, new, satin stainless steel shirt and pants :)) running on a freshly charged 18650 battery. I don't have the means to check the ohms of the coil, but if it helps you to know, there's a four/five coil of 0.2mm (32AWG) Kanthal wire around three strands of 2mm Silica wick.
I'm firing the device and drawing the vapour into my mouth and I sense the broadly acidic tang of citrus on the tip of my tongue. As I continue firing the device and inhale the mouthful of vapour, sweetness manifests with the addition of a growing awareness of sourness. A slight chill cools my tongue and the roof of my mouth towards the back of my throat. Along with the broad taste sensation of citrus I recognise the presence of some sort of berry. Obviously I know it's raspberry, but at the level of pure sensation, I'm not experiencing it as that particular flavour at this stage. Once I've inhaled my fill of vapour, I take a short breath of air to chase the denser volume into my lungs. It's now that the broad flavours take on definition: the citrus is recognised as lime and the berry is acknowledged as raspberry. It's an unusual flavour pairing but it's not at all unpleasant; quite the contrary. As I exhale the flavours are amplified and as Amber suggests, it tastes remarkably like a raspberry and lime sorbet. Besides the experience of sensing flavour there's a very mild chemesthetic reaction along the length of my tongue; a refreshing coolness that persists into and for the duration of the aftertaste. The flavour of lime dominates from the finish of the exhalation and through to the last, lingering moments of awareness of flavour in my mouth.
Whether or not the vapour from this liquid tastes artificial is moot. (Pun intended; groan now.) There's no chemical unpleasantness about the flavour at all, so whether it's artificially flavoured or not seems irrelevant. I don't particularly experience a throat hit as such, but there is a mounting of pressure at the back of my throat during inhalation, seemingly characteristic of sweetened e-liquids. Vapour production is very generous and this is the final piece of the puzzle, set in place, suggesting the VG heavy content in this liquid.
Moot's Juice, like a sorbet, leaves your mouth feeling cleansed and refreshed. It's perfect summertime or postprandial vaping fare. As mentioned earlier, it seems an unlikely flavour pairing but it's perfectly delightful. The addition of a mild degree of Menthol serves to brighten the fruit flavours and contributes to the sensation of cleansing and refreshing the mouth, without being intrusive.
I know Moot's Juice is meant to be all about tattoos and rock and roll, torn flesh, hummingbirds and the skeletons of conjoined twins, etc, etc., but for me, right now it makes me think of this: http://youtu.be/1N1tkikuaeI
