eLiquid Review 508: Basic Berries – Lychee Blackcurrant Green Apple by dRiip
Fruit flavours are awesome and I’m always surprised by some of the combinations that juice makers come up with. Today’s flavour is no exception to that and until you vape it, you might just put this down as being another fruit medley, not as the unique flavour that it actually is.
Let’s not waste any more time.
Today, I’ll be reviewing “Lychee Blackcurrant Green Apple” from the dRiip Basic Berries range.
(This eliquid was supplied by the vendor for review.)
Flavour Description
[From the website]
“A tropical burst that is utterly divine. Perfectly twisted into a balance of succulent lychee, juicy blackcurrants and a tangy green apple finish”
The Review
On smelling this juice, I knew I was in for a treat. You can just tell even at that early point that this is a flavour match that is a little away from the usual fruit blends, where this flavour compliments that and another fruit boosts notes in another.
This is most definitely contrasting and what a gamble, blending 3 usually completely un-complimenting flavours.
To me “Lychee BlackCurrant Green Apple” is exactly what it says on the tin. Sweet Lychee, full bodied blackcurrant and a sharp, tart green apple. All flavours that you’d think wouldn’t work so well together. It’s because of this they do, creating a flavour completely unique, something you don’t experience every day!
Individual Notes
The blackcurrant is sweet and robust, full bodied and fills out the mid-range of this flavour very nicely. Blackcurrant is notoriously overbearing and usually overrides other flavours. It’s a good thing these guys blended it with 2 other equally dominating fruits!
The Green Apple, is very much a Granny Smith apple. Light skin notes, but a sharp, and acidic flesh that really hits that taller tart and almost sour note, all the while being it’s usual sweet treat. This cuts through the blackcurrant and very much dominates the profile.
Lychee, is an unusual flavour, very very sweet, and adds a juicy texture to most flavours that it’s blended with. Here it is all of that and more. There is an underlying bitterness to it, but is not noticed much due to the green apple and blackcurrant filling it out and pumping out the flavour.
Inhale & Exhale
On the inhale, Lychee and blackcurrant rule the vape, with the sweet lychee leading into the strong mid-range blackcurrant to provide a really sweet, ripe fruit blend. Both are very sweet, with a berry-like feel to them, sharp and sweet mix to create instant flavour intensity.
As you inhale, while at first it’s lychee with it’s sweet juiciness, and light skin note, then blending into the rounded out, also sweet blackcurrant, the lychee seems to come around for a second pass, this time a little greener, and I notice more of a skin feel coming through. These reach their peak at the height of the inhale.
Over to the exhale, the sweet lychee and blackcurrant intensity machine continues, but with one small change. Quite a strong, sharp, tart and acidic green apple jumps on board, pumping even more intensity into the mix. The green apple quickly washes over the other fruits mixing to create a unique blend that is a little fleshy but equally husky with the fruit skin tones clashing with the fruits for a totally contrasting profile.
Everything begins to wind down about halfway through the exhale, with the flesh notes pulling back first, leaving the deeper skin notes and juicy blackcurrant and apple to finish off the vape.
Final thoughts
Definitely an interesting mix. While I’ve enjoyed it, I can admit, not everyone will, but if you’re into unusual fruits, this one will be right up your alley.
This is intense and not so intense at the same time. The blackcurrant and apple do a great job of building that intensity in the height of the inhale and part way into the exhale, but the apple is what really drives this home on the exhale smoothing everything out.
Would I change anything? I probably wouldn’t. I think this exact blend of fruits is what creates that unique taste and I definitely would not be messing with it.
This one is really going to come down to personal taste I feel, being such a polarising flavour, so while I’ve enjoyed it very much, you might not quite gel with the flavour combination. And I can totally see that happening for some of you. It has however, lived up to expectations for me and it is a great flavour.
Well done guys on bringing this unique blend to the masses.
Where to Buy:
All of the dRiip branded flavours are available directly from the Vape98 Online store and also from their physical store. You can also pick them up from a few other online stores that stock their range of juices.
Colour:
Light honey
Aroma:
Green Apple, Blackcurrant
Coil and wick damage:
No noticeable damage to wicks or coils.
PG/VG Ratio:
70VG/30PG
Texture:
Sweet, sticky and fruity
Steeping:
No steep necessary for this one!
Presentation:
The presentation of these bottles is quite professional. I received tinted 60ml Chubby Gorilla styled bottles with child proof, sealed cap and needle tip. The labels are well done with colours, fruits and imagery depicted depending on the flavour with the brand, juice name and Basic Berries title prominantely displayed.
Other information on the labels includes: Additional warnings, ingredients, PG/VG ratio, bottle size, zero nicotine declaration. I like seeing all of this info on bottle labels!
Test rigs:
Original Haku Cruiser running a single 0.17 framed staple coil on a mech mod.
Augvape Intake RTA with a 0.2ohm Stainless coil running @ approx 50-80 watts.
Rating overview
