Congo Custard by Twelve Monkeys

Characteristics of the juice tested

• Sponsor having lent material for the review: Miss Ecig
• Price of the tested packaging: 20 Euros
• Quantity: 30 Ml
• Price per ml: 0.67 Euros
• Price per liter: 670 Euros
• Juice category according to price per ml previously calculated: Mid-range, from 0.61 to 0.75 euro ml
• Nicotine dosage: 12 Mg / Ml
• Proportion of Vegetable Glycerin: 70%

Packing

• Presence of a box: No
• Are the materials making up the box recyclable ?:
• Presence of a tamper-evident seal: Yes
• Bottle material: Glass, the packaging can only be used for filling if the stopper is fitted with a pipette
• Cork equipment: Glass pipette
• Tip characteristic: No tip, will require the use of a filling syringe if the cap is not fitted
• Name of the juice wholesale on the label: Yes
• Display of PG-VG proportions in bulk on the label: No
• Wholesale nicotine dosage display on the label: Yes

Steamer note for packaging: 3.18 / 5

Comments on the packaging

Twelve Monkeys Vapor Co is a Canadian manufacturer that arrives on the old continent with a range of six different juices. Each of these juices has its own rate of Vegetable Glycerin, undoubtedly to highlight its personality.

Today on the test bench the Congo Custard which is presented to us as a mixture of creamy vanillas serving as a bed for juicy strawberries. We will see this later but for now, we notice serious packaging with a transparent glass vial equipped with a child resistant cap. We could have wished for a colored or anti-UV treated bottle, but we will be satisfied with that, this type of bottle being almost the norm in North America.

The necessary information for the consumer is well indicated even if some, such as the rate of Vegetable Glycerin are written in small under the rate of nicotine. We particularly appreciate the Frenchization of ingredients, despite the translation errors. We see that the brand has made efforts to stick to consumers in French-speaking countries and that is a good point.

Legal, security, sanitary, and religious compliance

• Presence of child safety on the cap: Yes
• Presence of clear pictograms on the label: Yes
• Presence of raised marking for visually impaired persons on the label: No
• 100% of the juice compounds are indicated on the label: Yes
• Presence of alcohol: No
• Presence of distilled water: No
• Presence of essential oils: No
• Compliance HIDE: Do not know
• HALAL compliance: Do not know
• Indication of the name of the laboratory producing the juice: Yes
• Presence of the contacts necessary to reach a consumer service on the label: No
• Presence on the label of a batch number: Yes

Vapelier's note regarding the respect of various conformities (except religious): 4 / 5

Comments on the security, legal, health and religious aspects

In terms of security elements and mandatory information, here we are reaching the limit of what a manufacturer from across the Atlantic can do to adapt its products to the European market.

We can see that the will to do well is there, but as the adage “dura lex sed lex” suggests, the Congo Custard does not fully comply with French law. Thus, we do find a pictogram in the shape of a skull but it is included (in a beautiful way by the way) in the design of the label whereas the interest of a pictogram, for the French public authorities, is precisely to come out of a packaging and above all to be “standardized” so that the habit of seeing it induces a particular behavior.

Ditto for the ban on minors which corresponds to the country of origin by prohibiting the product at least 19 years old and not 18 years old.

These are small details, of course and it is not my intention to stigmatize an e-liquid on these only elements but we all know that the horizon of the vape will singularly darken in the spring of 2016 and it is to the responsibility of importers, distributors and various players in the marketing of foreign products to pass on legal information to manufacturers who simply ignore it. I take as an example an interesting discussion that the Vapelier had with UD Technology at the last Vap'Expo and the well-known manufacturer and correctly established in France knew nothing about TPD and future European legislation. A shame!

We are however reassured to note the presence of a DLUO as well as a batch number. In short, we can only note the manufacturer's effort to be transparent and find it unfortunate that this effort was not better guided by its French interlocutors.

On the other hand, the manufacturer's site is not stingy in documentation and thus, the consumer can be completely informed of the rate of diacetyl (negligible) of Congo Custard and establish points of comparison with e-liquids of the same nature as the Suicide Bunny who had a lot of hot throats some time ago. An excellent point!

Appreciation of the packaging

• Does the graphic design of the label and the product name agree ?: Yes
• Global correspondence of the packaging with the product name: Yes
• The packaging effort made is in accordance with the price category: Yes

Vapelier's note regarding packaging with regard to juice category: 5 / 5

Comments on the packaging

The label has a cool aesthetic, which sets it apart from the rest of the production. It's not Picasso, but it's pretty. The concept of our simian cousin attached by its caudal appendage to a branch of the logo is used on all products and only the color of certain graphic elements makes it possible to differentiate them. But this is enough not to confuse the bottles.

Fan of Terry Gilliam, I cannot ignore the name of the brand itself which refers to his film “The Army of 12 Monkeys” and I particularly liked this wink.

On the other hand, and this said without any mischief, the name of the product “Congo Custard” leaves me perplexed because I was unaware of the presence of a Congolese strawberry in the fruit markets… With such a name, we no longer expect a cream. tropical or banana. Undoubtedly a side effect of colonization from which this country has suffered for so long….

Sensory appreciations

• Color and product name agree ?: Yes
• Do the smell and the name of the product agree ?: Yes
• Definition of odor: Fruity, Chemical (does not exist in nature), Sweet
• Definition of taste: Sweet, Fruit, Pastry, Vanilla
• The taste and the name of the product, do they agree ?: Yes
• Did I like this juice ?: No
• This liquid reminds me of: A certain Suicide Bunny who was a pioneer in his time of this type of recipe. Besides, it's good to copy a recipe that works with the public but it's even better when you invent one. This would save us from having 150 cream / strawberry references or 300 cereals / milk / fruits. Please, Gentlemen manufacturers, a little imagination !!! (Very personal opinion).

Vapelier's note on the sensory experience: 3.75/5

Comments on the taste of the juice

First of all, I notice that the hit is powerful enough for an e-liquid with a high proportion of Vegetable Glycerin. It doesn't bother me too much, but it's a bit unexpected for this base ratio.

In the mouth, we have a fairly compact strawberry-vanilla cream set, drawing a little on condensed milk flavored with strawberries. It's not bad but it's changeable. However, a period of fifteen days of steeping was respected. Sometimes, in fact, we have a slightly chemical aftertaste that points to the tip of our nose. But most of the time, the liquid is fairly well balanced. But this polymorphic aspect is very present. I deduce that on the two mixed vanillas claimed by Twelve Monkeys, one of them seems well integrated into the dominant fruit and the other, a little more artificial, tries to slip into the finish.

This liquid does not win my conviction even if it is rather consistent in the procession of juices of the same nature. Its texture is very delicious, the Congo Custard is very creamy and the vapor is abundant and sensual. The general taste is rather successful but it lacks what makes the essential quality of a good e-liquid in my opinion: personality! It will still suit fans of the category.

On the other hand, I withdraw what I could say about the strangeness of the name chosen for a strawberry-based liquid because it is grown well in Mbanza-Ngungu ...

Tasting recommendations

• Recommended power for optimal taste: 25 W
• Type of steam obtained at this power: Thick
• Hit type obtained at this power: Strong
• Atomizer used for the review: Igo-L, Cyclone AFC, Subtank
• Value of the resistance of the atomizer in question: 1
• Materials used with the atomizer: Kanthal, Cotton

Comments and recommendations for an optimal tasting

The manufacturer recommends on its site the use of a Subtank or Atlantis type sub-ohm clearo. And, indeed, it is in this type of device that the juice is most coherent. The relative lack of taste precision of these atomizers allows a more tasty compactness than on a more surgical device. The juice holds the rise in power well and its taste varies little.

However, technical precision is required when choosing a clearo and proprietary sub-ohm coils. With this juice and taking into account its proportion in VG, the fouling will be rather rapid and may have a negative influence on your perception and your taste sensations. The RBA / RDA option is of considerable interest at this level insofar as you fully control the change of capillaries at a low cost.

Recommended Moments

• Recommended times of the day: Morning, All afternoon during everyone's activities
• Can this juice be recommended as an All Day Vape: No

Overall average (excluding packaging) of the Vapelier for this juice: 3.64 / 5

Link to a video review or blog maintained by the reviewer author of the review

My mood ticket on this juice

We are therefore in the presence of yet another interpretation of the great classic cream / strawberry à la Mother's Milk. So much the better for fans of this type of mixture, all the worse for creativity.

The Congo Custard is well on the subject and correct in its taste. The only criticism we can make is that it does not bring much more in the end. Indeed, it is satisfied with a minimum service which is certainly consistent but which does not add anything new to the taste debate.

There is a vanilla cream topped with a strawberry yogurt but the result is more concentrated strawberry milk, with sometimes, at the bend of a curl, a rather unpleasant chemical taste that creeps into your mouth. The promised vanilla blend remaining at the limit of the readable.

I advise against all-day because it shows its creamy limit disgusting in the long run.

Too bad to have capitalized on a known string and not to have tried a more personal recipe for this juice which required work, but not genius ...

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