With the menthol flavoured tobacco ban in full force across Europe, it’s a timely review of the Dinner Lady menthol flavours!
I’ll be tasting both the freebase and nicotine salt flavours and looking forward to trying them to say the least.
With just two employees, Dinner Lady exploded onto the e-liquid scene back in 2016. Their multi award winning Lemon Tart flavour was exceptional – and I don’t know any vaper that hasn’t at least tried it.
For once this wasn’t about the hype, here we had an instant classic from a brand new manufacturer – What a way to introduce yourself!
By late 2019 employee levels had risen to over 200 and their portfolio had expanded to over 100 unique flavour profiles. Dinner Lady now offered a choice of 6 different ranges including CBD products.
This review focuses on five of their menthol flavoured e liquids, as well as 10ml bottles they are available in disposable e-cigs, convenient ready to go pods specifically designed to handle the 50VG/50PG juice ratios.
Both 10ml bottle and concentrate formulas are catered for in either nicotine salts or freebase across various strengths.
What Can We Expect From the Dinner Lady Menthol Range?
The Dinner Lady menthol range of e liquids has grown significantly due to the menthol tobacco ban of May 2020.
Expect the cooling properties to make for a very smooth and refreshing vape. Thanks to a varied range of strengths in both salt and freebase nicotine a wide audience is catered for.
The nicotine salt range is available in 10ml bottles either 10mg or 20mg strength nicotine. The bottles are instantly recognizable with the now trademark Dinner Lady logo.
The freebase range is available in 10ml bottles at 3mg, 6mg, 12mg and 18mg strength. These bottles contain a smaller logo to ensure all appropriate strengths and ratios are readable.
Well played, Dinner Lady, a deft touch for those with fading eyesight – myself included!
A 30ml Blue Menthol flavour concentrate is also available for those that just can’t get enough.
From humble starter kits, AIO pod devices to sophisticated tank set ups, expect the flavour, cloud and nicotine hit to be optimal.
Mint and fruit sub notes have been chosen to perfectly harmonize the menthol and koolada content, it ain’t all about that icy cold blast.
Before I dive in I’d like to thank Dinner Lady for supplying these bottles for the purpose of review, however, that won’t sway my opinion.
Also keep in mind that there are a further two profiles available – Mint Ice and Mint Tobacco.
Your own experiences are likely to vary due to the device, coil types, cotton, power output and nicotine strength you choose to use.
Devices Of Choice
For the three salt nicotine samples (20mg) I used the Smok Fetch with the RBA section for the RGC pod. This allowed me to change the wicking material (Cotton Bacon V2) for each flavour profile.
Unless otherwise stated, the device was running at 20w using a single 2.5mm Wotofo NI80 Fused Clapton coil with airflow wide open.
For the higher strength freebase nicotine samples (18mg) I used the Vaporesso Osmall with its disposable pod containing a 1.2ohm coil running at 11w. ideal for this nicotine content.
Dinner Lady Menthol Flavours – Blue Menthol
Dinner Lady Says:
Blueberry and Currant flavoured e – liquid with sweetener, mild anise and menthol
I Say:
I instantly pick up on the menthol during exhale, which creates a smooth icy cool blast on the back of the throat.
The slightest touch of the anise is detected during exhale but the menthol is predominant.
From the two included fruit ingredients it’s blueberry that steals the show. Although subtle the fruit provides a candy like appeal weaving its way through the exhale.
Blackcurrant is represented more by a touch of sweetness than anything else.
There’s a surprisingly good amount of cloud production which is very satisfying, resulting in some fullness rear throat to compliment the menthol.
At times there is the slightest of throat tickles but nothing to start a coughing fit with airflow wide open.
Dinner Lady Menthol Flavours – Spearmint
Dinner Lady Says:
Spearmint
I Say:
The spearmint content is very subtle in this profile and underplayed against the menthol.
That’s not to say it’s without merit because it still manages to linger after the exhale.
Spearmint contains less than 1% menthol as a herb and that’s reflected by the slight lack of flavour here.
The associated sweetness is kept to a minimum while an icy cold blast still coats the tongue.
I would’ve liked this one to have been a little sharper and having more of the chewy sweets property.
It looks like Dinner Lady has opted for the more authentic rendition here.
By no means a bad vape and will act as an ideal palette cleanser.
The mouth to lung vapour production is suitably thin and nothing that will distract a new vaper.
Dinner Lady Menthol Flavours – Cherry Menthol
Dinner Lady Says:
Cherry and Menthol flavoured e liquid with sweetener and koolada
I Say:
The first thing that hits with the profile is the sweetness of the fruit.
The cherry blends seamlessly and constant through the exhale leaving a pleasant after taste on the tip of the tongue.
Dinner Lady hasn’t overplayed it so there’s much less chance of becoming sickly after a few hours vaping.
It’s deftly laced with koolada while the menthol takes a backseat, willing to play more readily on the inhale and gently soothing the throat.
Again this is a well balanced mix between cherry and cooling agent leaving a refreshing taste in the mouth.
Cloud production is more than adequate and will allow for more than a few stealth like vaping sessions.
Dinner Lady Menthol Flavours – Fresh Menthol
Dinner Lady Says:
Menthol
I Say:
There’s an instant icy cold blast combining with a relatively strong throat hit to get things off to a lively start.
Both Koolada and menthol have a much sharper edge, cooling the inside of the mouth, and it works very effectively – feels just like an ice cube has been planted on the tongue. The effect remains long after the exhale.
The mint provides an added freshness but less dominant with some floral sub notes present when exhaling through the nasal passages.
It still does a worthy job because combining it with menthol creates sweetness helping to sustain interest levels.
Cloud production is at a minimum and very much mimics the draw from a cigarette.
Plenty of stealth like opportunities with this one.
Dinner Lady Menthol Flavours – Ice Menthol
Dinner Lady Says
Menthol and mint with Koolada
I Say:
A very prominent, clean and fresh mint leaf is instantly recognizable on the exhale, it’s not over powering and compliments the sub note of menthol perfectly.
The koolada is very subtle and most effective during the inhale, making way for the finely tuned mix of menthol and mint during exhalation.
Cloud production seems quite hefty for an unassuming 50VG/50PG ratio and something of a bonus in my opinion.
The tip of the tongue is left with an icy cool sweetness which lingers quite a while, something that should be expected from a menthol hit.
This could well be a contender for “menthol cigarette replacement of the year“.
.. and to think I was worried about the “toothpaste” effect with this one lol!
Final Review Verdict
Dinner Lady has managed to impress despite the generic nature of the fruit content.
While not synthetic there’s still really nothing original about their performances.
What does work well are the levels of menthol, anise and koolada.
Blue Menthol, Cherry Menthol and especially Ice Menthol are testament to this. The intensity of the fruits and cooling agent are perfectly balanced and work in harmony, even on low powered, mouth to lung devices.
The experiences I garnered were very good. I do believe that the menthol and koolada will explode into life on higher powered devices with nicotine levels ranging from 0 – 6MG.
There’s never been a better time to impress a new vaper with the advent of the menthol cigarette ban now in full force.
So has Dinner Lady done enough with theses contributions?
Hell yeah!
The fruit, mint, cooling agent, menthol and sweetness levels are on point here.
They do more than enough to keep interest levels peaked.
Run them through appropriate starter devices with higher strength nicotine and those cravings will banish instantly.
…and that’s what any new vaper is looking for.
