The multi award winning Five Pawns e-liquid company boast as being the ‘best e-liquid brand in the world‘ so as a notoriously hard to please reviewer of juice, I was not only intrigued to see if that stood up, but also determined to pick out any fault I could.
I received 6 flavours – four from the Original blend which are almost all dessert based with a hint of tobacco and fruit, and two from the Red Label with more of a leaning towards straight out tobacco with a slight twist.
There’s also a Blue label which are extremely complex and look very interesting indeed.
The Original flavours come in 50/50 VG and PG – whilst the Reds come in 70/30 with a choice of zero nic – 3mg – 6mg – 12mg and 18mg and a choice of 60 or 30ml bottles.
I received six 60ml bottles all at 3mg and for the test I’ve used the Geekvape Ammit MTL RDA and the Ammit MTL RTA. I’ve taken my time too having these for about three weeks and really spent time savouring them as you’ll soon see.
The e-liquid was sent to me free of charge direct from 5 Pawns and all the way from sunny California – thank you – and as always my thoughts and opinions are unaffected by freebies.
So are these really high end e-liquids or more suited to being sold in a pawn shop?
Let’s see.
Castle Long – 3mg 50/50 VG PG
Five Pawns Say:
Five Pawns Say:Our non-barrel aged version is a combination of the dark, refined spirit of Kentucky Bourbon, accented with toasted coconut, roasted almond, Madagascar vanilla bean, and laced with a caramelized brown sugar.
I Say:
On opening this box of goodies the overpowering smell was that of coconut and I soon realized this was the Castle Long – it’s extremely pungent.
Dripping onto my wick ‘n coils and the smell grew even stronger and given I find most coconut based vapes a little unpleasant – I didn’t expect to enjoy this one at all…especially as the blend seems top heavy with sweet flavours.
However…
I have no idea what magic happens when those coils start sizzling but OMFG does this create a wondrous medley of flavours on your tongue!
Sure this is a sweet vape but those almonds and even the slightly sweet bourbon notes tame it all down leaving an extremely smooth perfectly balanced almost dessert like flavour – think boozy bounty bar and you’ll get my drift.
Bloody delicious and very very moreish and just about not too sweet!
GrandMaster – Original Blend – 3mg 50/50 VG PG
Five Pawns say:
Five Pawns say:
This well-balanced taste of smooth, creamy, rich peanut butter and banana cream is drizzled with velvety caramel, creating a multi-layered and savory symmetry.
I Say:
I’m a massive peanut butter fan – crunchy for me lol – but have yet to taste a decent e-liquid.
On reading the taste notes on this one and once again having a good sniff I was surprised to see how muted the usually strong smell of banana was. I could definitely get a whiff of peanuts and most definitely a hint of toffee and again I expected this to be far too sweet for me.
Here’s that word again…however…
On the inhale the first thing that came to mind was a salted caramel custard come pannacota crossed with a banana flavoured crème brulee. And that thought lingered right through to the exhale with gives an unctuous deep and rich cream with the merest hint of salt cutting through.
Not one I’d call an all-day vape but definitely one to savour after a meal or with a pint.
Deeply delicious!
Bowdens Mate – Original Blend – 3mg 50/50 VG PG
Five Pawns Say:
Five Pawns Say:Inspired by the after-dinner mint, this flavorful chocolate is sharpened by crisp mint, ending with a touch of French Vanilla. Seductive yet soft, with a refreshing effervescent note.
I Say:
Lord above what wizardry is this!
This is the closest you’ll ever get to vaping an After Eight Mint…those bloody moreish little squares of velvety smooth minty fondant covered in slightly dark chocolate.
The smell alone tells you what to expect and your brain tells you it’s vapour but then automatically sends a message to your teeth to chomp down!
Like I said this is wizardry in blending and absolutely incredible! It’s definitely one for after 8 so to speak as this one’s so rich – even with a slight mintiness on the exhale. Not an all day vape for me but great after a big meal or as a very special treat.
Amazing mixology!
Black Flag Risen – Original Blend – 3mg 50/50 VG PG
Five Pawns Say:
Five Pawns Say:Inspired by an eccentric drink called “Cigarettes & Coffee” at a local Five Pawns watering hole. We’ve introduced a hint of flue cured sweet Virginia tobacco leaf to our cappuccino, truffle cream, and mocha dusted black walnut to mimic two flavors that go together like no other.
I Say:
Now that’s one drink I’d love to try because if it’s anything like the e-liquid it’s got to be absolutely delicious and then some!
Forget your normal run of the mill coffee flavoured vapes – this one is in a different galaxy probably even a universe.
One of my weaknesses is a proper Irish Coffee…OK pretty much any booze into black coffee and topped with cream lol. And that’s exactly what this little beauty replicates but with hidden twists and depths.
That hint of tobacco is the merest but it seems to soak up the chocolaty mocha bringing new life into deep dark coffee before that whack of walnut adds yet another layer before the twist comes with a hint of sweet mystery from the truffle cream.
I’m actually stunned by this one –and trust me the word delicious isn’t doing it justice!
A truly magical vape!
Elo Tobacco – Red Label – 3mg 70/30 VG PG
Five Pawns Say:
Five Pawns Say:Inspired from the tastes of the Brazilian tobacco leaf, Elo Tobacco contains hints of citrus accompanying rich, smooth, earthy, and naturally sweet tobacco flavors.
I Say:
I don’t think I’ve ever smoked or vaped Brazilian tobacco but as someone who normally prefers unflavoured tobacco e-liquid I was excited to try this one.
Surprisingly the aroma coming from the bottle wasn’t at all citrusy to me – if anything it definitely had light tobacco notes but came across very sweet…think RY4…bloody hell some of those were rough!
Trust me this one is far from rough! The inhale is super smooth pure tobacco that’s just the right side of sweet with an almost nuttiness to it.
I really didn’t get any hint of the citrus and even on the exhale my taste-buds searched but failed. That’s no bad thing as I do like dare I say plain tobacco vapes – but trust me plain this isn’t. I’m guessing that compared to the more robust flavours of the Original blends this one was a pleasant smooth but tasty surprise.
Definitely one for the tobacco e-liquid connoisseurs and very similar to a couple of my favourite Black Note blends – so high praise indeed!
KingSide Tobacco – Red Blend – 3mg 70/30 VG PG
Five Pawns Say:
Five Pawns Say:Emulating the taste of the Burley tobacco leaf, Kingside Tobacco contains hints of barley, hops, and berries that accompany light, dry and smooth tobacco flavors with little bite.
I Say:
Like the previous juice this one is bang on my flavour profile so I was extremely excited to pop this one on my coils.
Now this one contains barley and hops…ummm beer…so I was expecting big things and boy did I get it! Probably one of other best tobacco flavoured e-liquids I’ve had the pleasure of tasting…and then some…seriously!
The smell from the bottle didn’t really give much away apart from that almost dry earthiness. However that inhale whilst smooth and given this is only 3mg 70/30 really did have a great throat hit.
The flavours seemed to come in layers too with almost botanical hints of hops the dryness of the barley adding to the dry yet flavoursome Burley leaf . However before your mouth dries up in comes a natural wondrous sweetness of the berries that leaves your mouth filled with deep tasty vapour.
An unbelievably good tobacco vape that leaves your room surprisingly fragrant and one that I absolutely adore.
Five Pawns E-Liquid Production Process
Do check out Five Pawns video showing their manufacturing process – it’s fascinating…
Final Verdict
Well what can I say!
I’ve been fortunate enough to put to the taste test some exemplary e-liquids of late. Either that or my notoriously grumpy taste-buds are calming with age…must be all those Werthers softening my taste buds 😉
And once again I’ve been treated to a magnificent master class in mixology – in a word the half dozen e-liquids from Five Pawns I’ve just reviewed are nothing short of divine. There’s really no other word for it…apart I guess ‘magical’.
It’s a bold claim to call their juice the ‘best in the world’ and from what I’ve enjoyed this past few weeks they certainly get a nod and a smattering of applause from me.
I was impressed with the vapour too – off the 50/50 mix it is impressive and a consistency just thick enough to sub ohm! And as you might expect the vapour off the 70/30 even run through the MTL RTA and RDA was amazing.
I got a lovely throat hit off the KingSide despite being 3mg and would expect an even better one off stronger nicotine levels. This one is definitely my favourite of the 6 and one I highly recommend for true tobacco lovers.
And I couldn’t finish this review without a word on the Five Pawns packaging and presentation. As we all know only too well the word ‘premium’ is banded around a lot in vaping – but these guys really do set the standard high as in premium plus and then some.
Classic old school glass bottles and drippers inside smart adult looking classy tubes gives you an idea of the quality to come – superb labeling too….bravo!
If the rest of the stable of flavours is half as good as the one’s I’ve tried, then maybe just maybe they’ve put the competition into checkmate…
